Asher's Message

It was quiet around the Princess's palace.

On the west side of the palace, there was a small garden and a beautifully decorated pavilion next to the pond. The moon was bright and its brilliance was reflected in the water. Along the pond, apple blossom trees lined up. If it was spring, the scenery around this pond would look very lovely.

At the moment, Princess Amelia was sitting at the pavilion, with a teacup and assorted refreshment on the table.

Her eyes were staring at the beautiful scenery in front of her, but her eyes were blank, as she had lost in her thought.

Just then, her maidservant, Rae, saw a person heading towards the pavilion and she stepped forward to stop the person from coming closer. Once she saw the familiar face, Rae lowered her guard and smiled.

"Physician Eastlake," Rae greeted.

"I brought something for the Princess," Jane motioned towards the small tray in her hand. "I heard that she has not been sleeping well."

Rae peered at the tray and saw a bowl of medicine and a bouquet of valerian flowers in the physician's tray and nodded. "I will announce you to Her Highness."

"Thank you."

Rae turned around and walked over to the Princess. The Princess snapped out of her trance and turned her head towards the other side before she nodded.

"Physician Eastlake, you may step in," Rae said when she returned. She led Jane towards the pavilion and stepped aside to give them some space.

"Your Highness," Jane bowed.

"Physician Eastlake," Princess Amelia called. "You may rise."

"I bought you some medicine to help you sleep better," Jane placed the tray on the table.

"Thank you." Amelia looked into the bowl and spoke in a low voice, "I didn't expect to see you soon." She raised her eyes to look at the girl in front of her. "Did you see my brother?"

"Yes."

Her answer brought light to Princess Amelia's eyes and her lips tilted slightly into a smile. "How is he?"

"He is well Your Highness," Jane answered. "Right now, His Majesty and his men were staying at my place. My husband was his former mentor."

"Your husband?"

Jane nodded. "My husband was a part of the late King Louis's Royal Knight. His name is Finn Eastlake."

"Finn Eastlake?" Amelia gasped as she recalled the elder man.

When she was very young, the Royal Knight would always entertain her as her father was busy dealing with the piling documents.

"Your Highness," Jane called out. "I came here with another letter for you." Jane took out the letter hidden in her cloth and handed it over.

"Another?"

The Princess took the letter hastily. She looked at Jane when she saw the familiar insignia with apparent joy and quickly unfolded the letter. Her hands trembled upon recognizing her brother's handwriting.

Swiftly, Amelia stared at the paper in her hand to read the contents and her expression grew soft, knowing that her brother was safe. Princess Amelia reread the letter twice before she shoved the letter into her dress.

Asher's messages replayed in her mind.

He wanted to meet her and explained to her what was going on.

Although Amelia should be happy that she was going to meet her brother soon, she could not shake away her worry that this letter might be a fake or another trick to harm her.

She had learned her lesson from the last incident.

However, looking at the handwriting and the insignia, Amelia wanted to trust that this letter was real. Her brother was alive and he wanted to see her.

At this moment, her mind was filled with various thoughts, and Amelia did not know what she should do next.

...

Kain was heading towards the Princess's quarters when he ran into Rae. He offered to take the tray from the maidservant, as they were heading towards the same destination, but his offer was declined politely.

Kain looked at the tray in Rae's hand and let out a sigh. "The Princess hasn't returned to her sleeping chamber yet?" He asked upon finding that Princess Amelia was at the pavilion by the pond.

Rae shook her head. "The Princess is with a guest."

"This late?"

"It's a Physician from the Royal Infirmary," Rae said. "She brings over a little something to help the Princess to sleep well."

Kain narrowed his eyes as various thoughts went through his mind.

Perhaps he could sneak and meet with the Princess after the meeting with the Physician. Kain wondered how the Princess would react when she heard that Laif was in prison because of her.

Will the Princess agree to release him immediately?

Kain knew that Laif will be livid to know that he was going to see the Princess and ask for her help. However, there was nothing else that he can do as Laif wanted to stay and Kain hated knowing that Laif will have to spend his time in prison.

His head tilted up when he heard footsteps heading towards them. Judging by the pace, he knew that the person was in a rush. After a while, Sara appeared beside them, panting.

"Rae, the Princess is looking for you," Sara announced.

Looking at the way Sara acted, Rae quickly summarized that the Princess was looking for her for something important. She passed the tray in her hand to Sara and quickened her pace towards the pavilion. When she arrived, the princess was waiting for her beside the pavilion. "Your Highness," she greeted. "You were looking for me. Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "I need you to summon Lady Evans tonight. Tell her that I have an important matter to discuss."

"Yes, Your Highness," Rae curtsied. Her gaze scanned around the area and she noted that Physician Eastlake was no longer around.

"And you," Amelia said to Kain who was a few steps behind Rae. "Please accompany Rae to the Evans' Residence. It's late and I didn't want anything to happen to my maidservant."

A slight frown appeared on her face as she recalled the memories where Rae was hurt badly when they snuck out of the palace not so long ago.

"Yes, Your Highness." Kain bowed and quickly hid the disappointment in his face. He came to have an audience with the Princess and plead leniency for Laif. He wanted the Princess's help to set Laif free, but the Princess mission seemed urgent and he could not speak of it.

It seemed like Laif will have to stay in the prison for a while longer.

Kain turned around and trailed after Rae to accompany her out.

"Wait," Amelia called after the two of them had taken a few steps. "Have you seen Laif?" She asked when they both turned around. "I haven't seen him all day."

His eyes filled with joy as the Princess had mentioned the name. Kain immediately stepped towards the Princess upon finding his opportunity. "Your Highness. Laif, he," he hesitated. "He's in prison, Your Highness."

Amelia frowned at his words."In prison? What for?"

"Commander Irvine punished him for sneaking you out of the palace," Kan explained.

Instantly, the princess's face paled.

She knew that the commander will be angry, but she didn't expect that the commander will put his most trusted knight in prison without consulting her.

Amelia turned to her maidservants. "Sara. Tell the others to get ready. We're going to visit the Commander."