The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 44: The Precious Lady

Chapter 44: The Precious Lady

Rafe yawned for the third time. His eyes were sore, and his eyelids kept pulling down despite his attempts to stay awake. His head began to tilt lazily to Ayden, who sat beside him and shared the same expression.

"God, I want to sleep..." he complained tiredly, resting his head on his assistant’s droopy shoulder.

"Mr Amares, don’t lean on me. I’m tired too!" Ayden pushed his head away.

The assistant healer’s eyes had turned hollow from sleep deprivation. His lips curled into a weary sneer as he faced the healer.

Eric shook his head and looked at the two men complaining of insufficient sleep.

"Weak!" he snarled at them as he crossed his arms on his broad chest.

Unlike those two, Eric appeared wide awake and still looking dashing. A few sleepless nights did not affect his strength.

"Hey... we’re healers! Not knights like you!" Rafe retorted with a sour face.

"You need to train more, Rafael... there will be a lot more strenuous duty in the future. If you can’t handle this, how could you call yourself the Healer of Gerhard?" he commented.

"Shut up!" The healer lashed out when he heard Eric calling him by that name.

"It seems Mr Norman is worse than Mr Amares. He just missed one night’s sleep and is already turning white like a corpse. Even the lady is stronger than you," Luke teased.

"I may be weak, but not useless! I waited for the lady in the rain with Sir McQuinn and cared for the patients afterwards! It was not just a leisurely sleepless night. If you keep on complaining about me, then I’ll quit!" Ayden pouted his lips.

Among the other members of the dispatched team, he was the weakest. As such, he was always left behind in the camp to cover Rafe’s job whenever the healer went out with the team on duty. Due to that, the knights used to make fun of him, saying he was not manly enough.

Looking at the sullen expression of his assistant, Rafe quickly pulled Ayden’s arm with an angry face.

"Don’t you dare! Who’s going to assist me then? Do you think it’s easy to find an apprentice? If you do it, I’ll drag you back to Gerhard!"

The healer’s eyes were now fully wide open as he expressed himself. He turned to Luke and scowled.

"If my assistant quits his job and refuses to return, I’ll make you brew the medicine and cover my tasks for the rest of your life!" he warned the knight.

"Fine! Fine! I’ll keep my mouth shut then!" Luke raised his hands in surrender.

"Why are we being called here?" Ayden suddenly changed the topic.

Turning around, he noticed that other than Eric and Rafe, Damon, Luke, Eli and Garin, who were involved in the Laradie case, had also gathered in the main tent.

"The commander must have something to tell us," replied Damon.

"Is he going to reprimand us? Oh, no! This is bad! What if he wants to cut off my limbs like he threatened last night?" Ayden’s face turned anxious.

"I don’t think so. By now, he should have come to his senses. If he wanted, he would’ve done it last night," countered Eric.

However, the knight’s statement could not calm the assistant healer. He turned to Rafe with a creased forehead.

"Don’t worry! None of us will let him harm you. After all, the lady herself had subdued him and told him not to hurt anyone, didn’t she?" he said before adding, "From the way I see it, the lady surely has a big influence on him, bigger than our Mr Perfect Knight here." He smirked at Eric.

The brunette-haired knight merely shrugged his shoulders, as if he did not care about the comparison.

As they were busily chit-chatting, Kyren walked into the tent, bringing immediate silence. He gestured with his chin to his men, signalling them to sit.

When all of them took their seats, the discussion began to take place.

"About the report last night, is there anything else you wish to add, Luke?" the commander turned to the knight with his sharp blue eyes.

Luke quickly added, "I’ve interviewed the patients today and was told of the location of the cave where they caught the infection. I suggest we seal it as soon as possible."

"Can I say something, commander?" Rafe suddenly interrupted with a serious face.

"Go on."

"Laradie spreads from infected animals and humans. Infections can occur through touching, coughing, and sneezing. We learned this from the previous outbreak."

Rafe paused before continuing.

"Though we managed to get it under control now and stopped the infection, we can’t ease up too early. There might be others that got infected that we don’t know."

"What do you suggest?" Eric asked the healer.

"We need to check the other places within several miles of the perimeter to know if other people have the same symptoms. If yes, we need to distribute the cure."

A loud bang landed on the table when the commander slammed it hard. His eyes glared at the healer like a hawk.

"Haven’t you had enough?! My wife is still recovering because of the incident! Now you want to drain her blood again?" he snapped angrily at Rafe.

The healer looked down and pursed his lips.

"Commander, I know that you want to protect the lady. But please understand! We are at the border. If we don’t take action like Rafael said, there is a chance that it may spread to Galicia, Dracor and Ardel. Soon, the whole continent could be affected," Eric replied, backing up the healer’s proposal.

"Sir Navin is right. We’re talking about thousands of lives. If you want to think only about the lady’s well-being and not consider others, that would be too selfish!" Garin, being the other high-ranking knight, rebuked.

