The Imperial Prince's Surrogate Wife

Chapter 5: Knight-Commander Edward

As the royal breakfast is going on, Czarina is having a hard time eating. She doesn't like the food. The meat is raw enough for her; the bread is bland, unlike the bread she had in her room yesterday.

The King halted eating and gazed at the Prince. "Since it's Czarina's second day in the Palace, we will start the formal signing after the banquet gathering. If you don't mind Prince Grey, can you tour Czarina around the Palace grounds for her to be familiar with the whole place?" he muttered.

"Your Majesty, can I do that?" Princess Arabella insisted, raising her hand to the King.

"I will, Your Majesty," The Grand Prince immediately answered.

Prince Grey knows how fond her wife, Princess Arabella, is to Czarina. He knows that if he rejected the King's request, her wife would affirm to tour the surrogate around the Palace, which he should restrain from happening.

King Phillip chuckled. "It's settled then."

Subsequently, the King and Queen finished eating, and so the other Royalty and Czarina. The first to leave the room is King Phillip and Queen Zephyrin, followed by the Duke and the Duchess. The three of them were left inside, and Princess Arabella immediately rushed to Czarina and held her hand.

"You will have your two-hour medication this morning, my love. It's a no," the Prince firmly asserted.

The Princess pouted at him. "But..."

"No buts."

Princess Arabella had no choice but to agree to her husband. She has been suffering from an illness that is said to be incurable. The sole reason why the King acquired a surrogate to bear their child as the second successor to the throne. The Princess's body is too fragile to carry the child for nine months; she could be in turmoil if they will persist.

Felice and Ambrose were waiting for them as they went out of the dining hall. Prince Grey instructed Felice and Ambrose to get her Royal Highness Czarina into the infirmary to get her two-hour medication. Princess Arabella has been getting the signs of pneumatic disease, which really has no cure.

"I'll get back to you after this, my love," the Prince mumbled, kissing Princess Arabella's porcelain temple.

Princess Arabella, together with Felice and Ambrose, went away together. Czarina, who is behind the Prince, is rooted in her position. She would instead explore the Palace by herself than be accompanied by the Grand Prince, who has a sluggish personality.

The Prince whirled back and frowned at her. "Follow me," he coldly said, walking around the corridors elegantly.

The two of them were accompanied by six regimentals behind them. They passed into the hallway of the Palace down to the massive stairways in the grand hall where the ceremonies are usually situated. Enormous portraits of the royalties are hung in gold and silver frames. The large bay windows and several dual doors around the hall give a classic vibe to the place, as the style of furniture with details as carved and turned legs, with portions of ornate and flower-patterned effect around the corner.

"Why am I even doing this," the Prince whispered, enough to make Czarina hear what he said.

Czarina stared at him eagerly. As if she wants to be with him hanging around the Palace grounds. They finally reached the entrance of the Palace, which has a vast garden of zeniths and plants. Czarina went ahead and walked in front of the Prince.

Czarina halted. "I can stroll around the Palace by myself, Your Highness. You can go ahead now," she uttered sincerely.

Czarina was surprised when the Prince leaned towards her and glared eagerly. She doesn't know what she has said wrong to make the Prince mad. She sulked her head down and flustered. Even if she's brave enough to face anyone, she knows she doesn't have the power to deal with any royalty and defy anything.

"Are you telling me what to do, Lady?" he mumbled, raising his eyebrow a bit.

Czarina immediately shook her head. "No, Your Highness. I think the Princess needs you more than I am," she enunciated, holding her hands, twitching.

The Prince ignored her and elegantly walked towards the lower ground of the Palace. The alleys are made of crimson bricks in bold color; there are also fresh vines crawling around the walls of the corridors. As they went deeper, an ample space full of copper and gold was being thrown into big coals of fire by the workers.

"This is the source of earnings of the Palace. The Emerald Kingdom is known as the mining ground of the whole empire," Prince Grey uttered as they went inside the place.

Czarina was mesmerized by how glamorous gold and copper are. The red metal has a lower value than gold, but its demand is getting higher since it can be used in making wires and other cookware. Czarina also saw copper as used in crafting gears and weapons, as well as creating bronze by mixing tin into it. The golds are used in gifts and bribes for any Royal family.

The Grand Prince and Czarina went to see the process closer. Every time they pass into a group of people, they stop and bow down to their Prince. Given the utmost respect, even the Prince has this dull attitude, Czarina thinks. After how many minutes of wandering the whole area, they went back into the higher grounds and visited the training grounds for the novices.

"Your highness!" A tall, handsome man approached them.

He has a blend of brown and green eyes, making it a hazel color perfect on his oval-shaped face. His shaggy brown hair compliments his ideal physique. He is wearing metal-plate armor and a chausses, and a mail on his arms where his palms weren't covered so it could still grip the sword firmly.

The Prince stands firmly. "I was just exploring around this surrogate," he mumbled. "Can you take my place, Commander?"

Czarina, who was glancing at the knights around the training grounds, halted and gazed at the Prince. Is he just giving me? She thinks.

The handsome Commander smiled at Czarina. "It will be an honor, Your Highness," he retorted, observing Czarina carefully.

