The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 43: The Curiosity of Men

Chapter 43: The Curiosity of Men

Neither knight argued with him. Everyone was being careful, like walking on eggshells.

Anna’s poor health made them anxious about her.

It was undeniable that the princess, who seemed timid and obtuse, was the opposite and had a heart made of gold. What she did was courageous and an act of full compassion and wisdom.

Eric and Eli returned to the campfire, joining Luke and Damon, who waited there. In a short while, Rafe rushed from the infirmary and went to the commander’s tent.

The knights anticipated that the healer would stay there for quite some time, treating the lady.

Their faces were solemn as they thought about her. They waited for Rafe to come out to know the outcome, but the tent flap remained closed.

"I hope Lady Raychard will be fine," Eli uttered with a concerned face.

"We all hope the same," Luke responded.

"I’m not saying this because I’m afraid the commander will fly off the handle again, but I care about her. I admire what she did," the young knight added as his eyes sparkled enthusiastically when reminded of Anna’s bravery.

"If you’ve seen how she lifted the patients with the young forager and brought them to the tent in the middle of the rain, you’ll be even more surprised by her determination," Damon told them.

"She did that?" Eli asked astonishingly, turning to the knight with widened eyes.

Damon nodded and said, "She didn’t cry when her blood was taken. Our lady is way stronger than she appears to be."

"When Mr Norman told me she nursed the patients herself, I felt so ashamed." Luke sighed.

"Why so? You did a great job handling the issue! Everyone is saved, isn’t it?" Eric cheered up the knight.

Luke shook his head in remorse and said, "I intended to kill the foragers and wipe out the whole village initially. If not for her, I would have murdered innocent lives."

"I can understand why you make such a decision. Anyone would’ve resorted to the same to prevent the plague from spreading," said Eric.

"Now that we have the lady, we shouldn’t fear the disease!" Eli exclaimed excitedly.

"Don’t be too happy about it. You’ve seen for yourself how the commander went crazy knowing his wife gave away her blood. Do you think he would easily allow anyone to obtain the cure from her if another outbreak happened?" Damon retorted.

Eli pursed his lips.

"He would surely find another way to obtain the cure. I won’t be surprised if he resorted to getting the standard drug from Ardel," said Luke.

"But, isn’t Lady Raychard’s blood more effective than that? It could cure the patients much faster and provide a one-year immunity," Eli countered.

"Yes. But it’s limited. You said it yourself. It won’t be sufficient if the outbreak spreads," Damon responded.

Eli nodded lightly and said, "You’re right. We’re lucky the foragers didn’t infect anyone. Otherwise, it’ll be a catastrophe."

"Come to think of it, we still don’t know how she obtained the pure serum. Honestly, I don’t think she’s an ordinary person," Luke responded.

"The commander didn’t even bother asking about it. He must’ve known all along who Lady Raychard is and how she got the drug," Eric stipulated.

"Mr Norman said that the Ardel’s government keeps the serum. That means only certain people would have access to it. The fact that the lady has it in her blood means she’s important." Damon spoke up.

"Everyone has been curious about her since our commander married her. But of course, none of us dares to ask him," Luke said.

"Yeah... Come to think of it, they married hastily, which is weird," Eli commented.

"It is weird. He brought the lady out of nowhere and married her immediately," added Damon.

"Well... I can’t go into details. But I can tell you that it was the right thing to do then," said Eric, who knew the reason behind it.

"The curiosity rose again after your fight with Sir Brook. Now, I bet the men are talking about her," said Luke.

"Yes. It was surprising to see her stand up like that and reprimand you and him," stated Damon, recalling the two knights’ brawl.

"Most of them were excited to get to know her. I mean, who wouldn’t? She was the first to get you and Sir Brooks reconciled and shook hands peacefully." Eli grinned.

"I was only tolerating for the lady’s sake. If it weren’t for her, I would never clasp my hand with Sir Brooks," Eric said firmly.

"Wow... you even called Sir Brooks by his title now... I remember how you despised and refused to acknowledge him," Luke grinned at Eric.

"I still don’t like that guy. But, he was Lady Raychard’s first escort, and she addressed him as her person. So, I’m respecting the lady’s recognition," Eric explained to them.

"Talking about him, where did he go? I haven’t seen him for quite some time," Damon wondered.