"Right now, there is no certainty that it has spread. We need to make sure that no one’s infected. We still have the withdrawn lady’s blood. As only a few drops are required per person, it is more than enough to cover a few villages," Ayden intervened.

Kyren put his palm on his forehead, looking frustrated. He already knew this was coming, but thinking they would risk Anna’s health made him glum.

"We know the lady is frail, and we have no intention to hurt her. She’s important to us, too," said Luke.

"You only want her blood! You don’t care for her!" Kyren sneered.

"That’s not true! I admire the lady so much. I’ve never seen someone so compassionate as her. When we all were scared of the disease, she stood up and offered help without hesitation," Eli suddenly rebuked.

"Me too! I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The lady is truly inspiring. I really look up to her regardless of who she is," Damon added firmly.

Anna’s two escorts were determined by their statements.

Luke opened his mouth and said, "Commander, we are your loyal men. We’ll never harm the person you care about. Honestly, we’re in great debt to the lady for her assistance. Even if she is not your woman, we will honour and protect her with our lives as she did for us."

"Rather than taking her blood, we can get the medicine from Ardel. There’s no need for her to suffer!" Kyren shook his head as he still refused to accept the suggestion.

"The medicine is tough to procure, and it’s pricey. Furthermore, it will take months to get it. We can’t afford to waste time any longer," Rafe persuaded.

"As I said, since only a few drops are required per person, one pint of the lady’s blood can be used for more than three thousand people. I’m sure that can cover up a lot already," Ayden said as he calculated the ratio of the cure’s usage to persons.

The fact laid by the assistant healer gained the grand duke’s interest. He was surprised to know how many people could be saved with such an amount of blood.

"If an outbreak occurred, it still wouldn’t be enough." This time, his tone was a bit lower than before. It seemed that he had calmed down a little at Ayden’s words.

"The lady would be fit and healthy for another blood withdrawal after three months. That is even earlier than waiting for the standard drug from Ardel. I know you dislike hearing this, but like it or not, she’s the best option," Rafe stated.

"Right now, we’re talking based on assumptions. For what it’s worth, I suggest we check and confirm whether there are other infections first," Ayden added.

Damon bowed when Garin spoke about it. It was a painful memory buried deep in his heart.

Kyren did not respond. His eyes drooped, and his lips curved down. As much as he hated the idea, he knew how important it was to prevent the disease from spreading.

"I swear we will not endanger the lady’s life. But, for the sake of the people and the kingdom, I beg you, commander! If an outbreak happens, please allow the lady to help us!" Garin pleaded.

"I’ve seen how worse it was when the plague invaded the whole continent. Sir McQuinn lost not only his family but also his whole village," he added.

"Lady Raychard is kind and caring, Commander. Do you think she’ll be happy seeing thousands of people die when she can prevent it from happening?" Rafe questioned the prince.

Kyren sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. He looked at each of the men’s hopeful eyes.

"I will ask my wife. If she’s willing to help, I’ll allow it. But if not, please don’t force or put the blame on her," he replied sternly.

Smiles began to form on the men’s lips.

"There’s no doubt that she will help us! We’ve already talked about this last night!" said Ayden cheerfully.

The commander squinted his eyes at the assistant healer with annoyance. Ayden quickly averted his eyes and clamped his mouth.

"However, there’s one thing that you all must do!" The commander suddenly raised his voice, making all men turn to him.

"About the lady’s blood... it should not be revealed to anyone!" he ordered.

"And you must put the lady’s well-being as your utmost priority," he added.

"Yes, commander!" all men answered in unison.

"I will lay out the plan, and we shall take action immediately," Kyren decided.

"Rather, let me lead and take it from here. It would be best for you to return to Lady Raychard," Eric suggested.

Kyren curved his eyebrows at the knight.

"Are you implying that I should not take part in this urgent matter?" he looked at his second-in-command knight with a disapproving look.

"Right now, the lady needs you more than anything. We’ll be fine without you. If anything comes up, we’ll let you know. Furthermore, didn’t you say that the lady is our top priority from now on?" Eric grinned to ease the stress.

The grand duke looked at the men, and all nodded in agreement.

"Go on! She’s been waiting for you for so long. She surely missed you a lot!" Ayden smirked at the commander.

A hint of redness appeared on Kyren’s ears. He cleared his throat and stood up.

"Make sure everything runs smoothly. If you have any findings, do let me know as soon as possible," he told them with a concerned expression.

"I’ll know what to do. Go on! Leave now. She’s waiting!" Eric pushed the commander’s shoulder.

Then, Rafe also came up and urged him.

"Go! This is a medical emergency, and I know best how to handle it. Please take care of the lady for us, Commander!" the healer urged.

Reluctantly, Kyren left the main tent and returned to the waiting Anna.