Zeres’ gaze sharpened for a moment, and his jaw had contracted. He stood entirely still, saying nothing, as he continued staring back at her.
But Alicia persisted and refused to give in. She waited for his response with her earnest and fierce eyes. Eyes that were screaming her refusal to accept his silence as an answer to her question.
Realizing that Alicia was more than determined to hear his answer, Zeres’s gaze eventually softened. To him, this witch queen was really hard to deal with, and her intensity was actually troubling him. He could not resist her probing and stubborn gazes.
"Sigh... listen to me, queen." Zeres finally started. "I believe it’s better if you won’t be involved with this. I don’t want you to –"
"Oh please," Alicia cut him off once again as the corner of her lips curved up. "I am already involved with all these matters about you immortals, much more than you think, Zeres." She pressed, narrowing her eyes. "And I don’t get it. Why do you sound like you know nothing about all the things that are happening all this time?"
Silence reigned between them again.
"Did you even know that the previous queen died because of that Dinah?" As these words slipped from Alicia’s mouth, Zeres looked at her with surprise, causing Alicia to shake her head. Was this guy serious? He really knew nothing? What was he doing all this time? Was he really just staying in this castle like some caged bird?
Alicia let out a deep sigh. She refused to believe that he really knew nothing but she just felt that he wasn’t acting at all. The emotions in his eyes right then were just too real to be fake.
"I will not tell you the whereabouts of your so-called wife." She suddenly told him with a decisive expression.
Her words made the man looked alarmed. He walked closer to her, but Alicia turned her back from him. "I am leaving," she said, but Zeres caught her wrist.
"Wait. Don’t leave." He blocked her, looking a little anxious. He closed his eyes and sighed with surrender in his eyes. "Fine. I will tell you why. That’s all you wanted to know, right? But you have to promise me first that you will help me locate my wife."
Alicia stared at him. "No, I don’t want you to tell me." She told him, causing Zeres to frown hard at her. "Let me see everything myself."
The first thing Zeres did upon hearing her last statement was to shake his head in disbelief. "You really are one hell of a queen," he mumbled under his breath. He knew what she was talking about. She wanted to look at his memories directly rather than hearing his explanation.
"Don’t get me wrong, Zeres. Don’t expect me to trust you. How could I trust someone who’s friends with the person who killed my queen? If you wanted me to speak, then allow me to see everything for myself."
Zeres’ gaze flew towards the opened window. There were little birds coming in and out, chirping as if they were enjoying their freedom to fly as they want. A far off look glimmered in his eyes as he silently watched the flying birds.
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