The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 131: The Future Queen

Jessamyn’s heart skipped a beat meeting the eyes that were gleaming silver under the moonlight. "Lady Cordelia?"

Words couldn’t describe the shock she felt with all the questions that rose in her heart like a storm of fluttering leaves. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Lady Cordelia looked at Jessamyn with sparkling eyes, the kind of sparkle you’d see on a child discovering a treasure chest in an old attic. Her hands were clenched over her heart, and she leaned towards Jessamyn like a ship caught in an irresistible tide.

Jessamyn took an instinctive step back, her mind racing faster than a knight’s steed in full gallop.

What was going on? Did Lady Cordelia just escape from a romantic ballad? And more importantly, was she the heroine or the charming rogue?

But the purple hood she was wearing made Jessamyn weary of her. Her actions seemed innocent but she might be concealing her intentions. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"I hoped to meet you and here you are..." Lady Cordelia smiled, looking completely mesmerized with... something. Maybe it was the fireflies waltzing in the air around them, or perhaps the fact that Jessamyn’s hair looked like a wild, yet elegant, bird’s nest.

"Uh, well, here I am," Jessamyn said, trying to keep her composure but feeling as jittery as a maiden at her first dance. "Is there something you needed? What were you doing here at this time of the day-uh-night?"

"Needed? Oh no, my lovely Lady Jessamyn," Lady Cordelia laughed, a sound so melodic it could have been the background music for a minstrel’s serenade. "I wanted to see you, to talk to you, to share with you the beauty of this night!"

Jessamyn blinked. Once. Twice. "The beauty of this night?"

"Yes!" Lady Cordelia spread her arms wide as if she was about to hug the whole sky. "The moonlight, the stars, the magic in the air! Can’t you feel it?"

Jessamyn sniffed the air discreetly. It mostly smelled like damp grass and a hint of questionable mysteries. "Uh, sure, I guess?"

Lady Cordelia’s smile broadened, and she took a step closer, her eyes twinkling like she’d just found the last piece of a very tricky puzzle. "Jessamyn, I must tell you something very important."

Jessamyn’s heart pounded like the drums in a royal procession. "What is it?" She leaned closer.

"I hoped to meet you, and here you are..." Lady Cordelia said, her smile broadening, as if she were beholding a long-lost friend or perhaps a rare, precious artifact. Her gaze was so intense and adoring that Jessamyn felt as though she were under a spotlight.

Jessamyn blinked, momentarily at a loss for words. "You... wanted to meet me?" she stammered, feeling as though she had just stumbled into an absurd play. "That’s it?"

This lady who is the future queen of the kingdom put herself in danger by going deep into the woods to meet me? Jessamyn was perplexed.

"Yes!" Lady Cordelia’s enthusiasm was palpable, her eyes twinkling with what could only be described as pure enchantment. "You saved me twice now! You’re my hero!"

Jerrick, who had been keeping a wary eye on the fallen attackers, turned to witness this unexpected exchange. His brow arched in amusement, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I can’t believe the Archduke knows our secret too..." Lady Cordelia whispered in Jessamyn’s ears unable to hold back her happy giggle.

"No, he doesn’t," Jessamyn tried to shush her. She still didn’t trust Lady Cordelia and...It certainly was her secret, not their secret. She didn’t remember talking about her job to others. How did Cordelia know her secret?

"Well, Jessamyn, seems like you have an admirer," Jerrick said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Jessamyn shot him a look that could melt steel, but it only made his smirk widen. "Oh, hush," she muttered, trying to keep her composure.

Lady Cordelia clasped Jessamyn’s hands, her eyes wide with admiration. "You’re more than I thought you would be! Brave, beautiful, and so fierce! The way you fought..." She acted out Jessamyn shooting out the arrows while sitting on a horse.

Jessamyn couldn’t help but laugh; the tension of the situation melted away. She didn’t think Lady Cordelia meant no harm. "Well, thank you, I suppose. But what were you doing out here alone? What’s with the Purple Hood you’re wearing?" Jessamyn asked.

She might have been taken aback at first but Jessamyn understood how Cordelia might have known her secret. Cordelia mentioned getting saved by her twice. If today was the second time, the first time might be...

Jessamyn didn’t remember when. But it was quite possible Cordelia was one of the women she saved in the past. That probably explained how Cordelia’s attitude changed when she saw her at the Commendation Ceremony. The first time they met, Cordelia looked at her as if she were a pest.

Jessamyn heard Jerrick clearing his throat and looked at him. He pointed in a farther direction and Jessamyn understood that he would check that area to find the kidnapped. It was time-sensitive as the remaining smugglers might start killing them.

Jessamyn took a step, wanting to join Jerrick, but he gestured for her to stay. Torn between her desire to accompany him and the need to confront Lady Cordelia, she stayed put. The weight of the situation pressed heavily on her heart, making her feel as though she were being pulled in two directions.

"The purple hood... I... I knew you were in the city and wanted to meet you..." Lady Cordelia’s face lost its earlier joy and turned serious. "I... I wanted to dress like you and I..."

"You were here yesterday wearing the hood, weren’t you?" Jessamyn asked, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and rising anger.

The tension in the air was palpable as the realization hit Jessamyn. She could see the guilt etched on Cordelia’s face, a stark contrast to her previous exuberance. The reason all those girls had died last night was because the smugglers saw this idiotic lady wearing the purple hood and thought the real one was there to attack them.

Lady Cordelia pressed her lips together and bowed her head in shame.

"You were the reason the girls died last night, and you had the nerve to wear it again tonight?" Jessamyn’s voice rose, cracking under the weight of her emotions. "How could you be so reckless?"

She was mad. No, she was beyond mad. A storm of fury and heartbreak raged within her, threatening to consume her. Jessamyn’s mind replayed the horrifying images of the innocent girls lying lifeless, their futures cruelly stolen. And all because of this one person’s foolish imitation.

Tears of anger and sorrow welled up in Jessamyn’s eyes. The full gravity of the situation, the sheer recklessness, and the tragic consequences crushed her spirit. Her voice wavered, "Do you understand what you’ve done? Those girls... They had families, dreams..."

Lady Cordelia’s eyes filled with tears, her voice a choked whisper, "I... I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just wanted to be brave like you."