CH-9: RAVEN SEES HIS HIGHNESS

The door slowly creaked open, and Axel's heart started pounding heavily. But his curiosity piqued him once again and he peeped on the people entering the room. He ensured that he was safely hidden and avoided breathing as much as possible to prevent any more unnecessary trouble. The poor young man already had so much stress in stock and no longer wished to add weight to the burden. Finally, three men entered the room while conversing with each other.

Axel was baffled when he saw that one of them was the same man who had disregarded him and fled his face without any words earlier in the morning. Axel tried his best to listen carefully to their conversation and understand the situation. But soon he stopped paying attention to two of them and kept staring at the one who stood in between the other two. Axel's jaw dropped at the man's grace and allure.

He was tall and muscular with a slim waist. His face held an unparalleled beauty and handsomeness, easily unmatched. His silver hair was neatly combed, having lustre resembling that of the moon. He had a sharp jawline and a sharp nose as well. His porcelain complexion complemented his magnificent emerald eyes, adding to his beauty. He wore royal blue noble attire along with a black royal cloak, suggesting his royal status.

That's when Axel realized, the handsome man he was fawning over, was none other than the...

"G-Grand Duke? What is he doing here? Meeting him so early wasn't in the plot! If he finds out that I'm hiding here, observing him from a distance, he would DEFINITELY FREAKING KILL ME ON THE SPOT!" Axel's heart raced, not knowing whether it was because of his anxiety or the man's extraordinary allure.

"Your Grace! I'm telling you; I'm completely unaware of this matter. Why would I come here all the way from my workshop just to eat your huckleberry muffins? Oh, and look, your old sword is repaired now! See? – One of the men, possibly the eldest of the group who wore common clothes said in an elderly voice as he picked up a large heavy metal sword, patterned with bluebell flowers on the ricasso of the sword.

The handsome man finally spoke in a deep voice- "I asked Pete here and as usual, he doesn't know anything! But I guess the sword is"- He stopped mid-sentence and started looking around. His royal cloak fluttering occasionally. His eyes searched for something which left the other two men staring at him quizzically. Silence fell on the entire room.

Sensing the tension, the other noble man, supposedly, Pete asked – "Your Highness, is something troubling you?"

"I feel someone is watching us." The silver haired man replied in an assured tone. This statement sent shivers down Axel's spine, nearly giving him a heart attack. He tried to calm himself and decided to give up on the peeping.

But suddenly the duke changed his entire aura and said in a calming tone- "Its alright... I guess it was my hallucination, anyways, the sword looks even more striking now." The other two men looked at each other, puzzled by the sudden mood swing of the duke.

"Phew! I was almost a goner! Anyways, who knew the Grand Duke, Arthur La Franciszek looked this stunning, this seductive-Wait what am I thinking?" Axel found all of his body's heat transfer to his cheeks embarrassed at such delusional thoughts. Their conversation continued, and Axel now had lost the interest to listen to their discussion for he knew that even a minute more, and he would be captured. Besides he was already late for his training.

Finding the perfect opportunity to escape, he slowly and steadily creaked the large window door open from behind the curtain to escape.

Noticing the movement behind the curtains, Pete alerted the duke standing to his left- "Your Highness! There's someone behind that curtain!"

Without wasting another second, Axel jumped from the large window and landed on the ground on his knees. Just as he was about to run, he looked behind to see this mysterious building and he was shocked. "The duke's palace?! Why would the workshop lead to the palace?" -he thought but now wasn't the time to keep pondering about these occurrences, especially when the men were alerted. If by any chance, he was caught, he woul either be killed or would spend the rest of his life rotting behind the bars.

"But your highness! What if it was a thief?" Pete asked the Grand Duke in confusion expressing his concern for the duke's safety.

"Relax Pete... I'm sure it was cat. In fact, a very naughty and naïve cat, who thought it could steal whatever it wants and expects it to go unnoticed." Arthur La Franciszek said as he curled his lips into a bold smirk.