Free Web NovelChapter 27: Not A Coincidence.
Her head was spinning when she regained consciousness. The pain of everything came hitting her all over again. Her neck hurt as though someone were still actively choking her. Tears welled in her eyes when she realized she was actually still alive after that awful incident. Whoever was watching over her from above had done an absolutely lovely job by saving her at the last minute.
"Did you say she has regained consciousness?" Kane’s voice cut through the tent as he entered the room, his tone borderline panicked.
Arianna remembered clearly that it was his voice that had scared her assassin into running away. It was strange—whoever it was hadn’t cared about her desperate struggling as he tried to kill her, but as soon as Kane had shouted from outside, the attacker had let go of her and fled. She was never going to forget this. Kane might not know it, but he had saved her life.
"Oh my... she is really awake," Aunt Freya said with a relieved smile. She raised her hands toward the ceiling and began to pray. "Thank you, Moon Goddess, for saving my daughter-in-law from the evil eye. Thank you."
"Arianna..." Ethan stepped forward, walking right to her side to hold her hand, but she quickly pulled it back beneath the blanket.
Arianna wished he would just stay where he was instead of acting like they were close. The King stood watching them, his hands clasped behind his back and his brows arched. It wasn’t difficult to tell that his sharp mind was processing everything.
"You scared us. I am so happy to see that you are awake now," Ethan said.
"Thank you, Prince," Arianna answered coldly, hoping he would get the clue and end this madness. "I had to survive for my husband’s sake. He saved me from the brink of it all and I couldn’t just die and leave him."
Finally, he got the message. Ethan’s eyes flashed crimson, his teeth gritting as if he had any right to be angry. He nodded, stepping away from the bed. "Father, you should come and be by your wife’s side."
Kane didn’t respond, which made Arianna’s heart beat faster than usual.
Samantha broke the heavy silence. "Get well soon, Arianna. You really scared us."
"Thank you," Arianna replied, blinking her eyes before turning her gaze back to Kane. His silence was beginning to kill her. Was he putting the pieces together? Had he already found a clue?
"You shouldn’t scare us like this. Your husband almost turned the tribe upside down because you were unconscious," Aunt Freya told her.
Arianna’s brows pulled together in confusion. Why was she saying that? The woman sounded like she was genuinely happy to see her, but was that truly the case?
"Honestly, I have never seen him like this," Samantha added. The two of them spoke about him as if he weren’t standing right there in the room.
Arianna didn’t even have the strength to blush, but she felt a sudden wave of heat rush through her stomach. She tried to sit up, but her strength failed her.
"Let me help with that," Kane offered, moving to her side quickly. He took one of the pillows and placed it gently behind her back. "You are still far too weak and need rest. Why are you insisting on trying to sit up?"
Arianna smiled with her eyes as she wrapped her palm around his elbow. "What would I do without you, my husband?"
Words completely left his lips as he stared down at her for a long minute. For the first time, she had actually managed to find him completely speechless, and it was intriguing to watch.
Instead of leaning back against the pillow he had just placed, she leaned forward against him, resting her head comfortably on his shoulder. His hands moved to her back, squeezing her gently as he pressed a tender kiss against her cheek.
"I got so scared," she murmured. "I thought it was the end."
"Do not say that. It was a tragic event, and I take full blame for not being able to protect you. I am so sorry for this," he apologized, his voice thick with emotion.
Before she could respond, Aunt Freya loudly cleared her throat—a stark reminder that they were still not alone in the room.
"The medicine women gave me the herbs you will need to take for a full recovery," the old woman began. "I will—"
"I will handle that," Kane interrupted smoothly. "You don’t have to worry. Now that my wife has become a target, I would like to be much more careful."
Arianna broke her embrace, surprised that he had offered to personally take care of her. And wait... did he just imply that he didn’t trust his own aunt?
"W-what are you trying to say, my child?" Aunt Freya asked, shocked to her very core. She didn’t want to believe he was saying such a thing to her.
Everyone else in the room seemed just as stunned, except for Ethan, whose expression looked as though he had just been beaten by a bull. His eyes refused to leave Arianna, and it was going to become incredibly obvious to everyone soon if he didn’t stop.
"I don’t trust anyone with my wife’s safety right now," Kane told her flatly. He turned his sharp gaze to the rest of them. "It is only until I find the one who did this."
"You are pinning this on us, Cousin!" Samantha was clearly upset. She couldn’t believe this was happening to them. "Why would any of us want to hurt her? We only just met her yesterday."
"You can’t just accuse your own family over someone you barely know," Ethan added, his voice tight.
"I would never harm the princess, and you know that. Is this how you repay my years of kindness?" Aunt Freya began to tear up, her voice trembling.
Arianna was completely surprised by what Aunt Freya was saying. Just this morning, the woman had been so rude and mean to her.
"We only meant that, Aunt Freya. It’s not like—"
"I meant what I said, and why are you all arguing when I have given an order?" Kane spoke again, his voice cutting off the excuses. He gently helped his wife lean back against the pillows, then tenderly brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her face. "You should rest."
Arianna nodded, staying quiet.
"Everyone is a suspect until the culprit is caught," Kane continued, meaning every single word. He locked eyes with each one of them in turn. "Who here is unhappy with my decision?"
"Who are we to oppose the King?" Aunt Freya answered quickly instead. "I understand what you mean now... this is a general security measure, and it doesn’t mean you are pointing fingers at us directly."
"To make things better, why doesn’t Arianna just tell us how this whole thing happened?" Samantha chimed in, trying her best to sound normal while secretly wanting to scream at the princess for making them all suffer.
"It happened in her own tent, and you can clearly see the condition she is in. Why would you demand a full speech from her right now?" Ethan snapped back. "You are not the investigating guard."
Samantha was clearly pissed, but she forced herself to keep her composure. "I’m just saying, this whole incident is incredibly surprising. Why was a bride, whose marriage is barely a day old, sleeping outside the King’s tent in the first place?"
*****
When Cassius arrived at the scene of the crime, he was shocked to find Prince Ethan. He was the absolute last person he expected to see.
Cassius didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but what on earth was the prince doing here? The King had explicitly given orders that no one was to enter the tent except for those directly in charge of the investigation and Ethan was definitely not on that list.
"Lord Cassius," Ethan stammered, clearly startled to see him as well. In fact, his heart almost leaped out of his chest when he turned around and found his uncle standing there. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to watch you. What are you doing here?"
That simple question suddenly became incredibly difficult to answer. Ethan looked around frantically for a few seconds before trying to recover. "I-I was just looking around to help with the investigation."
"Your father explicitly instructed that you are not to be a part of this investigation," Cassius reminded him coldly, just in case he had somehow forgotten. "Your punishment at the border begins tomorrow, so you should be resting."
Ethan didn’t say anything to counter him, knowing it would only mean more trouble. If his father found out about this, his punishment would surely be doubled.
Just as he was about to leave, the tent flap moved and Aunt Freya walked inside.
Just as she was shocked to see the two of them, they were equally stunned to see her. What could possibly bring her here of all places? Cassius knew right then that something was deeply wrong. This was no coincidence.
"Aunt, w-why are you here?" Ethan asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. Even though he was relieved that the attention had shifted away from him, he was genuinely curious—what could have possibly brought his aunt to the crime scene?
