The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 145

The ceremony to return the title was held in the abandoned castle next to the Forest of Oderem. Pellethia had an unexplainable feeling that it had to be there, as did Lucianne. When the servants went to have the place cleaned up, all praying that they weren't going to encounter anything out of the ordinary when they did their job, two among the sixty cleaners entered a room on the highest floor that was covered with a very thick layer of dirt and dust.

When the two servants assigned to clean this particular room opened the windows to let in some air, a dash of breeze came from the forest and blew at a part of the dirt on the floor, making the poor servants flinch before instinctively holding each other as they quivered in fear. When nothing happened for the next few moments, they slowly released their hold of each other.

They noticed that there were carvings on the cement floor, and bravely cleaned the whole room within two hours, looking over their shoulder from time to time. When they returned to the castle, they shared the spooky tale with their colleagues before reporting the occurrence to the empress and consort, who went there to take a look but didn't know what to make of it. Even the experts who worked for the imperial family had to consult other experts on the matter, who all admitted that they knew nothing at present, and that they would look into it, concurring that the carving meant something. They just don't know what it was yet.

Pellethia and Octavia now stood at the edge of the circular carving with Lucianne, Xandar, Christian, Annie and Greg in the room an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. The circle was cut into five sectors - one sector had two vampire fangs; the second sector had a lycan's hand print; the third had the flipper of a merfolk's tail; the fourth had an old-fashioned bow; and the fifth one only had a line sitting right in the middle, which everyone guessed was a wand.

After a long while of staring at the structure, Greg's voice cut through the silence, "Hurry up, cousin. Just spit out whatever history shit this is so we can go."

Christian taunted, "You're not afraid of being in this room, are you, Greg?"

Greg narrowed his eyes and declared in a low voice, "I'm bored, distant cousin."

Enora was bored too, but she remained quiet as Lucianne held the girl over her shoulder. The baby's eyes wandered to the view outside the window, where the Forest of Oderem was. What the adults didn't realize was that the forest started growing pink and amber-colored flowers that attracted butterflies. The sight of the fluttering insects captivated the little princess, and she smiled as her head rested on her mother's shoulder.

The forest may not know how rare it was to get Enora to smile, but Greg knew. Everyone who met Enora and knew about her aversion of strangers carrying her knew this. Her uncle caught her change in demeanor when he was looking around for something that could be interesting. He then followed his niece's sights and noticed what the forest was doing.

He approached the little girl and muttered, "That place is more than meets the eye, princess. The yellow flowers are especially dangerous."

Lucianne's furrowed brows and confused eyes went to Greg before she turned to see what her daughter had been looking at, and that was when Enora started getting restless because she was denied her good view. Lucianne positioned Enora's side to lean into her chest, letting her daughter face the forest once more as she too looked in that direction. Instead of looking at the butterflies and trees like Lucianne thought she would, Enora's huge orbs stuck on her uncle. She had never seen him up-close before, and blinked her large eyes a few times, studying him.

Greg asked Lucianne nervously, "She's not going to cry, is she?"

He saw how this princess cried and screamed even when the Blackfurs attempted to hold her. As delightful as it was to witness that, he didn't want to be the cause of such a scene.

Lucianne replied calmly, "No, this is her curious face. Her features would cringe before she cries." She then spoke to her daughter in an affectionate whisper, "This is Uncle Greg, Enora. You remember him, right?"

Enora blinked again before she raised her little hand and gave Greg a slow wave like how her sister always did. The sight made Lucianne gasp, and it shocked her so much that Xandar had to pause studying the carving.

"Babe, what is it?" Xandar asked as he came over.

Lucianne struggled to form a coherent sentence when she said, "Enora. She just...she could...she waved...at Greg."

Xandar's brows raised in surprise, and he looked back-and-forth between his daughter and his cousin before Enora waved at Greg again, which was when her father uttered, "Well, this is a first."

Greg offered Enora a slight bow and a wide smile when he whispered, "I'm honored, princess."

Enora chuckled a little before her arms reached out to him, something she only did to Xandar and Lucianne, no one else.

"Are you sure?" Greg asked the baby in genuine concern, then wondered why he did so when he wasn't even sure if the child could understand him yet. Posted by Ebookex.com; visit us for more free novels. Lucianne was still trying to make sense of things when she asked, "Do you want to try holding her, Greg? I'll take her back if she gets upset."

'Gets upset' was the code word for 'cries and screams her lungs out. No one didn't know. Even Pellethia and Octavia knew. Enora was wriggling in her mother's hold, eyes looking up at Greg in anticipation.

Greg had never been more afraid in his entire life. He had never attempted to hold Enora because he had seen how she pushed away practically everyone but her parents. All those times secretly laughing with his animal about how even the Blackfurs couldn't hold this princess without the child's objection suddenly wasn't funny anymore.

Enora looked saddened that Greg wasn't taking her, and that put her uncle in an even worse predicament. When he reached for his niece, he murmured more to himself than to anyone else, "This is not going to end well."