Maxim was so distraught by the news. If he already hated his brothers-in-law, now he hated them even more, especially Stevan from Astland. That man was truly the scum of the earth who would do anything… anything for power!
Stevan even married Maxim's ugly older sister just to secure his status and eligibility to someday inherit the Summerian throne, once he got rid of Maxim, as the rightful heir.
He didn't have even an ounce of love for his wife, not that Maxim cared since Mina, his sister, was one of the worst women ever walked the earth. He thought they deserved each other.
"Call General Longfellow and Duke Lance Goodwin as soon as possible," Maxim said with gritted teeth. "I want to discuss the plan to quench my brother-in-law's rebellion."
He turned around and went to the carriage, giving instruction to Alina and the coachman to follow him.. He took Emmelyn's body and carried her to his private residence, shouting orders to the servants as he walked by.
They immediately rushed to prepare the nicest chamber in the king's residence for Emmelyn to rest. Meanwhile, Horatio was dumbfounded when he heard King Loriel only called the war his brother-in-law's rebellion. Didn't he know that their kingdom was being attacked by foreign forces?
Yes, King Stevan from Astland helped the enemy to attack Summeria, but their power was insignificant, compared to the main enemy, a country called Draec from far far away land across the ocean.
But it seemed, King Loriel only focused on his brother-in-law?
Ahh.. maybe because he knew King Stevan was behind his mother's kidnapping? So, King Loriel took this personally?
Horatio could only ask the questions to himself. He didn't dare utter another word, seeing how the king was engulfed in a murderous aura. Horatio had been serving the royal family for decades and he saw Maxim grow up. He knew the young king's character very well.
He was always carefree and aloof. Didn't care about anything at all. If the late king didn't die without another heir but him, Maxim would be probably still roaming the world. He only cared about one person in this world, that was his mother.
Well.. after Emmelyn came, Horatio realized that the king also cared about someone else, other than his mother, and that made the royal butler realize how special Lady Emmelyn was for his king.
Now, Maxim took this problem with all his heart and Horatio could see his eyes glint dangerously. If King Stevan was right in front of him, maybe Maxim would kill him with his bare hands.
Horatio once witnessed Maxim killed a big scary wolf with his hands only, so he knew this was possible. Their king was very formidable.
Ahh… the royal butler wiped his eyes and toughen up his heart. King Loriel Ashborn was here finally. Even though he came a bit late, but things will be under control. He would punish everyone who had wronged his family.
They should fear for their life. Ha. How dare they messed with the king's mother, the only person in Summeria he would kill and die for!
With that in mind, Horatio felt calmer and he quickly walked out to send the news to the prime minister and the army commander, General Longfellow.
On the way out, he bumped into Kira who immediately noticed his distraught expression and the tears on his face.
"Horatio.. what happened?" She asked him sympathetically. "Is there any news about the queen?"
She had heard about the kidnapping of the queen and immediately sent letters to everyone she knew, using her father's connection, to look for the queen's tracks. She had not heard anything.
"Oh.. the king has finally returned," Horatio wiped his tears that suddenly streamed down again. This time, it was tears of relief and happiness. "He just found out that his mother was kidnapped and will soon deal with it."
"Oh.. did he come back with Emmelyn?" Suddenly, Kira became anxious too. Maxim and Emmelyn had gone for too long and she had been worried every day. "Where are they?"
"Yes, yes.. he came with Lady Emmelyn," Horatio replied. "It looks like Lady Emmelyn is sick. His Majesty had to carry her from the coach."
Kira gasped when she heard Horatio's reply. She immediately thought of all the worst possible scenarios.
Oh no! What happened to Emmelyn? Was she hurt???
She grabbed Horatio's collar and almost screamed in a panic. "Where is Emmelyn now?? Tell me!!"
Kira was not Maxim who could control his emotion well. In distraught, she accidentally pulled the royal butler hard and forced him to speak. Horatio almost got choked and out of breath.
"I-I.. please.. l-let me go…" he spoke in a choked voice and tried to push Kira, but the girl was too strong for him.
"Oh.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry…" Kira instantly let go of the old man and panted. "I am too anxious. Please forgive me… I need to know where the king took my friend."
Kira felt so embarrassed because she already learned from Gewen how to control her emotions and always looked elegant like a noblewoman, but just because of one bad news like this she lost all her composure.
Sigh. She finally realized, she was never meant to be a lady.
Horatio fixed his collar and regulate his breath. He pointed at the main palace and whispered with difficulty, "The king… b-brought Lady Emmelyn to his… private residence…"
Before he finished his sentence, Kira had run toward the main palace. She immediately found from the servants where Emmelyn was brought by Maxim and she strode in that direction.
"What happened to Emmelyn?" Kira asked anxiously without knocking on the door. She just entered. At that moment, she no longer cared about etiquette. She was so worried about her friend.
Maxim looked up at Kira and replied coldly, "She is unwell."
"What happened to her?" Kira didn't care about Maxim's cold treatment. She approached the man and demanded an answer. "Did you do anything to her? Was she hurt because of you? You both went together, and both were fine, but now you returned without any problem and she is… UNWELL??"
Maxim looked away. Emmelyn was hurt because of him. That was the truth.
.
.
************
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