00:, Before reading this chapter, to avoid slight confusion for those who may have forgotten, check chapter 26 of this book and you can as well read the previous chapters.
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Melina who had been sent to clean up the event hall arrived there with her tools handy. Without further ado, she got to her work and began cleaning.
As usual, it was hectic but she had gained resistance to stress now and it didn't matter anymore.
She continued cleaning until she got to the alley where she had almost gone lost before.
She paused for a moment, flashbacks of what happened the last time she was here appeared but she didn't think much of it and decided to continue her work.
However, as she kept going, she heard a noise similar to what she heard the last time.
It was like a roar, an agonising roar that shattered her heart but this time, it was oddly drawing her in.
She paused for a moment with her mob still in her hand, wondering what to do amidst her situation.
Not wanting trouble as she was intent on not facing Carlos' wrath, she continued her work, slowly trying to move away from the alley but her efforts were futile.
Was it normal to hear this noise or was she perhaps the only one who could hear it? She asked herself as the noise continued.
It sounded too obvious that there was something in there,like a siren that seemed to be pulling her in, only this time around it was not singing.
It was roaring.
Gently, she dropped the mob she was holding to the ground and slowly crept into the alley, wanting to know where the sound was coming from.
Unlike the last time, the alley was brighter for her to see where she was going.
Although nervous, she was still willing to know what it was that lurked down there.
When she got to a point, she saw a spiral staircase leading down endlessly to whatever thing was down there.
Melina grew petrified seeing the staircase as she never imagined there would ever be anything as strange as this in this palace.
She was aware the palace had dungeons and secret passages that was known only to the royal family but this was different.
It was like a hollow and she remembered the last time she was here, she has seen something like a hollow stationed on the walls.
As creepy as it all looked, Melina's curiosity didnt let her think properly.
It was as if whatever was there needed her help and weighing the options, she didn't want Ms Carlos to know she had once again deviated from her chore but there was always a side of her that invited the trouble.
She looked behind her for a brief moment, wanting to make sure no one saw her before stepping on the cold stairs that appeared dusty like they had not been cleaned for years.
The rails held dust and cobwebs and it made her almost yelp when one of the cobwebs clung to her.
Even as irritating as it was, that didn't stop her from proceeding.
She continued going down the stairs while the sound kept growing until she reached the end.
By the time she reached the end, her head had began to spiral like a tunnel, threatening to make her pass out from exhaustion, her body all sweaty.
When she lightly got her herself, she carefully wiped the sweat on her face with her uniform, only to be met with a flat wall, white as snow with no stain of dust on it when she could finally see clearly.
That was strange. Why would the places leading up here be so dusty but the wall itself held no bit of stain? Her eyes narrowed while staring at the blank space.
Suddenly, caught in the darkness that surrounded her as she had already gone deep into the stair, she slightly started panicking, not knowing what to do.
She noticed how the growling sound had intensified as if it was eager to see her.
What could be laying in there?
She walked closer to the wall and brought her hand forward to touch it which turned out to be her biggest mistake.
The white silverish wall she touched suddenly repelled her immediately, throwing her across the small space she had given with the stairs for her back to hit the iron baluster of the stairway.
Her screech echoed through the whole tunnel, finally collapsing her on the stairs as she lay there unconscious while the white wall she touched slowly began to drop like it was an illusion that she had broken with her hands, exposing a deep large cave that held something heinous.
...
K-king Albert..." Alice said with a mixture of surprise and shock, "I didn't mean to intrude on your privacy, forgive me." She slightly bowed with grace, though Albert could see the sweat that pulled from her forehead.
"Look what lovely surprise I have here." Albert walked closer to her with a charming smile plastered on his face and he immediately grabbed a hold of her slender hands in his before kissing her knuckles, making her blush.
"I had intentions to come visit you but it seems you were already eager to see me as well." Albert said and saw how Alice's eyes narrowed in slight confusion.
King Albert wanted to see her?
She cleared her throat vehemently, not knowing what to reply him in this state as she had invaded his room.
"I apologize for my rudeness-" she tried to say when he interrupted her.
"Its alright. You dont mind us going to the gazebo for a drink, do you?" He asked her and Alice froze, not knowing what to reply.
"Yes?" He spoke again and Alice knew not to reject a king, an ally at that.
"Er...I have no problem with that, your majesty." She awkwardly replied, taken aback by his request but not also forgetting the fact that he had not even bothered to ask what had made her run into his room uninvited.
Perhaps he didn't care? Or he already knew? Her heart skipped a beat in slight embarrassment at the thought of him knowing a noble lady like her, a princess even had been indulging in such novels that held uncanny things.
It would be so shameful and her heart squeezed at the thought.
Alice stared briefly at him in curiousity, wondering why he didn't ask her any question as to why she was here unexpectedly.
Albert, however, didn't bother even when he could feel her gaze on him and simply opened the door wide enough for both of them to step out.
"Shall we?" He placed his hand forth for her to come out and she shyly raised the hem of her dress to create space for her legs to pass before placing her hands on his for him to pull her out while he closed the door.
"Thank you." Her small feminine voice spoke and she saw Albert smile seductively at her.
"We have a lot of catching up to do, you know," his voice was oddly low like it had a sinister meaning behind it and it made Alice flush red, some memories from long ago flooding back in her mind without warning.
Meanwhile her eyes scanned the environment quickly, checking if Matthew was still lurking somewhere to avoid encountering him again.
Albert smirked wickedly seeing her flustered reaction as if he had intended for it to be so.
Without wasting time, he grabbed her hand suddenly and began to pull her to the gazebo that stood not too far away from them.