Chapter 46: Secret to Secret

"He needs bed rest. He will be fine after a few hours, Lady Dominixe," Lanfrid said after he checked on Ismael, who fell unconscious.

Nodding, all I did was stay in the corner while having the blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I couldn't even utter a word, preoccupied with hundreds of thoughts.

"Here." Henry gave me an ice pack when the innkeeper gave it along with a tray of food. "You are quite frightening to deal with, Dominixe," he added.

I accepted it and placed it on my cheek, where he slapped me twice. It got swollen since he had to slap me so hard to wake me up. He told me that if he did not do that, with my emotions blinding me, I could have killed Ismael.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered, leaning on the ice pack more like I sought comfort. The coldness of it had bestowed me warmth, and it made me ease my mind for quite some time before I looked up and saw Henry looking intently at me.

"So, can you tell me what happened to you before you attacked Ismael?" His tone was like a calm sea with small waves of curiosity. His firm posture crouched down as he clasped his hands, attempting a friendly approach. "Dominixe..."

I glanced at Lanfrid, who was being wary in the corner. Henry even looked at him and nodded.

"Please summon me if you need anything, Your Royal Highness," he said politely before he marched through the door and closed it.

"Well..." He groaned as he sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Is it possible now that you can tell me what just happened?"

I could tell curiosity had eaten his whole being. He looked interested and concerned at the same time.

"Will you believe in me if I said..." I paused and looked into him. 'I came from the future?' I asked through mind-link. I needed to be careful since the walls were thin.

I would love to feed him with curiosity. However, it would be uncertain if he would believe me or not. He might think I was going insane if I told him the details later.

'Future?' he parroted through mind-link. I nodded. 'Wait... Why are we mind-linking?'

'The walls are thin. I cannot just say it out loud.' And besides, it was to my advantage that I could be able to mind-link him. Any royal lycans could be able to mind-link anyone even if we were not their pack members.

And besides, this vast kingdom was considered the Alpha King's pack. We were their pack members regardless if we had our own Alpha.

'I regressed for the second time...' It was still uncertain, but I knew it happened that Valerian had died for the second time. I knew that it was real, so it was impossible that it could be a maladaptive dream. 'The first one was...' I told him the precise detail that Valerian died on his own accord from the betrayal when I attacked his pack. Then I was killed by my own sister with a high-concentration poison. 'And the second time...' And the rest was history. 'It is hard to believe what I said, but... I knew the Moon Goddess was helping me... She was using a certain person known as the rogue Alpha...'

I felt like it was too late to revoke my words. I should not have probably told him that I regressed twice.

I was talking to that rogue Alpha when suddenly, I was here now, back when Ismael and I had to see Henry.

I looked at Henry, who looked perplexed. There was uncertainty lingering on his face. 'Um... Let's say that really happened...'

I knew it... He did not believe me...

There was another way to make him believe that I really regressed.

'Before I left this room in my second previous life, you asked for a favor.' My words caught him off guard.

'How—'

'Right? Today was supposed to be the day you would ask for my favor. Shall I tell you what it is?'

Hearing the loud beat of his heart made me confirm that he was anticipating it.

'It is all about your sister you are desiring.' His eyes widened. 'And it turns out she is not your real sister, but a fake one.'

'How did you...'

'You want me to find her origins, correct? You tried to find some information, but it was hard. That is what you told me before I regressed.'

Watching his eyes fidget was enough for me to tell that I was telling the truth. So, it meant that it was not a dream after all. What happened before had already happened.

Henry already knew that the current Princess Eustacia was a fake one. He told me about it, but I pretended I did not know. That was why I told him I couldn't make such promises, but I would see what I could do.

'She is your mate, isn't she?' I added.

That was the plausible reason why he asked for my favor. He did not want anyone to know the truth that the first princess was a fake all along.

I wondered when he knew the truth.

'Yes...' There was a relief when Henry put down his walls. 'She is not my sister...'

'How did you know?' I creased my forehead.

Henry looked troubled before he finally gave in. 'I slept with her out of... jealousy.' My eyes widened. 'I know that it was wrong to have an incestuous relationship. And Eustace has this birthmark on her left flank. I have known it since the 2nd Luna Consort told me. But when I looked at it, there is no birthmark.'

Eustace was the shortcut for her name, Eustacia.

