Chapter 216 - Sharing The Burden - II

"I didn't think Adeline would catch up to my activities this soon. Maybe this is why she is the chosen one," Edwin smirked as he watched his quarter being ransacked by the Royal Guards.

Prince Edwin didn't try to fight back or create a scene and just let the guards do whatever they were ordered to do. Two of the guards were holding him captive in his private chamber while several other guards were searching for the hidden money.

But Lillian could not stay still when she heard the news about Edwin being under house arrest. She came running in her son's quarter and was causing a scene in front of the guards. She was giving an icy stare to the guards and was shouting at them, "I am ordering you all to stop this nonsense at once. You don't have the right to do anything until he is proven guilty."

She was behaving like a madwoman and was even openly threatening them, "Do not lay a finger on my son, or else I will sever that finger from your hand."

But the Guards were not there to listen to her. "We are sorry, Your Majesty, we cannot take your order. This was the order from His Majesty and we are just following His Majesty's orders."

Unable to persuade or threaten the guards, Lillian directed her anger towards her own son. She glared at Prince Edwin and yelled at him, "Why are you letting them do this to you? What has happened to you? Did you lose your manhood after returning from that damn test? You have been acting like a drowning dog ever since you returned from that test."

Edwin was not showing any reaction, he just sighed and averted his gaze away from his mother. He was not in the mood to argue with his mother because he knew that he would end up hurting her.

But Lillian grabbed him by his chin and made him look at her. And she shouted again, "Why aren't you speaking? Are you still in trauma because you didn't get selected as the future ruler? So what if you were not selected by some nameless Deity? Just rise to power and snatch what is yours. Do I have to teach that to you?"

Lillian's gaze became a little softer seeing the indifference in her son's face. She held his face with both of her palms and whispered softly, "You have your maternal uncles back at Frostford. Just ask for their help and they will help you with anything. They can even declare war on your behalf if you want to."

Edwin has had enough of his mother's nagging and he abruptly slapped his mother's hands away from his face. He towered over his mother with burning eyes and shouted at her, "Why do you always teach me such things? Since I was a kid, you filled my heart with hatred and hunger for power. And I kept on following you blindly."

He clenched his fists and added, "But you know what happened in the test, mother? That very nameless Deity cursed your son. My fate is now bound to Adeline's. If I even think something bad about Adeline, my heart starts to give out."

"And that same Deity has clearly said that if I even think about betraying Adeline, I will die on the spot. And I am not ready to die, not yet. I thought dying was better than living in Adeline's shadow but I just could not give up on my life, not until I redeem myself." Edwin had this determination on his face when he said that. It looked like for the past five days, he had been pondering upon this very issue.

Lillian's eyes widened when she heard that the Deity had cursed her son. And she felt a stinging pain in her heart when Edwin said that he had been thinking about ending his life for the past few days.

"You made me think that even crime as serious as murder is not even a big deal." He chuckled like a mad man and continued, "But turns out killing people is bad, mother. And Hell really does exist. I saw it with my own eyes. And I do not want to go to that place after my death. I want to purify my soul before I die."

Lillian felt a pinch in her heart hearing her son's hateful words. She glanced at her son with moist eyes and tried to say something but her trembling lips didn't allow her to say much, "Edwin… I…"

She tried to caress her son's face but Edwin gestured her to stop. "Please, mother, just leave me alone. You have done enough for me already. Just do me a favor and don't kill any more people for me. I don't want to share the burden of your sin."

Lillian didn't say anything more. She turned on her heels and left her son's quarter. Her whole body began to tremble with anger and pain. She was angry towards the Deity for cursing her son and she was in pain because her beloved son spoke against her for the very first time.

And she had the sinister idea in her mind, "Now there is one more reason to kill that woman's love child. If my son's fate is bound to that love child then I will eliminate her. If she isn't even alive then how will Edwin's fate be bound to her?"

She had a crooked smile as she headed towards her quarter.

While playing the blame game, Edwin forgot to tell his mother the main part of the curse. If Adeline was to die, whatever the reason or whoever the perpetrator, then he would also die.

If he had known that his mother had tried countless times to kill Adeline in the past, then he would have made sure to ask her not to touch Adeline. He knew that his mother disliked Adeline, which was the reason why he also started to hate her.

But unfortunately, he did not know that his mother's hatred towards Adeline was that deep-rooted that she would not think twice before making an attempt to kill her. If not for Theodore's protection, then she would have died when she was a toddler.

Lillian went to her private chamber and began to brainstorm the ways to kill Adeline. She mumbled as she paced back and forth in her room, "That brat is a peculiar breed. No poison can harm her and my magic can't even touch her, no matter how strong it is."

She sat down on her bed and sighed, "Maybe I should have used the summoning spell on both father and daughter when I had the chance. Dark grade oak ashes are hard to come by. The oak tree should at least be a thousand years old for it to be able to contain the dark creatures."

She gritted her teeth and slammed her fist on her thigh. And she scorned, "But those damn trees barely live that long."

"I will keep on searching the oak ash. In the meantime, I will need some other plan."

After a while, her eyes twinkled as a plan formed in her mind.. "That will be perfect!" And she cackled as softly as she could but still ended up scaring a few maids and servants of her quarter.