Chapter 14
Knowing that the thief was caught and sent to prison didn’t give Lance any sort of peace, in fact, it made him even more pissed, three whole days now, and he has been too busy to interrogate her himself and according to what he has been told, she still insists that she was innocent despite everything been done to her, he never expected her to talk easily though, but he would get the truth out of her after he was done with his affairs.
Lance peeled off his clothes as he step into the water, today had been hectic for him but at least he got some result, not as good as he wanted but it was something, he had a goal and wanted it to be achieved by the end of the year, too many people are gaining from exploiting the poor and average citizens of his kingdom and he needed to act fast or the progress he hoped for the kingdom would be far from happening, he hopes the people can help him help them too.
“Your majesty?”
Lance heard Patrick’s voice.
“Shower,”
He yelled from the bathroom.
“I will wait here,”
Patrick said and went silent, Lance came out a couple of minutes later to find his best friend and personal assistant laying on his bed.
“You know, sometimes you act like you forget we are close and other times like this you seem to remember, I am happy you remember,”
Lance said as he walked to his closet to get his clothes.
“That’s because I am tired, I didn’t know being the king’s aid was this much job, I swear, sometimes I just want to run away,”
Patrick complained.
“Where would you go and leave me on my own? You love me too much to abandon me,”
Lance responded. He was thankful to Patrick for sticking by his side.
“Well, the maiden is the clinic,”
Patrick announced and Lance knew who he was talking about without him saying the name
“What? What happened to her?”
He asked as he button his shirt, he didn’t like how his heart jumped at the thought of her being sick.
“She fainted and was taken to the clinic,”
Patrick revealed.
“And do you have any idea why she fainted?”
He asked, he really should go see her himself, he had been too busy and now she was sick.
“Not really, they only said she was moved to the clinic after they tried to wake her up at the prison, and you told me to keep you updated about her which is why I am telling you,”
Patrick explained.
“Has she said anything? About the missing diamonds?”
He asked.
“She claims to be innocent my king,”
Patrick disclosed, Lance already knew that’s what she would say, that’s what all criminals say in the first place, they never agree to their crimes no matter how obvious it may seem, he had himself to blame for trusting her so blindly.
“I will go see her now, I shouldn’t have prolonged it, she will not dare lie in my face,”
He said and walked out of his room without waiting for Patrick, he was almost at his door when Patrick stopped him.
“Your majesty, I said she fainted, she is not awake yet, and you don’t have to interrogate her yourself, please, call your future wife instead, before she makes me lose my mind,”
Patrick begged and Lance turned to him, he actually felt bad for his best friend, he knew how demanding that woman can be and he witnessed it yesterday.
“Patrick, I met with her yesterday, why do I need to call her again? Besides, yesterday, she didn’t have anything important to y’all to me about after all the nagging and wanting to see me, she asked the most stupid and basic questions, I can’t deal with that tonight,”
Lance complained.
“You were the one that want to marry, you should really stick to it or there will be consequences, she is so, so, never mind,”
Patrick said, yup Roselle was something else, he had taken time out to go see her yesterday, and after just twenty minutes in her presence, he realized he made a big mistake deciding to marry her, not like he had decided by himself, the elders had brought up the suggestion and he had agreed, at the time, it seemed like the perfect idea and Roselle looked like just a normal woman from far away, but now?
“I am thinking of calling off the marriage, I really shouldn’t have let those old men talk me into it in the first place.
He said regretting now, he should have told the elders no when they suggested the union, the princess was everything he didn’t want to deal with.
“Uh-huh? I think that’s a little too late my king,”
Patrick said. Lance knew it was the truth but he couldn’t imagine himself having to deal with Roselle for a long time, it would wear him out.
“I said I am thinking of, I will come to a conclusion soon, whatever the consequences of calling off the union are, I would face it myself.”
He concluded as he walked out of the room, Patrick followed silently beside him.
“You should be resting, you are busy these days, you have people for this for a reason and I could call the doctor to come over instead of you going there,”
Patrick said as they made their way to the car but Lance ignored him, he wanted to speak with the doctor and find out why she fainted tonight.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
“My king,”
“Patrick, don’t worry, I won’t take time, you can go and get the rest you need, you don’t have to follow me,”
He said when they got to his car, he gave the driver instructions and got in, he closed the door when Patrick tried to get in.
“Go and rest, I will see you tomorrow,”
He said in a commanding voice and told the driver to go ahead.
He got to the hospital in no time, it was within the place premises anyway, he met the doctor at the entrance, Patrick must have called to inform them he was on his way.
“Your majesty,”
The doctor said in greeting.
“Can we talk in your office,”
Lance said already walking towards the doctor’s office, the last time he was here was to speak with the palace guard.
“So? Why did she faint?”
Lance asked, he knew Patrick would have already told the doctor the reason for his visit.
“Yes, your majesty, she was very weak when they brought her in, seems like she has not been eating well, and the fact that she is pregnant added to it,”
The doctor said.
“What? She is pregnant?”
Lance asked in surprise.
“Yes, she is about two months pregnant, and she fainted due to her being almost malnourished, During pregnancy, poor diets lacking in key nutrients, like iodine, iron, folate, calcium, and zinc can cause anemia, pre-eclampsia, hemorrhage,”
Lance listened to the doctor explain her condition and he couldn’t help the anger that he felt, he didn’t even know that she was with child, the shock he got when the doctor mentioned the possibility of her being pregnant, he really should have stuck with the first idea of dealing with her by himself, why didn’t they feed her in prison, he provided enough funds for the prisons for someone to be malnourished after spending less than four days there.
“Once she wakes up, she should be moved to my personal dungeon and isolated from others, I will take it from here, if I knew she was with child, I won’t have sent her to the prison,”
Lance said already thinking about what her supposed pregnancy could mean, it means she really did have people outside the palace and the father of her unborn child must be her accomplice, now all he needed to do was get that out of her and he would be able to recover his jewel and send her out of the palace, he would make sure she would never be able to step foot in Otano ever again, as, for the man who got her pregnant and also made her steal from him, a would deal with him separately.
“Yes, my king,”
The doctor said and Lance walked out of his office, he did the right thing by coming to see the doctor himself, if not they would have sent her back to prison, and who knows what would have happened to her, he wanted to get back what she stole from him but he wasn’t about to let her die on his watch, he would take care of her until he gets the truth out of her, then he would send her away, no pregnant woman can work in the palace anyway.