Chapter 11

"Ooooh...your highness, wild night?" Nickolas winked, eyebrows wriggling.

Yeran barely kept himself from groaning. He hadn't had a wink of sleep from two night and the result marked his eyes quite darkly, making him look almost like a racoon.

The royal hunting was postponed for a month, both to give the Crown prince and consort time for healing and to catch the nonexistent assassin who lives quite comfortably in the palace itself.

The king and queen had been beside themselves in worry, assigning more guards and tightening the security leavjng nary an inch of the palace grounds.

For a week and three days Yeran had avoided Aki, claiming excuse of both their wounds. Until the queen hears of the news and Yeran had gotten a scolding for how he is ill treating his injured husband.

Yeran had had no choice but to grudgingly spend the next three days with his husband, as per his agreement with mother.

His bad mood only continuing to rise with how all the connections between him And Zeke had been cut off, leaving him with no little amount of worry and misery. He had been looking forward to the hunt as the Head Knight Zeke's participation was mandatory.

Even after coming to a small understanding that Aki is under the threat of blackmail, he still could not close his eyes without fearing for a blade to sink through his body. After all, if he is dead, then he is dead, what use could there be of repercussions.

A worry that Aki had not repeated in the slightest, ignoring the very presence of Yeran, pretending for him to be another furniture or a decorative wall hanging. Yeran was forced to stare at his soundly sleeping husband, always on alert at exactly when those bewitching purple eyes would focus on him with a murderous gleam.

"Do not talk about night!" Yeran hissed.

Nickolas just winked again, smirking teasingly.

Yeran stomped away, frustrated. He could feel a headache pulsing behind his eyes, be it due to less sleep or the current situation even he wasn't aware.

"Agh! Your brother, is killing me!"

He hissed, again, at Ruth who also had a frown marring his face from morning, due to what reasons Yeran was not in a mind space to inquire.

"What has he done this time? I could easily deal with him if your highness wishes." Ruth asked, his lip curling in disdain.

"Can we talk Ruth?" Yeran asked, instead of answering, hoping for a shadow in his periphery.

Ruth frowned in confusion.

"Of course your highness, about what?"

"Not here, come with me."

Ruth obediently followed, just a step behind to keep courtesy.

¤

"Where are we?" Ruth asked.

"Just some place I come to have some alone time, though, usually I'm not alone," Yeran blushed.

Ruth smirked in understanding.

"I can be certain that no one is able to overhear us here" Yeran said, grinning  inwardly.

"What did your highness wished to know?"

"I'm just confused, why do you hate your brother so much? I mean I know I would have loved to have a sibling, and you two are twins too?"

Ruth sighed.

"It's a bit of a long story, your highness"

"Do you have something to do?" Yeran asked.

"I just, I would like to understood what exactly is going on between the two of you, since inevitably, I am stuck with both of you, no matter how much I wish he would just disappear, and it is not mostly related to the fact he tried to kill me, I can actually understand where he is coming from, just that he is a barrier between me and the one I love."

"We did used to be close, when we were younger. It's just, after our father found out that our mother was having an affair with a lieutenant of our army, he...had her killed. Actually, it wasn't her he was trying to kill, but the child conceived by that infidelity. But the poison that was given claimed her life instead of the child."

"And you didn't..."

"Despise my father? I was resentful, but it was the law. And mother and I hadn't been much close to begin with either, she didn't had much of a time for either of us, Aki's hate isn't related to mother's death either, it's mostly due to the fact that he wanted to kill the child."

"Nuwee? Right?" Yeran asked, remember Ruth yelling that name.

"Yes, Aki named him, father was going to kill the child as well but Aki fought with him, they have never been close and after that, Aki started hating him outright. Father even had to confine Aki in a cell to stop him." Ruth's face stayed blank.

"How old were you?" Yeran asked.

"Fifteen. We were fifteen."

"But Nuwee is still alive, right?"

"Yes, Aki swore to do anything father asks him as long as he let Nuwee live."

"Hence, agreeing to this marriage?"

"Yes"

"And you didn't wanted to protect the child?"

"According to my morals, I was obliged to, but there was no relationship between me and that child. And Aki, did not really gave me a chance to act on my principle before he went and fucked everything up." Ruth snorted.

"Is that why you hate Aki? It's not because of your mother, I don't think that, if you actually hated her for being disloyal to the spouse to pursue love, you would have hated me as well."

"No, it isn't that, and you are not exactly being disloyal, are you? You very honestly said to Aki that you have a lover."

"He is free to find someone as well for all I care," Yeran huffed.

"But why, why hate him?"

Ruth sighed, again.

"It is because he is a coward! And a traitor." Ruth yelled, slamming his hand on the bench he was seated on.

Yeran almost jumped at the sudden outburst, managing at last second to control himself.

"What does that mean?"

"Aki Dilherra, also known as Phantom of Dilhevia. I do not think your highness have heard, since it is supposed to be a secret, but Aki is my father's pet assassin. For Nuwee he would kill, maim or torture anyone he is ordered to, but that is okay, I get it, father only wants to safeguard our home, and Aki was the weapon he used, but what made me hate him is that he would even kill me!"

"What?" Yeran whispered, shocked.

"That's right! That was one order of father, to kill me, and he almost did it!"

"But if that is your father's orders..?"

"Father never wanted me dead, he just wanted to prove that for his own benefit, Aki would never hesitate to do anything. If father had not stopped him at time, he would have killed me, I saw no remorse in his eyes."

"He was going to kill his own brother? For his brother? I don't understand him."

"No one actually does," Ruth said with a tired sigh.

"He's an enigma wrapped in mysteries, he is a coward! Your highness saw exactly how clever he is, he could have taken any path, heaven's! he could have just run away with us, thought of a way to save both of us, but no, he was a coward and he thought killing me was worth it to save him. Traitor!"

"You don't hate Aki, do you Ruth, you are sad, and disappointed." Yeran laid a hand on Ruth's shoulder.

"Does it matter? He made his choice and I made mine,"

"Could it have not been a misunderstanding?"

"I know what I saw with my own eyes, your highness, and what I heard,"

Ruth said through gritted teeth.

Yeran sighed.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think, he is appreciative for trying to save one brother but is also the culprit of almost killing the other?"

"Don't try to find meanings of his actions, it only leaves you more confused, which, he will exploit if given chance, always remember that he has plans upon plans wrapped over each other until nothing is clear,"

"So, could this have been no such plan?"

"A plan to leave me bleed out? Father barely saved me, even when he was prepared to interfere,"

Yeran's brow twitched, but he didn't dug too deep into it. He could see the shadows in Ruth's eyes.

"From what I can see, you and your father has a good relationship?"

"I...wouldn't call it good, we are not close, but he is my father and I give him that honor." Ruth replied.

Yeran sighed.

"I still can not believe he sent me an assassin wrapped in glitters as a husband!"

Which started a laugh out of Ruth.

"My father had no ulterior motives there your highness, it was actually as straightforward as that, he was the only one that matched the requirements the queen sent in lieu of response for the proposal."

"I will take your word for that Ruth," Yeran smiled.

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Ruth.

Hey,

Yh, I know, 3 days late, sorry for that, I had a not passing headache for the last couple days and staring at screen had become next to impossible, I know you would understand.

U guys are probably gonna start hating Aki too now ah? I've already had some saying Ruth is favorite simply caz they hate everyone else 🤣🤣🤣

See ya, updates will continue daily from today.

Arkhane.