CRIMSON LILY [To Be Published Under PAPERINK]

CHAPTER 29

PRINCE LOUIS TAPPED ON his desk with his index finger. It was his long-awaited day, the day they will announce his coronation as the crown prince.

He was anxiously waiting for his trusted servant, Elena, in his office. And for some reason, he could feel someone calling him, but he could not recognize the voice.

"Why do you keep on throbbing?" He whispered sharply as his hand clenched on his chest.

He frowned then his attention was caught by the weird light on his medallion. He was wearing it specially today because of the important event. However, weirdly enough, the medallion was blinking a weird light. This has not happened before.

Prince Louis took off the medallion and stared at it. The blinking light was unusually matching the frantic beating of his heart. His eyes grew wider, his mouth dropping in astonishment when the medallion broke in half.

"No. What is happening here?" He whispered to himself, gritting his teeth to hide the panic that was slowly busting inside him.

He placed the broken medallion on his desk, trying to see if it was him who broke it or not. While he was checking, the prince was also trying to reach Elena by calling her in his mind, a way they did to communicate.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry to interrupt, but His Grace, the Duke of Morningsun, is here," one of the knights guarding outside of his office announced.

Prince Louis clicked his tongue out of annoyance. The duke's arrival was expected, but he arrived in a drastic time. Nonetheless, the prince fixed his clothes and placed the medallion in his pocket.

He could not let go of the chance that the duke might be changing his mind today, after his threat the other day.

As he was walking to the parlor room, Prince Louis noticed the lack of guards around the palace, but he shrugged it off. He thought that the guards might be slacking off because of how lenient they are to them.

'I should punish them accordingly,' he thought.

The prince was too busy thinking about the punishment for the knights and Elena's tardiness when the knight guarding the parlor spoke.

"His Highness, the Second Prince, has arrived," he announced.

Prince Louis opened the door to the parlor, his smirk growing wider when he saw the sullen face of the duke.

"It's a pleasure to see you today, Duke Morningsun," he greeted him.

The duke clenched his hands. He glared at the prince as he stood to greet him. "The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness," he said through gritted teeth.

Prince Louis felt delighted when he noticed how affected the duke was. 'I only threatened the position of your son, and yet here you are, crawling back like a bug.'

"What brings the great Duke here?" he asked, feigning ignorance, annoying the duke more.

The duke stared at the center table for a second. He looked like a white tiger soaked in the rain with his sullenness.