Before the two families conversation came to an end, there was an extra presence who listened to the conversation with extreme attention. The maid who was hiding in the shadows perfectly concealed her presence, and as soon as she heard steps towards the door, she ran away silently. Before she was picked up by anyone, she hastened her steps through the corridors of the Palace of the Sun and infiltrating among the other servants, who strive to maintain the order of the noble guests.
When crossing with someone in decorated clothes reflecting their social status, she recognized the discreet sign between her fingers. And so the maid followed that noble guest to a secret meeting.
On the second floor, where there were several rest rooms for guests, two guards guarded the door. The noble guest stood in front of the door and gave exact three bangs before the door was opened. The room was only lit by an open fireplace, which showed the men with dark blonde hair and body slightly drinking a glass of wine in front of a hooded figure.
"What do we have?" Said the men in ceremonial costumes.
"Your Highness, we have news" The noble turned back, and shake his head to the maid pointing to speak with the seventh prince.
The maid took a few timid steps forward, slightly shrugging her shoulders for the atmosphere of intimacy that surrounded her. Squeezing her fingers in her uniform, she swallowed dry.
"I-I heard His Majesty speak with Lord Grimwood. Neither party seems willing to break off the engagement."
"What about my older brother?" asked Elyon, sipping a sip of the wine.
"S-Still being against marriage."
Elyon raised his hand as a sign for both of them to leave that room. The noble dragged the maid by the elbow, which muffled the cry despite her eyes still show the terror she felt. The seventh imperial prince turned to the hooded subject and crossed his legs in a completely relaxed pose.
"See? I said that Cadec would never accept the marriage. Unfortunately he is too stupid to take advantage of the power that Lucian holds as a prince."
"Your Highness, I repeat my words said earlier, I don't see how the break relationship between the First Prince and the Grand-duke could impact my work."
"And I asked you not to be foolish, Ethera. I know very well that my younger brother visited your guild precisely to get something that would force the Grand Duke to marry him."
The woman looked at him suspiciously and leaned on the couch.
"My sources say it was the Emperor himself who made the marriage proposal."
"And today we find that it was not quite so. Regardless of the reason, it is a fact that Lucian has in his hands the most powerful nobleman of the Empire. And I want both on my side, especially now that Cadec has given up his most valuable support."
The leader of the Nightshade guild crossed her arms and made no comment. She seemed to hesitate to accept the agreement that the seventh prince had been proposing to her for days. Her hesitation was noticed by Elyon, who left the glass of wine on a table and leaned on his knees.
"Look, Ethera. Lucian is the beloved son of the Imperial Consort. Besides, he has the Grand Duke by his side now. If you can bring him to our side, you and your guild will benefit, don't you think?"
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then you will have to find some way to deal with the soldiers on your own. There's no reason for me to help someone who can stab me anytime, you know?"
It was a very clear threat. The decision was in his hands: to trick the eighth prince into siding with Elyon and gain support for her guild, or else become his enemy.
.
(…)
.
How frustrating it was!
Lucian felt sorry and ashamed for raising his voice to the imperial family. Now that he had calmed down, Lucian realized how easily he was carried away by emotions for the second time.
Yes, he was so furious that he simply exploded in front of the most powerful people in that Empire. This could leave him vulnerable for the real villain to approach him, although it is something useless since it would be enough for Lucian not to accept any proposal. Unfortunately the alpha had no idea how the villain would react, and could end his life at the same instant.
Damn... why was he wandering so much?
"Here, Your Highness, drink this tea" Eugene said with his calm voice.
Lucian raised his head and sighed tired. Poor Eugene, the younger Grimwood tried hard to follow him and keep him calm, but all Lucian did was give him more work for not being able to control his anger. Only that he needed to say those words, because his frustration overflowed on an unimaginable level.
Picking up the cup of tea and sipping, Lucian felt satisfied with something warm to calm his agitated heart.
"Thank you, Eugene."
"No need, Your Highness. I'm relieved that you're really worried about my brother."
"You and Jesse seem too calm..."
"Is that so?", Eugene let out a low and lovely laugh. "We're used to that. Magnus always gets hurt when he comes back from a battle or when he trains with the first prince."
