Shortly after leaving Dunha behind to attend a council meeting, Henry's face was filled with worry as he and Seo-Yeon walked down a hallway.
"Maybe we should've assigned more guards to protect Dunha. Perhaps a dozen more?" Henry asked.
"We already secured the entire castle and tripled the guards. Only a fool would try to attack us again right now," Seo-Yeon calmly answered. "She will okay. I believe that the guards will be more than enough to keep her safe."
"I guess you're right... Those men are people I can trust," said Henry. "Then let's go begin this council meeting. They should be here."
Henry and Seo-Yeon arrived in front of the meeting room. The destroyed door was repaired by Blue shortly before yesterday's night feast began.
As they entered the room, everyone that was in the room stood up to show their respect to the king and queen.
Henry and Seo-Yeon walked to the end of the long table and sat on the two chairs that were there. The two seats at the end of the room was for the royal family.
Other than Henry and Seo-Yeon, the Great Generals, Blue Sky and Clover Ashlyn were also in the room along with Charles Furtivo, the vice-head doctor, and the royal guards.
Normally, there would be more people, however, because this meeting was set up very early, only those who were already in the castle attended it.
"Hm?" (Seo-Yeon)
Seo-Yeon looked surprised when she saw Clover attending the meeting.
"Oh my? Clover, I think this is the first time in years that I have seen you attend these meetings," said Seo-Yeon.
"It's because this one is important," said Clover. "There are several more reasons but I'll tell you about it later."
Before Seo-Yeon could respond, Charles spoke to Clover first.
"All of the previous meetings were certainly not unimportant. They were just as important as today's because it involves the reports about what is going on around the kingdom," said Charles as he looked at Clover with annoyance. "Without them, we would unaware of what's happening in the kingdom and that would be disastrous."
"I never said they were unimportant," said Clover as she rolled her eyes.
At this sight, Charles was about to lecture her before Henry interrupted them.
"That's enough. We're not here to squabble amongst each other like children," said Henry.
"Apologies for my rudeness, your Majesty," Charles apologized.
"Sorry," said Clovers.
"Alright. First, Charles," said Henry.
"Yes, your Majesty?" said Charles.
"Have you received any news from Estrella?" Henry asked.
Charles nodded once and began to look at a piece of paper that was on the table.
"Through some simple interrogations, she found out that Mason was not involved with the attack yesterday," said Charles as he read the paper.
Clover smirked when she heard "simple interrogations".
"Simple interrogation, he says..." Clover murmured.
Charles looked at Clover with annoyance once more, however, he ignored her and continued to read.
"Other than illegally selling several banned potions to foreign merchants, he hasn't committed any other crimes," said Charles. "We have not found out who these foreign merchants are, yet."
"Did you also find out what he did or say to Dunha? What did he do to make her have nightmares?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"Seo-Yeon," said Henry as he grabbed Seo-Yeon's arm.
Seon-Yeon realized that she stood up from her chair as she mentioned Dunha.
"My bad," said Seo-Yeon as she sat back down.
"Do not apologize, your Highness. It is natural for a parent to be angry at someone who tries to harm his or her child," said Charles.
Seo-Yeon silently nodded.
"Go on," said Seo-Yeon.
"Of course. From what she wrote, Mason never physically abused the princess but rather abused her verbally," said Charles.
"How so?" Blue asked.
Everyone looked at Charles with serious expressions.
"U-Um... It appears that he was caught selling some illegal items by Dunha when she snook around the castle without the guards. He then threatened her into keeping quiet and afterward, constantly reminded her how her birth was a mistake and that she's a stain to the Star family's lineag--."
BAM!
Henry slammed his fist on the table out of anger. Blue and Seo-Yeon were also furious as well while Clover looked disgusted.
"How long did this happened?" Henry asked as he barely managed to control his anger.
"He appeared to have been doing these illegal sales for 2 years but got caught by the princess several months ago. I believe she has not spoken about this out of fear that he would harm his Majesty and her Highness," Charles answered.
Seo-Yeon was speechless.
"Several months?" she thought. "Coming to think of it, I've been busy with work that I couldn't see Dunha that often... I should've spent more time with her..."
Henry was furious.
"I've noticed that Dunha has been quiet lately but I thought that she was just getting shy as she grew older... I'm such an idiot for not noticing it sooner," he thought.
Noticing Henry's and Seo-Yeon's reaction, Charles continued to speak.
"However, if the princess receives plenty of love and care from now on, she may be able to slowly recover," said Charles.
"I see," said Henry. "I'll have to spend some more time with Dunha later," he thought.
Blue broke the brief silence with a question.
"If Mason wasn't involved with the assassins, then who?" Blue asked.
