Iria realized that Arin had paid extra attention to her. They were having breakfast but... all his attention was on her and she could somehow guess the reason.
"You make me uncomfortable," she pointed out. "What's the matter, Arin?"
Arin Helev thought of how she winced in pain before dinner yesterday and his conversation with Elian last night. "Do you have anything to tell me?" he asked her in a calm voice.
"What do you want me to say?" she asked him back.
He already had so many things on his plate and with the missing cases adding to his concern, she didn't want to be the one to add his worry. If he knew about her shoulder, it will only distract him.. It won't be good if he lost focus.
Why must it be winter now of all times?!
Arin Helev observed her for a while before he turned back to the dishes. "Never mind," he muttered.
"You will meet with the Investigating Officers today, right?" she asked him, hoping to change the topic.
Arin nodded. "I'll also meet the Magistrates and talk with them. I have to know how this cycle starts."
"You only arrived yesterday evening," she pointed out. "You will go there? That means you will need the whole day."
"I know," he said. Looking at her, he showed her a small smile. "But it will be the most effective way, Iria. I need to take notes of everything without missing a single detail. The lives of 33 children are on the line."
Iria knew that he had a point. However, she believed that his health was also important too. If his health deteriorated, it will be a disaster.
After they were done with breakfast, Arin prepared to go out and observed the provinces. Soon, he was all set to leave.
"You don't even sleep much last night," Iria said to him while sitting on a chair a few steps away from him. "Will you really be okay?"
"How do you know that?" he asked, confused.
"You weren't in the chamber when I woke up," she replied. "It was already past midnight then."
Arin walked to her and bending down, he planted a kiss on the crown of her head. "I'll be fine. Don't worry too much. You need rest much more than I do."
"That's nonsense," she frowned.
He chuckled at her reaction. "I'll be back soon. Until then, take care of things here."
Without saying anything, she nodded with a bit of reluctance.
Flashing a smile once more, Arin left the palace with Antony and some guards.
Once the Queen was alone, Elian walked inside the chamber and bowed. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"His Majesty is acting quite strange," Iria muttered and turned to Elian. "Did he look for you last night?"
Quickly lowering his gaze, Elian struggled to answer the Queen.
"That's right," was the response which he gave the Queen after what seemed to be forever. "His Majesty suspects that you hide something from him and he is worried," he explained.
Iria Helev glanced at her right shoulder before she wiped her face with her hands. She didn't know what to do.
"Your Majesty, now that the King knows there is something wrong, he won't be able to be at ease anymore," Elian spoke up, thinking of the advice the King gave him last night. Then he cautiously added, "Why don't you tell him the truth?"
Even now, he was always worried.
What if he knew that she can't rely that much on her strength anymore?
He will surely have a harder time but... she knew that it's not a good idea to make him guess what she was hiding all the time.
"I'll talk to him tonight," she finally said and glanced at her shoulder once again. "It's getting worse these days. I'm not even sure if it's because of the cold weather alone."
"Do you want to meet the doctor?" Elian promptly asked. "He might be able to help you."
Iria gave a quick thought and said, "Prepare the carriage."
With that said, Elian left right away.
To keep her illness a secret, Iria didn't consult the royal doctor. However, the one who treated her since her marriage was one of the best doctors in the capital and to avoid suspicion, she always go to meet the doctor rather than summoning him.
*
The ride to the doctor's clinic always took more than an hour from the palace. Sitting inside the carriage, Iria wore a veil and a dark green cloak that will help her in hiding her identity. Though the doctor knew her identity, she must be careful not to be identified by people who were around the clinic.
The Queen stepped out of the carriage once they reached the clinic and quickly entered the gate with the guards shielding her. Soon, she was escorted to the doctor's room where the doctor greeted her. Then she took a seat opposite the doctor.
"It's a huge honor to have a royal in my humble clinic but I can't say the same when meeting as a doctor and a patient, Your Majesty," the Doctor who was a man in his 40s said to the Queen with a smile.
The Doctor always had a great sense of humor and he was very friendly too. This earned him a good reputation among his patients.
The Queen smiled at his joke. "You're right, doctor. But it can't be helped. I'm also a human."
The Doctor laughed and his gaze trailed to the Queen's shoulder. "The weather these days is pretty cold, Your Majesty. It must be hard to put up with the pain."
"Considering how I went through winter last year, I expect that much," Iria replied. "But it's a bit strange this year. The pain resurfaces often and it is much painful than ever before."
The Doctor had treated the Queen for almost half a year now and he already knew how amazing she was when it comes to pain tolerance.
Maybe because she used to be a warrior.
Now, she said it was painful and that was enough to make him have a bad feeling.
"Let me have a check, Your Majesty," he said and rose from his seat.
Iria pulled down the part of her clothes that covered her right shoulder and the doctor observed it. Bending down, he pressed the area several times, making her clenched her teeth in pain.
After a while, the doctor stood straight and shook his head. "You really need a rest, Your Majesty. Judging from the bruise, it seems like the tear is expanding by a bit. If it's getting worse than this, you will be in a serious condition."
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