บท 24: Unease

With his command, the servants shuffled out in a hurry. Ghazeyh sucked in a deep breath of air to calm himself.

The events of the day streamed through his mind. His unintentional revelation of the Sha-jin's encroaching presence, his return to the palace, and the girl's sudden collapse.

More and more, he grew certain of his speculation.

"Crown Prince!"

Sanbiri rushed into the room, pulling him out of his wandering thoughts. Ghazeyh turned to him and looked behind him. When he failed to see who he was looking for, he asked with a frown, "How is it? Did you find the Healer?"

"That…" Sanbiri opened his mouth and hesitated. A contemplative expression appeared on his face as his gaze shifted between the girl and his prince.

"Well?" Ghazeyh urged with displeasure, growing impatient by the second.

"The Queen Mother…"

"Mother again." He had just told the servants to take his words as command to get the Pearl Salt, and now it was the Healer. Releasing a frustrated sigh, Ghazeyh gestured towards the door with his head. "Go and get the Healer. If she tries to stop you again, use my name." He instructed.

"But Your Highness…"

"Go!" He barked, cutting Sanbiri mid-sentence. "Xuma doesn't have much time." The girl's face was sickeningly pale. Her skin felt cold to the touch, and he had the feeling she would only get worse.

If she didn't receive help soon…

His expression hardened, and he raised his head to give his assistant a cold glare. "Don't make me repeat myself. If anything happens to her…" Even he didn't know what he would do.

And this alarmed him.

Frightened off by his frosty glare, Sanbiri nodded like a chick pecking rice and scrambled out of the room. "What is wrong with his highness? He's behaving too irrationally for his own good." He grumbled under his breath, worry lines creasing his forehead into a deep frown.

For as long as he'd known him, he'd never seen Ghazeyh Altair Asael lose his cool. No matter what the situation was, he handled everything with maturity and calmness beyond his age. Due to his collected nature, the Empress and Prince Rimon couldn't find any weakness of his and resorted to plotting in the dark.

For years, they had been looking for a chance to strike. And as the year of the Crown Prince coronation drew near, they became more and more restless. One held banquets to win the hearts of the nobles, while the other filled the harem with girls from noble families who formed an alliance with her.

He didn't care if his prince took a fancy to the slave girl. As the Crown Prince of the Frost-Flame Empire, he could have a thousand women more beautiful and attractive than the skinny tramp.

And if he just had to have her, it wouldn't be difficult to give her the title of his concubine.

However, with the empire's political situation already so unstable, his interest in the slave girl would only draw attention to himself and provide his enemies with a handle to control his weakness.

As his right-hand man, he couldn't sit back and watch him make such a huge mistake.

"No, I need to inform the Emperor." As his father and superior, only he could talk some sense into the Crown Prince.

Changing directions, Sanbiri hastened his pace and raced towards the Frost-Flame Emperor's Palace.

In a matter of seconds, the news of the Crown Prince's return swept through the palace like wildfire. Consorts and concubines resorted to underhanded methods and secret connections to gather intel on the Crown Palace.

When news of how he appeared with a girl in his arms reached the ears of the women, shock and disbelief shrouded the palace in an aura of restlessness.

"Crown Prince Ghazeyh brought a female with him?"

"Good Gracious! Didn't he disdain interacting with the opposite sex?"

"Haha! Disdain? Have you ever seen a man immune to a woman's charm? If he doesn't show interest, it only means the one to turn his head hadn't appeared yet."

"But this makes me curious. What kind of woman is this female? She actually gained the interest of the cold-faced Asura."

"Is that important? I'm more excited about how the Empress would handle this development."

Gathered in a pavilion beside a body of water, the consorts and concubines sipped on their tea as they gossiped and giggled with boiling excitement.

The Crown Prince and Empress weren't easy opponents to confront. For years, they had been spectating on the side with their hearts in their throats. They were either suppressed or forced into submission by the two's authority. And since their family background and their children's ability couldn't hold a candle to the other parties' flame, they could only lower their heads and act with caution as the throne was far out of their reach.

However, this didn't mean they were obedient. On the contrary, they had been striving to see the two powerhouses confront each other, so they could swoop in at the last second and reap the benefits of their war without lifting a finger.

"I'm sure Empress Yanisha would not sit still."

While the concubines were chuckling in glee, gloom shrouded the Moon Palace.

"Oh? His command, is it? He has yet to officially become the Crown Prince, and already, he's thinking about dictating this Empress's actions. How daring..." A loud crash shattered the tense atmosphere, ceramic shreds flying everywhere, as an elegant female in golden attire strolled out from behind a silk screen.

Her magnificent ruby jewels gleamed in the radiance of the pearl lamps burning on the side, adding a lustrous hue to her pale complexion.

"Since that's the case, it's imperative I pay him a visit and remind him who's in charge of harem affairs."