Wife of The Demon Prince
Chapter 195: Meeting with the king

Chapter 195: Meeting with the king

Ara, who had been napping in their chamber, woke up earlier than usual. She had been sleeping a lot lately, and it had been making her feel more lazy, her condition had already improved a lot than expected.

She slowly opened her eyes and sat up while scratching up her arms. However, her eyes shifted to the side, she noticed that Hamon who slept beside her was not there now. She tilted her head in wonder. Where did he go?

She didn’t dwell on the thought for long and dismissed it, as she knew how busy his schedules were lately. Maybe something came up that needed his urgent approval. She mused.

Ara quietly tried to get out of bed, when Emma, who had come to check in on her approached hurriedly, "My lady, be careful. How’s your wound?" She asked as she gently pushed her shoulders back to sit on the bed.

"Emma, am fine now. I feel much better, I don’t want to stay in bed all through the day."

"Are you sure it doesn’t hurt anymore?" She questioned doubtfully. Ara gave her a reassuring nod, "That’s a relief, then_ oh yes, earlier when you were asleep, His majesty had sent for you."

"The king?"Ara asked with her brows frowned.

"Yes, he said if you could, he wants to meet you today in his residence before evening."

"Oh..." She suddenly recalled that the king had said he’d send for her when he was feeling well. He had promised to tell her about Hamon the next time they would meet. And perhaps then she’d also find out about the red stone on her necklace and on Hamon’s ring as well. It was only because of the king’s poor health that their meeting had been delayed till now.

Since he was asking for her, maybe he wanted to tell her...

Ara hadn’t fully recovered, but she could move on her own now. There was no telling when she’d get another chance to meet with the king again. With that thought, Ara quickly rose from the bed, "Emma, help me dress up."

"Are you sure you can go there by yourself, my lady?"

"Yes, I need to meet him today." Ara was determined to know more about the man she’d married. She’d seen Hamon’s appearance change in the battlefield that night. She’d been curious about him, furthermore, the red stone; they said it was valuable and precious, and perhaps the stone had some hidden abilities that she didn’t know about.

If there was one thing she was certain about, it was that; if by any chance the stone could pose danger...Hamon would never tell her about it. Not that she didn’t trust him, but he was always averse to anything that might put her in danger, even to the point where he tried to divert her to a safe area several times at the forest when they were being chased by the assassins.

She wanted to know exactly what he was, and how he was different from the other royals. She’d vowed to never leave his side even if she had to stare down a thousand dangers. Her chest, where the arrows had struck her still hurt terribly, but she would take any injury for her husband a countless times if it meant keeping him by her side.

Not long, Emma helped her into her dress. And Ara made towards the king’s residence. If one should see her walking, they would never guess that she was suffering from any injuries at all. Although, she didn’t wear her usual dresses with a tight corset, but a loose brightly coloured dress, with the hem sweeping the floor behind her. Her expression was calm as always, she’d chosen a bright dress to hide her pale complexion.

Ara pushed forward with a steady gait, ignoring the throbbing pain in her chest. She tried her best not to show any weakness or signs of pain, as not everyone knew about her injuries. And they had kept it a secret so Hamon’s enemies in the palace wouldn’t know about it.

She finally arrived at the king’s chamber. When the head butler saw her, he let the king know of her presence, "The crown princess is here, Your majesty."

There was a hacking cough from inside the room, then Frederick’s voice replied, "Cough, Cough...enter."

Permission given, the head butler bowed to Ara and opened the door for her, "Please enter, Your Highness."

She muttered a thank you to the middle-aged butler, then walked inside the room. oddly, all the thick curtains were drawn across the windows, leaving the room dimmed with only two candles burning on the nightstand. She took in the gloomy surrounding curiously, but then her eyes fell on the king laying down on the bed.

"Oh my goodness...!" She let out an exclamation seeing Fredrick’s condition. He looked pale like a ghost, and thinner, also like a skeleton. The disease seemed to have advanced to this point.

