Betrayal

A few days had passed and the Princess had recovered completely. Killian found the opportunity to get the Princess to hear him out. He walked her out to the garden as if the words he was about to utter were extremely secretive. 

"My lady," Killian gulped. "Aldrich told you a lot of things. But he probably skipped a lot of things too." 

After the Princess had woken up again, Aldrich had explained all the events to her personally, including Wanda's sudden death and the fact that Heinrich had locked himself in his room ever since. 

"Heinrich is a dangerous man," Killian said. 

"Not this again…" The Princess looked away instantly. 

"Please give me a moment. I will explain everything." Killian wasn't going to back down. "First, he killed the Holy Roman Emperor." 

The Princess widened her eyes, "What?!" 

"That is how he saved you. I respect him for that." Killian said, "If it was not for him, you would not be here today," 

The Princess nodded, feeling worse for him. He had to kill someone for her and then lose his wife too. It must be very hard for him, given that he had locked himself in his room. 

"I thought he was an amazing man for this…" Killian muttered in disappointment, "He even gave you his blood! I do not understand him." 

"Killian, get to the point. You are worrying me." The Princess said in frustration. 

"My lady," Killian pressed his lips together. "While you were unconscious, he traveled to Miraculum alone. I saw him go to that basement. When I went there, he came out of a luminous hallway, just like the one we saw back at the Mountains of Death." 

"Then what happened?" The Princess asked. 

"I asked him if he just traveled or not and he brushed it away. I reminded him of the promises he had kept with you and he just told me that you should not have trusted him." Killian complained, "My lady, he could always travel at will. If he had wanted to send us back, he would have done that already!" 

The Princess frowned, "He promised to take me back if he can… How is this-" 

"Think about it. After declaring you his mistress, would he randomly send you away? This was his trick. Our affiliation was his trick. He tricked us into staying here by saying that he did not travel at will!" Killian raised his voice in anger. 

"Who tricked you?" Kaspar asked from a distance. 

The Princess and Killian looked at him with surprise and nervousness. 

"Anyways, you two should head inside. The atmosphere is looking tough." Kaspar said, "Killian, escort Lady Sofia to her room." 

"Yes," Killian nodded, "But what do you mean?" 

"What?" Kaspar asked. "Oh," He nodded, "It is nothing to worry about but some of our men went out last night and did not return. The Great Father had mentioned that tough times were creeping up on us. So we are just being careful." 

"How does he know?" The Princess asked scornfully. 

"He is the Great Father. He knows everything." Kaspar said bluntly. "Anyways, go inside. The garden is off-limits from now on until Mr. Aldrich says so." 

Was this another trick to keep these two from attempting to leave? Killian could only think of how they had been tricked so far by the cunning master they unknowingly had to serve. 

The Princess hadn't gotten over the betrayal. She had put all her trust into this man. She cursed herself for ever fancying him on the streets. Had she not left for the Mountains of Death, she would still be in her castle, with her loving father and mother. 

—

Aldrich was going to Heinrich's room twice today. He knocked on the door and stood outside patiently for hours. When Heinrich wouldn't come out, he would just leave and come back the next day. He had even told Heinrich that the Princess had woken up. But there was no response from the other side. 

This was the first time Heinrich had locked himself in his room without a single word. 

Though the Princess wasn't fond of his presence anymore after knowing that he was never going to send her back to her timeline, she still felt the need to show compassion toward his wife, Teresia. 

The Princess personally went to Teresia's room to comfort her. Her co-wife had passed away and her husband had locked himself in his room; she must be terrified. 

The Princess knocked at the door before entering to see Teresia sitting on the ground by the window, staring outside. 

"Miss Teresia?" The Princess called her hesitantly. 

Teresia looked up at her and passed a forced smile, "Lady Sofia," She said softly. "Welcome to my humble chamber." She added. 

It was quite humble. Unlike the Princess's well-decorated and adorned room, Teresia's room was not furnished at all. Instead of a bed, there were sheets on the floor for her to sleep. Instead of chairs, there were cushions for her to sit on. The Princess was confused. Why was Heinrich's wife treated like this when even the servants got beds and comfortable chairs? 

The Princess simply nodded with confusion written all over her face. Teresia chuckled upon noticing how confused the Princess was. 

"Do not worry," Teresia said, looking at her humble chamber. "I like it this way. I requested this myself." 

This caught the Princess off-guard. How could one like the uncomfortable floor more than the bed? There was no furniture in her room at all. The Princess was pampered at Miraculum and here. She couldn't imagine a day without these comfortable goods. 

"Can I ask you why?" The Princess asked, curious to know what led the wife of a powerful man to live this humbly. 

Teresia smiled, "Take a seat. I have stories for you… A lot of stories."