Chapter 70

Amadeus walked us to the foyer where the door was wide open. He called upon a few workers and sent them to fetch our carriage back. We had some time to spare at the foyer now.

Though I was too busy drinking away the finest wine the empire has to offer. I already had two or three bottles before. My mind cannot recount the number properly. Perhaps this is too many.

My vision was becoming blurry. I've reached my limit, haven't I?

I start to lose my balance and slowly sway around in a drunken state. My body ached and felt weak, slowly falling apart.

"Artorius," Kathlyn turned to me. "You seem unwell. Are you feeling well?"

Amadeus' attention turns to me as well. "Goodness!" He exclaimed. "Did you catch something as well?"

"N-no," I hiccup. "It's the alcohol,"

He lets out a soft laugh. "You have a limit? The way you drink, I thought you never had a limit!"

Kathlyn giggles as I try to keep my balance. I take another gulp as I continue to sway left and right, trying to stay focused and not pass out.

"Where are Vincent and Felix?" Amadeus asks as he notices the two missing. "I haven't seen the two in a while,"

His question was sudden and surprising. I looked at him with wide eyes of fear as I tried to figure out a good answer as soon as possible.

"T-those two?" I muttered sharply. "They are probably somewhere in the party with Alexander,"

He seemed skeptical of my behaviour. "Really? Huh, that's strange," He says while scratching his head.

Felix and Vincent were both in the infirmary. Felix cannot return because his outfit being stained by blood. Unless he finds a change of clothes, he cannot return to the party.

My heart started beating faster and faster as the tension grew. Amadeus continued to think about it as I drunkenly kept my balance.

"My lord, a letter has come from his majesty," A familiar voice comes through from behind.

I whipped my head back and saw Zenith bow down before me. He had an envelope in his hand which he held forward to me.

"A letter?" I asked.

"He said he would be giving it to you before you left,"

I took the letter in my hands and looked at it. It seemed normal. A red seal closed the envelope along with the stamp of the royal family.

Then it clicked in my mind. This was my ticket to making the perfect sword.

"Ah, right…" I uttered. "Thank you,"

I took it and tried to put it inside my pocket. Though my body wouldn't allow it as I fail to place it inside my pocket. It took me far longer than it should

Suddenly, Zenith fell to one knee and looked at the floor, hand on his knee and grey hair drooped over his face.

"My lord," He said softly. "Forgive me of my sins and take me in as one of your servants. I submit myself to thee, the one who beat me in battle."

An audible gasp escaped Amadeus' mouth as Zenith begged me for an apology. This really wasn't the time, especially in front of Amadeus.

"You and Zenith had a fight?" Amadeus exclaimed in a worried voice. "When!?"

I slowly turned around to look at him with an awkward smile. "O-oh, he meant sparring!" I lied. "He challenged me to a spar and lost, now he's apologizing about it."

What am I saying!? There's no way he would believe me!

He tilted his head to the right and looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Huh? When though?"

"Y-yesterday. He came to the estate for training. Since he's strong, I'm the only person who could've matched him in strength. Haha…"

"S-so that's what all the noise was from?" Kathlyn, who was quiet the entire time, spoke out.

I nodded my head aggressively, agreeing with her.

Amadeus shrugged and sighed. "Well, at least none of you is injured," He says while smiling at me.

With his words, I take a breath of relief and turn back around to Zenith.

"Meet me at the estate tomorrow. I'll give you my answer then," I told him while trying to look as sober as possible.

He pulls his chin up and looks at me with serious eyes. "As you say, my lord."

Zenith stood up and walked away from us, leaving the three of us, technically four, alone and still waiting.

As Zenith left, sounds of horse hooves came trotting around the castle doorway as a mighty carriage came into view, drawn by two magnificent white horses and a well-dressed chauffeur.

Our attention turns to the sound of the carriage as it stopped in the pathway. Amadeus sees it and smiles with melancholic eyes.

"Well, that's your carriage," He grins at me, looking at Kathlyn and I

"It is," I said back. "I'll see you another time then, perhaps soon,"

Amadeus giggled as I walked towards him. "I hope so!"

"Happy birthday once again, your majesty."

I walked past him with a hunched-over posture, trying to not trip and fall. Kathlyn saw my state and locked her arms with mine, keeping me from falling over.

Through the doorway and into the driveway, I could see Ron opening the door to the carriage and waiting for us, smiling brightly even through the dark night.