Ara worriedly asked as she made to the bedside, "Father, you look ill...are you alright?"

He forced a smile, "Yes, my child...Even though I look like this now, you shouldn’t worry about me_cough! I’ll get better before you know it in a few days." He assured, his voice sounding weak.

"Father..." Ara couldn’t bring herself to say anything, but she knew from her past life that the king would soon die. However, she hadn’t worried that much because she was hoping it might be different in this lifetime, since a lot didn’t go as it went in her previous life. Unfortunately, Frederick’s illnesses only seemed to increase double.

Frederick slowly lifted his skinny hand and placed it on Ara’s hand resting on the edge of the bed, "My child, I heard about your injuries...how are you feeling now?"

She gently clasped his hand, "I am feeling much better now, Father. So please, don’t worry about me." Her wounds hadn’t completely healed yet, but she didn’t want to cause unnecessary worry to the already sick king.

Frederick nodded contentedly at her words, he then reached out his other hand to her, "My child...please help me up."

"Yes, Father." Ara took his other hand and helped him sit up straight on the bed. He leaned his back against the headboard. "I summoned you here today so I can fulfill the promise I made to you before your wedding with my son."

Ara who’d been curious immediately nodded, "Yes..." She glanced down at the ring on her finger, she’d decided to wear it today. She really wondered what massive secret this little stone contained.

"Father...what is so special about this red stone?"

"What do you think about the stone?" He asked instead of answering her burning questions.

"I don’t know...I was told at a jewelry store that the stone was very unusual."

Frederick’s expression turned grave, "It’s not just any stone. It is a magic stone that grants wishes."

"...!" If Frederick wasn’t talking in such a serious tone, she would have thought that he was joking with her. Was this stone really magical? She wasn’t easily convinced. The necklace the old woman had gifted her in her previous life, had the same stone as this ring, and it had been completely ordinary in all the years she’d kept it with her. However, the old woman had also said it was special...

As if sensing her doubt, Frederick spoke again, "You don’t believe it, do you?"

"It’s hard to really believe such a thing..."

Frederick nodded thoughtfully, "I understand. But there is much more to the stone, it’s called the stone of Helga. It has the power to grant a single wish to the possessor, but after that...it would change into a dark shade of red that signifies the end of usage for the current possessor of the stone, which means you’d never be able to wish on it anymore..."

As she listened to the king’s explanation, Ara’s eyes widened as realization dawned on her. When the old lady gave her the necklace, it was a bright red...but returning to the past, it had turned dark red. She hadn’t dwelled on the color change, because she’d thought it changed in time, but...

Does that mean she’d wished on it somehow? She didn’t remember ever doing such a thing. But then, it was still quite hard to believe it was a magical stone, she’d had it with her for ages. She glanced down at the stone on Hamon’s ring; does Hamon also know the stones they had was magical?

She was really finding it hard to believe, "Father, What exactly is the power of the stone?" Despite her doubt earlier, she couldn’t help but express curiosity about the story of the stone. The more she considered Frederick’s words, the more she wanted to know more.

He gave her a knowing look. And she asked doubtfully, "Can the stone...really grant one wish?"

"Yes, it can."

She found herself gradually starting to believe his words, but that only opened up even more complications. How was it that she and Hamon had the halves then? Moreover, even the ring he’d given her was dark red in her hand. Had Hamon made a wish on his too?

However, one thing was clear now. The king had been misled by Hamon’s false wish on his ring.

_’All you have to say to him is; I proposed to you with this ring, and gave you my words of blessings that whoever becomes your husband will be the next king of Findara.’_ She recalled his words, and realized he never made such blessings to her. Her mind swirled in confusion, but she couldn’t tell Frederick what she knew. In any case, he seemed to strongly believe in the lies that Hamon instructed her to deliver to him.

Frederick resumed with a more serious expression, "My child, I haven’t just called you here for the stone. There’s something important you need to know about your husband. And I want you to listen carefully to what am about to tell you."

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