Retrieve the Kingdom

Surprised Plans

Phoebe can feel something pecking her cheek. She moved her arms a bit as her eyes open slowly. It was blurry but she knows that the couple is in front of her, she just doesn’t know where she was. “P-phoebe?” A familiar sweet feminine voice asked, she smiled a bit. It was the sweet voice of Lady Naia. Her eyes were a little bit heavy to open it fully, so she holds the archduke’s hand that was just beside hers to say she was already awake. Bermin smiles as he looks at the lady on the other side of the bed. “I-am… o-okay—” she coughs after she muttered those words weakly. The lady holds on her other hand, she raises it as she kisses the back of it. She pressed it against her soft cheek. “Oh, Phoebe. You made us worried for the second time this week. Please stop, just stop…” She pleaded on her as she looks at the laying weak young lady on the bed. The archduke holds her forehead, cheek, and even neck which made Phoebe confused. Bermin sighs, but it’s now a sigh of relief, a thankful relief. “I am glad you are awake and fine. You don’t know how much we panicked earlier. That vomit that you released earlier maybe helped you out.” Phoebe was still confused why she was in the bed, but the little explanation that the archduke gave to her.

She remembered everything, she felt a sudden ache on her stomach and dizziness on her head. She felt a sudden weakness as she spoke to the archduke. She can still hear Archduke Bermin saying if she was okay and shouting her name. She keeps fighting the effects and tried to find something to lean on. But she was unsuccessful as her body keeps leaning and leaning sideways as soon as she can’t balance herself, she fell but she was caught by the archduke. “Phoebe?! Phoebe?” He asked and shouted in panic as he slaps her cheek gently to wake her up. “Phoebe, answer me.” He said as Phoebe keeps fighting the effects of sleeping as her head became heavier and heavier each second. “B-bucket…” She muttered as she feels something pushing its way through her esophagus. She was gonna vomit. The archduke was so in a panic that he manages to lift Phoebe and ran to the mansion as the servants saw him in distress and a weak Phoebe in his arms.

“Bucket! Bucket!” He shouted as the servants panicked too as soon as they heard his panicked voice. “The archduke said bucket!” “Get a bucket, quick!” “Bucket, bucket!” They all muttered different words and phrases but one goal and one emotion. One of them managed to get one as they scattered to find one in the huge piece of land which this mansion is standing firmly on. “Bucket! Bucket!” The servant who got the bucket shouted as the others who were helping to find it approached saying the same phrase too. As soon as the servant was near, the archduke pushed Phoebe’s face to look in the other direction. Her blurry vision can see the metallic color of the bucket, she knows it was the one that she was finding. Her head goes near at it as the urge she was holding since earlier, she can now let it all out. She vomits as much as she can, as much as her stomach wants her to let out of its contents, as much as her body desires. The archduke assisted her on it as placed her in a comfortable position in this awkward position of theirs.

Bermin pats her back and even rubs it to comfort and possibly aid her on this thing she is going through. Minutes of vomiting and backing out later, she finally stops as she took one last look at the blue sky of the kingdom. She can’t stop her eyes from closing this time as she let darkness embrace her in its calm and peaceful arms.

It was all the reason she was here, lying weakly on the bed again like how she was doing just a few hours ago, just in another bed this time and another reason. “Don’t worry Phoebe, those who prepared your food will pay. This is a hazard and they must not make you eat foods that can do this to you.” Bermin sighs, “But, I thought earlier while I was scolding them. Naia and Anna were unaffected by the food. It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?” He said as he looks at the two. “But we don’t have evidence that someone poisoned her, Bermin. We can’t accuse someone here and we don’t even know who will be the one poisoning her. No servant was new here and the security is tight here.” Naia said as Bermin smiles at her, “That’s it Naia, no servant was new and we trust each other here. But, I was mistaken in that second part, apparently, someone is unfaithful here.” He said as the two girls are getting confused about where he is pointing on. “But, even unfaithful. Everyone has their soft side and we are gonna poke that. The guilt and the residing conscience in their heart and minds. Just a soft poke, you know? And then, voila, they are gonna show their sinful self in front of us and confess.”

