Chapter 143: 143: With The News
Eden didn’t waste much time in the room. He quickly washed himself up and soon got dressed in Lysander’s clothes.
They suited him well, although they were a bit oversized. But why not?
The knock was still coming from the door, and Eden had just stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed.
Lysander was still asleep. Eden casually glanced at him. Still asleep, huh? he thought.
He guessed he’d have to leave him there and head out for his daily business.
Eden approached the door and pulled it open, only to meet Lysander’s personal butler standing there in the company of some guards.
They had been knocking, trying to wake Lysander up, but it hadn’t been fruitful.
And as soon as they saw Eden stepping out of the room, they froze, stunned.
Their eyes darted from Eden’s face to the clothes he was wearing—clothes that were clearly Lysander’s.
They blinked, completely shocked to see him there, and more specifically, shocked to see him wearing Lysander’s clothes.
Eden smiled at them. "Good morning."
They were too stunned to speak. Their tongues seemed tied, and they didn’t even remember to ask him what he was doing there.
Before they could find their words, Eden stepped off, walking away from their presence and disappearing into the hallway.
The personal butler and the guards stood there, watching him leave, exchanging bewildered glances.
The butler quickly stepped into the room, his brows furrowed, and saw Lysander still asleep, the bedsheet covering his body completely.
"Your Highness," he called.
This time, Lysander lazily opened his eyes.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, massaging the sharp string of pain that ran through his head.
He sighed softly as he looked around, trying to gather the images of his surroundings.
He was in his room—that much was easy enough to tell.
"Your Highness, it’s time to get up and prepare for the activities of the day. Your mother has arranged some for you," the butler reminded, standing at a distance with his head lowered.
Lysander groaned lazily, running a hand across his body beneath the blanket.
He was naked.
Lysander blinked. He was suddenly very much sober as he opened the blanket and stared beneath. He really was naked.
And then the thought of what happened last night struck him.
He had done it with Eden.
The thought didn’t shock him, nor did it disturb him. Instead, he felt the heat rise to his cheeks, his face flushing pink.
A small smile tugged at his lips as the memory of last night rushed into his mind—vivid, heated, and arousing.
"Your Highness...?" the butler called again.
Lysander quickly covered himself properly with the blanket and stared at his butler, along with the guards standing at the door.
"I’ll be ready in a while. Leave me for now," he ordered.
"Yes."
Soon, they were all gone, leaving Lysander alone in his room. Naked.
He blinked once they were gone, clutched the blanket tightly around himself, and allowed the images of last night to overwhelm him.
"I should get ready," he mumbled to himself, sliding out of bed.
Before long, Lysander was submerged in his bathtub, naked, the warm water engulfing him. His hands skimmed the surface while his mind replayed the memories.
The vivid image of Eden’s porcelain body. The press of their bodies colliding. The touch of Eden’s mouth all over him.
It had been his first time, and the thought of it lingered, refusing to let go. The urge for more was already growing inside him.
---
Eden finally reached his room, tossing Lysander’s clothes off carelessly and changing into his own.
Lenny was lounging on the bed, watching him. "What’s up?"
"Something wild," Eden muttered as he slipped into his own clothes.
"Wild? Wild like what?"
Eden shrugged. "It’s PG. So let’s not go there."
Lenny blinked at him. "With who?"
Eden cast him a glance and smiled. "Well, that’s by the way."
He sat down on the bed, stretching his arms. "It’s basically tomorrow, I guess. Tomorrow will make it a week since he gave me that mission."
"So by tomorrow, he’ll make arrangements to meet with you?" Lenny asked.
Eden nodded. "Yeah. It’s finally time to go and account for what I researched."
"Are you going to tell him what you discovered?" Lenny’s eyes narrowed with curiosity.
Eden had discovered something grand—something political, something that could potentially shake the entire system here.
It was dangerous knowledge. Knowledge that could spark war. If this information leaked, it could cause bloodshed.
And if it reached someone like Leo, who was already plotting rebellion, the results would be catastrophic.
All Leo needed was confirmation—something solid that would fuel his determination to strike.
Eden didn’t want to be the one to hand that over.
All he wanted was peace. He didn’t want to spark a war, nor did he want to be tangled in a conflict that could drag him into chaos.
His life was already stressful enough—every day he survived attempts on his life, every day he fought just to live another. Adding political warfare to that burden? It wasn’t worth it.
"I doubt I’ll tell him," Eden admitted finally.
"I understand." Lenny nodded. He too understood how heavy the consequences would be if Eden revealed that secret. "But what are you going to do then? If you don’t tell him, you’ll be in trouble too."
Eden nodded. "I know. But I’ll have to find an alternative."
"You’ll avoid meeting him?"
"No. I’ll still meet him," Eden said firmly.
"Huh? How will you meet him and still not tell him? If you hold back, you’re just giving him more ground to come after you," Lenny reminded.
"I know. But it’ll be worse if I don’t go at all. I can’t avoid him forever. I’ll have to face him eventually, even if I try to hide. So why not do it now?"
Lenny considered his words and nodded slowly. "So what plans do you have for meeting him?"
Eden leaned back, thoughtful. "I’ll have to come up with something. Something to tell him when I meet him. Something that will hold him off for the meantime."