The Author's Will

53 | Mirrored Blades

　　 As Irene ambled through the endless depths of the maze outside in the Atlan's gardens, her mind became lost in deep thought about how the story would come to play out.

If things stayed as they were now, and Daniel continued to live without having met Isabella at this point — then it would be likely he'd lose the people's favour and be deemed a weak and irresponsible ruler. Many would turn to Mikael for the emperor candidate instead, but Irene was aware that wasn't a good direction either.

After all, even though Mikael was slowly starting to gain people's acceptance, he still hated the empire with every fibre of his being. Their changing attitudes wouldn't just erase all of the derision and scrutiny aimed at him ever since his birth.

He'd definitely have trouble ruling the people who hated him... Irene thought, sighing softly to herself as she remembered - although he had an angel's face, the boy was quite frightening.

As she continued to explore the maze in wonderment, Irene admired the tall, flowered walls surrounding her on all sides. The Atlans may not have been a very great family with the exception of Daniel, but at least they knew how to decorate their garden.

Just then, a soft, faint rustling of leaves drew her attention. Although there were a few light breezes, the sound was a little too strong for it to be only caused by wind. She stopped in her tracks — glancing toward the tall bushes on her left in slight apprehension.

Is someone else here?

A gentle breeze swept past her, carrying the dewy aroma of fresh flowers and leaves with it. And as Irene went to investigate the sound, her eyes widened at the sight of a young man - sat against the wall of the maze with his eyes gazing upwards into an endless blue sky.

For a moment, she thought that the boy was just another guest who attended the banquet, and must have wondered off the same way she did. But on closer inspection — there was something different about him.

Ebony strands of hair which curled in messy waves around a gorgeous, slightly feminine face. Sun-kissed skin that wavered between pale and warm honey. Piercing blue eyes framed by long, thick lashes.

A wave of familiarity hit her when she laid eyes on the boy, who hadn't noticed her presence. Somehow, she felt like she saw this scene somewhere before. This side profile, which caused her heart to flutter a little bit because of how beautiful it was.

Someone that beautiful was bound to earn the attention of the aristocrats, and there was no way she'd miss a face like this in that hall. When she noticed the clothes he wore — which were simple and unfit for a banquet as deluxe as this one — she realised it almost instantly.

"Daniel..."

Irene mindlessly whispered his name, but she didn't realise it was loud enough for him to hear. Because as soon as she spoke, the young man turned to face her and noticed her presence almost instantly.

His eyes were initially cold and on high alert — a look of surprise on his face at the sound of someone having instantly recognised him, despite never seeing him once in their life.

"Who are you?" He demanded, and Irene quickly covered her mouth when she realised he heard her.

Crap... I didn't expect to see him here all of a sudden...!

What do I do?! Should I run away?

Daniel slowly stood, and Irene noticed it was taking him an odd amount of energy just to hoist his body up. As he held onto to the branches of the hedge walls beside him for support — she remembered the fact that the prince was supposedly ill.