Lena said, moving as if to kneel.
She was certain Kael would, as always, reach out to stop her.
Indeed, his arm lifted, palm outstretched towards her.
Lena’s lips curved subtly, just as she was about to lay her hand in his.
But then, a cold question cut through the air:
“Where is the wolf fang bracelet?”
Lena stiffened, instantly understanding why Kael wanted it now.
She secretly gritted her teeth, but her face showed nothing.
“I had a maid put it away in the treasury. The new girl is clumsy. It might take a day or two to sort everything out.””
“If Your Majesty truly desires it, could you grant this concubine a little more time?”
<
Kael’s eyes turned glacial.
“Can’t find it?”
“Which maid put it away? Someone who can’t even manage such a simple task!”
“Drag her out. Decapitate her.”
Lena’s face drained of color. The palace maids behind her trembled, kneeling en masse.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
Half an hour later, the wolf fang bracelet, which was supposedly “a day or two” away from being
found, was delivered, intact, to Kael.
He glanced at Lena, leaving her with a cold warning: “The Queen should manage her palace staff
more effectively.”
Then, he turned and strode away.
I hadn’t expected Kael to return. He sat on the edge of the bed, silently placing the bracelet back on
my wrist.
His movements were gentle, just as they had been ten years ago, the first time he’d personally placed it there.
The familiar, exotic scent eased the bone-deep agony slightly.
But it was still useless.
No one in the entire Royal Healing Hall could save me.
They could only bandage my external wounds, stop the bleeding, and try every method to maintain
my last, faint breaths.
But they couldn’t make me wake up.
“A bunch of useless fools!”
Kael’s furious shouts seemed to be tinged with a hint of despair.
Just then, a guard entered to report.
“Your Majesty, an Elder Healer is requesting an audience outside the palace. He claims…”
Kael rose urgently. “Claims what?”
“He says he is an old acquaintance of yours and… Princess Serene’s.””
When the Elder Healer arrived, he didn’t even need to take my pulse.
He merely glanced at the bed and said:
“She is already an empty shell.”
Kael’s face stiffened. For weeks, he had scoured the lands, spending a fortune to find the greatest
healers. This Elder Healer was his last hope.
“What do you mean?”
The Elder Healer explained: “The parasites have been gnawing at her body for years. Her organs, he very essence-nothing was spared.’
“She didn’t have to suffer this much, though. Have you been feeding her powerful, warming tonics
often?”
Seeing Kael clench his fists and nod silently.
The Elder Healer sighed, continuing: “And these parasites are beings of pure yin, pure cold!”‘
