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Chapter 142 - A Prince, Princess, and the Prince\'s Brother

"Your Grace, are you certain you\'re not hungry?" Stella worriedly asked. "The snacks have been sent to your office, but it\'d be better for your stomach if you enjoyed a nice, hot meal."

Adeline shook her head. Lately, she hadn\'t been feeling too well. She felt queasy whenever she looked at food. Everything was either too oily, too salty, or too light. She didn\'t understand why. The chefs haven\'t changed and neither did the recipes.

"I\'m fine," Adeline asserted with a slight smile.

Adeline continued walking down the hallways, the sun high in the sky, and the hallways brightly lit. Her attention drifted towards the beautiful garden outside, where the flowers were always in full-bloom, the grass ever so green, and the sky a breathless blue. She couldn\'t help but stare and stare, until she noticed something bizarre in the distance.

Adeline came to a startled halt. For a split second, she thought she saw a tall, white stoned tower. It was the kind that hid a princess, and the knight must dash up the stairs to save her. But when Adeline blinked, the tower in the distance was gone.

Was it just a figment of her imagination?

"Your Grace?" Stella asked, her eyebrows tugged together.

"Did you see that?" Adeline asked, pointing towards the distance.

"See what, Your Grace?"

"A tower…" Adeline trailed off, realizing how stupid she must\'ve sounded. Pressing her lips together, she shook her head.

"Nevermind," Adeline said. She proceeded down the hallways, wondering if the light was playing tricks on her. She let out a small sigh and turned the corners, heading straight to her office.

Since Elias was already aware of her tricks, Adeline would continue to play them. The snacks had to be fed to Asher. She would get an answer out of him, bit by bit, until there was nothing to learn from him.

Adeline turned her attention back to her footing and noticed Evelyn was already standing by the doorway.

"Your Grace."

"Evelyn," Adeline addressed.

Adeline headed into her office and picked up the basket of snacks. "I\'d like to enjoy a picnic outside," she declared to Stella.

Evelyn rapidly blinked. She began calculating the risk and benefits of such a situation. What would the public think of her if she was enjoying a picnic outside? Would that make her more relatable, or would that make her uncivilized?

It\'d be better to know how humane the human was… The word \'humane\' intrigued Evelyn who always found it funny that it was named after humans.

"As you wish, Your Grace," Evelyn quickly said before Stella could object.

"Stella shall make the preparations, right?" Evelyn teased.

"Stella doesn\'t want to," Stella grumbled.

"The more hands, the better," Adeline remarked with a slight smile.

Evelyn and Stella exchanged glances.

"I\'d like to rest in my office a bit," Adeline admitted. "I feel drained from today\'s interactions, even though the day has just begun."

Stella was instantly worried. She nudged Evelyn a bit, wondering if one of them should stay behind.

"I will remain by the couch. Once the preparations are made, please inform me," Adeline said.

"But, Your Grace—"

"I\'d like a picnic spot in the shade," Adeline remarked whilst directing them out of the door. Before Stella and Evelyn could protest, Adeline closed the doors on them and headed for the couch, where she plopped down.

Adeline let out a tired sigh. She slipped her hand into her pocket and debated the idea of calling Lydia. They hadn\'t talked in a while now. Their last interaction was when Lydia gave Adeline the sleeping medicine, which was two weeks from today.

"Maybe I shouldn\'t call Lydia… She might be stuck in a meeting," Adeline concluded.

Truthfully, seeing James had ruined her mood. He had always been arrogant, even in her youth. But seeing him today hurt in a bittersweet nostalgic way.

Adeline couldn\'t place a finger on why she was so upset, even though they had concluded peacefully.

"I didn\'t expect the conversation to go like that," Adeline mumbled to herself.

Adeline thought the next time she\'d see her uncle was when she pointed a gun at him.

Adeline had imagined blood pooling on the ground, the life leaving his eyes, and his limp body. She imagined looking over his dying face and smiling down on him. She envisioned sitting on a bloodied throne, with her bloodied clothes, bloodied hand, and a satisfying smile.

Out of everything possible, Adeline certainly didn\'t expect to sit around and drink tea with him. Neither did she expect the remorse on his face, the protectiveness of an Uncle, or the guilt swarming in his emerald green eyes, like that of her father.

"Life has a funny way of killing us slowly," Adeline whispered. She touched her aching heart, that was lost and confused.

"Maybe Asher might know something…" Adeline trailed off. She rose to her feet and picked up the basket of snacks. Then, her body tensed and she gagged.

Adeline felt dizzy and nauseous. Seh let out a small groan and sat back down. "Maybe I have iron deficiency."

Adeline quietly shrugged to herself. She headed for the door, this time, not as dizzy and nauseous as before. Wordlessly, she snuck out. Now that the cat was out of the bag, and Elias knew what she was doing, there was no need to tip toe in the castle.

Adeline headed straight for the staircase. Quietly and softly, she descended into the darkness. She slipped the keys into the lock, and pushed hard on the door. She blinked in confusion when the door effortlessly swung open. Huh, strange. It was almost as if she developed strength overnight.

