Duke Ambrose flipped Arielle’s hand and looked at the girl’s palm. "I once read an ancient book from the Thebis Empire about the art of palm reading. Hm... sothing big is about to happen, and your determination is the only way out of that."
Arielle tilted her face to look at her palm. She couldn’t grasp what he ant by that. She just saw three pairs of tangent lines on her palm.
"You will be the last ray of hope," said Duke Ambrose. The old man covered Arielle’s hand, then smiled at her. "Princess, after returning to the North later, my ssage is simply... never dim and keep shining. Your light is what the North needs the most right now."
Arielle didn’t quite understand. Duke Ambrose could see the confusion on Arielle’s face.
"You will know the answer when the ti cos," Duke Ambrose replied with an ambiguous answer.
After Duke Ambrose saw her palm, Arielle pulled her hand back. She touched the three lines. The words Duke had said were etched deep in her mind, but she didn’t know how to react.
"If the princess is bored with fairy tale books, then I can lend you the palm-reading art book. Even though the book is from ancient manuscripts, now there is an updated version."
Arielle chuckled. "I’m still learning to read, Sir. Therefore, I only read light books for now. Reading sothing more complex usually takes a longer ti," she said gently.
The two of them then talked about how to grow roses. Arielle smiled happily, seeing the old man’s eyes sparkling with joy as he explained one by one about the philosophy of roses. She was all ears. This made the Duke feel even more proud of her because, for him, Arielle was the only one who truly listened to his every explanation about roses.
Archie sotis slept or read books when Duke Ambrose eagerly explained about roses. Lady Maia, his daughter, and Princess Ariana, his granddaughter, choose to spend their ti buying the latest dresses and jewelry.
Seeing Arielle listen to each word he had said, the Duke was quite moved and even more excited to explain the concept of his garden full of roses.
Their conversation had to stop when Lucas ca in breathless.
"What’s the matter, Lucas?" asked Arielle who was worried, seeing Lucas’ condition.
"Ugh... huff... Sasha... is awake," said the man, making Arielle stand up abruptly.
Duke Ambrose grabbed his wooden cane. "In that case, you may go first, Princess."
Lucas took Arielle’s crutches. The girl turned to face Duke Ambrose and hung her head low in respect.
"Thank you for your ti, Duke Ambrose. I really enjoyed our talk about roses."
The old man smiled broadly and held out his hand, gesturing to Arielle to go ahead. "With pleasure, princess. If Princess Arielle wants to know more about roses, I’d be happy to explain it again."
"Then I’ll excuse myself," said Arielle before biding her goodbye.
Duke Ambrose just nodded in admiration. Arielle walked out of the backyard with wobbly steps. With her crutches, she walked as fast as she could.
When she reached the door of Sasha’s room, she encountered Kael and Archie.
"Kael? Brother Archie?"
"I heard Sasha is awake. I also want to see him," Archie replied.
Arielle nodded. The man then made a way for Arielle.
In the room, there was Tania and a doctor who checked Sasha’s condition. Arielle tried to approach them swiftly with the help of Kael, who supported her body. Her legs had not fully recovered yet. The doctor had advised Arielle to move her legs occasionally so that they were not stiff.
"His condition is stable. The wounds are also starting to heal. There are only a few parts that are still swollen due to sprains," said the doctor.
The doctor was allowed to leave the room after he checked Sasha’s condition thoroughly. Arielle sat on the edge of the bed holding Sasha’s hand, which was still bandaged.
"Sasha..."
Sasha just nodded, indicating that he heard Arielle’s voice. Arielle also wiped the child’s tears that fell on his cheeks.
"Everything is going to be all right now. You need to get well soon, so we can return to the North," said Arielle soothingly. The child burst into tears.
In between his cries, he caught sight of Archie, who was standing behind Arielle while holding the girl’s shoulder.
"P-prince Ar-Archie?" he asked with difficulty.
Archie just realized that Sasha didn’t know his identity yet. When he treated Sasha’s wounds from Andrea’s torture in the tower, Sasha was unconscious and he had gone to the port to pick up Lazarus’ troops before Sasha woke up again.
"I’m a spy for the North just like you," said Archie, showing the three dots on his neck.
At first, Sasha was quite surprised but seeing familiar faces made the boy believe what Archie just said Sasha looked around to see the faces of people he knew. There were Arielle, Tania, Lucas, and Lord Kael. He felt relieved after seeing them again.
"Wh-where are we?"
"We’re at my grandfather’s house right now. The palace has collapsed. In three days, I will ascend to the throne and beco a king," replied Archie.
Huh? King? Sasha felt he had missed a lot. The last thing he rembered, a Nieverdell guard dragged him from the tower into the hall and then he beca the target of a prince nad Aron.
The man stepped on his hand, kicked him in the stomach, and slapped him for not telling them where Arielle was. Sasha had told the truth. He also didn’t know where Princess Arielle was. However, they didn’t even care about what Sasha saying and continued to torture him until King Ronan arrived.
Seeing his king had arrived, Sasha fainted in relief. That was all that Sasha could rember.
Kael ca closer and patted Sasha’s head gently.
"You have fought bravely. The king will give you the best gift when you return to the North."
Sasha’s face brightened imdiately. It made Arielle smile. Tania was right. Sasha was much stronger than she thought. The child could smile again in this condition.
Sasha pulled Arielle’s hand, then showed a wide smile to the princess.
(I’m glad you’re okay, princess).
Arielle could understand the aning of those stares and smiles. The girl nodded and smiled back.
(I’m fine. It’s all thanks to you).
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