327 The Crown Prince Theron
Royals were carefully educated from a young to be able to handle, if not hide their true emotions, especially in front of their subjects. It was a matter of pride and a show of strength as the people who ruled the kingdom. Thus, when the survivors saw the Queen’s tears rolling down her cheeks, none of them was able to raise their heads to meet her pained gaze.
Queen Theodora’s shoulders shook as she silently grieved for the people who had served her for years. A while ago, she’d been listening to their laughter and silly squabbling over the sunny weather, and in a blink of an eye, everyone was gone. Even her favorite lady-in-waiting, the smart and loyal Bethy, was not spared and was killed in front of her very eyes. At this moment, Queen Theodora did not look like a regal queen, but an utterly shaken and weak woman.
The young blonde kneeling in front of her could only silently lend her strength, holding her in her arms as it looked like the Queen could pass out any moment now given her injured body and the emotional damage she just had received.
“Your Majesty, please get a hold of your grief. I am sure they all left without regrets knowing that you are able to survive. Their sacrifice was not made in vain,” Sir Alexis said worriedly and assured her, “I will arrange for their bodies to go back to the palace with us, and we will be able to hold a funeral for them.”
Queen Theodora did not react to her knight’s comforting words. She merely held the hand of the blond girl and mumbled, “Don’t leave,” before losing her consciousness. Luckily, the blond girl caught her in her embrace.
The knight looked at the blond girl. “I am Alexis Lumen, the guardian knight in charge of protecting Her Majesty Queen Theron Ivanov. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to you for saving Her Majesty. Unfortunately, I might have to take advantage of the young lady’s kindness once more as our party is greatly damaged by this attack. I will need your help to take our Queen back to the safety of the nearest city and seek medical attention. Will it be all right, young lady?”
Looking at the severely injured knights standing awkwardly behind the crippled Sir Alexis, the blond girl nodded.
The knight was about to lead the way when the blond girl stopped him. “Wait!”
The captain of the knights looked back at her and saw her pick up a piece of cloth that had fallen on the ground. It was the same cloth she used to cover her face. Without saying a word, she wrapped the cloth around the knight’s injured leg in an attempt to prevent it from bleeding further.
Sir Alexis gave her a knight’s salute. “I will bring the carriage to the edge of the forest. Please bring the Queen and wait for me there.”
The blond girl nodded and she carried the Queen while the other knights escorted them towards the outermost part of the forest. While they waited for Sir Alexis, the blond girl checked the Queen’s pulse which had weakened due to the bleeding. Thankfully, her injuries did not seem serious despite the bleeding, and it was probably the shock of the attack that mostly caused the Queen to pass out.
She pulled out a small cloth sachet from her pocket and mumbled, “I normally use this to treat the injuries of small wild animals. It should be able to help you as well, I think.” She pulled out a small and thin wooden vessel from inside which was filled with an aromatic green paste. She applied it on the Queen’s visible wounds, mostly on the torn web of her hands and the stab wounds on her arms.
Soon, their group heard the sound of wheels hitting stone and horses neighing. Sir Alexis returned with the carriage and stepped down from it to help the blond girl put the Queen inside the carriage.
“Young lady, I will have to trouble you for a while as there are no females around to assist the Queen. Please get into the carriage and be with Her Majesty till we reach the nearest city. We also do not know if there are remnant rebels, and as you can see, none of us here are in a condition to properly wield a sword”
The blond girl looked at the injured Queen and didn’t have the heart to refuse the request. With a sigh, she climbed inside the carriage and sat on the seat opposite the unconscious queen.
Though heading straight to the city of Blackhelm was the best choice for the Queen’s condition, it was still quite a distance from the place of the attack. It would have been dangerous for the Queen to travel without any immediate treatment.
Sir Alexis opted to go back to the western city they had just passed as it was the nearest city to them. The city also was home to the Holles Family, a count family headed by one of the ministers working in the royal palace. Not only could they provide physicians to treat the Queen and the injured knights, the Holles Family could also mobilize the other local nobles of the western territory to help investigate the attack.
“T-The crest of the royal family!”
“Isn’t that the carriage of Her Majesty the Queen?! Didn’t they leave for the capital this morning? Why did they return?”
“Look at the royal knights! Oh my, everyone is covered in blood!”
“Hurry, call the physicians!”
The Holles Family was in an uproar when they came to receive the royal carriage. As Minister Holles was in the capital, it was his son, the young lord, who took charge of the situation and immediately arranged for physicians to be brought in to see the injured. He also sent a messenger to hurry and report the news to the royal palace. Then, he personally brought his own men to visit the site of the attack by the river to recover the dead bodies and scout the area for any survivors. Unfortunately, regardless of whether they belonged to the Queen’s party or the rebels, all of them were cold corpses by the time the young lord arrived.
Soon, the entire city had become aware of the attack and the condition their Queen was in. Even the nobles from neighboring lands had heard of the news and hurried over bringing with them their own men to provide assistance to the Queen. As for the commoners, they prayed for their Queen to get better soon. Many of the people were alarmed by the attack, and some abled men even volunteered to help the nobles in patrolling the city just in case rebels were to target the Queen again.
The most skilled physicians in the city and nearby cities were called to treat the still unconscious Queen. Amidst the chaos caused by the attack, one particular girl silently stayed by the Queen’s side, not even leaving for a moment, much to the relief of Sir Alexis. After all, he could only trust the person who saved the Queen; it was still unknown whether the attack was perpetuated solely by the rebels or if there was a mastermind behind it.
