The Royal Revenge
Chapter 191: His Woes

Chapter 191: His Woes

Elys had believed she returned to her own chambers before she woke up to the reality that Aleksander had actually tricked her. In a sense she agreed that what he did was only to save face from those that still doesn’t trust them, but Elys still ended up running away.

What was she so afraid of?

Was it because she was scared to bare herself naked in front of a man she didn’t exactly love? Then again, didn’t she already convince herself that she was going to make him fall head over heels in love with her?

She didn’t make sense, even to herself.

The young queen bit the bottom of her lips, and Aleksander paced towards the bed. He sat beside her, keeping a bit of distance as he gently reached out to tuck a lock of hair away from his wife’s face.

"Look, I am not going to force myself into you," he whispered softly to her, "I respect the boundaries that you want to build between us. I apologize for playing a bit a while ago, I only wanted to make the others to believe the alibis that I made on a whim."

Elys sighed deeply, and her eyes turned towards her husband. They were scalding to say the least, but Aleksander held her gaze to let her understand his side, and to also make her feel his sincerity.

"Fine," Elys grunted after a while, "I accept your apology, husband."

There was somewhat a defeated tone in her voice with the last sentence, but Aleksander decided it was better to discuss their feelings further when they were left alone together.

The young king stood up from the bed, reached out a hand towards Elys and said, "Here, let me help you up."

A smile slowly crept at the corners of Aleksander’s mouth, a toothy grin exposing itself as he tried to show Elys his friendly and gentle side. The young queen internally rolled her eyes, but eventually reached for Aleksander’s hand.

With a swift pull, the vampire effortlessly helped Elys up and out of bed, and then towards their loyal servants. Elys noted Cordelia held the dress she had previously worn, and somehow felt safe knowing it was actually the old woman who helped her change.

’Thank you,’ she mouthed towards the maidservant.

Cordelia’s smile reached up to her wrinkled eyes, and the old woman replied a nonverbal acknowledgement and your welcome.

"Well then, please proceed with whatever you were about to say, Henry," the young king said.

Elys folded her arms in front of her and tried to listen in. Whatever it was that Henry was about to say in the privacy of her and Aleksander’s shared chambers would most definitely be important.

The old man took out the familiar broken glass vial she had handed him over earlier. recognition dawned on Elys and her eyes suddenly sparkled with both excitement and dread.

What was Henry about to say regarding the item she had asked him to identify? Elys could only pray earnestly that it would be something positive. Hopefully, it would give them a clear clue where they should be going with their plans next.

The old man cleared his throat, and then began speaking.

"So this morning I have taken the liberty of calling in an acquaintance who specializes in a lot of sorts of things," Henry said. "He casted a spell on the glass, and we found out that its origin truly came from the Eastern Kingdom."

Elys bit her bottom lip and Aleksander’s teeth ground. They knew what it meant when things like this happen.

The young king had been right - they might end up preparing for a war soon.

"That bastard Sir Noa!" Aleksander hissed with the mention of the Eastern Kingdom’s youngest adviser to the Queen.

"Now calm down, my king," Elys tried to appease him with a gentle rub on his shoulder, "I am sure we can get through with this. We always found ways to."

The young king was still furious that their hunch turned out to be incredibly close to the truth. But then Elys’ touch somehow brought him comfort.

It was wonderful knowing someone has your back.

"What else do you have for us, Henry?" Elys prodded the loyal attendant to go further with his report.

She understood there must be more to the glass vial than just something brought from the East. The glowing liquid stain on the glass when she first saw it gave her a hunch.

Now that she thought of it, she had already seen something like it.

Right after the chaos of Crown Prince Dominick’s and Teo’s failed invasion, Elys had seen the Eastern guards carry bottles containing liquid that sparkled. It was a bit different, but the pattern it made when hit by the light was literally the same.

"Go on, Henry," Cordelia playfully nudged at the old man with her elbow.

Henry jerked as Cordelia hit a certain spot on his side that tickled him. The old man covered that area afterwards, glaring for a second at the woman beside him who was evidently taller, stronger, and more than just capable to squish him like a fly.

The maidsrervant only smirked at his reaction.

Henry scowled at Cordelia, but decided her attitude was not something he should be focused on at the moment. He will just have to deal with her later when they leave the room.

"Eherm," he started with a bit of a grunt, just to convey he had been displeased with the old woman, "as I was saying, my acquaintance mentioned it was carried into the kingdom by a traitor too."

"Ah, that should be the Priest Mora," Elys said as she turned towards her maidservant who pinned the vampire as the man who spoke with Sir Noa.

She trusted Cordelia’s word for it and Aleksander immediately had the priest captured and brought to the dungeons for interrogation.

"It looks like we must visit that priest tomorrow then," the young king contemplated.

"That is most probable," his wife replied. Elys veered her attention back to Henry and asked, "was there anything else you found out? What of the composition of the bottle’s contents? I believe the stain should have been enough to determine what it was."

Henry only shook his head and said with a grim face, "We only know that it contained explosive substances, but not entirely what it was composed of."

"How about the human we held captive back at the manor?" Aleksander asked, recalling they actually caught a suspect, "who is watching over him now?"

Henry lifted his head and faced his master, "I have locked him pretty securely. Sadly, even when I tried to communicate with every means I had at the time, the man didn’t pay me heed."

"Did you try torture? Men fear pain," the young king asked.

"I have indeed considered it, but I didn’t forego with the idea," the old man admitted.

Aleksander’s displeasure was evident with the way his face contorted with Henry’s choice. Elys noted the change in her husband’s demeanor, and decided she had to mediate before he burst out in anger at a loyal servant.

"Thank you, Henry," she said as she reached out for the old man’s arm, "I think that should be all, right? Unless you have something else to say to us?"

Henry shook his head and said, "No, your majesty. That woul be all. I will go back to the manor right after this, and try again with the prisoner."

"As you should," Aleksander raised a brow. "Make sure you get something out of him, and use every way possible to make him speak even with his tongue already cut out."

The attendant lowered his head and replied instantly, "Yes, your majesty. I understand."

Elys’ jaw tightened and veered Henry and Cordelia towards the doors before her husband was to raise his voice higher. They must not be too harsh on the people who were truly loyal to them.

Henry and Cordelia were more valuable than any noble ally within the kingdom.

Right as the doors closed, Aleksander rubbed his temples and heaved out a big sigh. Elys guided him to the couch near the fireplace, and then sat with him as she spoke with a clear tone.

"You need to keep your anger at bay, Aleksander," she spoke sternly, "the situation a while ago didn’t have to end up with you irately snapping at Henry."

Aleksander tilted his head sideways, and with his sudden motion and gravity working together, his head ended up on Elys shoulder.

"I am sorry," he muttered in a mumble. "I guess I have just been frustrated. Being a king turns out to be so draining, all of the enemies we have to face and outsmart..."

Elys couldn’t believe Aleksander was being open about his woes with her. She reached out a hand, and started to pat the vampire’s head.

"It is the burden you chose to carry husband, all for the sake of our revenge, we shall push through with it no matter what," she said.

Aleksander lifted his head and stared at Elys’ shocked face. There was a sudden shift in the air, and Elys found herself holding back her breath.

Was he -H