Chapter 126: THE WEIGHT OF THE NEWS

Rudeous was speaking with one of his younger brothers inside the villa.

Upstairs, on the second-floor, Mirena was talking with Darius in her room’s balcony.

Meanwhile, Alice was inside her room on the ground floor, busy with personal tasks.

Everyone was occupied with something.

Then suddenly—

A carriage came to a halt in front of the main gate of Smith family villa.

It was a luxurious carriage, with elegant carvings that sparkled in the morning sunlight like diamonds.

The guards at the gate became alert immediately. One glance at the carriage was enough to understand that someone important had arrived.

Among the two guards stationed there, one quickly ran inside to inform Rudeous, while the other stepped forward to help the coachman open the door and welcome the guest with proper respect.

From the balcony above, both Mirena and Darius had already noticed the arrival. Their eyes were locked on the carriage.

Rudeous and his younger brother Rion were already coming out of the villa toward the main gate.

Alice, too, heard the commotion outside and looked in that direction, coming out of her room.

Then… the door of the carriage creaked open.

And slowly, Prince Rowan stepped out.

Following him was Daliah, who stood slightly behind Rowan, only half her face visible.

As someone new to this place, Daliah didn’t recognize anyone. And with her mind full of worry for Logan, she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings either.

Alice’s eyes lit up when she saw the Third Prince emerge from the carriage.

For the past few days, she had been waiting anxiously for news of Logan.

And now that Rowan had arrived—she thought surely Logan must have come with him.

After all, Logan had left for the royal palace with Rowan.

Smiling brightly, Alice ran out to stand beside Rudeous, ready to welcome Logan and the prince together.

Rowan straightened his back and stood quietly in front of the Smith family.

Daliah stayed slightly behind, her expression felt distant and unfocused. Like she was standing here but her mind was somewhere else.

Looking at everyone standing there, Rowan hesitated.

“How do I say something this terrible in front of all these people?”

The thought weighed heavily on him.

Just as Rudeous stepped forward and began,

“Your Highness! It’s a great pleasure to see you. Where is—”

Another carriage sound interrupted him.

It pulled up right behind the royal carriage.

Everyone turned to look.

Even Rowan and Daliah shifted their attention toward the sound.

Rudeous looked confused.

First the Third Prince… now another carriage?

From the second carriage, the coachman opened the door, and a man in his sixties stepped out.

John William.

Everyone recognized him.

Normally, Rudeous would have gone forward to greet such a guest personally.

But since he was already standing before the Third Prince, he greeted John from where he was.

“Mr. John. How have you been? Welcome to our villa.”

John didn’t respond right away.

He slowly walked forward, his eyes glancing at the prince and princess respectfully.

He gave a small bow to acknowledge their presence.

He already knew that Logan had gone to the royal palace and was with the third prince for the last few days.

After hearing what the coachman from the royal palace had reported, it made perfect sense to John that both Rowan and Daliah had come here personally.

John finally stopped in front of Rowan and Rudeous.

Alice, however, wasn’t focused on John at all.

Her eyes were still on the carriage.

She kept thinking—why was no one else getting out?

Why hadn’t Logan appeared yet?

A strange, cold feeling began to creep through her.

Something was wrong.

And then—

John’s calm but heavy voice broke the silence.

“I’m here… about Logan.”

He paused.

Even someone as experienced as him struggled with moments like this.

Delivering news like this to a family never got easier.

But his one sentence brought complete silence to the courtyard.

No one moved.

John continued, his voice steady but filled with sorrow.

“Logan was being escorted by a royal coachman the day before yesterday. Along the way, he was attacked by three unknown individuals.”

Alice took a shaky step forward.

Her hands were trembling.

Fear was slowly taking over her mind.

John spoke again.

“Two of our court mages were killed during the ambush. Logan was taken captive.”

He continued before pausing for a bit.

“While the attackers were fleeing, one of them died. This happened along a mountain trail. By the time our tracker reached that location… all that remained was a trail of blood… and a corpse.”

He paused.

Then he added quietly:

“There was no body. But based on the scene, Logan Smith is presumed dead.”

“What…?” Alice whispered.

Her knees gave out beneath her.

“Alice!” Rudeous shouted, rushing to catch her.

Her eyes were wide, her lips trembling, trying to say something—

but nothing came out.

She collapsed in Rudeous’s arms, unconscious.

Rudeous immediately shouted for a healer.

By now, Mirena and Darius had reached the gate.

They had heard everything.

Mirena’s face remained composed, but a subtle shift in her eyes gave her away.

Was it shock… or was it relief?

Even she didn’t know anymore.

Daliah couldn’t hold herself up either.

Her legs gave out from under her, and she fell to the ground.

She couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

Yes, a part of her had feared this might happen—

but another part had been hoping, desperately, that Logan would return somehow.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Rowan wasn’t much better.

He didn’t collapse like Alice or Daliah, but the despair in his eyes was unmistakable.

He barely managed to catch Daliah before she hit the ground completely.

His own hands were trembling.

And even someone as composed and experienced as him…

couldn’t stop his eyes from slowly filling with tears.

Rudeous was helping Alice to stand.

His face was cold.

But inside, he was crumbling.

He had always thought of the future—of politics, legacy, the family name—

but right now, all he could feel was a growing emptiness inside his chest.

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