Chapter 18: Stop talking nonsense!
Time frame: after war
Sir Arthur witnessed with the rest of the kingdom that the Cescil Kingdom's war hero, Crown Prince Ragnar Clementine of Gamaaloth Kingdom, proposed to Lady Sophia Mary as his wife.
King Reinald had gifted any Cescil noblewoman to a Gamaaloth noblewoman, but certainly, not one already married.
The entire kingdom gasped as Lady Sophia Mary bent her neck before Crown Prince Ragnar Clementine. Where did Lady Sophia Mary get such courage?
Gamaaloth was known to be cruel and ruthless in slaughtering enemies. Lady Sophia Mary should have been wiser and not blatantly refused Prince Ragnar Clemetine's proposal.
What if Prince Ragnar Clementine goes on a rampage and burns down all of Everkeep? They have dragons. It would not be difficult to turn the whole of Everkeep and its contents into ashes.
Not far from him, Sir Arthur was trembling. He took a step back to meet Prince Ragnar's piercing gaze. He looked like he was about to run away, leaving Lady Sophia Mary alone to face the punishment for her defiance.
He remained silent and seemed unwilling to interfere. Perhaps he did not want his head cut off for his wife's blasphemy against Prince Ragnar.
The sight disappointed Adeline. She had hoped Sir Arthur George would stand as a shield before Prince Ragnar Clementine.
Given how Sir Arthur George had always seemed to adore Lady Sophia Mary, Adeline and all healer girls expected a dramatic scene of true love. The girls expected more at that time.
Therefore, they, especially Adeline, were disappointed to see how Sir Arthur responded to Lady Sophia Mary's refusal to defend their marriage.
Adeline's heart sank into the most bottomless pit. She had been clinging to Lady Sophia Mary and Sir Arthur's marriage.
They were her dream. And that dream was now crumbling right before her eyes. The current scene is far more devastating to her than the fact that the Healer Clan will be the prize of war for the Army of Gamaaloth.
"Lady Sophia is so exhausted that she's babbling, my Prince." King Reinald interrupted. "Give her time to think more clearly."
Ragnar Clementine looked at Lady Sophia Mary, who bowed her head deeply. The neck looked pale and small. A single grip of Gamaaloth's hand would have easily broken it or crushed it.
But Sophia was not as weak as she looked. At least Sophia managed to immobilize Ragnar for almost a week.
Sophia kept him down and asleep for the duration of the treatment. Only that young woman could make him like that.
Sophia denied that his weakened state was due to the combined effects of opium and Trurian's poison. It was all a lie.
Ragnar knew something powerful resided in that small, seemingly helpless body. She was closing wounds by growing flesh.
That was no ordinary healer's skill. Sophia had done that not only to Qedren but also to him and also paralyzed him with just a touch.
It scared the hell out of him at the time. It was the first time Ragnar had seen such power.
"Crown Prince, we have prepared warm bathing water for you and your troops to clean your mighty bodies. As well as a cozy, soft bed to unwind in."
"Especially you, Crown Prince. You have been fighting for months and sleeping uncomfortably in the army barracks. We feel ashamed for treating the Crown Prince of the Gamaaloth Nation like this." The Queen Mother said as she ordered several beautiful young concubines to take the Gamaaloth Nation's mighty arms, leading them to the bathhouse with sweet faces and seductive eyes.
The young men of Gamaaloth looked confused. Their eyes looked between Prince Ragnar Clementine and the other healer girls as if asking for help. Only Uzana dared to push away when a girl grabbed his hand firmly.
But they, the healer girls, could only bow in silence. As time passed during their time at the border, the healer girls and the Gamaaloth Army became friends.
Secretly the healer girls felt sorry for them, the Gamaaloths. They may be annoying and sexist, but they are not as bad as they say.
Their actions never hurt women. They are kind-hearted though haughty and a little rude.
Prince Ragnar Clementine laughed. He looked up at Queen Mother Oda, who was still sitting on her throne. "Tell your maidens to remove their filthy hands from my people, Queen Mother. We reiterate we want wives. Not a cheap mistress."
Queen Mother Oda gasped.
"Treat us with honor while we are still kind, for it is not only us who are tired and hungry after the long journey to Everkeep. Our dragons are the same. They are. Very. Very. Tired. And hungry."
"A-a...," Queen Mother Oda stammered.
"Forgive us, Prince Ragnar. We were too presumptuous to think our attempts at comfort would be able to relieve the fatigue of His Majesty and his troops." The king interrupted as he descended his throne steps and bowed deeply before Ragnar.
