Chapter 27

𝕾𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖔 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔: 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖔𝖔𝖓 𝖇𝖞 𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝕾𝖜𝖎𝖋𝖙

***

"I---" I couldn't continue.

The words that made me feel as if they would come from my throat burned to dust until they became ashes swayed by the wind.

When I looked at him, he narrowed his eyes until I looked at the red carpet on the floor.

He stood without letting go of my hand, but this time, his gaze wasn't shining like before. As if there's a looming dark cloud warning me to run away before it storms.

I heard him sigh as he closed his eyes. Then he shook his head before the warmth from my hand turned to my face and changed to the icy cold breeze of a winter storm.

Like before, I kept my heart close. I vowed, that promise, and I would never break it, not when I could lose everything that I hold dear in this current life.

"I had never once before regretted my decision, and now, I feel like I don't know it anymore, when it comes to you," when the breeze caressed our hair, he took a few strands of my hair and kissed it.

"And you know what it meant by that, Vestia," he pulled me closer before I could speak. I gasped when his hand went to my waist while the others supported my other hand.

I gazed at him, but he was only looking forward, when the wind caressed his blazing flame, I caught how it shone like in the past when the people continued to be enchanted with him like I was.

For a second, my eyes shone as I could feel how my mouth opened but no words came.

"You know that I would melt if you continue to stare at me like that," I could sense the humor in his tone but I gulped them away and shifted my vision to the other side.

I could feel the wind from the open window, and instead of feeling the heat across my face, I bit my lower lip.

"Don't do that, it will bleed," I felt his hand move and before I knew it, he was already holding my chin while we stopped dancing. My eyes gaze at his hand that caresses my chin then he lets go with a chuckle.

"There, there. I felt like I was teaching a little girl," From his words alone, I could see how he chuckled afterward.

We started our dance again. Then we finished it after thinking we had already done good. I never thought to see a different side of him that he could do for another person than Liana.

I thought I could never feel this way, not when all he did was hate me, feel angry at me, and most of the time, ignore me as if I didn't exist.

I know that my emotions from the past were so petty, but I made it big enough as if he was my whole world and if I lose him, I would also lose the future I build my world with him.

But I was never even considered to be part of his everything. As if he never cared for me, and not a single warmth would descend to me from his shining soul.

Ever since I was a little child in the past, I dreamed of a fairytale prince where a damsel in distress would meet the one who would complete her, forever.

But it was too foolish for me to think there was forever when there was only now.

After hearing someone knock on the door, he spoke with authority and a different tone from where he would speak to me.

"Come in," then suddenly a person wearing a noble attire with glasses went on and some papers in his hand. He had a long hair for a young man but it was tied with a ribbon. When he looked at us, his face reddened, and immediately backed away.

"Blake, what are you suddenly doing now?" The name sounded familiar, Blake Sedomia...

He is a son of Count Sedomia, but instead of becoming the heir to his father's household, he pursued being a scholar, from the ministry of scholars. Those are the people who were born with talent, genius people who can be the shadows of the emperors and help with future projects within the empire.

These scholars were regarded as prominent and only a few would be included if their scores from the Imperial Academy's entrance exam only consisted of one mistake...

They were given immunity from the previous emperor, and no one could question their oath to take care of the problems of the empire.

But there was also our family who was considered the blood of the imperial family because, for generations, there were already connections of our family to His Majesty that's why he couldn't regard our family as something that weighs less.

"Your Highness, there was urgent news about your recent proposal on the Belfore East, and----" Before he continued his words, he looked at me apologetically and gazed at Caliere again.

I heard Caliere sigh before finally placing such warmth on my hand again.

"I do apologize, Vestia but I won't be able to send you off for today"

"Don't worry, Your Highness," I see him open his mouth but then the corners of his lips turned upward. When I looked at his eyes, I felt like his smile never reached his ears.

In a swift moment, I could see what I never expected again, this time, he knelt once more but he didn't take my hands. Instead, he put his hand to his heart and closed his eyes while he said some words that widened my eyes.

"My only silver full moon, I await for the night where you shine in my eyes and call me by the name," after reciting his words, he stood and took my hand to kiss the back of it.

I looked around and I could see how Blake, widened his eyes before looking at how the crown prince kissed his fiancé's hand.

That's when I felt as if I had committed a grave sin.

Ah, I remembered how he talked about the silver full moon earlier before the Viscountess interrupted us with her words of praise from Caliere.

I've heard those words before, about the silver full moon. It was a story about two lovers, who were never destined for each other because every time they fell in love with the other, it was just clouded with the wrong time, misunderstandings, and unspoken words of truth.

The Silver Full Moon contains a lot of secrets and one that would bring such secrets to the grave.

I wondered why Caliere would suddenly speak of those words, but I never thought that he would give a simple answer.

"Silver Full Moon reminds me of a lonely tragic love story but in the end, they got together in the afterlife..."

His words made my chest vibrate and before I could blink again, his appearance with Blake earlier faded and I was already left alone in the vast hall.

The hall that I remembered, where he used to have this loving gaze on Liana and how they ascended the throne like a match made in heaven, such destined soulmates.

If I have another description for the two of them, I would say they were the Sun Lover, the opposite of the Silver Full Moon story. Where the lovers were destined at the right time, and places and ended up in a happy ending.

As I tour around the imperial household, my feet halted when I saw that familiar place, where I first met him.

The cool breeze swayed my hair back, and the warmth of the sun's rays almost blinded my vision, making my hand cover my eyes before I could see everything. But what made me gasp wasn't what was happening around me, but because of that nostalgic voice.

"Who are you? Why are you here in this place, young noble lady?"

His silver strands of hair were being swayed by the wind like mine, but his golden eyes remained still in my direction. He had this small book in his hands while he moved away from the large tree that he was leaning on.

I could feel his wary actions from the reflection of the small lake, but all I could do was open my eyes widely as well as my mouth.

But after a few more seconds, my vision got blurred and only vague sounds of someone hurting echoed. Until a few minutes later, I couldn't see anything except that warm water going down the grass.

I wanted to avoid this scenario because it hurt me a lot more than to see Caliere gaze at me as if my existence never mattered.

But for some reason, I felt a little lighter when his hand caressed my back.

"There, there. I know that I shouldn't have asked who you were, I felt like being rude..." he said.

His voice sounded familiar enough, it was sincere and kind, the voice that I had longed to hear before he left for the Belfore East in the past. How coinciding it was to hear the same place from Blake's mouth.

"Are you all right now?" He asked as I managed to calm down.

I nodded slowly and when I looked at him, he was already smiling.

"I see, so I guess it was indeed destined again. Nice to meet you here, Milady," he kissed the strands of my hair before he finally dragged my hands to where he was before.

He knelt beside the lake as I took shelter from the large tree's leaves.

"From this day onward, I swore, to be friends with the lady who suddenly showed up in front of me. Earlier, I was asking for destiny and now, I guess destiny answered my prayer..."

I was taken aback by his actions making me process his words slowly until I recall, his words... again? Did we see each other in the past four years? As I recall this was our first meeting after I came back in this time.

"Milady, would you care to tell me your name?"

***

"My brother would always be busy with his role of being a crown prince so one time I asked him about this Silver Full Moon. I never thought he would ask you about it, Lady Vestia. Aside from that, do you happen to know about the Sun Lovers and the festival from it?"