That made me confused. 'Shouldn't you have known that she is not your sister since all of lycans from the Sowinski Kingdom have silver eyes?'

'I know... But she has silver eyes, or they look like silver when hit with the rays of sunlight. And I noticed that Eustace locks herself in her chamber every lunar eclipse.' He sighed and kept colliding his head into the wooden wall. 'It was as if... she does not want anyone to know that her silver eyes were not glowing.'

Ah, I get it now. Every lunar eclipse, their silver eyes glow. That was the symbol of a blessing from the Moon Goddess.

'Then, does this mean that the current princess who showed up during His Majesty's 35th birthday is not really her? But an impostor, right?'

I remember Princess Eustacia was lost in the crowds when she was eight. It caused a stir in the whole kingdom since our Alpha King's daughter had gone missing.

However, during His Majesty's 35th birthday, a lady introduced herself as the long-lost daughter of Alpha King Helio. I think the lady was already 18 years old at that time.

'Yes.'

'Valerian told me on my first timeline,' I revealed. 'You confronted your impostor sister the moment you found your real sister. However, that situation has changed.'

'What do you mean? What happened to Eustace and me?'

'She ran away. Or she will run away the moment you confront her. You haven't confronted her, right?'

'Y-Yes.'

I placed my forefinger on my lips, indicating to hush him. 'That is the future that will happen. Say, you still don't believe me or not?'

Henry silenced. 'I... I believe you now...' After that, he looked intently at me. 'Have you been associating with the Moon Goddess?'

'Me?' I fluttered my eyelids, perplexed by his words, before I shook my head. 'No. Why do you ask?'

'Nothing...' However, his face was saying otherwise.

'What is it? Do not leave me hanging here, bastard.' How he behaved right now... I could tell he wanted to say something, but something stopped him.

Henry looked like he was struggling if he was going to say it or not. 'Um... I mean... Only the lycans can associate with the Moon Goddess.'

'Associate? Only lycans?' That bewildered me more.

He nodded before he looked hesitant before he returned his gaze to me. 'Yes. Sometimes, the Moon Goddess communicates with the next ruler or the current ruler of the kingdom. Aside from the divine priests and priestesses, we have been granted and blessed to know the prophecy.'

'I see...' It seemed like the lycans were the Moon Goddess' favorite mankind. It was the reason why they were treated as royalties, after all. In the hierarchy, they were the top chain amongst the others.

'And you said Dameta, right?'

'What does it have to do with her?' We were just talking about them as associating the Moon Goddess with the divine priests and priestesses when he chimed in with another topic.

'I thought that she might be a deity.'

'Huh?' My jaw dropped. 'But... only the Moon Goddess exists here in our world, Henry. What you are saying is impossible...' I chuckled, looking at him in disbelief.

Henry opened his mouth to say something, but he halted himself. It seemed like what he was about to say was forbidden. That suddenly took my interest.

'What else do you want to say, Henry?' I asked suspiciously. Seeing how he silenced and didn't say another word meant that there was something behind the statement he revealed a while ago. 'Do not leave me hanging here...' I threatened him. 'After I trust you with all the information, you should also be kind enough to trust me. This is difficult to reveal, especially if no one would believe you.'

'I know... It is just that... outsiders are not allowed to know this. Even Lanfrid and the four horsemen did not know about this.'

'What is it then?' I was getting impatient that he was prolonging it. Was he about to say a taboo statement? Was that why? 'I can keep it a secret, Henry. I have already kept what is happening to my life and how I am twisting Valerian's miserable fate.' I was getting frustrated since this man was leaving me hanging.

Sighing, he looked at me. "Promise me that you will not tell anyone this."

I nodded and raised my hand. "I promise."

Henry inhaled and exhaled, looking like he had difficulty saying what he needed to say. 'I said that Dameta is a deity, correct?' I nodded in confirmation. 'And we all know that the Moon Goddess is the only deity in the mundane world.' Another nod from me again. 'I believe Dameta is...'

'Is?' I arched my eyebrow.

He looked intently into my eyes, checking if I would back out. He must have seen the determination written in my eyes before he heaved out a sigh. 'Dameta is the spirit goddess of the celestial realm, or must I say, she is one of the daughters of the Moon Goddess.'