My vision started to become dark and blurry as we walked closer to the carriage, slowly but surely. I continue to walk but struggle due to the influence of alcohol.

"Good evening, your majesty!" Ron said excitedly with a bright smile. "It seems like you've drunk quite a lot, haven't you?"

His words made me chuckle softly.

"Have you eaten well? Hope you're not as drunk as me though." I smiled at him.

"I have eaten, yes, But I haven't had a drop of alcohol!"

I doubted his words but he seemed much more sober than me.

As I got onto the carriage, I made sure to help Kathlyn up even if I was the one who needed help. She held onto my hand and stepped inside, taking her seat across from me as usual.

Ron was about to close the door but slowly opened it again.

"Where are the others?" He asked while looking around.

I peeked through the doorway and looked at him, holding onto the side of the carriage.

"They might come later," I told him after a long pause. "We had some trouble but nothing much."

Ron nods and holds the door open. "I understand," He says. Not sure if he really understood or not.

I sat back down and he closed the door immediately. A deep sigh of relief comes through as I sink into the soft seats of the carriage.

The bottle of wine was nearly finished. There was barely any left. I quickly chug down whatever I had left and move out forward, falling onto the table in the middle.

"Damn it.." I muttered while slouching over. "That was too close."

I clench my hands into a fist and slam on the table. Anxiety loomed over me as I thought about what had happened. When I saw Vincent, I thought he was gone already.

Even though it wouldn't matter to me much, explaining to his family what happened will be the hard part. Seeing his children and wife break down into tears would be a terrible feeling.

He's still part of my plans for the future. If he's gone, then I will be set back a few steps.

"Artorius, is everything okay?" Kathlyn asked me, seeing my current state.

I picked my chin up and looked at her with blurry eyes. The bright lights of the castle made it difficult to see her through the darkness that was around us, paired with my terrible vision.

"I… don't know," I started to speak. "I can't tell if everything goes up from here or goes down,"

The carriage began to move, slowly drawing away from the castle. All the lights seemed dimmer and I could make out Kathlyn's face through the light that shone into the carriage.

All I could see was a blur. Sometimes my vision cleared up but went back to being foggy once again. This was the first time I felt such a feeling. Lightheaded and dizzy with no sense of my surroundings or time.

I fell back on my seat and groaned out while rubbing my face with my hands. The stress was getting to my head.

"Why did you lie to him? What went on during the party?" Kathlyn asked me, feeling distressed from seeing me in stress.

"Alaric and I had distrust between us. He didn't trust me and tried to kill me. He sent Zenith after me but Vincent took him on instead. Zenith is his ace and there's no way Vincent would've survived if I didn't intervene. But I was really late, perhaps too late."

My mouth couldn't stop. I continued to tell her everything till the dance. After which I stopped and just looked at her.

She looked at me with wide eyes, hands covering her mouth as her jaw dropped. It made my heart sink seeing her make such a horrid face.

"All of this happened and yet, you never told me?" She muttered softly.

"There is no way I could ruin your happiness," I told her. "You seemed so happy, so joyful. I couldn't tell you the behind-the-scenes of what happened. Especially after the dance."

While I have left some things out, the alcohol made me spit out a lot of details that I shouldn't have said. It was supposed to be a secret between Alaric and me, yet I had already told it to someone out of the scandal.

Kathlyn looks at me and sighs. "You… didn't have to,"

"What's done is done," I growled. "Vincent should be fine and I should be getting a new sword soon,"

She curled her lips and looked away from me. Maybe I've done too much.

"Why bring me here if you knew of the dangers? What if something happened to you? Wouldn't I become a liability if something went wrong?"

"Would I ever bring you to a place of danger?"

"E-eh!?" She yelped, twisting her head back to me swiftly.

The carriage exited the castle and entered the city. Street lamps lit up the broad roads brightly as the people walked around the footpath, going on about their nightlife.

Heads turned to see our carriage leave the castle. Many smiled, and many waved. They knew which carriage was mine.

Both of us looked outside our windows instead of talking. The crowd distracted us from what I had just spit out from being drunk. All the secrets that I revealed.

"Do you really think I'd be that careless with you?" I spoke out softly while staring outside.

"Not really," She turned back to me. "But why would you take me out of everyone in this world to the party?" She asked with a curious grin.

"To make you smile,"

"W-what do you mean?" She stuttered.

