The Web of Knightspur-Chapter 234: [Bonus - ]

Grand Duke Christopher’s eyes looked at Princess Eleanor with love. He had a lot to say and even though he knew that Princess Eleanor did not remember him, he did not mind it the least.

"When I started the investigation again, I knew that the Royal family had come to an agreement with someone from the Empire. But I did not know who it was yet. And by the time I could tell Prince Edwin about it, it was already too late. He was under attack and I had to rush to save anyone who would survive."

"Can you help me escape?" Princess Eleanor’s voice trembled. She was trying hard to control her tears but they still ran down her cheeks from time to time.

"It was Prince Edwin who wanted you to survive. When I came to the rescue, there was no hope to save the King and Queen." Grand Duke Christopher’s hold on Princess Eleanor’s hand tightened as he continued. "I wanted to help Prince Edwin, but he pushed me in the direction of the carriage where you were in. I could not deny that there was a part of my heart that wanted to save you too, but at that time, it was your brother who knew that it was only either he or you who could survive. And he chose you."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks as Princess Eleanor bit her lips to stop the sobs from escaping. Grand Duke Christopher panicked as he wiped at her eyes and pulled her into his arms. Princess Eleanor held Duke Christopher’s shirt as she cried her heart out while he sat there giving her strength.

"What happened next?" Princess Eleanor asked in a broken voice. Once she was done crying, she knew that she needed to listen to the whole truth and not judge based on what she was hearing just now.

"I had to leave and understand the situation in depth and I did that. It was then that I realized that it was not the Emperor, but the Crown Prince who was involved this time around but I still could not understand the situation. I agree that it took a long time for me to understand but I had to be careful before I made a move."

Princess Eleanor’s head was still cradled in Grand Duke’s arms but she still nodded. She wanted to listen to what he was saying but she did not want to move back and face him yet. Princess Eleanor felt like she was not ready for it. For now, she was content to be in his arms and not look at his face.

"When I heard that Lady Gisella will be escorting you, I do not know why but I was happy. I wanted to see you but I also know that you would not remember me. The memories where we met were painful and I thought that you would want to forget it." Grand Duke Christopher said as he took a deep breath, "But that was not the only reason. I also wanted to know why Crown Prince Richard would do something like that in the first place. What was his reason? So I decided to convince the Emperor to assign a masked escort to every Princess so that when they reached the Empire, they could not take advantage of the escort’s family and manipulate the temple’s and nobles’ minds. And to my surprise, the Emperor agreed that I could wear a mask and come to you as Sir Kit."

As soon as Princess Eleanor heard it, she remembered seeing the quiet Sir Kit standing beside Lady Gisella as if nothing mattered to him. "You knew you had to bring me to the Empire?"

"Yes." Sir Kit did not deny it. "We were informed that the King will try to push his niece and we had to agree." Grand Duke looked down at his arms as he could feel the stiffness in them. "Things turned out to be different. My feelings for you grew and then I started thinking that I did not want you to marry the Crown Prince even if you are the chosen one from the prophecy. It was my greed that I could not let you go."

Princess Eleanor felt a lump forming in her throat as she asked with a heavy heart, "Then why didn’t you say anything to me? Why didn’t you reveal your identity?"

Grand Duke Christopher took a deep breath, "I wanted to, but your determination and manipulation were amusing. I loved seeing how you turned the situation around in your favor. When you entered the Beaumont mansion, I wanted to tell you the truth. But the situation was complicated then. You thought that I was involved in the assassination of your family, and I was afraid that if I told you who I was, then maybe you would blame me. I was afraid that you would leave me alone and I didn’t want to see it happening."

Princess Eleanor was silent. But seeing that the Princess did not say anything, Grand Duke Christopher continued. "I am not denying anything. I was wrong and it was my mistake. I had many chances to come clean but the fear was greater than the sense of honesty. Even on the night that the Princess saw my face..." Christopher’s hold on her tightened as he continued in a lowered voice, "...but I was a coward then too."

Princess Eleanor swallowed as she moved her body away from him. Turning around, she looked into Christopher’s eyes. "You knew that you would be the Crown Prince? Or were you using me?"

"I never wanted to be the Crown Prince. I do not want to either. But the lady who I love more than my own life wants to be an Empress. And to stay with her, I have to become an Emperor. But the first step is to be the Crown Prince. So I decided to take the first step towards meeting you where you want to stand."

Grand Duke Christopher extended his hand out to her as he asked, "Will you allow me to meet you there, Princess?"

Princess Eleanor swallowed as she looked into Christopher’s eyes only to see love shining in them. She knew that whatever the man was saying was the truth as she extended her hand and held onto his, "Only for love."

Christopher smiled as his hold tightened around her hand as he nodded, "Only for love."