"What?!" I said out loud, not minding if Ismael was unconscious or not. "One of the daughters of the M—"

Henry shut me up by covering my mouth. 'Shut up! I told you not to reveal it to anyone!' He glared at me.

I looked at him apologetically. When it seemed like I had already recovered from the shock, he released my mouth. 'What do you mean 'daughter'? Moon Goddess can give birth?!' I looked at him in disbelief. I wouldn't know if Henry was making fun of me or not. 'I had never heard anything, even in the scriptures in the Theology, that our Moon Goddess, the Goddess of the Universe and Werewolves, would bear a deity.'

'That is the point. It is not revealed yet. But the members of the royal lycan family and the temple have known a prophecy that the Moon Goddess would bear daughters. They are hybrids, I must say. They are half-human, half-deity. And they are called spirit goddesses whose mission is to watch over Her creation by experiencing hardships here in this mundane world.'

'Um... what? Can you slow down?' The information was too much for me to bear. Was Henry jesting right now? But if he was, I couldn't see that in his face. All I could see was earnestness.

Henry looked at me as if I had grown another head before heaving another sigh again. 'Listen. I suspect that the one helping that rogue Alpha is one of the daughters of the Moon Goddess. It means she has awakened her ability. If that happens, she might be the Goddess of Time since each daughter of the Moon Goddess has a specific ability to perform.' He stroked his chin.

'Are you certain? What if that is Moon Goddess?' I still had a hard time processing everything. But I was getting the gist of it.

He shook his head. 'Impossible. Moon Goddess' deity name is Lunaria. And the name, Dameta could be a deity name of Her daughter. That means Dameta might have a mundane name.'

'Mundane name?'

'Yes. According to the prophecy, they have two names.' He showed his forefinger to visualize it. 'One is for their mundane name here in the mundane realm.' He showed his middle finger to show the second one. 'The other one is their deity name in the celestial realm.' Then he put down his hand and gazed at me. 'Also, I noticed that you are affected by the change of the laws of nature every time the time is reversed. You still have memories from everything. If they have a deal, it means that rogue Alpha includes you as a crucial pawn for his wish. It means... you are somehow attached to the Moon Goddess or Her daughter since you are included.'

I had shivers down my spine when Henry said that. That was also the moment I remembered Priest Acaly's words.

"You are being drawn because you are somehow attached to it."

'The divine priest from the Calaren told me the same thing...' He creased his forehead. I told him what happened then and how I was drawn to the Moon Goddess' statue. 'It feels like She is calling me, but the divine priest said I should not heed Her calling yet. He said that it was not the right time.'

'Heh?' He fluttered his eyelids, slightly tilting his head. 'Is it because you have regressed?'

'I am not certain.' I shrugged, not knowing what to do. 'He even knows I have returned from the day before I meet my miserable fate.'

'Could one of Her daughters be here now in our kingdom?' he asked, not looking at me but to nowhere. It looked like he was thinking deeply before he cussed softly. 'I must look into this and know about Dameta. If my hunch is right...' he paused and stood up. '... then She is really a spirit goddess.'

"Where are you going?" I was bewildered when he was about to march away.

'I need to see the divine priest you have spoken to. What is his name?'

'Acaly. Priest Acaly.' But I halted him before he could leave. 'Henry... I cannot return to my household without making plans to halt Valerian's death again. Help me... Please,' I begged. 'You can take care of that later. This is more important since I cannot afford to see him die before my eyes again. I do not want it for the third time.'

I bit my lower lip, almost shedding tears again. Remembering how Ismael pierced Valerian's back caused an instant death that lingered in my mind again.

Henry smiled and nodded. 'Alright. Since you have told me about what happened, I already have a plan.'

My face brightened up at his words. 'How...?' I felt relieved that I had gotten help right now since I couldn't concoct anything. I was exhausted and needed some rest.

We both looked at Ismael when he groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze landed on me. "Domi... nixe...?"

Henry stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. "You are a great pawn, Lord Cantavalle. Do you wish to listen to my plan?" he asked dangerously while he had this deadpan expression.

"W-What?" His eyes widened when Henry stood beside his bed before he looked at me, asking for my help. The moment I smirked, Ismael saw that he couldn't escape anymore. "W-What do you want from me?" he asked nervously before we surrounded him as Henry discussed his plans.