CH 291

The coronation of the new empress of the Sehar Empire couldn’t have been any more gorgeous and grander. Belice became the empress under the blessing of Celios the High Priest. Belice announced Duke Michen mui Roden as the fiancé of the Empress instead of the Prince Consort. It was Loyalterre who was the happiest at the news.

“Congratulations, big brother!”

“Loyalterre, thank you. Sit, I have something to say to you.” Loyalterre sat in the chair in his office, smiling happily.

“Soon, the documents regarding restoring your status will be ratified.”

“Many already say I’m a noble.”

“But official documentation is still important. It’s better to have it set in stone. I was worried about you training with Duke Skad, but ultimately it worked in your favour.”

As Duke Skad treated Loyalterre as a noble, she was slowly accepted by the other upper-class citizens. This allowed a clear path for her to become part of the Roden family tree.

“Loyalterre, listen carefully. Soon a war will be declared with the Boron Kingdom. Sir Skad will likely lead it. Which means you will not be able to train with Duke Skad any more. How would you feel about studying abroad? Even though Sehar is a vast empire, it’s times like this when you need a broader view of the world.”

“Really? Can I really study abroad?” Loyalterre said, extremely excited. “I’ll make you proud! Duke Skad told me ‘No matter how smart you are, you won’t know until you have actually experienced the world.’”

Michen had been worried that Loyalterre might have feelings for Alexcent. He had to be sure his worries were unfounded. “I’ll arrange everything for your trip. Funny, for some reason I thought you might have feelings for Sir Skad…”

“I did. I was severely rejected,” Loyalterre admitted. Michen choked on a sip of water. “It wasn’t long after I started going to the Duke’s place that I realized it, and I confessed to him. But, he rejected me. ‘Get lost’ he said.” Loyalterre glared, trying to reenact Alexcent’s expression. “I was scared to death at that moment.”

***

“Your Majesty, we received a message that we’re very close to victory.” Karune was reporting on the last battle with the Boron Kingdom.

“Of course. Sir Skad only brings victory,” Belice replied. “Prepare for travel. To show respect for those sacrificing their lives for the Empire, I wish to be there personally to witness the last battle.”

“There will be nothing better for the moral of the soldiers than your personal encouragement,” Karune agreed. “You honour these soldiers very much.” All of the other nobles agreed.

Several days later, Belice travelled to the battlefield with a contingent of palace soldiers. The battlefield was covered with a blanket of corpses. Alexcent stood amongst the dead, covered in blood that was not his own. Belice witnessed the demon that everyone said Alexcent was. And she realized then that it was because of her. She ordered this. She started to become faint as the knowledge of what she had done overtook her.

Belice remembered the promise she had made to her mother, that she would protect Alexcent. She had failed in that promise. She was determined now, not to ignore it anymore. She would devote her life to saving him from the pain. She would help him realize what love is. After the battle was done, Belice headed to the Tower of Silence to change her determination into a reality.

* * *

“Is Her Majesty in?” Michen asked Karune. Her day’s schedule had been completed, but she couldn’t be found anywhere.

“She went to the Tower of Silence,” Karune replied.

“Again? Hasn’t it been a few days?” Ever since the battles had stopped, Belice had been spending a lot of time in the Tower of Silence. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, except Belice was growing thinner and paler since she had started going to the tower.

Michen quickly walked to the lower depths of the Empress’ palace. He stood in front of the strange doorway that was the entrance to the tower and waited for Belice to come out.

Inside, Belice calmed herself, held her breath, closed her eyes, put her hands together, and focused. She prayed that she would find what she was looking for today, amongst the void.

Space-time crushed all reality inside her head, as she jumped from world to world. The pain was excruciating and caused her to waiver. Belice regained her senses and started concentrating again. She was using an immense amount of magic by separating her mind from her body. As she moved to each new world, she had to pour more of her strength in. It didn’t take long for her reserves to deplete once more. That was when her life started to be in danger. She had to go back.

‘I want to disappear. Like I don’t exist.’ The voice drifted through the void. Belice focused the last trickle of power to the place where she could sense the words originated from. And then she found her.

The door to the Tower of Silence slowly opened and Belice exited, stumbling as she walked through the doorway. Michen stood and ran to her. She looked worse than yesterday. There was a bit of blood on her lips.

“Your Majesty, you don’t look well. You come out looking half-dead every day from the Tower of Silence. I’m worried about your health.”

Belice looked up to Michen and smiled. “It’s all right now. I found her.” Then she collapsed to the floor.

Alexcent entered the palace later that night, after hearing the news, and went straight to Belice’s bedroom. But he turned around and left, as soon as he saw Michen standing at her bedside looking more worried than him.

Alexcent realized that he was no longer the one responsible for protecting her. He consoled himself by saying her happiness was all that mattered, and promptly left the palace. Finding it hard to leave, he looked back once to the light flickering in her bedroom window. He was relieved that she knew what love was and that she had someone to keep her safe. The thought invoked a wave of jealousy. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he turned away as he rode off into the dark, starless night.

3. The true meaning of love letters

There was no news of a child. Amethyst was relieved, as she didn’t feel ready to be a mother again, but at the same time she didn’t know why she was disappointed. Try as she might, she couldn’t hide her sadness. She would spend her days sitting by the window, staring blankly at the scenery.

Alexcent came by and carefully hugged Amethyst. “Ash,” he whispered in her ear.

“I’m all right,” she answered.

Amethyst caressed the large arm that was encasing her and smiled. Alexcent kissed her on the top of the head in an attempt to cheer her up. Amethyst closed her eyes. She needed to shake off this funk. She needed to let it go, both for herself and for Alec.