Knight (41 page)

“He did predict that.” She told him.

“He did? Well, you looked so much like my late wife, it's bound to be predictable.”

They both went silent.

“It must've hurt a lot to lose her so suddenly.” She looked at him with sad eyes. “I know how it feels like to lose someone you love.” Her gaze dropped to her white shoes underneath her gown as the death of her father came to mind. “But it's not important.”

He disregarded her last comment and asked, “Who did you lose?”

She reluctantly looked at him. “My father.” She told him. “Just two years ago.”

“Then the wound is still fresh, I presume?”

“Two years is a long time.” She smiled at him. “I'm over it. Besides, my father told me that I should not cry for him when he dies since the one I'll be shedding tears for is myself and not the dead. It's absurd right? He says the weirdest things, yet, he makes sense in a lot of ways.”

His brows creased at the familiarity of her words. “Your father has such wise words. I know of someone who is dear to me that would've probably told me the same thing—if only he was here during that time.”

“Oh, I see.” She bobbed her head up and down in understanding. “Where is he now?”

“I unfortunately do not know.” The king shook his head sadly.

Booming knocks came. What followed was a solemn voice that Valeriana was only introduced to a few moments ago.

“Your Majesty, dinner will be served in five minutes. I am here to fetch you so as we don't run late. The food will get cold.”

Did that much time pass already? The girl was sure they just started talking a while ago . . . time sure flew.

“I see.” The king motioned for Valeriana to stand up and offered her his arm. “Shall we, my dear?”

“Thank you very much, kind sir.”

“No problem at all.” He patted her good-naturedly on the arm.

Chapter Forty-One ♣ Corvan's Cousin

A
s they trod down a path while being led by Edeltraud, everything remained quiet save for their noisy footfalls steadily drumming in their ears.

“I must apologize in advance.” Laedin told the human girl. “My son will not be able to join us. You and I shall dine alone with a close entourage of mine, Lord Gavin of Arlandia. Perhaps you have heard of him?”

“Not really.”

“How odd.” He muttered. “Being one of the Twelve, you must've met Lord Corvan, yes?”

“Yeah, what of it?” She mentally told herself it would be hard not to.

“If I'm not wrong, they're supposed to be cousins.”

Valeriana froze as her mind screamed at her. “Cousins?”

They stopped and the king worriedly regarded her with his gaze. “Is anything wrong, my dear?”

“Haha.” She laughed humorlessly. “He never said anything about a cousin. He never talks about anything unrelated to the academy or studying. None of the Twelve do. They keep their private lives private.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup. It's kinda hard getting them to talk about something personal since they like to keep to themselves.” She then turned her face away and muttered, “I just hope they aren't alike.”

“I'm afraid I didn't hear what you last said.”

“No . . . uh . . . it's nothing. Just muttering to myself.”

“I hope you found my humble abode to your liking.” He told her, changing the topic. “This palace has stood for more than three thousand years.”

She looked around, examining the grandest details the palace offered. “What exactly is humble about this place? Everything screams 
SOPHISTICATED
. Note that that's printed in bold, capital letters.” She remarked, eliciting a laugh from the king.

“Here we are.” Edeltraud remarked and they stopped before two, large, mahogany doors.

Valeriana eyed the symbol carved on the surface and furrowed her brows. Somehow, she had a feeling she saw it somewhere before. She knew it too well to miss it.

The trees of blooming roses and galloping deers and horses . . .

Where had she seen it?

Unconsciously, her fingers brushed the cold metal around her wrists. She brought her head to look at her jewelry, letting her gaze travel to the images portrayed on the surface. With her brows knitting on her forehead, Valeriana contemplated the similarities.

They were the same.

How odd.

She continued to examine her bracelet, trying to spot some differences until she heard the doors groaning as they were pushed open. The noisy creaking of the wood as it turned on its hinges caused Valeriana's attention to snap ahead of her.

She could only gape as the sight of the dining room came to view. Valeriana sucked in a breath and held it in before she found herself running out of air. She inhaled deeply to prevent herself from falling over due to oxygen deprivation.

