I tensed up at what he said, completely thrown off. But Alessio didn’t stop.
"To be honest, before the incident at the cliffs where you were involved, I had already been summoned by the emperor to return to the capital and begin preparing for my public Descent as crown prince. I was finally deed ready to take on the role officially," Alessio said, his tone steady but tinged with sothing heavier.
"But our key witness, a maid who had promised to deliver evidence, suddenly disappeared. So, I had no choice but to cancel my departure to the capital."
He went on to explain that this was why Sonia had beco the only key witness he had left.
He believed she must have discovered sothing about Marius, sothing serious enough to drive a wedge between them and change their relationship from how it used to be.
That was why he acted without hesitation, helping her escape from the Wittelsbach estate. His instincts told him that if he hadn’t, things would’ve taken a turn for the worse.
Then, Alessio began to lay out all the information he’d gathered over the past three years while investigating inside the Wittelsbach manor. Every detail, every scrap of suspicion—he hadn’t left anything out.
A sudden realization hit as I listened to his story.
"Wait a second. That maid... don’t tell , was her hair a weird shade of pale orange—"
Alessio flinched at my words—just slightly—but enough to tell he’d realized sothing.
"Are you saying... the household staff mber you saw in your mory—the one Marius killed—was her?"
He fell quiet for a mont, lost in thought, then muttered under his breath, "I suspected he must’ve done sothing to her. But I didn’t think he’d catch on to her that quickly."
"So it really was her?"
"Most likely, yeah. She was the only one at the Wittelsbach estate with hair like that. Her na was Selena Lippe—the second daughter of Baron Lippe. Her family fell out of favor a few years back, and she had been working under Marius since then."
I froze, my eyes widening.
The na—it tugged at sothing in my mory.
I placed a hand on my chin, trying to trace the connection.
’Uh... where did I hear that na? It sounds familiar...’
Alessio stared at in silence, watching my face like he expected sothing to click—when a knock sounded at the door.
"Good morning! I’ve brought your breakfast," called a woman’s voice—probably one of the inn staff.
When I opened the door, she looked at , a bit startled.
"Oh, so you’re in here, miss. I knocked on your door a few tis earlier but didn’t get a response."
"Ah!" I blinked. Right. Breakfast.
I’d barely finished washing up before my feet carried straight to Alessio’s door.
"Would you like your breakfast served here instead?" she asked politely.
"Yes, please. Thank you."
She set down two trays of breakfast on the table.
’Wow... this actually looks really good.’
Eggs, warm bread, pastries, fresh fruit, stewed mushrooms, a pot of tea... I stared at the generous spread in front of .
My stomach growled loudly the mont the scent hit .
"..."
"..."
The room fell into an awkward silence for a second.
"Pfft."
Alessio let out a short laugh, clearly amused, and I could feel my face heat up in embarrassnt.
"Looks like those stories drained your energy," he said, still chuckling. "Co on, dig in."
’Ugh. Of all the tis...’
My hunger steamrolled right over my sha, and I quickly dove into the food in front of .
Alessio watched with a bemused expression, his lips curled into a smile.
’Yikes! Not the handso-face-and-smile combo. I’m trying to eat here.’
I kept eating anyway.
By the end of the al, both plates had been neatly emptied, with not so much as a crumb remaining.
"Ahh..." I sighed in bliss once I’d cleaned my plate, patting my satisfied stomach before leaning back in the chair.
"That was amazing. I feel like I could fight a dragon now. Or take a nap. Honestly, probably both."
Alessio wiped his mouth with a neatly folded handkerchief, his movents calm and practiced. He placed it down beside his empty plate and looked at .
"So, is there anything else you want to ask ?"
"There is. I’ve been wondering about my family—the Mitfords. What if we tried reaching out to them?"
Alessio leaned back slightly, his brows furrowing.
"That’s the strange part. We’ve tried reaching out discreetly, but there’s been no response. It’s like sothing—or soone—is blocking us."
"Then sothing’s definitely going on. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Marius had a hand in it."
"Could be. The Mitford family hasn’t shown up at any recent balls either. And whenever soone asks, it’s always Marius who conveniently has an excuse ready."
"That alone makes suspicious." I narrowed my eyes slightly, lips pressing into a thin line.
"But..." Alessio’s tone lowered a little, more cautious now. "The Marquess’s estate is one of the most secure in the empire. For generations, they’ve used an inherited warding magic that prevents intruders and spies from entering. It’s nearly impossible for anyone with ill intent to get past the outer gates, let alone get close."
"Still..." I said slowly, frowning as my thoughts trailed off, "they know Marius. They’ve already treated him like a future son-in-law. So there’s no telling if they even had their guard up when he visited."
My expression tightened, concern and unease flickering across my face, when—
"Why the long face?"
Soone whispered right next to my ear.
"Eek!!"
I nearly jumped out of my chair, startled out of my skin.
It was Khan.
"When did you get here?" Alessio asked, his brows arching slightly in surprise.
"Just now," Khan replied with that usual smug look painted across his face.
"So, my lady," he said, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips with all the drama of a courtly romance, "are you troubled by sothing? I’d be more than happy to ease your worries..."
Alessio shot him a sharp glare.
Khan imdiately jolted like he’d been slapped with a cold wind, letting go of my hand and lifting both of his in mock surrender.
"Just kidding," he added with a wink.
Alessio let out a sigh and rose from his seat.
"Let’s go."
He reached for his coat with a fluid motion, then held out a cloak to .
I blinked, curiosity clear on my face.
"Where to?"
"Put that on. We’re going to the main street market. We didn’t bring much with us, rember? Khan’s here to show us around."
I glanced at Khan.
He was already looking at with a wide, almost mischievous smile—like he was saying, ’Leave it to .’
"But... I still wanted to continue our discussion from earlier," I muttered, a little pout slipping onto my lips.
"We’ll finish it tonight," Alessio replied. "Right now, we need to start preparing—both for what’s ahead and for settling in here, even if it’s temporary. My n should be catching up in a couple of days."
"Alright..."
I sighed in resignation, tugging the cloak over my shoulders. It was warm and slled familiar...
We stepped out of the room and made our way down the hall toward the stairs. Sunlight stread through the windows, catching on Alessio’s hair as he walked just ahead, the cloak billowing slightly behind .
I adjusted it around my shoulders, let out a quiet sigh... and tried really hard not to think about how much it slled like him.
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