THE Knight's Hidden Princess
Chapter 61: A Father’s Order

Chapter 61: A Father’s Order

Madam Heidi escorted me quietly to my father’s study. I followed quietly behind her like the obedient student that I was. But deep inside of me I was starting to get really tired of it all. The whole weight of expectations, their continuous demands as if they knew the best solution for my life was starting to become unbearable for me. I walked behind Madam Heidi with my head held high, my outer exterior calm but on the inside, I was screaming.

Raising her hand to knock once, Madam Heidi paused for a moment before she stepped inside. Drawing in a deep breath, I entered inside only to meet my father eating while scantily dressed servant poured wine for him. I clenched my jaw tightly, my hands fisted at my sides as I forced myself to remain calm.

It wasn’t the first time I would be seeing such debauchery from my father but that didn’t make it any easier for me to stomach. With the way my father as cooped up in his study one would think he was actually attending to matters of the state but instead he was indulging himself as always.

My father didn’t even bother to acknowledge us just continued to eat, chewing chew a chicken lap while occasionally gesturing for the servant to fill his cup with more wine while smiling at her in a leering manner as she did so. The air in the study was filled with the strong aroma of roasted meat and mixed spices which became unbearably for my queasy stomach.

The strong aromas of roasted meat mixed with spices became unbearable for my queasy stomach as I begin to feel another wave of nausea. The people barely had enough to eat and had to survive through whatever scarps they could find and yet their beloved King who they work hard day and night for doesn’t seem to care and instead has chosen to live his life more extravagantly and yet they wonder why the people are choosing to rebel?

Father continued to eat, completely ignoring our presence but of course, just the tiniest bit of respect would kill the great King Sigurd!

Both Madam Heidi and I remained motionless next to each other yet I detected intense tension in her body as she kept her face empty of emotions. After many years of service to my father she already had the insight to remain silent and know when to speak or address him, clearly this was one of those moments.

The more my father continued to ignore us, the more I grew angrier by the second. My feet were killing me and I was hungry but at the same time I couldn’t stand the smell of the food. I then cleared my throat.

Madam Heidi tensed beside me, even the servant’s posture became rigid at the little sound I made. My father’s grey eyes immediately rose to meet mine as he stopped chewing the piece of meat in his mouth.

I stood still as I maintained eye contact with my father who continued to chew slowly, his sharp gaze assessing me. One could almost cut the tension in the air with a knife but I refused to back down.

Madam Heidi moved slightly next to me, no doubt bracing herself for the next possible outcome. The servant who was pouring the wine visibly swallowed, her eyes darting around as if wishing she could be some place other than right here.

My father reached for his goblet of wine, which he drank from without taking his eyes off me. When he was done, he grabbed a napkin and gently dabbed at his mouth before leaning backwards in his seat.

"Get out!" He said.

No one moved except the servant who scrambled away, rushing towards the door her body literally trembling with relief at being offered an out at whatever shit storm was about to brew.

"You look well." My father said, his gaze on mine.

I bowed my head at him, "It was all due to you providing the proper care and necessities for me, dearest father." I replied smoothly, telling him exactly what I knew he wanted.

A deep chuckle came from my father as he smirked at me. "Flattery isn’t really your best suit, daughter."

"I wouldn’t dare father." I responded bowing my head deeply, "This is just me expressing my gratitude."

A nod from my father showed he was pleased with my response. Grabbing his goblet, he swirled his wine before he took a sip. "So," He started, "I heard of the little squabble that happened between my knight and the duke."

Of course you did! I thought to myself as I nodded my head at him. "It was nothing but a little misunder_"

"Is it true then?" My father asked interrupting me, "Did you really get yourself replaced by a mere lady from the squabbles of war?"

I blinked ignoring the stab to my chest at his words. Gritting my teeth, I nodded my head. "It would seem so my lord." I replied, there was no use lying to him.

My father drew in a deep breath. "How unfortunate." He said in a disappointed tone, "You couldn’t make him love you until the very end, how pathetic."

I stood still with my head bowed already knowing not to speak when he gets like this. My father sighed again, gently tapping on the table with his fingers as he leaned in his seat.

"I guess there’s no other option then." My father stated as he stroked his beards, "I guess you will just have to get rid of her!"

My head snapped up at that unable to believe what I heard. Surely, he couldn’t be suggesting.... "Get rid of her, by that you mean...."

"Oh don’t be dumb girl, you know what I mean." My father groaned as he waved me off as if we weren’t discussing an important matter, "The concubine has to be taken care of."

I frowned at my father not still understanding what he was saying. "By taking care of, do you mean..."

"Yes." My father affirmed, "I mean taken care of permanently, you need to kill her!" He said fixing me with a hard glare while I just stood rooted to the spot.