To dispel their 'misunderstanding' that they were collectively experiencing an auditory hallucination, Astrid repeated, "His Highness, Wulfric de Lunaris, is offering his help to us."
Finally, realization dawned on them. Astrid really just ntioned the lunatic prince.
"Wait- how- I an, why would that guy, I an the prince, offer his help?" Casey asked, clearly very confused.
Both the duke and Thomas had their gazes fixated on him, showing how focused they were on whatever he would say next.
"I t him by accident last year in Delryria. And... we beca friends," Astrid could only say without explaining further.
Because further explanation ant revealing his exact relationship with Wulfric. Although it's true that they were currently just 'friends,' what he and Wulfric had couldn't be confined to that one singular term.
All three n furrowed their brows exactly at the sa ti as soon as he said that.
"I'm sorry, Aster. But I just find it hard to believe that you're talking about the prince whom we know," Casey said. "I an, no offense to the prince, but I don't think that guy has any friends."
Astrid felt the corner of his eye twitch. What Casey said kind of annoyed him, so he responded without thinking, "I think Wulf is very friendly with his captains, as well as his lieutenant."
It was too late by the ti he realized that he had said more than he should. His simple statent contained a lot of unspoken implications and hinted at a deeper familiarity with Wulfric than he had intended to reveal.
Sure enough, the three n imdiately caught the underlying implications in his words. Casey looked shocked, while both Thomas and the duke furrowed their brows even further. Astrid could almost see the questions forming in their minds, and he knew that an explanation would be inevitable.
He braced himself for the barrage of inquiries that was sure to follow, wishing he had been more careful with his words.
But what could he do? When he heard Casey talk as if Wulfric was the lowest of the low, soone no one would dare be friends with, he felt an overwhelming urge to defend him. Wulfric might not be perfect, but he certainly wasn't that bad.
"I don't know which one I should be more shocked by: the fact that you know the prince's captains and lieutenant, or that you're calling him by his nickna," Casey said, pressing his temple as if trying to ward off an incoming migraine.
"I think we can all agree that the two of you seem to be more than casual acquaintances," Thomas said, obviously trying to remain calm, but the strain in his voice, especially on the word 'acquaintances,' proved otherwise. "May I ask how did that co about?"
"Yes, I very much want to know the answer to that as well," Casey added.
Astrid looked at the three and sighed. It seed that as long as he didn't provide a viable reason why Wulfric would help them, they would continue to doubt his intentions. The only way to put a stop to their questioning was to tell them the truth about their relationship. But that would just lead to another round of inquiries that he didn't care to answer.
As he was thinking about how to go about this, the duke, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"What are the prince's intentions towards you?"
That single question stopped all three who heard it. Casey and Thomas didn't really think in that direction at first. But after hearing their father, they finally realized that it's the most plausible direction they should have thought of first.
Astrid, on the other hand, was simply surprised that the duke would ask that directly. Because of this, he beca montarily speechless. However, his silence took on another aning to the three Grimaldis looking at him.
"Oh my god, how dare that bastard have designs on my nephew?" Casey blurted out angrily.
"Cassius, calm down," Thomas said, trying to be the voice of reason. However, the vein popping out on his forehead showed that he wasn't as calm as he wanted to appear. "Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding, right, Astrid?"
The duke simply stared at Astrid. Though he hadn't added anything to his earlier question, the expression on his face more than conveyed how much he also disliked the idea of Wulfric having 'designs' on him, as Casey put it.
Once again, a long sigh escaped Astrid's lips. There were two ways he could approach this. First, he could lie and make up so excuse. Or second, he could simply tell the truth.
Doing the first one would be the easy way out at the mont. But then, once they agreed to Wulfric's help and they t him, just one word from Wulfric and they would be able to imdiately tell the 'truth'.
So, in the long run, it would still be better to just reveal the truth now. It might complicate things at this mont, but at least they would avoid any misunderstandings or mistrust later on.
It would have been better if things didn't get to this point. But it was his fault for being unable to stop himself from defending Wulfric. Which was probably the reason why the duke caught on and had this suspicion.
But once Astrid revealed to them his real relationship with Wulfric, it would definitely get ugly. He took a deep breath and decided to just go with it. Knowing he couldn't change the situation, it was best to just address it head-on.
He looked at his two uncles, who seed to be hoping that it was just a misunderstanding, and the duke, who seed to be trying his best to rein in his temper. He clenched and unclenched his fists before saying it all at once;
"Yes, Wulf is in love with ."
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