With the odd surprises forgotten, the girl found herself astounded.

The room was softly lit by a hanging, crystal chandelier which was hoisted up on the high, domed ceiling which was painted with colorful illustrations of a winged knight holding up a glowing sword which repelled dark figures with glowing red eyes. The wide availability of space was swallowed up by the long dinner table made of polished wood and matching ornate chairs.

Needless to say, everything was grand and a bit too much for the girl to take in all at once. She didn't know where to look. Whether she should examine the glinting, sheathed swords held against the walls, or the beautiful, gigantic paintings that practically swallowed a great deal of space.

“Geez. That won't ever fit in my house.” She muttered.

It was supposedly a candlelit dinner. The candles on top of the table stood on equal distance from each other, and occasionally, some vases of flowers.

“Who eats in this place?” She asked.

“I usually do not dine here since it is quite big. My son and I dine together in a smaller room.” The king answered. “But, since this is a formal event, not to mention Lord Gavin will be with us tonight . . .”

“It's alright. I understand.”

“We sometimes have visitors, so they occupy the empty seats.” He continued. “It's crucial to have a long table, you see. We use it for banquets and special occasions. I assume you are not used to eating on such a long table?”

“Damn right. This is making me nervous.” She shakily answered.

“It'll be alright. A long table doesn't necessarily mean you have to sit so far away. We'll be taking our meal on one side. Let us take our seats.”

The king steered her towards the far end side of the table and pulled out the first chair on the right for the girl, patting her on the shoulder to encourage her to take her seat. Valeriana sat and flashed Laedin a grateful look before the latter took the seat that was commonly taken by those with high-ranking statuses—the seat that overlooked the whole dining table.

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for inviting me here.”

“You're most welcome, my child. Now, let us wait for my other guest. I'm sorry if I cannot give you my time alone this evening.”

“It's good, really. I'm surprised you even bothered about me.”

They went on like that for a few more minutes until the food was served. Valeriana's stomach audibly grumbled from the delicious aroma that the food gave off and she salivated at the enticing sight. The few servants—about nine of them—who heard chortled at her reaction and smiled at the girl genuinely. She smiled back at them and gave thumbs up.

“Aren't you going to join us?” She asked unwittingly, causing strange looks to be shot her way.

“Oh, dear . . .” The king hesitated, not knowing how he was supposed to break the news to her.

“We would've wanted to, young miss.” Answered a maid with a bright smile. “But our role is supposed to wait on you.”

“Aren't you hungry?”

“We've already eaten.”

“Oh, but this is quite a lot just for three people.” She muttered to herself. “I'll just have to eat a lot and stuff myself, then.”

It felt strange to have people waiting on her like they were doing, but she told herself to behave and not push the matter.

King Laedin and Valeriana started eating ahead of the apparently late guest. The girl was curious about the so-called cousin of Corvan he never really talked about and couldn't help but anticipate his arrival. Even so, she couldn't resist the delicious food that was laid out in front of her. Everything looked so delicious that she didn't know which one to put on her plate.

The king, needless to say, was amused by her eating habit. To see the girl practically shoving everything into her mouth reminded him of a famished child.

Without warning, the doors cracked open. Valeriana's head snapped to the direction of the sound and she saw a figure clad in red walk in. He was donned in white, cotton, dandy shirt with long sleeves. In similar style to the king's clothes, he topped it off with a red vest and had a cravat tied neatly around the collar of his top. He wore matching pants with each leg tucked into a pair of leather, brown boots.

The intricate, gold markings on his clothes brought out the crimson of his outfit. He had a pair of emerald green eyes which had a strong bearing to Corvan's. His blond hair was shorter than the first-ranker, but the masculinity and charisma he gave off wouldn't lose to his cousin.

“Please pardon my late arrival, Your Majesty.” He stopped and bowed by the door before he stood back up and glanced at Valeriana, who sat idly beside the king. “And lovely maiden.”

