The King's Lover-Chapter 289: At The Estate

Rose grabbed the metallic cup close to her chest. It was steaming hot, but the physician had told her it was best to drink it this hot. Her tongue and a little part of her lips had been scalded from the heat, and she couldn’t risk taking another drink just yet, so she just held it close to her chest.

She noticed her clothes had been changed into something more comfortable. The torn dress had been done away with, and she couldn’t feel dirt in her hair—but more importantly, she wasn’t cold.

Prince Rylen had left the room as soon as she recounted the details. He didn’t ask why she had been trying to leave, and he didn’t fault her. He just wanted to know what had happened.

She had noticed his expression darken when she mentioned Ryder, and it had only gotten worse when she mentioned the poison. He had then nodded and left the room without another word, looking deep in thought.

Rose dreaded that she was in trouble. She had wanted to ask about the crown prince, but she wasn’t given any chance to, and as soon as Prince Rylen left, the physician had handed her the cup with the dark green liquid.

Rose eyed the contents, but it was pretty sweet-smelling—she could smell mint and some cloves. Rose wasn’t sure, but the taste wasn’t that bad. It was just the heat that made it an awful drink. She tried to take another sip but stopped herself for fear of her tongue.

"Take it," the physician repeated. "Your injuries aren’t severe, and in a few days, the swelling will be less and the bruises will heal."

Rose nodded as she looked at him. "Thank you," she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes a little at her, and then, seeing Thomas glare at him, he hurriedly nodded and left the room.

Rose slowly turned her head to Thomas. He was just sitting there, not saying a word. It was almost easy to forget his presence. He wasn’t wearing his armor like when she had first run into him, and he looked visibly distressed.

"Thank you," Rose said softly to him.

She didn’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t run into Thomas at the time she did. She had been pushing herself more than she could take.

Thomas grunted and looked away from her. "How do you feel?"

If she hadn’t been listening closely, she wouldn’t have heard what he said.

Rose shrugged, still clutching the cup. The brew didn’t look like it was getting any colder. She blew on it and brought it to her lips. At least, it wasn’t as scalding hot.

"Not bad," she finally said as she put the empty cup to the side. "Do you know anything about the crown prince?" she asked.

Rose gripped the sheets tightly. No one was saying anything yet, but she was certain she wouldn’t get away from this without punishment.

Not only had she tried to escape, but the crown prince had to save her in the process, endangering his life. She wondered if they were waiting for the crown prince to wake up before giving judgment.

She was even surprised she was in such a comfortable room. Rose had half expected to be locked in the dungeons as soon as she woke up.

"His Highness is still unconscious," Thomas replied with a grim expression. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Rose opened her mouth to ask more questions, but a knock on the closed door drew her attention to it. She jerked her head, and Thomas stood up and walked to the door.

He pulled it open, revealing Lady Deana, and behind her were a few servants. Rose immediately pulled herself to a sitting position. The pain she felt at the sudden movement made her freeze for a moment, but the guilt she felt was even more intense. She kept her gaze low as Lady Deana burst into the room, rushing to the bed.

"Lady Deana," Rose said as the Lady approached.

"Rose," she cried, and got to the bed.

She sat by the side and grabbed Rose’s face and stared hard, turning the poor girl’s face left then right as she studied her.

"Your nose isn’t bleeding anymore. I was worried about that," she cried.

Rose suddenly remembered she didn’t know what happened to the bag of coins. It must have fallen off either during her run or her struggle with the bandits. It was an odd thing to think, but it was what her mind fixated on—and the first thing she wanted to do was apologize. Not just for the missing coins, but everything else.

"This is going to scar," Lady Deana was saying as she studied Rose’s face.

Rose was unsure if she was speaking about the cut on her lip or the bruise on her cheek. However, that wasn’t the problem. This wasn’t the sort of reception she was expecting.

Even while she had ridden the crown prince back to the estate, it had occurred to her that she would be punished for this—but she knew the punishment for not bringing him would be even worse.

"Don’t worry about that. Beatrice knows everything about how to make a scar fade. Just heal up soon," Lady Deana was still speaking while holding onto Rose’s face.

Her hands were hurting a little, but Rose didn’t have the heart to tell her to remove them. She just stared at her oddly as she spoke.

"I’m sorry, Lady Deana. I shouldn’t—"

"I’m sure you had your reasons," Lady Deana replied. "But I was very hurt, and you did break my trust. But I’m glad you’re safe. With the bandits around, what were you thinking? I’m sure there must have been some other ways. That was too dangerous of you."

Rose simply nodded her head as Lady Deana spoke. She didn’t have anything to say about her anger—nor could she get angry at her scolding. At least all she got was the scolding.

"Why did you need to leave?" Lady Deana asked.

Rose was a little shocked at the question, as Lady Deana had seemed as though she did care to know but understood that it must have been difficult.

Anyone would try to leave if they were stuck in a situation they didn’t like, but Rose didn’t say that.

"I needed to see my sick mother," she whispered. "Fat’er told me she was getting a little worse, and he fears the worst. My father isn’t one to make a fuss out of nothing. I wanted to see her as soon as possible. There is no way I can wait until after winter. It would be too late then."

It wasn’t until Lady Deana wiped the tears from her face that Rose realized she was crying.

"Well, you didn’t have to take such a risky step. You could have been killed. Why didn’t you just ask His Highness?"

Rose controlled her expression. Surely, the crown prince she knew wasn’t the same one everyone else knew, for them to easily suggest this.

"I did," Rose said without hesitation. "He refused."

Lady Deana looked dumbfounded for a moment, and Rose felt a little good at this. She had been worried all the royals and nobles had something off about them, but for Lady Deana to be appalled that he wouldn’t let her see her sick mother—Rose was relieved.

"I’m sure there is some explanation," she said after some time. "However, this is very worrisome. He hasn’t woken up, and the house is quite worried. I fear for you," she whispered. "Word has been sent to the castle, and we are hoping the best physicians will arrive soon."

It was her tone that had Rose more worried than what she said. She wondered exactly what had been sent to the castle. She hadn’t had the chance to think about it—but what would happen to her if the crown prince never woke up?

"You should get some rest," Lady Deana said. "Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything."

Rose nodded, watching Lady Deana stand up with a smile. "Thank you," she said, more from a lack of what to say rather than how she really felt.

Lady Deana kept her smile and then slowly turned away from Rose and walked out of the room, the servants going out with her and leaving Rose alone.

Rose looked around the room again, and her chest felt tight. Lady Deana hadn’t said anything but it was hard not to read the tone in her voice. She grabbed her arms for some time and then slipped between the covers, laying her head on the pillow.

She closed her eyes and internally prayed that the crown prince would wake up. However, Rose wasn’t sure if that was also a good thing. It would be better than her current situation but she had tried to escape and then this had happened to the crown prince.

Rose shut her eyes. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not at all. Now what was she going to do?