Rebirth: The unfavored Princess is the Tyrant King's favorite-Chapter 159: Leaving Gloryland - 2

As Nicholas and James approached the study, he instructed one of the guards to summon Adam to his study.

Nicholas sat on his chair, facing his two most trusted men in deep thought. His fingers drummed on the desk, causing the already tense atmosphere to feel charged.

"Why is the second prince not in the manor like I instructed?" He asked Adam.

"I’m sorry, my prince," Adam began and told Nicholas everything that transpired between him and the second prince in their absence.

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed as he listened to Adam’s account of the events that took place.

He couldn’t help but feel that apart from his third brother’s problem in the Southern region, there was something fishy going on with his second brother. It seems he needs to investigate his second brother upon his return.

"Don’t worry, now both of you should listen to what I’m about to tell you," Nicholas said and told them everything that happened in the palace and the need for him to leave the palace and the capital at dawn.

"James, you will stay behind and take care of my wife. Protect her like you’d protect me and James," Nicholas paused and gave him a searching gaze before adding in a low whisper.

"She’s more important to me than life itself; don’t let any harm come to her. You’ve failed to keep her safe before; I trust you wouldn’t repeat it," he said, and James nodded in understanding.

"I’ll protect the princess consort with my life, my prince," James promised.

Adam, who was at the side, felt his heart skip a beat at the prince’s words. Was the princess consort that important for the eldest prince to say such words?

Doesn’t the eldest prince know that if his enemies heard such words, they were going to use them against him?

Even though Adam felt his prince was showing signs of weakness, he also came to a realization at those words: the prince really loved the princess’s consort, and it would be in his best interest to get along with the woman.

"Adam, you should make the necessary preparations for our departure. You both are excused," Nicholas said and waved them away.

Left alone in the study, Nicholas pulled out a paper, dipped his brush into the ink, and began to write some words for Luciana. He wanted to leave her and explain why he had to leave her alone like that.

The letter will also serve as something for her to remember him by since he might be gone for a month at least in the shortest scenario.

The truth was that he might stay up to two or three months if things turn out to be as bad as the reports say. But the truth was that since he was the one who inflicted those wounds on David, he was betting on everything being a lie.

He would just go and invite his 3rd brother to the capital to explain everything to the emperor, and then he would swiftly return to the capital, all the while trying to find out more information about the curse.

~~~

The Royal Pharmacy,

Physician Philip stared at the steam rising from the pot in a daze.

’Should he do it or not?’ He had asked himself the question several times, but he was unable to come up with anything.

In the next moment, his thoughts drifted to a rare pill a mysterious man had gifted him during one of his outings outside the academy when he was still under training as a physician.

One day, he had gone into the deep forest in search of rare herbs since he sold them to get some extra money to support his mother and sister in the slave camp.

That was where he met a strange man who said he wanted to teach him a few herbs and poisons because he had a pure heart.

One of the things the man gifted him after their short time together as master and disciple was a special pill that could protect or harm a fetus at the same time in the womb of a pregnant mother.

According to the man, this special pill was usually taken by pregnant slaves during the dark times. It could protect the fetus from any malicious intent, and even slaves who worked under the harshest conditions of labor could still protect their babies under such circumstances due to this special pill.

But there was a catch: the pill only worked on people with the purest of hearts. If a pregnant mother had a wicked heart and had evil in her heart, the pill would harm the fetus and cause it to miscarry.

Physician Philip hesitated but decided to use the special pill instead.

He looked around, and when he saw no one was paying attention to him, he took out the special pill from his sleeves, dropped two pills into the medicine, and took it off the stove to cool it down.

"Now everything is left for fate to decide." Physician Philip mumbled under his breath as he waited for the royal physician’s arrival.

~~~

The next day,

"Take care, my love. I’ll return to you as soon as I can," Nicholas said and kissed Luciana on the forehead. He let his lips linger on her skin, feeling reluctant to part from the warmth transmitting between them, but he knew he couldn’t keep stalling; the emperor and other important officials would come and see him off, and he couldn’t keep them waiting.

The imperial physician had administered some medicine to Luciana the night before, and he had fed it to her himself. He had hoped she would wake up soon and see him off, but he knew it was impossible.

He would have to console himself with the knowledge that her breathing had returned to normal and all her vital signs showed significant improvement.

With a heavy heart, Nicholas pulled himself away from Luciana’s sleeping form and stared at her intently as if he were imprinting every part of her face into his mind.

He lifted her head together with the pillow and placed the letter he had written beneath it, and this time he didn’t linger since he was afraid he might change his mind if he stayed any longer.

With large strides, he marched out of the room, not noticing how Luciana’s hand had shot forward in her sleep as if to grab onto him.