The Royal Revenge
Chapter 95: Shocking News

Chapter 95: Shocking News

The ticking of the grandfather clock was audible from where they stood. Elys found it quite eerie the clock ticked as if like it was the manor’s beating heart. She recalled she could hear it anywhere she went in the manor before, as if the sounds deliberately following her around.

Aleksander went down on his knees, and the princess couldn’t help but let out a surprised gasp. The prince’s face was flushed, and an awkward silence filled the space between him and the princess.

His silver eyes stared intently at Elys, and the princess held her breath. She knew what was coming at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t begin to process it was actually happening at the moment.

"This is going to be the very first time I would ever do this in my entire life," the prince began.

Elys raised an elegant brow and commented, "That’s great. Good for you, then. Always a time for firsts, never too late, they say."

Aleksander reached out for Elys’ hand, and the princess humored him as Aleksander held it gingerly.

It was an uncomfortable scene that the princess couldn’t picture out happening right until the very moment it did happen, but Elys thought she’d give him the chance to do as he wanted.

At the very least, the princess could get comedic relief and be amused with how stupid the prince looked on his knees.

Prince Aleksander continued, "I know I have been a huge cause of your distress since the beginning..."

"Immature, cynical, incorrigible, volatile. You truly were a pain in the ass," Elys interrupted, making Aleksander’s voice waver a bit before he continued.

He let out a heavy huff of air, his forehead obviously starting to sweat. "This is a lot difficult than it should have been."

"True, it is never easy. But you’ll get used to it," Elys grinned. "Takes a lot of practice to perfect the art of admitting something you have fervently denied for the longest of time."

The prince cleared his throat and picked up again where he had lost his words, "Yes, I admit to all of those. But I would like to ask..."

"Yes? Ask what?" the princess feigned ignorance despite the fact she had already pointed out what Aleksander was about to do before he even began.

The bastard prince squared his shoulders, straightened his back and then with a determined look, said, "Princess Elysianne Whitecaster-Ardorlean, I am sorry. Would you ever consider to forgive me for my past transgressions against you?"

Elys almost laughed at how the prince spoke the words he thought were good enough as an apology. She couldn’t even point which part of him was the least bit sorry.

"What am I to gain if I forgive you?" the princess raised an indignant chin. "You changed drastically when you knew I was actually of royal descent. What made you think I would accept your apology so easily?"

The prince shook his head, gripped Elys’ hand tighter and said, "I know, I know. It was such a bad timing to have realized my mistakes just after you revealed who you really are. But I am trying to amend what I did wrong, like you said, it is never too late for a first, right?"

Aleksander’s eyes burned with determination. He had already swallowed his pride, stepped into the line that separated them in order to gain her trust.

He firmly believed the princess was going to be a strong asset to his plans. If she helps him with her magic, then perhaps he can finally exact his revenge on the very same kingdom that spit him out like garbage.

However, just like how it is right now, Aleksander knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task. In order for him to achieve his goals, the first step would be to make Elys trust and help him without being forced to do so.

If Aleksander had gone down on one knee at first, this time around, he actually lowered his other knee to grovel to invoke the princess’ compassion.

"You don’t know how much convincing it took me to go this far out for an apology," Aleksander said with his head lowered, almost kissing the ground. "You should know better that I would never do things that are against my will. This apology is as real as it gets."

The corners of Elys’ mouth raised into a sarcastic smile.

"Oh, how I love the way you look right now," she said in a low whisper, "I wouldn’t mind seeing you grovel everyday if you would humor me. And then, perhaps I could find myself warming up to the idea of your apology my dear husband."

Aleksander bit the inside of his cheeks. He was tempted to retort at the princess, but she was right when she told him to control his tendency to blow-up. If he had let anger take the rein, he and the princess wouldn’t have been able to get this far out on their conversation.

Elysianne smirked and noted the way Aleksander had begged for her forgiveness. How amusing it was for her. The prince even went down on his knees and lowered himself to her!

Before the princess could even say another word, Aleksander’s ears picked up activity in front of the manor. He abruptly stood up, let go of Elys’ hand and stood straight.

"Henry and Cordelia have arrived," the prince announced.

The princess tilted her head to the side and looked over the huge double door entrance of the manor. The doorknob slowly turned, and as it opened, familiar faces popped in in a rush.

"Your highness, my prince!" Henry ran out to meet Aleksander. "There is news that started to circulate within the town just right after you and the princess left."

Aleksander raised a brow at the attendant, and then asked, "And that would be?"

"The castle has gone pretty mad inside!" the old man huffed, his eyes widening.

"Henry, would you just get on with the important part, we don’t have all day," Elys crossed her arms.

Hearing that being said and done, Henry came closer and then whispered into the prince’s ears what would be one shocking news.