Kalos Francia couldn't believe what he just heard!
Iria still suffered from that wound? But she lived with him for 8 months before she get married.
Why didn't he notice anything?!
"She keeps it from all of us," Andres explained when he noticed the confusion on his father's face. "Even Arin also find out a few days after they returned from Vialand. So, we try to make the Jerivian King pay for what he did."
It's true? She can't use her right arm that much anymore?
Then what about the war?!
"She plans to lead the war in that condition?" the Emperor finally asked with a mixture of disbelief and rage written all over his face.
Was his niece crazy?!
"Though she still doesn't recover fully, she's better now as the rest help her," Orius promptly said. "Besides, you know her, uncle. Once she made up her mind, she will try to do it no matter what. With Arin's condition, we can't stop her."
"A war is not a trivial matter, Orius. What if the tear gets worse?" Kalos Francia grunted.
"I don't think I'll be able to make her change her mind, uncle," Orius stated. "So, I will stay beside her and make sure to protect her."
Though Orius's words eased the Emperor a bit, he still couldn't stop worrying. Then once again, the fact that Crown Prince Augustus Arille will arrive in a few hours crossed his mind.
"I'm sure that the Crown Prince's sudden visit has something to do with your journey to Helsia," he muttered and turned to his son. "What is it? To face him, I have to know what happened."
Though Andres maintained his silence for a few seconds, he saw no way out. As such, he had to give in once again.
"The Jerivian King captured Ophelia and Valerie to lure Orius," he said, observing his father's reaction. "However, they were rescued by Iria's men and Ophelia's shadow guards assigned by Crown Prince Augustus. I think Augustus heard the incident."
The Emperor's curious expression slowly disappeared and his eyes grew wide in shock!
"They were captured?!"
"Nothing happened to them," Orius chimed in. "The men reached on time."
Kalos Francia couldn't even imagine how angry the protective brother would be!
How was he supposed to face him?!
*
After hearing an earful from his father, Andres Francia walked inside his chamber and saw his wife quietly sitting on the couch near the balcony. Then he approached her and sat opposite her.
"The journey was long and I thought that you would want to rest," he pointed out and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Linus told me that Augustus will be here in a few hours," Ophelia said with a nervous expression on her face. "He will be coming here despite his busy schedules and that means he is very angry. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to him."
Andres stared at his wife for a while before he narrowed his eyes. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have asked you to come with me."
Ophelia shook her head. "I was excited and I also had a lot of fun. It's not your fault."
"I don't think your brother will spare me," the Crown Prince said with a sigh, making Ophelia laugh.
"Do you really think that?"
Andres Francia nodded. "He is crazy about you."
Ophelia nodded with a chuckle. "You're right. He might come for your life."
"Must you say that?" The Cedore Crown Prince frowned. "It's not even funny."
His words only made Ophelia laugh harder. "I see that you can be foolish at times too. You're my husband. Do you really think Gus will be able to kill you?"
"He won't?"
"No," the Crown Princess replied as she shook her head. "He will never do anything to hurt me. Gus is always that type of person." She glanced at the outdoors and continued, "Even when I mess up something, he used to blame himself rather than blaming me."
He noticed the slight smile on his wife's face when she talked about her brother. Then Andres understood one thing.
"You miss him, right?" He flashed a little smile and added, "Well, it seems like an unfortunate incident also has its advantage. You will be able to see your brother."
"You will surely regret saying that," Ophelia remarked. "Gus is really dangerous when he is angry. Besides, he won't stop here. I know him too well."
Andres nodded as he understood what Ophelia was saying. The Aederin Crown Prince knew the one who captured his sister and no brother will be able to be still while knowing that, let alone someone as protective as Augustus Arille!
"You know that a war is waiting for us, right?" Andres calmly said and continued, "Once this is over, I will take you to Aederin. You must miss your family and the people there. I'm sorry for not being considerate."
Ophelia quietly stared at her husband as if she was taken aback by what he said. "You know what, whenever you are so good to me, you raise my hope. I feel like I will soon be able to fulfil my wish."
Her wish. To experience how it feels to be loved by him.
When this crossed Andres's mind, he felt tight-lipped.
Right now, he wasn't even sure of his own heart.
He remembered how anxious he was when she was kidnapped but as she was his wife, he deemed that as normal. He loved to see her being happy and he also believed that it was normal to feel that way.
He always finds her confidence charming and her honesty was what made her admirable.
Has he ever thought of her as someone special?
He wasn't sure about it but... he knew one thing.
That without her, he won't be able to be complete again. She had become an important part of his life, someone whom he used to look forward to seeing every day.
"You are always so straightforward," he pointed out. "At times, it makes me feel bad."
Much to his surprise, Ophelia simply nodded. "That's good.. That means one day, you won't have to feel bad anymore because you will be the one saying what I used to say."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel