Chapter 121 - A Start Of A New Beginning

Elliot couldn't leave his eyes off Emelia despite the silence slowly engulfing his office. He knew what he did wrong and didn't have any excuses made in his head. The only thing he can do is wait until Emelia says a word to him. 

Emelia held her laughter in seeing her lover all tensed up. What made it funnier was how he couldn't start a conversation with her. 

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Emelia asked Elliot, who nodded his head eagerly. He wanted this tension to fade as soon as possible. "If you know, raise a hand up and say it's my fault."

Elliot slowly raised his hand up, confused with her request. It's funny how he was cluelessly being teased by Emelia. 

"It's my fault," Elliot repeated, then asked, "Are you still angry at me?"

"Who knows?" Answered Emelia with a straight face. 

"I'm wrong. I apologize. With the way, you answered me. I feel like you're still angry."

The corners of her lips grew, finally letting the laughter out. Elliot sat confused, not knowing what was happening anymore. Was she mad, or was she not? But seeing her laugh at his confused expression, he understood that she wasn't mad at all. She was just there to tease him. 

"Emelia…really, I thought you're mad at me," Elliot sighed, covering his face with his hands. 

"At first, I was. But then, at the same time, I told myself that you were just worried about me. To add, I don't really like arguing. Things would just go worst," smiled Emelia as she sat beside Elliot, rubbing his shoulder as she comforted him. 

Elliot removed his hand off his face and said, "I should be the one to apologize. It's just that seeing those old men stare at you reminds me of a certain someone."

"But Elliot, I've already moved on to that, and you should too," said Emelia as she held his hand. "What you should be focusing on now in the present. Didn't you just find out the cause of your parent's death?" Elliot nods his head, frowning. 

After annihilating the temple, the head priest confessed all the sins he did not just to his family but to others. They planned everything and had a plan to kill Elliot also. But eventually, they failed with the help of Albert and a few of the citizens who were trapped in the temple's evil doings. 

They freed those who were locked underground and reunited them with their families. That included Vanessa, who still hasn't learned of this news. 

"Now you've learned your lesson. Next time we do things together, okay?" Emelia asked Elliot, who held her hand back. He leaned to her side and kissed her on the lips. 

"I promise I won't do it again."

Hearing the news that the temple had fallen, Vanessa didn't hesitate to excuse herself from work. But the problem is, who will bring her down to the capital? Walking down the palace down to the capital takes at least thirty minutes. If the carriage at least fifteen minutes.

"Do you need a ride?" Asked Air who walked from behind her. 

"Yes, I do. Please, you know how long I haven't seen them," begged Vanessa.

"Then this counts as a favor," said Air as he asked a servant to bring his horse to them. 

Despite not looking like it, Air does have power in the palace. After all, he is Elliot's most trusted friend and has been there since he was younger. Not a single servant dares to deny his request or shove him away. To sum it all up, he's treated like a young master of the palace. 

The horse arrived at them quickly, and Air hopped onto his horse then offered his hand to Vanessa, who at first hesitated. It was her first time riding a horse, and her first time would be with the person she liked. 

"Grab onto me properly. It would be troublesome if you fell off the horse," teased Air while Vanessa glared at him but still followed. 

"It's not like I'm that clumsy to fall off the horse," answered back Vanessa. 

"Is that so? Then if you ever fall, don't complain to me that you hurt yourself."

Under a tree stood Albert, looking at the two as they made their way down to the capital. He sighed, thinking those two had a long way to go. It's obvious that Air cared for her not like a sibling but as something else. 

"They're just slow, and I hate it," Albert muttered to himself.

Albert hated the fact the girl he tried courting couldn't be his. Well, after all, he wasn't in the line first. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it any longer. But his chest felt heavy unable to let go. But it is what it is. Eventually, he'll find one sooner or later. 

"Hate what?" 

Albert jumped a bit away from the tree. He looks up to see a girl on top of the tree. He gulped and wondered when did she appear and how? It was his first time seeing a girl of brown color. She didn't act like a noble lady or how girls are supposed to act. Not to mention the way she clothed herself was unusual. 

"Are you going to answer me or not?" She asked as she jumped down the tree. "You know what, do bother anymore. I have gist who you're talking about."

"And you are?" Albert asked, slightly curious about the girl. 

"My name is Ayfara Raiimond. I heard that something happened in the capital and came to visit His Imperial Majesty." 

"Albert Evelyn, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Are you going in? If not, I'll head in first," Ayfara asked Albert, who nodded his head not knowingly. "Then let's go."

"Yeah…"

Albert didn't know why he followed Ayfara into the palace. But then he knew that girl interested him.. Not knowingly, he walked alongside her, smiling like a fool.