17. Eat Together
Meanwhile, at Paradise Castle, where Adira and General Agustin had their topic earlier, an aged woman was now facing the sky while at the top of the palace. She was just staring at the cloud when someone spoke from behind her. “My queen, what are you doing here again?”
She turned to the one who spoke, and it was King Felip, her husband. She smiled. “I’m just here to breathe fresh air.”
“Is that so, but have you seen our son, Prince Franco?”
His wife, Queen Alice, frowned. “I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
King Felip’s face shows concern. “What if his life is in danger as he leaves the palace without saying goodbye to both of us?”
She sighed and took her king’s hand. “Just understand. He’s been doing this for a long time, so you can’t blame him either. But I hope we can at least have time to be together for a long time,” she said sadly.
“You know, that won’t happen, my queen, because he gave us a word before. So let’s not force him anymore until what he said is fulfilled.”
Meanwhile, a man on a horse stopped at the side of the palace. He got off and just tied his horse’s leash to the tree and started to go inside.
He saw a soldier. “Soldier, where are the king and queen?”
The soldier bowed in respect. “They are at the top of the palace, dear prince.”
“Thank you.” and head to the top of the palace.
When he came out again to the top of the palace, he saw his mother and father hugging each other. “Father, mother. I’m here. ”
They turned to him. Queen Alice smiled and approached Prince Franco. “Where have you been, my son? You were not here at the palace yesterday?”
“I just went around the place I’ve never been before. I just had the chance to come back here.” He looked at his father, who was looking at him seriously.
“It’s good that you even thought about returning to our palace.” King Felip’s face was blank when he said those words.
Prince Franco looked down and was speechless. Queen Alice felt the tension between her king and her son.
“It’s only a few days before the princes’ archery tournament. Do you have any plans to participate this year?” asked King Felip.
“I only know how to use a sword, Father, so what am I going to do there if I don’t know how to use a bow and arrow?”
“Didn’t I tell you before that you also need to learn to use other weapons? Yes, we are the ones who are known for being good at wielding a sword, but that doesn’t mean you won’t try to use another weapon!” Every word that comes out of King Felip’s mouth has an emphasis. “You’re the only prince not going to that tournament.”
Prince Franco sighed and looked into his father’s eyes. “I can attend, but I can’t participate in the tournament because I don’t know how to handle a bow and arrow. Maybe that’s enough, Father. ”
King Felip just stared at him, and he turned away. “You can, but next year you’ll have to hold a different weapon, understand?”
“Yes, Father.” Prince Franco just nodded to his mother and left. Even though Queen Alice was still hesitant to stop her son.
“Felip, the way you talk to your son is not good.” The queen’s words were calm but meant something.
“I wasn’t bad at talking, but I was just telling him the things he should know because he was born a prince and not just an ordinary person.” King Felip faced Queen Alice. “Let it go, and everything will change.” He smiled sadly and faced the sky again.
Sadness can be seen in Queen Alice’s eyes as she looks at her husband. Her family lost their vitality and happiness when an incident happened that they didn’t expect, so the former palace that was full of vitality now became even quieter, and Prince Franco was not always in their palace.
Meanwhile, in the palace of Stalwart Castle, while Adira was resting inside her room, she heard someone speak from outside the room opposite the door that sounded like the voice of a prince.
“Is that Dylan?” she asked, wondering.
She stood up and walked to the door, and when she opened it, it was Dylan. “What do you need?” she asked with a frown.
His eyes are restless, looking everywhere. “Why weren’t you at the dining table while my father and I were eating?”
She raised an eyebrow at his question. “Do you miss my presence?”
His eyes widened as he smiled sarcastically. “You have to watch over me, don’t you? Why are you saying that?”
She remembered that she wasn’t able to follow him right away because of their conversation with General Agustin. “I’m sorry, dear prince. I didn’t follow up immediately because I was talking to the general. ”
“What for?”
