Lancaster Mansion.
Rachel was walking down the dark corridor back to her room after having used the bathroom. Even though she was a goddess on campus, she was still a human at the end of the day. Like everyone else, she had to answer it when nature calls. There was no shame in it.
On her way back, she noticed there was still light in the room with a half-opened door. It was her mother's study room.
'What's mum doing up this late?'
Rachel decided to check on her mum. Opening the door, she saw her mum sitting at her desk, reading through a pile of reports with a frown.
Putting down the report in her hand, Amelia rubbed her temples before noticing Rachel by the door.
"What are just standing around there for, my little girl? It's getting late. You should be in bed." Amelia said with a smile, relaxing her frown.
"Mum, I told you. I'm not little anymore." Rachel pouted as she made her over and hug her mum's arm, while glancing at the bunch of report papers on the desk. "What seems to be troubling you so much, mum?"
Hearing her daughter's question, Amelia let out a long sigh along with her accumulated stress. "I originally thought I had a good lead on the whereabouts of the missing prince… but sigh… the only clue we had ended right where it started."
"What do you mean it ended where it started, mum?" Rachel asked. Although she wasn't interested in where the missing prince was and hoped he was never found. However, she also did not want to see her mother so troubled and want to share some of the burden. She was not happy with her parents arranging her marriage, but she still loves her parents dearly, just as they love her.
She also understands that things cannot continue like this. With the king in coma and the queen without the heart to rule, the kingdom was slowly falling apart. Things would only turn for the better if the prince was found.
"I told you previously that we found out that the prince was sent to an orphanage during the chaos 17 years ago. Originally it shouldn't be hard to find the prince if we can locate the right orphanage and inquire the people working there about it… but none of the orphanages are open anymore. The people there are all gone. Every one of them." At this point, Amelia had a look of extreme hatred and disgust in her eyes.
Such a look startled Rachel greatly. She had never seen her mother express such look of loathing and disgust at anything before. Was this still her gentle and kind mother?
Seeing her daughter's startled expression, she smiled wryly.
"As you know, the orphanages are completely dependent on donations from the people to remain in operation. This was not supposed to be a problem for our people because we are a wealthy kingdom. There are plenty of generous and kind people who would donate for the well-being of these children. Even rich merchants and nobles participate in fundraising and charitable events for these orphanages to raise their public images."
"That's a good thing." Rachel was confused. It sounds like they receive plenty of donations, so why did they all close?
"However, those donations stopped coming in for many years. Instead, people even take the money from the orphanages." Amelia sighed with a clenched fist that was visibly shaking, showing her agitation.
"What!? Who dares to steal donation money from the orphanages!?" Rachel felt angry for the children. Were they forced to starve? And where did they all go now?
"Who else but the nobles that raise the donation money?" Amelia did her best to keep her temper under control.
The nobles participated in events to promote their images for their own self-interest. It wouldn't be strange if they ordered people take the money back secretly if they did not actually want to give away such a large amount of money.
What made her extremely angry was how ignorant they have been of the evil befalling the Lower District in all these years. Nobles had they own circle in the Upper District and rarely visit the Lower District unless they are leaving the capital or have business to attend there.
She had personally paid a visit the Lower District to check the orphanages and she had notice that although things look normal on the surface, there was no vitality in Lower District.
She had paid a visit to her best friend, the queen, to update her on her findings and they had shared what they have uncovered together. They knew the nobles were corrupted but they didn't realized how deep the corruption ran until now. All sorts of evil had taken place in the Lower District in the name of profits.
Hallucinogens like the Fantasy pill and forced protection money were just on the lighter side of things. There were forced prostitution, human and organ trafficking as well. The kingdom was just a shell of its former glory.
The children were most likely sold off to the other kingdoms as slaves or are already dead from having their organs excessively harvested.
When the queen thought that her son might be one of those children, she was driven nearly insane and almost stormed out of the palace and wash the Upper District in blood. She was ready to kill 10,000 innocents than let any of the guilty ones escape unscathed. Amelia had taken a lot of effort to calm the queen down.
Inside the palace of metals, the queen who is at the 9th step was omnipotent. Outside the palace however was an entirely different matter. No one really knows how strong the corrupted nobles have grown or how much of their true strength were shown on the surface. The queen could very much lose her life if she acted rashly, not to mention the many innocent lives that could be lost.
The queen's rage was not completely quelled, and she had given Amelia a single condition. Elizabeth had given her two weeks to find her son, otherwise she would be out for blood.
Which such little time to find someone who had been missing for 17 years, it wasn't strange for Amelia to be stressing over it in her study room.
When Rachel learnt of the details of the events that had been happening in the shadows of the capital from her mother, she felt the world had suddenly become very dark.
"Go to sleep. I'll be fine." Amelia said with smile, but there was a hint of fatigue under her eyes.
Rachel hesitated. She wanted to help relieve her mother's burden so she could rest. Suddenly she remembered about Leon.
"Mum, maybe Leon can help with your investigation? …He was raised in an orphanage when he was young… and might know a thing or two." Rachel suggested with some hesitation.
"Ahh…" Amelia smacked her head in realization. "I would have really forgotten about this friend of yours if you had not mention it. You should bring him over to our home to tomorrow."
"What? You want me to bring him over tomorrow?" Rachel was astonished. She thought her mother would just ask her to inquire Leon about the matter. She didn't think her mother would want to meet and question him herself. She must be frantic about the missing prince's matter. Rachel felt panicky at the thought of bringing Leon to her home.
"What? You don't want to bring him over? Are you hiding something from your mother?" Amelia said with a sly smile.
"N-No? We are just friends." Rachel's cheeks felt hot and her heart wanted to leap out of her chest under her mother's inquisitive gaze.
"Being friends is good, but don't overstep the boundary. You are after all engaged to the prince. It would not be pretty if words get out that you were seeing someone else." Her mother warned her.
"Mm, I understand. I will return to my room to rest first." Rachel felt tired and sad at the mention of her engagement. She wondered why her parents was so adamant when it comes to the arranged marriage, yet they spoil her when it comes to other matters.
"Mm, go."
When Rachel left, Amelia thought of something and pulled out one of her desks draw, took out a small sandalwood box and open it. Inside was only a single item, a jade pendant in the shape of a divine bird called the phoenix. She didn't know if such a bird exists, but it was something she was meant to give to her daughter a long time ago.
Long ago when life was still simple, the two pairs from the duke family and the royal family went on a relaxation trip together and encountered a mysterious old man who was travelling by himself. They thought it was dangerous for an old man to travel by himself and offered help only to realize the old man was a master and didn't need any.
However, their goodwill allowed them to form karmic ties with the old man. The old man said it was fated that they have met and broke a dragon and phoenix jade into two halves and gifting one half to each of them for their future son and daughter.
The old man profoundly said that the union of dragon and phoenix will help them change the fate of their race before disappearing into the skies.
Although the two couples felt incredulous at the turn of event and how unbelievable the old man's words were, considering how prosperous the kingdom was at the time. They ultimately chose to believe in the old man's words after witnessing his godly ability to fly without the help of the wind elements.
The decision for the arranged marriage between their future offspring was a result of that fateful meeting.