The Courtesan

Chapter 58

KRON

“I wonder where you went, your highness. His majesty is waiting for you.”

“I’ll handle this. You can leave now.”

Still in the winter, the weather was worse at Fort Gracia. It wasn’t the best time for war but my father insisted on going on with the plan. As for me, I was willing to go along with whatever.

I opened the door and saw the most displeased expression I have ever seen on his face. It was much of a surprise. I thought all he had in his arsenal was a benign smile.

“Just because you managed to gain the cooperation of Fort Gracia doesn’t give you the allowance to do whatever you want, son.”

“I had to check on something important. I am sorry for angering you, father.”

“Something important? What important thing would you have to do at the Horps Estate?”

I didn’t reply. Even though I had thought of a suitable excuse, I still couldn’t. Not that it mattered. She was already gone.

“Is it that woman? You risked the war for a woman?!”

He stormed to his feet and delivered the most disorienting blow to my head. My ears rang and I could taste the blood in my mouth. It seemed with age, my father grew more powerful. The fear I had always had of him… had never once diminished.

“This is the only allowance I will give to you. If you disappoint me again, I will make sure your corpse is among many others in this war.”

“... Yes father.”

He left the room, disappointed. I was expecting this but honestly, I felt he would overlook it. He rarely lost his temper too. I wondered why he was being so high strung. He didn’t display any anxiety at the palace too.

Is he getting weak?

If my father, who never showed any signs of weakness for as long as I have known him, was getting impatient, then it would mean something was wrong. It also meant there was something for me to exploit.

I have already given up on vying for my father’s approval.

In the first place, it was my mother’s wish, that he noticed her and loved her. However, time and time again, all he did was ignore her, use her for his benefit and abuse her child to become the perfect heir. While my mother drowned in her delusion and his deception, the announcement of the war opened my eyes to see I might have a better future.

I will become better than my father. Then I will go find her and make her mine.

It wasn’t a foolproof plan but it was the best I had. Of course to do that, I had to gather allies and prove my worth in battle. I had to thank my father for providing such a good opportunity for me.

“My goodness, your highness! Why are you bleeding? And why are you smiling so scarily? We have to get you to the doctor, quick!”

“Calm down Reid. I can wait it out.”

“I’m not talking about the wound on your head! You’re bleeding there! Come on, let’s go take care of it.”

“Oh…”

I had no idea I was bleeding from my head. I felt a wet patch on her nose and when I checked, there was blood on the pad of my finger. How strange. Maybe it was because I had been hit too hard that I was thinking such ridiculous things.

If I was being honest, I haven’t felt like this before. My heart pounded every time I thought of her. She was mesmerizing every time I saw her and because I wanted to be with her, I was thinking of other ridiculous things like overcoming my father and making it so that no other man could have her but me. Especially not that duke.

“Sit your highness. I have something to tend to this.”

“You don’t have to be so meticulous…”

“We start the first battle in a few days. If you’re not in peak condition, our troops would suffer. His majesty will be more furious and who knows what he would do then!”

Reid was my right hand man who commanded my personal troops in my absence. He was once my squire but with his ridiculous strength, he managed to rise to knighthood. However, his frame belied his strength as he was a short and slender young man.

He also looked like a woman and loved to fuss over me. He was the one who took care of me when I licked my wounds from my father, ever since I was young. I was grateful to him and trusted him a lot.

He took care of both my wounds and bandaged them up. Looking at his face up close while he tended to my lips, he looked really pretty, like a woman. His lashes were long and his lips looked soft. When he saw I was staring, he blushed deeply and wrapped up his treatment.

“You’re too pretty to get a wife.”

“Your highness! How could you be so mean?! I am strong enough to get a wife.”

“Which woman would want her husband to be prettier than she is?”

“Then I’ll just have to find the prettiest woman in the whole kingdom to marry me. You’ll see then!”

“The prettiest woman huh...”

The only woman who fit that description… was Elayne.

“So your highness, how did it go? Did you find her? Did she wish you luck?”

This is also one of the reasons why I frequently compared him to a woman. He loved to gossip.

“I didn’t find her. Apparently her relative came for her and she left the kingdom.”

“Aw. Poor highness. This is the first time you have been rejected, isn’t it? Come here, I’ll comfort you.”

“Ew, no. Get away from me.”

“Oho. Has his highness finally outgrown hugs? Just last year, you were begging me to sleep with you…”

“Don’t say it like that! It would sound weird! I only asked you to stay with me because I was attacked by assassins!”

“Your highness, why are you lying to yourself? You obviously needed the companion of your good friend. I am offering that to you again.”

“Gods, Reid, stop it. Seriously!”

He laughed, cleaning tears from his eyes. I was ashamed to admit at my age I was pouting. Still, it was enough to cheer me up a bit.

“She’s a really lovely lady. However, it doesn’t look like she likes you.”

“What? I was sure she liked me. She personally seeked me out on her debut.”

“Did you acknowledge her effort after that?”

“I… I’m sure I did… I gave her a dress.”

“Ha. You’re hopeless, your highness. This is why you are still unmarried.”

“Oi!”

“Even your engagement with the lady from Zerramond didn’t go well.”

“You don’t have to rub that in. That one wasn’t even my fault.”

“Of course, your highness. Anything that makes you feel better.”

Reid suddenly got to his knees, his hand on his heart in a salute.

“You have my undying loyalty and support. I am also your good friend. So, your highness, for my sake and the sake of the others in the troops, survive this war and pave the way for us. This, your highness, is your future.”

“Yes…” As he said, my future arrived sooner than I would expect.