The first thing the person faced when he entered was the hawk.
“Ah! Claude!”
There was a sound of flapping wings and a scream. It was Prince Wade who had entered her room. Wade was surprised by the hawk’s attack. He rushed back out of the room and kept calling for Claude.
“Damn it Paullen! Why can’t you recognize me still? Grand Duke! Do something about him!”
The prince’s shout rang out into the second floor hallway. Claude glared at the rude intruder and covered Lia with a blanket.
“Stay here.”
“It’s the Prince’s voice.”
As she poked her head out of the blanket, looking pale, he stroked her small head, and kissed her cheek.
“I know. So don’t look at Wade for now.”
“But I need to at least greet him…”
“Like this?”
Canillia nodded gravely. Claude made sure she had pulled the blanket over her head and got up.
As he whistled towards Wade who was pushed into the hallway, Paullen flew back and sat on the back of the sofa.
“Good job, Paullen.” Claude caressed the hawk’s beak and went to Wade.
“Not a good look, Your Highness.” He offered Wade a hand to help him up the floor. Wade got up complaining.
“How about closing your robe? I know you like it but it’s not a good look on you, either.”
“Is that why you came to meddle?”
“No to meddle. I was quite jealous that you got Canillian all to yourself.”
Jealous.
Claude scoffed and looked at the sofa where Canillian was hiding behind. Wade then walked towards it. But Claude blocked his way.
“Canillian isn’t here. But my lady is in the room and not in a position to see you.”
“A lady. That’s not what Rosina said. She said she gave it to Canillian. Who is it?”
“She’s my clematis.”
“Clematis…”
Wade laughed in disbelief. Claude had no intention of revealing Canillian’s identity to the Prince. Even if the Prince had already assumed something.
He closed his robe and took out the cigarette case from Wade’s shirt pocket. The Prince relaxed.
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“You’re the only one who’s so rude to me. You know that?”
Claude ignored him.
“Doesn’t seem like you’re here to see Canillian. Is something urgent?”
He headed to the balcony with a lit cigarette. The cool breeze wafted in from the open door.
“No, I’m really here to see Canillian. I need to tell him something.”
Wade leaned against the wall and pointed somewhere at the garden. Claude’s gaze followed it. There was a car inside the palace. It had Marquis Vale’s family symbol on the car. Kieran got into the car looking in a hurry, looking at his watch.
“There’s news of Marquis’s townhouse being attacked last night. I think they were after his diamond.”
Claude’s eyes changed. “What do you mean?”
“Like I said, I heard it was a rough night.”
“What happened to them?”
“Two of them were killed on the spot. Some of the diamonds were taken and the butler was hurt badly.”
Claude remembered the face of the butler of the Marquis family. He had served the family for a long time.
Was it Angel?
Claude extinguished the cigarette on the snow. “Who was it?”
“The anarchists.”
He didn’t waver at the answer. There were anarchists everywhere. They were always a part of some crime or another. They also happened to have a track record of kidnapping Canillian.
Claude frowned while recalling the lying doctor’s face. “His Majesty still hasn’t gotten rid of them.”
“Grand Duke. You do know that they won’t disappear that easily? They are tenacious. Like, vines that will grow thicker, the more you cut them.”
“Even so, they’re bold. Going after the diamond and targeting the Vale family. That means they have someone powerful to rely on.” He responded dryly but there were a few questions in his mind.
How did the anarchists know that the Marquis’s townhouse had diamonds?
Only a few people really knew about it. Maximilian, Marquis Vale, the Emperor and a few people from the royal family. The reason why the Emperor had ordered Marquis Vale to guard the diamond was because the Vale family vault was guarded strictly.
The diamond was stolen through all that security…
That meant that the security of the vault was loosened for some reason.
“That’s the problem.” Said Wade impatiently. Claude waited.
“According to the Marchioness, Canillian Vale went missing in the middle of the ball. The Marquis’s place was attacked after and there were witnesses who saw Canillian near Louvre. Unfortunately, the Marchioness thinks that Canillian is the culprit, Grand Duke.”
Claude rubbed his mouth. “Canillian as the culprit? How unfortunate…”