Chapter 155 - The Secrets of a Confessor

Alexander's words echoed in her mind when Alexa woke up in his body, in his bed, in Holstein. She was in shock.

She didn't know what was on the Second Prince's mind. 

She couldn't even say that she really knew him. 

Before, he didn't seem sad or angry about knowing they married him without his consent. In fact, Alexander had even confessed that he had taken the elixir in hopes of finding her wherever she was.

But then, today, Alexander stated that he wanted the marriage to end.

Helga was organizing things in the room and greeted him as the Prince sat on the bed,

"Good night, Your Highness! Today I prepared a light meal because the Sword master said that you are going out later."

'What is it? Does everyone want me to diet? ' but the Prince thanked her for the meal and sat down to eat. He was intrigued by Helga's statement, and asked,

"Helga, how is the castle today?"

"The new princess is angry. One of her chaperones is missing. Two neighborhoods in the city are locked because of the plague."

"And my dad?"

"Oh, I'm too low to know anything about Your Majesty."

The Prince looked at her with suspicious eyes and then tilted his head to one side with a beautiful angelic smile. Helga smiled shyly, scolding him,

"Your Highness! I only know that he received a messenger from the capital, and also that he met with the Bishop and some religious who came from outside."

"It is already more than I could know here while sleeping, Helga. What about my wife's funeral, which Lady Cordelia, I mean, Princess Cordelia, staged?"

"The nobles are confused. Many think Princess Alexa has run away, other people simply say that she's with Your Highness in the house that your father gave you in Ashgraufelsen," explained the nanny.

"Hmmm," the Prince mumbled, while all his ideas of what to do ran up against the fact that Alexander had asked Alexa, moments ago, to cancel the wedding. 

Would it make any sense to argue that she, Alexa, was living happily at the Manor in Ashgraufelsen, if when Alexander returned, they would no longer be husband and wife?

"There are also rumors that the Princess's mother offered a reward to any servant who knows of the whereabouts of Her Highness, the Princess. Although, of course, it's only a rumor ..." Helga shrugged as she made the prince's bed.

"And what else?" he wasn't surprised that even Cordelia's unbearable mother was a dangerous piece on this chessboard.

"And finally, ghosts are restless today. A mirror was broken, a horse was startled and almost hurt one of the pages of the sovereign Prince, and as I heard, there was even a small fire in the Italian wing."

Helga spoke that matter-of-factly, as if reading a laundry list, but deep in her voice, there was some concern.

"Do you think things are worse or better than they were before, Helga? I mean… In previous years?"

The question took her by surprise and caused the middle-aged lady to stop what she was doing to look at the young prince.

"Well, Your Highness, I had left the castle in the past few years, as you know, and I just returned now because Your Majesty specifically asked for me. So all I can say is from the years I was here. When you were a baby and during the years I was one of your babysitters."

"The favorite one!" Alexa had no doubt of that.

"Your Highness is being nice to me. In the years I was here, their presence was much worse, and they were at the same time fighting and competing in evil, right? In the beginning, you were never safe, so we often had to go to the house on the cliff. I suppose you remember little now, as you were just a child and so much has happened in those years. But Your Highness knows that things have changed after your brother ..." Helga's voice trailed off, as if she just implied something unpleasant to talk about, and that they both knew. Well, she and Alexander did, but Alexa knew nothing. Even if itching with curiosity, the princess could not ask what happened,

"Yes. It's true. Everything has changed. But my question is, compared to the latest events. The things that have been going on since Princess Cordelia's party came."

"In fact… I don't know. There's something different now. It's as if…" Helga grabbed the air as if trying to catch something elusive, as she struggled to express her feelings, "It's as if there's no balance anymore. Before it was as if the house had two mistresses always fighting ... And now ... it's as if suddenly, there was only one. There's a certain order ... But it's neither more pleasant nor better at all."

Helga's comment coincided with Balbo's arrival.

By the stains of water and mud on his boots, he had just arrived at the palace.

After greeting them, he said seriously,

"Bastien died today, and his wife died yesterday. I went to take their child to an aunt, in the countryside."

