Wife of The Demon Prince
Chapter 205: Arrival

Chapter 205: Arrival

As the day of the sword tournament approached. Findara began to flood with guests from various kingdoms. The numbers of warriors from each kingdom and those who came to watch them was beyond imagination.

All the streets were filled with passing carriages, from the shinny and extravagant ones to the old and overly used ones. The commoners of Findara all gathered at the sides of the streets welcoming the arriving guests, amongst the guests was Cornell, and his son Kane who were coming from Zari.

Cornell sat proudly atop a black horse with Kane on a brown horse. Kane was a tall bulky young man, his face was stern with no emotions, donned in a shiny steel armour he rode his horse with a proud gait along side his father.

"Make way for Lord’s arrival!!!"

Cornell’s procession was magnificent in scale, Kane’s horse walked closely beside his. Followed by an impressive train of knights. The knights were men experienced in war, their aura was sharp as well-forged blades. The people of Findara welcomed them like revered heroes returning from war.

All the commoners standing on either side of the streets bowed their heads deeply in respect as the horses trotted past them. Cornell had been expected to be the heir to the throne since his young age, but in the end, it was given to his younger brother instead, however his image was far more respected than any of the royal family members.

Upon their arrival to the kingdom, Cornell and Kane headed straight to the palace. The palace had been meticulously prepared to welcome them after receiving the news of their arrival. Cornell walked side by side with his son as they strode through large halls of the palace.

"Kane, be on your nicest behavior while we are here, you must make sure not to pick a fight with the crown Prince like you used to before when you were young. Don’t ruin my plans, understood?" Cornell warned his son in a whisper as they made to the dinning hall where the royal family were waiting.

"I understand, I won’t pick a fight with him. I am not here for him but to win the tournament." Kane’s voice was deep and a bit husky on the edge. He looked so much like his father, his fierce grey eyes glimmered as they made to the dinning hall’s door.

Inside the dinning hall, Fredrick was seated at the head table, with Merona on his right, followed by Prince Cassius and princess Eadlin seated by their mother’s side on the right, while on the left side was Hamon and Ara.

"Cough! Cough!" Fredrick coughed hoarsely covering his mouth with his hands, he still looked pale as a ghost sitting there. The family were expecting the duke’s arrival.

Suddenly, approaching footsteps were heard outside, then the door to the dinning hall opened. Cornell and Kane came to view as they strode towards the table. Cornell had a bright smile on his face as he knelt before the king with his son,

"Hail your royal majesty!" The pair greeted in unison. While Cornell was eldest, he had became subservient after Frederick was crowned the king of Findara. It was the natural order for the royal, while Fredrick was the king, Cornell was like a servant to him now. However, Kane hated the fact that he was here bowing when his father was supposed to be the king and him the crown Prince now.

His grey eyes fell on Hamon then to the woman sitting beside him, his eyes lingered on her for awhile before he looked away when he suddenly felt Hamon’s gaze on him.

Fredrick smiled gently as he spoke to his elder brother, "You are being too formal, you don’t have to go on your knees when there are no outsiders here." He assured then shifted his gaze to his nephew, "How have you’ve been, Kane? It has been awhile since you came to Findara. I hope your journey wasn’t too stressful?"

Kane forced a smile as he replied, "The journey wasn’t at all stressful, Your majesty. I’ve been busy lately, I only came to Findara to win the tournament as always. And you know I’ve never lost to anybody for me to miss it." He remarked with an air of arrogance around him.

Cornell chimed in as he shot a glare to his son, "Your majesty, I brought you some presents from Zari, I hope you’d like them." He turned and signalled one of his men, and soon several servants waiting outside came in carrying a wealth of treasures that exceeded the tributes of other kingdoms.

A look of astonishment crossed the king’s face, "Cough! Isn’t_cough! Isn’t this too much, brother?"

"Consider it my sincerest honor to you as the king of Findara." Cornell bowed deeply as he offered his gratitude to the king.

However, Ara who’d stiffened on her seat on seeing her greatest enemy in the same space she was in clenched her fist tightly under the table. She made sure not to show her hate for the duke on her expression, and quietly watched as he put up his facade in front of everyone.

