Chapter 292: Her friend
Cedric nodded and then made his way from the surveillance tower. He hoped Abrielle had stayed back at the castle but that was him wishing for much.
He had an inkling feeling that she was with Alfonso, who was like the only friend she had made while in the capital. FRIENDS, he scoffed. He hoped it was just that.
While his mind was plagued with finding answers about this mysterious group of dark magic practitioners they labelled as sorcerers who had been causing way too many problems for the royal family and disrupting the flow of things in Vitalis, a part of his mind wandered to her.
She was always stuck somewhere in his mind. Cedric thought about the entire situation between Abrielle and Alfonso wondering if there was something he wasn’t seeing.
From the first day they met, Abrielle always found herself in rather awkward situations with Alfonso. Cedric was aware of Alfonso’s nature. He knew Alfonso had a habit of using wives to get information. That might be the case but the question was that if Alfonso was manipulating Abrielle, she had started to bend to his will.
Was it purely manipulation to cause a rift or did she have developed feelings for Alfonso? Those were questions he didn’t have answers to.
Cedric stepped out of the tower into the main square. The music had already died down, in the front of the square was a wide balcony that presided above the square.
Cedric stood at the corner, his eyes darting across the crowd below that listened to the king give his speech. It was the same speech Kaiden gave every year about vigilance and love before presenting the gold rose to the victor of the rose duel. Each year, it was barely different. It spoke the same message, starting with a fairytale about a knight who fought dragons to get the first gold rose he presented to his beloved as a sign of devotion.
Kaiden finished his speech and there was a thunderous round of applause. Kaiden raised his hand and the applause died down.
"This year was remarkable, every knight fought hard but in the end only one can get the rose. Every red rose was an acknowledgement of strength and love no less than the gold rose. Still, it is an honour to present this year’s winner, our very own first prince of this great kingdom, Prince Cedric Von Drakkar." Kaiden declared and there was a round of applause.
The king’s gaze travelled from the crowd to the corner of the balcony where Cedric stood. He gave the prince a soft smile, one he rarely saw while growing up. Cedric felt like scoffing, he didn’t want the king to lose too much face.