The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 47: His Jealousy

Chapter 47: His Jealousy

"Armel, what’s going on? Why do you look upset?" Anna’s words fell out in haste when her doe eyes caught the adolescent’s gloomy expression.

The teen quickly shook his head and smiled wistfully.

"Oh, nothing! What happened to Mr Norman?" Armel quickly shifted the topic when he saw the assistant lying unconscious on the bed.

The teen was so engrossed with the lady that he completely lost his attention to the surroundings and didn’t realise Ayden’s condition.

Both of them walked up to the patient’s bed. The two knights sprang from their seats as the duo approached.

"He’s sleeping. He has just returned from duty and is very exhausted," she told him.

"I see..."

The night the foragers were brought to the infirmary, Ayden took care of them until morning.

Armel remembered how attentive the assistant healer was to them. When Ayden left, Rafe took over before he went on the following day.

"Please send my gratitude to him when he wakes up, and also to Mr Amares. We are indeed indebted to all of you," he said, his eyes gleaming with thankfulness.

"I will. How’s your brother and neighbour?" she asked in concern.

"They have fully recovered and are fine now," he replied.

"It’s good to hear that. I’m so relieved!" Anna smiled contentedly.

"Yes. We’re all so happy to be saved. I thought we were all going to die," said Armel.

The princess chuckled, hearing him.

"I need to make my move now."

"So soon?" asked Anna, surprised.

Armel nodded.

"It’s getting late. After all, the knight said I could not be long here," Armel continued.

"Right. In that case, let me walk you then," she said softly, resisting the offer was impossible.

"If that’s fine with you," the teen gladly replied.

Drystan, who had been listening to their conversation, suddenly intervened, "My lady, I can accompany him and send him home. You don’t have to trouble yourself."

"It’s fine, Sir Knight. It’ll be up to the entrance only. I won’t go far. Besides, the commander is around. You don’t have to worry about me," she replied, looking confident.

Drystan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, realising that the lady did not know his name.

"My name is Drystan Mills, my lady, and this here is Sir Alex Jarr," he responded.

Alex nodded a little to the introduction. Acknowledging the knights, Anna gestured with her chin.

"Thank you, Sir Mills, for your offer, anyway. I think I can go home by myself," said Armel, being courteous.

"The commander ordered both of you to take care of Ayden, didn’t he?" asked Anna.

"Yes, my lady," Alex answered.

"Then, you better stay here and look after him," she said.

Before Drystan could utter another word, the princess continued excitedly, "Come, Armel! I’ll lead the way!"

Her bright smile made the teen’s mood lighten. Both of them quickly slipped out of the infirmary.

Drystan watched the princess and the teen leave through the tent flap.

"Did you see what I saw?" he spat out, turning to his fellow knight with an intense expression.

"Yup... crystal clear. He has a crush on her," said Alex, confident of what had transpired.

Drystan’s face hardened. As a faithful knight to the grand duke, he was not delighted at such behaviour.

"He dares to covet our commander’s woman!" The knight hissed.

"He didn’t know. Didn’t you notice his contorted face when she told him she was married?" Alex asked him back.

"Luckily, the lady didn’t comprehend his act. Otherwise..."

"The lady won’t be interested in him. She’s got a stunningly handsome husband already. Everyone knows how affectionate the couple are towards each other," Alex calmly stated.

"Ahh... That... Yes... Undeniably..." Drystan uttered the words one by one as his mind recalled the sight he had seen before, where the pair passionately kissed and embraced each other under the Elm tree.

He shook his head a few times to discard the lustful scene from his head. It was an awkward moment that he did not wish to keep in his memory, but still lingered to this day.

Alex, who knew about it, could only laugh at the knight.

***

Anna and Armel walked together through the path leading to the entrance. The late afternoon weather was calm. Once in a while, the teen would steal a glance at the princess, whose eyes were centred on the bouquet in her hands.

"These flowers are so beautiful, Armel! Did you pick it up yourself?" she asked brightly.

"Yes. Every time I look at them, I am reminded of you. You’re as sweet as the flowers."

A smirk spread on his lips. When he saw the cheerful face of the lady, his heart would flutter. Regrettably, she was already taken.

"You’re praising me too much. Anyway, thank you for this bouquet. This is the first time I’ve ever received one!" she replied with a dazzling smile.

Armel frowned at the reply.

"Your first time? Didn’t your husband ever give you flowers?" he exclaimed.

The curiosity in his tone made Anna pause.

