CALLAN’S POV
“You did the right thing, my love.”
He’s snuggled up against Willow now, after a teary farewell to Asha who’d ridden out grim faced earlier with her attendants, Ray, and Ray’s guards. Sighing, Callan grips his slender fiancée tighter and burrows his face in her hair.
Willow had known from the start that Callan intentionally prevented Asha from detecting Rayleigh’s approach the day before yesterday.
A soft hand strokes his hair, and Callan holds Willow tighter.
“You told me, didn’t you?” Willow has a beautiful voice, especially when it’s pitched low and comforting like now. “That you need to find out why everything happened the way it did?”
He sighs, before nodding into brown waves that smell of lilies and roses. “It’s imperative I nip the root of the trouble in the bud.” Willow just hums and continues stroking his hair. “Now that Ray knows, and given how he feels about Asha, he’ll do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it as well.”
Willow’s rhythmic stroking is making him feel sleepy, given he hasn’t slept at all since the emotional events that day, staying by Asha’s side until she departed for the east an hour ago.
“You might be the Grandmaster and Winter Count, Callan, but the Grand Duke has access to information and assets even you don’t.” He knows this, but it’s nice that Willow treats it as fact too. She’s pragmatic, strong-willed, and warm - the perfect mother for Asha, given how much the green eyed aristocrat loves his daughter. “As you said: the more powerful individuals working to resolve this mystery, the better.”
He knows this, but it still troubles him. If it were a simpler matter, he’d have spirited Asha to the north and raised the Ice Wall. But based on what Asha's told him, Callan suspects what they're up against is far more complex and dangerous, which means the Ice Wall is purely a last resort.
The Wall may not even hold against whatever it is that's coming. If it's something that necessitated divine intervention against the Heavenly Law, then hiding behind the Wall might not prevent whatever tragedy it was from repeating itself in a modified form. The best thing I can do for Asha is destroy the threat completely. But...
“This is an opportunity, my love.” Willow turns and presses a kiss to his cheek, before staring straight into his eyes, her own emeralds firm and full of affection. “The Grand Duke and Asha need to overcome this hurdle together, and they’ll be all the stronger for it.”
I know.
> “Spending a month in the deepest level of the dungeon would cause anyone to be damaged beyond belief.”
Willow had said it before, when Callan shared his suspicions about what Asha’d gone through. Despite being distraught, the willowy woman had quickly composed herself and started to strategize about how to protect Asha.
> ”Asha needs to heal. She might be able to carry herself normally for now, but for how long? Torture does more than hurt the body, it breaks the mind.”
That’s what worries him most of all. Broken bones can be fixed, but there’s no balm for a broken mind, no potion or spell that can heal a damaged soul.
“You said so yourself, Callan. If it was something grave enough for the gods to intervene and send Asha back, then it has to be stopped.” Her green gaze hasn’t faltered once. “Asha is extraordinarily different now from how she was in her previous life, and that’s further proof: the fact that the gods gave her and only her this much power in addition to sending only her back in time means she’s the key to preventing whatever tragedy is to come.”
It hurts, because he’s never wanted Asha to go through such things. All Callan has ever wanted is for his baby to be safe and happy, and now she’s in the eye of the storm while he can only support and protect her from afar.
But more than that, it pains him that he doesn’t know what really caused everything despite Winterblades investigating in secret, and he hates it.
“I’m a terrible father...” He can’t help mumbling it as he tries to look away, and Willow’s hands grip the sides of his face, forcibly preventing him from turning to the side.
“Callan Lamberg.” When her voice drops low and steels like that, it reminds him once more of all the things Marquess Ferdinand and his sons had told him about Willow. “You are a man who’s suffered greatly since childhood, but never once faltered in your pursuit of doing what’s right even if you were sad, afraid, hurt, or lonely. That in itself makes you a man without equal, but more than that there is no one in this world who could ever think of you a bad father, so stop being ridiculous.”
Gods, I love this woman.
He kisses her because he can’t help himself, and Willow responds in a way that makes him feel warm all over.
When at last Willow is a panting, sweaty mess on the sofa beneath him, he pulls his hand out from under her dress and nuzzles a slender neck.
“Callan...” Her hooded green eyes light a fire inside him once more. “Do what you have to do, for Asha, the empire, and the world.” The fact that she can still think of such things as one hand travels up a pale leg makes him smile. “It’s...ah...most important... ah that Asha’s mind heals.”
Smirking, he kisses her hard and shoves his fingers inside as Willow arches her back, wrapping long legs around his waist.
