Chapter 68 - Love And Affection

When Esme returned to the room after the breakfast with Duke Maverick and Duchess Flora, she was greeted by the sight of Aleister sitting on a chair, in the dark corner of the room as he ate... grapes?

She blinked innocently as if she did not know where he came from, "The Prince seems rather idle today."

"Princess is spreading some interesting lies about me, after all," Aleister said without lifting his head. 

The corner of her lips tugged up. It seems like the King has taught him some good lesson.

If only she knew how things proceeded there and it was the King who was angered to death, then she might not have been so smug. 

She sighed regretfully, "You weren't here. That's all I could do to stop them from coming to your room," She walked towards him before taking a seat on the chair in front of him. 

"Is it? You sure you were not trying to teach me a little lesson, My Dear Moon?"

"O-Of course not," She did not expect him to see through her. 

Aleister leaned forward and Esme averted her gaze. 

"Give me your hand." 

"W-Why?'' 

After the way he was acting yesterday, she was still a bit confused and hesitant.

"What are you afraid of?"

"I am not afraid of anything," She extended her hand towards him, "Here," She raised an eyebrow.

Aleister grabbed the tip of her fingers as he placed a few grapes on her hand, "They are sweet," The last word was emphasized as his gaze lingered on her neck before shifting to her lips and it finally moved to her eyes.

"Oh," She tilted her head from the grapes as she looked at him, "Do you know Duchess Flora had invited me over for breakfast?"

"She usually does. What about that?" Aleister leaned back on the chair as he tilted his head.

Esme retracted her hand, "Not today. I am talking about another time. That day, you went to the Royal Court in the morning when the magistrate had accused you of killing the maids."

Aleister nodded, "I remember."

"Her nanny, Grandma Greta had done some strange things..."

Aleister's eyes deepened, "What did they do?"

"No, they did not do anything to me," Esme said as she picked a grape, "They did something with the black salt and they said it will ward off the evil eyes. And no witch will come to me."

Aleister's brows tugged together, "Duchess Flora was the Princess of Florania."

"Florania? Wasn't it that Kingdom which was destroyed by the King himself?" Esme was young at that time but she had heard her Aunt and Uncle talking about it, "It was said that the King sent his men to kill the subjects and burnt countless territories before stabbing himself with a sword."

"The King was possessed," Aleister said to her, "There were witches in the Castle..."

"They exist?" Despite hearing it's mention, she found it a little unbelievable.

"Then how did the Princess survive when the whole Kingdom was destroyed?" Florania was a small kingdom compared to Nevesray or the Lands of Visteria, but it was a prosperous one.

"Uncle was there at that time because of the marriage alliance."

"His health..." Esme understood everything without him continuing further. Did Duke Maverick become like this because he saved Duchess Flora at that time?

"Yes. He was one of the most powerful warriors of Visteria, having attained Level four at that time."

The magical powers in the Royals were divided into four categories. Yellow for level one, Orange for level two, Red for level three, and purple for level four.

Esme was stunned. Back in those years, even her Aunt was at level three of her magical powers and she was hailed as one of the greatest talents in Visteria.

Duke Maverick should be somewhere in his early thirties now so attaining Level four at that time, the purple magic was indeed extraordinary. "He risked everything for her?" She softly asked.

Aleister nodded, "The opponent was strong and Uncle barely managed to help Duchess Flora to escape the Castle but he was reduced to this."

He was crippled and without asking Esme knew that his main nerve was severed and right now, he did not possess his powers. And his health also seemed to have been greatly impacted.

"You said it was a political marriage. Why would he risk everything for a woman he barely knows?" Duchess Flora was a great person but Esme thought that if she had been there in Duke Maverick's place, then she would not have done this. She might have found the thought of it ridiculous.

"I think initially it started a political marriage but they had affections for each other later," Aleister noticed her expressions and he leaned forward as he continued, "It was love that they speak of. When all a person cares about is the other person's well-being. What are your thoughts on it, Esme?" He placed a grape in his mouth.

"Oh, good," Esme never had affections for any man so she did not know what it was like neither was she curious.

As he heard her response, the grape in his mouth taste bitter for some reason.

Esme believed that she was not as brave and admirable as Duke Maverick. She had this one life that she loved dearly. Why would she risk it for any man?

"What do you mean by you think? Didn't you know what transpired back then?" She asked.

Aleister paused, "I was not here at that time."

"Where were you then?" Although she did not want to ask him anything about himself, but she could not hold back her curiosity about it anymore.

His gaze flashed.

Suddenly, her sharp ears perked up at the sound of the hurried footsteps outside the room. "Around six people are coming here..." She glanced at him.

Aleister did not doubt her words as at this moment, the rushed footsteps were approaching closer, stopping in front of his room, "Let them come then," He leaned back on the chair before looking at her hand, "Eat it?"

She looked at the grapes for a moment and then she glanced at his unfazed face, "Aren't you curious about who is visiting you?" She asked.

"Why would I be curious about something so dull when I have more interesting things to hold curiosity for?" He stared at her meaningfully. 

She tilted her head to the side, looking at him in confusion. 

Aleister raised his hand as he snapped his fingers.