“Do you mean by that poke is a sword, Bermin, what happened—” The lady was cut by the archduke as he giggles, “Oh, Naia. I will not ever change. Going through something with blades and violence is not my type, you know? And that will not ever change. Besides, it will not be effective here, they might say that the archduke is showing his true identity. That might be the other goal of our inside enemy here. What I meant is, we are gonna make them guilty and poke their conscience up the surface. I am sure they won’t mind being manipulated again because they just let themselves when they did this. Though, I am sorry for those that experienced that especially if it’s an emotional appeal and manipulation. But, we have no choice, well, we have but we don’t do the other one here.” He smiled as the two ladies look at each other. Naia sighs as she looks at her husband, “You do your thing, genius.” She said as she giggles playfully. Phoebe rises on the bed and leans her back on the headboard of the bed. Naia wraps her right arm on her waist and her left on the should and holds her head.

“Well, I can’t do this alone, I need some teammates, you know? The more, the merrier! And, I can’t trust the other servants for now so it’s just you and me, maybe Phoebe too. When she is already fine.” Phoebe smiles as she looks at the archduke, “I am already fine, sir Bermin. It’s just the effects of sleeping too much.” She giggles as Bermin smiles, “That’s great to hear, Phoebe. Anyway, I want Naia to be skeptical of the servants like she did before when we are building our line of trustworthy servants and people to be with us in this mansion. Also, you have a reason to be skeptical Naia, since they know how we love Phoebe here in this home. Especially you, Naia.” He snickered as Naia just smiled at Phoebe and kissed her on her forehead. “I won’t go against that because it’s the truth.” She caresses her hair as Phoebe keeps listening to the archduke’s plan. “Well, I will be going against you in this plan because I know that’s not the truth. I want them to fully hear like we are fighting about it. For Phoebe, you will be in my side too, that you trust my servants that they will never in your whole life living here that they will do this to you. See? We are just poking their conscience to say what they have done to us, I am such a genius!”

Naia laughs at his little antics in the end as she influenced Phoebe as she smiles and giggles a bit. “I like that smile, Phoebe. Keep it up.” Naia said as she pats her chin from underneath as Phoebe cuddles her for a positive response to her. “I want to go to school tomorrow.” She said as she looks up at her, “Are you sure?” Naia asks as Phoebe firmly nods, “I might let Andrei look for you closely and make him a bodyguard.” He giggles as Phoebe playfully rolls her eyes, “Sir Bermin, I don’t need that kind of protection. Besides, if that councilor shows up in the school just to do things at me. He knows where he will end up.” She said as the archduke was frozen, “I… I remember.” He looks at her as his face became serious but a light-hearted one. “He went here yesterday, finding you. He said that he will file a case against you in court, even you are still 16 or 17. That’s where we knew that you raided his mansion, but we can’t defend you since we have no evidence that you are there to save someone he has been letting suffer just on his feet. We were left speechless as he was gonna take advantage of that silence to check my mansion. But I stood firmly to say no and confirmed you are not here and we have been finding you for days.”

“Oh, I was so pissed when he smiled when we said that. He might be thinking that you died in the hands of his guards that came after you as Anna has narrated earlier to us. That smirk poked the anger out of me. I want to slap him so hard that time but I maintained my posture. Showed him back that I don’t care even a single aurel and am not disturbed by his evil smile. How kind of a monster he is that he does not even flinch a bit on a girl, young, sixteen to die on the hands of his guards!? Such evilness!” She said as the archduke was about to say something, but he was cut as someone knocks on the door of Phoebe’s room. “Sir Bermin! The two princes are here! They are finding you, please come as soon as you can, they demanded to me.” The servant shouted as it left. Bermin giggles, “They demanded to her, I just bet it’s only Andres. Come on, Phoebe can you stand?” He looks at her as she nods, she moves her feet on the bed and moved herself to it as well. She stands so well as nothing happened to her. The archduke smiles as the three went out of the room and went downstairs. As they went to the hall wherein the entrance is, they can see the two brothers were just standing there, patiently.

“Why didn’t you guys took a seat on the couch? Come on.” He said as he leads them to the living room and takes a seat there. “I am glad Phoebe is already here, Andrei here was so worried. Looking at those eyebags he seems that he didn’t sleep thinking where his girl friend was.” Andrei glares at him as Andres was confused, “What? Girl friend, a feminine friend. Friend. Oh god Andrei, did you just pulled me here to judge my usage of words?” He rolls his eyes as Phoebe seems unbothered. Andrei looks at her, “Well, he was right. I said this to Bella earlier and if you just saw her nervous, panicking, and almost shouted in the cafeteria. Which, take note, caught Cledwyn’s attention. Now the news that you are missing is already the weekly gossip of the school because of Bella’s voice. Oh lord.” He said as Bermin looks at Andres, “It’s a surprise you are here, what’s the cause?”

“I need to say something to you, uncle.”