Second Arc (His Art of War) - 134. Pontus' Royal Scandal II
Again, Angel could see her hesitation. That's why he concluded that Jyne was actually still confused about what happened. And what she knew was that her father and brother changed because of her stepmother.
"I will deliver your letter to His Majesty. But I think he will need sometime to deal with this matter," said Angel. It could be that the change was due to the king's love for his wife and the prince was too happy to have a new mother. If it happened because of it, he couldn't do anything. But one thing for sure, it reminded him, despite his love for Rose, he must not change and put his kingdom interests first.
Jyne nodded again.
"Thank you, sir." Although she hoped Angel would take action immediately after he got the letter, she knew it was impossible. Moreover, she believed Angel had to take care of many things after conquering so many kingdoms.
"Tomorrow, two of my subordinates will come to protect you. They will come as your brothers and wear hunter clothes." Investigating other kingdoms, especially regarding a personal scandal like this was not easy. This was even more difficult than finding out about another kingdom's war plans. And since he hadn't decided to help her yet, he couldn't bring Jyne to Euphorion. Therefore, what he could do was to keep Jyne's safety and send two of his trusted soldiers to guard her while his spies were looking for information in Pontus.
"May I know what your ranking is?" Previously, she thought Angel was an ordinary soldier since there wasn't any badge on his collar, but since he said that, it meant the king had entrusted an army to him.
"Pardon me, Your Highness. But I can't tell anyone about my rank, because it's related to my mission," replied Angel calmly.
"I understand ..." she couldn't say anything else since she had no position to negotiate. Besides, she was quite grateful since it meant she could get protection. She couldn't deny that the previous incident made her afraid, especially when she realized that the rebels had already set their eyes on her.
"There you are," Rose's voice came from his other side. Angel and Jyne turned to see the origin of the voice and got up from their seats.
"I thought you are gone," said Rose as her feet stepped toward them.
"Don't worry. I won't leave you here alone, Your Highness," replied Angel. Since he had allowed Rose to come with him, he had to make sure Rose returned to Fortaare Town safely.
"Good evening, Your Highness," said Jyne, her head bowed as Rose approached them. She tried to hide from Rose as best she could since even though they had never met, she was afraid that Rose would realize that Jyne was also a princess like her .
Rose replied with a slight nod.
"Are you alright? Did the rebels hurt you?" she remembered how the rebels grabbed Jyne's hair roughly before.
"I'm fine, Your Highness," said Jyne, without daring to raise her head.
Rose frowned since she caught a strange gesture from Jyne who seemed to be avoiding her. She had just opened her mouth to ask, but Angel quickly noticed and interrupted her.
"Your Highness, how's the baby?" asked Angel.
Rose's face brightened at once.
"Though the baby is a little small, both the mother and the child are safe. Moreover it's a baby boy. I'm sure he will be a strong man and replace his father to protect his mother," she said. She couldn't help feeling sad considering she couldn't save the child's father in Fortaare Town, but at least she could fulfill his last wish and managed to help her family.
Angel knew Rose didn't know that the child's father was still alive, but he decided to keep quiet since he didn't want Rose to suspect him.
"Since all of our missions are over, should we go back to the town now?" he asked.
"Is that too late for that?" said Rose with a frown. It was midnight now and they had to pass through the dark forest to get back. And she was sure it was not a good idea.
"But, there is no place to spend the night here," said Angel. In that village, there were no inns, while the houses' spaces were too cramped for them to stay over. Even though he didn't mind sleeping in the open space since he used to do it when he was a hunter, it wasn't proper for a princess like Rose to do it.
"You can stay with me," offered Jyne. Even though the place where she lived was only a small house built by villagers with some simple materials. But it was enough to accommodate two other people. Also, since she spent a lot of her time knitting, she had a few more blankets in her house.
"Thank you for your kindness. I shall accept your offer," said Rose with a slight nod, showing her gratitude. This was the first time she had to spend the night at a commoner's house, moreover a villager. Of course this would be a new experience for her.
While Angel could only sigh once more since he didn't expect his light walk to take longer than he expected.
'I need to send Magic Messengers to Frost and Flare to inform them about this.'