Chapter 102
The unexpected conclusion left Raylenne speechless, her mouth slightly open. Aiden seemed equally stunned.
“Did you say… Uncle Claude passed away?” Aiden asked, disbelief in his voice.
“Yes, he died of a heart attack. The funeral was less than a month ago,” Merian confirmed.
“Did he have heart problems before?” Aiden inquired further.
Merian nodded. “His personal physician said so. It wasn’t surprising that he passed away so suddenly.”
Despite Merian’s explanation, Aiden’s expression remained tense. Raylenne, listening in, felt uneasy as well. While sudden death from a heart condition wasn’t unusual, the fact that Claude had been in a power struggle with Harbian made the situation feel suspicious. Perhaps, she thought, her recent experiences had made her overly paranoid.
Aiden then spoke, lowering his voice, “Do you think Harbian might have had a hand in this?”
“Aiden!” Merian exclaimed, alarmed. Raylenne widened her eyes in shock; she had considered the possibility herself, but hadn’t expected Aiden to voice it so directly.
“I’m sure many are thinking the same thing. Mother, you must have considered it too,” Aiden pressed.
Merian hesitated, then sighed. “Well… yes. But without evidence, and with Harbian now confirmed as the next emperor, there’s nothing anyone can do.”
Merian wiped her mouth with a napkin, then turned to Raylenne, asking if they should bring in tea now that the meal was over. Raylenne nodded, and the maids quickly cleared the table.
As the maids served the tea and left, Merian spoke again. “I’ve lost interest in getting involved in the intricacies of politics. His Majesty’s actions have greatly disappointed me.”
She poured tea into a cup adorned with violet patterns. “Now, I just want to focus on you, Aiden.”
Merian handed the first cup of tea to Raylenne, saying, “And maybe even see you get married.”
Raylenne froze for a moment, about to thank Merian. ‘Was she talking about me?’ she wondered. While Raylenne was caught off guard, Aiden remained preoccupied with his thoughts about Harbian, his expression still serious.
“It’s not about politics,” Aiden said slowly. “It’s just… I find Harbian himself troubling.
“You don’t need to worry about him. Worrying won’t change anything,” Merian replied.
“…” Aiden remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
“Today’s tea has a particularly nice aroma,” Merian said, trying to change the subject. “Let’s just enjoy it for now.”
She handed a cup of tea to Aiden. He accepted it, placing the cup on the table and staring into the swirling red liquid. His gray eyes, visible beneath his lashes, seemed deep in thought.
* * *
After that, they spent some time having light-hearted conversation with Merian. As the sun began to set, Raylenne stood up, realizing it was time to leave if she wanted to return to the castle before nightfall.
“It would be nice if you stayed the night,” Merian said wistfully, escorting her to the main gate. Raylenne smiled in response.
“I didn’t get permission from my brother,” Raylenne explained. “He still feels uneasy about leaving the duchy, given the unsettled state of affairs.”
“Your brother must care for you very much,” Merian remarked.
Aiden, overhearing this, let out a breath in disbelief. Ignoring him, Raylenne continued speaking to Merian. “Next time, I would love to invite you to the Ergen Duchy. It would be a pleasure to have you visit.”
“Of course, I’d be delighted. Just let me know when,” Merian replied, her eyes bright with enthusiasm.
At that moment, a carriage creaked to a stop nearby, its window opening to reveal a man inside.
“Aunt Merian,” greeted Crown Prince Harbian.
Raylenne thought to herself, ‘This guy can’t be good company.’ It was ironic that they had been discussing him earlier, and now here he was.
Merian greeted Harbian with a polite smile. “Hello, Your Highness. Where are you coming from?”
“I was inspecting the city,” he replied.
“That must have been tiring,” Merian said warmly. Despite her kindness, Raylenne sensed a different person underneath, someone who didn’t truly like Harbian but was skilled at masking her feelings.
Harbian looked over at Raylenne and Aiden. “It seems you have visitors at the Swa Palace today.”
“Yes, Aiden has been released from captivity, so I thought it would be nice to show him around the palace after so long,” Merian explained.
“And Miss Raylenne as well? How interesting. It’s quite a sight to see someone from the Ergen family and a former prisoner of their house visiting the palace together,” Harbian remarked with a curious smile.
