The knight turned, surprised to see the healer there.
"Oh, Mr. Amares! You ca," he said. "Good to see you!"
"You haven’t answered . What was that explosion about, and why does my wife look like that?" Rafe asked.
"Haa... that! Your wife was having a cooking lesson just now. Well... at first, she said she was going to turn the cooking station into a pressure cooker or sothing to expedite the cooking. But then she lost control of the magic, and the fire raged until it blew up," the knight explained.
"But I t with the chief of the royal guards, and he said it was just a malfunction in the cooking station. Why does it seem like he wasn’t inford of the real cause?" Rafe probed further.
"Sir Navin and the others covered up for your wife. Seriously, Mr. Amares, you wouldn’t want anyone else to know and see her like that, would you?" Alex added.
They both glanced at Callis, and Rafe sighed. The furious derian Princess had picked up a knife scattered on the ground and was marching toward Luke.
Her pride was seriously wounded, and if she didn’t challenge him to a duel today to restore her dignity, she would be consud by sha.
"What the h*ll?!" Luke shouted as he saw Callis approaching, angry and determined.
"Now, calm down first, Mrs. Amares! Sir Parker didn’t an what he said," Eric tried to intervene, stepping in front of her.
But the flash in her sharp, crimson eyes made him hesitate.
"Don’t. You. Dare!" she punctuated each word with a stern tone.
Eric recognised this as the wrath of a woman—sothing even he, the expert ’Love Coach,’ struggled to quell at tis. He raised his hands in surrender and stepped aside.
"Sir Navin, for God’s sake! Aren’t you going to save ??" Luke implored, bewildered by the withdrawal.
"I could have if you had chosen your words wisely when reprimanding your student. But you used profanities..." the second-in-command knight replied.
Callis’s eyes darted back to Luke. By hook or by crook, she was determined to take him down today! There was no way a derian Princess should be humiliated in this way.
Luke’s face paled as he saw the rage in her expression, recognising the determination steering her course.
He knew what that look ant—she was going to challenge him! It brought back mories of their fight when the derians first arrived at the mansion. Winning against her wouldn’t be an easy feat.
"Callis!" Rafe called up her na to stop her.
She turned, seeing Rafe co toward her. Embarrassnt gripped her as he witnessed her in this state, but that sa feeling fueled her anger towards the knight.
Ignoring the call, Callis faced Luke, who stood directly before her.
"I, Callis Amares, challenge—"
"Callis Naver-Amares!" Rafe shouted, this ti in a stern voice, surprising everyone, especially the derian Princess. No one had ever heard him do that to her. Not once.
Callis looked at her husband as he approached her, unblinked.
"Throw away the knife and stop this right now!" Rafe ordered.
The derian Princess’s lips trembled. "But... but..."
"Do it!" Rafe insisted. "I am your husband, and you will submit to my order!" His voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
’Thud!’
The short blade fell to the ground, followed by Callis’s tears. Anger simred within her, but she knew she couldn’t disregard her husband’s stern order; she must submit as her culture dictated. This couldn’t be more humiliating—he had just reprimanded her in front of everyone!
Her shoulders slumped, shaken, and her eyes downcast. The floodgates opened, and she cried again. Suddenly, an arm encircled her waist, pulling her close to his figure. She recognised the familiar scent of dicine emanating from him.
"I-I’m sorry!" she cried, burying her face against him.
Rafe gently patted her back.
"It’s all right. I’m right here," he said in a soothing tone, no longer loud and reprimanding.
Following Kiev’s advice, he had been stern with her—it was necessary given the situation, and for that, he felt the need to use his authority as her husband. Callis needed to learn her lesson.
"He said I’m a total disaster! An id*ot!" she whined, her voice muffled against his chest.
"I know what happened. Sir Jarr already explained it to ," he replied, continuing to comfort her.
For a mont, Rafe let her cry on his chest, gently soothing her. Callis gradually cald down in his embrace.
Finally, he broke the hug and lifted her chin, looking into her eyes.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, concern lacing his expression.
"No," she replied, her voice still shaky but steadier than before.
He nodded in acknowledgent, relieved. Rafe took out his handkerchief and began wiping the soot from his wife’s face.
"I only wanted to cook the creamy, buttery chicken you like! But Sir Parker... he... he—"
"Hush! Stop crying now," Rafe coaxed her gently.
Callis’s anger began to subside under her husband’s gentle persuasion. Her wounded pride felt soothed, like a cool, calming balm being applied. Her soulmate just knew how to reach her.
She sniffled, wiping away the remnants of her tears, then exclaid, "Oh dear! Your robe! It’s stained!" realising the soot on her face had sared her husband’s attire.
