Second Arc (His Art of War) – 8. The Truth

Ilex walked down the corridor to Ophelia's room, but when he was just about to approach the door. A knight bowed.
"Your Highness, the princess is sleeping. She said she did not want to be disturbed."

"Alright, " replied Ilex. He almost turned around and planned to return, but then he felt suspicious.
'It's still daytime, she usually doesn't sleep at this hour.' Finally, he asked again.
"Has Princess Ophelia left her room today?"

"She took a short stroll earlier, but she returned before she could greet His Majesty in the study, " the knight answered.

"Did she go to the study room?"

"Yes, she was just about to come in but she didn't. Maybe she saw that His Majesty was busy. "

'Could it be that she heard our conversation?' Ilex began to worry. He approached the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Ophelia, open the door, " he said as he knocked on the door.

No answer...

He knocked again.
"Ophelia!"

"Your Highness, the princess is sleeping."

Even though her knight said that, he was still worried. If she heard his conversation with King Gervis in the study room, he was afraid she would act recklessly. Ilex knocked the door harder as he tried to open it.
"Ophelia! Open the door!"

Suddenly a pale-faced guard came in hurry to him and bowed.
"Your Highness, we found a rope coming out of Princess Ophelia room's window."

Ilex's eyes widened in surprise.
"Tell my father about this!" he ordered. He averted his gaze to the two knights who were standing guard in front of the room and pointed his index finger to them alternately.
"You and you. Tell the others to search for Princess Ophelia around the castle and close the gate!" Then he turned his gaze to the other guard.
"The others tell the City guards to check for everyone who goes in and out."

They quickly bowed and carried out his orders.

'Ophelia ... What are you doing in times of emergency like this …' thought Ilex.

She was breathing heavily, this was the first time she had a long run like this. Seeing her off guard, Angel quickly snatched his sword and sheathed it. She could only stare at him irritably.
"You are rude, " she complained.

"Is taking someone else's property is not rude?" said Angel without looking at Ophelia.

She did not answer. She knew her actions were rude, but she really wanted to run away from here.

Seeing Ophelia speechless, he asked again.
"You are a princess, you have a good life. Why do you want to run away?"

"Princess..." she murmured, then she chuckled.
"It all sounds beautiful to a commoner like you. High status, living in a luxurious castle, guards and servants who serve you twenty-four hours. But do you know behind all that? We must maintain our image for our family. We can't show our emotions, don't have freedom. We can't choose ... Even for our own husband. "

"You are still young. Why does the king want to set you up?" he asked in confusion. He knew that King Gervis loved Ophelia so much even more than Ilex since she resembled his late wife. It was strange if he let her marry this fast.

"For the victory ... For the glory of Asteria. He will do everything... including setting me up with another royal family, " she answered sadly.

'Is King Gervis planning to use her to form an alliance through marriage to win the war?'
"Who does the king want to set you up with?" he asked again.

"Prince Artheur of Draconis."

Angel paused as he tried to guess what King Gervis' plan was.
'Draconis... It seems he wants to attack Euphorion from both sides.'

Ophelia realized she was saying it spontaneously without thinking twice.
"Forget what I said before. A commoner like you doesn't need to think about it, " she added.

He turned his gaze to Ophelia.
"Miss, thank you for telling me, " he said. What she said was very important information for him.
"But I want to advise you, the king and Prince Ilex are your families and they love you. You should return to the castle," he added.

"I know they love me ..."

"You should return then."

Ophelia shook her head.
"I don't want to marry someone I don't love."

Angel breathed a heavy sigh.
"Does that mean the rumour about you falling in love with the late second Prince of Asteria is true?" he guessed.

"You right... I do love him ..." Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered him.

"Miss, he is your cousin. You shouldn't fall in love with him, " he said again.

"If I say he's not my cousin, do you believe it?"

"I've also heard that rumour. But how can you be sure he's not a royal family just because his hair colour has changed?"

"No... when he was found with the late king, my father ordered an expert magic user to examine him since he did not wake up for days. And he said that they found a strange power in that boy. The power was never possessed by my cousin, " she answered.

Angel was speechless, for years he thought they treated him differently because of his hair colour but in fact, they already knew the strange power inside him even before he realized it.
'King Gervis and Ilex knew about the strange power in me all this time. But why didn't they say anything? Why did they never tell me about it?'
"What if he really is your cousin?"

"It can't be... Didn't you already know? The Reinheart family is a Holy Knight family. The power within him is the power of darkness. That alone is enough to make sure he is not my cousin."

Angel lowered his head. What she said was true... A Reinheart could not possibly have a dark power like him. The crystal changed his life and fate, just like Prince Lucian told him. He clenched his fists, trying to hold the pain in his heart.
'Because of this power... all of you think I was someone else.'
"Then you shouldn't love someone like him. He's a traitor, " he said coldly.

Upon hearing his words, Ophelia threw her slap, but he caught her hand.
"You! You don't know anything about him! You don't know how he risked his life to protect Asteria!" she screamed angrily.

He released her hand.
"Miss, he is dead. The second Prince of Asteria is dead. He is a traitor who deserves to die," he said firmly. Even though he never betrayed Asteria five years ago, but he would attack Asteria soon which would make him a real traitor. Besides the dark power within him, he didn't deserve to live as a Reinheart anymore.

Ophelia looked at him angrily.
"He's not a traitor! You don't know the truth—" But before she finished her sentence, she pressed her lips. She could not tell him that her father and brother had slandered and killed the second Prince of Asteria. Finally, she looked down sadly.
'Angel... Even after your death, everyone regards you as a traitor.'