Princess Nelliel pt 16

Now that she knew that there were enemies within the palace, she couldn't trust anyone.

She was so lost she didn't know where to begin. She looked at her hands to see if they were real. She clearly remembered breathing her last but here she was, healthier than ever. There were no signs of treatment, or bandages anywhere.

Her mind wandered back to that night. She remembered Valour's heart. She made a wish on it but then it was taken away. She didn't understand if it actually granted her wish or if this newfound immortality was triggered by something else. There was no way of knowing since the assassin took the gem with him.

If it was a faulty gem then her kingdom was doomed, and if it was the real deal it should have shown signs of granting the wish by now. Nelliel continued to ponder over the predicament when she heard the creaking of the door opening.

She looked up, startled. There stood a familiar face she hadn't seen since her wedding was announced.

"P-Princess?" Landon's small voice trembled as his eyes grew wide with tears. The flower he held in his hand fell to the ground from shock. In his view, she looked like a radiant ghost dressed in white. Her hair was paler than before and the blue in her eyes was less bright and more of a hue. He couldn't tell if he was hallucinating or if she was right in front of him.

"Good to see you again, Donny." Nelliel smiled reassuringly. The nickname and smile almost confirmed to Landon that it was really her. He hesitated a little before running up to her and sobbing with his face buried in her lap.

"I-I thought you were dead! How are you alive? Are you ok?" He bombarded her with questions in between his sobs. Seeing his reaction, Nelliel could confirm that he definitely wasn't her enemy. She patted the top of his head to soothe him but he immediately jerked his head up. "I-I'm sorry... I got your dress wet." He said, now trying to hold back his tears and snot.

"It's alright. But could you tell me what's going on while I've been... asleep?" Nelliel didn't know how to phrase it since she was neither dead nor alive in that state. Landon nodded whipping his tears away.

"Someone found you dead in the courtyard. You have a giant scar on your back which lead to blood loss so right now while the kingdom is in mourning, his majesty has hired some people to look for your assassin, but as of now, there has been no luck. King Cassius arrived a few days ago for your funeral but he hasn't gone to see you yet, he's just been talking to his majesty every day. I'm not sure about what though." His voice trembled the entire time but he pushed on to finish.

"I see. If the assassin hasn't been found then he might not be in the Kingdom anymore. He might have made his way to the harbour immediately, and since I was already dead by the time someone found me, he would've been long gone by the time my father started the investigation." Nelliel muttered. She was different from her act first think later attitude.

Landon noticed the contrast but didn't mention it. He thought it would be better not to mention something like that after some has literally risen from the dead. He has never experienced it so who was he to judge.

"Listen carefully, Landon. Do not trust anyone in the palace. Don't trust the employees or even your instructors. Assume everyone is your enemy." Nelliel said bluntly.

"What why? Where is this coming from?"

"There were no guards stationed anywhere near my room on the day I was assassinated. That means that there was an accomplice. Someone with authority over the knights. If not the commander of knights, then someone above his station. I'm not sure how many accomplices there are or who they work for but right now I only trust myself, and you should too." Nelliel became more blunt, stern and emotionless. She wasn't the same as before, it was like Landon was looking at a complete stranger.

He silently nodded avoiding eye contact.

"But if their goal was to kill you then they've already accomplished it as long as they don't find out you're alive," Landon mentioned trying to lighten the situation.

"No, their goal wasn't to kill me. It's to kill the King. I heard a man talking about poisoning the king tonight. They also mentioned the successor being King Cassius. They either work for King Cassius directly, or they are doing it separately. It could be that their original goal was to kill the king but they never found the right opportunity to until I was murdered or they hired someone to kill to create that opportunity. Either way, we know that they won't stop until Cassius gets the Clover Kingdom." She said not changing her tone once.

"But if their goal is the Clover Kingdom then why not wait until the war and kill his highness there. Because of the chaos, nobody will know who the actual killer will be."

"Because the war won't take place until summer. They would have to wait until it started and in that time I would have already married King Cassius and there would be no reason for war, so they won't be able to kill my father anymore."

She got up from the table she was sitting on and walked towards the door. Landon followed her.

"Are we going to tell his highness about this?" He asked. Nelliel peaked at his face which looked like innocent determination.

"What good will that do? I'm a walking corpse right now, if my father saw me talking about conspiracies he'd just feel even more guilty and think I was haunting him out of malice. Instead, we are going to leave this place. Once the king dies and they discover my body missing all hell will break loose." Landon couldn't believe his ears.

Was this the same princess who was determined to save her kingdom no matter the cost? It was as if she lost her fire, her passion. It was like she didn't care anymore about what happened to the people she once swore to protect.

"How could you say that?" His body trembled in frustration. "What happened to you? You were so determined to save this Kingdom but now it's like you don't care about what happens to it or to us." He spat. He couldn't control his anger from seeping through.

Nelliel then remembered something similar happening. It was the story Mielle told her about how the man who used Valour's heart neglected the son he once longed for and stayed in his youth. The cases were almost identical.

She realised that the reason she came back to life and the lack of emotion within her was because she made a wish on the real Valour's heart. Which meant her wish will be granted.