Hearing the queen's explanation, the people around the table murmured among themselves, and thought that it was only natural for the princess to learn about her future husband's interest, and that there was nothing wrong with it.
They all turned their heads toward the Crown Prince, waiting for his words. Orion merely glanced at the Queen before his eyes fell on the princess. He replied with his usual stoic face, A book on 'Bane of the Double-Faced."
Evangeline's eyes narrowed as she looked at the prince with disappointment, while the queen secretly clenched her fist under the table.
A chuckle escaped from Eros' mouth as he watched the amusing drama unfold before his eyes. He found pleasure in the troupe's heartfelt acting and decided to join as a bit player.
His laughter caught the attention of the people, including King Evander, who looked at him with confusion.
Eros placed the cutlery in his hands on the table and elegantly wiped his mouth with the soft woolen cloth. Instead of clearing the doubts of the king, he set his sight on Princess Evangeline.
Evangeline, who was on the other end of receiving Eros's smile, felt wary and uneasy.
"You will make a competent queen in the future, Princess Evangeline," he praised her to everyone's surprise.
The princess was taken aback by the sudden praise of the king of Dusthaven. She couldn't help but ask, "I thank his majesty for your praise, but what makes the king say this?"
"Of course you have earned a loyal servant for yourself at Everdale castle even before officially marrying the Crown Prince Orion," he replied smoothly with a praising smile on his lips, but his eyes displayed the mockery behind his words.
Everyone at the table understood the meaning behind his words. He implies that the princess had arranged for someone to spy on the prince. It is considered a grave offense to report the prince's activities to someone without his knowledge, even if that someone is his betrothed.
The queen's expression changed, which didn't escape Eros' sharp hawk eyes. His grin widened and turned to address the king.
"King Evander, congratulations on choosing a suitable bride for the Crown Prince," he said politely, but it did nothing to please the king.
Evander glared at the queen before issuing an order to his guards. After half an hour, the people at the dining table started to disperse. Some lost their appetite while others did not want to fall prey to the schemes of the young king.
Even after the dining hall was emptied, Eros leisurely sat there and enjoyed the dessert that the maid had served him. Orion glanced at the maid, who nodded and left the place, leaving the two men alone. He observed the man with his keen eyes, without any words.
"Does my way of eating cake impress you or have you just fallen in love with me?" Eros asked the prince while scooping a spoonful of cake and put it in his mouth.
Orion's lips twitched at his shamelessness, but he made no comment. He's always been this way since the day he met him.
"Why did you help me?" he asked suspiciously.
Eros stopped eating, biting the spoon with his teeth and playing with it. "Help? When did I help you? I just eliminated the potential future threat to my kingdom," he replied nonchalantly.
He frowned at the empty plate and sighed. He wiped his mouth, stood up from the chair and turned to leave the place. Upon reaching the end of the exit, he said without turning to look at Orion, "Tell her the cake tastes good" and left without a glance.
Orion watched his leaving back with a small unnoticeable smile at the corner of his lips.
Once outside the corridor, the distant sounds of horns and bustling activities of the harbor echoed inside his ears. He closed his eyes, taking his hawk form, and flew away from the castle. Gideon, who went to the port in the morning, was working there loading and unloading the cargo from the ships.
Thaddeus, who joined him at one point, asked, "Where is Mirabel?"
Gideon put the sack on his back on the ground, dusted off his clothes and sighed, "She caught cold and resting at home"
Thaddeus frowned. "Isn't she used to the sea? How did she catch a cold?"
"She said the blanket that she used to cover was missing at night. I wonder who was petty enough to steal a blanket from a little girl. I have to make sure the windows are closed at night"
"Now, let's finish loading this. I have to return home soon to check on the little egg."
Thaddeus nodded, and the two hurried to work. The black hawk that was listening to their conversation tilted its head and flew away from the tree. As the night fell, as expected, Mirabella was suffering from a high fever, her body temperature had risen sharply.
She felt weak all over. After drinking some of the chicken soup that Gideon had made, she returned to bed. Gideon placed a thick warm blanket over her before closing the window tightly to keep off the cold air entering the room and also to prevent the blanket from disappearing.
He took one last glance at Mirabella and told Pipo to keep a watch on her. Pipo is glad to see the closed window and happily agrees to take care of her. He climbed into his bed, turned to face Mirabella, and pulled the blanket over him.
In the middle of the night, there was a rustle behind the window. Pipo, who heard the noise, immediately woke up from his sleep and looked warily at the window. Within a second, the window clicked open from outside and a large black hawk emerged, its feathers blending perfectly into the dark cloak of night.
His eyes widened at the massive bird and he instinctively laid down on the bed with his arms wide open, stuck out his tongue like a salted fish and pretended to be a good monkey in a deep sleep. Eros didn't pay attention to the monkey's action. Instead, his focus was all on the woman sleeping on the bed.
The woman's face was all red, probably from the rising body temperature. Eros knelt down on one knee near the bed and brought the backs of his hands to touch her forehead. His face went grim, and he looked around the room. When his eyes fell on a bowl of clean water and a cloth on the top of the table, he stood up from the floor to pick up the bowl.
He soaked the cloth in the water, squeezed off the excess and placed it on her forehead. Mirabella, who felt the cool sensation, sighed in contentment in her sleep. Eros continued to wipe her forehead and hands before moving to her feet. Just as he leaned to lift the gown, his ears picked up the sound of rustling of the branches outside the window, and his eyes twinkled in mischief.
He looked at the spoon in the empty bowl and took it, only to shoot outside with precision. The spoon flew out of the window and smacked the head of the little raven sitting on one of the branches. Kael, deeply focused on observing Eros's series of actions, failed to notice that the spoon was flying towards him.
He got knocked down from the branch, his little feathers failed to spread in time and fell down under gravity. Fortunately, the bushes at the root of the tree cushioned the impact of his fall and prevented the damage to his butt.
Eros stared at the fair white foot of the woman, but knew he had no time to wipe the rest. He pulled the blanket back and tucked her safely before exiting out through the window and locking it as before. He landed on the ground and sauntered towards the bushes with a smile on his lips.
"Dear niece, did you miss your uncle so much that you have to follow me like a tail?" he asked with folded hands.
Kael, who turned back to his human form, glowered at him. "Who missed you? I just got out for some fresh air"
"Hmm. Have you finished getting your fresh air? If not, I will suggest a suitable place where the air is pretty fresh," he asked sincerely, as if concerned for his niece.
"Where?" Kael asked with a scowl as he shook off the dried leaves above his head.
"In the dungeons of Windspear," Eros smiled widely, showing his full set of striking white teeth.
Kael's eyes snapped back to the man and spat out through his gritted teeth, "How dare you threaten the prince of Noctara by locking him in a dungeon? See if I don't complain to my mother about your behavior"
Eros rolled his eyes. "What are you? A baby in swaddling cloth, still crying back to your mother," he mocked.
"You!" Kael's body shook with anger and sprung up from the bush furiously.
Rrrrip!