Chapter 192 - 191: The Powerless Crown prince

It didn’t take long for the order to be delivered by a palace guard with visible discomfort at having to carry it out. Lauriel, still trembling from the shock of her father’s arrest, barely had time to process what was happening before she too was being escorted toward the palace’s holding cells, Alastor’s protests trailing uselessly behind the guards executing royal procedure.

"This is absurd," Alastor said, following them down the corridor, his composed, princely demeanor entirely abandoned now. "She’s done nothing. She had no knowledge of any of this."

"Forgive me, Your Highness," the guard captain said, clearly uncomfortable but unwilling to bend on the matter. "The law is explicit in cases of treason against the crown. The immediate family of the accused must be held for questioning and formal review, regardless."

"Then review her quickly, and clear her, because I refuse to let her sit in a cell over her father’s crimes."

"That decision isn’t mine to make, my lord."

Lauriel held his arm. "I shall be fine, Alastor," she said.

Alastor’s jaw tightened, watching helplessly as Lauriel disappeared behind the door, her tear-streaked face turning back toward him one final time before the guards moved to secure it. He stood there a long moment after the door had shut, one hand pressed flat against the cold stone, before finally turning and walking away with the stiff, furious gait of a man forcing himself not to do something he’d regret.

He found himself, an hour later, standing outside the cell block entrance again, having circled back twice already under the thin pretense of checking on procedural matters. A junior guard, recognizing him, straightened nervously.

"Your Highness. Is there something you require?"

"No," Alastor said, then reconsidered. "Is she— is Lady Lauriel being treated decently, at least?"

"She has a proper cot, Your Highness, and a meal was brought to her only an hour ago. Please, do not worry, Your Highness."

"Thank you," Alastor muttered, and made himself walk away before he did something as reckless as demanding to see her again, certain it would only make the guards’ already uncomfortable position worse.

Eleanore found Caelestis later that night in his study, still dressed from the party, staring into the fireplace with the exhausted weight of the evening etched clearly across his face.

"Alastor is devastated," she said quietly, closing the door behind her. "Lauriel’s been thrown into a cell alongside her father, despite having no part in any of it."

"I know," Caelestis said, not looking up.

"We have to do something. She’s innocent, Caelestis. I saw her face tonight—" She paused. "She had no idea what her father was doing. Punishing her for his crimes isn’t justice, it’s cruelty."

"I agree with you," Caelestis said, finally turning to face her, weariness heavy in his expression. "But agreeing with you doesn’t change the law."

"Then explain it to me, because right now it sounds like nothing more than an excuse to hurt someone who’s already lost everything tonight."

He exhaled slowly, gesturing for her to sit, and waited until she’d settled across from him before continuing. "The law regarding treason has stood for generations, Eleanore, precisely because too many plots against the crown have historically been family affairs. The betrayal usually comes from spouses, children, siblings — all knowingly complicit, using claims of ignorance to protect the family’s remaining assets and influence even after one member is caught. That’s just how cruel it is, being born into royalty."

"That’s not fair to the ones who genuinely didn’t know." She sank into his arms. "Lauriel has always been so kind to me."

"You’re right," Caelestis agreed quietly. He wrapped his arm around her. "It isn’t. But the alternative the law was written to prevent is worse, entire conspiracies surviving intact because the guilty parties simply claimed ignorance and walked free to try again under a different name, a different generation. The law punishes the whole family not because every member is assumed guilty, but because history has shown that leniency in these cases gets exploited, over and over, by people far more calculating than Lauriel."

Eleanore sat with that for a long moment, frustration warring with the uncomfortable understanding of the logic behind it. "So what happens to her now?"

"A formal review, typically. If there’s no evidence of complicity, she could be released eventually, though it may come with restrictions loss of title, seizure of remaining family assets, sometimes exile from court circles, depending on the severity of the crime." His expression darkened slightly. "Given that her father was implicated in double murder and a plot against a duke, I wouldn’t expect leniency to come quickly."

"You’re saying that could take months. Years, even." She tilted her head upward to meet his eyes.

He looked at her. "It could."

"And in the meantime, she sits in a cell for a crime she had nothing to do with, while Alastor, who clearly loves her so deeply, has to stand by and watch it happen because the law ties his hands too."

Caelestis stroked her hair. "I don’t disagree with you, Eleanore. It’s an old law, built for a different kind of protection. But if the crown prince truly loves her and wishes to overturn precedent for Lauriel specifically, he could do it. The only real obstacle in his way would be the King."

"He cannot go against the king, even if he is his father," Eleanore concluded.

Caelestis nodded, brushing his thumb over the back of Eleanore’s palm where it rested on his chest. "I believe in the crown prince. His love is too deep, and I believe he would do anything to save Lauriel."

"I just hope you’re right, Caelestis." She moved away from his chest only to reach for his lips and kiss them.

She soon spread her legs over his and positioned herself on his lap, her hand resting against his cheek, feeling the warmth of him beneath her palm.

"Eleanore?" He tilted his head, his hands grabbing her cheeks, pulling her closer. "I love you."