"Asher?" Adeline called into the darkness. She heard the rattle of chains and a quiet voice responding to her.

"Ade...line?"

Adeline perked up. He remembered her name, finally! She skipped down the hallways, and plopped herself in front of the cell. Adeline just remembered she needed to get the keys to the cellar.

"I brought your favorites again," Adeline excitedly said. She lowered herself onto the ground, and began taking things out of the basket.

"There\'s sandwiches, drinks, fruits, and—"

"Why are you so kind to me?"

Adeline blinked. His voice was less raspy now that she was beginning to feed him. He had also gotten his sanity back, but he continued to eye her with thirst. She could see it in the brim of his bright ruby eyes. The sight was enough to send chills down her spin. Her blood went cold.

"B-because you were my closest friend, b-before you w-wiped your own memories… I-I don\'t know why you did that," Adeine stuttered out, her nerves getting the best of her.

Adeline placed her hand through the cell, handing him the sandwich. Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward. Adeline shrieked, her eyes going wide.

"Asher—"

"I don\'t want food, I want you."

Adeline\'s breath hitched. "Asher, you can\'t—"

"I wouldn\'t wipe my own memories for no reason," Asher murmured. He glanced down at her fingers, long and slender, pale and feeble. He lowered his lips upon it, pressing soft kisses upon her fingertips.

Asher felt the pressure of her pulling her hands back. "Just a small bite, Adeline… you\'ll do that for me, won\'t you? As my closest friend…"

Adeline\'s eyes went wide. She rapidly shook her head, attempting to yank her wrist back. "N-no, it\'d be wrong of us to do it. Only lovers—"

"I think of you as a lover," Asher murmured. "You know, when I look at you, my heart strangely skips a beat. When your scent is so close, my blood rushes. There is a thrill in seeing you smile."

Adeline swallowed. "Please Asher, I think of you as a brother. It would be bizarre."

"Just a small nip," Asher muttered. He opened his mouth, revealing sharp, pearly fangs.

Adeline shrieked. She struggled to pull her hands back. "Let go!" she demanded.

Without warning, Adeline nearly fell backwards. She was surprised at her own strength, her eyes going wide. There was a bruise on her wrist now, purple and ugly. Even Asher was surprised by her behavior.

Asher glanced at her with horror and disbelief. "Impossible, you\'re human."

Adeline rose to her feet, her hand pressed against the wall to stabilize herself. "Of course, I\'m human."

"Then how—"

"Why did you wipe your own memories? Why—"

"Maybe I did it for your sake," Asher muttered.

"I-I don\'t understand," Adeline whispered. She pressed a hand to her c.h.e.s.t, where her heart had nearly jumped out of its ribcage. She had never felt more fear than when Asher tried to bite her.

Adeline swallowed hard. If Elias were to find out…

"Maybe you were so precious to me, that I wanted no one else but me to know of the memories we shared. Maybe I was frightful that my memories of you would be turned against you. Maybe, I wanted to protect you by wiping the memories of me."

"That doesn\'t make sense…" Adeline couldn\'t picture her rational bodyguard doing such a thing.

"Or maybe I was tormented by a secret so haunting, that I feel guilty whenever I see you. The pain could\'ve been too much for me to bear, so I wiped all traces of you from me."

"T-the secret that you\'re a Pure Blood?"

Asher harshly laughed. "Of course not. Why would that be a secret?"

Adeline\'s brows tugged together. "Because you despise your own kind…?"

"I am genetically trained to despise vampires."

Adeline tilted her head. "But the only species to despise vampires are—"

"Werewolves," Asher murmured.

The blood drained from Adeline\'s face. "But Elias said—"

"Aren\'t you a lucky girl?" Asher dryly remarked, glancing up at her with a pained smile. "You have one of the rarest of species by your side, as a bodyguard."

"Y-you\'re a hybrid?" Adeline asked, her eyes going wide. But werewolves were supposed to be extinct. They had been killed off during the war.

"How would you feel if you were half bat and half dog?" Asher mused. "How would you feel if scientists would kill themselves to get a hand on you?"

Adeline crept closer to him, tempted by the truths he was spilling today. "Was this your secret all along?" she asked, wanting to know more of what he was giving her.

"Want to know a dark secret?" Asher whispered.

Adeline rapidly nodded her head. She was being lured by his words, by the gentleness of his gaze, and the twist of his smile.

"I am not the only one who knows of this sin."

Adeline\'s eyes went wide. "Who else knows?"

Asher painfully smiled up at her. "You truly are a lucky girl, little Princess. There are so many people that look out for your wellbeing."

"You\'re speaking as if you regained your memories," Adeline said. She stopped before him and pressed her lips together. "Did you?"

"I vaguely recall everything but you, little Princess. Do you know the most vivid memory I have right now? It\'s likely the one that has impacted me the most in this world."

Adeline swallowed. "What is the memory?"

Asher widened his smile. "The memory of a Prince, Princess, and the Prince\'s brother."