ZYLITH.

“Everything happened so fast that I didn’t even have a moment to blink.” She spoke in a choked tone as we made our way to the royal infirmary.

“All my mind could register at the moment when the flames enveloped the palace was the sound of the explosion and the screams. And when in a panic, I wanted to run to Your Highness’s chambers, I found myself trapped under the burning rubbles of the palace. And then…. And then, when I thought that it was finally the end of me, I saw Sir Fredurd charge in through the flames without a care for his life. When he saw me trapped under the burning rubbles, he rushed to me to save me, but as he was pulling me from underneath the rubbles, another burning debris fell right on top of us. And in an attempt to protect me, Sir Fredurd also got trapped underneath the weight of the burning wreckage.” Liana breathed in a lungful of air as she sniffed to keep her trembling voice steady, “However, his back took very heavy damage as he shielded me beneath him. And….. and to worsen it all, he had to bear the burden of the heavy rubbles on his back for a long time before help finally found us. And….. and that was why Sir Fredurd had not been able to come to Her Highness’s aid in time.”

Liana had completely broken down by this moment, she looked so haggard right now that I feared she would faint the moment I took my eyes off her. “If… If something were to happen to Her Highness… I… I wouldn’t be able to keep this miserable life of mine.”

I didn’t know how to feel when I heard her words. I just genuinely felt the girl’s grave dependency on me. As though I were her backbone, and she would wither and die if I were gone. On one hand, it felt good to be depended on to such an extent, and on the other, it was quite worrying as well, for I didn’t want Liana to turn into a worthless dodder flower who only knew how to be protected and could accomplish nothing on her own. After a lot of contemplation inside my head, I asked slowly, “….Are you alright?”

“I’m fine Your Highness! Please do not concern yourself for this humble servant’s sake.” She exclaimed animatedly.

I just nodded my head once in response and we finally arrived at the door of the royal infirmary.

When I was taken in, the sight of a severely wounded Fredurd graced my eyes and I was suddenly taken aback. His entire back was bandaged, from the base of his skull to the tail bone, and he was laid on a prone position. In a nutshell, Fredurd was a bag of battered bones.

“How is he?” I asked the attending physician as Liana was arranging me onto my bed.

“His burns are severe, but he will live.” The physician replied in a respectful manner, and I wordlessly nodded at him.

After tucking me in, Liana rushed to Fredurd’s side to take care of the comatose knight, but that was when I saw her injuries. Her legs, from the tip of her foot to the knees was delicately bandaged and I could see a tinge of blood sipping out of the newly bound bandages, clearly indicating that her wounds had opened up again.

“Liana!” I exclaimed.

“Yes Your Highness?” She turned on her heel to look back at me.

“You… your wounds, its opening up again. You’re in no position to run around with those legs of yours.” I frowned in discontent.

“Ah! It’s just minor burns, Your Highness. It is nothing to worry about.” My brows knitted deeper in displeasure and as I was about to reprimand the girl for her carelessness, Lord Xavier spoke up, “As Her Highness’s personal maid in waiting, it is your sole duty to take care of yourself before anyone else, or who do you think will have to suffer because of your momentary recklessness?”

Liana pursed her lips in a tense demeanour and shrank her head as though guilty as charged, but before she could even mouth out any of her excuses, Lord Xavier added insult to her injuries, “Without a doubt, Her Highness. Remember, there is no lack of servants in this palace, if you are deemed not fit to serve Her Highness to your full capability, you will be relieved of your services.”

Liana now, was shuddering under Lord Xavier’s stern remarks, but fortunately she was level-headed enough to get the cue and quietly went to a spare bed beside me and laid down, acting as meek as a rabbit.

Lord Xavier was the supervisor of us all in the absence of Reuben and Lord Gilbert. But this was the first time he had used such stringent means to deal with a subordinate. This goes to show how taut his nerves have been recently stretched out and how anxious he was at this moment. He must have been very frightened by the situation just now.

The imperial doctor finally gave me a check-up and declared I was totally dandy besides a few minor cuts and bruises. I also urged the doctor to give a thorough check-up to Alexteris, after all, he was the one most shaken by this entire ordeal.

After a day of restive sleep, the very next day, there was news of Reuben sending his elites to further investigate the state of affairs. This outrageous open assassination attempt was like a slap on the face of the imperial family, how could Reuben sit back quietly and do nothing. While I had a faint idea of who might be the culprit, but without any evidence, I couldn’t possibly point fingers at anyone.

But then, Liana’s mother brought me grave news.

“Your Highness, here you are.” Cassandra, who came at the dead of the night to escape the Queen Dowager’s eyeliners, was led into my personal chamber by Lord Xavier to ensure her absolute safety.

She handed me the voice-recording ball pen which I had instructed her to hide in the Queen Dowager’s private office. Now that such a grave event had taken place in the southern palace, even if the Queen Dowager might not have been involved in this assassination attempt, I felt she was somehow connected to this entire event, or at least she must be holding on to some important information regarding this matter. And hence, I asked Liana’s mother to bring me the recorder pen to shed some light into this whole conspiracy.

“Thank you Cassandra, you don’t have to worry about Liana at all. She is under my wing now; I won’t let anything happen to her.” I reassured Cassandra as I took the recorder pen from her. I knew Cassandra was very worried about her daughter’s current situation and as such, I felt I had to give her some reassurance regarding her daughter’s safety.

“I know My Liege. It is due to your benevolent grace that my Lia is no longer hounded by those who hold ill-will against her. I can’t thank you enough for that.” Cassandra mentioned in a humble manner.

“Don’t mention it, she is not only my maid in waiting, but also my dearest disciple. How could I ever wrong her?” I said with an amicable smile.

“I’m very grateful for your kindness, Sire.” She smiled back at me, looking like the most grateful soul ever.

I said nothing more then to appease her anxious heart and just played the voice recorder that I had kept hidden in the Queen Dowager’s personal office to spy on her movements.

But….. what I heard was not something I had expected to hear even in my wildest nightmares…. It almost had me jump out of my skin, topple over and do a somersault just to knock me down with a damn feather.

“Ah Ah AH ! MhhhAhhh…..~ Slower…. I (BEEP!)….. you (BEEP!) (CENSORED!).”

TO BE CONTINUED………