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“Mother, Freya,” he called out, making his presence known while the two women were busy giggling and talking to themselves.

“Yay, Brother is here,” Freya cheered with a deadpan expression. “I guess I’ll take my leave now, Mother. You see, I still have some errands to do.”

With lifted brows, Darius directly questioned his sister, “Why are you leaving?”

Freya had an awkward smile on her face, telling Darius that he had just interrupted them in between an important conversation.

“Ah, it’s just some girl talk, but you interrupted us so I’ll just continue talking to Mother later,” Freya shrugged. “Besides, Bella’s asking me to take a stroll with her, and I would rather enjoy her company than to stay with you for some boring talk about court matters with Mother,” she mumbled out as she stuck her tongue out before leaving with a chuckle.

“She’s such a child,” Darius whispered with a sigh.

Savannah chuckled, “She’s still your little sister, after all.” She then patted the space beside her as she smiled, “Come here, Son. Sit with me. The weather is nice during autumn. There’s no scorching sun above us, and there’s just the right humidity for us to stay outside.”

Darius turned to his mother as he walked towards her, sitting beside her on the nearby bench as he stared into the distance. His mother stared at him and frowned.

“I know that look. You look weary. What is it that’s bothering you?” Savannah worriedly asked.

Darius dismissed the servants and guards around the area to make sure that he had some privacy with his mother in that area of the castle.

“I see. It’s something serious then, seeing as how you want to talk in private,” Savannah commented.

Darius plainly nodded. “It’s about Clara…” he started with a sigh. He then told his mother everything he had currently found out regarding the rumors.

“I’m mad, Mother. Clara is like a sister to me. She’s important, but I simply cannot let this slide,” Darius regretfully explained, his face going dark and his shoulders dropping.

“Xen is my mate, and I love her with all my heart. I don’t want anyone insulting my mate, and on top of that, I don’t want the same incident like this to happen again. They seemed okay last night, and I envisioned the two of them being good friends with how well they got along. So I don’t understand why Clara would stoop so low as to do such a thing.”

He then added, “She hasn’t even met Xen nor had the opportunity to know her well enough, so I can’t think of any valid reason to justify her actions.”

He was so disappointed, and he had no intention to hide it from his mother so he told his mother everything.

Savannah sighed as she finally pointed out, “She’s in love with you, Darius. Didn’t you know that?”

Darius closed his eyes. He was aware of it, of course. It was why he was very careful with his actions around Clara. He made sure not to give her the slightest hint of false hope that her feelings would be returned.

At this point, he was just honestly waiting for Clara to voice it out so he could directly tell her how the feeling wasn’t mutual between them. Unfortunately, she haven’t said a word to him, so he too remained quiet.

“I know, Mother, but I thought it would be rude to talk to her about it when she hasn’t even confessed it to me,” Darius reasoned out. “That’s why I was so vocal to everyone, even to her, on how I see and love her as a sister like Freya.”

Savannah nodded in understanding. Looking at the sky, she sighed, “I suppose I’m the one at fault here. I like Clara so much that I probably gave her too much encouragement. She’s a nice woman, Darius, but sometimes love can make someone blind enough to see past their actions, even if it’s right or wrong.”

His mother turned at him and added, “Talk to her. I think it’s already time that you finally talked to her and tell her what you truly feel. Pardon her this time, Darius. That’s the least you can give to her after all that she’s done to support you and our family.”

Darius simply sighed and nodded. There was no other way then. It had to be done eventually.

After talking to his mother, he went straight to his study and asked for Clara.

“Your Majesty, you wanted to talk to me?” Clara politely greeted with a smile as soon as she entered his study.

“Yes, Clara. It’s about the negative rumors regarding Xen,” Darius began with a blank expression, his powerful and accusing eyes never leaving Clara’s as he spoke. “I already know who is responsible, and I’m sure you do too.”

Her face immediately paled, but he patiently waited till she got a hold of herself. He wanted to know how far Clara would go… Would she confess? Or would she deny it still?

“I… I…” Clara stuttered, and Darius patiently waited once more.

His eyes moved over her carefully. She was squeezing her hands, and one of her telltale expressions, whenever she was caught doing something she knew was unsavory. Darius closed his eyes as he contained his emotions.

“I’m so…rry…” Clara whispered, barely managing to stutter out her words.

Darius let out a regretful breath as he finally spoke, “Xen, is my mate, Clara. And not only that, but she is also the woman I love. You’re like a sister to me. So like Freya, I’m expecting you to have a good relationship with the woman I treasure.”

Clara’s face darkened at him. Her eyes were swelling, and Darius saw the tears rolling down her eyes.

“I love you, Darius. Since we were kids…” Clara weakly growled, her anger starting to boil over the heartache. “You’re the only one my heart beats for, so why Xenia and not me? What does she have that I don’t? I’ve been with you for much longer, and yet you accepted the Mate Pull for a mere human?!”

“I don’t have the power to control my heart, Clara, and it’s beating for Xen…” Darius weakly pointed out.

“And I too, don’t have any power over my heart, Darius, because it’s only beating for you!” Clara defiantly screamed out.

“I don’t care if you don’t love me. I’ll do anything! Even if I have to share you with her!” Her tears never stopped, her tone betraying the roaring guilt that now oozed off her with each breath “It doesn’t matter anymore… I’ll win the fifth trial, and I’ll make sure that I will be your Queen!”

“Cla-”

Clara rushed out of the study, leaving Darius with his unspoken words as they lingered in the air.

“Clara… Does it have to be this way?” he murmured, pained at the thought of losing a great friend who was practically family to him. “There has to be a way…”

Darius’s heart was aching for her, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that Clara wouldn’t do something that she’d dearly regret.