"Stay here with His Highness for the time being," Colson Leland said to Alena. "If you try anything, I will forget that I'm the one who practically raised you and taught you everything. Don't force me to hurt you, Alena."
"Do you really mean it?" Alena asked with a hint of doubt on her face. "Will you let Emor live?"
Thinking of the King's words, the official briefly glanced at Crown Prince Emor once again. "For now," he muttered. "But you heard the doctor. He has a very small chance of surviving."
"You are the one who worsened his situation," Alena pointed out in a cold voice. "He is this sick but you still subjected him to that long journey from Qalagon to here."
Colson Leland was always devoted to Nardodia and Aryan Tripas. When his men told him that the Crown Prince was acting suspicious, he investigate it only to find out that Emor was helping Arin Helev. He informed the King about it but... it didn't work.
Maybe the King had become too soft for his nephew.
As someone who knew Aryan Tripas well, he could see how his usually cruel King started to have a weakness and that's the Crown Prince. The official only wanted the best for the King and he hated how his King grew weak all because of his nephew who was aiding an enemy!
Then he decided to end the Crown Prince. It was followed by those incidents and when he retrieved the heavily injured Crown Prince from that inn, he was struggling to do anything. Maybe because he saw how concerned his King was.
"The doctor will come again. Make sure to look after him well," was Colson Leland's only response after almost a minute. Then he left the room before Alena could say anything.
* * *
Iria just reached the Petrus Army camp on the northern border. However, she had no intention to lose any more time as she quickly gets off her horse and rushed to the tent where Arin was treated.
When the Qalagon Queen entered the tent, she saw the unconscious Arin lying on the bed with Antony sitting on the chair beside him.
All the attention of the Captain was on his King but when he heard the sound of footsteps, he turned in the direction of the entrance and saw the Queen.
He knew that the Queen was on her way but... he didn't expect her to arrive this early!
Did she rush here? What about her shoulder then?!
Nevertheless, Antony walked to the side and get down on his knees. "Your Majesty."
Iria was now standing right next to the bed, glancing down at Arin who was in a coma. Now that she finally get to see him after days, her anxiety was slowly replaced by pain!
Slowly, she sat down on the bed and held his hand that was cold as ice.
He was always warm. Why was he so cold as if he was dead?!
When he left, he said that he will be back soon but... this was how he greeted her.
What a liar!
When she looked at his left arm where the effect of the poison was clearly visible, the young Queen had to squeeze the bedsheet, forcing herself not to shiver. With pain, anxiety and rage mixing in her, she gets more thirst for revenge!
"I failed to protect him, Your Majesty," Antony said to the Queen when he thought of how the King told him to survive no matter what. "I deserve to be punished."
Iria shifted her gaze to the Captain of the Royal Guards who was still kneeling a few steps beside her. Though the Captain's gaze was on the floor, the Queen noticed how tired he looked. It seemed like he was staying by the King's side without even taking a rest though it had been days!
Judging from Antony's devotion and loyalty, that wasn't impossible.
"Go and rest now," the Queen said in a low voice. "I will stay beside him."
"But -"
"I know that you will surely do everything to protect him," Iria stated before the Captain could protest. "You did your best but there are times when things became out of our control, Antony. So, stop thinking too much and take a rest."
Though the guard noticed that the Queen appeared tired too, he couldn't bring himself to protest anymore. As such, he get back on his knees and walked out of the tent.
With Antony gone, Iria's attention was on Arin again.
When she was shot with a poisoned arrow in Jerivia, only a small part of her hand was wounded but... it was enough to render her in a coma for a few days. Not to mention that she had to rest for weeks!
Looking at Arin's wound, it was clear that the arrow struck deep and it will be hard to stop the poison from working.
Will he be able to recover?
The question scared her.
Just imagining a life without him was pure torment! She felt like she finally understood how he felt when she was attacked that day.
It was right of him to be angry at her. If she was in his place, she might even lose her mind!
Just a few days ago, he promised her that he won't ever leave her side. Though it was hard right now, Iria decided to believe in that.
Maybe because there was nothing else she could do right now. She can only hang on to him, desperately.
The Queen was distracted when someone walked inside the tent and when she shifted her gaze to the entrance, she felt a bit relieved.
"Commander Nico," she said as she rose from her seat.
"Your Majesty," the Commander bowed to greet the Queen. He briefly glanced at the King before he turned back to the Queen. "I apologize, Your Majesty. If I arrive a bit earlier, this could've been prevented."
"I heard that your arrival save His Majesty and the guards lives," Iria muttered.. "I'm grateful to you for looking out for him."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel