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XXII
XXII – The Rightful Heir
The next morning, Princess Aria very nearly crushed the delicate porcelain teacup she had been holding in her hand when she heard from her father during breakfast that Sir Edward of House Sanscroft has passed away in his sleep peacefully last night.
And so, out of respect for Sir Edward Sanscroft–and to her father–Aria forced herself to attend the morning meal (despite wanting to get the hell away from there as soon as possible, run to Jin’s arms and mourn with him, she'll allow herself to mourn for Sir Edward herself behind closed doors much, much later because right now, her friend needs her more than ever) and listen to King Arion lament of his friend’s past endeavors and bravery during the entire meal.
Her father looked like he was this close to tears but managed to keep it together as he hold his chin up as proud as any k
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XXV – Of Silver tongues and bloodstains Hand in hand, the Princess and her knight had just stepped out of the top of the main staircase where they noticed that the infernal storm that had been raging since was finally beginning to disperse through the large windows. Any moment, the sun will rise. . . . Without a word, Princess Aria’s head suddenly snapped to the left, her eyes widening and before she could even open her mouth to warn him, Jin quickly pushed the Princess down to the floor, his body draping over hers just as bullets riddled the wall behind them with tiny holes. “Good reflexes,” she said, laughing. “Shut it,” he snapped. Cradling the Princess protectively underneath his
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XXVI – Of birthdays and new beginnings “With all due respect your highness, I have known my nephew since he was born,” Sir Alfred Crossram was saying with utmost seriousness, his brown eyes glaring daggers at his nemesis from across the not-too large table. Meanwhile, Jin Sanscroft’s eyebrow briefly twitched in annoyance as he watched two of the supposedly esteemed people in the kingdom from the head of the table with a more or less unimpressed gaze. He wondered when the two of them will realize just how childish and stupid the two of them are being at the moment. “Be that as it may, Sir Crossram,” Princess Aria countered evenly on the other side of the table, shifting her wide-brimmed, purple-colored hat over her narrowed red eyes to block the sunlight away from her face, “...I know for a fact that my friend here prefers dark chocolate over strawberry–he told me himse
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