"He’s a very busy man," she shortly replied.

"Even so, he should have given it. If not, how did he court you? A man should give flowers to the woman he likes. At least, I know that," Armel commented.

The princess’s expression changed drastically.

Her situation with Kyren differed from that of an ordinary couple. They did not court or enter into a romantic relationship before marriage, as they soon wed to save her life.

Even up to the moment, they didn’t know each other very well.

"My lady, can I ask you some questions?"

"Yes?" Anna looked at Armel, who walked beside her.

"About the sickness that we had. What kind of disease is it? And the cure you gave us. It was amazing. Where did you get it?"

The princess swallowed her saliva.

"That... I’m not really sure. As I told you, I’m not a healer," she hesitantly said.

When she was treated at the infirmary, Ayden strongly reminded her not to reveal the plague and her blood to anyone for safety reasons.

"Ah, right! You did mention so. I thought you knew since you attended to us."

"I was just doing what the assistant healer asked me to do."

"Then, why can only you attend to us in the beginning? The others didn’t even approach."

"Ermm... Let’s not talk about this, all right? The most important thing is that everyone is saved." She averted her eyes from him.

Armel nodded.

"Anna!"

The princess halted when a loud voice called out her name. She lifted her eyes and saw Kyren standing still, not far from the entrance. The commander quickly strode towards her.

Armel’s mouth opened as he saw the tall, well-built man. He had raven black hair, deep blue eyes shining like diamonds, and bristly delicate eyebrows. His body was sturdy and muscular with perfect proportions, and he appeared princely with his majestic look.

Even in the eyes of men, the man before him was indeed alluring and visually attractive. However, there was an intimidating aura brought by the man’s stare as his blue eyes darted at him.

"Who is this?" Kyren asked Anna, turning his eyes to the teen when he arrived.

"Oh, this is Armel. He’s one of the foragers we treated the other day," the princess explained.

"Armel, this is my husband, Kyren Raychard. Kyren, this is Armel," she introduced them.

Armel was surprised to know that the gorgeous man was Anna’s husband. His surname somehow felt familiar, but he could not remember where or when he had heard it.

Armel hesitantly opened his mouth and said, "Hello, Sir! It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you very much for saving me, my brother, and my neighbour. Your men have helped us a lot."

The teen bowed to Kyren respectfully.

The commander nodded a little.

"Didn’t you already recover and leave yesterday?" he asked, raising his brows.

"Yes, we did. I just came back to visit," Armel replied.

"Leave if you’re done. Please don’t come again. Civilians are not allowed to be in the camp," Kyren ordered the teenager sternly without even looking at him.

"Ye... yes! I understand. I’ll go now!" he stuttered as his heart pounded hard.

The commander did not even glare at him. However, somehow, Armel could feel the dangerous alarm in his way of speaking.

"I guess this is it. Take care of yourself, Armel and goodbye," said Anna.

"You too, my lady. Someday, if we ever meet again, I will surely repay your kindness. I’ll never forget you." Armel smiled.

The lady waved as the teen left the tent. Kyren, who stood by her side, glanced at the flowers in his wife’s hand.

"Where did you get these flowers?" he asked, squinting his eyes at the bouquet.

"Armel gave it to me. Aren’t they beautiful?" she said, smiling happily.

The commander clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Throw them away!"

Anna’s eyes widened, and she turned to him with her round emerald eyes.

"Why?"

"You shouldn’t be receiving any flowers from other men, Anna. You’re a married woman," he expressed firmly.

"But Armel was just being thankful. Besides, he’s just a boy. He didn’t mean anything else."

Kyren sighed at her reply. His wife still seemed to lack knowledge of certain aspects of Cassian culture.

"I said throw it away!" he ordered again, with a firmer tone of voice.

"No! These flowers are mine! No one has ever given me a bouquet," Anna refused.

"Are you going against my order?" Kyren gritted his teeth.

"Kyren, they are just flo—"

The commander’s large hand roughly snatched the flowers, threw them to the ground, and crushed the bouquet with his sturdy boot. Anna’s mouth was agape at the sudden reaction.

"What are you doing?" the princess cried out.

"If I knew this was coming, I would’ve locked you in the tent and never let you out!"

Anna was startled by Kyren’s sentences. Why did this man’s behaviour change in the blink of an eye?

"Why are you saying this? What wrong did I do?" she asked, cluelessly, as she could not comprehend his demeanour.

"That boy was trying to flirt with you!"

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