[Music Recommendation: Icarus ~ Phildel]

The crowd shouted with happiness as everyone cheered loudly. Adric fell to his knees and dropped the sword, now resting on the sandy ground beside Nicholas. Both of them breathed heavily.

"You were just lucky," Nicholas said, trying to catch his breath.

Adric smiled, "The loser’s watchword," he grunted.

Nicholas sucked his teeth, trying to bite down his pain. "You don’t love her; why are you keeping her?"

Adric tried to sit up but failed, as he was still bleeding. "Do you want me to keep you?"

"You joke about everything," Nicholas started. "That’s why you don’t deserve to be loved. I know you’re just using her. Let her go and choose someone else. Oriana doesn’t deserve any of this, and you know it."

Adric let out a hearty laugh. "Because you go around telling her stories of her childhood, told to you by someone else, do you now feel responsible for her, or do you feel she met you first? What delusion."

"It’s not delusion if I was also there. You only approached her first that day," Nicholas replied, breathing heavily.

Pushing himself up finally, Adric smirked. "Get up from the floor, Nicholas. This is too embarrassing for you. If you want something, go ahead and get yours. You mustn’t live in my shadows," Adric walked slowly away from the ring, his hand on his stomach.

Nicholas closed his eyes, hitting the ground roughly so that small stones pierced into his skin. He cursed under his breath. After waiting for a moment, he sat up and looked straight ahead, seeing everyone running toward Adric.

"Prince Adric, are you okay?"

"Your Highness, someone get the physician!"

Oriana ran toward Adric, her face etched with worry and anxiousness. She tried to go and ask him how he was, but someone pushed her aside. It was Sophie.

"You were slow," Sophie scowled, looking at Oriana from head to toe. Then she ran toward Adric. "Your Highness, are you okay? Oh dear, someone fast, get the physician," the princess ran around, trying to hold Adric there by using her body to push Oriana aside.

Oriana stood by the side without saying anything. Rightfully, she wasn’t Adric’s wife or the Crown Princess; it was just right for Sophie to take care of him.

Adric leaned on his side with Rowan holding him steady. He walked straight to the palace. When he got to Oriana, he didn’t stop to look at her. He walked inside the palace with everyone behind him, worried about his safety.

With the crowd now dispersed, Oriana stood all alone in silence. She wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, but she was just worried. After waiting for a moment, she sighed and started walking inside when someone held her back.

"Are you going inside?" Nicholas asked, holding his stomach where he was also bleeding.

Oriana gasped, "You need to get yourself treated. Let me call the physician," She turned to leave, but Nicholas held her back.

"If you can help me out, I wouldn’t want to disturb the royal physicians who would be attending to the Crown Prince at the moment," Nicholas remarked, staggering a little but then holding his balance.

Oriana tried to hold his weight and help him stand, but before her hand could touch Nicholas, another hand held Oriana’s own midair.

"I think those hands should be somewhere else, no?" Adric asked, pulling Oriana to his side.

Nicholas clenched his teeth, taking a step back. "Your Highness," he bowed.

"Prince Adric," Oriana blinked, seeing that he had yet to change his bloodied shirt.

"Hm?" Adric answered, his eyes on Nicholas before he slowly settled them on Oriana. "Told you, I have a surprise for you, didn’t I?"

Oriana cleared her throat and tried to move away from Adric, but his grip tightened around her waist. "Y-you did," she croaked.

"Good, now let’s go inside," he tugged Oriana by the hand and started walking inside. Then he turned to look at Nicholas, "You should come too. I guess it’s a surprise for everyone to enjoy. I am very generous, you see," Adric grinned before walking inside.

Nicholas exhaled softly, gripping his hand tightly on the sword. He walked away from there.

Adric walked straight to his room with Oriana behind him. Getting inside, he dragged her inside and then went to sit on his couch.

Oriana stood by the side, watching as physicians trooped inside to attend to Adric. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she worried for Nicholas as there was nobody to attend to him.

