The Web of Knightspur-Chapter 250 - 246
Princess Eleanor sat on the bed as she looked out the window. Her discussion with the High Priest had made her understand that she had to make her moves soon.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?" Grand Duke Christopher’s voice brought Princess Eleanor back to reality. She looked back only to see the Grand Duke walking towards her with a narrowed gaze.
"When did you arrive?" Princess Eleanor bit her lips in irritation as she shook her head. She could see the Grand Duke neglecting everything as he sat beside her. He took her hand into his larger ones.
"You did not answer my question, Eleanor." Grand Duke Christopher said in a small tone. "Something is bothering you. Are you nervous about tomorrow?"
Princess Eleanor shook her head but soon her eyes sharpened. "I am not nervous." Princess Eleanor said before her eyes sparkled. "But I do have something to ask you."
Princess Eleanor turned around as she faced the Grand Duke. "Christopher, I visited the High Priest today." She saw Christopher blink as he looked straight at her. "And he told me something really interesting. Will you clarify something for me? I need to get a clear answer on some things."
Princess Eleanor took a deep breath. She knew that Grand Duke Christopher did not say anything so the man should be all ready to answer. "Who is the First Prince? You are not the one, are you?"
Grand Duke Christopher was silent. His face was expressionless as if ready to defend himself but he did not say anything else. His eyes were filled with many emotions but soon he sighed out helplessly, "Princess must already have a name in mind. Why don’t you tell me? If it is not me, then who is the First Prince?"
"Priest Erasmus." Princess Eleanor said under her breath as her eyes narrowed, "He has a small resemblance to the Emperor. It is not very obvious, but now I can see it clearly. Is he the one?"
Grand Duke Christopher’s hold on the Princess tightened, "Yes, that is true. He is the First Prince that my father took in."
"Wait..." Princess Eleanor shook her head in shock, as his statement sank into her mind. "Let me understand this first. If the real First Prince is the current High Priest, then who are you?"
Princess Eleanor was filled with confusion. Although she understood the situation a little bit more now, but she still wanted some conclusion. She wanted to hear the Grand Duke say it with his own mouth.
"It is true that my father was entrusted with the care of First Prince by the Empress. After all, the Empress’ family was destroyed by the then High Priest because they supported Crown Prince Richard’s maternal family. It was a selfish decision but maybe the guilt was too strong that the Priest started to search for the First Prince. The Empress was afraid that they would kill the child, so she entrusted father with him."
"So he is the First Prince? Why did you lie to me?" Princess Eleanor asked. She did not care who the person was in the first place but what she cared about was the fact that the man lied to her.
"I wanted to. But I was advised by him not to tell you the truth until we both have taken hold of the throne." Grand Duke Christopher said. "He wants the Emperor to lose things that are precious to him."
"So what happened next? How did he end up being the High Priest?" Princess Eleanor asked. "What happened that made you both lie? I want to know the truth, Christopher. If you want me in your life. I want to know the whole truth. No more secrets and no more conspiracies. If we can be honest to each other, only then we can continue what we have. I hate secrets and you know it. I have been betrayed a lot and I cannot take it anymore."
"I will never betray you!" Grand Duke Christopher said in a strained tone, "You are the most important part of my life. My feelings for you were never false. The position I took to stand beside you is not false. I admit that I am not the First Prince. But I will be him as long as you want. If you want me to just stick to being the Grand Duke, then I want you to be my Grand Duchess. If I remain as the First Prince, I want you to be my one and only Empress. I want you as my wife regardless of what I am. That has never been false."
Princess Eleanor’s eyes were filled with tears as she took a deep breath, "I do not doubt your love, but I want answers. Not the answer that you think I want to hear. I want the truth."
"He was always there since my childhood." Grand Duke Christopher said as he started pulling out the memories from the past. "My father and the Empress were good friends. When he decided to not claim the throne there was some backlash, but he was happy that he would survive. It was the Empress who had advised the Temple to let my father live. Otherwise, under God’s will, all the other Princes were either executed or killed under unknown circumstances."
"The Emperor did not see any harm in keeping his blood-related brother alive who had no greed for the throne. After all, my father only wanted to live a peaceful life with the woman he loved." Grand Duke Christopher’s hands shook but soon he felt some warmth as Princes Eleanor’s hand held his hands tightly as if giving him strength. "So my father was indebted to her. That was the reason why he allowed Erasmus to live with us. But he was never discovered. He was kept hidden under the Ducal household doors and it remained like that till he reached 12 years of age. The Temple knew who he was and came to the door."
"It was not a happy memory but it was what it was. The High Priest confirmed that the Empress was dead and they wanted to take the First Prince away with them. They said that it was God that made them realize what a great sin they had committed and now they wanted to rectify it. Erasmus was to be the next High Priest. Someone more influential than the Emperor."
"Did your father agree?" Princess Eleanor asked but soon she got her answer when she saw the shaking head of the Grand Duke.
"My father never forced us, but he left the decision to Erasmus alone. It was he who decided to take the road and my father was always in support. Nothing major changed after that. Erasmus was introduced as an orphan that the High Priest was raising and then he took the position himself. The road to being the man highest to everyone was difficult and maybe along the way, he turned cruel just like me."
Grand Duke Christopher looked at Princess Eleanor as he continued, "Many things changed after that. We got to know that the Emperor was using our family’s symbol to do illegal things and we took a stand against it, voicing our displeasure and objection to such behaviour. Before long, my parents died and it was later on known that their deaths had involved the Emperor. Maybe it was then that Erasmus made his move. He took the position of High Priest and we started to plot. He and I both had our own resentments. I lost my parents and he lost his mother to the Royal family. The bond we shared was deep and we both had spent our early years as brothers so the resentment in him was greater."
"Did you know I was involved?" Princess Eleanor asked as she looked at the Grand Duke. She knew that something was still causing a rift between them.
"No, I did not know why but he became close to Prince Richard and went away from me. Although people thought that the Temple and the house of Beaumont don’t get along, but the reality was different. But I cannot deny that after he became High Priest we hardly contacted one another. That was why I did not know that Prince Richard had asked for your hand in marriage. That is the reason I did not know you were the chosen one."
"So when did you find out that it was me?" Princess Eleanor asked. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. "When did you decide to have a proper talk with him?"
"Doctor Raul and Lady Gisella are the ones who know about me and Erasmus from the start. Doctor Raul had grown up with us. When Erasmus took the position, his view on treatment did not sit well with Raul’s and they both continued to argue. When you were at the Temple and I decided to bring you to the Beaumont mansion, I talked to Erasmus about it. We were still detached as I thought that the power had made him blind. After all, he was given the position of the High Priest now. That was someone more powerful than the Emperor. But then I knew that it wasn’t the case. Maybe I was wrong all along."
