Alaric’s brows pulled together as his head shifted restlessly from side to side on the bed, and it was obvious he was trapped in another nightmare. Sweat covered his face while the voices echoed loudly inside his head.

"How could you do this? I trusted you."

Then came the sight of blood everywhere, staining the floor and his hands alike.

"He trusted you... How could you betray your own..."

The voices suddenly overlapped, chanting all at once until his head throbbed violently beneath them.

"Your Majesty..."

In reality, two of his trusted guards stood before the bed, exchanging uneasy glances as they watched the king struggle in his sleep. He looked nothing like the terrifying ruler they knew. For a brief moment, he almost looked afraid.

"Your Majesty," one of them called again, slightly louder this time.

The voices from the nightmare and the guard’s voice merged together in Alaric’s ears, and before he knew it, he gasped sharply and jolted upright on the bed as though he had escaped death itself.

The guards stiffened immediately.

Silence filled the room while Alaric sat there breathing heavily, his head lowered as sweat rolled down his face. Slowly, his eyes moved around the chamber until he confirmed that he was truly inside his room. No blood. No voices. No ghosts clawing at his mind.

He dragged a trembling hand through his hair.

He was safe.

At least for now.

"Your Majesty?" one of the guards called carefully again.

Alaric slowly lifted his gaze toward them, and whatever fear had been there moments ago vanished behind cold irritation. "What is it?" he asked sharply, making the guard tense on the spot.

"The councilmen are requesting your presence. It has been..."

"I will not be disturbed," Alaric cut in immediately. "Tell them that."

The guards exchanged uncertain looks because this was not the first time the king had refused to leave his chambers. Since the incident that night, Alaric had locked himself away from almost everyone.

"Didn’t you hear what I said?" he demanded harshly when they hesitated. "Get out."

They bowed at once and quickly left the room without another word.

The moment the doors shut behind them, silence consumed the chamber again. Alaric remained seated on the edge of the bed for several seconds before he slowly looked around the room once more, reassuring himself that the nightmare was gone.

Then suddenly, he laughed. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The sound was low at first before it grew louder, almost unstable, and the guards outside the room stiffened in fear at the sound of it. Moments ago the king had looked shaken, then enraged, and now he was laughing to himself like a man standing at the edge of madness.

But then again, when had their king ever truly been sane?

These nights, Alaric had barely slept properly. Whenever he managed to close his eyes, the nightmares returned. He saw blood. He heard familiar voices. Voices he recognized too well. Voices reminding him over and over again of what he had done to them.

Of how he had betrayed them.

"It was only a nightmare," he muttered to himself, though the words sounded empty even to his own ears. "I’ll be fine."

Trying to rid himself of the lingering dread crawling beneath his skin, he stepped into the bath and closed his eyes as the water surrounded him.

Meanwhile, the councilmen had begun to suspect that something was wrong with the king.

This was yet another important meeting Alaric had ignored despite the pressing matters surrounding the postponed wedding, and none of them understood why their king had suddenly withdrawn from everything.

****

Elsewhere in the palace, Verity and Thalia had officially begun their investigation into the mystery Rosalind had shared with them. Verity insisted that their first step should be asking the servants around about the strange footman.

"These people never stop gossiping," Thalia muttered with a shake of her head as they approached two maids speaking quietly among themselves. "Instead of doing their work."

The two maids immediately stopped talking the moment they noticed Verity and Thalia approaching, and they quickly lowered their heads respectfully.

"The footman you were talking about just now," Verity began calmly as her eyes settled on the maid named Lily, "do you know when he started working here?"

"You mean Rowan?" Lily asked immediately, her eyes widening in surprise.

The moment Verity confirmed it was indeed Rowan they meant, both she and Thalia noticed the subtle change in Lily’s expression. Thalia’s eyes narrowed slightly at once.

Lily had been trying very hard not to think about Rowan recently. She still remembered the day she confronted him about the letter she had sent him and asked why he never responded. Rowan had rejected her gently that day, telling her honestly that he did not feel the same way because he already liked someone else. Though embarrassed, Lily had appreciated his honesty, and they had parted peacefully afterward.

But ever since Kira told her about the strange rumors spreading through the palace, she had not stopped thinking about him. The servants kept twisting the story into different versions, and now Verity and Thalia were standing before her asking questions about the very same man.

"Yes, him," Verity confirmed.

Lily nodded slowly. "I haven’t been here very long, but when I once asked about him, someone said he started working here around two years ago."

"Two years?" Verity repeated thoughtfully.

She turned toward Kira, who nodded uncertainly beside Lily. "I think so too... though I’m not completely sure."

Verity exchanged a quick glance with Thalia before nodding. "Alright then. Thank you."

The maids bowed again respectfully while Verity and Thalia walked away, now heading toward the steward’s quarters since they finally had a timeline to start with.

As they walked down the corridor, Thalia looked back briefly before lowering her voice.

"Is it just me," she mused quietly, "or was she trying not to talk about him while blushing the entire time?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Verity replied, and Thalia’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Could it be that she likes Rowan?" she asked subtly.

"Let’s not forget that Rowan is Rosalind’s man," Verity said calmly as they continued walking down the corridor.