Bab 8: Royal Command
After that passionate night, so many questions were raised in Alaric's mind.
Why did she remain a virgin? Where did she get those scars? Who did it to her? Was she abused? But by whom?
He still hated her for her betrayal. But he was bothered by her scars. Because of his kind nature, he couldn't ignore it. He needed to get to the bottom of this. After all, Eve was still his wife.
The next morning, Alaric summoned the closest person to Eve, her personal maid, Annie. There were a lot of things he didn't know about his wife, he hoped Annie could give him the answers he sought.
"Sir Alaric, you called for me," Annie courtly bowed her head as she greeted him.
Alaric had a stern expression on his face as he looked at Annie.
"You are assigned to take care of my wife. Are you really carrying out your duties?" He questioned her with his cold tone. He couldn't understand why he was irritable, thinking about Eve's scars and fresh wounds.
Annie immediately kneeled in front of Alaric. "Yes, sire. I perform my duties diligently, serving the princess. Did I do something to upset you?"
Alaric clenched his fists. "Then tell me. Where did my wife get those scars? Who hurt her?"
Annie felt conflicted right now. She didn't know if she should be glad or not. Even though Alaric discovered Eve's scars, she couldn't tell him the truth.
Queen Amara was holding them by the neck. Annie and Eve were threatened that if someone learned that Princess Evelina was being mistreated and abused by the Queen, Eve would suffer tenfold.
Keeping her silence was the only way to keep Eve safe.
'I'm not sure if I can trust Sir Alaric. I heard the news. He brought a princess from another kingdom. And this princess wishes to marry him and Queen Amara supports this proposition. Will he abandon Princess Eve?'
After careful consideration, Annie shook her head, feigning ignorance. "I don't know, sire. I have no idea."
Alaric narrowed his eyes when he heard that. He could tell that this maid was hiding something.
"Do you really care about your mistress? Were you the one who hurt her?"
Annie shook her head frantically. "No, Sire. I will never do that to my lady. I am willing to die for her sake."
"Then talk! Tell me what you know." He tried to convince her.
Annie was about to say something when they were interrupted by someone. She got frightened upon seeing the Queen's servant, the more reason she couldn't confess to Alaric. The Queen had so many eyes and ears in the palace. Defying her only meant death!
"General Alaric, her Majesty sent me to inform you that they are waiting for you in the dining hall. Princess Thalia specifically requested your presence at breakfast," the Queen's servant said, glancing meaningfully at Annie. Her gaze carried a warning.
Alaric took a deep sigh before responding. "Alright. I'll go there in a while. I still have to wait for my wife to wake up."
Eve was exhausted after being repeatedly taken by Alaric last night. Until now, she was still sound asleep in her chamber.
"General Alaric, with all due respect, but it is not appropriate to keep the royal family waiting in the dining hall. Don't worry about your wife. Queen Amara has already asked my fellow servant to deliver breakfast to her chamber."
Alaric frowned deeply when he sensed the commanding tone from the servant. It was as if Princess Eve were not part of the royal family. Why couldn't they wait for her to join them for breakfast?
'Is this how the royal family usually treated Princess Eve? Are they deliberately isolating her? Treating her as an outcast?' Alaric had started to speculate.
"Fine. Let's go there now."
Alaric gave Annie one final glance before he followed the Queen's servant.
Upon reaching the dining hall, Alaric was greeted right away by Princess Thalia. She even anchored her arms around his elbow, pulling him to sit by her side.
"Good morning, our Mighty Hero," she whispered playfully, winking at him.
Alaric just nodded, keeping his neutral expression. Then he casually removed Thalia's hand that was wrapped around his forearm.
Alaric looked around. Everyone from the royal family was present in the dining hall except Princess Eve. He didn't know why but deep inside, he got annoyed by this obvious exclusion.
During the meal, Queen Amara brought up the topic of marriage and divorce.
"General Alaric, have you decided? Are you willing to divorce your wife to marry Princess Thalia?" Queen Amara didn't go around the bush, directly asking Alaric.
Alaric scoffed inwardly. He knew it. They invited him to talk about this. He took his time before responding to the Queen.
But suddenly… a ruckus was heard from the entrance of the dining hall, diverting everyone's attention.
"Princess Eve, slow down," Annie called out, chasing after Eve.
"Stop! The meal has started. It is inappropriate for you to barge in and join them. You shouldn't be here." The queen's servant sternly ordered Eve as she blocked her from entering the dining hall. She didn't even address her as a princess. Her tone was disrespectful, giving her a disdainful look.
Eve ignored her warning, pushing away the arrogant servant as she dashed forward. She was panting heavily as she darted her eyes in her surroundings, looking for someone.
Alaric frowned deeply, seeing his wife's expression. 'Was she scared? What's going on?'
A few seconds later, Eve's gaze fell on Alaric's face. A sense of relief could be seen in her emerald eyes.
Without further ado, she ran toward him, grabbing his arm tightly as if she were afraid to let him go. Her actions were fueled by her nightmare about Alaric abandoning her while marrying Thalia.
"That was so rude. Pushing down a servant for no reason." Princess Thalia snorted, glaring at Eve.
Several pairs of eyes turned to Eve, all of them filled with contempt and displeasure. How dare she show up here?
"Since Princess Evelina is here, let me ask you again, General Alaric. Are you willing to divorce her?" Queen Amara addressed her question to Alaric.
Upon hearing those words from the queen, Eve subconsciously tightened her grip on Alaric's arm, anxiety resurfacing on her face. 'No. Please, don't!'
She held her breath, waiting for his response. Her expression seemed to beg him to say no.
Alaric gazed at Eve intently, not breaking their eye-to-eye contact. After only God knows how long, he uttered a reply while coldly removing Eve's hand from his arm.
"Your Majesty, I will obey the royal command…"
'No!' Eve's heart sank the moment she heard that.
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