The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 600

Chapter 600: Reason Behind Oriana’s Name

"How long are we going to stay here?" Oriana asked.

"You want to leave?"

"I feel like I should be by your mother’s side for a few days and handle my responsibilities as Crown Princess."

"Is this decision related to our esteemed guests?"

"In part, yes."

Arlan felt comforted by her sense of duty toward their family and her position as Crown Princess. "We will return tomorrow morning."

She agreed and then asked, "That sword... I felt you saw it as more than just a gift."

Arlan nodded. "I’m trying to investigate where the Mortimers came from. There’s no trace of their origins, as if they’ve skillfully erased all evidence. But sometimes, such people always carry something they value and never leave behind; instead, they bear it with pride."

"Is that sword something like that?"

He hummed. "Have you ever heard your grandfather talking about swords, special ones?" _{freёweɓnovel.com}

Oriana shook her head. "He always showed me we were commoners, so seeing something special was not meant for us. Grandpa maintained his role as a commoner till the end, and I never doubted that we could be something else," she paused, her mind registering something, "Why do you ask?"

"That sword is made in the kingdom your family belongs to, and it is made only for royals," he began, explaining what he had heard from the swordsmith. "Your family used to be royal, then someone else took over, which means they possessed those swords. But later, the kingdom was taken over by Megaris. So, I think..."

"Mortimer is the family that betrayed my grandfather," Oriana concluded, her gut feeling telling her she was not wrong, and she knew Arlan was going to say the same.

Arlan nodded. "That is what we can conclude unless there is another noble family close to the royals that knows how to craft those swords."

"Do you remember what I said about my grandfather’s reaction to the north-east?"

Arlan nodded, and Oriana continued. "Even when my grandpa was chased by royal forces and we changed places, not once did I see my grandfather panic. He was always calm and wouldn’t hesitate to make his way right through the royal guards. But it was different in the north-east, as if..."

"It’s indeed different," Arlan added. "The north-east territory is entirely under the control of Marquis Mortimer, and royal guards are not allowed to inspect their territory randomly without permission from Luis. As my father never wished to reveal that he was looking for your family, he never sent royal guards to the north-east to avoid alerting Luis. My father doesn’t trust him and simply sent a few spies in disguise, which wasn’t much help. That territory was indeed a better place for your grandpa to hide, but he ran away instead."

"Today when I met him, I didn’t have a good feeling about him. Or, I was just irked due to hunger."

Arlan chuckled, avoiding commenting on her hunger and how much she loved food. He just hoped there wouldn’t be a day when she had to choose between food and him. He didn’t wish to be abandoned by her over food.

"I never asked before, but which kingdom did my grandpa rule?" Oriana asked.

"Aurialor is the name. It was a small but prosperous kingdom until your family ruled there. Now, it’s territory under Megaris, and one of Drayce’s close confidants, a duke, is the lord of it."

"Aurialor," Oriana mumbled.

"In the language spoken in that kingdom, Auria means golden, and Lor means lotus."

"Golden Lotus?" Oriana commented. "It was named after that artifact my family was taking care of."

Arlan nodded. "Previously, it was called Orilotus. ’Ori’ means gold, and ’lotus’ is self-explanatory. Later generations changed it to Aurialor."

"Orilotus," she repeated.

"Though your grandpa was away, it seems he could never break his ties with his kingdom."

"Why do you say that?"

"Your name. He used to call you Ori."