Chapter 257 "I will take care of you."...
Another day passed, and Princess Marcy arrived. Perhaps it was part of the wedding ceremony; the next day, all the immediate family members would come to celebrate with the newlyweds. The princess was just one of them.
I sat on the edge of the bed, watching in astonishment as the old princess became even more paralyzed.
She used to be completely paralyzed, her head could only tilt to the side, but at least she could be strapped to a wheelchair and could still "sit" in it to get around. Now, she can't even sit in a wheelchair; she can only lie paralyzed on a stretcher, carried in by several strong men.
She looked at me with disgust, resentment, and contempt, and then closed her eyes after a while.
She was quickly carried out.
I couldn't help but follow them out. The burly men walked quickly and disappeared in an instant, carrying the bed.
Two young ladies standing in the corridor gossiped in hushed tones:
"I heard she's gotten really good at playing with men lately, even forcing them to get in if she can't."
"Then what do we do?"
"Let one man slap another man repeatedly until the man can get it. The men were all slapped until their heads were turned into pig heads."
The two ladies chuckled softly.
"She's taken a fancy to a new man these past two days, a guy who just started his shift, and he's got some muscles."
How good are the muscles?
"It's big, wobbly, and feels really good."
"That's a pity."
The two noblewomen looked on with regret and envy at their unfulfilled desires.
I was listening intently when the Elf King appeared. I turned around and saw it was him, and I was startled. Then I realized he couldn't see me, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
The two noblewomen quickly bowed and hurried away. The Elf King walked straight out as if he hadn't seen them, followed closely by a group of nobles who had been inside the room.
They walked quickly and disappeared down the corridor.
I was curious, and the two ladies were even more so. They grabbed one of the group of ladies who came out afterward and asked, "What happened?"
The noblewoman responded in a very low voice: "The rebels have rioted again, clamoring for the return of King Daio. King Daio has had another son, making him three sons now, including his illegitimate child."
A noblewoman nearby sighed, "The king originally had several sons, but unfortunately none of them lived past the age of five."
"Although the woman with superpowers gave birth to a son, he is of mixed blood," an elderly noblewoman sighed repeatedly.
“King Daio’s three sons were all born to women of his own tribe,” said the noblewoman who spoke first.
With sighs and lamentations, the noblewomen quickly left the palace.
I followed them out. For the first time, I, who was now formless and invisible, left the palace and floated through the once bustling town, where I saw streets in complete chaos.
The rebels, dressed in uniform black military attire, incited the people to hold a march. They held up banners and flags covered with slogans, shouting for King Sarga to step down.
The Elf King's army surged forward, brandishing muskets and opening fire. The rebels, also armed with muskets, returned fire. The sounds of gunfire, screams, and cries, along with thick smoke, filled the streets and alleys. Civilians scattered and fled, many collapsing to the ground in the process.
When two armies clash, ordinary civilians suffer the most.
Amidst the deafening roar of gunfire, I rushed toward a mother who had fallen while holding her child, but just as I was about to touch the child, I suddenly vanished.
I felt myself disappear; the people and things in front of me vanished in an instant.
I felt as if I had returned to my own body, and an overwhelming wave of pain washed over me. I endured it for a few seconds before passing out...
————
I slept for a very long time.
I almost thought I would never wake up.
He was sleeping very soundly.
If this is what death feels like, then it's not unacceptable.
But I will lose more—the bright sun, the fresh air, the gentle breeze, and the people I love and those I don't.
Then I woke up in fright.
His body trembled violently.
I heard hurried footsteps and low calls, as if someone was calling for a doctor.
A short while later, another strange set of footsteps appeared. It was strange because when these footsteps appeared, all other sounds disappeared. The previously noisy sounds of carrying water, wringing towels, pulling bed curtains, and running around all vanished instantly.
Instead, people held their breath.
A thick, warm hand stroked my face, moving down my forehead, through my eyes, to my nose and lips. The rough palm caressed me back and forth, making me feel ticklish. At first, I tried to resist, but eventually I couldn't help but sneeze and forcefully turned my face away from that annoying hand.
