Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 1. Angelus Raizel's Arrival
The sun above Luminus City grew higher as the galloping sounds approached the city gates. The Euphorion soldiers pulled the reins in their hands to slow their horses as soon as they reached the gate and slowed down their pace as their horses stepped over the city streets. On both sides of the street, the crowd cheered them on. Their hands were waving with enthusiasm and smiles on their faces. Flower petals followed by cheers from the crowd accompanied each horse's footsteps, while the riders smiled proudly at their achievements even though behind their black uniforms, their bodies were still wrapped in bandages to cover their wounds. Occasionally, some of them turned to the crowd and smiled as soon as they heard their names being called. Among those soldiers, a king was riding his dark horse with his usual cold expression. The cheers from the crowd grew louder, many of them shouted his name.
"Long Live the King! Long Live King Angelus!" they said repeatedly even after he walked away.
Their cheers and shouts accompanied him from Luminus City gate until White Moon Castle's gate. In the courtyard, the red carpet had been prepared and everyone had gathered. Rose stood in front of the castle entrance with Flare, Cley, Claire and Chancellor Allan.
Angel pulled the reins in his hands to stop his horse when he arrived at the entrance and got off from it. While the others marched towards the barracks. Everyone bowed.
"Welcome back, Your Majesty. Congratulations on your victories!" they greeted him.
As usual, he replied with a slight nod, his eyes quickly fell on Rose, who just bowed without saying anything. Her face looked tense.
"Princess Rose, why don't you congratulate me like the others?" he said with a smirk.
Rose raised up her head and looked at him. Not that she didn't want to, but it was strange and awkward. After all, Angel just came back after he conquered her kingdom. Wasn't it strange if she congratulated Angel for it? But since Angel asked her, she had to say it.
"Congratulations on your victories, Your Majesty. You have succeeded in conquering my kingdom and brought me here. I hope you are happy with it."
Angel chuckled. He knew he shouldn't tease her but somehow he wanted to do it the second he saw her. And since this was related to her kingdom, of course, it disturbed her pride so he was not confused with her reaction.
"Thank you," he replied since he didn't want to spoil Rose's mood. Then he turned to Chancellor Allan.
"How about the preparations?"
"Everything is going well, Your Majesty. You can check it by yourself. If there is something you don't like we can replace it immediately," said Chancellor Allan as he gestured to enter the castle.
After replying with another nod, Angel walked into the castle. Rose remained still in her position even though he had walked past her. She planned to follow him in the last row since her presence was just a formality. After all, Angel just came back after being away for a few months, he had a lot to take care of. Normally, he needed a lot of reports from his trusted people so the space on his sides should be filled with people like Chancellor Allan, Claire, Cley and Flare.
But Angel stopped in his tracks and turned to her.
"What are you waiting for? Come with me."
Everyone's eyes immediately fell on her, making her even more nervous. While she swept her gaze at Angel and the others in confusion. Wasn't she just a hostage? She was about to reject it.
"Your Majesty, I think-"
Angel's hand grabbed her hand, stopping her words.
"Hold your tongue, we'll talk inside," he said. Then he moved his feet and Rose had no other choice but to follow him.
Their feet stepped through the corridor. The others just followed them in silence. No report, not a word, nothing! Even Angel didn't ask basic questions like how was the castle? How was the city? How were the other borders? It was as if Angel had come back long before this and already knew it all. And it made Rose even more uneasy since everyone's attention was on Angel's hand which was gripping hers tightly. Rose cleared her throat to bring back some of her composure.
"Your Majesty, don't you have other important things to ask? The other official must have a lot of reports for you, wouldn't you be better to walk with them?"
"I can take care of that later. Besides I need your opinion on this," he said. Actually, he had returned to this castle a week ago, even taking care of the pile of documents on his desk and his wedding preparations. But of course, he kept it a secret from Rose and he still had to return in the normal way. That's why Chancellor Allan and the others didn't report anything to him.
"Are you sure? I mean you've been away for so long at least you should check a few things," she tried to point out what she meant. She hoped that Angel would immediately let her hand go since she was so embarrassed with this.
"Don't worry about that. If there is something important they will say it to me," he said in a casual tone.
She answered it with a frown of confusion. But since nobody said anything she decided not to say anything either.
Their feet led them to the main hall. Seeing him coming, the servants stopped their work and bowed to greet him. With a slower pace, Angel took her around the hall. His eyes swept across the decorations. It was his wedding and his victory celebration, so he wanted to make sure everything was going well. After making sure everything was in accordance with what he wanted, he turned his gaze to Rose.
"What do you think? This is my first time having a big party like this, is there something missing? Do you like the decoration?" He wanted to take Rose's consent about this from the start, but he couldn't since his convoy just arrived today. He returned with his wounded soldiers so they could get better treatment here. Of course, he couldn't push them to move any faster.
Rose looked at red decorations around her. Her mind began to drift away, red always reminded her of her home.
"Yes, I like it. Red colour is perfect for describing passion, strength and power." she smiled wryly since that's why her kingdom took red as their royal colour. Ironically, that colour could not describe her family's strength that was inferior to other royal families.
"It suits you very well, Your Majesty. Also, the decoration is very beautiful, I've never seen such a grand party like this before," she added.
Angel smiled.
"I'm glad you like it." Actually, he chose this colour because he predicted there would be bloodshed in his marriage. On his wedding day, many guests would come and the rebels could sneak out the castle more easily. So he used this colour to cover the blood since he planned to take care of those assassins quitely. There was a possibility that his soldiers would have to finish them off on the spot so that they did not endanger the other guests.
Only briefly, Sarah approached them and bowed.
"Your Majesty your lunch is ready."
"Very well," he replied. Then he turned to Rose once again.
"Do you mind accompanying me for lunch?"
Rose frowned in confusion since Claire said it was a secret, but Angel boldly asked her in front of everyone. While Claire was a little panicked after hearing it since she didn't expect Angel to say it himself, which made their words don't match with each other.
"With pleasure," answered Rose even though the confusion was still evident on her face.
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