Fredrick accepted the gifts. Although he didn’t completely trust his brother that much, however he fondly welcomed Cornell, but inwardly he was extremely wary about his brother and son’s arrival to the palace. Cornell was good at hiding his claws that no one would ever suspect he was up to something. Fredrick knew from experience how his brother was before, Cornell was only being respectful towards him now because he was the king.

As Ara watched their exchange, she couldn’t help but feel the rage in her stirred up double. She then suddenly felt someone’s gaze on her, and turned to the direction and met a pair of fierce grey orbs staring straight at her. Although in her past life, she’d heard about Kane, but she’d never met him in person before as he never stayed in the kingdom and went around fighting in every tournament. She’d heard about how skilled he was, but she just hoped they’d fight fair in this tournament.

Henry her brother would also take part in the tournament, and seeing that Kane was going to take part in it made her worry for Henry. Ara swallowed the feeling of dread starting to build up in her throat and looked away from Kane.

Fredrick gestured to the father and son, "You must be tired after such a long journey, take your seats and let us have breakfast together."

"Thank you, Your majesty." Cornell thanked and made to seat on the available chair, which was below even the princess’s seat. Kane clenched his teeth in annoyance seeing he’d be sitting on a chair that was farthest away from the crown Prince. He reluctantly sat down with an annoyed expression, Cornell however looked calm and composed as he sat down.

"You’ve been away from home for so long now, brother. What would you like to eat now that you’re here?"

Cornell beamed, "Oh, Your majesty. The palace is no longer my home now that I have my own home and family in Zari...The palace is all yours and I have no desire to live in it again. I’d eat anything served to me, you know am not a picky eater right from the start."

Fredrick nodded, "Very well then."

Ara did her best not to look towards Cornell and decided to focus on her food instead. She picked up her fork and was about to start eating when Hamon suddenly stopped her by holding her wrist. She looked at him questioningly, but Hamon turned towards the maids standing on one side of the dinning hall,

"Didn’t I tell you earlier to make porridge for my wife? Were your ears under your feet when I asked you to make the porridge?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow, and the maid he’d asked to make the porridge hurriedly stepped forward and bowed deeply, "My apologies, Your Highness. I-i will go and get it right away." Her face turned pale as she quickly raced out of the dinning hall.

Meanwhile all the pair of eyes in the dinning hall turned towards the couple sitting opposite the rest on the long table. Ara’s cheeks flushed as she felt all eyes on them, she then said to Hamon, "I am fine with the food_"

"No, the physician had said you should eat light food until you are fully recovered, My wife. So you will eat just that for now." He said as he took the plate of food from her and placed it aside.

Cassius rolled his eyes as he scoffed at the couple, but the moment Hamon shot a glare to his direction, he quickly glanced down at his food avoiding the deadly glare in those red eyes. Eadlin who noticed it covered her mouth with her hand to suppress her laughter. Cassius had always liked to say he wasn’t scared of Hamon and could finish him up with a snap of his fingers, but here he was shaking just with a single glare from him.

"What the heck are you laughing about, dummy?" Cassius whispered to Eadlin in irritation, but she ignored him and continued to eat her food while still trying to hold back her laugh.

"You_" he swallowed his words as he felt his mother slightly hit his leg under the table in warning.

While on the other hand, the maid who’d left to bring the porridge came back with it. She was about to place it on the table in front of Ara, when Hamon took it from her hand instead and began stirring the porridge to cool it down for his wife. He scoped a spoonful to test the temperature, when he was satisfied with it, he handed it to Ara, "Here, be careful it is still a bit hot."

It was an affectionate gesture to anyone who saw it. Ara’s cheeks flushed even more, she then muttered a, "Thank you." Before taking it from his hand.

Hamon smiled and went back to eating his food not paying attention to the pair of eyes on him from the rest of the family members. Frederick looked completely haggard but managed to smile seeing how his son treated his wife, while Cassius had a subtle sneer, and Kane smirked in amusement.

Eadlin just looked on with an envious expression. In this day and age it was rare to find a caring husband like her brother who truly cared for his wife.