The Grand Prince directly left the training grounds. He still has to check at her wife, who is suffering from a severe illness.

"It's nice to meet you, Lady?"

"Czarina."

The Commander chuckled. "I am happy to meet you, Lady Czarina," he said and held Czarina's hand as a sign of respect. "My name is Edward Devourx, Knight-Commander of the Royal Palace."

Czarina smiled at him. "Nice to meet you too, Commander Edward."

The two of them walked towards the Palace's garden. Several flowers like daffodils, roses, and bluebells are blooming around it. The flowers indicated that spring is occurring. Tiny gazebos and pavilions are encircling the place. There are also one of a kind plants like the rotchschild's orchid and the saffron crocus blooming everywhere. Czarina went into the bushes of rose and plucked one flower.

"That Juliet rose costs more than five million pennies," Edward mumbled, staring at Czarina.

Czarina accidentally dropped the rose on the ground. After hearing the flower's price, she suddenly shuddered. Edward, who was beside her, giggled hard. The servants who are currently cleaning the garden also laughed. She feels she's been humiliated, but honestly, it's her first time laughing genuinely since she got in the Palace.

Czarina glimpsed at Edward tamely. "I didn't mean to pluck the flower. Am I being arrested now?" she pleaded.

Edward can't take her eyes off to Czarina since she's the only girl he finds cute and amusing. Czarina is an innocent girl, but he knows that she is brave. The qualities that she wants for a girl, however, knowing that she is a surrogate makes him sad. The life of a surrogate inside the holding facility is what everyone wants, but on the other hand, after giving birth to the child, they will be executed. And Edward and his troops are the ones to do that.

Edward chuckled. "I like you, Lady Czarina."

Czarina was astonished. She doesn't know what Edward tried to imply, but, on the other hand, he definitely wished he hadn't said that.

After Edward noticed how Czarina reacted, he realized that he had said the wrong term. "What I meant was that I like your personality, Lady Czarina. It's far from the people living inside the Palace," he corrected, avoiding having eye contact with Czarina.

Czarina faintly pushed him. "It's okay, Commander. No need to be tense," she giggled.

The two of them wandered around the garden for barely thirty minutes. When they realized that the sun is at its peak, they stopped in the small pavilion. The place has white stone pillars around every corner. There is one coffee table at the center and two elegant metal chairs. Czarina sat on the chair first, followed by Edward. The dame arrived in front of them, holding a gold tea kettle and two gold demitasse.

The dame silently poured the tea into the teacup. Her associate behind her served two side plates with several loaves of bread on them—freshly baked gold leaf bread and a blueberry jam.

Edward grabbed the teacup and sipped on it. "I've heard that all of the surrogates were from the Soulthearth. Am I right, Lady Czarina?" he asked, dragging the teacup on the table.

Czarina faintly nodded. "All of us are from Soulhearth. Pretty interesting, right? Poor, hopeless people like me were tested and thrown into the holding facility and trained for how many years to be a surrogate of whatever royal family auctions us," she sounded bitter.

Even if being a surrogate for them isn't that awful, they still long that their firstborn child will stay with them permanently. Knowing that after giving birth, the rights of the child will be passed into the family who purchased them is already a pain on their heart. Czarina already accepted it since having to bear a child means freedom. They will eventually be free and independent, away from society's judgment as they were born in the most inadequate circle, the Soulhearth.

Edward looked at her sincerely. "Are you fine being a surrogate?" he interrogated.

Czarina immediately shook her head up. "I bet I have no choice but to agree, right?"

Edward silently listened to her. He remembered what his life before the Viscount of Oleas took him from Soulhearth to become a knight in the Palace. He was an orphan who lost both his parents and his sister from the epidemic nine years ago. He hasn't seen their bodies, being not able to bid goodbye. He was also one of the unfortunate individuals from Soulhearth. He, talking to Czarina, made his heart ached. Czarina seemed to have a lot more painful fate than him.

When Czarina finally realizes that they have been talking for almost an hour, she stands up. "I think I have to go back to the Palace, Commander."

Czarina's statement saddened Edward. He still wants to talk to her even though they've just met. Edward felt comfortable with Czarina; for some reason, he couldn't understand. The way Czarina talks about life is like a ray of sunlight into his life, full of hope and positivity.

Edward frowned. "Can we talk again the other day, Lady Czarina?" he asked, standing up; his voice is full of shyness.

Czarina smiled at her. "Sure thing, Commander. I also had a good time talking with you. Good thing that you took Prince Grey's work." The last sentence was stated in a whisper but loud enough for Edward to hear it.

"Then let's call it a day," Edward mumbled.

They left the pavilion, and Edward took Czarina into her room. When Czarina got into her room, she saw Felice and the other dame preparing her food for lunch.

"How was your tour with the Knight-Commander, Lady Czarina?" Felice asked her while holding some utensils.

Czarina scoffed. "How did you know?"

Czarina raised her brows since the Grand Prince left early to get to Princess Arabella. "The Prince left after Commander Edward took his place to be my guide," Czarina uttered and sat on the plush chair. "Commander Edward is actually a nice person. I've known something about his life and he did know something about mine too."

"Is that so, Lady Czarina?"