As the sun began to rise above the horizon on the sixth day of their journey, Drystan and Alex finally arrived at the capital city. They wasted no ti going to the royal palace to request an audience with the king.
Charles, the chamberlain, interrupted King Kyden’s late-morning breakfast to inform him of their arrival.
"The Knights of Gerhard have arrived, Your Majesty," Charles said. "Would you be interested in eting them?"
A wide grin spread across the king’s face. "Ahh... they are finally here!"
Queen Elda, seated next to him, looked up in surprise. "Gerhard? Is Kyren coming? Why didn’t you tell ?"
The king’s smile beca subtler. "My dear, I would have liked to, but your court ladies are such big fans of him. I didn’t want any trouble. Also, I heard your lady-in-waiting still hasn’t gotten over him."
When the old matter was brought up, there was a mont of silence between them. Charles quickly broke the stillness and revealed the news.
"Actually, Your Majesty, His Royal Highness has not arrived yet. Only two knights are present this ti," the chamberlain said, choosing his words carefully.
The king’s previously excited expression quickly changed. "What? Only two knights?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Your Majesty. They are Sir Mills and Sir Jarr," Charles confird.
The king’s frustration was evident. "Is the Grand Duke of Gerhard defying my order? I sent out a royal decree summoning him," he said in a firm tone.
"I’m sure he’s not, Your Majesty. His Highness is loyal to you and has never disobeyed your orders. There must be an underlying reason for his absence," Charles reassured him.
The queen, who had been listening attentively, looked puzzled. "Why did you issue a royal decree summoning him, my king?" she asked.
Although it had been so ti since Kyren visited the palace, the king had never needed to issue a royal decree to have him co for an audience.
The grand duke had always been a loyal supporter of the King of Cassian. Thus, a formal order won’t be necessary to summon him.
"Because I asked him to bring soone to ," King Kyden replied seriously when the queen asked.
Curiosity piqued, the queen asked again, "May I know who that is?"
The king’s expression turned wistful, and he replied curtly, "I’ll let you know later."
Sensing the unease in the king’s deanour, Queen Elda stopped probing.
"Charles, lead them to my private discussion room imdiately. I’ll be there shortly," the king ordered, his tone decisive.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
***
The king’s footsteps echoed loudly as he hurried down the long corridor. When he entered the room, the two Knights of Gerhard, who were waiting, imdiately knelt before him.
"Drop the formalities. What’s going on here? Where’s the grand duke and his wife?" King Kyden asked in a displeased tone as he walked up to his chair before the table and sat down.
Following the king’s order, the two knights stood up without greeting him. Alex, the more senior of the two, stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, His Highness and the lady are on their way. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the entourage had to change course and delay the journey. They are now travelling by sea and are expected to arrive in about a week."
King Kyden was curious and leaned forward in his chair. "Did sothing unexpected happen?" he asked.
"We were only faced with a pack of wild wolves, which we managed to handle without any casualties. Additionally, Lady Raychard fell ill and struggled with the journey," replied Alex.
"What happened to her?" inquired the king.
"According to Mr Amares, the healer, she had sustained an injury and beca fatigued from the long horse ride," explained Alex.
"Why would the wife of the grand duke ride a horse? Couldn’t he provide a carriage for her to travel? That seems reckless," King Kyden scoffed.
"He did. But, due to a fallen rock in the mountainous region, our path was damaged, and we had to abandon the carriage to continue the journey," Alex explained. "And during the wolf’s attack, the lady and the healer were injured and fainted. So, we had to take a longer route through the valley, which caused so delay."
"Are their injuries bad?"
"No. The healer was slightly hurt in the head while the lady just fainted."
The king listened attentively and was relieved they were safe. He then asked, "Why did the grand duke choose to follow the sea route instead? It’s much further and will take longer."
"Well... apparently, in addition to her sickness, Lady Raychard also has difficulties travelling by land. So, His Highness decided to change the mode of transportation," replied Alex.
"I see. I thought your lord was refusing to show his wife to . What kind of difficulty did she face?" the king asked the knight.
"It appeared that Lady Raychard was afraid of being in the carriage whenever we passed by the darkened area," said Alex.
"Hmm... from what you told , she sounds frail and timid. Tell more about her. What’s her real na?" the king demanded. The mysteriousness of his sister-in-law intrigued him.
"No one in the camp knows her full na except for her first na, Anna. She is quite close to Mr Rafe Amares, the healer, and his assistant, Mr Ayden Norman," replied Alex.
"And what does she look like?" asked the king again with interest.
"Physically, the lady is petite, and her height barely reaches His Highness’s chest. She has beautiful green erald eyes, long, wavy auburn hair, and fair skin. She is fragile and would easily get sick if exposed to harsh conditions," Alex described.
"Green erald eyes?" King Kyden creased his forehead.
The type of eye colour ntioned by the knight was quite rare, and he had never t anyone with the sa. He only knew about the history of Ro’an’s first emperor, who was said to bear eyes as green as eralds.
"Yes, Your Majesty. They are exceptionally lovely," said the knight.
The king wondered if she could be one of the emperor’s descendants since the eye colour was indeed rare. But as they told him about her appearance and frail stature, he dismissed the thought.
"Do you know where she ca from?"
"She was from Ardel," replied Alex.
"Oh, she’s an Ardelian," remarked the king in a low tone.