“He just asked why you were happy when you entered the palace. Tell me, why?”
He looked away from her, which confused her. “B-because the arrow was buried in the… target,” he stuttered a little.
“Are you happy with that? You should be happy if all your arrows bury the target.”
He looked at her badly. “For me, that was a big success because it was my first day to practice using the bow and arrow.”
She just nodded. “Is that the only reason you came here? The only reason I didn’t watch you while you were eating?”
“No.”
“What else?”
He looked at her seriously, and his eyes hardly blinked. It’s Dylan’s attitude that she doesn’t like. “Since you didn’t come while my father and I were eating earlier, I informed him that-” He didn’t continue what he was saying, but she was like a fool waiting for what he would say next while holding the door.
“What’s that? Hurry up and tell me you’re still hanging!”
“You join me and my father to eat morning, noon, and night.”
Her eyes gradually widened at what he said. “What!” she shouted. It couldn’t be heard by anyone except for her and Dylan because there was no soldier in the hallway leading to her room. “What entered your head to say that to the king, huh?”
“Aren’t you happy that you can eat with us and you won’t be hungry while waiting for me to finish?” The prince’s face still seemed surprised.
She just scratched her forehead. “I’m used to eating alone, and then you tell me I’m about to join both of you while eating, especially you!”
He looked at her, annoyed. “I’m the one who’s being kind, and then I’m the one who’s being mean here now.”
She just bit her lip. “What did the king say when you said that?”
“He agreed right away. He said that sometimes I might not even be able to eat with my father because he usually sends his food to his room, so it’s good that I have someone with me at the table. ”
She closed her eyes, opened them, and looked at him. He retreated. “You!” she sighed as she tightened her grip on the door. “There is nothing I can do if the king agrees.”
While Prince Dylan had a suppressed smile and before Adira saw it, he became serious again when Adira suddenly looked at him.
“Do I have to join you immediately for lunch today?”
“Yes.”
“You can go there first. I’ll just follow.”
“Follow immediately.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
She looked at him badly. But he turned and quickly left. “It’s better that he doesn’t have a bloodline that isn’t a noble one because my patience is getting shorter and shorter.” She closed the bedroom door and went to the dining table.
As soon as she entered, she immediately noticed that King Stephen was not there. “Where is the king?” she immediately asked Dylan.
“In his room. He just sent food to the maid. ”
“Why?”
“He feels bad because he hasn’t slept enough.”
In her mind, “We will be the only ones to eat together today. ” She didn’t know where to sit, so she asked him. “Where can I sit?”
“Just right here, near me.”
Her forehead is gradually developing a line. “Don’t think bad things. I should be close so that the maid won’t have a hard time putting the food away.”
“Why are you and the king sitting at both ends while eating? The helper didn’t have a problem,” she whispered.
“Sit down, young lady. I know you’re saying something bad about me in your head. ”
She just kept quiet and adjusted her seat because the food wasn’t there yet. A few moments later, the maid put different foods on the table, one after the other. But the last person who brought food was the woman who looked at her badly. At that time, the maid did not look into her eyes. It quickly put down the food placed in a bowl and quickly left.
“Has she been here long?” she asked Dylan while he was spooning his food.
“Who?”
“The last servant who put food on the table.”
“That’s Tasha. She’s just new to the palace.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I was also surprised because the maid who brings tea to my room is different. Why?” He stopped eating and looked at her.
“Nothing. I just asked. ”
He just shrugged. “Let’s eat.” and he started eating.
She noticed a lot of vegetables on his plate. “Can you eat all the vegetables on your plate? It seems like the first day I watched you, you didn’t eat that many vegetables. ” His plate is almost all vegetables, with a little bit of fish and meat.
“Because my father said that eating vegetables rather than red meat would help me in training.” He started eating vegetables with rice, and she was amazed because he stopped wincing every time he tasted the vegetable. She smiled and started eating.