"School resumes next week. Still no news about Anna?" A young man with light blue hair and eyes asked, looking at the young man before him—Aden.
"Well..." The young prince looked around slightly as though to ensure discreteness before turning back to his friend, Ansley.
"Well... there is, actually," he said, and Ansley's eyes widened with interest.
"A Legacy."
To this, Ansley frowned.
"What?"
"Yes. Father aided the Estellias with our special troops, which cooperated with their shadow squad—a request from the duke himself that my father agreed to," said the prince calmly.
"What? Even His Majesty got involved in the search?" he asked in shock.
"It seems you don't get the gravity of the situation. There are barely few as talented as Annabelle. She is, of course, an asset to the kingdom. Her entrance to the Arcane Legacy with her ability is already set in stone, and that would of course raise our standing in the eyes of the world. We have been looked down on for too long," he said, his eyes cold.
"So what happened?"
"A coincidence," he said.
"Huh?"
"You know about Albion's missing... healer, right?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I... Bastards are getting noisier by the day," he said, recalling what his father said about a potential war, with how Albion remained adamant that they had a hand in her disappearance. A healer who can heal curses is as rare as a blue sun.
"Well... investigations led them to believe that the cases were connected. According to the shadow squad, some dead men were found some distance from the border between Albion and us, but the location made it seem like they were headed for Morntellia."
"What?"
"A body was also found—headless—between us and Morntellia."
To this, Ansley just frowned, already piecing it all together.
"They retraced it, and found it..."
"The Legacy..."
"Yes, they believe both Vivian and Anna might be there. It's the only explanation now."
"So they plan to raid it?"
"That... I don't know. We'll wait and see," Aden replied with a shrug.
Then silence.
"So... about Camella," Ansley said, and Aden's expression turned sour.
"Tsk, don't bring her up," he interjected.
"C'mon, tell me. Is she still mad about the whole Azalea thing?" he asked, still surprised at the girl's indifference toward a prince.
A FUCKING PRINCE!
"I... don't know," Aden sighed.
"Wait, she still hasn't left the mansion? But what about the proposal?" Ansley asked with a frown.
"She's refused to see anyone, even Isabelle. It's getting worse," Aden closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he responded. "She refuses to see me, and her idio... tsk. Her father hasn't yielded to the arrangement, says he would only do so if she agrees to it." He took a sip of his coffee.
"Sigh... I don't get why she won't forget about that idiot," said Ansley with a frown, not noticing the crack forming at the handle of Aden's cup. He hated that idiot so much—even now that he was gone, he still deprived him of the one thing he ever wanted.
"How about His Majesty... if he ordered it then..."
"He won't... The duke is a close friend... tsk, he won't," he said with a sigh, and to this they both sat in silence.
But then, this time it was Aden who broke the silence. "And how about her?" he asked.
"Maria?" Ansley clarified.
"Yeah, I mean you've always wanted to... you know, 'have' her. How's that going for you?" he asked, to which Ansley rolled his eyes.
"I don't know."
"What?" Aden asked with a frown.
"I don't know. She's been acting all weird just because I kissed her one day—well, tried to. But she suddenly started acting out before I could do anything," he said.
"Why?"
"I don't know." He tousled his hair. "She kept holding her head. I don't get what the fuck is wrong with her?" he added in anger.
"You think it's..." Aden trailed off, but they both knew what he was hinting at.
"No. I doubt it. She was even receptive at first—I mean, she acted like she didn't want to, but I could tell she did. But then... all of a sudden, she flipped," he said with a sigh.
"It seems you have a problem."