Aww, my little…(22)
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Aristine’s hair, which had been swirling like the wind, began to settle down. At the same time, the golden hue which had entangled her silver locks began to recede, like it was fading away.
Her eyes, which had been a bright green, now only reflected a violet light.
Tarkan felt his aura, which was connected to Aristine, become quiet again.
“Rineh.”
Aristine took slow, deep breaths to calm herself.
‘I never thought he’d join hands with the queen to target brother Launelian.’
The rims of her eye quivered.
She never could have imagined that something as horrid as a shadow curse was placed on young Launelian.
The agony and the torment must have been impossible to bear.
But Launelian had never shown any sign of resentment toward her.
He always tried to protect Aristine. Even if that was the reason he was cursed.
‘Now, it is my turn to protect you, Brother.’
It was obvious what Alpheus and Letanasia were planning.
‘If Brother Launelian dies, chaos is bound to ensue.’
And that would be the perfect time to capitalize on the chaos.
‘Because it will take some time for the news to reach me in Irugo and also even longer for me to reach Silvanus and take control of the situation.’
Even with a contingency plan for unexpected accidents, physical action was bound to take time.
‘And buying that time is more than enough.’
The cooperation of the queen was probably what made it possible.
‘I did think the Skiela Duchy was being too quiet, but I assumed they were laying low because of the public is against them.’
But to think they were busy making contact with Letanasia and pulling Alpheus into the fold.
‘This is the queen’s last card so she’s throwing everything in.’
This was different from getting caught causing a scandal.
If she failed this time, she would lose everything. The Skiela Ducal House would be disgraced.
Aristine’s head spun.
‘First, I must inform brother Launelian…’
Inform him and then what?
Silvanus was currently undergoing a change in regime.
Even worse, Aristine, the rightful heir to the throne, was not in Silvanus.
The throne was empty.
And it was unclear if Aristine, the rightful heir, would ever take the throne.
She herself has stated that she has no intention of becoming Emperor.
In this situation, why wouldn’t someone covet that empty seat? The closer you are to power, and the closer you are to having it, the greedier you become for more power.
‘Perhaps brother Launelian foresaw an assassination coming long before I did.’
He knew Silvanus’s political arena far better than she did. Naturally, he would be fully prepared.
However, this wasn’t something he could stop.
‘A shadow curse cannot be undone.’
That made it even more dire and horrifying.
An undoable curse that impaled its target with a blade of death.
Cursed letters flowed from the blade soaked in the victim’s blood, constricting the impaled body. And the curse’s deadly blood-soaked texts resisted the healing of a priest.
In other words, the wounds from the shadow curse could never be healed.
Everything seemed to scream that Launelian’s death could not be prevented.
However.
‘There is a way.’
Aristine’s eyes shone with determination.
‘The moment the curse is cast, I must shield brother from the shadow blade.’
If the target does not bleed, the cursed letters will naturally not flow.
However, that was impossible.
How do you block a blade that bursts out of a shadow without any sign?
Even worse, since it jumps out of Launelian’s shadow, the distance is incredibly short.
There was barely enough time to even react instinctively.
And yet Aristine’s eyes remained bright.
‘If it’s Khan, it’s possible.’
Aristine believed in her husband.
She turned her head to look at Tarkan. Her lips curved. However, no words came out, instead they lingered in her mouth.
“Rineh.”
Tarkan took Aristine’s hand in his own. He stroked her hand slowly as if reassuring her.
Only then did Aristine realize that he was looking at her with worry.
Not just Tarkan, but Nephther as well.
However, neither of them tried to press her; they were just waiting for her.
Aristine bit her lip.
For some reason, her heart was pounding in her chest.
She could tell Tarkan. But she couldn’t tell Nephther.
Under normal circumstances, she would have thought so.
She would have thought that she couldn’t tell the King of Irugo of a crisis in Silvanus, which her brother was currently purging in her stead.
‘But.’
Aristine looked at Nephther, who was clutching the silk box and making a face that said she could tell him anything.
The cloak wrapped around her body was warm.
Even after giving her so much, he wanted to give her more, so he was holding something else in his hand.
‘His Majesty…if it’s father, it will be okay.’
The same way it was okay with Tarkan because he was her husband rather than the prince of Irugo.
Nephther was also her family, rather than the king of Irugo.
He was more of a father to her than her biological father, Alpheus.
“Khan…”
“Yes, Rineh.”
Hearing her soft call, Tarkan squeezed her hand. Like he was telling her ‘I am here’.
“Please go and save my brother.”
* * *
Tarkan’s face hardened at those words.
Ever since Aristine started looking at that water surface like she was going to cry, he knew something was going on. But what in the world was going to happen to Launelian?
“Okay. I will save him no matter what.”
Tarkan cupped Aristine’s cheek.
“So don’t make that face.”
His golden eyes were filled with Aristine. His gaze was as bright as the sun.
Hearing Tarkan promise to save him, Aristine began to feel relieved.
However, she couldn’t end things there.
The fact that Alpheus had the queen’s help meant that military activity should be expected.
Aristine turned her head and faced Nephther.
His expression was somewhat sulky. But the moment Aristine turned to him, he seemed revitalized.
“Yes, you can tell me anything. I am all ears.”
Nephther spoke before Aristine could even open her mouth.
Could it be, he was sulking because she ignored him and asked Tarkan first?
Aristine brushed that useless thought aside.
Instead, she took a deep breath, finalized her decision, and opened her mouth.
“Please, I need you to help my brother.”
‘Believe in him.’
“Father.”
Because he was not just the king of Irugo, he was like a father to her.
‘Father’.
At those words, Nephther’s face went blank.
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Siii…por fin… muchas gracias…
Ohhhh I’m so excited for the next chapter!!! Thank you for the update miss ruby☺ I hope your recovering fast and well 🤗
I hope your surgery went well and you have a swift recovery!
Thank you very much for the chapters!
It went well! I am super recovered now
Thank you so much, Miss Ruby, for the updates. I hope you’re recovering and resting well.
I have a lot to say about these chapters. First, it’s surprising but fitting that Aristine would be able to control her Monarch’s Sight with the help of Tarkan’s aura. If he is like the flowers that stabilize her condition and their baby while she’s pregnant, it also makes sense that his power could stabilize her power. I love our power couple.
Secondly, I’m once again disgusted by Alpheus and Latensia (or whatever their names are) that they would do such horrible things as if it was a given. He had cursed his son with the worst kind of curse because he was annoyed. She’s joining hands with a foreign disposed monarch to kill her half-brother for her own greed. The two of them might have been stripped of their power and influence, but they’re left alive despite all their crimes. Yet they’re scheming to kill the people who spared their life for power they don’t deserve.
Thirdly, I’m not even surprised by the malice of the queen and her family. This goes beyond doing things for political gain. It’s nothing but pure malice. I don’t even see how this could work out for them in a positive unless they’re also hoping to overthrow Nephther and create a civil war, while getting help from Silvanus to do so. I wouldn’t put it past them to do this solely to cause Aristine pain, but I also don’t put treason past them.
Whatever’s the case, I feel like things are coming to a head. Maybe it’s because by the end of this, all the protagonists’ enemies will be thoroughly taken care of, it feels like this might be the last arc of the story.
Okay, she actually called him father! This is so sweet.