The Prince’s Forbidden Gardener

Chapter 9: Interrogation in the Infirmary

“I’ve been assigned to stay in this room,” Roland continued.

Thomas’s jaw tightened slightly.

“Assigned by whom, if I may ask?”

“By Prince Kael.”

Elara felt her breath catch before the thought even formed. At his name, Thomas went still. The prince was the first mage Elara had ever met. Although she’d had no time to do more than catch a glimpse of him stepping down from the carriage, that man was the greatest danger her quiet existence had ever faced.

“What happened?” Elara’s voice scraped on the words.

Thomas lowered his gaze. It was only for a moment, but it was enough.

Elara recognized that expression. She had seen it many times over the years, whenever a question came too close to something that must not be mentioned. Thomas had never been a man incapable of lying, but with her he had always had a particular way of hiding the truth: he didn’t make things up, he didn’t concoct elaborate stories, and he didn’t pretend casually.

He chose what to say.

“There was an attack,” he replied at last. “On the royal carriage.”

Elara closed her eyes.

She didn’t remember everything, but she remembered enough to know that those words were true. There had been an explosion. There had been screams. The world had buckled under an immense noise, and then, for her, an impossible silence had fallen.

“Why would the prince be interested in two injured gardeners?” Thomas asked, now turning to Roland.

Roland lowered his head. When he looked up again, he chose his words carefully.

“Because you were involved in the attack on the royal family.”

“Involved as victims.”

“Yes,” the soldier confirmed. “The prince’s order is that no one is to approach you without authorization. No servants, no unsummoned doctors, no members of the court. Those involved in the assassination attempt may be in danger.”

The door stayed open. Roland stood in it.

“Or they may be under suspicion,” said Thomas.

His tone was firm but not accusatory. He held Roland’s gaze without flinching. The gardener wasn’t facing a nobleman, but a soldier. It was something he could stand up to.

Elara held her breath.

Roland didn’t deny it right away.

Roland had seen many nobles take an interest in their servants only when they were useful. But the prince’s gaze on Elara hadn’t seemed merely utilitarian to him. And that was what made it so hard to accept.

“The prince is seeking the truth,” he replied at last. “For now, my task is to ensure that no one interferes.”

Elara looked at her father.

Thomas said nothing, but his expression changed. Not much. Not enough for an outsider to truly read his thoughts. But Elara, who knew every subtle shift in his expression, saw the fear.

It wasn’t fear for himself.

It was fear for her.

Then the bracelet seemed to weigh more than before.

It was still the same simple leather braid, hidden beneath the blanket, plain and unassuming as everything belonging to a gardener should be. And yet, in that bed in the royal infirmary, with a soldier at the door and the prince’s name hanging between them, it was the most precious treasure in the entire kingdom. For the first time, it didn’t seem enough to her.

Elara lowered her eyes, feigning tiredness.

“I’d like to rest,” she said. It was the only decision she could still make.

Her voice trembled less than she’d feared.

Thomas stroked her hair with a brief, almost restrained gesture.

“Of course.”

Roland took a step back, respecting her request without argument.

“I’ll wait outside the door.”

Elara didn’t know whether to feel reassured or trapped. Thomas watched him until the officer had left.

Elara closed her eyes, but she didn’t sleep. Every sound came too close: Thomas breathing, Roland shifting outside the door, her own pulse in her ears.

She wanted to ask Thomas what had really happened.

But she couldn’t—at least… not now.

Not with Roland outside the door. The danger that he might overhear even a single word was too great. It was a risk Elara couldn’t afford to take.

Time passed in that silence, which slowly gave at least some strength to the girl’s body and to her foster father, who sat quietly beside her. Their minds—both of them—wandered through troubling thoughts without being able to truly share or discuss them with one another.

Perhaps a few minutes, perhaps an hour of silence.

Then the door opened again.

Roland walked back in with a serious expression, even more serious than before.

Thomas stood up immediately.

“What’s the matter?”

The officer looked first at him, then at Elara.

And this time he didn’t hesitate.

“The prince wants to see you now.”