HENRIETTA: PRAELUDIUM [TO BE EDITED]

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24

[ DISCLAIMER : PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A FEW SHOCKING SCENES AND UNCOMFORTABLE EVENTS USED TO EXPRESS THE CHARACTERS' HARDSHIPS THAT MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE TO THE READER. READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED. ]


Keita, Amethyst's personal and secret knight, helped her. Amethyst was on her way to her new room. As usual, she was walking like a doll that she even tripped on her own feet. There was no one with her that time that Keita had to appear before her and help her.

Amethyst looked at her with her empty eyes. Keita gritted his teeth as he stared back at her. Her once light purple eyes that were filled with kindness and curiosity were now darker and empty. It was as if the little princess was devoid of the emotions that made her human.

"Maybe it was too painful for you..." Keita whispered as he brushes a couple of her hair strands off her cheek. "If only I could take away your pain..." He added.

Keita wasn't like this. He wasn't emotional. He didn't even blinked when he murdered his family, but for some reasons, the princess in front of him looked too sad that he wanted to protect her from anything. Even from the emperor and the empress.

"Let me help you now," he murmured. He was about to lift the princess up when someone slapped his hand away from her.

"Don't touch her." It was Astraeus, the child of the Grand Sorcerer.

His cold gaze pierced Keita's deadly glare. "Stop touching what's mine, orphan." Astraeus bent down a little then he carried the princess on his arms.

Astraeus was two years older than Keita, and he was four years older than Amethyst. He had known the young princess ever since she was born. He was present during the test that his Master Seymour had conducted.

Not that he was treating the princess as an object, but Astraeus was deeply convinced that he was the only one who was always willing to protect her at all cost. He was there when no one was willing to look after her. He stayed beside her when everyone were busy entertaining the fake princess. And he believed her when she promised to only have him beside her. Will she break it now? Now that she has been free from the emotions, the shackles binding her with humanity?

"Rae..." Her voice was empty, nevertheless, it was enough to pull him back to reality.

"I'm always here for you, my dear princess. So please... please come back soon. Even if you forget us, I will forever stay beside you. This is my oath in this lifetime." Astraeus smiled as he gently caressed her ash grey hair.

He smiled at her for the last time then he leaned forward to press a chaste kiss on her forehead. As soon as he disappeared, a servant entered the princess' new room.

"Rae..." Amethyst whispered to herself, her voice sounding a little sad compared to her usual empty voice.

On the other hand, Keita only met the princess when she was 8 and he was 10. And they met during a tragic event in his life. Despite the irritation he felt during his first days serving her, Keita had developed a weird fascination of wanting to make her happy.

And he was willing to do anything for her, even if it costs him his heart.

"You." Keita clenched his jaw when he heard Astraeus calling him. The young sorcerer appeared behind him and he quickly draw his sword, turned around and pointed his blade to him.

"Oh. It was just some lizard," he muttered, feigning ignorance at him.

He pulled his sword back and placed it back on his scabbard.

"We both want the same thing, right?" Astraeus started, completely brushing off the attempted murder that Keita did just a while ago.

Keita cocked his eyebrow as he tilted his head.

"You mean?"

And instead of giving the young knight an answer, the young sorcerer turned his head to the main palace.

"I know how to cause a fire that can burn anything." He added.

"Is that so? Then I'm good in letting my sword slip at the right direction." Keita seconded.

The plan was too simple that even one of them would be enough to accomplished it. But other than that, they needed extra help from someone. From someone who could forge documents and someone who could convince a trusted person to take over the throne.


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"I'm not sure what's the reason for the both of you to call me out here, but I hope this is something good and entertaining." A 12-year-old boy with platinum ash blonde hair and a pair of deep purple eyes entered the small hut.

The small hut belonged to a spy that was formerly working in the imperial palace. The boy with the platinum hair, Arthur, was the one who discovered the spy and Keita was the one who killed him. Then Astraeus found this small hut located in the farthest part of the forest beside the imperial palace. When the three of them inspected the mysterious hut, they found the spy's things that were hidden in there.

And they didn't report any of those incidents since they've decided to use the hut as their headquarters.

Lucifero Arthur le Clair was the second son of the emperor's brother, Grand Duke Deus. Arthur and his elder brother knew about the secret of Amethyst's birth, but they were ordered to remain silent and distant. Hendrix, his elder brother, followed the order, while Arthur secretly spies on the princess. And that's how he met Astraeus and Keita who were secretly guarding Amethyst.

They were enemies at first, but they eventually learned that they all have the same goal. And that's Amethyst's happiness.