A low, deep laugh came, followed by a familiar voice: "Could you please open your eyes?"
I slowly opened my eyes—not because of what he said, but out of curiosity.
Bernard's delicate face came into view, a face that looked noticeably more haggard. There were heavy bags under his eyes and deep bruises under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for several nights. He hadn't shaved, and there was a messy pile of stubble. I couldn't help but laugh, intending to make fun of him, but suddenly I found myself speechless, unable to utter a sound.
“Don’t worry,” Bernard said quickly. “You’ve been unconscious for a long time, so it’s normal that you can’t speak right now. After a few days of rest and some porridge, you’ll get better.”
I nodded. Bernard then fed me water with a small spoon. I drank for a little while, then felt tired and fell asleep again.
For the next few days, I woke up, ate, ate, and slept. Life was incredibly boring, but thankfully my strength gradually returned.
Two weeks later, I was finally able to get out of bed, only to find that I was underground. To be precise, I was in an earthen palace hidden deep underground.
This... Bernard is really good at hiding things. Did he build this palace because he was afraid I would be taken away?
This is, of course, nonsense.
How deeply infatuated must a man be to believe that a man banished to a remote place would spend manpower and resources to build a palace for a woman?
This underground palace originally existed and was built by the lord of this remote and harsh land. After several generations of lords, it has become quite complete, with everything one would expect: a palace, courtyard, council hall, banquet hall, large kitchen, well, miscellaneous courtyard, and training ground.
Not far from the underground palace, there is an underground village. It was originally inhabited by the villagers, but after a plague, all the villagers died, and the village was given to the guards to live in, becoming a military camp.
"So where do the villagers live now?" I asked.
“They live upstairs,” Bernard replied.
"The weather up there is terrible, so why would they want to live up there?"
How do you know the weather up there is bad?
"Several generations of feudal lords have been building underground palaces, which means there must be something above that they cannot tolerate, and the weather is the most important thing."
“You’re so smart, honey.” Bernard looked at me with a gentle smile. “The weather up there is really bad.”
We arrived at the ground. We took an elevator, which used the principles of physics and mechanics to pull us up and down, and we arrived at the ground.
The ground was desolate, almost barren, a vast expanse of bare, yellowish-black dry earth. The biting wind whipped across our faces, and even though I was almost completely covered up, I still felt a knife-like pain.
“It will hail or pour rain at night, or there will be strong winds that could blow away even a house made of solid wood,” Bernard whispered in my ear.
The wind was so strong that I couldn't hear him unless he was right next to my ear.
"Why would those villagers still choose to live up there? Aren't they afraid of being blown away by the wind?" I asked him, whispering in his ear.
"So many people died from that plague that they were terrified and refused to live underground. They lived in stone houses in the nearby mountains. If the stone houses were carved deep enough, they wouldn't be afraid of the wind."
Seeing that I stopped talking, he whispered in my ear, "Aren't we like we've gone back to many years ago, to when you and I lived in this harsh, cold place?"
I said coldly into his ear, "It's different. That time we didn't have to stay underground. This time it's even worse."
Back underground, he said to me gently, "Bear with it for a few years. I will definitely return to the capital. I won't let you suffer forever."
"Why did you kidnap me from the Elf King? I was doing just fine there, and my four children were there too." I said coldly.
He smiled and said, "We will also have our own children. If you miss your other children, I will find a way to bring them to us when we return to the capital."
"You'd better not make such a distant promise." I yawned, shooed him out of the room, and prepared to go to sleep.
My body hasn't recovered yet, and I get tired easily every day, so I sleep several times a day.
He seemed unwilling, stuck inside the door and refusing to come out. "I'll just stay by your bedside and won't do anything."
"Aren't you busy? Didn't you want to march back to the capital? My poor prince, hurry up and get to work."
Upon hearing the words "poor prince," he seemed displeased. "Don't worry, I will take care of you, and I will take good care of you."
"You should support your wife and kids first. You have a bunch of illegitimate children waiting to be fed." With that, I shoved him out the door and slammed it shut.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Dear readers, please check out my other novels too, and definitely support me!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