"You never go out of the capital walls. This was your first as you said. I don't know what connections you still have with your family, but I assume they aren't very close connections. All you do is tend to flowers and run your shop, doesn't it get lonely?"

What am I babbling on about? Did any of what I said just now make sense?

Kathlyn kept quiet for an eerily long time. I turned to look at her and saw her stare blankly at me, an expression on her face that I hadn't seen before. One I couldn't read either.

My heartbeat rose as I looked at her eyes, light hitting her eyes just right to make them glisten. An odd feeling grew in my chest the longer I looked at her.

"K-Kathlyn?" I spoke out. "Is everything okay?"

She snapped back to herself and shook her head. "O-oh, I zoned out," She says, slapping herself lightly with her palms.

"Strange. Why did you zone out?"

"Nothing," She said softly. "I was just thinking of what you said… and it opened up something for me,"

"Like what?" I asked her, curious and excited.

"Perhaps I am living a lonely life,"

"...hm!?"

She hadn't realised it till now!? I thought she did it on purpose. Similar to a shut-in would outcast himself from society.

"So, what do you want to do?" I asked her while scratching my cheek.

"Well… It's too soon to say now," She replied. "I'll need to put more thought into this,"

Here's my chance.

"Well, you can always open up another shop," I pitched the idea out.

It was an idea I wanted Kathlyn to try out. A cafe where she would sell cake and tea. All being her blend and recipe.

She rubs her chin gently and looks down while thinking of the idea. Kathlyn definitely had an interest in it but was unsure because of her low self-esteem.

"Well, it won't hurt to try, will it?" She said while looking back up at me.

"I've offered you help on this idea before. If you want, I can help with it. No matter how busy I am."

Though she was still skeptical, she seemed more curious about it. This may be the ember that burns into a passionate flame inside of her.

"Let's talk more when you sober up," She said in a serious voice.

I was acting quite sober just a moment ago. For the moment, I felt I was sober. Now that she mentioned it, my headache returned.

"S-sure," I said before flopping sideways on my seat.

"Goodness!" Kathlyn exclaimed. "Are you alive?"

"Yep, alive and drunk,"

She sighs a breath of relief. "Thought I lost you there,"

The carriage was slowly coming close to the exit of the city. It would soon halt at the gate and wait for it to open. I couldn't see but I could feel where we are currently. It would only be a matter of time till we make it back to the estate.

FELIX'S POV

The bright luminescent lights covered the room in white as I sat upright on one of the beds. I felt relieved but I couldn't fall asleep.

Vincent slept opposite of me, soundless and not moving. Sometimes I couldn't tell if he was still alive or if he died in his sleep.

My shirt was stained by his blood. There were no extra shirts that I could change into.

From my left, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. My head turned towards the sound on its own, curious to see who was coming in.

The doors to the room opened wide. Alexander barged through the door, out of breath and frightened. He looked around the room wildly, trying to spot someone in particular.

"F-Felix!" He exclaimed. "Are you okay!?"

A hopeful grin breaks on my face. "Yes, I am," I answered back. "You want to see Vincent?"

He nodded and approached. "Where is he?" He asked in a hurry.

"There," I pointed in front of me. "Knocked out but alive,"

His head darted in the direction I pointed at. He stopped right in front of my bed and looked at Vincent.

"Lord Miyuki…" He muttered, holding his mouth in shock.

"Where were you all this time?" I asked him to distract him.

He let go of his mouth and bent down, holding himself up on the edge of my bed. An expression of disbelief was plastered on his face as he looked down at the white bedsheet.

"At the party, trying to get the royals to invest in the project," He replied while breathing heavily.

"How did it go?"

"I got some to have talks with us later. I made Lady Olivia fall head over heels for me but at least she agreed to invest." He said with the same expression.

"H-huh!?"

Suddenly, Vincent wakes up and groans. Both of our attention turned to him as his body lay limp.

"Is he awake?" I asked Alexander

"Vincent, are you awake?" He called out.

"E-Emma…" Vincent muttered softly in his sleep.

He must be dreaming.

"Nevermind then," I said while smiling. "Anyways, back to the topic,"

"Artorius left. It's just us three. He didn't tell me what happened with him and Alaric, but it seems like they came to some understanding." Alexander continued to debrief.

I listened along to all the details he had to offer. Both of us concluded that it was over. We can go home now.

Vincent was still injured and we had to do something about him.