The urgent message had already reached the palace. Her husband, the King of Megaris, was enraged and immediately ordered for a troop to be dispatched towards his Queen. Hearing about the attack, Crown Prince Theron Ivanov volunteered to head the troop and bring his mother back to the royal palace.
The King was furious to hear about the attack, but he was able to calm himself and make a decision with his wife’s condition in mind. “We do not know the situation of the Queen. If her health is not stabilized for travel, I will allow you to temporarily stay with her until she recovers enough to safely go back. Take good care of your mother in my stead, Theron.”
“Do not worry, Father. Leave everything to me.”
As the royal palace boasted to have the most prominent physicians in the entire kingdom, the King also ordered for them to accompany the Crown Prince. Prince Theron brought the Head Royal Physician with him and they rushed towards the territory of the Holles Family.
By late evening, the Crown Prince reached the city. He and his men made no stops as they rode on their horses from Blackhelm, not even to eat or rest.
When the Crown Prince arrived in the estate of the Holles Family, he also did not bother with the pleasantries. Without delay, he went straight to where his mother was arranged to stay. He found Queen Theodora lying unconscious on a large bed inside a room that smelled of herb concoctions. A young lady with honey blond hair was accompanying her, holding her hand.
‘I don’t recognize her. She is not my mother’s lady-in-waiting. Is she a lady of the Holles Family?’
The Crown Prince paid no attention to her and went to sit at the edge of the bed.
The young lady was busy with her own thoughts. Earlier, before the physicians left, she heard that the Queen’s life was not in danger anymore and that all she needed was adequate rest. With the guards provided by the Holles Family, it could also be said that the Queen and her knights were safe and no longer needed her protection. Now that the most dangerous situation had passed, it made her wonder if it was all right for her to continue staying by Queen Theodora’s side.
Because she was torn between leaving and staying, she didn’t realize someone had entered the room and had approached the bed of the Queen. The moment the Crown Prince sat at the edge of the bed, she returned to her senses and looked at him.
It was a young man with an unmistakably proud air surrounding him, to the point that if he was to stand in the middle of a crowd, despite not speaking a word, all eyes would inevitably turn to him. His features were sharp, and he looked dirty and travel-worn, yet his cold handsome face—those dark eyes and brown hair—that resembled Queen Theodora’s gave away his identity.
The young lady shot up from her seat in a hurry. She lowered her head knowing it must be a royal from the Queen’s family.
Though she stood up, Queen Theodora didn’t let go of her hand, and even in her unconscious condition, she gripped it even tighter.
Seeing that, the Crown Prince waved his hand and instructed curtly, “Keep sitting.”
He didn’t wish for his mother to feel any discomfort. If she wanted to keep holding the hand of this unknown lady, it was fine for him.
With her head lowered, the young lady returned to her seat while the Crown Prince observed his mother.
“How is she now?” the Crown Prince asked the physician who hurried over when they saw him entering the room. “I have brought with me the Head Royal Physician—”
“Your Highness, there is nothing much to worry about,” the Head Royal Physician replied as he entered the room as well. “I was talking with the physicians of the Holles Family to understand the situation better. I have also checked the pulse of the Queen. They did a good job of looking after Her Majesty.”
The physician from the Holles Family nodded. “Her Majesty is just exhausted and shocked due to what happened. The wounds were not too deep and were already treated before coming here which prevented blood loss. This young lady here did well by treating Her Majesty’s wounds immediately after the attack occurred.
The Crown Prince nodded as he looked at the young lady whose appearance he had yet to clearly see. Only one side of her face was visible to him and that too was partially covered by the loose strands of her hair.
‘My mother’s savior? So she’s not a daughter of the Holles Family. Why is an outsider allowed inside the Queen’s room? Did Sir Alexis put her here?’
He could have thanked her for saving her mother but he didn’t. He did read from the report that one woman saved the Queen, but he was yet to get the entire detail of the attack firsthand as the heavily injured Sir Alexis Lumen, the guardian knight of the Queen and the captain of her knight brigade, was already resting since it was late in the night. Though this young lady was said to have saved the Queen, she was a stranger and he would not trust her blindly.
The Crown Prince stood up and turned to look at the physicians. “Take care of my mother. I will return tomorrow morning.”
“Rest assured, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince strode towards the door where his knights were standing outside with grave expressions. As knights who had sworn service under Prince Theron, they knew his temper well. He was a sentimental man, though no one could have guessed it because he almost never showed his emotions on his face. Seeing his cold expression that showed neither anger nor sadness, they knew that even though it was late, Crown Prince Theron would not rest.
Before leaving the room, the Crown Prince took one more look at the young lady who saved his mother, whose back faced him. She was sitting silently, not saying a single word even though the physicians were all bowing politely in the presence of royalty.
Her clothes sure didn’t look like that of a lady hailing from a noble family. She was not even wearing a dress, but sturdy clothes that made her look like a hunter or forager used to wandering in the forest. However, she didn’t look wild or rough; instead, her long honey blond hair which was tied behind her neck with a simple ribbon made her look somehow elegant and mysterious.
Averting his gaze, the Crown Prince gestured for his knights to follow as he left the estate of the count’s family. On the way to the river, his aide was already giving him an update of the investigation done by the young lord of the Holles Family.
Theron was not satisfied that nothing was found about the background of the rebels. He had to personally inspect the entire matter and punish those who dared to harm his mother, the Queen of Megaris.