Drayce knew he might have to stay in Abetha for some more time, and it wouldn't be good to stretch things when he was away from his kingdom. He understood that with his outrageous demand, Thevailes would take several days or weeks for them to go back and forth in negotiations. It was a good delaying tactic.
Once he was done with giving orders to his men and completing his official duties that had been neglected for the past five days, Drayce revisited his knight troop before returning to his chamber along with Arlan. Instead of going towards his new chamber, Drayce turned to his previous chamber, where Seren was resting. He had not seen her since the moment he left her to be treated by the Head Royal Physician and wished to see her now.
Just then, Cian arrived there too to see his sister. When he came across Drayce and Arlan, Cian greeted the two with a slight nod. "I hope King Drayce is comfortable with the change in his arrangements."
Drayce nodded lightly, and Cian continued, "Then, I guess there is no need for me to escort King Drayce to his chamber."
Cian's expression was neutral, but his eyes and words held the underlying meaning that Drayce should go back to his chamber and no need to wander around to visit others—more specifically, his little sister, Seren.
Arlan could sense the tense atmosphere between the two men.
Before Drayce could say something to make the situation worse, Arlan stepped forward and offered Cian his most charming smile. "But I won't mind if you escort me to my room. What do you say?"
Cian stared back at him with a frown. "I should have left you with that General Giles instead of leaving him to his soldiers."
"So cruel of you. Did you forget that general was interested in your beauty too? Hmm, now that I have looked at you, you are no less handsome than me."
"I was born like this," Cian scoffed.
"So full of yourself, huh? If you had left me with that pig, I would have dragged you along with me to enjoy it together with him."
Cian glared at him, anger and annoyance evident in his eyes. "You shameless piece of flesh and bones."
Arlan smiled widely, seeing how he pissed off this seriously overprotective guy. When Cian noticed that the King of Megaris was no longer with them, Arlan gave him a cheeky grin as he said, "I know you care for your sister, but you should be thankful to him. Because of him, you can see her."
"I am thankful to him; that's why I allowed him to be here and didn't arrange him for somewhere else," Cian countered.
"Then, what's the matter with not letting him go see her?"
"It is already dark outside. A stranger should not enter a lady's room at night," Cian spoke coldly. "Is that not proper behavior?"
Arlan chuckled. "Stranger? To me, he is her savior."
"Savior or not, that's beside the point. Seren is not your sister that's why—"
"If it were my sister in there, I would have left her to him," Arlan interrupted him, "but my sister is not that fortunate."
"He is your friend, so you are free to trust him, but ask him to stay away from Seren."
Arlan sighed. "I wish you to get to know him more."
Cian didn't react to his words and simply said, "Rest well," before stepping towards Seren's chamber.
Arlan could only sigh and went to Drayce's chamber to see why his friend had left instead of acting like his usual stubborn self.
When Arlan entered Drayce's chamber, Drayce had just taken off his outer heavy robe and changed into comfortable nightwear, looking like he was already planning to sleep.
"I am surprised to see you return and leave us there without arguing with Cian," Arlan commented as he made himself comfortable on a chair.
"No need to argue over something that I can do easily whenever I want," Drayce replied.
Knowing Drayce's abilities, Arlan was not surprised that this man could pull that feat off.? He could only raise a brow as he challenged, "Don't tell me you will sneak into the Third Princess's chamber?"
Dryace smirked as he stepped towards his bed. "Isn't sneaking what we do best?"
"What 'we'? This is all 'you.' You should not forget the virtue of a royal lady. If someone gets to know—"
"You should go back to your chamber," Drayce interrupted him as he settled himself in bed.
Arlan frowned and stood up to leave, but not without giving his friend another warning. "From what I know, there's too much talk going on about her. Don't create trouble for her. "
"I plan to save her from all her troubles," Drayce replied as he closed his eyes.
Worried about what Drayce would do and how Cian would react to it, Arlan could only helplessly shake his head as he went to his own chamber.
-----
When Cian went to see Seren, the two female physician apprentices assigned to nurse her bowed to him in greeting. Cian went straight to the bed and shifted the netted curtain around the bed to one side to be able to see the pale girl whose brows were knitted together as if she was having a nightmare.
He stared at his younger sister, who was still in a deep sleep. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he held her hand and caressed, his eyes not leaving the sight of her veil-covered face. He had never seen his sister's face and didn't know how she even looked. For as long as he could remember, this had always been the case. Since childhood, he only had memories of that veil-covered face—a pair of eyes filled with innocence and curiosity—and her soft voice that sweetly called him 'elder brother'.
Failing to change her prisoner-like life, he could only wish it to be over soon. As the king's daughter, Seren deserved to live like any of the other princesses in the palace, if not better than them. Just like his father, he shared a similar pain of guilt and helplessness for her situation.