"I currently do not know. The assassin that Madam Clover captured is still tied up in one of the cellars in this castle. He will be sent to her in a few hours once the carriages are ready," said Charles.
Clover smirked at the word "Madam".
"I see. Then do you have any idea where these assassins came from?" Blue asked.
"It is possible that some of them came from the Reddy Kingdom. When I tried to interrogate him, he spoke with a strong Reddian accent," said Charles. "However, I can't say the same for the deceased ones since the dead can't speak."
Henry held his chin for a second before turning his head to Blue.
"Blue, are you able to get in contact with our spies in the Reddy Kingdom?" Henry asked.
"I think I can get in contact with the one in the Reddian Capital," said Blue.
"What happened to the others?" Clover asked.
"They're laying low right now. Their last reports indicated that the Reddians were onto them, so they can't make any moves for now." Blue answered. "However, the agent in the Reddian capital is still undetected. I believe he's currently under the disguise as an adventurer."
Clover did not understand the word "adventurer".
"Adventurer?" Clover asked.
"I believe they're basically what their name indicates. People, who like to adventure while earning money through quests," said Blue. "Weren't you one before you met Henry?"
Clover shook her head.
"I was a mercenary," said Clover.
Charles then began to chuckle.
"It's quite impressive that you managed to go from being a mere mercenary to becoming one of the 7 Great Generals," Charles commented.
Clover was certain that he was being sarcastic but decided to ignore him.
Blue then continued to talk.
"Should I get in contact with him? It should take between 10 to 12 days," said Blue.
"No, I don't think the Reddy Kingdom is involved. They're currently occupied in some sort of war with the Harenae Kingdom. It would be stupid of them to provoke us at a time like this," said Henry. "Whoever hired those assassins was probably by someone within our kingdom."
Charles looked surprised.
"Our own countrymen?!" said Charles.
"Don't act so surprised. Even though we officially won the war 5 years ago, it's still technically ongoing with half of the kingdom being so unstable thanks to the old king's remaining supporters," said Clover. "One of the lords who were neutral during the war was probably the one who hired them. Just because they didn't side with him doesn't mean they'll side with us either.
Henry began to sigh after listening to Clover.
"That would make sense. Ha... It's going to take much longer before the royal family can gain full control of the kingdom once more," Henry sighed.
"Do not worry, Your Majesty. We shall reunite the kingdom into one once the last of the traitors are eliminated," said Charles.
"I suppose we should end this brief meeting for now and come back once I finish some paperwork. If you have anything to tell me that's important but not related to yesterday's attack, then let me know now," said Henry.
Once again, it was Charles who spoke.
Henry then nodded once.
"For some reason, a letter that was addressed to his majesty was delivered to me through a magic item. It was from Great General Boris Combate," said Charles as he placed the letter on the table. "It must be urgent since it's unusual for him to use a rare item."
"Alright. Is that all? Good. Let's end this for now," said Henry.
Everyone nodded and stood up from their chair and began to leave the room. As Clover left, only Seo-Yeon and Henry remained.
"It all makes sense now..." Seo-Yeon murmured. "The reason why Dunha was getting very quiet and shy."
Seo-Yeon was visibly upset while Henry made a stern expression.
"I should ask Estrella to torture Mason even harsher," Henry thought.
As Henry was thinking about how to torture Mason, Seo-Yeon brought him out of his dark thoughts.
"We should ask Clover if she could stay here with Lily for a while," said Seo-Yeon.
"Huh?" (Henry)
"Even though we want to be with Dunha all day, we can't neglect our duties as king and queen as well. Also, it's better to let Dunha play with children her age," said Seo-Yeon. "Lily is her only friend right now."
"You're right. Let's do that then," said Henry as he hugged Seo-Yeon. "Although it's a little upsetting to hear that our child only has 1 friend..."
"Don't worry dear... She'll have more in the future," said Seo-Yeon. "Maybe she'll get along with the others' children.
Henry nodded and kissed Seo-Yeon's forehead before leaving the room.
🔸🔸🔸
Meanwhile, Dunha was currently in the library, reading Blake's book. Suddenly, her left ear began to itch.
"Is someone talking about me? Why is ear suddenly so itchy?" Dunha wondered as she poked her ear.
(To be continued)
2020/06/20
[Brief Random Information]
(The Reddy Kingdom)
The Reddy Kingdom is a kingdom that is located to the west of the Star Kingdom in another continent. The kingdom often trades with the Star Kingdom and is currently at war with a neighboring desert kingdom in the north that is known as the Harenae Kingdom.
Update: 2020/06/29
Apologies once more. Due to circumstances, the next chapter will be delayed.