Two-Faced Princess

New Embers (15)

Sid died because of her, obviously. Apollonia had long blamed herself for it.

“Is that the reason why you have done such a dangerous thing?” Apollonia asked again, her voice trembling a little. Kidnapping the princess was tantamount to treason. A crime to die for whatever reason. A cold chuckle escaped Knox’s lips from what she had said so far and his answer was unexpected.

“Do you think I’m taking revenge because my beloved father lost his life because of you? Do I look that childish?”

“What if it’s not?”

“Don’t pretend to worry about me or my mother now.” Knox spat out with a scowl. “You’re disgusting.”

The hostility in his gaze intensified to the point of murder, causing goosebumps to break out of her skin. His grey eyes which resembled Sid were cold and dangerous. When Apollonia remained silent, he exhaled a long sigh and leaned against the wall as she did. From a distance, it would have looked like they were two friends sitting next to each other but there was a breathtaking tension between them.

“I do not resent you simply because of my father’s death. I’ve hated you since he was alive.” He spoke truthfully without taking his eyes off Apollonia.

“Why?”

“Did you know how my mother and I lived?”

He smirked as if he found Apollonia’s question ridiculous. Little by little, she seemed to know what Knox was trying to say.

“Except for the brief memories of living affluently as the son of the Royal Knight commander, my childhood was a series of things being stolen from me and being avoided.” He began in a low voice.

By the time Knox was nine years old, he grew up receiving much love as an honorable Count’s only child. No one could ignore Sid Bayan’s son, who served as the Chief Commander of the Imperial Knights. While his father was busy and away from home, his mother wisely managed the estate in the Count’s place. But after the Emperor’s death, their world had turned upside down. Duke Lipper and his close associates were too impatient to devour them that the Bayan Family took countless hits, invading their territory and interfering with their business.

As time passed, the position of Count Bayan grew unstable, and many nobles and knights who once followed them gradually left. Her mother took on all the problems on her own. She was responsible for raising emergency funds by selling their land, leaving only a bare minimum for them to use, taking responsibility for Knox’s education, and solving problems without losing their dignity even when Knox, who began training as a knight at a young age, was coyly ignored by his peers.

Occasionally, his father would set up an emergency fund somewhere, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. In the end, the Countess had to sell her own jewels to support her manor.

“Well, who knew that this would happen to a celebrated Countess in the past?”

People’s sarcasm followed when the mother and son decided to refuse to show themselves to the Upper Society. Both of them waited for the man of the household to return to their side. If he had earned honor and wealth for their family in exchange for his father’s lost time, he thought he could get his father back. However, he had never even shown his face to them at least once a month while Knox was growing up. Protecting Apollonia was his utmost priority. His mother always waited for him with longing, worry, and, love but in his father’s eyes, there was only the princess. The Countess soon became ill. Once ill, she wasn’t able to recover easily and her delirious spirit was always looking for her husband. Sometimes, his father would stop by to check on her health or send them a letter. Just when they needed him the most, he wasn’t around to help her recover. Knox sent a long letter to his father when he was seventeen.

[Mother is in critical condition, father. She won’t be able to hold out without you.]

Sid arrived at their estate a few days later as if his earnest desire had been conveyed. Knox was deeply moved by his father for the first time in his life. Everything seemed to be all right but he only stayed for two days and left again. He shrugged off the hand of his wife clinging tightly to the hem of his clothes, leaving all care to her young son.

“I have to go back to protect Her Highness. You must stay here and protect your mother.”

‘Go back.’

Those two words pierced Knox’s chest like a dagger. He could no longer deny the fact that the palace was his father’s home and his only family was Apollonia.

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