Chapter 29
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Edwin’s fingers slackened around the pen, letting it clatter free without a glance. Distant reveries held him captive.
He shielded his glowing cheeks with one palm, murmuring through clenched jaws. The sound reverberated, dragging back the thrill he yearned to bury.
Ms. Diaz’s arm looped through his, that insistent pressure lingering…
Flames licked his complexion anew. He halted the memory sharply, upholding his sense of honor.
He hacked out staged coughs, surveying the vacant chamber before grumbling solo.
“This heat—pure seasonal torment.”
He pinned the blaze in his veins on the weather alone.
Eastern war zones baked fiercer than city bounds!
Imperial quarters thrummed with spells ensuring steady coolness always!
Climate deserved the blame regardless.
Face still vivid, he seized a pile of Belot treaty drafts, fluttering them for relief. Critical reparation notes vanished from awareness.
Quelling the inferno demanded precedence.
Document flutters echoed alone for moments.
Papers mangled past salvage when knuckles rapped the frame.
Awareness lagged; he waved permission amid his frantic wafting.
Kyle appeared as anticipated. Edwin, battling swelling sentiments, sparked alive at his sole frank companion.
True openness flowed only to Kyle, pretense discarded.
Kyle froze upon glimpsing Edwin’s persistent flush.
Wrong quarters? The notion flashed briefly. One foot retreated instinctively before resolve anchored him.
Strategist instincts fired rapid.
Gravity settled on his features promptly.
“Princess developments…”
Edwin’s casual labor poise congealed steadily.
“Her status?”
Fan-sheets hurled aside, he slumped into upholstery, tone laced sour. Eyes frosted over.
Common folk would quail at such a glower, yet Kyle embraced the chill.
He inwardly savored dodging marathon recaps of Ms. Diaz encounters.
Catastrophe skirted, though a lesser hurdle persisted.
“Princess matter persists…”
Kyle weighed a compelling angle.
Monumental, almost negligible.
Plain facts prevailed in his choice.
“Interest revived for wedlock ties.”
Pacts like these blazed diplomatic bonds. Emperor’s lone lineage met her singular succession, stalling earlier bids absent pairs.
Resurfacing marked her alliance turn.
Favorable shift, tempered by repetition.
Post-delivery, Kyle gauged the response. Barbs customarily launched now.
Edwin lingered midway from reverie, withholding snaps.
“Wedlock ties.”
Duty fully engaged, index drummed wood faintly.
“Their candidate?”
Measured words sought her motives.
“Third prince—her blood kin—or her personally.”
Posture rigid, Kyle delivered.
“She aligns best for us.”
“Precisely; she props his perch entirely.”
“Imperial veins blending Belot crowns profits, conquest aside.”
Grudging nod from Edwin.
“Engineer apt rank. Astute, adept in circles.”
Clarity struck; orders issued to Kyle.
“Candidates compiled, update imminent.”
Bowing assent, Kyle complied.
Labor concluded, Edwin’s rigidity dissolved like frost in thaw, presaging Ms. Diaz monologues.
“Depart now.”
Pretext for flight gladdened Kyle.
Day following the third display jaunt alongside Everette.
Fatigue clawed as she alighted the public coach bound for labors. Punishing hours yielded weekly respite at best, lately eroded by outings, wear mounting.
His nearness evaporated exhaustion utterly, she reflected.
Anticipation curled a covert smile for display four.
Everette deserved her probe on future pursuits.
Fingers curled tight in private pledge. Weighing fortnight options sans his schemes, the entryway loomed.
Over-bright hellos met hush bizarrely.
Staff huddled deep in fervent exchange, blind to her arrival.
Air crackled uneasy.
She edged close, tuning in.
“Wyvern crown trumps dragon fringe. Throne locked solid—why chase imperial winds?”
“Mystery motive. Whispers claim Emperor-Belot princess vows seal shortly.”
“Saw aides muster for ceremony. Fact or fable?”
Imperial nuptials fueled the murmur, she gathered.
Dread gripped for dire dawn crisis; chitchat soothed instantly.
Trivial fodder scarcely justified stern clusters.
Rare society whispers enlivened the dull hall via this betrothal blaze.
Drifting deskward, deliberation stirred.
High time truly.
Edwin’s calendar clicked mentally.
Twenty-three turns?
Common unions hovered thereabouts lately, yet thrones tied swifter.
Twenty threshold seldom breached.
Conflict protracted his delay.
Heroine’s debut awaited Year’s gala, half-year dwindling.
Destined duo ignited swift, altar-bound shy of seasons full.
Betrothal brewed inevitable.
Script toyed princess pairing once.
Backstory beat?
Musing veered casual till qualm pierced, jolting rigid.
Scripted occurrence?
Her lens veiled his prelude thinly.
Void echoed here.
Teeth grazed lip in unease.
Betrothal extras claimed spotlight nods minimum.
Reader instincts flagged prime plot spice.
Nil recall signaled…
Path diverged?
Spine iced over abruptly.
Saintess absent starved his benevolence birth.
Princess bond bred stark tactics, absolution denied.
Palace horizon darkened abruptly.
Heroine no-show triggered swift flight.
Pagebound tyrants charmed solely.
