Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 6. The Pain of Betrayal II

Rose's eyes moved side to side to read the documents, especially regarding Ivetta's involvement in curiosity. As she read it, her expression grew gloomy, her eyes filled with tears of disappointment, sadness and pain over her best friend's betrayal. Moreover, after she discovered that Ivetta was one of the rebel supreme leaders and worked as a spy in the castle, mainly spying on her and King Eudon. But what hurt her the most was the fact that because of Ivetta's information, the rebels were able to kill her father. And she remembered Ivetta got that information from her. She was too young and naive then and she said it by accident when Ivetta visited the castle to have a chat with her. Unconsciously, her tears flowed from her eyes. Her heart shattered into pieces. She had never felt like this before, the pain that was more painful than any wound she had ever felt. In addition, Rose also realized that her uncle's trustee subject, Duke Bartlet was also on the list. And she was sure that her uncle had experienced the same disappointment and sorrow as her.

Angel's words when they met in front of the Scarlet Stone Castle's parlour room flashed across her head.
'If I were you, I would be careful of everyone around me. ' She just understood what his warning meant now. He just couldn't say it bluntly since he didn't have any evidence back then. The documents also stated that Ivetta was also involved in the Slyhelm Town's rebellion to force King Eudon to give his family poison to Ilex.

Meanwhile, Angel realized her shock and disappointment. Although he felt bad for giving her the documents, he had no choice. He had to get Rose to cooperate with him in this political marriage. Also, he wanted to avoid misunderstandings between them in the future. Who knew Ivetta would come to Rose one day and ask for her help. If Rose didn't know Ivetta's true colour, Ivetta could use Rose to spy on Angel and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Are you sure about this?" said Rose as she could get her trembling voice out. Even though the documents had listed all the evidence that she could not refute and it had her uncle's royal stamp, it was hard for her to believe it.

"Isn't all already clear in those documents?" he returned her question with another question. He knew Rose was just trying to escape from reality.

Rose returned her gaze to the documents and stared at it sadly.
"It is, Your Majesty..." she said in a gloomy tone. Other drops of tears ran down her cheeks.

Angel took his handkerchief and handed it to Rose without saying anything. He wanted to hug her, but he held himself back since it could make her feelings worse. He knew how much it hurt since he had been through something worse than this, but telling her everything would be fine would be the same as lying to her.

Rose looked at it for a while before taking the handkerchief in hesitation and wiping her tears with it.
"Thank you..." she said.

"With all those documents I hope you can understand why King Eudon and I made this deal."

Rose was silent for a moment. Logically, this was the only thing her uncle could do to clean up the rebels that had gnawed at Zephyrus from within. With some nobles who have betrayed their family, their defeat to Euphorion, and their loss of one of their loyal Generals, her family's current power was nothing more than a thin glass that could shatter at any moment. The only way to protect it was by asking for another ruler's help to protect them and Angel was perfect for this. Not only because of his power but both Angel and her were the rebel's target so they had to work together.
"I understand..." said Rose in the same gloomy tone. She gave him a slight nod as her form of gratitude for wanting to help her family.

"One more thing, please don't blame yourself," said Angel as he took the documents from her hand without taking his eyes off of Rose. Of course, what he meant was her father's death. Although Rose tried to cover up her sadness and tried to stay calm, he was sure she was devastated by this more than when King Eudon learned of this fact.

Even though Angel was sure Rose heard him clearly, she didn't respond, nor did she answer. She just lowered her head without saying a word.

Seeing her odd state, Angel tilted his head slightly, trying to figure it out from her expression.
"Princess Rose, are you all right?"

A silent sob answered him as she couldn't contain her emotions anymore. Guilt, disappointment, sadness, anger, hate, all mixed in her. She had risked her life several times to help Ivetta, yet she betrayed her, even taking the most important person in her life.

Seeing her pain, Angel couldn't hold his feelings anymore. As his heart ached, reflexively, his hand dropped the documents in his hand and hugged her without saying anything. It all happened as if it was out of his control.

Different from her usual reaction, even though Rose was shocked by his sudden embrace, she didn't push him away. Instead, she hugged him tightly and cried to her heart's content in his arms, spilling all the pain in her heart and forgetting one of the taboos for a royal was that they should not show excessive emotions to anyone. It was ironic since she refused this marriage before, yet she ended up crying in his arms. Though his cold expression didn't change, she could feel his warmth and she was grateful that she had someone to accompany her through this.

Then as his hand touched her hair, he whispered.
"I'm here. We'll face them together..." he tried to calm her. Rose could catch his gentleness from his voice.

"Thank you..."