The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 166: The Princess’ Uncle

Chapter 166: The Princess’ Uncle

Nightfall came to the Kingdom Zephyra.

Princess Eve went to see King Zaraki, making sure to get Alaric’s medicine.

"Are you ready to depart for tomorrow? I heard from Chancellor Gustav that he had chosen the knights to be deployed to Kingdom Averion. Have you already met them?" King Zaraki asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I saw them earlier. Everything is set for tomorrow. I am here to get my husband’s antidote." Eve didn’t beat around the bush. She just wanted to get Alaric’s medicine for him to feel better.

King Zaraki let out a chuckle. "Haha! I knew it. Don’t worry. I will never break my promise."

He waved his hand, motioning for Eve to come forward. She traced her steps toward the king. Upon reaching his spot, King Zaraki handed her a small glass of potion.

"After drinking this, his strength will return. However, the effectiveness of this antidote will only last for a month. You have to accomplish your task as soon as possible to get another antidote for him."

Eve gripped the bottle tightly. She hated the fact that she needed to become King Zaraki’s puppet. For now, this was the only way to save Alaric.

According to King Zaraki, Alaric had to take ten potions he would provide to completely cure the poison in his system. Ten glasses of antidote were equivalent to ten tasks coming from King Zaraki. She had to obey him ten times!

Eve was about to leave, but King Zaraki stopped her.

"Where do you think you are going? We aren’t done talking yet."

Eve reflexively came to a halt as she turned to face him again.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. My husband is in pain. I have to give this medicine to him as soon as possible."

Eve couldn’t stop herself from worrying about her husband. She knew that Alaric was just trying to endure it in front of her.

"You shouldn’t hurry, Eve. This medicine works like magic. For now, we have to discuss the progress of your mission. Have you met the rebel group? Is Alucard Winslow with them?" King Zaraki was dying to subdue the rebel group headed by the former royal guard captain.

"Yes. I met Alucard. They will join me in my battle against Kingdom Averion. Just let me handle this. I will hand them over to you after conquering Averion."

King Zaraki looked at her, amused. He rubbed his chin, arching an eyebrow. "Did they listen to you? Are you certain that they do not suspect you? How would I know if you didn’t disclose our plan to them?"

"They don’t suspect me. They trust me completely because of my mother. You know that I can’t betray you because of Alaric. You are the only one who can keep him alive." Eve said, convincing King Zaraki. She wanted to erase his doubt about her.

"I won’t force you to believe me. You have the right to doubt my loyalty. But one thing I can assure you. I won’t do anything that will harm my husband. I will protect him at all costs," she said with conviction.

King Zaraki laughed, satisfied with her answer. "Alright. I will let you deal with this. Prove me wrong. I don’t want to kill a great warrior. Alaric can be an asset of this kingdom if he will choose to side with me."

Eve didn’t comment further on his last remarks. Soon, King Zaraki dismissed her. He would wait for her victorious return.

As she left the king’s quarters, he ran into Crown Prince Leonard, King Zaraki’s son.

"Princess Eve! Are you going back to your quarters?" Prince Leonard greeted her. He was friendly toward her.

Eve glanced at him. She knew he was the crown prince, however, the two of them hadn’t talked to each other yet.

"Yes, Prince Leonard. Why?"

The crown prince moved closer to her, his eyes sparkling in delight.

"I’m your Uncle. Call me Uncle!" Prince Leonard said out of the blue.

Eve frowned in confusion. ’Why is he acting like this? Is he having fun teasing me?’

"Uncle," she reluctantly uttered.

Prince Leonard chuckled gleefully as he playfully rubbed her head. "Good girl!"

"Let me escort you back to your quarters. This is my first time talking to you. I feel like you’ve been avoiding me for the past few days. Do you hate me?"

Prince Leonard spoke to her as though she was a kid and he was an elder. He was really into his role as her uncle.

"No. I don’t hate you. But we can’t deny the fact that your father is the reason why my grandfather died and my mother was exiled from this kingdom." Eve spoke straightforwardly, not filtering her words. She was just being honest with him.

The smile on Prince Leonard’s face disappeared instantly after hearing that. He felt sorry for her.

"Forgive me, Princess Eve."

Eve stopped on her track the moment she heard that.

"Are you really sincere in asking for my forgiveness?" She asked him.

Prince Leonard put on a serious expression before nodding frantically. "Of course, Princess Eve. I know my father committed a great sin against your family... But we can no longer turn back time. I don’t want you to hate me and my father for so long. We are still family!"

Eve had conflicting thoughts. Prince Leonard didn’t seem bad. However, his apology wouldn’t change anything.

"If you truly felt sorry due to your father’s sin, can you please help me?" Eve glanced at him expectantly. Deep down, she wanted to gamble with this man.

She was losing some options. She wanted to test if Prince Leonard could be an ally. She learned from Sylvana that Crown Prince Leonard was very kind.

He was the one who defended Sylvana. Because of him, the Seer wasn’t treated as a prisoner in the palace. She could roam around freely without shackles at all.

Instead of being a hostage prisoner, Sylvana was treated like an honored guest. She even had her own pavilion.

Because of this, Eve wanted to test if Prince Leonard was indeed a good man. Would he help her? Would he listen to her request?

Princess Eve waited for Prince Leonard’s response.

"Hmm. Tell me how I can help you." The crown prince looked at her with anticipation. There was a trace of willingness in his eyes.

"My husband was poisoned. Can you help me find the cure?"

Prince Leonard was taken aback when he heard her words.

"Who poisoned him?"

"Your father," she promptly responded.

"He said this was a very rare yet deadly poison. Only he knows about the antidote. He didn’t tell me what kind of poison he used," she continued.

The prince was at a loss for words for a moment. He could somehow understand what his father was trying to do.

’He is using General Alaric to make Princess Eve obey him. My father is blackmailing her.’

"Forget it. I know it. You can’t help me. You will never disobey your father." Eve was disappointed. She turned around to leave, but Prince Leonard captured her elbow.

"Princess Eve, wait! Listen to me."

Princess Eve pursed her lips, not saying a word.

Prince Leonard could only sigh. "I’ll do it. I’ll help you get the antidote from my father secretly. Do you trust me?"

Eve was surprised. She had never expected that Prince Leonard would easily agree to help her.

"I don’t know if I should trust you or not. Are you sure about this? Giving me the antidote means betraying your own father. Why would you help me?" She questioned him.

Prince Leonard gave her a reassuring smile. "Because you are my family. I don’t want you to be sad. Aside from that, I admire Alaric. He is a great hero. I don’t want him to die."

"I won’t force you to trust me. But I promise that I will help you. So give me a chance to prove it to you." Prince Leonard was so determined to assist her.

It was too good to be true. She hoped Prince Leonard was not lying.

"Thank you," she uttered with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Prince Leonard gently patted her head as if she were a little girl. "So, cheer up. Don’t be sad. Everything will be fine."

Eve could only bob her head. She didn’t want to expect so much from him.

It did not take long before Princess Eve and Crown Prince Leonard reached her quarters.

"May I see your husband?" Prince Leonard made a sudden request.

Eve contemplated for a moment. "Okay. You can see him."

He was about to push the door when Eve spoke again. "I will be leaving Kingdom Zephyra tomorrow. Can you take care of Alaric on my behalf?"

Eve made another request.

Prince Leonard didn’t hesitate. "Yes. You can leave him in my care. Once you return, I will make sure to tell you a piece of good news. We will definitely cure him!"