"I heard the commander telling the lady that he assigned him to another task during our last dinner together," Eric continued.

"Ah... No wonder he’s been missing. If that’s the case, he won’t be back very soon. The commander must have sent him away to investigate something," Luke guessed.

Since the team did not favour Noah after his incident, Kyren would always dispatch him on assignments that required his skills as a mercenary.

"It’s fascinating to know that Lady Raychard is a unique woman. If the plague didn’t arise, we wouldn’t have known how special she is," said Eli.

"You’re right. All this while we thought that she was an unassertive person," Damon agreed.

"I’m more interested in her affair with the commander," said Eric, laying his curiosity.

"Why?" asked Damon.

"Looking at how our commander treated her and went berserk just now surprised me. It’s as if they have a strong relationship despite their instant marriage," Eric answered.

"That’s true. He was very endearing towards her. Everyone noticed how he looked at her," Eli reminisced about when they returned from their first duty after the commander got married.

Kyren unhesitatingly hugged his newlywed bride before them and carried her in his arms. Eli was one of the knights who was utterly shocked by this.

"They don’t even know each other before the marriage. Usually, it will take some time to build a passionate relationship like that unless..." Eric paused and threw a brooding look.

"Unless what?" the knights asked the same questions simultaneously with interest.

"Unless he has fallen in love with her at first sight. However, I still find it quite bizarre."

"Care to explain, love coach?" teased Luke.

"For someone to instantly fall head over heels for another, there must be some attraction. Since they had never met before, there are two probabilities of it, which are either lust or compassion," Eric began his explanation.

The men’s eyes focused on him attentively.

"The lady was not in good shape when he brought her here. So, it could be the latter. But the way he responded to her in the infirmary was not out of compassion. He was captivated by her," Eric added.

"Definitely... the way they kiss... uh..." Eli puckered his lips, mimicking the smooch.

Damon smacked his back instantly, making the young knight grunt. "Be thankful for that kiss. It saved the foragers and us, too."

"Well... I think we need to bury our curiosity for the time being. We now know the lady is important to the commander, regardless of her identity. So, we should not treat her lightly," Eric concluded.

The knights agreed with him.

"But, if she’s so important to the commander, why did he order us not to talk about his nobility to her? I’m pretty sure that Lady Raychard still doesn’t know that the commander is the Grand Duke of Gerhard, His Majesty’s twin brother," Damon asked.

He remembered the order given by the commander, conveyed by Eric before the last dinner they had together.

"Hey... keep it down! If the commander heard you, God knows what he will do!" warned Luke.

"He must’ve had his reason for not telling her. It’s a married couple matter. We shouldn’t get involved," Eric told them.

The conversation dragged on further from one topic to another.

Time passed, accompanied by the bleak darkness and the barking of wild dogs, which occasionally broke the silence as they waited before the campfire.

Dawn came.

With dark circles under his eyes, Rafe came out exhausted, telling everyone the lady was not in danger.

Finally, all of them could breathe a sigh of relief.

***

"Are you feeling much better today?" Kyren asked Anna after feeding her the porridge.

Her fever had gone down after Rafe treated her last night. However, her exhaustion continued due to her vigorous activity attending to the foragers and her blood withdrawal.

"I’m fine now. I only need some rest," she told him.

"Good. I’m going to head out for a moment. There’s something urgent I need to take care of. If you need anything, ring the bell. I’ve placed my men outside the tent," said Kyren.

"You’re going out?" Anna’s eyes darted at him with a worried expression.

Knowing the look, the commander quickly answered, "Don’t worry. I won’t hurt anyone. I promise. I’ll be quick and get back to you as soon as possible, all right?"

Kyren touched her cheek to convince her. The princess nodded to him.

The commander held her delicate hand and said, "After you get better, let’s talk properly if you want."

"Talk?"

"Yes. About all this."

Anna dampened her dry lips. Deep down inside, she knew that this was coming.

Seeing the princess’s reluctant face, Kyren quickly said, "As I said, I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. So, I’m giving you space to think and decide. I will listen if you want to explain and discuss it with me. Otherwise, just let it be."

The princess looked at him timidly.

"You’re not angry with me?"

He shook his head.

"No. Let me know later how you want it to be."

The request left Anna apprehensive as she looked at the back of her husband, leaving her.

She could not help but get nervous. What should she do next?