Chereads / A Veil of Deception / Chapter 28 - An open challenge?

Chapter 28 - An open challenge?

The next few days were busy in the Darkfrost royal palace. Everyone was busy preparing for the coronation which had been pushed one day ahead, because four days was just not enough.

Although Adeline didn't get any information about the Kingdom from Nora and Jasmine because they were busy reminiscing the past, she tried her best to search for history books in the library and the small bookshelf in her room, but she got nothing.

It was a very normal thing to have some history books regarding a kingdom hidden away because some were gruesome stories of murders and tyranny, but it wasn't possible to not have even one. She had tried inquiring with Katherine on the matter, but the latter had given her a simple response and brushed off the topic like it wasn't an issue at all.

"Maybe they were misplaced," was her answer, but that only piqued Adeline's suspicion. So far, there was nothing strange about the Lowell family, well apart from the relationship between Sylvan and Solanine which she had been investigating for the past few days and came to a conclusion that Solanine was his mistress. It was hard not to think that way, but she still felt like she needed a confirmation.

Apart from that, she found nothing ekse strange. King Roderick was kind and not just pretending or putting up a front. There was no bad blood between the royal family and other nobles from what she had gathered. But there was still this lingering feeling that something was wrong somewhere.

Whether it was in her marriage or the whole family in particular, that was hard to tell, but she couldn't dispel the thoughts that there was some hidden mystery within the palace walls.

It was like behind this perfect image of a perfectly normal family, there were some loopholes. Like the missing books about the history of the kingdom and the royal family. That was the strangest thing to Adeline. How did they even teach history without referring to books for such important information? The Lowell family had no forefathers? Because from what she knew, it had always been Roderick and Sylvan. But how was that possible?

The other thing that didn't add up was the missing paintings of Sylvan and his mother, which no one seemed to talk about. Or the paintings of other aristocrats that had not been mentioned by anyone, and weren't present as well. Did they die or what?

But amidst all the disturbing thoughts and the mysteries, Adeline was far too excited fir the coronation. Not because she would be crowned first princess of the Darkfrost Kingdom, but because she would finally see her family.

She hadn't written to them and neither did they, but she just wanted to see them and hug them and talk with them. It was the only thing she could think about.

Also within those four days, she had intended to ask Sylvan about their marriage but just didn't get the chance. There was never a moment when they would be alone. Wherever they met, the others were always present, and if they weren't, Solanine was always around.

By now, Adeline had already gotten used to seeing her around, so even when she was taking quick history lessons from Katherine, she wasn't surprised to see her.

"Solanine," called Katherine with the usual forced smiles. "I presume you know everything there is to history so what are you doing here?"

They were in the library, a certain corner where Adeline had looked and still found nothing.

Solanine was standing at the door where Katherine's words had stopped her and she gave her an empty smile, which didn't quite reach her eyes, something Adeline had noticed people here did often.

"Of course I'm not here to learn from you," answered Solanine in a mocking drawl and Katherine scoffed. "I just came to inform Adeline…" she paused, staring straight into Adeline's eyes, as if letting her know she did that on purpose.

Adeline's brows arched up and she stared back with an incredulous look on her face. Was that an open challenge or a provocation?

"... That the King wants to speak with you after your lessons," she said, a little smirk on her lips.

Adeline didn't respond for a few seconds, just wondering what was up with this woman. Until now, Solanine had been nothing but respectful to her. Even though she would catch a contemptuous look in her eyes more than once, she had never said or showed anything to openly challenge her or disrespect her.

As if satisfied with Adeline's speechlessness, Solanine's smirk stretched further up and she gave a little bow then waltzed out of the room, the skirt of her dress sweeping the floor behind her.

"Did I just imagine that?" She mumbled under her breath, her eyes turning to Katherine with her eyebrows still furrowed.

Katherine just shrugged, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"As I was saying, you're taking this too seriously. It's not like anyone is going to jump at you with questions about the history of Darkfrost or the Lowell's reign," said Katherine as she rummaged through a pile of books placed inside a wooden box.

"It's not uncommon for a new bride to not know anything about her family. And besides, not many people know anything about this family," she added, putting back the previous box and going to the next.

"I know that, and that is one of the reasons I want to know thesw things. And besides, I'm now part of this family so isn't it the most normal thing for me to be curious," countered Adeline, immitating Katherine's tone.

Katherine looked at her with a bored expression, shaking her head as she pulled a cover-less book. She flipped through the first pages then pulled a piece of torn paper between the pages, folded it carefully without letting Adeline have a glimpse then closed the book and handed it to Adeline.

"What is that?" Adeline asked, curiosity evident in her eyes as she took the book.

Instead of answering the question, Katherine walked around her and said without turning back. "As you know, I'm a very busy person so I won't have time to give you boring history lessons. There's is… everything you need to know about whatever you're looking for. But remember, it's not that serious. You don't have to know everything before the day of the coronation, okay?"

Adeline nodded with her lips pressed together, her eyes still glued to Katherine's hand where the folded paper was.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace, Sylvan and Roderick walked into the King's study that was connected to the King's chambers.

Roderick was quick to take off the cravat around his neck, throwing on the couch opposite his desk. "Walking around with this thing is so annoying," he complained and Sylvan chuckled behind him, silently agreeing with him.

Roderick then took off his coat, hung it on the coat hanger and sat on the chair behind the enormous desk. Sylvan followed suit by discarding his coat amd sitting opposite his father on one of the chairs against the desk.

"How's is going with the missing bodies?" Roderick asked as he pulled open a drawer and took some parchments.

"We took care of it. I think the marquesse of that area still suspects something," replied Sylvan.

The day Adeline had seen them riding away with Solanine, they had gone to take care of the matter because Roderick was busy and he didn't have any one else he could trust. There was a certain town in Hawksley, the closest duchy to the royal palace, where there had been complaints about missing bodies from the commoners.

It started with one body discovered in the woods with animal bites and claw marks, then followed missing people but soon they discovered that whatever it was that was killing people was taking their bodies.

"You want the details?" Sylvan asked when he saw his father's eyebrows furrow deeply.

Roderick was quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought, then dismissively waved a hand. "No. Just make sure it doesn't get out of hand," he responded casually.

After that the topic shifted to the coronation, where none of them seemed excited about the event, but according to Roderick, it was a necessity and they had to do it.

"I still don't understand your point honestly," remarked Sylvan, placing a hand on the desk and tapping his fingers on it gently. "Even Faulkner thinks it's an overdo. Why do we need all that attention on us?"

"Not on us, on her. She needs the attention so we need to give her as much recognition as possible," Roderick stressed out, enunciating every word to make sure it got through Sylvan's head. But Sylvan was still unconvinced and his dark eyes said it all.

"She's your wife Sylvan. Everyone that is watching us needs to know that you got married to a human and that she's important!" Roderick half-yelled, getting annoyed with repeating the same thing again and again. There was not a day that went by without Sylvan complaining, and him reminding them how important his marriage was.

"So? It's not like I was planning on marrying Solanine anyway," Sylvan retorted, and Roderick's eyebrows shot up, his lips quirking up and his head tilting towards the door.

Sylvan's eyebrows knitted together and he followed Roderick's gaze, only to find Solanine standing at the door, her hand holding the doorknob.