The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 227: The Truth (Part Four)

Chapter 227: The Truth (Part Four)

The King stood up from his seat and moved toward Annalise’s direction. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess followed suit as they too stood up from their seats but didn’t follow the King.

As for Annalise, despite being aware of the custom, she was just unable to move her body. She felt too weak to even think about standing up. So, she kept sitting on her seat as her eyes followed the king who surprised not only her but also her parents as he stopped right in front of her before crouching on the ground.

"Your Majesty..."

"My King?"

Both Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess spoke out almost immediately in surprise and confusion but remained standing next to their seats as the King dismissed their worries with a shake of his hand before he took hold of Annalise’s hands in his own and looked directly into her eyes.

"I do love you, sister. After all, you are my favorite among all my siblings and you will always remain my favorite no matter what." His thumbs softly grazed the back of her hands as he continued, "But just like I have already told you, no matter how much I love you as my sister, I can’t ignore my duties as the King of this empire. My duties as the King is far above and more important than my duties as a brother. Maybe you won’t understand, and you don’t even need to understand it, but... this is the price that this crown requires, Annalise. We have to make hard choices in our lives and while others can always put their loved ones at the very top of their priority list, I am forbidden to do the same. A King always needs to put his people first."

Annalise watched as the King’s eyes almost appeared teary as he continued, "I just wanted you to win your husbands’ hearts and make them agree to work with us to get rid of the enemy that was targeting us from the shadows. I won’t deny that I really put your safety and happiness at risk because there was not even a single good rumor about the dark lords and we knew nothing about them except that they’re really powerful. But I had to do it, no matter how terrible I felt."

"If there had been another way, I swear I would have never let you get involved in this shady world but I was at the end of options. The only reason I seek help from the High Priestess was that... things were getting out of my hands and I couldn’t waste any more time. So I did exactly what I needed to."

He stopped to take in a deep breath before stating, "To tell you the truth, if I get another chance... I will still make the same choice, Annalise, I will still make you marry the dark lords because it concerns my people... but also because I can see that despite all those rumors, they are really good men who really care about you. That’s the only thing that lessens my guilt to some level."

A single tear rolled down his cheek and Annalise finally felt enough strength in her body to raise her hand and wipe away the trace from his cheeks before she threw her arms around the man’s shoulders and hugged him tightly.

She was meant to provide him with some comfort but as soon as she felt his familiar arms coming around her and his fingers softly rubbing the back of her head, she finally lost her composure. Sobs burst out of her as tears started spilling and she was a complete mess in barely a couple of seconds.

"It’s alright. You can cry, I’m here." The King whispered to her as he rubbed her back just like he used to do in their childhood whenever she couldn’t sleep after getting afraid of crazy thunders. He was the only sibling she ever had and lost the very moment he had to leave everything behind and take on his duty as the new king of the Empire.

How much she missed his warmth, his understanding, his support, and most importantly - his big heart that had always inspired her like her father. Both these men were the most selfless people she had ever encountered in her life.

He allowed her to cry her heart out without saying anything while he kept crouching on the ground and kept rubbing her head as if she was a child who was in desperate need of comfort, or she probably was.

Annalise was aware of her parents’ presence and as she turned her face to look at them, she found her father holding her mother in his arms as she also sobbed, and it only made her cry more.

It took a long while before she was finally able to calm down and by that time, her entire face was swollen which made the King chuckle as he finally got to take a look at her face.

"Stop laughing!" Annalise ordered him with a very unhappy look on her face, almost forgetting that it was not just her cousin but also her King with whom she was talking. But to her utter surprise, he did comply but a smile still remained playing on his lips as he ruffled her hair softly while making sure to not mess them up.

"I still love your eyes and hair." He admitted something that he had done numerous times in the past. There was a warmth in his eyes that she hadn’t seen in years.

"I still haven’t forgotten you." She pointed out just to let him know and the King just nodded his head in understanding but the smile on his lips didn’t falter even for a second.

"It’s alright. Just like I have said before, you don’t really need to forgive me. I know I wouldn’t have if I were in your place. Just don’t hate me for the rest of your life."

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