Elena Kim and Victoria Gang left the room where they had been sitting a little while ago, after their quiet gathering was interrupted by the sounds of movement and commotion filling the palace.
As soon as they reached one of the corridors, a guard rushed past them.
Victoria stopped him, saying with worry
“What happened?”
The guard stopped and saluted quickly, then answered while panting:
“The palace gate was attacked by an aberration, but His Highness Prince Adrian managed to eliminate it.
We’re now moving the wounded and the bodies, and there’s no longer any danger.”
Elena’s eyes widened for a moment, before she let out a light breath of relief after hearing that the attack was over.
But before she could speak a word…
The physician who had been caring for Arthur appeared, panting, with clear signs of worry on her face.
“Lady Elena!”
Elena turned to her quickly.
“What is it?”
The physician swallowed, then said with tension:
“Prince Arthur…
isn’t in his room.”
Elena froze in place.
“What?”
“I searched for him everywhere, but he’s disappeared.
I think he went out after hearing the noise.”
Elena’s face turned pale, and she didn’t wait to hear more.
She lifted the edge of her dress slightly, then rushed running toward the palace gate as fast as she could, gripped by a mother’s fear more than anything else.
“Arthur!”
Victoria didn’t hesitate either, and hurried after her.
“Elena, wait!”
The two of them soon disappeared at the end of the corridor, while the sound of their footsteps grew faster as they approached the site of the incident, both hoping the little one hadn’t reached there before it was too late.
After minutes of running, Elena and Victoria reached the palace gate.
They stopped for a moment.
Guards were spread throughout the place, moving the wounded, and gathering the bodies of those who had fallen in the battle, while the traces of blood remained carved into the ground, witness to the ferocity of what had happened.
Victoria raised her gaze toward the battlefield.
her eyes fell on Adrian.
He stood calmly among the guards, his sword beside him, the beast’s blood still staining his clothes and his red hair.
Her features relaxed slightly after she made sure he was fine.
As for Elena, she wasn’t looking at anyone but him.
The moment she saw Arthur standing beside his brother, her eyes widened, and she rushed through the ranks of guards without hesitation.
“Arthur!”
Some of the guards turned to her, and as soon as they saw the worry evident on her face, they stepped aside from her path in silence.
At that moment, Adrian and Arthur both turned toward the source of the voice.
Arthur raised his head, and the moment his eyes fell on his mother, he saw the worry and fear etched on her face.
As for Adrian…
while he was looking at Elena, he glimpsed slightly behind her the face of his mother, Victoria Gang, standing silently watching him from a distance.
His eyes widened slightly, then a calm smile formed on his lips as he murmured in a low voice
“Mother…”
“Come on, Arthur…
let’s leave.
This place isn’t right for you.”
He responded to her with hesitant steps, but kept glancing back now and then, his eyes fixed on his brother, as if he didn’t want to move away yet.
Adrian noticed this, so he turned to him and smiled a warm smile.
“Arthur…
don’t forget to sleep well, brother.”
Arthur nodded lightly, before Elena continued walking while holding his hand.
After they had moved away a little, Victoria Gang reached Adrian.
She stopped directly in front of him, then raised her hand and gently touched the small wound above his eyebrow.
“Ah…
this wound will spoil your handsome face, my son.”
Then she moved her hand away from his eyebrow, and placed it on his shoulders, before quickly checking his arms and chest, as if wanting to make sure herself that he wasn’t injured anywhere else.
She let out a sigh of relief when she found no serious injuries.
“You weren’t hurt anywhere else…
that’s good.”
Then she looked at his blood stained clothes, and brushed off some dust with her hand, then said in a tone filled with concern
“And you should change these clothes too…
Adrian didn’t answer her.
He only looked at his mother in silence, while a small calm smile formed on his face, as if he were enjoying that worry that only she showed him.
Victoria patted his shoulders firmly, then looked at him with eyes filled with warmth.
“Alright…
alright, it’s another victory for you, my son.”
A beautiful smile formed on her face, mixing love with pride, and she let out a soft laugh before adding
“You truly did well…
I’m proud of you.”
Then she stepped forward and hugged him gently, as if she no longer cared that anyone was around them.
Adrian’s face reddened slightly, and he said with embarrassment as he tried to slip out of the embrace
“Mother…
not in front of the guards.”
Her smile widened further, but she didn’t let go of him until a few moments had passed.
As for the guards, they were watching the scene with sincere smiles.
One of them was even moved, his eyes welling up with tears as he watched that warm reunion after a night filled with death and blood.
But the calm didn’t last long.
The voice of the guard commander rang out firmly
“What do you think you’re doing, guards?!
Get back to your work immediately!”
The guards snapped to attention in their places, their smiles vanishing quickly, then each of them hurried back to their task, fearing to provoke their commander’s anger again.
Meanwhile, after moments of calm returning to the palace gate, a familiar voice rang out in the place.
“Adrian…
I apologize for being late.”
Adrian and Victoria turned at the same time toward the source of the voice.
King Leon Baldor was approaching with steady steps, followed by a number of his children, surrounded by a group of guards.
The instant the guards’ eyes fell on him, they all bowed respectfully.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
The king continued walking without stopping, while his eyes wandered over the traces of the battle; the bodies still being carried away, the cracked stones, and the traces of blood that covered the ground of the gate.
Then his gaze stopped at the spot where the beast had disintegrated, with nothing left of it but scattered black ash.
A faint smile formed on his face, and he said in a calm voice
“Excellent…”