Without any warning, I conjured a sleeping spell from my hands.“Your Highness, what are you doing?” Marcus whispered, panicking.“We don’t have much of a choice, Marcus,” I struggled to reply. The more power I used, the more my essence depleted. But I had to do a bit more because this spell had to work on fourteen soldiers. And it would last longer than usual as well.A few more grunts and finally, the orb was finished. Right after I pulled my powers back, I coughed out blood onto the carpeted floor.“Your Highness!” Marcus whispered as he caught me.“Who’s there?” a soldier called out from the hallway.Marcus and I shared worried glances. Our eyes widened as we heard a booming voice.“Is anyone there? If there is someone, you shouldn’t be on this side of the castle. Were you not aware of His Majesty’s decree that this wing is forbidden?” the soldier continued. “Whoever you are, reveal yourself.”“This wing of the castle is forbidden to visit?” I wheezed as I turned to Marcus. Once a

“I can sense the questions that are racing in your mind now,” Bethilda continued and I quickly turned back to her.“At times such as this, it is your father who you must talk to.”“You already mentioned this to me. Couldn’t you just tell me what I should know?” I asked.Bethilda sighed as she pressed her lips firmly together. She replied, “As much as I want to, it is not my responsibility to explain the entire history of our family. That obligation is on the shoulders of your parents.”“Then tell me only what you can. Tell me your side of the story,” I insisted.Bethilda chuckled. “Young Robert, your parents are not the kind that will twist lies into truths. The same goes with the truth to lies,” she answered. “If you doubt your father’s words, it is best that you consult my sister about it. But I will never take the responsibility of telling you everything.”“It shouldn’t be my burden to carry,” she added.“But–”A knock interrupted me. Marcus rushed towards me and whispered, “Your H

‘During the first year of marriage to your mother, everything was perfect.‘Even though Elizabeth was our first born, I was satisfied. I knew that I wasn’t going to inherit the throne. Therefore, the pressure to have a male offspring wasn’t placed upon my shoulders.‘However, when the people grew restless under your grandfather’s rule, all of his children were forced to produce a male descendant. At first, it didn’t mean anything to me. I did try with your mother. But we never forced anything on each other regarding that matter.‘But when I noticed that all of my siblings had sons with ease, I became envious and questioned the validity of my marriage. Your mother did become pregnant with a male heir. Unfortunately for us, he was born prematurely and died shortly after birth.‘Being the immature young man that I was, I blamed her for my frustrations. Even though I knew she was never at fault. But because of that matter, it caused a lot of arguments between the two of us. Eventually, I

Bethilda’s eyes widened.Her ladies stopped crying as they looked back at us.I then turned to James, baffled.James added, “In one of the accusations against you, it isn’t only me whom you have offended.” Slowly, he looked to my direction and said, “I believe that the prince also has the right to put down his own verdict in regards to your case against him.”In a panic, I discreetly shifted my gaze between James and Bethilda. I bent down towards James’ ear and whispered, “Why are you doing this to me? I thought you wanted to handle this.”James leaned towards my ear and replied, “If we proceed with the death penalty, your mother will never forgive me. And besides, you deserve to uphold justice for your end of the debacle.” He returned to Bethilda and said, “I give the floor to my son, Prince Robert Edward Dex of Western Wind.”My shocked gaze then met Bethilda’s confused stare. James then gave me a slight push forward. I fixed myself and cleared my throat as I stepped down a few step

“As a father, all I wanted to do in life was to shield her from any heartbreak.“You don’t know how many times I wanted to speak with you, just to stop you from seeing Laura. But I saw your sincerity towards her. And because I wanted Laura to be happy, I trusted you. I trusted your words,” Grandpa Ben added. “But look at where we are now. You weren’t able to protect her from the dangers of your realm. You have all the power that any mortal would want. All the abilities to be able to protect the ones you love. And yet, you were unable to save my daughter. The very person you swore to protect with your life.”Grandpa Ben ended his statement with, “How am I supposed to trust you with the matter of rescuing her if you already failed your prior promises?”I cleared my throat and replied, “I understand that you don’t want to trust me anymore, Grandpa Ben. And you have every right to deny me of that trust. I am all too aware of my mistakes and inability to keep my word. But I beseech you to