Chapter 246
VALENCIA’S POV
“What was that all about?” Dylan walked to me with rushed steps, and I raised my gaze to look at him, pretending to be innocent.
“Hmm?” I asked.
Dylan gazed at me for a brief second.
“Sone shredded bodies of rogues have been found inside the forests. Aarav told me he saw you going inside the forests. Tell me you didn’t kill anyone,” Dylan said.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” I said, blinking at him as if I was a good samaritan and couldn’t even think of something like that.
But rather than believing me, he rolled his eyes at me.
“I didn’t mean to tell you the exact words. I mean, you p>
“I understand what you are talking about. I didn’t kill anyone for real,” I said, and he sighed.
“It’s a good thing then. You know the ritual wouldn’t have occurred if you had,” he said.
I hummed.
“Don’t you think it’s a little weird, though? They test us and want us to prove ourselves worthy of being members, but when it comes to the day of acceptance, there are strict rules about not shedding any blood,” I said.
Dylan didn’t say anything.
Rather than that, he stepped closer to me and sniffed the air around me as if he sensed something wrong, and my body went stiff.
I didn’t want him to smell that rogue on me—the one who gave me this pendant out of the blue in the name of gratitude.
“I don’t understand your obsession with the flower fields. Even if your father planted them, you have been spending an atrocious amount of time there,” Dylan said, and I smiled at him.
He went away after talking about some random stuff, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I was about to turn to leave for my room when I spotted Aarav walking towards me.
Come on. Give me a break. He is seriously a spy.
“I can’t believe that we are supposed to act like that,” he murmured, more like throwing a tantrum, and I raised my brows. This was the first time in two days that his expression had changed from happy to annoyed, which was at this level.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Aarav, who was about to walk by me, stopped as if surprised by my presence and sighed.
“The council head wants me to arrange the flowers and gifts for the royals arriving. I mean, I get that they are royalty, but must we act like we are scared of them and are their slaves? That is when they are not even true royalty,” Aarav said.
I hummed before pausing.
Wait. What did he say? They weren’t really royalty?
What was the event supposed to mean?
I know the throne fell into Prince Ethan’s father’s hand because his brother died, but what was this fake royalty? Aren’t they brothers?
“Fake royalty?” I asked, intrigued now.
Aarav looked at me as if he wasn’t supposed to talk about this kind of stuff so openly.
“You won’t snitch about me to the council head, will you?” He asked.
Aurora scoffed inside my head. And she was right to do so.
If there is really a snitch among us, it is he who informs the head and everyone about my endeavors.
“Hmm,” I merely hummed, raising my brows when he held my hand and pulled me towards the backyard.
I looked at the man before me who felt entitled to hold my hand like this when I didn’t like anyone’s touch.
“Look, you -” I started, but he interrupted me.
“Prince Ethan isn’t a legitimate royal heir, I mean the true son of the king,” Aarav whispered into my ears like it was some big secret, and I won’t lie, I was indeed stupefied to hear it.
He wasn’t a royal blood?
“Well, you are getting my meaning, right? He is the outcome of Aarav paused, looking at me expectantly.
“An extramarital affair?” I asked, and he hushed me.
“Don’t speak about it loudly. But it’s true. They say the queen had given birth to a boy, but during that historical rogue attack that took away the life of the former king and queen, the child of the current king was abducted. He hasn’t been found till now, and they say he is long dead,” Aarav said.
I nodded.
That’s why Aarav said Prince Ethan wasn’t a true legitimate heir to the royal seat. But then again, as long as he has royal blood in his system, he would be eligible since no one else is.
Wait. Does it have anything to do with Alpha Maverick? Why is that man so obsessed with Alpha Maverick and his movements? Does my man put his royalty in danger?
A sense of pride shot in my head, and a blush appeared on my face, heat creeping up my neck when I realized how easily I call him my man now.
It’s like he has made that mark and claimed it on me even without cleaning and marking me.
“Does the queen know about it? I mean, she died only a couple of years ago because of sickness, I heard. Did she know the truth? And has the king brought his mistress to the palace?” I asked, looking at him with the hope that he would give me more gossip.
Aarav bobbed his head up and down.
“When the queen was losing her mind in losing her son and most of the family, the king brought Prince Ethan to calm her down. The queen took Prince Ethan as her son even after knowing the truth, and no, the king couldn’t bring the mistress home p>
Aarav said before looking around to ensure no one was eavesdropping our conversation.
He motioned me to come closer, and I furrowed my brows before bringing my ears close to his mouth.
“There is a rumor that the king asked his men to kill the mistress so no one would know about the truth behind Prince Ethan,” Aarav said, and I widened my eyes.
Woah! So much was going on in the world that I didn’t have any idea about.
’You already have so much on your plate. Why do you want to know more? First, sort your things,’ Aurora said.
I smacked my lips at her mockery before sighing.
It was strange.
I didn’t know much about Aarav, but he definitely wasn’t the most important council member. How did he know so much?
Wasn’t all this done to hide the truth? Did the entire council know about it? What was the use of it then?
“Who told you all this stuff?” I asked.
Aarav shrugged, his usual smile back as he looked at me.
“It’s pretty clear you don’t know much about the council members yet. Mason is my father,” Aarav said.
I gazed at him in surprise.
Now, that was indeed news.
I thought he was single and p>
“I didn’t know he was married,” I said.
“He wasn’t,” Aarav said.
I looked at him blankly but realized what he was trying to say when he didn’t rebuke his words.
“Are you saying p>
“They were mated. I don’t think people really registered their marriage like that in those times. Mated marks were enough,” Aarav said, grinning like a fool.
I sighed and smiled.
He wasn’t as bad as I thought he would be. Shaking my head, I took a deep breath, and after a few random chats, we departed.
I went straight to my room to pick up the gown for the evening.