Ro’an’s Empire had been betrayed by one of the lords who beca the first king of Ardel, which made it sowhat uncomfortable for him to learn that his sister-in-law was from there. Nevertheless, the king decided to let history remain in the past and not to trouble himself.
"I didn’t know Kyren had a taste for petite won. He never revealed that to ," said the king with a half-smile. "What about her personality?"
"We didn’t spend much ti with her since we were engaged with duties, so we don’t know much about her. But as far as I observed, she is a gentle and soft-spoken person," replied Alex.
"What do you think of her?" the king suddenly turned to Drystan and asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Umm... She is quite pretty and approachable. Though she has a small stature and appears weak, she is quite a determined person," said the knight.
"Seems like my brother got himself a unique woman. I wonder where he found her," mused the king.
"We don’t know, Your Majesty. All we know is that His Highness brought her to the camp one night, and they married imdiately," continued Drystan.
"So, the gossip wasn’t just re gossip after all." The king smirked. "How’s their relationship? Is the grand duke treating his wife well?"
"That... erm... I..." Drystan turned to Alex, seeking help in describing the grand duke’s behaviour towards his wife. It was difficult for him to find the right words.
"You’re pausing. That ans he’s not treating her well," the king quickly assud when the knight didn’t continue answering.
"No, Your Majesty. That’s not the case. It’s just that... It’s hard for to say this because we are all astonished by the couple," Drystan continued cautiously.
"What do you an by that? Speak up," urged the king as his curiosity grew more.
The truth is, we have all noticed sothing peculiar about His Highness’s behaviour towards her. His treatnt of her was not quite like that of a typical husband, but more than that. It appears that he is passionately obsessed with her," said the knight, his tone serious.
The king raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Drystan’s words.
"Obsessed? That’s a strong word. I know my brother well, and I find it hard to believe he could be obsessed with a woman."
"I understand, Your Majesty, but if you were to ask any of the knights dispatched for this campaign, they would say the sa thing. Throughout the journey, we saw how much His Highness cared for his wife. The lady was always in his arms, and he personally took care of her when she was sick. They were rarely separated," explained Alex, emphasising his point.
Despite the knights’ earnest replies, King Kyden still had his doubts. He knew his brother’s ’special’ condition all too well, and the statents by the two knights didn’t quite align with his beliefs.
"You make want to see her even more. Alas... I have to wait another week for that," the king said disappointedly.
"I’m afraid so, Your Highness," Alex replied.
"Well, I guess I’ll have to be patient for now. Has anything else happened at the frontier recently? I still haven’t received the last report from the grand duke," the king asked, changing the subject.
"There is one bizarre case we’ve encountered," Alex carefully ntioned, hesitating slightly.
King Kyden raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Please tell ."
"The Laradie plague has resurfaced," Alex finally revealed.
"What?" The news shocked the king, and he imdiately stood up.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. The plague was controlled, and further actions were taken. Only three peasants were involved, and the infection did not spread. They were all saved," Alex quickly responded to the king.
"How did you manage to control the plague so quickly? Please explain what happened," the king demanded as he looked at them concernedly.
"The commander and most knights were not at the camp when it started. We were relieving several villages in the southern part of the border affected by landslides following heavy rains. When we returned, Mr Norman and the remaining knights had taken the necessary action. Also, from what we overheard the knights talking, it seed the lady also played a role in preventing the spread," Alex explained.
"That frail lady? What did she do?" the king asked, surprised.
"I don’t know, Your Majesty. But her escort ntioned that she sacrificed herself to protect the others from the plague," Alex replied, his tone respectful.
"Is this true?" King Kyden turned to Drystan to confirm what Alex had just said.
"I heard the sa thing, Your Majesty. I was there when Sir McQuinn ntioned it. He and Sir Henderson were the two escorts left behind in the camp to ensure the lady’s safety," Drystan replied firmly.
"Then what about the cure for Laradie? Did you get it from Ardel?" the king asked anxiously.
"No, Your Majesty, we didn’t. Mr Amares and Mr Norman provided us with a unique serum. All the knights were required to take it, administered through open wounds. The healer told us it was mandatory for us all. It was said to be a better cure and prevention for the plague than the commonly distributed drugs from Ardel," Alex explained.
The knight then told him about the asures the rest of the Knights of Gerhard took to prevent the spread of the Laradie plague in the vicinity as the king listened intently.
"I need to know more about this amazing cure! It would be a great achievent to have the source secured in our hands!" King Kyden exclaid, his mind racing with possibilities.
"We don’t have any further details about the cure, Your Majesty. But from what I observed, it looked and slled exactly like blood," the knight replied cautiously, unsure of the implications of this information.
"His Highness said he will provide his direct report to you once he cos," added Drystan, hoping to temper the king’s eagerness.
King Kyden took a deep breath, trying to compose himself as the news had captured his attention. His fingers tapped the chair’s arm in anticipation.
"Very well. I shall wait for his reply. You two are dismissed," he finally ordered, acknowledging that there was nothing more to discuss.
Alex and Drystan bowed their respects to the king before exiting the room.
Once they were at a safe distance, Drystan whispered to Alex, "Why didn’t you inform His Majesty about the lady’s status?"
The knight responded, "It’s best if His Highness tells His Majesty himself. ddling in their personal matters would only bring problems to us." He sighed. "But trust , once it’s revealed, it will be hectic."
Now, he could only pray that the little lady wouldn’t suffer any harm in the near future.
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