[Music Recommendation: 6.6 Gigue ~ Peter Gregson & Richard Harwood]

With the arrival of dawn, the King and Queen returned to the palace without anyone’s notice. They entered their chamber and waited for the day to brighten with the sun kissing the walls of the palace.

Oriana sat at her table, staring at the mirror. She remembered the words of Adric from the previous night. Though last night was her best moment with Adric, the weight of the words she heard stayed in her heart.

Adric, who had finished dressing up, touched Oriana’s shoulder. "Let’s go and see the soldiers. They should be back now."

Oriana turned to meet his eyes and nodded gently, taking Adric’s hand, and both of them walked out of the room with their hands interlocked.

"Your Majesty," Malcolm bowed deeply upon seeing the King and his Queen.

Adric acknowledged the greeting with a small nod. "As you were," he said in a calm voice, his eyes scanning the training camp. "And the men?"

"They all returned this morning. Some of them still feel weak, so I’ve asked them to rest, and we will continue our training soon," the general replied in a polite tone. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Looking around the camp, Adric knew that he needed to keep the army safe until the war if he wanted Avon to win, knowing that the remaining strong soldiers of Avon were few.

"You should also rest, General. I will have food brought to the camp for the soldiers," Adric patted the man’s back with a small bow, then turned and left with Oriana.

As they walked back inside the palace, Oriana asked, "Are you going to tell them who planned to tarnish the reputation of the soldiers?"

Adric shook his head slightly, "If I call my stepmother out directly, it will only result in more hate. I will just have a warning given to them."

"But Gwen is no longer allowed inside the palace," Oriana remarked. She knew that much. After the woman’s exile, she was asked never to step foot anywhere near the palace.

Adric turned to look at Oriana and smiled, "You still have a lot to learn. Gwen is not inside the palace, and that’s only in the physical sense. She has someone who would send the message across without missing words."

A Royal family meeting was called, but this time, instead of the room being filled up like in the past, it had just three persons; Oriana sitting next to Adric and Adelaide sitting alone on the opposite couch.

"Brother Adric," Adelaide started with a smile, "Is all well?" she asked sweetly.

Adric chuckled, crossing one leg over the other. "All should be well, except you think otherwise." When he said this, the smile on Adelaide’s lips faded for a second before she replaced it quickly.

"Yesterday, at one of the inns, the soldiers that belong to the Queen’s army had their food and drinks laced with something," he started, staring at Adelaide unblinkingly.

Adelaide, seeing that Adric was looking at her, maintained her calm expression, but her hands moved together, pressed tightly.

"Really? Was it something poisonous?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Adric moved his head to the side, "What a reaction," his voice was dull. "You only care if it was poisonous. Why? So it doesn’t get traced back to the original culprit?"

Oriana chuckled. Adric’s sarcasm never slid past her. He had ways of making his point while making someone furious. She had forgotten so quickly after falling for him, this was who Adric was. Quick to detect lies, and knowing how to handle them accordingly.

"I mean, the soldiers... they’re okay, right?" Adelaide caught on quickly. "I didn’t know someone would be bold enough to even dare to do such a thing to the army. Are you okay, Your Majesty, since they are your army?" she turned to Oriana.

Oriana hummed, "Am I?" she muttered. "I have decided to find whoever it was that had a hand in trying to harm my army." She held Adric’s hand, "Let’s make sure the perpetrator faces severe punishment."

Adric twitched his lips, "Too bad, the inn owner won’t tell me who it was. I’m sorry for not torturing the woman until she spilled the name."

Adelaide adjusted on her seat, "We shouldn’t let frivolous things like this worry us. Since the soldiers are doing well, let’s focus on the war."

"You’re right," Adric gave his stepsister a sweet smile. "Let’s forget about it, My Queen. I’m sure anyone who even dared to poison the soldiers would be too scared to make a move now."

Adelaide smiled, "Yes, I think so too." She squeezed her palm tightly. "I have to go back to my room now," she said quietly and left the room.

Oriana turned her face, smiling at Adric, "Did you see her face?" Oriana couldn’t help but laugh. She had always known Adelaide to be the most composed and didn’t expect her to be shaken so easily.

Outside the room, Adelaide ran as fast as she could without a maid. She made her way towards the quarters where her mother was. Though it was broad daylight, she didn’t care about being caught. This time, the princess was really worried. The last time she almost got caught, she had Caspar take the fall for her, but right now, she was the only person in the palace and nobody was on her side.

"Mother!" She pushed the door open without knocking, "Mother, whatever it was you had on the soldiers, Brother Adric caught on fast."

Gwen dropped the hairbrush she was using. Since she had no maid to assist her, the former Queen was now doing everything on her own.

"How do you mean?"

Adelaide inhaled deeply, "I don’t know, but this morning he called me to tell me that someone has been adding something to the soldiers’ meals. I didn’t need to think deeply to know it was you since you already had plans of-"

"That’s enough, but does Adric know it’s me?" Gwen asked, not ready to hear her daughter chant her evil deeds.

Adelaide shrugged, "I don’t know! All I’m saying is we have to do something before he even makes his own move. You’ve already been exiled, and I’m the next if anything goes wrong. I don’t want to leave the palace, especially not for that girl Oriana!"

"Nobody is leaving the palace," Gwen spoke with a hint of annoyance, "You’re going to get married. If there’s a wedding, I’m sure Adric will quickly forget about everything. Now run and go let Nicholas know that you both will be getting married very soon."

Adelaide touched her temples, "I really hope this works, and for now, Mother, don’t do anything else. Please, just stay still," saying this, the princess walked out of the room.