The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 90: The King and the Servant IV

Chapter 90: The King and the Servant IV

King Solomon didn’t expect that Esmeralda would refuse to be his woman. He had already made the arrangements. He planned on letting her stay in the Lotus Pavilion as his secret woman.

He didn’t want to stop his affair with Esmeralda. He was so in love with her that he couldn’t let her go.

King Solomon had been depressed by Esmeralda’s rejection. As time went by of not seeing her, he felt as though he was going crazy. His longing for her grew each day.

He tried visiting her in the servant quarters but Esmeralda refused to see him. She had been avoiding him ever since he revealed his real identity.

"Zaldy, I can no longer endure this! I’m going crazy without seeing her." King Solomon confided his feelings to his loyal servant.

"I can’t get her out of my mind. I keep thinking about her. What did I do wrong? Why is she making things hard for me? She is just a mere servant! How could she reject me? I’m the King of Averion!" King Solomon lamented, unable to accept her rejection.

"Is she hoping that I will make her my Queen?" He slammed the table with his fists.

Zaldy took a deep sigh. "Your Majesty, I don’t think she wants to be a queen. I’ve talked to her several times and her decision is firm. She wished for your happiness with your family. Please forget about her."

"She already made her decision," Zaldy added.

Deep inside, Zaldy admired Esmeralda for choosing the right thing. Though she loved King Solomon, she decided to let him go because their love was forbidden. She wasn’t tempted by the king’s extravagant offer. She chose to live freely with a clear conscience.

However, King Solomon was stubborn enough to understand Esmeralda’s feelings. He refused to think from her perspective. He was the one who was making things difficult for Esmeralda.

"No! I will let her know that I’m the King and she can’t defy me. I’ll get what I want! I want her!" King Solomon declared, clenching his fists.

Zaldy looked at him worriedly. ’If he keeps acting like this, he will just end up hurting her further. He must respect Esme’s decision.’

The servant could only sigh deeply as he shook his head helplessly.

The next day, King Solomon gave his command to make Esmeralda suffer. He thought if the other servants began bullying her again and dumping her with so many household chores, she would come to him and beg him to accept her again as his woman.

King Solomon tried to punish her with this method, hoping she would finally give in to him. However, one month passed, Esmeralda continued avoiding him while enduring the maltreatment she received from the people inside the palace.

And one day...

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Esme collapsed from too much exhaustion. She fell ill!" Zaldy urgently informed King Solomon.

"What?! Where is she?! Bring me to her!" King Solomon couldn’t hide his concern for Esmeralda.

He immediately visited her in her quarters as he disguised himself as a servant. That was when King Solomon realized that she lost so much weight with her poor health.

The cheerful woman he had known was gone. She was like a withered flower lying on the bed. He started to regret his actions.

He kneeled by her bed, his eyes filled with remorse and guilt as he looked at her poor state.

He held her hand and called out her name. "Esme..."

Hearing his familiar voice, Esmeralda forced herself to open her eyes and looked at the man. She smiled faintly upon meeting his worried gaze.

"Why are you stubborn? If you need help, you can always come to me," King Solomon said, gripping her hand tightly. "Why did you let yourself suffer?"

’Because I want to forget you... I endured everything, hoping I could finally forget my Cristoff. I deliberately occupied myself with so much work. And I never complained because this is my way of coping to mend my broken heart. But still... I miss you.’ Esmeralda thought to herself. She didn’t want to voice it out to him.

Her gaze lingered on his face for a long moment. She didn’t say a word. She chose silence.

"I can no longer stand this. Whether you like it or not, I’m taking you to the Lotus Pavilion. You will need to recuperate and recover quickly," King Solomon stated firmly.

But Esmeralda shook her head vehemently.

"Please, let me go. Just forget about me. Allow me to live quietly and peacefully here."

"This is my command as your king. You can’t defy me. I order you to stay in Lotus Pavilion and recover your health! You must stay healthy!" King Solomon had made up his mind. He would bring her to Lotus Pavilion even if it was by force!

Esmeralda was too weak to argue with him further. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

King Solomon became true to his words. On the same night, he brought Esmeralda to Lotus Pavilion. And he stayed by her side the whole night, just taking care of her.

He lay on the bed, cuddling Esmeralda’s frail figure. Her complexion was pale and her body was burning up because of the fever.

Though Esmeralda was in poor health, King Solomon grabbed this chance to be with her. At least, she didn’t have the strength and energy to push him away at that moment.

"I missed hugging you like this," King Solomon mumbled as he pulled her closer to his body.

He watched over her, imprinting her beautiful face in his mind. He had to admit that Esmeralda was the most beautiful woman he had ever met in his entire life.

However, he didn’t fall in love with her just because of her beauty. She possessed a lot of good qualities as a woman.

"How I wish I met you sooner..." He murmured, gently caressing her face.

"Forgive me, Esme. I will do things against your will because I can’t give you up. I promise... I will make you happy and protect you."

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