CHAPTER 118: THE OPENED DOOR

The sky deepened into dusk, shadows bleeding across the mansion’s walls. Sylvia cast a glance at Emma, who still sat slumped against the door, her fists raw from hours of knocking. Not a sound had come from within.

"Enough," Sylvia murmured, though her own chest was tight with unease. "She won’t open for us like this." She wasn’t even certain anymore if the princess was still inside. It was possible Lorraine had slipped out... but no. Never without a word. Never without a plan. Her lady was careful like that—too careful.

Also, she didn’t get any news of Lazira or Divina making appearances in the red-light district. Also, the prince was here. The Princess wouldn’t have gone there alone.

"I’ll fetch her some soup," Sylvia said at last, her tone softening as she looked at Emma’s tear-streaked face. The girl had been sobbing all day. Foolish, pitiful thing... yet her misery had a way of dissolving Sylvia’s anger. Perhaps she would forgive her after all.

She turned to leave and almost stumbled back. Leroy was there, silent in the hallway, his shadow cutting sharp against the torchlight.

"She hasn’t come out yet?" he asked, voice low.

"No, Your Highness," Sylvia replied, forcing her voice steady. "I was just going to get some food for her."

Leroy’s gaze lingered on the closed door, unreadable, heavy with something unspoken. His hand flexed at his side, as if restraining himself from reaching for the latch.

Come out soon... my mouseling. I miss you.

------

Sylvia descended the stairs and found Aldric in the hallway, his arms folded across his chest as though he had been waiting for her.

"Here." He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out an apple, pressing it toward her. "At least eat this."

Sylvia sighed. "I’m not hungry."

Aldric’s brows knit. Without a word, he caught her hand and placed the apple firmly in her palm.

"I really don’t want to eat, Aldric," she murmured, trying to hand it back.

He didn’t take it. Instead, his fingers curled over hers, holding her hand in place. She wouldn’t even meet his eyes. Her mind was elsewhere, knotted with worry.

"You’re not even looking at me," he said softly.

Sylvia exhaled. "I can’t relax until I know how the princess is holding up."

Aldric bent his head, brushing his lips across her knuckles before she could pull away.

"Can’t you think about anything else?" she muttered.

"Oooh..." He clutched his chest dramatically as though stabbed through the heart. "Cruel woman. Then tell me...what should I be thinking about?" He leaned closer to her face.

His blue eyes shimmered even in the dark. Sylvia gulped and turned her focus on. "The princess! She still won’t open her door."

Aldric chuckled and leaned against her shoulder, far too at ease. "Leroy already showed he’d choose her anywhere, anytime. Isn’t that something worth smiling about?"

Sylvia leaned back against the wall, uneasy. She knew what Aldric wanted, but her thoughts kept circling elsewhere. "Can’t you just... break the door?"

"With what? Do you know how strong that door is? Break? And earn her wrath? Do you know how much she adores that precious door? She’d have my head before she thanked me."

"What if she’s... hurt or—"

"Syl." Aldric tilted her chin with gentle fingers and pressed a kiss against her lips.

She stiffened. "But—"

But he was not listening to her. Her protest dissolved beneath his mouth.

This time, she let herself sink into it, her lips parting slightly as his tongue brushed hers. A faint heat unfurled low in her belly, traitorous and sweet, before she pulled away and pushed against his chest.

"I have work to do," she said between kisses.

"Like what?" he teased, catching her again, one arm wrapping around her waist. His hips pressed into her from behind as he bent to kiss her ear.

"Aldric—"

His lips trailed to her neck, his hand sliding upward to cup her breast. Sylvia’s eyes fluttered shut, a breath catching in her throat.

Just then... they heard hurried footsteps on the stairs.

They sprang apart. Leroy was striding down, boots hitting the floor in a rush. Sylvia blinked after him.

"Where is he going now?" she whispered. His expression was urgent, his pace unyielding. Was the princess out of her room? Had something happened to her?

Her thoughts tangled, heavy with dread.

"Did you hear what happened to the queen of Corvalith?" Aldric’s voice broke through her haze.

Sylvia glanced at him, startled. "They’ll investigate, won’t they?"

"Vaelorian merchants are already whispering. They fear the ties between our nations will sour. For now, it would be... wiser to keep away from Corvalith."

"Of course. Only fools would go there in such times," she said.

But her chest tightened. Why bring this up now? Lorraine’s plan to flee to Corvalith had been crushed with the queen’s death. She had also stopped her shipment of gold to Corvalith. Already there were rebels who robbed the Vaelorian merchants and with this, things would get terrible.

But...Was Aldric merely making conversation... Or had he somehow guessed? No. There was no way Aldric knew anything.

"I’ll get the princess some hot soup," Sylvia murmured, and hurried off before he could say more.

Outside, the echo of hooves on stone rang sharp. Leroy had already ridden out.

-----

It was the middle of the night. Emma and Sylvia still sat beside the door to Lorraine’s chambers, praying she would open it. In all these years, Lorraine had never once shut them out like this, never vanished into silence for so long. Neither of them knew what to think anymore.

Leroy, who had gone out earlier, still had not returned. Sylvia had tried to find Aldric, but he was buried in his steward’s reports, his quill scratching merrily as if nothing in the world were wrong. How he could find joy in ink and ledgers while the princess locked herself away, Sylvia could not understand. His calm should have eased her, but instead it left her hollow, unsettled.

She leaned against the doorframe, exhaustion weighing down her eyelids. Emma had already cried herself into hiccupping silence. Just as Sylvia’s chin dipped toward her chest, the sound split the stillness.

The door flung open. Abrupt. Violent.

Sylvia gasped, the jolt knocking her fully awake. Her eyes widened, her lips trembling into a hopeful smile. Relief flooded her chest so quickly it ached.

Finally!!! The princess had opened.

But what she saw... or rather, who she saw, made her heart stutter. The smile froze on her lips. Her relief curdled into dread.

For standing in the doorway was not Lorraine.

It was someone else.