Chapter 536 - The King and the Queen Part 1

Even when she returned to the castle, she felt restless the entire time, restless and unwell. A large clattering sound was all it took for all the guards outside to rush in. Orthez couldn't explain this situation at all; she was staggering and appeared to be quite breathless as she leaned against the wall.

"Queen--!"

"Queen Orthez."

"The general, send for the general." Orthez managed to say.

The guards seemed to hesitate, but one of them quickly rushed off. 'This is very bad, and it seems like they got to me.' She knew there was something peculiar about that structure from the other day, but who would have thought? 

The doors burst open, revealing not General Adrien but her husband. Orthez staggered forward and slumped her head in his chest. "Sorry.."

A pained look appeared on his face. "Don't worry about it. I will deal with everything; rest, okay?"

...

When she next woke up, the general was with Lord Ralph and Lady Penelope, healing her. The two, however, wore grim expressions on their faces. 'It seems whatever hit her is something dangerous.' 

Quite some time has passed since she let her guard down like this. The last time huh? A flash of purple appeared in her head, and she laughed. 'What am I thinking of now.' That person is no longer here…

That person will never return to her; he will never call her name lovingly or hold her in his arms. The sensation of his warmth, she still remembers it clearly. It will never disappear.

"With all due respect Queen Orthez." Ralph trailed off. "You need to be more careful. I've warned you repeatedly in the past too. Your life span was already cut short. Your overworking will not help your situation."

Orthez nodded. "I am aware." 

She is more than aware of her body's current state. The incident from the pass 

The doors opened, revealing Daichi. He did not say a word and strolled across the room. The moment he was before her, he collapsed in her arms. Her gaze softened. "Was it tiring?"

"Ha, I haven't done that stuff in so long."

"I'm sorry."

"But you're always doing this kind of work. You're always shouldering everything." He lifted his head and caressed her cheeks. "Take this time to rest, and I shall deal with everything for you."

'Such a sweet talker as usual.' Orthez always felt bad when she was around Daichi. After all, this man knows that she is still in love with her former husband. She always felt guilty whenever he touched her or treated her with such kindness.

But even then, she leaned into his palm. 

Penelope sighed. "I wonder what's worse. My student and that man or the Queen and the King."

"No, no. I believe you should see your student with Kazuya. She acts even more childish."

Orthez felt her cheeks go red, and she awkwardly coughed. "You two return to Lyn, you're supposed to be guarding her."

Penelope nodded. "Though it's hard getting close with that around."

Ralph laughed. "It should be easy to disturb them."

Orthez raised her eyebrows when she heard those words. "Are they that close now?" Recently, the general has not brought many reports regarding them since he is busy with her assigned work.

"I was going to ask your permission, Queen, but I think it's time to tell her the truth."

"About her origin?"

"She is the first King's child, so she has that ancient blood within her. While Prince Andrew has observed over her in the shadows, it is difficult to even for him to tell. Just in case the worst-case scenario happens, it would be better if she knew."

A deep sigh escaped her lips. 'I don't want her to know.' Even now, that thought of hers was powerful. If Lyn were to find out the truth, it would hurt her. Osamu's main reason ended up in that situation was Lyn because he left that meeting and personally rescued her. If he did not leave that meeting, then they would not have had the opportunity to accuse him.

Since he left without saying anything, then it did not help at all. Orthez remembered that day very well. She clenched her fist tightly. Even though she was the Queen, she could not do anything to help him. 

If only she were this capable before then, she could have prevented that. "Let me think about it."

...

After that collapsing incident, everybody was on their guard. 'The security around me has increased too.' Orthez, however, still found a way to sneak out, or rather, her gaze fell on the wall she just climbed. This castle remains the same as ever. The moment she reached the bottom though she spotted her husband, he was leaning against the wall like he had waited for her.

As she racked her brains searching for an answer she didn't notice their surroundings until they arrived at a familiar well. 

Oh! She realized that they were walking towards the forest, but Orthez didn't think much of it. She thought that he was leading her out here to have that chat.

Perhaps he is angry after all. 'Then again, Daichi is always smiling.'

When they arrived at their destination, Orthez realized the reason for his silence.

A stream of light sprouted from his fingertips, which filled the lake with magic.

"Tch. .. Urgh." Daichi panted as he steadies his balance using the support of a tree.

"Daichi?"

"This lake should be fine now."

Her eyes widened.

"I didn't expect this to be so painful."

Now that Orthez got a closer look at him, she could tell that he lost a lot of weight. His face looks thinner than before.

His face lacks it's usually healthy glow. 

Orthez felt the tears welling up from her eyes. She shouldn't have left him alone.

'Only two days have passed, but he must have been doing this sort of work all by himself.'

"Don't cry. . ."

Now that she has noticed this. Orthez knew she would not be able to control her tears, even if he asked her to. Indeed after he said those words, she cried even more.

"Hey, don't cry. This is nothing, honestly. The handcuffs from that time were actually way worse than this."

Orthez wanted to hit him for mentioning that incident. Why is this man always so reckless? From the very beginning, when they met, he ends up in such foolish and dangerous situations. Daichi is the complete opposite of Osamu. With Daichi, she always ends up worrying even more than before. She still has to watch him.

Now that she thought about it, Osamu said something similar. Your gaze is always on him. So if your feelings have changed, please say so.