Chapter 94: Rising tension
Music Recommendation: Well- Haximum
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Anastasia was about to follow Dante, but then she realised Lady Lucretia would be left unattended and alone. Deciding to stay back, she retrieved the wet cloth from earlier and wiped the blood smeared on the wall and the floor.
On the ground floor, Dante walked past the gathered people and stepped out of the old palace. Just as he was about to mount his horse, Aziel ran up to him and inquired, "Prince Dante, where are you going?!"
Dante grasped his horse’s reins and responded, "To the main palace to speak with the king and the queen."
"Please wait!" Aziel stopped him from leaving and attempted to manage the situation by saying, "Please don’t make any rash decisions that will result in further anguish."
Usually calm and composed, Dante glared down at the minister, who regarded him warily. His eyes had turned red, and his face was twisted with fury, as if the dam that had contained the water had ruptured, releasing a flood.
"All I asked was for a small plot to bury my mother. I would have understood my request being denied if it were when she was alive, and they felt threatened, but she was one of the concubines to the king. Sick and exiled, where I couldn’t even be with her during her final moments!" Dante’s voice snapped in frustration. Upon noticing the black fumes beginning to emanate from the top of the first prince’s shoulders and head, the minister instinctively took a step backwards.
"Pardon me, My Prince," Aziel offered his deepest bows before continuing, "If—If it pleases you, I will be happy to grant you a piece of land where Lady Lucretia can be laid to rest. There’s a suitable location not too far from here..."
The way the letter read, its contents seem to convey that Queen Maya had decreed that only members of the royal family directly connected by blood would be granted burial rights in the mausoleums, while the others would be denied the same privilege.
Dante raised his hand to cover his eyes before forcefully running it through his hair in frustration. The one person who cared for and loved him had been taken away. She was gone forever, and he could only grasp at thin air as his hands clenched tightly. Blood continued to drip from his hand, falling steadily to the ground.