As a person who rarely interacted with people, Seren didn’t talk much, other than asking how he was doing, but seeing each other made the two of them happy, even though it was not often, especially in the past few years because he had been busy with his duties as a crown prince.
Among this huge royal family, there was at least one person who would come to see her and talk to her. As far as she was concerned, Cian was the only one who was never scared of her. In fact, for him, she was an innocent little sister. Though they didn’t share the same mother, Cian never treated her like a step-sibling. He was the same with his other siblings, too— a responsible older brother who loved his younger siblings.
“What should we do now, Father?” Cian asked as frown lines appeared on his forehead. “Why is Martha not here yet?”
“She will be here soon,” King Armen assured as he didn’t wish to talk about how they couldn’t find Martha, as if she had disappeared into thin air. This had never happened before, and King Armen was worried that Martha might be in danger. If nothing bad had happened to her, why wasn’t she back yet?
The people they were protecting Seren from, King Armen had managed to keep his daughter safe from them all these years only with the help of Martha. The possibility was high that those people would one day target Martha, putting her life in danger.
Dusk, who had been only observing everything silently beside Seren, pecked twice on Seren’s arm, as if to get her attention. She looked at him, but she didn’t know what he meant. The eagle stepped back and opened his wings, as if telling her he would leave but would return soon.
Before those in the room could react, everyone saw the majestic eagle fly out of the window, leaving the Third Princess staring in a daze at the disappearing figure.
Cian turned to King Armen. “Father, I will order a search for who that bird belongs to and how its owner came to the capital. I am sure he doesn’t belong here. Don’t you think it’s too coincidental that this bird appears just as the tower incident happened? I am worried about how that bird may bring harm to Seren.”
King Armen shared the same worry as his son and allowed him to use the royal knights. After receiving his father’s approval, Cian left to organize his men, while King Armen chose to remain by his daughter’s side, hoping that his constant presence would allow Seren to recognize him.
——-
After making sure Seren was fine with Dusk by her side, Drayce left with Arlan to check on Slayer, who was still unconscious up till now.
Moreover, her own father opted to stay with her, so he had nothing to worry about. After getting to know King Armen, Drayce could see the older king truly cared for his daughter, although he felt his care was not properly shown and felt by its supposed receiver.
Drayce frowned when he realized where his thoughts were headed. He could not understand why he was behaving this way.
Who was he to worry about this stranger, even going as far as to fight with her own family for her sake?
Why did this little kitten worry him so much?
There was no real reason for him to care.
When Drayce and Arlan reached Slayer’s chamber, they found the old mysterious physician Erich Winfield attending his patient with his two apprentices. By now, he had learned everything about Drayce and the entire rescue mission for Prince Cian. He even heard what happened in the palace with the Third Princess and how Drayce was the one to take her out of the tower.
Knowing Seren’s mother, Erich Winfield was sure that her daughter was bound to be not an ordinary person as well. The one who brought her out of the tower was the same, not an ordinary man.
“King of Megaris?” the old physician said as he looked at the red-eyed man who had just entered Slayer’s chamber.
Drayce just looked at him with his usual cold gaze, not letting anyone guess what was going on in his mind. He did not speak and simply waited to know what this old man wanted to say. Not like he was interested in knowing anything other than Slayer’s condition.
Erich Winfield stood up from his chair and came to stand in front of Drayce. He stared into his red eyes as if to appreciate them, not backing down despite their inherent intimidation. “You are the son of Esther?”
Now, there was a change in Drayce’s expression, and even Arlan was surprised.
Erich Winfield continued as he observed the young king’s face closely, “You look nothing like your mother.”
Even after knowing Drayce was a king, the attitude of this old physician didn’t change towards him. He treated Drayce like an ordinary young man.
“You know my mother?” Drayce asked.
Drayce and Arlan were already surprised when they found out that the physician they chanced upon in the enemy’s fortress personally knew King Armen. He even dared to disrespect the King of Abetha in his own palace by calling him by his name and replying mockingly. But King Armen did not seem to mind and put up with him, as if they held a secret in their past that allowed them to treat each other as equals. It showed that this old man’s identity was more than what he appeared to be
“I happened to cross paths with her, just like how we did,” Erich Winfield replied.
Drayce turned curious but didn’t know what exactly to ask this old man. Moreover, he was sure it wouldn’t be easy to get answers from him.
“Is there something that I should know?” Drayce asked.
Erich Winfield continued looking at the young king, who didn’t ask him anything about his mother and smirked.
‘Full of pride and stubborn to the core!’ the old man concluded about Drayce.
