Chapter 125 - Kingdom Of The West

As Esme and Aleister walked in the hallway making their way towards the royal garden, the latter suddenly asked her a question, ''Have you ever heard of Defire Kingdom?" 

Esme was bewildered for a moment before she nodded, ''That mysterious Kingdom of the West?" 

''Mhmm,'' Aleister nodded and grabbed her hand, and intertwined their fingers. 

''What are you doing?" Esme glanced at the guards around the hallway who were stealing glances with their gazes lowered. 

''I'm still weak. You promised to help me and nurse me back to health. Now that I need your hand to walk, you won't even give your hand to me. How did I not know that you were this ruthless?" He glanced at grievously. 

Esme looked at him for a moment before she nodded, ''Alright, you can do that... Wait...'' she glanced at him suspiciously, ''How did you walk till here if you are that unwell?" 

''That's because I was looking at you.'' 

She glanced at him as if two horns were growing above his head. 

''Your face cures all my sickness,'' he winked. 

Esme stopped walking. 

Aleister paused as well. 

She stepped towards him and he stepped back. 

The guards in the hallway were at a distance but they did not dare to breathe out loud, let alone look at them after Aleister shot a warning glare in their direction. 

''What are you doing?'' Aleister asked in a hoarse voice when his back hit the wall. 

''This...'' Esme circled her index finger around his charming face and lowered her voice, ''Don't show those flirtatious expressions to me.'' 

''Are you accusing me of flirting with you? Or are you afraid of falling for me?" 

''I am asking you to behave yourself. Because your actions give me wrong impressions all the time.'' 

''And maybe I want to make those impressions that you get from actions?" he leaned closer to her, ''Moreover, our position right now is quite meaningful, isn't it?" 

She lowered her head to look at them. She had one palm pressed on the wall, right next to his body and his back was pressed against the wall. It clearly looked like she was pinning him to the wall. 

''You should have told me that you prefer this.'' 

''Stop teasing me,'' Esme shot him a glare. She cleared her throat before stepping back from him. 

He smiled and grabbed her hand before hooking it around his. 

She kept glaring at him and he smiled like a sly cat. 

''Al, why did you ask about the Defire Kingdom?" Esme asked after some time. 

''Do you remember the people who were about to come for the investigation of the strange death cases?" 

''Yes, I have heard about them,'' her eyes widened when a sudden realization dawned on her, ''They are from the Defire Kingdom?"

As he nodded, a complicated expression appeared on her face. 

The Defire Kingdom was situated in the West but their rules and regulations have been very different from other Kingdoms. 

Visteria and Nevesray are great kingdoms which have many small kingdoms under them which have been unified. But unlike them, the Defire Kingdom has always been whole. 

But it was as if the Kingdom did not exist. No one has ever seen its subjects, let alone the monarch. 

If not because of the monarch sending an emissary to the other kingdoms on important occasions and meetings, then the royalties would have also forgotten about the existence of that mysterious kingdom of the West. 

''Why?" Esme glanced at him questioningly. What motives do they have behind extending a helping hand towards Visteria? 

''They came forward and offered to help with this situation and the King accepted their offer.'' 

''But...'' Why didn't you stop the King? These people are way too mysterious to be this helpful. 

She intended to say that but Esme stopped herself in time. During her stay here, she had noticed the weird workings in this family. There was some sort of ice between the King and Aleister. 

Let alone the King, Aleister was also distant with Duchess Flora. He was only a bit genuine towards Duke Maverick. 

But then it was not her place to ask him about all this as much as she wanted to. He never told her about his powers or Leo so his family matters were another thing. 

Moreover, she had some suspicions that she wanted to confirm. 

''We are here...'' Aleister whispered beside her ear, snapping her out of her daze. 

Today's breakfast was arranged in the Royal Gardens and Esme could already spot three new people amidst their families. 

As they approached the table, Aleister pulled the chair for her. 

As usual, his greetings were very crisp. It was fine to say there were no greetings from him at all. He did not even nod at anyone from his side of the family but he smiled at her family members briefly which made it all more awkward for her. 

Esme flashed huge smiles at the King, Duke, and Duchess and greeted everyone properly before taking a seat. 

As soon as she was seated, her gaze landed on the three people who had hair of the color of the sun, so striking that it caught her attention from afar. 

The King raised his hand towards the people on his right, ''He is the emissary sent by the Defire Kingdom, Sir Marcus.'' 

Marcus glanced at the King with a straight face, ''Just Marcus will do,'' his words were precise but firm. 

Aleister and Esme nodded at the man briefly. 

Esme glanced at the two people sitting beside Marcus. They had uncanny resemblances to the man but they were younger so she guessed they must be his children. 

And her guess turned out to be right when the King introduced them, ''He is Lucian, Marcus' son and she is Luciana, Lucian's younger sister.'' 

''It's a pleasure to meet you,'' Lucian smiled at Aleister before focusing his gaze on Esme, 'A Visterian beauty?' he could not help but marvel at the sight of her. Her striking red hair and grey eyes were surely a rare sight. 

But then he was suddenly reminded of the introductions that happened here at their arrival. The Royal Family of the Nevesray said that their Princess was set to marry the Prince of Visteria. 

And considering that there were no princesses in Visteria then this woman should be the Princess of Nevesray.

Unlike Lucian whose attention was focused on Esme, Esme had her attention somewhere else.. She tightened her grip on the fork as her lips thinned at what she witnessed.