Back in her chamber, Vivia hopped on the bed, not caring if her dress would get wrinkled. She held the stack of letters up in the air, her emerald eyes filled with anticipation and stars. She swiftly unsealed the first letter, which was sent from Doloros.
'Princess, I hope you're in the pink of your health. Hope you reached Emberlain without any inconveniences. I enjoyed the time you stayed in Rudaheim. I've sent some special herbs only grown in the Demon Realm as a small present. I've listed their uses down. Do use them if you feel the need. Hope we get to meet again soon.'
Vivia emptied the envelope and found several odd-looking medicinal herbs. She recognized one of them that he had used to treat her burn injuries. Doloros hadn't outrightly asked about her hand, but the medicinal herbs were a clear indication that he had sent some extra herbs for her recovery. He must have assumed that nobody in the Emberlain palace knew and so her wounds might not have been getting the necessary attention - though the Health Minister, Miriam was aware.
Sir Doloros has such a kind heart. He still worries about my injuries, his concern gushed water into her eyes.
She carefully placed the herbs back and opened the next letter from Azarael.
'Princess, hope you reached Emberlain safely. Apologies if I'm too bold to write a letter to the royal princess. But I just wanted to say that though your stay was short, we miss you. I enjoyed serving you. Vespera too. The days are going as usual here, though Vespera and Chef Andras have been butting heads a lot these days. I don't know what to do. Hope we get to meet again soon.'
I miss you too Azarael! She sniffled.
A small chuckle escaped her lips at the mention of Vespera.
No way is Vespera missing me. She could barely tolerate my sight. But why is she fighting with Chef Andras?
The next letters were from Ronove and Vassago. Though they were two separate letters, they felt like one to her with the same zealousness spread across their words.
'Princess, princess, we miss you! When will you come back? We're learning to bake the greatest cake from Chef Andras! So when we meet again, we'll bake the tallest and the strongest cake there is in the whole world for you!'
What…do they mean by the strongest cake? I..I'd able to digest it, right?
'Don't feel sad that Chef Andras didn't write a letter for you! We had actually caught him writing one, but then he threw it into the fire! And then he beat us up!'
"..."
'So, so, Chef Andras also feels the same as us! He also misses you a lot, but he won't show it. But he also wants to meet you again! So come back soon! Also Chef Andras and Vespera keep fighting a lot! It's so much fun to watch!'
The corner of the letter was coated in traces of something crimson.
…Is that blood? She could feel a sense of violence emanating through their letters.
She cleared her throat, pitying the two sous chefs. Warmth tickled her heart with joy simply imagining their cute faces lit up with bright smiles.
I want to see the two sunshines too!
The next and the last letter was from Eurus. She opened it, only for an abrupt chill to freeze her fingers. Seeing a piece of ice stuck with the letter, her jaw dropped, dumbfounded.
"This is definitely Eurus's magic."
She detached the small piece of ice and held it in her palm. Realizing that he must have sent the ice so that she wouldn't miss him made her miss him even more. He was her little bundle of joy with his beautiful ice-silver eyes.
As expected, the ice didn't melt despite the long time that passed while being within her palm's warmth but continued to shimmer under the light. A soft smile tugged at her lips. Her thoughts then drifted to his mother, wondering if Zerath was able to find any clues about her.
Vivia unfolded his letter, and a bunch of gibberish letters were crawled upon the paper. She squinted her eyes to take a closer look but could barely make out the words. His handwriting was cute but…illegible. She imagined him writing this letter with all his focus and sincerity.
Ah, my heart, my heart! I cannot read it, but I'm already gushing. A pity that I cannot understand his words…Ahh, give me some magical power to read this letter!
She clenched the letter harder, praying for the forces of nature to help her pass this hurdle - which was when she felt something odd. Her fingers brushed along the letter's width, feeling the edges of the paper.
Why does this feel so…
Her eyes slowly widened in realization, her heart pounding in her chest like wildfire. Her fingers trembled for several long moments. Swallowing a gulp, she scraped across the longer edge of the paper, revealing a tiny slit. Her breath stopped instantly.
No way…
The slit widened with her careful movements, exposing a second layer of paper underneath Eurus's letter. She peeled it off from the first one, revealing a different handwriting this time - which was definitely legible. Beautiful even. Every stroke passed like a flower gently blossoming its petals in the sunlight. Even though the onset of winter had brought a chill in Emberlain's air, warmth flowed through her fingertips like a butterfly perched upon them.
The first word which she read dropped the beats of her heart into a heavenly encore.
'Vivia.'
A shaky breath hovered along the edges of her quivering lips. It was as if Zerath's gentle voice lovingly whispered her name in her ears.
That idiot. He hid it quite well, but it was still a risk…
'I know you're thinking that I'm an idiot for taking this risk.'
Her brow twitched.
Uh-huh, so you can read my mind now?
'Now you must be thinking if I can read your mind, then the answer is yes.'
"..."
'So I know that you might not have been expecting a letter from me, but how could I not write one? I miss you, Vivia. I hope you're missing me just as much.'
She clenched the letter with a faint tremble.
'My princely duties are continuing as usual, but the dining room feels missing without you. Breakfast doesn't feel so enjoyable without your reactions to Chef Andras's food.'
Vivia softly chuckled upon remembering the sensuously moaning donut.
'I had gotten used to seeing you hopping around the courtyard. Now it feels too huge and empty without you drinking tea in the pavilion. Oh, remember how we had cleaned the training grounds? The weeds have grown on them again. I decided to clean the grounds again, but Father kicked me out. He couldn't believe that I'd choose to carry out the punishment again.'
She burst into laughter, a trail of mistiness forming on her lashes.
'But…that's how much I miss you. The only thing keeping my mind sane is your brooch. I pin it on my coat everyday. Lady Asmodea was quite impressed with the choice. She liked it very much and wanted to know where I got it from. I've a feeling she has a special person in her heart too whom she'd like to give a brooch someday.'
Oohhh, who might be that demon I wonder?
'I don't know when I'll be able to send another letter to you. But always know this - I love you.'
Mistiness flooded into her eyes as tears as she bit down her lip.
'I'll always do, and only you'll be my bride. Nothing will change that. Until that day comes when you'll walk down the aisle for me, please be safe, Vivia. There're some grave truths that have emerged which I cannot tell you in a letter, but the danger to your life hasn't passed yet, and it's killing me that I'm not there by your side to protect you. So please promise me that you'll take care of yourself. You won't drop your guard…even if it's your family.'