The Royal Revenge
Chapter 218: He Knew

Chapter 218: He Knew

Elys anticipated Aleksander’s narrative of what he had read inside Cordelia’s mind. Her attempt to corner Henry and use Aleksander’s weakness against him turned out to be a failure, but she was glad at how things have turned out anyway.

She was still furious at Aleksander for the way he treated her maidservant, but she as well has begun to understand his reasoning.

The two of them were two stubborn mules that at the heat of the moment clashed against each other.

Instead of calming down and listening to each other’s reason, they should have put their energy into finding compromise from two different perspectives. They should have tried to push forward to find a solution that would work for the two of them.

"Cordelia had been in contact with Sir Noa since we had been separated during the chaos at the trip to the Eastern Kingdom," Aleksander began. "The Eastern adviser was impressed at her helping hand and wise mind in battle strategies that they have exchanged quite a bit of information in the short span of those hours we had been separated."

Elys’ brows scrunched together as she listened in on Aleksander’s story. Although she wanted to speak, no words seem to come to mind.

"He gave her a choice to stay, but Cordelia was adamant to be with you and follow your lead," the vampire king continued, "that part was commendable if I were to say so myself, but what came afterwards made me doubt her loyalty all together."

His face turned dark at the moment he recalled the reason why he lost all his trust in Cordelia’s loyalty. She might have followed Elys’ words to the letter, but her mind had been lingering to the choices she was given by the Eastern adviser.

"What did she do then, Aleksander?" Elys asked, her voice tiny and a bit scared at the answer that her husband was soon to give her.

"We had thought that she merely had been in contact with Sir Noa for about once or twice," Aleksander said, his eyes enraged at the thought of what he was about to reveal to Elys.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake just get to the point, Aleksander!" Elys snapped at him, "there is no need to keep it in any longer. Might as well just drop the bomb of everything in one go."

The young king shook his head and patted Elys’ head, stroking her hair fondly as he smiled at her sadly, "Of course, Elysianne. I am currently telling it all to you, aren’t I?"

He closed in on her and lightly kissed the tip of her nose, and then her forehead. His kiss lingered a bit longer on her temple and without completely taking his lips off of her forehead, whispered softly.

"Patience, my beloved queen," Aleksander said as he wrapped his arms around Elys, "I am just getting started. You will hear of it all, don’t you worry."

Elys grumbled in silence, but in the end, she resorted to breathing in and out to calm down herself. Breathing exercises did always give her the time to clear her mind and tone down her emotions, willingly shunning the worries she had in her head several minutes earlier.

"That’s it," Aleksander said as he withdrew from Elys. "Good girl."

Elys opened her eyes and looked at her husband with hooded eyes.

"Continue then, my dear husband," Elys told him.

He smiled at her softly and replied, "As you wish, beloved wife."

The young king paused for a moment and then picked up again where he had stopped. Elys leaned back on the sofa to be comfortable despite the uneasiness in her heart. At the very least, her back wouldn’t be as stressed as she was already deep inside.

"Cordelia was constantly communicating valuable information about the Western Kingdom and the happenings between the two of us," Aleksander said glumly. "The Eastern Kingdom had been pretty much busy rebuilding the damage Dominick and his men left behind, but it turned out Sir Noa and that quirky Queen of theirs were determined to convict us."

"You mean, convict you," Elys corrected him jokingly.

Aleksander let out a tiny smirk and then said, "Ah, my bad. Yes, convict me specifically. Well, as I have said, Cordelia was communicating with him daily, which led to the part where she spilled her woes regarding..."

Aleksander hesitated to continue what he was about to say and Elys’ brows arched in curiosity. The more that he stopped whatever he was about to say made her worry a little bit more.

"I hate it when you pause like that," Elys sighed.

Aleksander chuckled nervously and then apologized, "I am sorry, my queen. Well anyway, back to where I paused... Cordelia, well, she was against you and me working together since the very beginning, Elysianne. That discontentment slowly fueled her hatred against me despite her telling you to follow your heart and what you think would be much better for you."

Elys felt her heart constrict with how Aleksander had worded the idea of Cordelia lying straight to her face. She couldn’t believe how the old woman could bear to be two-faced during that time she had spilled her woes to the woman.

Suddenly, Elys stiffened as she realized something.

Her eyes lifted to look at her husband and saw the sadness in his eyes. At that moment, she knew that Aleksander saw the conversation she and Cordelia had the day after she had surrendered herself to Aleksander as they consummated their marriage and made their bond stronger.

"You... you saw that, didn’t you?" Elys asked him.

Her voice barely a whisper as she felt a tremble creeping into her hands. Her fingers curled beside her as she gathered the fabric of her dress in a bid to hide the fact that her hands were shaking.

Aleksander looked away and a section of his dark raven hair covered his eyes as he answered her hesitatingly, "Yes... I saw it through Cordelia’s eyes. I felt her rage too, her thoughts swirling and finally snapping the moment she saw us in my office, doing what we were doing."

Elys bit her lower lip and felt herself getting smaller as she unexpectedly felt shame wash over her yet again.

"Do you hate me now, Aleksander?" she asked him, "Now that you know, do you think you could still say that you want to give me everything that I want and protect me so that I can stay by your side? Are you still willing to save my people after knowing what you know now?"

Aleksander veered his eyes towards his wife’s face and saw the tears that she was holding back.

"I will say that I felt hurt to hear of it from Cordelia’s perspective, but I won’t take it against you if you put your people before me," Aleksander said.

"I will admit that even before I felt something for you aside from the hunger of power and fear we cast upon those that oppose us, I have thought of using you as well to my advantage, without so much as giving a damn if you would be alright afterwards," he added.

Elys stared into Aleksander’s eyes and she could tell that he was telling the truth. His expression and body language spoke no lie, and she could feel the sincerity of his eyes despite the things he was saying to her now.

But of course, she had seen it coming that Aleksander had thought of her the same in the first place. She was afraid to admit it, but now that he was completely head over heels in love with her, Elys could feel a tinge of guilt eat her from the inside.

Aleksander was devoted to her cause, so much that he had cast aside his wishes to destroy his kingdom just so he could provide a place for Elys’ people and all the humans in the Western Kingdom a place to live in after their own homes were destroyed by his father and half-brother.

"I am sorry," Elys lowered her head and gazed at her feet as she spoke softly, "I was taught to take advantage of whatever came my way, and I believe that you were as taught that as well. But unlike me who knew the warmth of a loving family, you were taught by the harsh reality."

She felt the cold touch of Aleksander’s finger guiding her chin upwards, letting her look at him straight in the eyes as he said, "We both suffered, my queen. There is no one else to blame but the unfortunate events that turned us the way we are. However, it doesn’t matter anymore now, does it?"

Elys smiled at him and nodded slowly.

"But how did Cordelia even communicate with him without us knowing at all?" Elys wondered out loud, unaware that Aleksander was not yet done with his revelations.

The vampire heaved a heavy sigh and then answered her, "She communicated through animals."