CHAPTER 40

The man was busy tapping his finger in the wooden table. He was too baffled with the enemies movement. They were not that perfect of a villains but carelessness was not their forte.

“Anyone under Ansel that has been acting suspicious lately?”

“Actually, everyone was strange but I focused on those people closest to the prince especially his aide. He was gone for only a day. We tried to follow him but was unable to”, Rand reported.

“Why were you unable to?”

“The moment we were about to follow him, he was gone in an instant. I don’t know how he vanished in an instant”

“Remind me again why I only have a few people under my wing?”, the crown prince sighed as he scratched his head.

“To prevent unwanted people from betraying you?”, his aide answered without second thought.

“Ri~~~~ght!”, Edric rolled his eyes. He rested his cheeks on his hands as he began to contemplate as he looked at the window.

“Am I overestimating them? Am I TOO cautious? Are they stupid and careless? Or am I the one who’s missing something?”, the crown prince was busy watching a raven bullying a blue jay. Moments later, the other blue jays arrived and started chasing the predator.

“Mobbing”, Edric kept looking at the birds. The predator was dominated by the small ones.

“It’s that time of the month, I guess?”, the prince muttered as he kept on staring into space. But then he realized something.

“It’s that time of the month!”, Edric stood up immediately startling Rand in return.

“It’s the what time of what month?”, his aide was getting confused with what the crown prince said.

‘Someone’s having her period? Do we need to buy food or painreliever for her? Or What?’, Rand kept on thinking so hard for what Edric meant.

“Yes! It’s that time of the month. You know that a small bird cannot actually defeat those predator, but when they experience surge of hormones and became territorial, they band together to swoop and dash at flying predators in an effort to drive away from their territory?”, Edric tried to explain what he just saw outside.

“And? What are you trying to imply?”, Rand continued the bird story but couldn’t understand where this conversation was going.

“I’m not sure why you became my aide”, Edric shook his head while smirking mockingly.

“Wow! Did I ever told you how rude you are? Like always?”, Rand was slightly pissed at his friend.

“Sorry! Sorry! It’s just so funny seeing you questioning your existence”, Edric chuckled at the sight of his displeased friend.

“I am definitely not questioning my existence!”, Rand was getting more annoyed.

“Yes! Yes! You did not. You are my most trusted friend and I love you so much”, Edric kept on giggling as he put his arms around his aide’s shoulder.

“Just shut up and tell my what you mean?”, Rand was trying to remove His majesty’s hand.

“The part when I said I love you?”, Edric kept on teasing his friend.

“Now I’m questioning why I even follow you right now”, Rand slapped his forehead out of regret.

“Okay, okay. You see those blue jays?”, Edric pointed outside the window.

“Yeah?”, the aide nodded his head.

“They know they can’t defeat the predator with just a small number, so they recruited another to drive the predator out”, Edric crossed his arms and leaned on his table as his aide was beginning to realize what the crown prince meant.

“So you’re saying that they have been acting careless to let our guard down but the truth is, they are highly prepared to strike anytime because they have recruited people to drive you out?”

“EXACTLY! That’s what I’m trying to say”, Edric slowly clapped.

“So what are we going to do? Should I prepare for any attacks?” Rand was waiting for Edric’s order.

“Nothing”, the crown prince shrugged.

“Right! Nothing. What? Nothing?! Are you sure? Should we be more cautious now that we knew what they might do?”

“Might. We still don’t know if my theory is correct. I’m making a wild guess based on birds. Are you serious?”

“I was beginning to believe you. Take this seriously, will you?”

“I AM being serious. But let’s not rush things, Rand. We don’t want to be too conspicuous”, Edric took down the barrier he set up and went outside.

“Well. If you say so”, Rand gave up on convincing the crown prince.

“You still have to meet the King this morning. We also need to buy a gift for your brother. Probably? And you have a lot of pending meetings with the other nobles especially those that supports you. They have been anxious lately”

“Yeah. I’m going to meet my father now. For my brother’s gift, you don’t need to buy anything. I already have a surprise for him. As for the nobles, let them know that they don’t have to worry about anything”

“You already have a gift for him? That’s, well, uhh, quite surprising coming from you”, his aide scratched his head out of astonishment.

Edric walked straight to his father’s office after he finished talking with his aide. He knocked slowly and waited before receiving the permission to enter.

“Father, I -----”, the crown prince paused as he stared for awhile.

“I have returned”, he lowered his voice and stiffly announced his presence before the King.

“It seems so”, the King stopped working and looked him in the eyes. Edric couldn’t explain what he saw and feel. Although physically present, his father looked like a lifeless body moving without a soul attached. The King’s eyes were dark and empty.

“Welcome home, son. Have you been successful with your endeavor?”, Redmond half-smiled.

“No”, he flatly replied. Edric didn’t ask about what the King meant. Whether it was about his search for Elin or his other plans as a crown prince, Edric didn’t ask further. He wanted to end this meeting with the King as soon as possible. Edric had a feeling that he must leave immediately. The atmosphere around the king was undeniably eerie.

“Do you have something more to say?”, his father inquired.

“No, nothing more. Father”

“Then, I guess you can leave now”, the King nodded as Edric bowed his head before leaving the office. The crown prince walked away as fast as he could and sat down at the patio in the middle of the garden where Elin and him usually talk.

Edric stared at the water coming out at the laboriously sculpted fountain. He kept on thinking about his father.

“Edric”, a soft alluring whisper was heard in his right ear. The crown prince quickly stood up to see who was with him.

“Don’t be surprised. It’s me, Elin. I’m using your shadow for communication. Pretend that you’re still alone. If you want to speak, whisper as low as you can while covering your mouth so that people won’t assume that you’re crazy talking to yourself”, a light chuckle was heard in the shadow.

“And don’t think about spreading your mana to verify if anyone is there. Let them know that you’re letting your guard down. They will think that you’re not suspicious of anything. We don’t want them to be more alert than they are right now”

“Alright then. I’ll just pretend to be a prince who’s too lax that he’s not doing anything while his life is in danger”, Edric hid his smirk while resting his chin in his hand.

“Have you told anyone about your fiancee?”

“Who? About you? No, I never told anyone. You said that I mustn’t trust anyone here”

“Yes. That’s right. Have you met anyone there lately? Anyone with a strange movements?”

“I only met Rand and the King. The enemies been tailing me as usual, nothing new. The castle’s busy with the preparation. Oh! If we’re talking about someone strange lately, that would be my father. I feel like he’s there, at the same time, he’s not. His eyes are dark and empty”

“Hmmm. Don’t trust your father for now. We still don’t know of his status. If we can get a glimpse of him, we will know something is up and I’ll tell you right away”

“Oh! You don’t need to order my gown for me. Just tell me the color of the clothes you’ll wear in the party, and I’ll match it with mine. If you’ll hire someone to buy a woman’s clothes, they will be suspicious of you and will try to get more information out of it. So for now, stay low”

“Yes, Your Highness”, Edric tittered as he teased Elin.

“Oh! Shut up will you?”, Elin suppressed her smile.