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Adeline pulled her hands away from Lydia. She rose to her feet. At a loss for words, she could do nothing but stare. The confession was a cold splash of water on her face. She was suddenly aware that despite Elias\'s affections, other women were vying for her position.

This fairy tale she lived in would not get a happy ending. Was it even a fairy tale to begin with? Or was it a story that should\'ve never been told?

"You see, Addy, do you remember that story we used to read as a kid? \'In a Field of Death Blossoms a Golden Rose,\' is the title." Lydia was frantically thinking of something to say. She had to explain her side of the story. She must!

Adeline recalled the details of the story. She specifically remembered that night in the mysterious hallways. She was not the Golden Rose. The love of her life wasn\'t destined to be with her. She had all the descriptions of his beloved but wasn\'t her. 

Adeline wasn\'t the Golden Rose that His Majesty was looking for.

"You\'re the Golden Rose aren\'t you?" Adeline said. She had pieced everything together. Her heart shattered when Lydia slowly nodded her head.

Adeline took a step backward, but bumped into the chair. Elias was directly behind her. His arms steadied her. Elias supported her, when he should\'ve been supporting the Golden Rose.

"I didn\'t know what the purpose of this Golden Rose foolishness was, Addy," Lydia explained. "But I spoke to my parents and… and they explained it to me."

Adeline saw the visible tremor in Lydia\'s eyes. Lydia was terrified of losing a friend, just as Adeline was.

"Please explain it to me," Adeline said.

"There is no need," Elias cut off. His grip tightened on her as he pulled her towards him. His arms snaked over her waist. He showed where his allegiance lied.

Lydia\'s gaze didn\'t even flicker or waver. She didn\'t seem to care. There wasn\'t a fire burning in her eyes. All she cared about was Adeline. 

A friendship like this was going to ruin them. Adeline was supposed to be Lydia\'s ruin. Was this what that older woman meant?

"I will teach you everything you need to know, darling," Elias muttered. 

He despised the stubborn Lydia Claymore, but he valued Adeline Rose. Friends were easy to find, but good friends were hard to come by. 

He wanted Adeline for himself. But she cared too much for Lydia. 

He was selfish, but not to her—especially when he knew her true identity. 

"Come, my sweet. I will tell you," Elias said. 

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her away, but Adeline was rooted to the ground—for once. He thought she was a dandelion that wandered at a puff of breath. For her friend, she was an ancient tree with large roots. 

"Why is the Golden Rose so important? Because she actually possesses the powers in the story, \'\'In a Field of Death Blossoms a Golden Rose?\'" Adeline asked.

She tore her eyes from Lydia to Elias. For the latter, she had to tilt her head up. His face was troubled, gaunt, and irritated. A storm was brewing in his calm tides of red, but she had a hurricane in her churning stomach.

"As creepy as it is," Lydia slowly said. "Yes, it\'s true. I didn\'t believe it, but Mother and Father were adamant about it."

Adeline tried to remember the details of the story correctly. "I think the fairy tale said something about Kings going to war just to have her, men willingly charging into a losing battle to capture her…"

It had been a while since Adeline read children\'s books. In particular, this one struck out to her. She knew why. Her parents used to read the book to her every birthday, but it had been a decade since that had last happened.

"They used to," Elias said. "But the Kings of the present aren\'t so foolish. A war between the Kingdoms will devastate the entire world."

Adeline didn\'t want to think about the Species War. With the atomic and nuclear bombs, half of the world was practically destroyed. Bits of countries disappeared and some parts sank into the bottom of the ocean. The countries were reordered, renamed, and reclaimed into Kingdoms.

"And her abilities?" Adeline asked. "Are they… true?"

"Unfortunately so," Elias responded.

Adeline finally recalled the full details of the story. Whoever touched or embraced the Golden Rose will gain a sudden burst of strength. Those who consume her blood will become the strongest in the world. Whoever deflowered her will be granted immortality. There were whispers her grounded bones could fertilize barren land.

Her stomach twisted and turned more than a rollercoaster. To think her friend would be equated to a ripe fruit… It was too cruel—especially for the stubborn Lydia with a sharp tongue.

"Oh, Liddy…" Adeline breathed out, her face turning grim. 

"Worry about yourself first, my sweet," Elias firmly said. He already knew she was beginning to sympathize with her friend. "You tend to see the good even in a devil."

"No wonder why she\'s with you," Lydia scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

Elias was the least provoked by her. She was a toothless dog—all she could do was bite.

"Well, what do you plan to do, Liddy? Do you…" Adeline trailed off, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. "Do you want to marry Elias?"

Lydia pressed her lips together. She didn\'t even dare to utter The King\'s name. No matter how much she abhorred him, she didn\'t have the guts for that. They said his name was sacred or something—only to be uttered by his beloved or loved ones.

Addressing him without a title was a punishable offense. Calling him by his name was had a worse consequence.

It was evident to Lydia that Adeline deserved the King. No one in this Kingdom would be able to put up with his sardonic smirk, taunting glare, and arrogant presence—not for all the riches in the world. 

"Addy, I\'d rather eat more of you two\'s dog food than marry him," Lydia responded in a venomous tone. 

It was true. She had told her parents she\'d rather fling herself off Claymore Conglamorate than wear his ring. An insufferable husband like him would love to put a collar on her. 

"I see," Adeline said with a slight, tranquil smile. At least half of her worries were gone. She wouldn\'t know what to do if Lydia truly wanted to marry Elias.

Adeline was never one to fight her friend for a man. That was beneath her. And if Elias had to choose between the two of them, she\'d prefer for him to chose Lydia. If his heart truly wavered like that, she didn\'t want it in the first place—not that he\'d offer it to her.

"Tomorrow\'s Council Meeting will believe otherwise," Elias coldly said. "If you want to live a free woman, you better make your case believable."

Lydia glared at him. "How can the truth not be believable?"

"The same way an innocent man can rot in jail for murder," Elias deadpanned.

Lydia scowled towards the ground. Yeah, she would definitely not marry the likes of him. Their personality clashed like fire and water. And no, it wasn\'t the good kind.

"If you care about your friend, you\'d deny marrying me even if you have to stand over the ledge of Claymore Conglamorate," Elias seethed.

How dare this woman glare at him? On what grounds did she have to show him this kind of rebellion? Someone needed to teach her manners. He glanced at the table. And etiquette.

Without another word, he yanked Adeline against him. "We\'re leaving," he informed her.

"I didn\'t finish talking to Lydia," Adeline objected. She lowered her voice a bit, not wanting to publicly go against him. "You always seem to interrupt our time together. I rarely get to see her too."

Elias pinched the spot in between his brows. He couldn\'t imagine what intrigued Adeline. Lydia was too unruly for her composed self. Opposites truly shouldn\'t attract. 

"Besides, don\'t you have a Kingdom to run?" Adeline mumbled, whilst placing her hand upon his arm. Her thumb stroked his calloused knuckles. His skin was a lovely shade of pale moonlight. 

"Don\'t you have a husband to please?" he retorted upon her ears.

Adeline lightly laughed. "Only at night."

Elias\'s lips curled into a dark smirk. "I\'ll hold you to that promise."