Ch. 40 - Ritual

Ch. 40 - Ritual
The next day, Michelle visited Elena as usual to make sure the girl had recovered. She was immediately greeted by Hera and Elena, who looked worried.

Michelle was surprised to find herself standing at the door when Hera happily called out to her. "Oh, Michelle, you finally came."

Michelle frowned. "What’s wrong?" She walked inside, noticing the two women staring at her anxiously.

"You didn’t come at all yesterday. Only in the morning. So I thought something had happened to you," Hera said. Elena nodded. They had already imagined the worst-case scenario, especially after Michelle mentioned her daughter yesterday.

Michelle smiled at them. "I’m sorry. I was very busy yesterday arranging Lisa’s move here."

Hera and Elena exchanged glances. Lisa was Michelle’s daughter. And what did she say? The girl had moved to the palace?

Michelle smiled at their disbelief. She herself hadn’t believed it at first. Lisa had been living at her house outside the palace. Every day, Michelle would ask relatives to help keep an eye on her. But now that Lisa was inside the palace, it made it much easier to look after her.

"His Majesty requested it. Oh, I’m sure it was you who told His Majesty about my daughter, right?" Michelle asked, looking at Hera.

Hera looked uncomfortable, but she couldn’t lie. "I’m sorry, but I couldn’t just stay quiet." Her expression was full of regret, afraid that Michelle would be angry or offended by her bold actions.

But instead of being angry, Michelle hugged Hera. "Thank you so much for your concern. I don’t know how to repay you."

Hera smiled, relieved that Michelle wasn’t angry. In fact, her actions had helped the woman, and that made her very happy.

"But is it true His Majesty asked for her to come to the palace?" Elena asked.

Michelle nodded. "Not only that, she was placed in a room near the servants’ quarters. And you know, the royal doctor came to check on her this morning. Oh, I can’t even describe how I feel," she said, wiping away tears that were about to fall.

Elena hugged Michelle, feeling relieved and also surprised that Lucian could be so kind. But hadn’t he shown kindness before? She couldn’t deny that he was a good man. It was just the circumstances that made him act so cruelly toward her.

"His Majesty asked the royal doctor to treat your daughter? Wow!" Hera couldn’t hide her admiration.

Michelle nodded. "My daughter was very weak yesterday. I could only hope she’d improve. The doctor gave her some medicine, and for the first time in three days, she was able to eat."

Elena and Hera both felt relieved to hear that.

"I hope she gets better soon," Elena said sincerely. She truly wanted the girl to recover and return to normal. It would make it easier for her to ask forgiveness for her father’s cruelty.

Michelle nodded, full of hope. She was the one who wanted Lisa to get better more than anyone else. Then, she looked at Elena closely. Her calm gaze held concern.

Elena looked at Michelle anxiously. Whenever that woman looked at her like that, it usually meant bad news was coming.

"What’s wrong, Michelle?" Elena asked, glancing at Hera, who looked curious.

Michelle looked down, as if gathering her courage. Then she gave a small smile.

"A lot has happened since you arrived here. You must be exhausted, both physically and mentally," Michelle said.

Elena gave a bitter smile. She never imagined her life would turn out like this. Sometimes, she even wondered how she’d made it this far without wanting to end it all. She could only hope that things would get better.

"I’m okay, Michelle," Elena said, squeezing Michelle’s hand to reassure her.

Michelle nodded; she knew Elena was a strong girl. Then she looked at her again intently. "I went to His Majesty’s room this morning. He asked me to give you an order," she said.

Elena went silent. Her heart began to beat uncomfortably. She had already sensed something was wrong. And Lucian’s orders were never pleasant.

Elena braced herself to be summoned to the king’s chamber to serve him. She felt short of breath just thinking about how brutal he could be during lovemaking.

"His Majesty wants you to walk around the stick seven times," Michelle said softly.

Elena frowned. That was far from what she had expected. "Why?"

Michelle didn’t answer. "You know no one can guess what he’s thinking."

Hera sat beside Michelle. "Are you sure His Majesty asked Elena to do that?"

Michelle nodded.

Hera looked at Elena with concern. This made Elena confused. What could be wrong with walking around a stick seven times? It wouldn’t hurt to do that.

"You know, His Majesty once sent me to live with an elderly couple in the capital. I heard they were going to perform a ritual that involved walking around a stick seven times. There’s a reason they do that," Hera said.

Elena looked at Michelle, who had lowered her head. Then she looked back at Hera. "What does it mean? A ritual?"

"Yes, it’s like a charm to ward off bad luck. They do it because something serious might happen that could threaten someone’s life. They do it hoping to avoid the danger," Hera explained. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

Elena fell silent. What did Lucian mean by asking her to do that? What serious thing was waiting for her?

"He didn’t say anything to you, Michelle?" Hera asked.

Michelle shook her head. She looked hesitant. But she didn’t say anything else.

Hera took a deep breath, trying to stay positive. "His Majesty asked you to do it, doesn’t that mean he cares? Whatever happens, I believe he’ll come to save you," she said, looking at Elena.

Elena wasn’t sure. She still didn’t understand what was going on in Lucian’s mind. Sometimes he was kind, sometimes he was like a starving lion that had spotted its prey—so brutal.

Michelle took a deep breath. She looked at Hera with a regretful expression. "Unfortunately, there are some things even His Majesty can’t control."

"He’s a king. What could stop him if he really wanted something?" Hera asked confidently.

"Unfortunately, His Majesty isn’t God. He’s not the only one with power in this world," Michelle said. It made Elena even more certain that the woman was hiding something from her.

Whatever it was, it had to be something serious.