It has not been long since things started to go in my favor. It was a few months ago when I found myself in a dead-end position and terrified of what would happen next. I was cornered, desperate for the help of Raphael who was ignoring me. And then a hand came out of nowhere and I grabbed it.
"Such a little girl and still so wild. It makes me feel bad when I see that such a young life carries such great pain in itself. When I saw you explode in rage, I remembered myself when I was young. It made me take you with me and maybe together you will learn more and have more opportunities to do as you please, that way maybe you can help me too."
"Sir, I'm sorry to break this to you, but I'm not ready to help a stranger. Even if you are the person who got me out of trouble a moment ago, I have no reason to help someone who doesn't even dare to tell me his name."
Knowing very well that one day it could bring me trouble, it was still much better than letting everything end at that moment. The person who called himself my savior seemed to have no interest in what I had suffered even though he wanted to empathize with me. He knew what he wanted when he talked about what he saw, and the pain he was talking about was just something that would make me sympathize with him. It was a disturbing sign that this person wanted to do something with my hatred, but it was a good thing if that person wanted me to help him.
"Such an old-fashioned tick, but I get it. You want me to help you when the time comes and you will need extra protection. Since you saved me, I will help you with whatever is needed to be done, but I also have my own conditions. First, I don't want to be a soldier or a servant, it would be nice if your enemies would not have the idea of this pact. Second, I have two people who I want to come with me, my sister and my friend, but they don't need to do anything. And last but not least, I will not do anything if it doesn't benefit me first. If you meet these conditions, then I can give you more than just extra protection! I could be the one you need in difficult times. I could give you information and something that would change your future for good."
I seriously didn't believe that he would accept my terms, after all I had no idea how desperate he was. He agreed, but on the condition that he would verify if the information I gave him was correct. But even if he searched, it didn't mean that he would find the truth, as long as no one knew the reason for starting the war either way.
The secret that made his grace prove my words, and give me what I wanted, was in the engagement of the first prince Alastair Viotto Aleader with the princess Adelaide Cressida vi Uphoria of the kingdom of Iphoria.
A princess who was full of herself, for her looks and elegance. The reason for her twisted character could be because of what others had made her believe. That she was the most beautiful girl, with milky skin and golden hair, crystal blue eyes and perfect red lips.
Even if, those people were or were not lying to her because of their own benefits, she took that for granted and didn't take it well when someone told her otherwise. She was a princess and also admired by everyone for her beauty, who wouldn't want to marry her? But to her surprise, she didn't receive any proposal and none of the young men approached her.
And of course, even her diplomatic relationship with the prince of another kingdom was not going well since Prince Alastair was sick of that relationship or maybe Adelaide herself. But even though he made it clear that he would never love her nor he would give Adelaide the attention that she sought from him, she still believed that his words meant otherwise and the reason he acted that way was only so that she shouldn't feel hurt later on when they were married, since he would also have to choose a queen and concubines.
So when Alastair broke off the engagement and demanded her not to write him anymore, it was a heavy blow to her. She couldn't believe it or didn't understand the reason that pushed Alastair, the only boy she had ever spoken to and that little by little even though she had never seen him, he had become the prince of her dreams, to behave in this kind of way with her. After all, she was the most beautiful girl he could ever have. But that didn't make Adelaide leave it at that. She left him two choices, either he would marry her, or he would have all the responsibility of creating a war between neighboring kingdoms. So Alastair chose war, humiliating Adelaide even more, who eventually lost the war.
"Wait! So are you saying that the war is going to start because of a little girl getting rejected by his highness? And not to mention, the fact that the first prince is going to sacrifice his soldiers because he didn't want to marry her."
His grace was confusing and he was trying to process the story I told him, of course I left out the parts where the story talked about Adelaide's character and her reasons for continuing a relationship with prince Alastair. Since I don't know her and would be even more unbelievable for him if I talked about Adelaide. I just said the basics like: marriage proposal, rejection, and the two options she would give the prince. And since his grace knew about the proposal already, it was easier for me to continue the explanation without getting interrupted.
'Still, is hard to believe that this whole war I tried to escape from and did all that work to take Mireya and Spencer off the battlefield, was only a quarrel between lovers. Even though I liked his highness Alastair's character in the novel, because he was mysterious and protective of his brother, but he sure doesn't have the slightest idea of how to use his words properly.'
"Raelian, it's hard to believe all this explanation that you gave me now, and I can only agree on one thing, that his highness did recite a marriage proposal, but it's not certain whether he will break it or not. I am going to order my butler to look into this, and we are going to talk again about the rest of the information that you wanted to tell me, but for now I'm going inside to rest. This day was really tiring! "
"Huh?! And what about the adoption documents, are we going to proceed with that or not? "
He looked at me strangely, surely he should have known that I had not come here just to tell that whole story and leave empty-handed, didn't he? Still, he sat down at the table again with a tired face and took my hand carefully. I didn't expect him to do that, since he never touched my hand after the day he helped me, but I noticed that he was not a threat to me in the way he was so I didn't think too much about it. And he continued patting the back of my hand with his eyes on it at the same time muttering to himself: "This, is a beautiful bracelet … we should remove it.", while I was looking at him, this time thinking that he was probably sleeping with his eyes open.
'Sight, this is tiring! I want to go inside and meet Mireya, and let his butler handle him.'
Still, he felt the move I made to remove my hand between his and immediately raised his head and asked as if he had just woken up with a confused look, looking around: "Raelian !?"
"Yes, your grace?"
After focusing on me, he patted the back of my hand one last time and then got up, he moved his chair to the side and waited for me to get up. He wasn't an old man, he should probably be at least in his thirties, but seeing him nearly desperate to take a nap made him look old and fragile. I got up from my seat and followed him from the side, trying to find something to keep my mind distracted. It was like I was on a walk with him, and it was awkward to think that maybe someone could see us taking a walk together.
'Some might think that we are doing well and it would be normal for two people who would soon become father and daughter, but what disturbs me is those who think differently.'
Walking deep in my thoughts, the voice of his grace Vinter brought me to reality.
"Raelian, about the adoption documents you talked about earlier. You and your sister are still young and so you don't need to attend or sign anything. I will send a letter to my lawyer as soon as I get back to the office and then the job is done."
'That easily? Isn't he supposed to see if his grace is capable of handling children and ask us if we want to be adopted or not? '
"I know why you are worried, but you don't have to. Since I took you two in, I agreed to your terms from the beginning. You both now just need to enjoy the time here and get ready for the party. It will be a big event where the most important people will attend, so you should be prepared and then take it slow."
We parted afterward and then I went to Mireyas room. Surely I was ready and prepared myself for what would come next, but him trying to be supportive made me happy.
'Maybe he is not a bad person after all!'