Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 69. His Secret Investigation II

Angel's eyes remained on Ilex, watching him silently descend the rope and walk in a hurry. Like perfect synchronization, Ilex mingled with a group of guards to cover his presence. The guards let him join them without batting their eyes, showing this was all part of the plan. From where Ilex was walking, Angel already knew he was going through the back door. A small door where the castle took food supplies or other necessities. So instead of following him in a normal way, Angel decided to teleport near the door. That way, he could follow Ilex easily.

Angel's body disappeared in the darkness, leaving a small amount of his dark force which quickly disappeared like smoke in the wind. At the same time, Ophelia came out of her room and glanced from side to side.
"Angel?" she called out doubtfully. She was sure of it, unfortunately, she didn't find anyone there. But then, the trace of his dark aura in the corner of the stone fences was enough to convince her that Angel was there before. Even though she didn't know the exact reason, Ophelia was sure he left after he realized her appearance.

A smile appeared on Ophelia's face. She walked to the side of the stone fences and swept her gaze around her, hoping that Angel was still around. Unfortunately, she didn't find anyone. Slowly, her smile faded, there was disappointment in her heart since she couldn't meet him. But that was not enough to destroy her happiness. This was enough to make her happy. Not to mention Euphorion and Asteria were far away.

Before, she saw a pair of shoes on her balcony when the curtain parted because of the wind and thought it was an intruder. But the dark aura that followed, made her realize that it was Angel. She was sure of it because he was the only person who could use dark magic in this Castle.

Indeed it was rare for her to still be awake at a time like this, but she had trouble sleeping these few days, especially after she got the news about Angel's wedding and learned that Angel ordered to turn his old room into his elite soldiers' resting place. What he did showed clearly how he wanted to erase all his memories and traces in the Golden Light Castle. Indeed his past was not a pleasant one, at least she wanted to keep it in her memory. As for his wedding, she could only guess it has to do with politics. Even though she couldn't hope that she could be his wife one day...

Still... Something was bugging her a lot. Why did he take Princess Rose, but let Ophelia stay in Asteria? No, he didn't even take Princess Tuvania of Draconis. But only Rose. Was he really in love with the princess?

But Ophelia immediately threw her thoughts away. If he loved her, why did Angel go to Asteria? Why did he leave her in just a matter of days? Although traveling from Euphorion to Asteria in a few days was impossible, Ophelia guessed he was using his dark powers to speed up his journey. She could only guess he intended to see her since he had nothing else important in Asteria. Her father, King Gervis, was concentrating on Asteria's financial recovery. Ilex concentrated more on managing the castle and repairing the wall. Sometimes he also helped King Gervis to handle Asteria's internal affairs. Not to mention Gaia and his troops were keeping a close eye on them and the castle. So it was the only guess that crossed Ophelia's head and she guessed that Angel did it because he felt guilty for his order.

A long breath escaped from Ophelia's mouth. Her feet moved closer to the stone faces facing the city. Her eyes looked into the distance.
'Angel... You should have told me if you wanted to see me...' thought Ophelia. Even though it sounded stupid and loving her own cousin was forbidden, this was the fourth time Angel had done this. The first was when he helped her to get out of Eternal Harmony City before the war broke out. The second was when he used his dark power to protect her in the castle's hall. The third was when he pretended to leave the Golden Light Castle and returned to protect her from Duke Owen. He even stayed with her until she fell asleep.

Not only after he became a king, but he also did it when he was still a prince. He never came to her birthday party after the late King Renart died, but he still left his present secretly by the balcony door. He did that because he knew Ilex and King Gervis didn't like him when he got too close to her so he did everything secretly. Those simple things were enough to make her happy.

Amid her thoughts, a wishful thinking crossed her head.
'Angel... If we are not related by blood. Will you fall in love with me?'

>Read more than 10 chapter ahead of DM + 2 weekly update on Patreon

My Patreon-page 

My ko-fi page

My Discord