Chapter 8 - Mourning

The disappearance of Prince Gabriel and secretary Lucas, still shook the whole country after a few days. Initially there was good news about Prince Gabriel's marriage, now it has been replaced with sad news involving his possible death. For now, the royal police and the National Intelligence Service are still investigating the case further.

Especially the daughter of the Viscount family, who was now in the palace accompanying the King and Queen of the kingdom who were lamenting over the loss of their son.

"Your Majesty King and Queen, forgive me," regretted Charlotte as she knelt before the King and Queen bowing her head respectfully.

"Why are you apologizing to us?" asked King Arthur, confused.

“I should have prevented him from going to visit Mr. Alexander. If only Prince Gabriel had not left, he would still be in the palace until now.”

"Raise your head, Miss Charlotte," said King Arthur firmly.

Charlotte swiftly lifted her head, her eyes met the King's, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

“Miss Charlotte, did you cry just now?” asked Queen Evelyn.

"Until now, I'm still not willing to let Prince Gabriel go….I still love him so much from the beginning." Charlotte sobbed, her nose red.

"Come here, Miss Charlotte." Queen Evelyn spread her arms wide, carving a friendly smile on her face.

"But I don't dare to do it. I'm just an ordinary girl," Charlotte replied, her head lowered.

"It does not matter. I can't possibly behead a woman who will become a royal woman one day," Queen Evelyn said softly.

“In that case, sorry for my impudence.”

Charlotte raised her body slowly, stepping gracefully towards the Queen. Her slender body was allowed to be embraced warmly and lovingly by the Queen who was known to be friendly among the people.

"Your Majesty..." Charlotte whispered wearily.

“I meant to cheer you up. I know that ever since Prince Gabriel's plane crash incident, you've become lethargic like this.”

Charlotte's cries broke so Queen Evelyn showed her empathy by gently stroking Charlotte's back.

“Our son's passing has also left us very helpless. I feel like I can't even scold myself, we can't scold you or Mr Alexander for causing our son to have an unexpected accident,” said King Arthur at length as well as comforting Charlotte, although her eyes looked a little puffy.

“The most important thing now is that we have to stay strong against it. Moreover, your face looks very thin since this incident," added Queen Evelyn, touching Charlotte's cheek with a very worried look like her own daughter.

“You don't have to blame yourself, Miss Charlotte. We know that you are the only reliable woman for the royal family," continued King Arthur.

"But I haven't done much good to the royal family," Charlotte said politely.

“Prince Gabriel loves you very much until the end, this proves that you are the perfect woman in his eyes. After all, women like you are rarely found in this world. Our son chose you as his life partner because only you are able to guard his heart throughout his life,” said Queen Evelyn at length, giving praise and giving a little encouragement.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty," Charlotte said with a warm smile.

"But Lady Charlotte, tomorrow is the final honors ceremony for Prince Gabriel, are you willing to join him?" asked King Arthur a little doubtfully.

“I am ready to follow him, because Prince Gabriel is my future husband. There's no way I can't take part in the ceremony," replied Charlotte wearily.

"If you can't keep up, don't force it," suggested Queen Evelyn.

“I can definitely deal with it.”

"Well, it's okay that we also don't have the right to prevent you," replied King Arthur with a resigned sigh.

The next day, the whole country showed their condolences by adorning a white ribbon on their doors and fences, to show their deep sorrow for the loss of Prince Gabriel. Not everyone can attend the final tribute ceremony for the late Prince Gabriel. Only the royal family and some of the noble family's relatives attended the ceremony.

While Charlotte was paying homage to her future husband, with a blank look she knelt down facing the sea on a cliff. Not wearing makeup so her face looks very pale compared to Prime Minister Agnes who still looks fresh because she is wearing makeup.

In the midst of this honor ceremony, suddenly an old man wearing a royal uniform also bowed to pay his respects with sobs.

“How did my beloved nephew end up like this? It's all my fault because I rarely see him. I shouldn't have traveled long enough, so I could have spent more time with him.”

Spontaneously, Charlotte raised her body slowly towards the old man who had no energy at all.

"It's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up," Charlotte coaxed politely.

“I salute you, Lady Charlotte. You can still stand strong, even though your future husband is facing a major disaster.” The old man gave a smile.

"I cannot continue to be sad, Prince Gabriel will also be sad if I continue to cry during his final homage."

While the man who looked to be around fifty years old, stood alone slightly away from a group of royalty and other nobles who were following the ceremony. Then, suddenly a young man came to him standing right next to him.

"So, what should we do now, Mr Alexander?" asked the young man.

"What are we supposed to do? The prince just passed away, there is nothing we can do at this time," said Mr Alexander, sighing wearily.

“But isn't this very strange? Usually even if the weather is bad, the royal jets still function well.” The young man knit his brows, thinking while resting his chin.

“What is certain is that our plan to announce this important matter failed because of this accident. The accident that happened to Prince Gabriel, wasn't an ordinary accident. Looks like someone planned this on purpose.”

"I agree with Mr. It is possible that this accident was intentional with people for a certain motive.”

“For now, don't make any suspicious moves. Later the royal family can suspect us.”

“Should we investigate this case more deeply?”

Mr. Alexander shook his head slowly, stepping over to a group of members of the royal family.

“As usual, you investigate secretly, then report something new to me.”

"Yes sir."

After performing Prince Gabriel's final tribute ceremony, Charlotte returned to settle in her residence, sitting contemplating in the living room while looking at the proposal ring that glittered on her finger. Her eyes were getting sadder, her nose was starting to turn red, her mother spontaneously sat on the sofa while holding her warmly.

"Mom..." Charlotte called weakly.

“Be strong, my daughter. I know you must be thinking about it now."

“Mother, what should I do in the future? I can't possibly find another man to be my life partner, I feel guilty if I betray Gabriel. At that time he proposed to me sincerely from the look in his eyes," Charlotte said at length to vent the anger and sadness that was buried in her heart.

"If you still love him very much and don't want to find another man, I won't force you. I must be very supportive of your decision. All I want is for you to always live happily with the man you love," Charlotte's mother ordered while stroking her head slowly.

"Thank you, mom. My heart is a little comforted now.” Charlotte gave a small smile and tightened her grip.

All day, Charlotte had been brooding alone like yesterday, thinking about what had happened to her future husband all of a sudden. Even at dinner, Charlotte had a serious expression on her face that made the mother look confused at her daughter.

"What's the matter with you, Charlotte?"

"It's all right, Mom," Charlotte said weakly.

"You have to replenish your body's energy so that your body is always strong."

"Yeah, I know that. You can see for yourself that I'm eating right now." Charlotte forced a smile as she ate her dinner languidly.

“My daughter, I hope your face returns to normal again. Until now I have been very worried about your condition, especially your body getting thinner. If you look like this it looks very unbeautiful.”

“You could have thought like that at a time like this.” Charlotte laughed gracefully.

"I said that on purpose to comfort your sad heart."

"Thank you for comforting me, Mom."

Before falling asleep, Charlotte sat limply on the bed king size while stroking her marriage proposal ring and looking at the photo of Prince Gabriel who looked very cheerful with her. Again and again Charlotte thought about that tragic incident again so her mind was in a complete mess right now. She kept scratching his head in annoyance until his hair became unruly.

"If only Mr Alexander had not asked him to meet, this incident would not have happened again," she muttered furiously.

But suddenly something crossed her mind related to Prince Gabriel's plane crash incident.