Royals of Illéa

Chapter 17-Diaries

-Kaden-

Shocked I sit up, sending the books in my lap toppling to the floor. The crash draws the guard outside into my room but I wave him away as my eyes stay glued to the words on the book in my hand. With shaky hands I set the book down on the sofa next to me and bury my head in my hands.

The prince consort of France was playing with both the monarchy and the insurgents. He had promised the families of the victims' compensation for the losses of men in their family and the royal treasury had in fact started issuing the money but it never reached the affected families because the prince consort was taking it away from the treasury under only the guise of helping the victim's families. He was taking the money for himself and his chosen circle of corrupt aristocrats!

The treasury thought that the money was going to the families while the families thought that the monarchy wasn't paying them! Both groups are in the dark about the truth!

I lean back against sofa and study the intricate design on the ceiling. This chaos has erupted because of the greed of one man. It makes me sick to think of how selfish he must have been. He must have known the consequences that Camille would face once she ascended the throne but he was ready to sacrifice even his daughter for his greed.

I close my eyes as the troubling words play over and over in my mind.

"Kaden?" I hear Josie's voice.

I open my eyes to find her standing in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" She looks concerned and I realized that my face must look stricken to her.

I gulp and nod but my head has started pounding with a headache now at the thoughts of the king consort's sick mentality.

"Talk to me, Kaden." She whispers, sitting down next to me.

"Is there something you came to talk about?" I ask her and she nods.

"Tell me." I sigh but she shakes her head, "You have to tell me what's on your mind first. You look shaken."

"Josie, please don't push it. I'll tell you when I'm ready to talk about it." I groan, leaning my head against the sofa.

Hurt flashes in her eyes as she looks down at her hands. I smack myself in my head for being so rude to her.

I sit up and take her hands in mine, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Kaden..." She starts but I interrupt, "No. You're just looking out for me. I shouldn't push you away. It's just..."

Josie rests a hand on mine, "Kaden it's alright if you don't want to share it."

"The French don't know the entire story of what happened when they went to war with New Asia." I blurt.

"What?" Josie asks, confused.

"The French royal treasury been issuing payments to the public that Lady Daphne had been unaware of at the time but the people still revolted because they never got the money. The prince consort kept it for himself." Josie gasps when I finish, her eyes wide open.

"What does this even mean?" She finally manages to ask as she overcomes the shock.

"That no one is at fault except a dead man, the king consort and a handful of evil monarchs who worked with him." I sigh.

She's silent for a minute before she asks, "How do you even know this?"

I hold up the book.

"You know how the estate we lived on in France was someone else's house years ago?" I look at her.

A smile stretches across her face, "How can I forget after you turned our dinner date on the balcony into a spooky story session?"

I can't help but laugh at the memory of her horrified face at the stories I told her that night.

"Well, those were all made up because this is not a book, it's a diary. The diary of one of the prince consort's closest confidantes who was murdered just a few months before the prince died. No one ever figured it out but I'm guessing the king had him killed since from what's written in this diary, he knew everything about the prince's daily activities. Which included these money transactions."

"The library had all his old books." Josie catches up and then adds, "And his diaries, apparently. Perfect place to hide them, right in the open."

"Exactly." I nod.

"This is so bad." She shakes her head, looking near tears.

"What did you come to tell me?" I ask, rubbing her back.

Now a few tears slip down her cheeks as she says, "The insurgents are attacking the public now. There are reports of destruction of houses and businesses from all over the country."

"Does Camille know?" I ask.

Josie shakes her head, "Even I wasn't supposed to know. I overheard Ahren and your dad discussing it. They think that all the reports that the French advisors have been sending to Ahren are being intercepted by the insurgents."

"Of course they are." I sigh, rubbing my temples.

"I was going to tell Ahren and Camille but if he hasn't told her about the attacks on the public, I doubt he'll tell her this and we can't contact the French advisors anyways since calls are being monitored. This information is of no use." I toss the diary onto the table in front.

"I can't stop thinking about something." Josie suddenly says.

"What?" I ask her.

"The money that the prince took for himself. It must have been quite some amount. What became of it?" She asks.

"Perhaps it's still out there somewhere but it's likely that he wasted it on unimportant things." I think about it.

"True." Josie sadly nods.

We sit in silence before she rests her head on my shoulder and we sit together thinking of the important information that we have but no safe way to get it to the right people.