By the time Darius returned back to his bedroom after delivering Mila to his brother’s bedroom, his lover for the night had already left. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t bid her a proper goodbye, but he knew that it was better this way. After taking a short nap, Darius was eager to greet a new dawn. This time, he had pleasing news to report to his father. Callum was there to greet the prince when he arrived at the royal assembly hall where the king was waiting to see him. The elder man bowed slightly to show his respect before giving the prince a briefing on the current situation. “Prince Darius, I have submitted my report of all the princes’ activities during last night to the king. The king has gone through all the reports and has requested for a meeting with you,” Callum summarized smoothly. “Did the king ask for Leonard?” Darius asked. “No, Your Highness. At least, not yet…” Callum replied before gesturing for the prince to enter the hall. Callum opened the large double door for the prince to enter. Darius took in a deep breath before entering the large and cold hall. The prince wasn’t a big fan of this room because of its overwhelmingly large size and the fact that it forced him to talk up to the king. As always, the king sat on his large and elaborately decorated throne. His father, just like the king before him, liked to hold official meetings here as well as host his guests. Darius walked along the long dark red carpeted pathway towards where his father was seated. The throne was positioned on top of a small flight of stairs that ensured that the king looked down on whomever he was speaking with. “Welcome, Darius…” the king greeted his son warmly. Darius could tell by the rare smile on his father’s face and the warmth in his voice that he was in a very good mood. He quickly smiled and nodded as he came to stand at the foot of the stairway. The prince knew right away that this meeting wasn’t supposed to last long because a chair hadn’t been prepared for him. He bowed respectfully to his father who simply nodded at him in acknowledgment. Darius’s grey eyes then strayed to the woman who sat at the King’s side on a smaller throne of her own. Duchess Isabella… “You called for me…” Darius said as he awaited to hear what the king wanted. “I read the reports from Callum. Everything went as expected except for one thing and that is why I have called you here today to help me understand what is going on,” the kind said before pausing. “Yes, father…” Darius replied with a nod of his head. “Callum reported that Leonard spent the night with a woman and that you helped make that happen. So, tell me, who is she and why did you step in to intervene?” the king asked with clear interest. Darius could feel both the king’s and the duchess’s eyes on him and he knew that it was crucial for him to pick the right words. Unfortunately, the duchess’s goals didn’t quite align perfectly with those of the king. “Let me first explain the identity of the woman that I chose to deliver to Leonard. Her name is Mila, and she is the virgin woman that Leonard purchased from a black-market auction that he was instructed to attend recently. If you may recall, the council decided to include a virgin woman on the list of items that Leonard was tasked to purchase,” Darius began explaining. “I see. Go on…” the king said with understanding. “Mila now works as a maid in the palace, and recently, she was recruited to work for Lady Regina…” Darius reported. “Regina…requested for the girl?” the king asked with raised eyebrows. “Yes, she did. After encountering Mila at an afternoon tea party where she was working, Regina seemed to have developed an interest in her enough to request for Mila to work for her,” Darius explained smoothly. The king’s eyes narrowed slightly but he didn’t comment or share his thoughts. After seeing that the king didn’t have any other questions, Darius decided to continue with his tale. “Mila got into an accident while on a mission to fulfill her lady’s request. It was quite unfortunate for her, but in the end, Leonard was the one who saved her…” Darius said. “So, you’re saying that Leonard has taken a liking to this girl?” the king asked directly. “I am unsure if he has taken a liking to her or not, but it is quite clear that he is at least interested in her. After all, he was the one who chose to bid on her at the auction…” Darius expressed his thoughts. “Oh yes, I heard about the crazy price that he paid to buy her,” the king said as he scratched his chin softly. “It is true that she spent the night in Leonard’s bedroom; however, apart from that, I do not know anything more,” Darius reported. “So, you’re saying that you’re not sure what happened between them last night, is that correct?” the king asked. “Yes, father, that is correct,” Darius replied truthfully. “That’s not a difficult matter to find out. If we want to know what happened, we can simply ask Leonard or the girl,” the king said before his lips curved into a satisfied smile. “Right…” Darius murmured. “This Mila girl that you mention, where is she now? I think that I would like to meet her,” the king said after a moment of thought. “You want to meet with the maid, Your Majesty?” the duchess spoke up for the first time since Darius had entered the room. “Yes, don’t you also think that it’ll be interesting?” the king said followed by a chuckle. “Well, I honestly cannot see why Prince Leonard would be interested in a maid. Don’t you think that it may be some kind of misunderstanding on Darius’s part? Even if Prince Leonard did purchase her, he didn’t do it out of his own free will. You and the council were the ones who pressured him into buying a virgin woman from the auction,” the Duchess pointed out. --To be continued…