Alexa was shocked, because she knew that all the people who were directly involved with the Second Prince were of the utmost confidence. Although she didn't have as much contact with Bastien as she did with Balbo, she imagined that he was special to Alexander for some reason. In addition, the plague was looming over the city.

Thinking about that, Alexa recalled the day of the bonfire in the main square of Holstein, and everything that happened that day.

Everyone used to blame human sins for that kind of plague, and that it was impossible for it to be true in all cases.

But it wasn't unlikely that the plague over Holstein wasn't entirely natural.

She now had a notion that Holstein's witches were a very special and powerful type of witches. 

At that moment, the Prince turned to his maid,

"Helga, please rest and eat well. And stay away from the Flemish court, even the maids. Nobody is trustworthy and I don't want you to fall off the stairs again, or anything bad happening to you."

"I have experience with evil ghosts. I'll know how to take care of humans too," stubbornly rebuffed the gray-haired maid.

As soon as Helga left, Balbo said,

"A di Borghesi told me where Father Agnello is. It's a little far, but I think we can go and come back tonight, if Your Highness wishes to pay him a visit, of course."

Alexa needed to know how her poor tutor was, and nodded. 

Within minutes, they were on the road, in the dark, cold night, heading south towards a monastery near a small town on the border. 

During the ride, Lex discovered that the group of Dominicans was in fact part of the Holy Office, and that the captured witch was brought to them by Narses. As for Mr. K. and his friends, Balbo had no news, but he imagined that Lady Duvignes was in the castle as usual.

"Don't you think we're being followed?" Alexa asked, after a few minutes of restlessness feeling observed from a distance, almost as if a Shade hid in the shadows. But they were out in the open.

"Yes, I have this feeling too, Your Highness," Balbo admitted, without turning around. "If not a pack of wolves, it's a highly skilled person…"

"You're kidding, aren't you? We are not going to meet wolves!" Alexa wished the warrior was just kidding her, and she was right. Balbo laughed,

"We don't want to meet wolves anytime soon in the spring, even though it was early. But I think it isn't the case here. Our hunter may be a unique kind of wolf ... who was waiting for his prey to come out of the den."

"Do you mean ... me?"

"To be honest, Your Highness, I was a little disappointed in your brother. Or maybe I just don't understand what his plans are."

"I am also confused, Balbo. I don't know what he's doing with the Inquisition, but I'm happy that he's alive and well! "

"So it won't be a problem for him to follow us ... I suppose."

Alexa fell silent, thinking all this would be easily clarified if she could talk to Narses in the open. But she dared not challenge Prince Gutard and play with Balbo's life.

'Forgive me, my dear brother! Soon we can be together and laugh at it all together!' she thought with fondness and an enormous sense of guilt.

Soon they saw the stone facade of the huge monastery, perched in the hill. They were received and taken immediately to see Father Agnello.

Alexa felt her heart squeeze and the tears come to her eyes when entering the small monastic cell and smell the infection barely disguised by the herbs. His eyes were swollen and she cringed at the purple and yellow spots on his face. And as for the body, almost all bandaged, little could be seen.

Lex impetuously kneeled beside the bed, holding his hand,

"Please be well soon, Blue Eyes!"

Frowning before opening his eyes, the priest said with a resigned sigh,

"Ah, the voice of Prince Alexander ... but the idiocy of the Greek little pest."

"It's good to see you too, Father."

"Hm. Balbo…?"

"Yes, father?"

"Pull His Highness's ear for me."

"Of course, it will be an honor," The warrior approached the second Prince to fulfill the request quickly and accurately.

"Hm? Ouch! Balbo?!" Lex rubbed his ear, incredulous that it had happened.

"Who said you can expose yourself to this type of danger with your husband's body?" Blue Eyes spoke weakly, justifying the punishment.

"You'll be fine soon, and you can do it yourself… Besides, for a warrior,… it didn't even hurt that much. Balbo has no practice," Alexa teased, trying to cheer up the priest.

It took a faint smile from Blue Eyes' swollen lips,

"Hm, though, in case I die ... You need to know something."