บท 13: Letter
*At the Griffiths mansion*
"How's my granddaughter?" Archduke Griffiths asked.
"The miss used too much of her magic, which drained all of her energy. But she's out of danger now, your grace. You don't have to worry as she only needs to take some rest." The family doctor, Phillip, said.
"Just what happened on her way here to put her in this state?" Archduchess Griffiths asked, worried.
"I apologize, your grace. But we encountered some assassins on our journey. So the princess thought of a faster and easier way to deal with everything. She even decided to hide and pretend to be dead to avoid any threats. She had prepared a plan to fool her enemies for the meantime. But the first part of it requires a lot of her knowledge and power in magic." Robel explained.
"I understand, Sir Robel. You can go back to the Manor now-"
"Y-Your grace! Please let me stay until her highness gets better." Robel said.
They hesitated.
"But what if they needed you there? They might find it suspicious-"
"Don't worry, your grace. Her highness had thought of it before. She prepared a clone for me."
"But clones can't talk?"
"I am amazed as well, but the clone can talk with this pendant given to me by her highness. Although it can't act on its own, as long as I'm wearing this pendant, I can see what it's doing and make it talk and act the way I want through telepathy."
"What? I never heard of that before. Did she really did those things?!"
"I cannot think of other ways to prove that her highness didn't do it. She's always at home and only goes out when she needs to go to a friend or buy something outside with someone. At home, she'll either go and train at the training grounds, spend her time studying at the library, eat with everyone, or stay in her room to rest. And recently, she told us that she's been secretly learning magic on her own."
The old couple is amazed by her and looks at their granddaughter.
"Okay, thank you for telling us. You can stay and continue your duties as Ara's guard. But I want you to notify her parents about this unless it was part of her "plan" to trick everyone, including her family." The Archduke said.
"I am more grateful, your grace. I will do as you say." Robel said.
*Aeneas' room*
After Ara's death became known, it took time before Aeneas decided to read her letter.
It was late, almost midnight. As usual, Aeneas was drunk yet still couldn't sleep. He remembered the letter and picked it up from his safe.
He grabs the paper knife and opens it. Then he saw two papers with numbers written on them. He opens the paper that has number one on it. And as soon as he opened it, a similar drawing that Ara used to draw on the top-right corner of the letter.
"Dear Brother, before I start, please go to father's study and call father and mother. Make sure that all windows and doors are closed and covered. I have a crucial matter to explain."
Before he continued reading it, he rushed to his father's study, who was also drinking and still awake with his wife, the Duchess.
"Aeneas? What's wrong?" He asked.
"Father, mother, it looks like Ara's letter isn't just for me."
He showed the first letter, and they ordered the servants to close and cover all the windows. They also chose their most trusted knights to guard the door and never let anyone come in, even if it's an emergency.
Once everything's settled, they opened the second paper, and a magic circle suddenly appeared. They thought something was wrong until an image of Ara appeared in the center.
"Ara..?"
"Hello, mother, father, and brother. Firstly, I would like to apologize for lying to you all. The truth is, by this time, I'm probably at the Griffiths mansion, recuperating. So I wouldn't be able to answer any of your questions as this is only a recording. I also used soundproof spells to make sure that no one can hear us as long as you stay inside the magic circle." Ara said.
"Ara..." The Duchess mumbled.
"You're alive!" The Duke said and cried out of joy.
"Looks like I understand the reason why you decided to send me away. Earlier, I got attacked by some assassins while we were having our meal. But don't you worry, we managed to stop them before they even hurt any of us. And as you can see, I know magic because I've been learning secretly. I'm so sorry, mother. I know you hate magic, but I feel like I need it. And indeed it was."
"We didn't kill nor hurt anyone, so rest assured. I froze them and used magic to look at their memories and erase them afterward. Also, I found out the culprit."
Their eyes widened.
"I also think that it was the King or the Crown Prince, but it was Andrea."
"ANDREA?!" They said, shocked.
"How could that kid do that to us?!" Aeneas yelled.
"She paid the black guild to kill me, and it's not that surprising for me anymore as I knew everything all along. She wants to replace me and get married to the Crown Prince. On the outside, she looks like an innocent lady. But deep inside, she's a greedy and dirty woman. Not because of her origins, but because of the kind of personality she's born with."
"So I thought of a plan to trick her and anyone who wants me dead. I'm currently in a coma for using most of my magic. Later, please help me publicly announce my death. Prepare a funeral and act as if I really died. In this way, our enemies won't suspect anything. I'll stay at the mansion for a while, so it's sad to say that we had to be apart for a long time. If you have something to say, tell it to Sir Robel then I'll send a response as soon as I can. Please be safe-" The recording stops, showing Ara's soft but saddened look.
A few seconds later, the magic circle disappeared, and the three of them started crying.
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