Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Inside theroyal carriage that was heading back towards the Queen's residence, twowomen were seemingly lost in their own thoughts. After a while, the Queenlooked at Lady Tyra. "The improvement in my son's condition, does Estherhave to do something with it?"

Lady Tyra could not deny this claim of the Queen.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It was herwho saved the Crown Prince.""Hmm, that young girl, how much will my family owe her? She has saved bothmy and my son's lives.

It feels like no matter how much I try to repay her, it willnever be enough," the Queen commented with a smile. "I wonder how we canreward her...

"Lady Tyra said nothing as she wished to refrain from talking more aboutEsther.--------When the Queen reached her residence, she immediately called for Esther."Your Majesty, I believe she is cleaning your chamber at the moment. Shall Icall her down?" one of the ladies-in-waiting asked.

"Never mind. I'm going back to my room."

For saving her son, the Queen earnestly wished to thank Esther.

When she cameinto her chamber, Esther and the other servants stopped what they were doingto greet her. She gestured for everyone but Esther to leave. Sitting in her chair,Queen Theodora looked at her young servant with a sincere smile.

"I wish to show you my gratitude, but it feels like no matter what I do, it willnever be enough. Rather than a friend of the Ivanovs, you are like the guardianof my family," the Queen teased.

"Tell me. Do you desire anything, Esther?"

Esther realized that the Queen knew what she had done.

She politely refused.

"You don't need to thank me, Your Majesty. Anyone in my place would havedone the same to save the Crown Prince of this kingdom."Queen Theodora shook her head. "Do not be so eager to refuse my oer. I don'tknow how to repay you this time. If you have any wishes, let me know. I willfull whatever it is."

"Thank you for the kindness, Your Majesty, but I don't have any such wish,"Esther replied.The Queen nodded. "I was expecting this from you. If not now, in future, if youever need something, you can come to me and I will grant it without anyquestion."It would be burdensome for Esther to continue refusing, so she accepted it thistime. "I will, Your Majesty."------

In a span of one week, the Crown Prince was able to completely recover, to thepoint that he was able to walk on his own and resume his duties in the palace.

Even the injuries in his shoulder and waist disappeared and only healed scarsthat looked like years old were left to prove their existence.

To the royal physicians, it was nothing short of a miraculous recovery. It wasmagical, and rumours about how Prince Theron inherited the blessings of thefounding dragon worshipped by the Kingdom of Megaris became very popularnot only within the palace but the entire capital city of Blackhelm as well.

Noone knew the real reason why the Crown Prince was able to escape death whenthe physicians predicted he wouldn't wake up the next morning, and how in aspan of one week, it was as if he was never injured. The small piece of Esther'ssoul that she shared with him was the reason for it.

During that week of recovery, Prince Theron stayed within his residence, as hisparents strictly told him to not move around until the royal physicians nishedobserving his condition and gave him their approval.

Most of the time, he spentit either in his study or in the drawing-room to receive guests. Many aristocratsand other members of the royal family came to bid him well wishes andbrought gifts to cheer him up, but the one he truly wished to see never visitedhim. Every time his mother came to check on him, Esther never accompaniedher."How are you feeling today, son?" Queen Theodora asked, looking at the youngman who looked better than ever before.

He was donned in formal tailoredclothes that seemed to imply he was heading out.

It was the rst time he wasallowed to leave his residence as only today did the royal physicians agree thathe was healthy enough to resume his ocial duties as the Crown Prince.

"Strong enough to even join the knights in their morning training, Mother," hereplied.

The mother and son pair were inside the drawing-room.

Aftergesturing for his servants to serve tea to his mother, his eyes instinctivelysearched for a certain blond lady among her companions.

'She was the one to save me. How can she not come even once during this weekto see me?' he frowned inside.

Seeing him in a daze, Queen Theodora asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, Mother," he replied quickly, dodging his mother's curious gaze,before asking with a frown, "Are mother's servants too lazy to accompany you?I see only your ladies-in-waiting doing their work."With a small chuckle, Queen Theodora asked with a meaningful smile, "Is thereanyone you are talking about in particular?"

"No one," he denied. "I just noticed you have fewer companions than usual,Mother."

"Is that so? Next time, I will make sure to have a couple of my favouriteservants with me then," the Queen assured as the meaningful smile on her lipswidened.

"Oh, which reminds me, I will be throwing a banquet next week tocelebrate your recovery. The invitations had already been sent out. Be sure tostay for the entire duration this time."

Prince Theron chose to ignore the last part. "Is it necessary?"

"Hmm," the Queen nodded.

"The entire kingdom was worried about theirCrown Prince so it's time for you to ocially let everyone know that you aresafe and sound. Not only will it alleviate the concerns of our citizens, it will alsobe a warning to whoever plotted against you that such attacks can't hurt usIvanovs."

ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ .