Chapter 87: Eighty-eight

Hope

I was still alive. Barely. Surprisingly. But still alive. As soon as I opened my eyes, I let out a sigh of relief. Pain was not fun at all.

"Your Majesty, you're awake!" I heard someone say.

I didn't have the strength to sit up from the bed yet and look at the person. I could only shift my eyes. I saw Kyle already down on his knees on the side of my bed. I instantly managed to find a way to frown.

"Did you plan to kill me?" I asked, my voice was void of anger and sadness. My intent was to show annoyance and anger, but I didn't have the strength to portray those emotions.

"Of course not, your Majesty. The person I hired to... do it, did more than I instructed. But I've disciplined him very well and ensured never to-"

"Are you mad?" I cut Kyle off.

His throat bobbed, he didn't respond.

"I ask again, are you mad, Kyle Arsen?!"

"... No, your Majesty." Kyle said after a beat.

"Then why did you let another person in on the plan!? Weren't you supposed to be the one to stab me?! Why did you go off and do what you weren't instructed to!?" I raged.

Kyle was the one who was supposed to fake stab me, then take off the mysterious cloak around him, and come back to 'help' me.

Now he was saying that he instructed someone else to do it. Wasn't that directly disobeying my orders?! And for what reason?!

"I apologize deeply, your Majesty. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't do that to you." Kyle spoke with a heavy tone.

If I had any strength in my body, I would've grabbed a nearby object and used it to beat him to the ground.

"You are very foolish for not doing as was instructed." I said with a cruel tone.

Kyle didn't speak. He didn't even dare to look up from the floor.

"Do you know what you have done? You hired someone who clearly had the intent to kill me. And I'm sure you must've explained the reason for the attack to them. Not only did you disobey me. You also betrayed me." I said to him.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty. I only wanted to protect-"

"If you have any love for yourself and your future, you will not dare to complete that statement of yours." I cut Kyle off sharply.

I saw as his shoulders trembled after digesting my words.

"Maybe this is even my fault. I have grown too lax and lenient around you that you must have gotten some kind of misconception that you have the authority to undermine my decisions and orders just because your ideals are not in alignment with mine." I managed to push myself up from the bed and settle in a sitting position as I said those words.

Kyle finally lifted his head to look at me and his red-rimmed eyes were revealed, showing that he must have cried for a long time. However, I didn't care about his tears.

"Whatever you think you feel for me that makes you want to go beyond the orders I give you, kill it." I said with an icy tone.

Kyle's eyes widened. "Your Majesty, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Kill it. Because there is no way that you will ever get what you desire. Just because I haven't said anything so far doesn't mean that I don't know anything. For the grace of your past obedience and loyalty, I will not send you out of the castle. But do not dare to pretend that you are loyal to me because I wear the crown and not because of your unethical emotions towards me."

At the end of my words, Kyle had already collapsed on the ground, pressing his head to floor as he begged for forgiveness.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in harm's way. I didn't mean to have this... feeling towards you. I'm sorry. I'm a fool. Please forgive me. This once, please." Kyle continue to beg, but my face and heart were hardened.

It would've been better if he was able to separate his feelings from his work. I had even believed that he would be able to do it. However, after what happened to me, it was clear that I couldn't trust him to be by side.

He would keep on making little mistakes that may turn out to be incredibly harmful to me only because he couldn't completely put aside his feelings to help me. It was horrible.

Kyle was supposed to be the one person that was not like the others. But it was clear that I had put too much faith in him.

"Leave now. Or else you want to say good bye to your position in the army." I said.

The atmosphere grew cold. Kyle opened his mouth to speak, but the doors to my room burst open.

"Hope! You're awake!" Darius exclaimed, running into the room and ignoring the scene of Kyle begging on the floor while I held a cold countenance.

Darius collapsed next to me on the bed and cupped my face with his hands. Kyle crawled out of my room during this, sensing that his presence was no longer needed and that any more time he spent in my presence would be detrimental to only him.

"How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Should I call the physician over?" Darius didn't give me any breathing space as he fired questions at me.

Since I couldn't answer them all, I just sighed and rested my head against his chest. Darius took the initiative to stop asking after me. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight as he comforted me.

"It's fine. Everything is fine. The fool who attacked you will soon be caught and I'll kill him with my bare hands." Darius' arms tightened around me as he said his last sentence.

I suddenly frowned after registering his words inside my head. What did he mean by everything is fine? Shouldn't...

"What about the baby? Is the baby okay? The attacker stabbed me on my stomach. How is the baby?" I questioned, pretending that I was concerned about the baby.

Unexpectedly, there was a proud smile on Darius' face as he said:

"The baby is fine."