Valeriana went red at his comment. Somehow, if Corvan was more polite and not the cold-hearted bastard she knew, he would be this person.

He went over towards where they were seated and bowed at the monarch once again as per the customs. King Laedin stood and gave him a one-armed hug as a sign of respect and close camaraderie. Lord Gavin, in turn, nodded at Laedin before he walked towards the girl and flashed her a smile, the brightness of which made her feel faint. She was glad she was sitting or she would've probably crumpled, her legs rendered useless.

Trying to keep her exterior calm and composed—which sounded impossible at the moment but she was successful in any way—she gave him an equally bright smile, trying to look as ladylike as she could. She wouldn't want to disgrace herself in front of a person like this man.

He held out a hand to Valeriana. “I believe we haven't yet met each other, miss. My name is Gavin von Vaushna de la Wylden.”

“I'm Valeriana Kerrigan.” She placed her hand in his in an attempt to shake his hand, but it was instead gently pulled towards his face. A pair of soft lips kissed the back of her hand. She went even redder at this as the foreign sensation on her skin sent the hair on the back of her head standing to the very tip.

He slowly and gingerly gave Valeriana her hand back. “Such beautiful name fit for someone of your charm.”

“Uh . . . thank you, I guess.” She muttered, still feeling flustered.

Gavin took the seat situated right across the girl. He gracefully sat down on the ornate chair and casted another glance Valeriana's way, nodding his head at her. “I had pressing matters I had to attend to. I certainly hope you pardon me for my tardiness.”

“Do not worry, Lord Gavin.” The king said. “We perfectly understand your reasons. We started without you, though. I hope you don't mind.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty.”

“Valeriana,” the king said. “Now that you have met Lord Gavin, I do hope you get along with each other.”

“Well,” she grinned and chortled. “He's certainly not like someone I know.”

“And to whom do I have the honors of being compared to?” He asked her, grinning playfully.

“I was sort of anticipating you were more like Corvan.” She admitted, feeling sheepish she even assumed something ridiculous.

“Oh, so you are acquainted with my cousin?” He raised a brow while he fixed a napkin on his lap.

“More or less.” She nodded. “We're in the same school after all.”

“I see. You attend Celeste Academy as well? That explains everything then.” He answered. “Do you hold a position among the Twelve, if I may ask?”

“Well, I guess you can say that.”

“What position do you hold?”

“Fifth, last time I checked.” She answered.

“Fifth?” He paused for a moment and mulled. “Then, you must be the rumored human who's attending the school?” He inquired before he realized the words he just said. “I apologize. I hope you're not offended.”

“No.” She shook her head. “It's nothing new. I have no reason to be offended since it's true anyway.”

“Then, I'm glad.” He sighed in relief which elicited a raised brow from the girl. “But it's unexpected, really. For a human to possess such unearthly beauty.”

She laughed at how absurd he sounded. Man, this guy was a big flirt. “That's a real exaggeration. You really aren't like Corvan, are you?”

She was glad she was able to handle a formal conversation with high-classes nobles. Being around stiff Charles and Corvan had its perks.

The corner of his lips curled up. “Corvan? I have never heard of a person who dared address my cousin with such familiarity and live.”

She placed a hand over her mouth, realizing that she wasn't addressing him by his title. Old habits sure die hard. “Uh . . . I'm sorry. I guess I got used to it.”

“No, I did not mean to make you uneasy.” He said. “It's just that it's a rare occasion. Lord Corvan is very strict when it comes to his position. He's a very proud noble, I must say. With the way you spoke of him, it makes me want to see how he reacted the first time you addressed him by his name without a title.”

“Well, he almost burned me to crisp.” She jokingly stated.

The king and Lord Gavin chuckled at her statement.

“Then, how did you survive?” Gavin jokingly humored her as he reached for the sweet fish in front of him, putting some on his plate. He looked more than interested with where the conversation was going.

She blushed as she reminisced what happened. “Uh, I think . . . I splashed him with water.” She told them, which made them stop dead on their tracks and look at her with wide eyes. “I thought he was on fire, so . . .”