Forever Destined to the Silver Shadow-Chapter 267: Truth over reality

Edwin’s POV:

I waited and waited under the oak tree in the castle gardens for Celestia to arrive. Usually, she used to come here even before I got to this spot. She is very punctual! But today she is late.

This is very unusual! I bet that she is going through something. And recently, all my predictions about her turned out to be true. I might not be able to read her mind, but I can sense what she needs.

Every time I saw thirst in her eyes, I went to the forest of light to hunt for animals’ blood for her sake. And to my surprise, I wasn’t even guilty that I was sinning by killing animals. I am doing it for Celestia—and for her sake, I am ready even to sin.

I decided to go to her room directly as time went by. On my way to her room, I struggled to understand the reason for her procrastination. Perhaps she is thirsty again. No, that is not possible! Just yesterday, she fed on a stag’s blood that I had hunted for her. Or maybe she is still taking a nap! Even that seemed impossible as she is an insomniac.

I knocked on her door twice and waited patiently for her to answer. But there was noise inside the room. Maybe she is sleeping! Then I should not disturb her. She is finally getting good sleep, and I should not ruin it for her.

I was about to turn around and leave the spot, but I stopped when I saw the yellow lights over my feet. They were radiating from the little gap below the wooden door.

Why is her room still bright?! This is strange! She usually puts off the fire chandeliers and candles in her room once the morning sun arrives. Either she is too tired to wake up and put off the lights, or she is not even in her room. What if she is not in there?!

There is no harm in checking in her room. I clicked the door of her room open and stepped inside. She was not here, just like I suspected. All the lavender-scented candles were still burning. The pleasant fragrance of the lavender was intoxicating to me.

What was more strange in her room was that except for her mattress, everything else was neat. So she must have left the room in the middle of the night. But where did she go without even giving me any information about it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

I asked the palace Fae guards if they had seen Celestia leave the castle, but they didn’t seem to be aware of it. So Celestia just vanished from the castle without getting caught by the Fae guards?! This is impossible!

The Fae guards patrol around the castle during the dark. They might have spotted her if she had walked out of the main entrance. This doesn’t make sense anymore. Celestia doesn’t have the powers to create a portal and disappear from her room.

It means that someone must have taken her from here. Who could it be?! Maybe it is Ember or Daviana. If she is with them, then I can relax. If she is not, then it means that she is missing. I prayed to the Holy Father that she must be okay!

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Ember was down in the weaponry room just like I expected her to be. Sometimes I doubt if she even goes to her home. Whenever I come down here, she is always here!

She was going through the barrels that had spears in them. Since she is a Mage, she is supposed to depend on these weapons the most. I always wondered how she would be if she were a Fae! Then she would have been the best warrior Fae in the Highlands.

"What brings you here, Edwin? Are you done roaming behind Celestia?!" she said and took out a spear from the barrel.

I was slightly offended by her comments. I am not roaming behind Celestia. I care about her! Still, my friends are constantly teasing me about this.

I am glad that none of them were on the cliff when the Siren Queen exposed my true feelings. Celestia was innocent enough not to trust the Queen’s words—and she didn’t rat me out to others too.

That made me love her even more! Then immediately, the feeling of guilt accompanied me for falling in love with Celestia. This is not something I planned to do; it just happened without my knowledge.

I reminded myself that no one has to know about this, not even Celestia. I will continue being her friend and fulfilling her needs. And I don’t want her to love me back. She sees me as her good friend, and that is an honor for me!

"Are you already daydreaming about Celestia?" Ember said and offended me again.

"Stop insulting me," I snapped. "And I respect the Dawn so much. I would never desire her in the wrong way—"

"Relax, Edwin," she said and placed the spear back on the barrel. "I was just messing with you! Why don’t you still understand what sarcasm is?"

"I prefer truth over sarcasm and false senses of humor," I said to her. "You can temporarily make a person laugh by telling an untruth. But hiding the truth always has its consequences. So it is better, to be honest always—"

She sighed. "Edwin, can you please stop with this philosophical lesson? It is very boring to hear—"

I shook my head in disbelief. Why do people always dislike hearing the truth? Everyone prefers to live in illusion instead of accepting reality!

"Why are you silent? Tell me, why are you here?" Ember snapped.

"Yes, did you happen to see Celestia?"

"No, I didn’t! I thought that she was with you," she replied and shook me.

"She isn’t with me either," my tone tensed. "Do you know if she is with Daviana?"

"I don’t think so! Daviana is in the Magelands now—"

So this means only one thing. That trickster has abducted Celestia!