Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Crown Prince Theron went to inspect the entire incident, following the route the Queen's entourage took to check if there were clues left behind by the enemies. He found the guards of the Holles Family patrolling the riverbanks, and also went to visit the side of the forest where the Queen was reportedly cornered by the rebels. As it was deep into the night, there wasn't much to see. The corpses of the rebels were also collected by the western aristocrats, awaiting identification in the city.

After talking with the men in charge to see if other rebels were found, the Crown Prince left half of his royal knights at the site to continue with the investigation, and only then did he return to the count's estate.

"Your Highness, Sir Alexis Lumen, the captain of the Queen's knights has awoken. When he learned that you had arrived, he requested that you grant him an audience," one of the royal physicians informed Prince Theron just as he returned to the room provided for him by the count's family.

"Lead the way to his chamber," the Crown Prince told him.

The royal physician was visibly flustered. He particularly eyed the tired and travel-worn appearance of the Crown Prince. "Y-Your Highness, forgive this old man for being rude, but please retire for the night. I know you are impatient because the Queen was harmed, but you have travelled straight from Blackhelm without rest or food and even went to investigate outside. You must not neglect your health. Please rest for tonight. I will tell the servants to send you a warm meal in your room, and inform Sir Lumen that you will meet him in the morning."

The Crown Prince only repeated his words with indifference, "Lead the way to his chamber."

"A-As you wish, Your Highness," the royal physician relented with a sigh. He brought the young man to another room and told the servant outside the room, "Please inform Sir Lumen that His Highness Prince Theron has come to see him."

The servant hurriedly bowed and rushed to open the door, announcing the arrival of the Crown Prince.

Seeing the Crown Prince had come to see him, the injured knight tried to sit but the Crown Prince stopped him. "Don't move. You are injured."

Sir Alexis obeyed the prince, as he truly looked to be in severe pain due to his injuries.

"How are you, Alexis?" Prince Theron asked as he observed the injuries of the knight.

"They say I will recover enough to move well in a few weeks, Your Highness…" The captain of the knights lowered his head. "Apologies that I failed to properly deal with the rebels and Her Majesty ended up harmed due to my negligence."

The Crown Prince only nodded to it, accepting his apology. Of course, he would receive punishment because a royal got hurt, but from what Prince Theron gathered so far, Sir Alexis had performed in his full capacity as a knight. Given the overwhelming number of enemies, it was a miracle there were survivors.

"Can you explain to me what exactly happened, in particular, who is that female commoner and how she appeared to save my mother?"

The captain of the knights nodded as he breathed deeply. He narrated the entire incident to the Crown Prince—from the time they left the city, how they passed through the forest safely, only to be ambushed after they took a break on the riverbank by the rebels hiding underwater, how the Queen was forced to retreat back towards the forest and how she passed out after hearing of the tragic outcome of their group—but he skipped the details where that young woman seemingly did something that no human was capable of.

Sir Alexis was still conflicted over whether what he had seen was the truth as he arrived at the last moment and felt like he was hallucinating because of his serious injuries and blood loss. He needed to confirm it first and only then could he confidently say anything to the Crown Prince. Moreover, the Queen was there. He had sworn fealty to the Queen and was waiting to get Queen Theodora's opinion once she got better to decide which parts to report.

"Rest well," Prince Theron said as he stood up to leave. "Whether you will be punished or rewarded, I will leave everything to my mother."

The captain of the knights lowered his head. Though the Crown Prince did not say it outright, telling him that his outcome would be left to the Queen's discretion meant that the royal family was not blaming him for the tragedy.

Prince Theron returned to his room to clean himself up, and afterwards, he received the warm meal sent to his room by the royal physician. Although it was already past midnight, he went ahead to convene the royal knights in another room.

"What is the situation?" the Crown Prince asked, his expression equally cold.

"Your Highness, based from the—"

From what the Crown Prince got to know from the investigation of the knights, the Queen's knights were outnumbered, about five enemies per person, accounting for the servants and ladies-in-waiting. However, the number of corpses found were considerably lesser than that number. Some rebels did not continue attacking after the leader headed towards the forest and left via the river.

A small troop of soldiers provided by the western aristocrats was already dispatched to find them, and half of his royal knights had joined the search. Prince Theron could not wait for the morning to arrive so he could join the knights.  For now, he would let those bandits live on this continent for a few hours longer.

"Your Highness, there is no need for you to go after them personally. Those rebels are also injured and won't be able to escape far. The nobles are eager to make an accomplishment and be in the good graces of the royal family. With our combined force, the soldiers will catch all the remaining rebels in no time."

The Crown Prince reluctantly agreed. He could only wait for the soldiers to bring those brazen bandits to him so he could behead them all at once.