“Well, various relationships can form in any situation,” Merian replied calmly, unfazed by the implication in his words.
“That may be true. My apologies for not considering that,” Harbian said, maintaining his smile.
“But why are you here, Your Highness? This isn’t the usual route to your palace,” Merian inquired.
“From a distance, I thought I saw someone familiar and decided to come over to check,” Harbian responded, directing his gaze toward Raylenne.
“You seem to know Miss Raylenne quite well…?” Merian asked, looking between them with a puzzled expression.
Raylenne bit her lip in discomfort. It seemed Merian was unaware of the marriage discussions that had taken place between her and Harbian. Despite being discreet, the tea party hosted by Countess Shablin Hamilton had made the talks somewhat public. Raylenne had assumed Merian, being part of the royal family, would have heard about it.
Before Raylenne could respond, Harbian spoke up. “Oh, I see Aunt Merian wasn’t informed. There were marriage discussions with Miss Raylenne earlier this year.”
“What…?” Merian’s eyes widened in surprise. Raylenne quickly interjected.
“It fell through, so it’s no surprise you didn’t hear about it. It was such a brief consideration that it hardly counts as a serious proposal,” Raylenne explained, trying to downplay the situation.
Harbian laughed, seemingly amused. He had a habit of laughing whenever he said something.
‘It’s unsettling…’ Raylenne thought.
Harbian, like Lavita had said, was hard to read. He was someone Raylenne definitely didn’t want to get close to.
“It hurts to hear you say that. I was genuinely interested in the proposal with Miss Raylenne. It was quite disappointing that it didn’t work out,” Harbian said with a smile that feigned regret.
Aiden cut in, clearly wanting to end the conversation. “We should get going now. The sun will set soon.”
He turned his attention to Harbian. “Your Highness, please excuse us for leaving.”
Aiden’s stiff expression and cold tone made it clear he wasn’t asking for permission. Harbian, however, seemed unbothered.
“It seems I’ve been holding you up. Please, go ahead. We’ll likely see each other often in the future anyway,” he said with a mysterious smile.
“See each other often?” Merian asked, curious about his words.
“Aiden has become quite the renowned figure in the empire since his awakening, Aunt Merian. We’ll likely cross paths at public events. As for Miss Raylenne…” Harbian paused.
“…” Raylenne remained silent, dreading what he might say next.
“I just have a feeling we’ll see each other often,” he concluded, his words carrying a cryptic undertone.
Aiden’s expression darkened further, his eyes showing clear hostility. Sensing that things might escalate, Raylenne hurriedly urged Aiden to leave.
“Aiden, let’s go,” she whispered urgently.
Aiden continued to glare at Harbian for a moment before finally turning away and boarding the carriage.
“Goodbye for now, Lady Merian… Your Highness,” Raylenne said, bowing slightly.
“Yes… Take care,” Merian responded, waving her hand to ease the tense atmosphere.
Harbian simply smiled as the carriage departed. Once they were underway, Raylenne let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to imagine what could have happened if they had stayed any longer.
Turning to Aiden, Raylenne asked with concern, “Aiden, why were you glaring at Harbian like that? I know you don’t like him, but he’s the Crown Prince.”
“He looked at you with a dangerous gaze,” Aiden replied grimly.
“Did he…?” Raylenne hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary in Harbian’s demeanor. Although, his comment about seeing her often had made her uncomfortable.
“I’ve known Harbian since we were children. He’s not usually a greedy person, but when he wants something, he becomes obsessed with getting it,” Aiden continued.
“And…?”
“Once, he became obsessed with one of our tutors,” Aiden explained, his expression serious.
‘Probably just a childish infatuation,’ Raylenne thought. How serious could it have been?
“The next day, that tutor didn’t show up,” Aiden said.
“Why not?”
“He had broken his leg. They said he fell down the stairs.”
“You think young Harbian did that?” Raylenne asked, shocked.
“Probably. The tutor was bedridden, and from then on, Harbian was the only one who visited him for lessons. He got exactly what he wanted,” Aiden said, recalling the incident with a cold tone.
The idea that a child could orchestrate such a thing sent chills down Raylenne’s spine.
“I remember the look in Harbian’s eyes when he stared at that tutor. And now…” Aiden hesitated, but Raylenne could guess what he was about to say.
“He’s looking at you with the same eyes.”