"Are you thinking about someone right now?" Adric asked, closing his eyes when the physician stuck a needle in his side.

Oriana winced like she was the one feeling the pain. She looked elsewhere and didn’t answer Adric.

"You know what I hate most? When people keep their eyes on what belongs to me. I mean, others can accommodate that, but not me. I think it’s the royal blood. What do you think?" Adric asked, moving to the side when his left hand was being tied up.

Oriana shook her head, "I don’t really understand what you’re talking about," she replied, trying not to look at the blood.

Adric nodded, "You will, all of us will. Soon..." he drawled. Finally, after his wounds were cleaned, he pulled on a clean shirt.

"Your Highness, you need to rest a little, or the wound on your stomach will open up again," the main physician tried to stop him.

Adric smiled, his eyes on Oriana. "Some lessons are better taught immediately. Any further delay would lead to more mistakes."

Oriana, who wasn’t understanding anything, furrowed her brows. She stood awkwardly at the side of the room, fumbling with her hands.

"Let’s go to the royal court," Adric said to her before walking out of the room. Oriana didn’t need to be told to follow him.

Now inside the courtroom, it was not just the ministers but the entire royal family and their guests from Orion that had arrived. Everyone was murmuring amongst themselves about why they had been summoned.

"Adric, is there something you want to announce?" Fidelis asked his son.

Adric hummed thoughtfully, "Let’s just say it’s a point I want to make," he replied, his eyes roaming around the courtroom. When he found Nicholas standing on the side with his wounds also treated, Adric smiled.

"It has come to my notice that someone has been trying to seduce the future Queen of Avon." Adric started calmly, "What should be done to such a person?"

Oriana turned to look at Adric. Was he talking about her at the moment? And who would be trying to seduce her... was he talking about Nicholas? Adric won’t be that petty, she thought to herself.

"Such a person should be stoned to death, as it is also treason," one of the ministers said, and others nodded in agreement.

Adric nodded, "I’ll need something faster, and I know just what. Bring him out."

Rowan bowed, dragging inside the courtroom a young man with a bloodied face.

"There he is. Someone saw him lurking around the princess’s room this early morning."

Oriana’s brow knitted together. She had never met the man they were holding at the moment.

"That’s my personal guard," Nicholas stepped forward with a frown on his face.

Adric grinned, "Is that so? Does that mean you sent him, or is this servant of yours trying to seduce Oriana on his own accord?"

"He wouldn’t—" Nicholas started, then stopped when he saw the crazy look in Adric’s eyes.

"Someone saw him trying to touch the princess’s face, and also standing at her door this morning with an ointment." Adric shook his head, his face etched with disappointment.

Oriana finally understood what was going on. This was the servant Nicholas told her about who was going to bring the ointment. But she didn’t even meet with him. She walked closer to explain to Adric,

"Prince Adric, I can explai—"

"Stand back, except you’re accepting to be in a relationship with this servant," Adric warned without looking at Oriana.

"A mere servant trying to court the princess? Kill him!" the ministers shouted as their voices echoed in the court. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Adric nodded, "Straight to the scaffold."

Oriana gripped her gown tightly. She knew the reason Adric was doing this. He was trying to warn her against Nicholas, but the servant was innocent. She turned to look at Nicholas, whose eyes were now on his personal guard.

Nicholas tried to stop Adric, who was now walking outside toward the scaffold. "If you have a problem with me, don’t take it out on my servants, Adric."

"You mean Prince Adric? And what makes you think you’re not also my servant?" Adric asked, and when Nicholas didn’t reply, he smiled.

Everyone walked toward the scaffold that was just outside the palace. The guard was made to kneel with his head on the ground.

Oriana turned her face when the knife was held up, but Adric turned her around.

"Watch it clearly, so you’ll know you had him killed by your carelessness," Adric said. Raising his hand up, he gave the order to the executioner, who turned around with his heavy sword before aiming for the servant’s neck.

"No!" Oriana closed her eyes when the knife slashed the servant. Her knees gave away, and she fell, her whole body trembling with shock.