The three devised a plan, a plan to extinguish the poisonous people that's consuming their beloved princess. Arthur was against it at first since they were committing treason and that's punishable by death once they've been found out. But the young sorcerer assured them that the three of them would be safe by giving them each a teleportation stone that will transport them to another secret place once they're done with their task.


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The day of their plan.

It was that one cold evening, Amethyst already left to rest in her new room. The room that the empress had decorated. The emperor was still uneasy about the new situation. Like before, they kept it a secret from anyone and only the head servants and the Grand Duke were aware of this.

When the others asked about the princess' health, they only said that the young princess was always acting out and throwing tantrums after that assassination incident, making it hard for anyone to meet her.

After the transfusion ritual, the Grand Sorcerer Seymour disappeared along with the first princess' corpse, and from that day, the emperor had experienced daily nightmares. He felt threatened to the point that he hesitated seeing their new child's face.

He would even look at the empress as if she had gone mad whenever he'll see her playing around with the child. That didn't stop with just her spoiling the princess, she also granted her another name; Henrietta Amethyst le Clair.

Emperor Augustus was in the middle of drowning in his own thoughts when he heard a knock on his office's door.

"Your majesty, it is I." A cold shiver run down his spine as he heard the empress' voice.

"You may enter," he answered.

Empress Avery entered his office with a smile on her face. She was even carrying a tray of refreshments with her.

"I thought of bringing something refreshing before we discuss the first princess' situation." The emperor swallowed a lump at the sudden mention of his dead daughter.

He stood from his seat and went closer to the empress, who's now sitting on the couch on his office. Silence surrounded the room as they both enjoyed the tea. They have to, before the stress eats them away.

"The second princess, Amethyst," before he could continue, Empress Avery cut him off.

"What second princess? We only have one daughter, right?" Her irises shook as she stares at him.

There was a pause, but the emperor nod his head, as if he was acknowledging the situation. But deep inside him, he was already planning of a way to dispose of his current wife, the empress, and that child. Truthfully, she wasn't his child. She was from another man's flesh and blood. And he despises the truth that his empress had the guts to betray him, her husband.

"I only did this because of you." The emperor's eyes widen. He unintentionally let go of the teacup he was holding when he felt a pang of pain throbbing across his chest.

It felt hot, like his insides were burning. His head throbbed painfully and his heart felt like something was squeezing it from the inside.

"It was because of that greed of yours. You took everything from me."

The empress' eyes became darker as she watches him struggling on the floor. Luckily, the poison was very efficient. She was right to increase the amount of Hemlock that she mixed in their tea.

"That child's father," the empress leaned closer to him, her eyes clouded with madness loomed over him. "Was the Grand Duke, your brother." She smiled as she finally told him the truth. The emperor looked surprised and betrayed, but seriously, who betrayed who first?

"Hah... Em...press." And with that, his life ended in a flash.

The empress pulled out the dagger she hid under her sleeves then she stabbed the emperor's back a couple of times, until her dress was soaked with his blood.

This wasn't part of the plan, but she had a vision a few nights ago. One that came from the Goddess, and she wanted for her to silence those who knew their secret, including herself. The Goddess said that it was needed in order to complete their preparation and for her wishes to be fulfilled.

Without any doubts or suspicion, Empress Avery followed her words. Before fulfilling the task given to her, she increased the drug that she was mixing in the emperor's tea and visited him in his chamber the next night after the vision she received. The drug induces hallucinations that the empress easily manipulated him in writing his last will. The letters in his last will include that the Grand Duke will succeed as the regent emperor, and the Princess Henrietta Amethyst le Clair will be crowned as the next heir to the throne.

Empress Avery carefully hid the last will that the emperor had written. She also wrote a letter addressed to the Grand Duke, confessing everything to him. Once her preparations were completed, the empress had snuck back to the emperor's chamber and slipped the two letters that she and the emperor had written. Then before she went to the emperor's office, she had gathered the head servants who knew about the twins and the transfusion ritual in her sitting room with the pretext of giving them a bonus for being diligent workers. She made them drink the tea she prepared that was mixed with the poisonous herb Hemlock.

And she used the same method to the emperor. But in order to prevent anyone from outside the palace in knowing the truth, she planned to make it look like she was deranged and murdered the emperor by stabbing him.

Dying from murder and suicide will be a great stain to any family. That's why she predicted that no one would dare expose their real deaths if she'll place clear evidence that she murdered them then she killed herself after.

Empress Avery drunk the remaining contents of the tea. And with a smile plastered on her face, she died beside the emperor.