บท 41: The Salvation for Dark Souls

"SPADE!" ALICE CALLED out.

He couldn't pinpoint when did it start but in Spade's ears, Alice's voice was more pleasant than a choir of angels. Seeing her was actually therapeutic for him. In just a second, all the stress that had been on his shoulders due to the tense atmosphere of the palace and the workload were all lifted and dispersed. In his field of vision, there was nothing more than the girl that was jogging towards him without a care in the world.

"Woah, slow down there, Alice." When she came close, Spade couldn't help himself but smile. How rare it was for the prince of frost to show even an inkling of warmth. "You just got better. Won't want you hurting yourself again, do we?"

"Oh, I'm tougher than you guys give me credit for." Laughing in good humor, Alice tucked her hair behind her ears. Funny. Butterflies seemed to be blooming in her chest. "How are you? It's been a while since our tea party."

The second that tea party was brought up, Spade's smile faded. His expression turned a little dark — guilty, almost — and he shook his head.

"It's all my fault, Alice. If I hadn't invited you—"

"None of that," Alice swiftly cut in between his words before he could finish the sentence. "I will hear none of that self-berating. You are a prince! At least have a disposition of one," she playfully jested. "Besides, I enjoyed our time. It was very relaxing."

"Aren't you brave?" Spade commented with a chuckle. At her words, he returned to his cheery disposition. Reaching up, he did something rather surprising. He ruffled his gloved hand on Alice's head, gently tousling the strands of her hair. She didn't have any immaculate hairstyling done before leaving for the palace so his action did nothing more than put a few strands of hair out of place. "Not a lot of people dare to say that time spent with me is relaxing."

"It's probably because they misunderstand you," Alice replied with ease. Subtly, her eyes twitched towards Wyatt who was carefully watching their conversation.

At her actions, he must've decided that there was no longer a need for him to stay silent. Clearing his throat to make his presence known, he took a step towards Spade and Alice. Dipping down slightly, he greeted Spade with a bow.

"Your Highness," he said. "As you can see, there was never a need to worry about Alice's safety while recovering at the Ragan's." Before Alice could react, she felt a hand on the top of her head once more. This time, instead of making a mess of the strands, Wyatt was trying to arrange it. He delicately moved each hair strand by strand, shifting them back in place so that her hairstyle was neat once more. "We can take care of Alice perfectly well."

Lightning fizzled between the two men. Two perfectly grown human males, fighting over such a simple thing like a child battling for the last toy at the store. Alice inwardly groaned at the sight. It seemed like no matter where she was, which country, which world, people never truly changed.

"Don't you have to see Prince Hartley?" Alice asked Wyatt pointedly. Even though her tone was as breezy and vibrant as ever, it held a small edge of warning to it. She hated seeing her friends fight and in this world, these two people were two of the most important confidants she had. "Don't keep the crown prince waiting."

"Yes." Spade immediately jumped in to say, "Brother is only receiving one guest at a time so you should go in first, Wyatt. I will keep darling Alice here company."

It took Alice all her strength not to curse and scold in all of the languages she knew. Perhaps it was true that she would never truly understand the rivalry between Wyatt and Spade. After all, she wasn't born into nobility. The politics in this circle would be hard to explain to an outsider, much less have that said outsider learn it by herself. Nevertheless, regardless of their previous animosity, Alice had a gut feeling that it was more than that. The reason behind today's squabble, at least, was something truly petty.

"I will be fine, Wyatt," she assured. "I'll go in and say my 'hi's and 'bye's after you're done speaking with him."

Wyatt's lips thinned out into a fine line. Sighing, he nodded in defeat, cupping Alice's cheek with one hand gently. He ran his thumb just under Alice's eye before allowing his arm to drop back down to his side.

"I'll be back soon," he promised.

With one last discrete glare cast in Spade's direction, Wyatt turned on his heel and disappeared through Hartley's bedroom door after knocking once.

"Finally," Spade cried, exasperated. "I thought he would never leave."

"And why, pray tell me, are you so mean to him?" Alice asked. "Why is it that you two have so much bad blood?"

"Well, little bird, Wyatt is the dear assistant of my sweet older brother Hartley. That makes me a threat to his master. Hartley may be the crown prince but over the centuries, across the world, no crown prince ascends to the throne just by sitting there. If he doesn't prove himself worthy, a competitor will rise up to snatch the crown from under his nose. That is why Wyatt is wary of me. Solely because he and I both know that compared to my brother," Spade leaned forward, whispering in Alice's ear, "I am simply better."

Cold water poured itself over Alice, drenching her from head to toe. Those words that Spade said were chilling, absolutely frightful, especially since it gave her a taste of what was to come. She had forgotten that in the world of nobles and royalty, there was also the brutal battle for the throne. Among those born with blue blood, they never knew or understood the term 'blood was thicker than water'.

For what could be thicker and more precious in their eyes than the molten gold of a crown?

"Should you really be telling me this?" Alice pointed out. "I am friends with Hartley, you do know that, right?"

Spade smirked. "And why does that matter?"

"Aren't you afraid that I will betray you?"

Painfully slow, Spade reached up to touch Alice's hair again. Only this time, he did not mess it up nor tame the curls. Instead, he held a section of it, twiddling it around his finger, watching it while he did so. The simple action gave Alice more unrest than anything outwardly violent.

For a split second, she started to doubt whether her decision in befriending Spade was truly alright. She wondered if what she had seen in him at The Dirty Lily, just a man unbothered by the weight of the crown, untainted by the horrors and schemes of the upper class, truly existed.

"I don't know why, little bird, but you're just about the only person I place even a sliver of trust in," Spade admitted.

When Alice looked up, she saw a reason why she shouldn't be afraid. The look in Spade's eyes, it wasn't a look that incited fear. It was gentle, soft, and vulnerable. Alice didn't see Prince Spade of Gladiolum in those eyes. She saw Johann, an average man that simply wanted to live an average life, a man that was honest and good.

"I don't think you have it in you to lie and cheat like the rest of us godforsaken souls."