It was just an excuse and Athena knew that.
"You can't say no to me but you said no to my father, the King," she pointed out, looking at Aziel with a knowing smile. "Remember? You rejected the position my father tried to give you."
"I don't think they are the same," Aziel argued.
"Whatever," Athena shrugged, making Aziel laugh.
"You rarely leave the palace in disguise," he said. "So, make sure to have as much fun as possible. It's not easy to convince you to go out."
Athena chuckled but she didn't say anything. Then she shifted her gaze back to the show.
Maybe because going out was quite enjoyable; for a short time, she even forget all the thoughts that bothered her for the past few days.
It felt as if she was back to her days as the Princess of Nathania and not the Queen of Jerivia.
* * *
It's been three days since Crown Prince Emor was treated at Qalagon.
While Arin and Iria were at their chamber right before dinner, the royal doctor came to inform them that the Crown Prince had woken up. At the news, the young King and Queen hurried to the chamber where Emor was treated.
When they enter the chamber, they saw Emor Tripas on the bed with his eyes that were barely opened.
The doctor had said that Emor Tripas will need a few days to regain his consciousness, so they didn't expect him to wake this early. Seeing him opening his eyes was somewhat a miracle for the young King and Queen.
Arin Helev quickly walked closer and stood beside the bed, glancing down at the young man whom he now regarded as a friend. "Emor, can you hear me?" When he leaned down a bit and reached out his hand to the Nardodian Crown Prince...
Iria walked forward and stopped him. "His illness," she reminded him.
Emor Tripas had said before that almost everyone in the Royal Army knew about his illness and that Arin Helev might hear it too. However, they didn't know the story behind it.
The King retreated his hand when he realized what Iria meant. "I forgot," he muttered and shifted his gaze to the doctor. "Will he be fine now?"
"It's a miracle that His Highness woke up this early, Your Majesty," the doctor replied. "It seems like he has a strong fighting spirit. However, I will still observe him and if there is no serious problem, he will be fine soon."
Once the doctor finished talking, Emor Tripas tried to push himself up while having no strength to do so. Iria noticed this and helped him up. A pillow was placed against the backrest of the bed and the Crown Prince leaned against that.
When he shut his eyes, he vaguely recalled how he rode towards the Qalagon royal palace but he know nothing after that.
"What happened?" Arin Helev asked him. "You lost your consciousness near the gate and we brought you here. It's been 3 days."
"Three days?" Emor Tripas muttered in a hoarse voice when he heard the King. In a split second, anxiety was written all over his face. "Where is Theo then?"
"You weren't alone?" Arin asked as he raised a brow. "My men investigate what happened but there is no clue for now."
"We came near the border for some business but we suffered an ambush," Emor Tripas said with his voice still very low. "I have a feeling that something was amiss and because we were already injured, we decided to come here. But when we reach the Pecan Forest on the outskirts of the capital, they caught up with us again. Maybe I part with Theo there. I'm not sure."
"Pecan Forest? Then I will send my men to go there and check the surroundings," Arin Helev promptly said. "Let's hope that we will know something soon."
Staring at the Crown Prince's pale face and cold sweat at the side of his face, Arin Helev let out a sigh. "You're in pain. You should rest for now. No need to push yourself too hard. We can talk later."
Emor Tripas nodded and narrowed his eyes.
Putting aside his injuries, he was too dull and Iria finds it strange.
What made him like that?
Arin walked out of the room to give some instructions to Antony while Iria remained. She glanced at Emor Tripas who seemed like a completely different person.
She had a feeling that something big was going on.
"Is this Aryan Tripas's doing?" she asked Emor who promptly looked up at her.
"I'm not sure," he said after staring at her for a while. "But I doubt that it's him. He won't want me dead but... those assassins were determined to kill me."
Iria glanced at the bandages on his body that had turned quite red due to blood.
"His Highness suddenly woke up when I was about to change the bandage," the royal doctor explained to her. "I will do it now."
The Queen glanced at the Nardodian Crown Prince for a while, meeting his gaze the whole time. Then she asked, "How will they do that?"
The Queen's words stunned the royal doctor and his assistant once again. Then Emor Tripas shifted his gaze to the doctor.
"Bring it to me. I will do it." He briefly paused and said, "I have a strange illness and I can't tolerate a touch on my body. That means I have to do it myself."
Though the doctor had never heard of such an illness, he finally understood the Queen's instruction that day.
"You can't even move on your own," Iria sighed. "How will you manage it?"
"I've dealt with wounds way more severe than this," Emor Tripas argued. "I'll be able to do it again."
Narrowing her eyes at all the wounds on his body, the Qalagon Queen sighed. "How can I just watch that while I'm the only one who can help you? Won't that be too cold-hearted of me?"
"Your Majesty -"
The Crown Prince fell silent when Iria turned away. She wasn't ignoring him but she spot something near the door.
"I'll be right back," she said to the doctor and added, "Don't let him move even just a bit."
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