novelraw Chapter 517: The Key to the West Wing (II)
Chapter 517: The Key to the West Wing (II)
Primrose waited in the Azmeria Palace with Solene and Callen. The two of them even stayed inside her room with her because Edmund had asked them to remain close to Primrose while he was away, just to make sure his wife would not be attacked again, especially by a sudden ambush.
"Your Majesty, don’t you feel cold in this place?" Callen asked suddenly.
Primrose was sitting lazily on the sofa while reading a book she had found in the room. Without even looking up from the page, she replied, "It’s still winter. Of course I feel cold. But I’m wearing several coats already, so you don’t need to worry."
"Yes, I know, Your Majesty, but... the cold inside this palace feels different." Callen rubbed his arms slowly. "I rarely feel cold, but in this palace, sometimes I still shiver. That’s really strange."
After all, Callen was a beast who had gone through many kinds of harsh training to become a soldier, and later he had even become the Queen’s royal guard. Because of that, it was unusual for him to feel affected by the cold.
A moment later, Solene spoke up as well. "Yeah, you’re right, Sir Callen." She didn’t look like she was shivering, but she had been standing near the fireplace the whole time. "I feel the same way."
[It’s not just the cold temperature... this place also gives off a feeling that makes people uneasy.] Solene thought. [Could it be... is this what people call a haunted castle?!]
Primrose knew Solene would not easily jump to such a strange conclusion. But to be honest, for ordinary people, this palace really did feel that way.
From the outside, the building looked huge and majestic. However, because Averon had sealed off the west wing, the palace interior was not actually as large as it seemed. Because of that, some people might believe the west wing had been locked because the place was haunted.
That was quite hilarious, though.
If only they knew that the place was filled with many kinds of cruelty, and perhaps those acts of cruelty were also the reason why the palace carried such a heavy and unpleasant atmosphere.
"Do you think someone might be using magic to make this place colder on purpose?" Primrose asked them.
Hearing that question, Solene immediately pushed away her strange thoughts. "It’s possible," she admitted. "But I don’t really see the reason for it."
"Well... I do see it." Primrose let out a soft sigh.
Callen and Solene both knew about the west wing, so the moment Primrose said that, they immediately understood what she meant.
Callen slowly clenched his fists at his sides. "But isn’t that too cruel?" he said with a frown. "Not only did the King of Azmeria lock them inside the west wing, but he also made them suffer in this unbearable cold."
If even beasts could feel the chill, then ordinary humans would suffer even more. Primrose was lucky because she was wearing thick coats, but the people trapped inside the west wing would not be that fortunate.
"We can never understand the way cruel people think, Sir Callen," Primrose said softly with another sigh. "That’s why we can’t judge his actions using normal logic."
"And people think beasts are the only ones who can do cruel things," Solene said suddenly.
Primrose scoffed softly. "Those people are foolish. In the end, we are just two sides of the same coin."
Whether it was a beast or a human, both were capable of cruelty.
===
One hour later, Primrose saw Edmund leap onto the balcony with Aster, whom he was carrying in his hand as if he were carrying a bag.
"Rosie!" Aster’s eyes immediately lit up the moment she saw Primrose standing by the balcony door. "I thought—"
"Shh! Shh!" Primrose hurried forward and covered Aster’s mouth before she could shout again. "Don’t talk so loudly. You might attract the soldiers’ attention. Be quiet, got it?"
Aster nodded quickly in response. Primrose then gestured to Edmund to put her down, and after that, she led them inside the room.
"Rosie, I thought something terrible had happened to you," Aster said the moment Edmund closed the balcony door. "Your husband was acting like that!"
[With the way he behaved, I even thought Rosie was dying!] Aster shouted in her mind. [But... she looks fine?]
Primrose glanced slightly at her husband, who was standing behind Aster, only to see him turn his face slightly to the side and act as if he had done nothing wrong.
Well, well, look at this talented actor. He had clearly acted a little panicked on purpose so Aster would follow him without asking too many questions.
Primrose looked back at Aster. "Something terrible is indeed happening, but it’s not happening to me." She then added, "Let’s sit down first before I tell you the shocking news."
Primrose didn’t want her friend to faint while still standing, so she gently guided Aster to the sofa. Only after Aster sat down did she begin explaining the situation in the west wing.
Primrose carefully avoided revealing everything to Aster, at least not yet. But even though she didn’t say much, Aster still looked completely shocked.
"A-Are you sure about this?" Aster asked in a trembling voice. "C-Children? King Averon locked many slaves inside the west wing and even tortured them?"
Primrose replied, "We don’t fully know what is inside yet, but I can guess that this is what is happening."
Aster fell silent for a while. She lowered her gaze, staring at the floor without blinking. Her hands trembled as she said, "I... I helped my father make the lock. If what you said is true, then... then it means I helped King Averon imprison and torture many people there."
"Ro-Rosie..." Aster lifted her head and looked at Primrose. "W-What should I do? Those people must be suffering because of my ignorance."
Primrose was speechless, because the first thing Aster thought about was the condition of those people instead of herself.
"Then you have to make up for your mistake by helping me now," Primrose said.