"She said that Benjamin paid her a huge amount of gold and even promised her the title of queen consort," James continued. "However, she had a feeling that Benjamin had other motives as to why he bribed her. She sensed that someone was also working with Benjamin. Because of the common rule that princes aren't allowed to have access to a lump sum of gold."
He ended, "The question that remains is who could possibly be helping Benjamin?"
My eyes widened as I held my breath. I gripped onto the chair as I struggled to keep my emotions at bay.
James might've noticed my tightening grip onto my chair. Immediately, he knelt and held both of my hands. "Robert, do not allow your emotions to take over. You can't have the same incident happen again," he reminded me as he looked at me. "Control yourself."
Slowly, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I tried to clear my mind but my emotions were too much to bear. Suddenly, a small pillar of glowing light appeared from the darkness. It shone one someone with their back turned from me. Eventually, that person turned to face. It was Laura and her gentle smile.
My racing heart slowed down as I saw her. Her warmth radiated even just from a vision. It was exactly how I last saw her. She glowed immensely under the soft sunlight. Her eyes beamed with the pure happiness that was always within her. And her contagious smile never failed to dazzle.
"Robert? Robert?" James' voice echoed faintly throughout the empty void that I was in.
I took a few steps towards her. But she put her hand out as she stopped me.
With her sweet voice, she said, "I will see you soon."
"Robert? Robert?" James' faded voice became clearer as I slowly reopened my eyes. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he searched my eyes.
I exhaled once more and answered, "Proceed with what happened, James."
He looked at me for a moment as he tried to see if I was in a better place. And when he saw that I was stable enough, he returned to his chair. He continued, "She stated that Benjamin already made an elaborate plan to remove you from the throne whilst he gains the girl. On the other hand, her plan to overthrow your mother was because of a history between the three of us. History that I thought was already solved and long-forgotten. But to my horror, my assumptions were proven to be wrong."
An unsolved history?
Could this be related to what Bethilda said? Was this what she pertained to?
My eyes widened as I slowly looked back at him. With caution, I proceeded to ask, "What do you mean by that? Did something happen in the past?"
He stared at me for a while. Not one ounce of emotion was evident on his face. He only gave me a blank stare.
And it became too uncomfortable for me. I continued, "Whatever it is that you're hiding from me, it has to come to an end. At this point in time, I believe I deserve to know anything that's related to the issue at hand." I added, "Especially, when it's related to our family."
He sighed as he looked away. He turned his attention back to the shining moon. And for another long while, he remained silent. He didn't tear his eyes away from the night sky.
As much as I was eager to know the answers, I somehow felt that whatever it was, it would be a difficult conversation to have with someone. I poured myself some tea as I waited for his response.
I could never figure out what ran in his mind. James rarely shares his vulnerable thoughts and emotions. And when he would open up, only Mother knew everything. But his resistance to answer my question was enough for me to understand.
Aside from the fact that James hated to be vulnerable towards others, I felt the weight of what he wanted to say. But he should also remember that in this situation, both of us had questions. Which meant we both wanted answers. If Bethilda plotted against Mother, I would like to know why and for how long she planned everything before she acted upon it.
I put my cup down and poured tea on the other one. Offering the second cup to him, he finally faced me. I said, "As Mother would say, tea helps to calm the soul. Have some."
He looked down at the cup before he looked back at me. I smiled as I moved it closer to him. He sighed deeply and took it. He took a sip and closed his eyes as he swallowed the warm liquid.
I grabbed my own and took a few sips as well. I laid back onto my chair and stared at the sky. With the rare similarities we shared, perhaps this sort of silence was one of them. And I could get used to this.
Suddenly, he settled his cup back on the table and finally spoke, "I'm not the righteous, pure king that our people paint me to be. As a young monarch myself, I have my fair share of mistakes. Mistakes that were deliberately hidden by your grandfather to protect our reputation."
He turned to me and continued, "But once you're given this knowledge, you must understand that I'm not the person whom I once was. I left the old me behind in order to sustain our family, as well as the kingdom. However, it seems like the past that was swept under the rug finally had its day of retribution. And I was too blind to see it."
"What do you mean?" I asked as I put my cup beside his. "Why are you speaking in such a manner? Have you done something… immoral?"
His eyes widened as they slowly watered.
My heart raced at such a sight. I moved my chair closer and continued, "James, what's the matter? Why are you acting this way?"
He moved his chair even closer, which left only a small gap between the two of us. Gently, he grabbed both of my hands and held them tight. He kept his head down and within a matter of seconds, a tear fell on his hands.
"James?" I whispered as I leaned closer towards him. "You're scaring me. What's going on? Why are you crying?"
He sniffled before he replied, "First, I want you to know that I love your mother with every fiber of my being. She's the only one my heart has ever loved. And nothing in this lifetime or the next can change that."
He then raised his head. Tears stained his cheeks. His eyes slowly turned red as he struggled to hold his emotions. "And second," he continued, "Please, forgive me for not being the perfect husband and father that I should have been for this family."
I grabbed hold of his hand, looked directly into his eyes and answered, "James, whatever it is, tell me. No one in both worlds is perfect. If humans can make mistakes, that doesn't exclude us Immortals." I continued as I moved closer, "If you're not a perfect husband and father, I'm not your perfect child. Why should I judge others when I'm far from perfect myself?"
After my response, he quietly sobbed for a bit. After he released some of his tears, he said, "Bethilda acted out of spite because of what happened in the past." He took his time to recollect himself before he continued, "You see, Bethilda used to be my side consort."