He has an hour left before he needs to leave to meet Aaron, and he intends to make full use of it.
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ASHA’S POV
This is unpleasant.
In stark contrast to just two days ago when they’d been riding side by side in high spirits, now Rayleigh’s face is gaunt and haggard though no less handsome.
It’s quiet, his attendants knowing something’s wrong but not the specifics given the soul contract, as Valora and Monique glare at the Grand Duke with a hatred no one but Asha had known they could possess.
I thought Lady Willow spoke to them yesterday.
Since her father had refused to leave her side, his elegant fiancée had taken on the task of preparing the necessary for Asha’s trip in addition to calming her furious attendants.
...I suppose she did, since Val and Mony haven’t tried to kill Rayleigh yet.
It’s a gloomy day, the weather somehow matching the overall mood of the traveling group, and Asha sighs as Luna canters along well-kept roads.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
This can’t go on. Dad said now that Rayleigh knows the truth he’ll be a huge help in finding out what really happened. I need him in fighting form, not moping about like this.
As soon as they stop for the night at an inn, she strides over to her morose fiancé, whose haunted red gaze rises only when she’s right in front of him.
I hate seeing you like this, even though I should hate seeing you at all.
She doesn’t have time to dwell on the latter, grabbing a muscular arm and dragging the tall male to her room. Valora and Monique have stationed themselves in front of the doorway by the time Asha’s closed the door, then the Elementalist turns and glares up at a pained face.
“Stop this.” There’s no telling who else might be listening in, so she has to hiss the words softly. “I’m the one who went through all that, not you.” She’s not sure where she’s going with this, but she’s always had a habit of saying whatever’s on her mind anyway. “If you really feel sorry about it, then do your part to prevent it from happening again.”
Dad had told her that yesterday, and it’s something for Asha to focus on instead of the memories and pain.
“I...” It’s disturbing to see the usually confident Grand Duke so broken and hesitant, and despite the rage that continues to simmer within her Asha feels a little sad and worried. “I just...”
“Stop. It.” Rayleigh has no right to look like this or feel this way, not when he’d fallen for whatever plot it was before, if dad’s hypothesis holds. “You can’t turn back time, no one should be able to given the Heavenly Law, but the fact remains that somehow I came back to this particular time, and that means there’s a chance for me to fix things.” There’s something whispering in her mind, faint tendrils of realization that Asha has no time to think about right now. “Dad says you can help, so help.”
Those ruby eyes are troubled, but at least the guilt and self-hatred are fading slightly.
“I’m just...sorry, Asha.” It hurts when he says that, because a part of her believes he doesn’t have a right to apologize, while another part of her has always loved him and hates seeing him so upset.
Sighing, she turns away. “I’ll never forget what happened.” From the flaring of aura she knows her words have hurt him, feels a petty satisfaction as well as twinge of guilt. “But that’s the point, isn’t it? Why else would I be sent back with all my memories?”
If dad says so, it must be true.
“Focus on the mission at hand, your highness. And help us find out why we were targeted, and how.” A part of her misses the days before this, when Rayleigh was blissfully unaware and playful. “Consider it a wedding gift to me, if you must.”
“Asha.” When she tilts her head back to look into his eyes once more, his face is hard. “I’ll give you a better gift than that.”
Blinking, Asha can only stare after him as Rayleigh strides past her, opening the door and stalking down the hallway silently.
What was that about?
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RAYLEIGH’S POV
I’m a fool.
Gritting his teeth, he slaps himself as hard as possible, tasting blood and wishing he could hurt himself even more.
Asha and teacher have been working hard to prevent the tragedy, and I’ve been focused only on how I feel.
Rayleigh hates himself more with every second, and it’s only right that he does.
What Asha said is accurate. She has her memories for a reason, and even if in that future she didn’t know why I turned on teacher, the fact is that her changed behavior now has led us to this.
If Asha had been her usual frivolous self, Rayleigh would have continued pursuing Medea and would’ve grown distant from the Lambergs. But now...
I like who she is now, but if it’s the result of torture then what does that say about me?
He can’t believe he’d ever order such a thing, or even stand back while teacher was dragged into the dungeon, but if he thinks about it...
It must have been treason. Someone must have framed the Lambergs so perfectly that there was no way to refute it, so that the only reasonable punishment would be the ninth level before beheading them.
Swirling whisky in his mouth to make the pain from his minor wounds spike, Rayleigh stares into the darkness beyond the window.