Yeah... Lucian remembered the story mentioning that Magnus returned wounded, after all this is common in battles. Agreeing with that only made his regret increase. Damn, he really overreacted.
"I should know that", grumbled Lucian.
"Haha, don't worry, Your Highness, you'll get used to it too. It's useless to worry about the Mag, his stubbornness is iron."
"Don't even tell me."
"But I must admit, Your Highness, that I am quite surprised that this situation has occurred. I did not expect this attitude coming from the first prince."
For the first time Lucian saw a sad expression on that beautiful and innocent face. Eugene seemed disappointed with that problem, and not for less since hardly Cadec and Magnus fought over anything.
Did the Grimwood brothers blame him for it? Magnus himself had said he only dueled because of Lucian. Lucian's cloaked fingers clenched his pants, feeling frustrated that he was changing the story so much to the point of hurting his beloved characters.
"I was surprised too. In fact, I didn't expect anything at all."
Yes. Lucian did not expect any member of the imperial family to give him so much attention. The eighth prince never received anything like... At least as far as he knew. Damn, his head was pounding when he thought of the original story.
It had already dawned since the duel, Argus told the prince that Raven and Elyon led the guests back to the ballroom and that everything went well, although now the duel is a great gossip among the nobles. According to the servant beta, the Emperor and Consort returned for the party later, stating that they were satisfied with the Grand Duke's bravery.
"His Majesty made a speech about His Grace having demonstrated all the requirements that an omega noble must have, and that this made him worthy to enter into the imperial family through marriage with His Highness."
"Hearing this makes me a little proud of my brother", Eugene smiled lightly, drinking tea along with Lucian.
"Yet people will talk about it", Lucian murmured, turning his gaze to the tea itself before looking at Argus. "Did you hear anything more among the nobles? Something about the duel."
"I have heard many nobles question His Grace's support. They probably believe that the duel is a rupture of ties between His Highness, the first prince, and His Grace."
"Haa... just what I feared", Lucian sighed low.
"I do not think that a friendship of so many years will break because of a duel", Eugene tilted his head slightly, seeming to try to comfort the eighth prince. "They are childhood friends, of course they have fought for various reasons. We just need to give them time and everything will soon be resolved."
Thanks to the gracious presence of Eugene, the prince managed to calm down. All night until dawn, Lucian sat in the chair next to the bed where Magnus slept. According to the doctor, the omega fainted from exhaustion, which proved the secret that Eugene told about his older brother being a workaholic.
Lucian seriously thought of buying a gift for the Grimwood brothers for being so kind to him.
Reading the newspaper that Argus brought, Lucian kept up with the search team led by Cadec. It seems that his older brother was hunting rebels in plebeian neighborhoods, seeming not to be shaken by the events of the duel. Lucian only woke from his daydreams when he heard Magnus mumble and open his eyes.
The omega tried to sit in bed as soon as he woke up, scaring Lucian who pushed him carefully back to lie down.
"Don't move too much, Magnus."
"Haa", Magnus sighed and raised his eyes to Lucian and then looked around, "Hm... it looks like I lost the duel."
"Seriously it's with that you are worried about?", Lucian looked at him slightly angry. "Do you realize how worried I was?!"
Magnus moved his shoulder and arm, checking his mobility independent of the rain of complaints from Lucian. Nor did it seem that he was out of consciousness for hours thanks to his lack of rest, much less that his attitude has caused a great repercussion.
"Well, it wasn't that bad."
Frankly! Lucian couldn't even blame him entirely, since he also encouraged the omega to fight with all his might not to lose. This increased your regret and shame for that embarrassment at your engagement party.
"You're doing that face again."
Raising his head, Lucian came across the face of Magnus staring at him closely. His heart accelerated suddenly, like a bomb exploding at the same instant.
"W-Wich face?"
"Of despair", Magnus leaned his arms on his legs and kept staring at him. "Were you so worried about me?"
Honestly, Lucian could only face that man sitting so carelessly after he was wounded. That man who read it so well and made his heart speed for such... small things.
Lucian could only think how much he loved that stupid villain.