"We can only hope for him to be on her side as he is going to marry her. There is nothing else we can do but expect him to be a protective husband."

Her answer was, of course, not satisfactory for the two.

​​

Cian scoffed, "We can only hope? Is my sister that worthless that her life is dependent on what we can only hope from one stranger?"

Martha looked at the unhappy prince. "You can remind him of our expectations, but aside from that, we have no other way, Your Highness."

She then turned towards king Armen. "Your Majesty, please permit me to meet the King of Megaris. I would like to have a word with the future husband of my lady. He is our last hope. If he can't protect her, then the only choice is for the princess to be on the run her whole life to get a meager chance for survival. However, running can only at most delay their tracking, and the only end left for the Third Princess is to be devoured by those people."

King Armen felt terrified with these words and asked, "What will you talk about with him?"

"Only enough to make him protect her," Martha replied.

King Armen remained silent for a while. Martha did not say anything as she waited for his decision.

"I will arrange for it," King Armen assured. At this point, his state of mind had already returned to normal, and his true emotions could no longer be seen on his face.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said as she bowed.

"Seren will be happy to see you," King Armen said.

"I will go to my lady later," she informed him.

King Armen had failed to notice that Martha didn't look good until now. The aged woman looked completely worn out, as if she had traveled far without stopping. "You don't look good. You may go now."

"Thank you for your time, Your Majesty," she replied. "I will take my leave now."

Seeing the old woman step out of the study, Cian looked at his father. "Can we truly trust him?"

King Armen knew exactly who he was referring to. He idly tapped his finger on the surface of his desk as he sighed. "We have no other choice but to trust Martha's judgment. She will never push Seren into danger. She has dedicated her life into taking care of your sister and cares for her even more than what we can think."

Cian could only nod and agree as he could do nothing to help. He still had plenty of questions to ask his father, but for now, he kept them to himself… because the more he knew, the more powerless he felt.

-----------

Drayce did not leave his chamber the entire morning. After he had fun with his one-sided conversation with his naive soon-to-be queen, he busied himself with work. Seren was still in her chamber next door, but she had stopped talking her thoughts out loud, which he found a pity.

His ears caught the sound of footsteps approaching. Drayce realized someone was there to see him, and he knew who it was. The moment the person entered his bedchamber, Drayce spoke without even looking at him, "Finally, you are back."

"How can I not?" replied a charming male voice. "I missed you a lot and was on the verge of dying every minute I couldn't see you."

"Griven has got such a nuisance as their crown prince," Drayce commented.

Arlan gave a generous laugh as he strode inside and casually sat on one of the chairs. "What can I do when they love this nuisance?"

Drayce had no wish to continue bantering with him. He cut to the chase. "Did you find out?"

"Do you doubt my capability?" Arlan countered.

"I never did," Drayce replied and put his work aside. He stared at the smiling prince. "Now, tell me."

"The Third Princess has had only one person serving and accompanying her since she entered the palace, and her name is Martha. She is both the princess's nanny and maidservant. No one knows where she came from, and there is no record about her. No family, no relatives. If I am not wrong, she is not from Abetha, or if she is, then she must be from somewhere far from this capital," Arlan replied.

"How did she come here? Who brought her?" Drayce asked.

Martha? There was no surname, meaning she was neither a distant relative of the Ilven Royal Family nor a lady from the nobility. It was not possible that any random person with no identity would be entrusted with taking care of a princess with a sensitive situation. King Armen had given this woman the responsibility to look after his daughter, who he never allowed anyone to mingle with. This Martha could not be a simple commoner. It was either she had hidden her true identity, or she was a person with great skills.

Arlan continued telling him the things his men gathered for him, "When the Third Princess was brought to this palace by that woman who everyone thinks is the Third Princess's mother, the day after, this woman named Martha arrived. No one knows how she came here or who brought her here, but since that day, King Armen appointed her as the Third Princess's nanny."

"Hmm!" Drayce nodded and waited for Arlan to say more. However, Arlan simply smiled at him, as if gauging his expression. He frowned. "That's it?"

"There is more," said Arlan, grinning at his impatience.

"What?" he snapped.

"Just today, this Martha returned to the palace after disappearing suddenly for many days," Arlan replied. "I came to see you now because I received this news."

This was something useful. Since she was in the palace, then Drayce could finally fulfill Erich Winfield's demand to be able to meet the person who had given those elixir pills to the Third Princess.

"You did well," Drayce praised him.

Arlan scoffed, "Who needs your praise?."

"When did you return?" Drayce asked.

"Last night," Arlan replied as a smirk made its way onto his face. "It also happened that about an hour after I retired to my chamber, I was frozen for a moment, as if everything had stopped, then it was gone like it was all my illusion."

Drayce ignored his remark. "How did the border issue go with Hatha? Did you finish dealing with it?"

Arlan sighed. "Your questions always showed you don't trust my ability. But I don't doubt your ability to stop time and sneak into a maiden's chamber."

"I didn't sneak in this time. I was helping her with something," Drayce explained.

Arlan gave him a doubtful look. "It's fine as long as you are not helping her run away."

Drayce didn't reply and Arlan knew at once something was going on.