Teacher isn’t a fool, so he must have not seen it coming. Which means if anything led up to it, it was incredibly subtle or so easily passed off as ‘normal’ that no one noticed until it was too late. Perhaps even something like gunpowder causing landslides this time - all of us initially thought the disasters this time were simply part of a natural annual occurrence, and would have continued thinking so if not for Asha's discoveries about gunpowder and Conroy's information network.
The clouds part slightly to reveal the weak light of a crescent moon, though it doesn’t illuminate much of the small town they’re staying in.
According to teacher, Asha attempting to 'poison' Medea before led to the punishment House Lamberg faced. But that's ridiculous - that poison is easily detected and nullified, and Asha's standing as well as teacher's would have let her get away with it. So I can only assume it was a smokescreen, or the spark that led to the Lambergs' downfall. Nathaira's real daughter tricking Asha proves that House is directly involved in the plot taking place, but teacher is staying in the capital to protect Uncle and Griffin so I needn't worry about them for now.
More importantly, what could have ruined the Lambergs to such an extent? And other than the Nathairas, who else was involved? Too many are envious of teacher's wealth, standing, and abilities. In that future, Asha's childish behavior would have fuelled resentment towards House Lamberg since she didn't do anything to contribute to society while behaving arrogantly just because of her family name. This time, she's behaving maturely but is a Minister, Elementalist, and renown inventor. The list of enemies grows far too great now that Asha is shining so brightly.
Asha once told me to 'follow the money'. Conroy's network is doing so in order to track down Nathaira's associates, and any others who may be involved. But that's just Nathaira. What if there was another agent involved? What if there were other parties acting independently with somewhat similar objectives?
There's no need to overthink - the two investigation streams of 'who' and 'how' can work in parallel. And while finding out how House Lamberg was brought to its knees we'll also uncover the people involved. I know I played a role in their downfall, since in that future Asha would've been who she always was until she returned to the past, and I would've been...
He knows himself, knows that his extreme prejudice would have led him to spiral deeper in loathing towards Asha.
And it would’ve also made me susceptible to manipulation. Just like with Medea before this.
It’s yet another reason to hate himself, and Rayleigh bites his lip until he tastes more blood.
Now that things have changed, I won't be a reason for teacher's and Asha's deaths. I was a fool to think Asha trying to call off the engagement was a ploy for getting my attention - she was trying to save herself and her House. And in the end, when I changed my mind and decided to marry her to keep the Lambergs in the empire, she agreed to the engagement because she believed it was the best way to protect her family.
That knowledge hurts as it always does.
Teacher said she really does have feelings for me, but surely it must be causing her great turmoil since she also has those feelings she carried from the future. She should be full of hatred towards me for failing her, for ruining her and teacher, for killing them all, yet somehow she still holds affection for me? Even if she's loved me since childhood, even if teacher says she still cares, now that I think about it there's only one logical explanation for her affection persisting despite everything.
The ninth level is notorious for breaking more than bodies, and Rayleigh’s self-loathing grows exponentially.
She's lost her mind. It's odd enough that Asha can behave normally and think so rationally, can create brilliant inventions and wield the power of an Elementalist when she couldn't in that future. She might be strong-willed and teacher's daughter, but some of it is likely the result of divine interference. Or perhaps all of it is - maybe the gods put those ideas in her head because they're necessary, maybe they gave her this new ability in order to stop whatever is coming. But those new skills aside, I know for a fact that Asha's affection for me and her willingness to let me do those things with her are the result of complete and utter insanity. One month in hell would destroy even the strongest person in the world.
That realization hurts like hell, and he smiles grimly.
I deserve it. If I hadn't let my own foolish prejudice and expectations blind me before, things would've been different. Now she cares for me because the torture broke her mind, and like the monster I am I crave even the slightest drop of her insanity-driven affection.
When he takes another sip of whisky, Rayleigh pauses to relish the pain the alcohol brings out of the small wounds. A soft knock alerts him to Conroy’s intent to enter, and he hears the door open quietly soon as his secretary no doubt peeks in worriedly.
What am I doing? I've wallowed in my feelings enough. I should be focusing on finding a way to protect Asha.
“Your highness, you must eat.”
He hasn’t been able to keep anything down since that day, but he won’t be much help to Asha if he’s too weak to hold a sword. Grimly, Rayleigh turns, hearing a small gasp as Conroy takes in the obvious damage to his face.
Astute as ever, the Mage says nothing, simply placing a healing potion next to a glass of water.
It’s as Rayleigh chews and tries to force himself to swallow that a thought strikes him.
Why didn’t Conroy discover the truth in that future? He has the greatest intelligence network in the country working for him.
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MOONRISE BY LUNASEA - CHAPTER 31 END