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“I told her the truth. That you miss General Nathan and wish to reminisce about the past,” Derek answered calmly.
Salvador fell silent, staring at the ceiling. After a long moment, he murmured, “That’s true. It is true.”
He closed his eyes and pressed both hands to his forehead. “Leave me. I want to think for a while.” “Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll be right outside. Please call for me if you need anything.”
Derek cast a worried glance at Salvador before stepping out of the chamber.
Back at the Capital Guard headquarters, Sophie couldn’t shake the events of the afternoon from her mind. Derek’s explanation no longer convinced her.
Something about the situation felt deeply wrong.
Grace’s gaze lingered in her thoughts-a knowing look, layered with meaning. It carried no hostility, yet it chilled her to the bone.
When she returned home that evening, she skipped dinner entirely. Instead, she summoned Kyle, Violet, and Jacob to her study. Once they arrived, she recounted every detail of what had transpired in the royal study.
Kyle and Jacob exchanged uneasy glances, neither knowing what to say.
It was Violet who wrinkled her nose in distaste and broke the silence, saying, “He drank from it and wanted you to drink it after him? That’s disgusting, isn’t it?”
She spoke without much thought, merely expressing her revulsion at the gesture. But Kyle and Jacob- both men understood far more.
Kyle’s mind was already racing.
Salvador had always been a man of reason, calm and composed in his. judgments. When it came to matters of the heart, he was indifferers at best. Despite sitting on the throne for years, his harem was modest and the royal lineage remained sparse.
But before he became the king, Salvador had been a spirited young man, unburdened by the weight of court affairs. Like any man of his age, he must have once entertained dreams of love and romance.
He had always felt a certain unspoken emotion toward Sophie, something he couldn’t quite put into words. He had even suggested once that she become a concubine in the palace.
It was clear that Salvador once had feelings for her.
During the rebellion in the capital, Sophie took the lead in quelling the unrest. Her boldness and skill were undeniable, and her efforts relieved Salvador of his pressing difficulties. He couldn’t help but admire her, and that respect only grew stronger.
But no, it wasn’t just respect-it was something more.
It wasn’t really surprising that it happened.
What was surprising, however, was how Salvador allowed those feelings to develop. He kept her in the royal study every day to chat, which was far from his usual way of doing things.
Though Sophie was his subject, she was also a ma married woman and his sister-in-law. If word got out, even if it was just idle gossip, it could cause trouble if anyone used it to stir up conflict and drive a wedge between the brothers, that would be a much bigger problem.
“Your Grace, you must feign illness. For a time, at least,” Jacob said firmly, his tone brooking no argument.
Jacob had considered every possibility-from malicious gossip to manipulation and even the risk of Sophie becoming a target for the royal concubines. None of these outcomes was acceptable to him. The simplest solution was to distance her from the palace. There were no pressing matters that required her personal attention. If there was something urgent, people like Michael would report it to her. As the men discussed the situation, Violet’s eyes widened in sudden realization. She shook her head, aghast.
“You don’t think he’s harboring feelings for his sister-in-law? Is he trying to emulate-“
“Enough!” Kyle cut her off sharply. “Speak no further of this. Regardless of his intentions, meeting with her so often in the royal study is inappropriate. Feigning illness is the wisest course of action. Once Rafael returns to the capital, the king should have come to his senses by then.”
Feigning illness was no simple task. Sophie couldn’t just immediately claim she was too sick to handle official duties after today’s awkward incident in the royal study. That would be too obvious, and would make future encounters between them awkward, with unspoken tensions lingering.
For those in high positions, that might not matter much. But since Sophie and Rafael were officials, they couldn’t afford to be disrespectful.
After some discussion, it was decided that Sophie should go about her routine as usual the next day- returning to the Capital Guard headquarters and leading a team outside the city to maintain order. A few days later, they would stage a minor incident.
Due to the recent chaos caused by bandits, many people had flooded into the capital seeking refuge. However, without proper documentation, they were unable to enter the city and were left stranded outside. Following Zoey’s lead, many noble families and wealthy merchants had set up temporary relief efforts, offering food, medicine, and warm clothing. Because of this, many refugees were reluctant to leave. Life was tough, but it was still better than traveling home in the freezing winter.
As a result, fights and disputes broke out almost daily outside the city. Sophie even sent the Garrison Unit to maintain order. It wasn’t a difficult problem to handle.
For the next two days, Sophie personally led troops outside the city to patrol and keep things under control. There were indeed many refugees. However, with the Garrison Unit keeping things in check, they were able to line up in an orderly manner to receive porridge.
Sophie spent half the day outside the city, then returned to the palace in the afternoon to discuss military affairs with the court officials. Once the discussions were over, she left with the others as usual.
Salvador used to have her stay for lunch, but after that, he typically wouldn’t keep her any longer. After dinner, he would review official documents late into the night before finally returning to his chambers to rest.
According to the plan, while Sophie was patrolling outside the city, her horse was startled and she was thrown off, injuring her leg. She was sent back to Hell Monarch Estate by the Garrison Unit guards. Once back, she called for Ivy to tend to her injury, then sent word to request time off. Upon hearing the news, Salvador immediately sent Robert to treat her.
Sticking to the plan of making the incident look real, Sophie had indeed hurt herself in the fall, but it wasn’t serious. After all, Robert could only check her pulse and couldn’t assess her actual injuries. And anyway, Ivy had already stabilized her leg with a splint. Based on the examination report, Robert returned to the palace to give his own report.
Naturally, the examination report Ivy provided was slightly exaggerated. When Robert delivered his report to Salvador, the latter became quite concerned. He immediately ordered Robert to send some of the palace’s special medicinal ointments to Hell Monarch Estate.
Once the ointments were delivered, Robert didn’t return, and everyone at Hell Monarch Estate breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Everyone knew Salvador may not have that kind of intention toward Sophie, but they couldn’t let the palace consorts and officials misunderstand or exaggerate the potential problems of a woman holding a high position.
When Ryan returned on his day off, Victoria summoned Helen to accompany him into the palace to offer their greetings and also to visit Trevor.
Victoria knew about Sophie’s injury but didn’t ask further. The older woman simply told her to rest and recover for a while.
However, Helen found it odd.
Victoria was usually quite anxious about Sophie, always asking after the latter whenever Helen entered the palace. Yet now, with such a serious injury, she wasn’t even inquiring about the details? Helen jokingly said a few words, but seeing that her sister wasn’t smiling at all, she stopped herself. When Victoria wasn’t smiling, her presence was commanding and intimidating, making people hesitant to speak.
Victoria had someone take Ryan to the study to meet Trevor, then dismissed Helen.
“If you want to visit any of the palaces, go ahead. Just come back after you’re done and have lunch with me.”
Helen stood with a grin. “You know me so well.”
A smile finally touched Victoria’s lips as she looked at her sister. “You’re wearing new clothes today. Don’t you want to show them off?”
Helen turned with a bounce in her step, eagerly heading off with Gillian.
Victoria watched her sister leave, a soft smile lingering on her face before a faint sigh escaped her lips.
Her head chamberlain, Keith, was puzzled by her intentions and asked, “Your Majesty, why let Lady Helen visit Lady Josephine and Lady Dakota? Aren’t you afraid she’ll overhear something?”
“If she hears something, then she hears it,” Victoria replied with an unreadable look. “I’m actually curious to know what they say when no one’s around.”
Victoria knew what her sister was like. Helen couldn’t keep anything to herself. If she heard something, she would come straight to Victoria to talk about it.
Keith pursed his lips. “I fear it won’t be anything good. But it’s clever of you, Your Majesty.”