"It’s all right. It can be cleaned. The most important thing is that you’re safe," the healer replied reassuringly.
"This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Sir Parker!" Callis insisted.
Luke whiled his head, seeking support from the others, but none ca. He felt annoyed; surely, Rafe would nag him until his ears bled. But the healer’s following words surprised him.
"Stop blaming Sir Parker. I know him well. He wouldn’t get angry and call you with those words without a reason. He is your teacher. Tell , did you follow what your teacher said during the cooking lesson, or did you go against him?" the healer asked.
"I... I... I just wanted to show how good I was! His opinions contradicted mine mostly!" Callis stuttered. "How could I follow him?"
She thought Rafe would take her side, as everyone else had assud, but the healer was much wiser than that.
"A teacher teaches, and a student learns. That’s how it works. If a student refuses to listen, rejects the lessons, and disrespects their teacher, what does that make them? A good or a bad student?" he questioned her.
"Bad..." Callis looked down, feeling small. Her voice diminished.
"And does a bad student deserve to be reprimanded?" he asked again.
The derian Princess nodded, now realising her mistake. Rafe smiled softly.
"You’ve learned your lesson from this incident. I know you are angry at Sir Parker, but you started this by not respecting him and refusing his teaching. It’s all right to have a different opinion, but there’s always a healthy way to express disagreent. Challenging your teacher to a fight is not the right approach."
Callis felt remorse and embarrassed by her action. She had let her fury rage without considering the knight’s pride as her teacher.
Reflecting on it, she realised Luke had repeatedly tried to guide her, but she had argued with him all along, convinced she was better in her own way.
"I’m sorry! I truly am! Please forgive ."
Luke rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward. He never thought Callis would cool down and quickly apologise.
"Umm... just forget about it! Consider yourself forgiven!" he relented, not wanting to prolong the altercation. "I’m sorry too for cursing at you."
"Shake hands?" she asked, raising her hand, but Rafe quickly grabbed it and pulled her by his side.
"No need for a handshake! I don’t want any other man holding my wife’s hand!" the healer declared, making Callis blush.
"Like I want to!" Luke scoffed.
Rafe stepped up, leaning in toward the knight.
"I’m saving your face today since you taught her to cook. But if you ever call her bad nas again, I’ll beat you to a pulp!"
Luke’s eyes widened, but before he could respond, Rafe took Callis’s hand and walked away.
"Is he threatening ?" he asked in disbelief, turning to Alex, who had co to his side.
"He did," Alex replied, smiling knowingly.
"Hah! He sounded so confident like he could really do it!" Luke said dismissively.
"He might not be able to, but his brother-in-law can," Noah interjected with a grin.
Luke recalled the striking derian Prince, whose prowess far surpassed his own. How had he forgotten about him?
"F*ck!" he cursed as the realisation hit him hard.
anwhile, Eric, who had witnessed how Rafe resolved the situation, bead proudly.
"Look at your best friend! Since when did he beco such a wonderful husband? And to have an extraordinary derian Princess submit to him with only words? How amazing!"
"I might as well retire and hand him the ’Love Coach’ title. He’s handling it way better than ," Eric said, his grey eyes trailing the couple as they moved aside.
They thought Rafe was leaving with Callis, but he surprised them again.
"Where’s the chicken you cooked? Was it destroyed during the explosion?" he asked his wife.
The derian Princess’s mouth turned downward at the question, disappointnt filling her heart.
"Apparently, it did," she said, pointing to the quarter chicken leg on the ground that looked like a black stone. If she hadn’t ntioned it, he wouldn’t have known what it was.
"I see... wait here," he told her.
Callis sat on the bench as Rafe stepped toward the burnt dish. He knelt to pick it up and then moved to the pot, which lay not far from where the chicken had landed. It was completely black and dented from the aftermath of the explosion.
Rafe returned to his wife and sat beside her. After placing the pot at his feet, he carefully cleaned the charred dish and began to savour the chicken.
"What are you doing?? Don’t eat it! It’s burnt and dirty!" Callis exclaid, surprised.
It wasn’t just burnt and dirty; the taste was awful, and the flesh was as hard as dried wood. But the healer composed himself and continued eating without complaint.
"Rafe, stop!" Callis urged, holding his arm.
"You made this for , sincerely from your heart. How could I ever throw it away?"
His words nearly made the derian Princess cry again, fresh tears brimming in her eyes.
"Please stop! You could get sick!"
"I’m a healer. I’ll be fine. Even if I do get sick from eating this, I have redies to cure myself," he replied.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. At that mont, she realised how deeply this man cared for her. His actions spoke louder than words. He might be slow to show his affection, but when he did, he made her fall for him over and over again.
User Comments
0 comments from readers