"After resting, we hope the Gamaaloths will be able to attend the dinner we are organizing to welcome you home." King Reinald said as he glanced at his daughter, who was still kneeling on the floor with her head bowed.
"And you, my daughter, Princess Sophia Marry Pynsia of the Mystical Healer Clan, improve your behavior before the Crown Prince. I want you and your husband to be present at the welcome dinner. Your behavior just now was not a proper thing to do. Especially in public. You know we are alive today thanks to the protection of Prince Ragnar."
"Forgive me, Your Highness." Lady Sophia Mary replied softly.
"Princess?" Prince Ragnar Clementine repeated, confused.
"Sophia is my daughter, My Prince. Did you not know that when you made your proposal just now? Oh, you proposed to her without knowing that Sophia is a princess?" King Reinald replied in confusion.
The entire palace also looked confused.
"Your Majesty, I, like Prince Ragnar, do not reveal my identity for the sake of smooth communication in war planning and medicine." Lady Sophia Mary explained politely.
Lady Sophia Mary still kept her head down as she continued. "Prince, we hid each other's true identities. Now we are even, Your Highness. I hope you will not be hardhearted by this."
This time it was Prince Ragnar Clementine who looked at Sophia angrily. He thought they had gotten quite close during their time on the battlefield.
Sophia had told him many things about herself. Prince Ragnar Clementine thought he knew everything. Apparently, Sophia was hiding her true identity.
"Raise your head, Princess Sophia Mary, and stand up." Prince Ragnar Clementine said in a big, rough voice.
Sophia complied. She looked up to meet Ragnar's eyes. Their eyes conveyed disappointment but also friendly affection.
A look that was difficult to interpret. Two friends hide their identities from each other. They're charming when they're together. Adeline was beginning to think that they might be perfect for each other.
Whenever she talked about Sir Arthur, Lady Sophia always smiled slightly. But when they spoke about Ragnar, Lady Sophia's face would brighten with laughter.
Ah, Prince Ragnar Clementine must make Lady Sophia so happy. Perhaps she had misjudged him all this time.
A pang of guilt settled in Adeline's chest. Perhaps she had misjudged Lady Sophia and Sir Arthur's marriage as well?
"Think once about my proposal just now, Princess." Prince Ragnar Clementine said carefully. "By any measure, I am more than worthy of the man standing on trembling knees behind you."
Lady Sophia Mary glanced back slightly and found Sir Arthur inching away. Ah, there he is, she thought.
"He tried to escape without taking you with him when I threatened to burn Everkeep. What do you expect from a man who can't protect his woman? Also, a husband who would stand by and watch his wife kneeling in humiliation before so many people?"
All the commotion was all stunned by Prince Ragnar's words. Prince Ragnar Clementine rarely spoke, but his words were terrifying once he did.
Lady Sophia Mary has been married to Sir Arthur for three years but has yet to be blessed with a child. The healers tried many potions to get the couple to have children as soon as possible, but our efforts seemed fruitless.
A marriage without offspring was seen as weak in the eyes of Cescil society. For a long time, his fellow aristocrats asked Sir Arthur to divorce Lady Sophia Mary as she was considered a bad luck charm. They also advised Sir Arthur to keep a few mistresses to try his luck.
But Sir Arthur always refused on the grounds that he did not want to tarnish his marriage with infidelity and other women. Adeline used to admire Sir Arthur greatly for that answer.
Until today, she saw with her eyes that Sir Arthur didn't love Lady Sophia Mary as much as he always bragged about.
"Pardon me, my prince, but we love each other deeply." Lady Sophia murmured.
"Stop talking nonsense! He doesn't love you as much as I love you, Sophia!" He concluded as he left without saying goodbye.
Not even to the king.
Oh, burn.
Lady Sophia turned to Adeline and gave her a sad look. Adeline tried to smile, hiding that Prince Ragnar Clementine had publicly humiliated Lady Sophia and her marriage.
The entire Nation of Gamaaloth had passed by following Prince Ragnar Clementine toward the baths. The crowd was dispersed.
Queen Mother Oda took Lady Sophia Mary's arm and whispered. "You have no offspring from Sir Arthur yet. Sooner or later, he will divorce you. You should have been wiser in rejecting Crown Prince Gamaaloth's proposal."
Lady Sophia Mary brushed the Queen Mother's hand off her arm. They had been enemies for a long time.
Queen Mother Oda was the cause of the beheading of Lady Severa - Lady Sophia Mary's mother.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone