The King's Lover-Chapter 290: The King’s Decree

Prince Rylen gripped the letter in his hands until his knuckles turned white and the edges of the letter crinkled. He had foreseen this, but he hadn’t expected action to be taken so quickly.

He had thought the crown prince’s health would take precedence—perhaps after His Highness was out of danger, this would be addressed: the appropriate punishment for Rose’s supposed involvement in the crown prince’s current state.

Unfortunately, that was clearly not the case, not with the letter he held and certainly not with the words on it.

Rylen had tried his best to keep Rose out of the account he sent to the castle, but it was nearly impossible. He was required to give as accurate a report as possible, especially in such a critical situation.

He had tried to mention her only in passing, stating that the crown prince had gone off alone, refusing to be accompanied by any of the guards. However, that didn’t work. Rylen had expected that he and the men who had accompanied His Highness to Futherfield and had let him go off alone would be the ones punished, but there was no mention of that.

"Prince Rylen," Thomas called after some time, noticing Rylen’s grave expression. "What does the letter say?"

Rylen slowly lifted his head and looked at Thomas, dumbfounded for a few moments. Then his lips finally moved. "Rose is to be sent to the castle on charges of crimes against the kingdom and the royal family. It says here she led His Highness to the bandits. They’re charging her with high treason."

"What?" Thomas asked in horror.

Rylen was not shocked at Thomas’ reaction even saying it out loud told him just how insane it sounded. Nothing about this made sense.

They were in Rylen’s bedchambers. Rylen was seated at his desk with a lamp nearby to light the letter for him to read, while Thomas stood next to him, keeping a respectful distance as he patiently waited for Rylen to finish reading.

They couldn’t be with the crown prince—he was being treated by the physicians sent from the castle, who insisted they work without anyone else present. Paul, the crown prince’s official physician, had arrived, so Rylen hadn’t objected and had stepped outside to read the letter Paul handed him.

The physicians had arrived just after midnight. Rylen had been surprised they made it so quickly—the journey through darkness and snow must have been harrowing—but the crown prince’s life was at stake.

The letter bore the king’s seal; it was clearly a royal decree. But everything about the contents screamed the queen’s influence. This was a death sentence. There was no doubt about it. If Rose were sent to the castle, she would be executed. And to make matters worse, the crown prince was still unconscious. That wasn’t even the worst part—there was a chance he might die.

Paul hadn’t been able to tell him anything before the doors were closed, but Rylen had seen the grim expression on his face. He knew it wasn’t good.

"Yes," Rylen said, trying not to crush the letter in his hand.

"Is she going to be killed?" Thomas mumbled, his voice softer than Rylen had ever heard.

Rylen paused. As much as he wanted to say he didn’t know, he knew that would be a lie. He knew exactly what was going to happen. The only real question was whether it would be a public execution or a private one. She might go to trial, but it wouldn’t matter. The verdict had already been decided the moment this letter was written.

What Rylen hated even more than the fact that Rose was going to be punished for something she didn’t do was what she was being framed for—leading His Highness to the bandits. That was the most ridiculous part.

Rose had nothing to do with the bandits. He would know because no one even knew who was truly behind them yet. The most obvious suspect was Galdoris. They had resented Velmount ever since the incident with Caius’ grandmother. But Caius had said it wasn’t them, and Rylen trusted the crown prince’s judgment.

His Highness might be a little fuzzy about many things, and Rylen had found himself unconsciously questioning the crown prince’s actions. But when it came to matters of the kingdom—affairs of state, reading political plots—Rylen had full faith in him.

"Most likely," Rylen said at last, folding the letter and slipping it into his inner coat pocket.

He could probably stall for half a day at most, but if Rose was not in the castle by nightfall, he feared what kind of measures would be taken. The crown prince was also being summoned to the castle for proper treatment, but Rylen knew that wouldn’t happen until he was well enough to be moved.

"We can’t let that happen!" Thomas burst out.

Rylen looked at him from the corner of his eye. Of course, he already knew that. Beyond moral reasons, he might end up dead if the crown prince woke up and learned what had happened while he was unconscious.

Caius had risked his life to save her, even going as far as to get poisoned. Rylen doubted he’d be fine with letting her die after all that. He had to think of something. Unfortunately, the only person who could stop this was lying unconscious a few rooms away.

Rylen tugged his coat tighter around himself. It was bitterly cold—especially at night. Though a fire burned in the hearth, he could still feel the chill seeping into his bones. It felt especially sharp tonight.

"We can’t," he said quietly. "The only thing we can do is pray that His Highness wakes up soon. He can stop this."

Thomas paled, but he didn’t say anything. Neither of them could. They were still bound by rules, and Rylen knew exactly how dangerous it was to overstep them.

First of all, they weren’t in some private manor. The Futherfields could be trusted, but they were loyal to the crown. If they found out there was a decree of high treason against Rose, Rylen doubted they would be willing to go against the king’s orders. And Rylen couldn’t blame them. Even he was having a hard time reconciling with it.

"Are we just going to send her to the castle?" Thomas asked. His fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Rylen frowned slightly as he looked at him. He could recall how much Thomas had once disliked Rose. When has that changed? He supposed it was a good thing. Considering everything the poor woman had been through, she deserved at least that.

"We don’t have to do that until sunrise. And I don’t think anyone else knows what’s in the letter. However, we cannot disobey His Majesty’s orders for long. We would be putting ourselves and Lord Leopold’s entire family, at risk."

"We still can’t send her to the castle. She’ll be killed."

Rylen nearly rolled his eyes. The boy was as headstrong as ever. "That doesn’t matter. You should know better than to go against the king’s orders."

"But His Highness is the future king. Doesn’t his orders matter?" Thomas asked.

"Yes," Rylen said with a weary sigh. "If he gave us one. But he can’t. And even if we know what he would want, we can’t act on our own judgment. Do you understand me?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Rylen raised his voice slightly at the end. He felt like he had to. Thomas could be stubborn—especially when it came to doing what he believed was right.

"Yes, Prince Rylen."

Rylen nodded. "Good. For now, we’ll keep an eye on the crown prince and hope Lord Paul can deal with the poison."

He didn’t believe it. Caius had been badly poisoned. By the time they got to the estate and removed the fabric Rose had used to bind his wounds, the injury had turned purple. The veins around each cut were swollen and discolored.

The Futherfield physicians had been unable to create an antidote, and Rylen knew their best physician was skilled enough to serve in the royal court. That didn’t give him much hope.

"We should go," Rylen said, finally rising from his seat. He had stepped into his room for a moment of privacy. Something had told him not to read the letter in the hallway outside the crown prince’s chambers.

Thomas placed a palm on the table and pushed himself upright. He couldn’t do anything now—only wait.

He followed Rylen to the door. Rylen intended to keep watch over the crown prince through the night. That was the only thing he could do.

Perhaps, sometime between dawn and noon, the crown prince would open his eyes. If he didn’t, Rylen might have to be the one to tell Rose what will happen to her. He didn’t want to. He would do everything to avoid it.

Which meant the crown prince had to wake up.

He wondered just how much Paul knew. Regardless of what Paul suspected, Rylen knew the physician’s priority would be to save the prince. Their lives—and Rose’s—depended on it.