Aravel

Chapter 68

"Lunaria's... fiancé?"

Kaze stammered, his hand trembling at the thought of it. All previous thoughts he had suddenly got wiped out of his head, such that he couldn't connect to the fact that Lunaria has a fiancé.

"Ah, it was in the past though. I did emphasize the word 'was'," Ash quickly corrected Kaze after seeing his stunned look. "Please don't mention it out loud, I don't want our relationship right now to be defined on our past."

"A-Ah, right. Sorry... I was just a little taken aback that Lunaria had a fiancé before."

"I'm not surprised you don't know. It is something we both agreed to not mention. Think of it as our embarrassing past."

Glancing around them, Ash urged Kaze to follow him to someplace they could talk without being overlapped or interrupted.

"Alright, this should do," Ash nodded once they arrived at the balcony connected to the dining room and casted a barrier around them. "Now we can eat and talk in peace."

"Uhh, sorry, can you please elaborate more on being Lunaria's fiance?" Kaze asked nervously, taking a bite of chicken.

"Hmm, I'm not sure how much of it I am allowed to tell you," Ash mused over it. "... I suppose it would only be appropriate to ask how much you know about Lunaria?"

"Almost everything about her past."

"That's a very confident answer."

"You can test me to prove if I am lying."

"No need for that. Us dragonkins can tell if a person is lying or not, but that only works on other species. You are serious."

"Uhh, that sounds like a cheat. Lunaria uses it often too."

"Well, with a past as complicated as hers, I wouldn't be surprised if she did. For her to jump at you... she certainly trusts you a lot."

Grinning at Kaze, Ash took a moment for himself to chew on some of the food stacked on his plate before resuming the talk.

"After the coup, there was an order that requested the evacuation of all humans from Aravel. A clean-up commenced, searching and interrogating all officials to ensure that all the weeds of the opposition had been cleanly removed. Once that was over, Lunaria was taken under intensive care. I heard the Emperor and Empress had the best healers of the nation over for a few weeks."

"You heard?"

"Right. Until then, I was merely the son of a Council Member. I have no right of access to the palace or any sort of news. Mind you, everyone was suspicious of each other. Supporting the devils was one thing, but betraying the Emperor who led our race to victory and prosperity was something we wouldn't take a chance at overlooking, not even with our family."

"... It was that serious, huh?"

"You bet. Then, I was almost 60, so it is only natural that I wouldn't be as involved compared with some of my seniors and my father's acquaintances. What that I do know is it had been weeks since Lunaria made a national appearance again. She looked pretty terrible, so much so that she was barely recognisable."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ash snapped his fingers and made two glasses half-filled with alcohol appear.

"Here you go."

"I don't drink but thank you."

"Mm. As I was saying, Lunaria was in a very dreadful state back then. Because of what happened to her, it was said that her long hair had been cut short by her torturers and assaulters, which was what made her look so different. That aside, her emotional scars cut way deeper than we ever could imagine. I have personally seen counsellors exit the palace with dark looks on their faces. Any sort of attempt to help Lunaria heal and open up was impossible. At the time, she only made a public appearance because it was necessary. Otherwise, she would seclude herself in her room."