No one within the room was saying anything, causing the atmosphere inside to be strange. It was as if everyone was waiting to hear what the old man would say.
He shook his head. “Pity. You look nothing like Esther. Since your appearance is not like your mother’s, I do hope you have a heart like hers, kind and devoted.”
“Kind and devoted?” Drayce repeated it. “I would prefer to stay away from those words.”
The old physician only smiled lightly and before changing the topic. “Won’t you ask about your knight today?”
“How is he?” Drayce asked as he stepped towards the unconscious man. His body remained heavily bandaged, and he reeked of the smell of medicinal herbs.
“Still the same. We can only wait for him to wake up,” Erich Winfield replied with a sigh. He mumbled under his breath, “A long wait unless a miracle wakes him up sooner.”
Miracle?
This word reminded Drayce of a particular item. Did he not receive a bunch of magic pills with a healing attribute from Dusk?? Why didn’t he think of this sooner?
Drayce pulled out the violet silk pouch, which he still had been keeping with him all this time after giving one pill to Seren. He took another pill from the silk pouch and held that pill in front of the old physician.
“Give this to him,” Drayce instructed.
Feeling puzzled by his order, Erich Winfield looked at the pill on Drayce’s palm. It looked like a blue bead and was emitting light on its own.
Recognition hit him. “This…Where did you get it?!”
“For now, giving this to Slayer is more important,” Drayce countered, not willing to answer.
With extreme caution, Erich Winfield accepted the pill and put it inside a tiny white crucible filled with liquid medicine. The next moment, the blue pill dissolved in the liquid without leaving any trace. He asked his subordinate to feed it to Slayer.
Erich Winfield returned his attention to Drayce. His eyes were grave as he repeated his question. “Where did you get it? I need to know where you got it.”
Seeing the seriousness in the old man’s eyes, Drayce decided to tell him the truth.
“This item belongs to the Third Princess.”
Since this old physician knew King Armen and even his mother, the previous Queen of Megaris, Queen Esther, then he was either a man with a big background or of mysterious origins. Either way, he seemed to be more knowledgeable than even his peers. This old man didn’t even hesitate before giving that pill to Slayer. It was clear that this old man knew exactly what it was and what it could do. There was no need to hide something like this from him.
Erich Winfield looked puzzled with his reply. “I would like to excuse myself.”
The old physician then turned around and left the room, not even bothering to wait for Drayce’s permission.? Although it was disrespectful to him, Drayce was never one to fuss over etiquette. He didn’t mind such an attitude coming from that temperamental old man. Drayce understood there must be some sort of secret surrounding these miraculous blue pills that troubled the old physician.
Once Erich Winfield left, Arlan could not help but ask in confusion, “What’s with him?”
“Seems like he is aware of many things even people of our status don’t know,” Drayce replied.
“Not surprising.” Arlan shrugged. “He even knows your mother,”
Drayce nodded lightly. For the common people, it was difficult to travel between kingdoms; thus, there was no need to mention the difficulty of personally meeting the royals ruling over them. This old physician seemed to be harboring a lot of secrets.
Instructing his trusted knights to continue guarding Slayer’s chambers, Drayce left with Arlan.
——–
King Armen was still inside Seren’s chamber. Once Dusk left, she returned to being unresponsive once more, and King Armen chose to accompany her silently, going as far as informing his advisor to bring some of his important documents with him so he could work inside the room.
After a while, a guard entered the chamber and informed him, “Your Majesty, Physician Erich Winfield seeks an audience with you. He is waiting outside your study.”
“Return first and let him wait for me inside.”
King Armen then let Lord Eudes carry back the documents he had finished reading. He took a long look at his daughter before signaling to her nurses. “Take care of her.”
“We will do our best, Your Majesty.”
The two nurses bowed slightly, accepting the instruction from their king as he left the chamber.
When he arrived inside his study, King Armen found the old physician impatiently pacing by the window, looking like he had a lot to ask.
“Why did you ask to see me, Erich?” the King asked.
“Valen!” Erich Winfield came towards King Armen and asked hurriedly, “Is Celia here in the palace?”
His sudden question startled the King. “Celia?”
“Celia Voss!” Erich Winfield explained when he saw the puzzlement on the King’s face. “Back then, when you were injured, and Sierra brought you to me, you saw her there. She helped me treat you.”
King Armen simply asked,? “Why are you asking about her suddenly?”
“Today, I saw something that reminded me of Celia. Tell me if she is here,” Erich Winfield asked with his eyes brimming with hope.
