Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 44. Where's The Blood I

Hour after hour passed, the sun broke through the White Moon Castle's study room window, illuminating the king who was busy working at his desk. His eyes focused on a report sheet on his hand. While his two assistants were also busy working at the desks not far from him. He only had little time to do his work since according to his schedule, he needed to spend more time with Rose and the other delegates after lunch. So he decided to do his workload in this short time.

"Your Majesty, I've finished Her Highness' schedule," said Claire who was already standing in front of his desk.

"I will check it later," Angel said without taking his eyes off his report before he placed it on the desk and wrote a few things on it.

Upon his words, Claire put the document on the side of his desk.

The knocking sounds that came interrupted their work. Claire took the initiative to open the door since they could already guess who was coming.

Chancellor Allan entered the room and bowed to him.
"Your Majesty."

Angel placed his document on the desk and turned his gaze to The Chancellor.
"What do you want to talk about?" he said without further ado. His hand took his teacup on the small table on the side of his desk and sipped it.

"Not much. I just wanted to give you the war report." Chancellor Allan gave his report to Angel.

His hand immediately put his cup of tea and took it.

"That report includes our casualties and the soldiers' treatment," The Chancellor added.

But his mind was lost in the report, his eyes moving side to side to read it, making sure everything was right.

Angel put down the report. A satisfied smile on his face since the result wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Thank you for your report," said Angel.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Is there anything else?" he asked. His hand took his cup of tea again, intending to finish the rest before he returned to work.

Chancellor Allan's eyes were on Angel, staring at his usual cold expression and trying to catch anything different from him today. But he knew the king was an unpredictable person and rarely showed his emotions on his face. But something had been bothering Chancellor Allan ever since he arrived at the castle. This also worried Cley, Claire and some of the maids even though Chancellor Allan had asked them to keep their mouths shut to protect Angel's pride.
"Your Majesty... I know this is improper. But I want to say, you don't have to worry or be disappointed. There are so many men who failed on their first night. You're just inexperienced about this." Yes, what Chancellor Allan meant was the royal couple's wedding night. Although he was quite curious about what was going on, the Chancellor decided to comfort him.

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

Angel coughed as soon as he heard Chancellor Allan's words and almost spilled his tea. He immediately placed his cup of tea on his small table. His other hand grabbed his handkerchief and covered his mouth.

While Cley and Claire's faces turned tense since someone finally said it to the king. Their eyes looked at Angel in curiosity. It was weird since they thought Angel's lateness was a sign that their plan had worked. Yet the result was the opposite. They knew it from the maids and it shocked them.

"What is it about?" he said in a hoarse voice as soon as he could get his voice out, asking The Chancellor for an explanation.

"The maids already told me. There's no blood on the bed sheet," Chancellor Allan said straight to the point. Obviously, that meant the king hadn't done it with her. He didn't think his plan had failed despite the good news he got this morning.

'Oh, of course. How could I forget it?' He knew that what Chancellor Allan mean was Rose's virgin blood. It was a must considering that Rose was a princess and had never been married. Without that blood, there were only two possibilities. The first was they didn't do it. The second Rose wasn't a virgin. But since they already knew the king's cold attitude, they guessed the first choice. Still, some noblewomen who didn't like Rose could use this to spread that Rose wasn't a virgin when he married her. Coupled with her old rumours about her secret relationship with Ilex and her failed engagement with Artheur, it could mess up his plans and their relationship.

"There are so many things that happened yesterday. We were tired, so we decided to do it another day," he said as he tried to keep his composure.

"You're right. You've worked hard." Chancellor Allan bent his head apologetically.
"Please forgive my impudence, Your Majesty."

"Raise your head. It's only a minor matter," said Angel. Although he hated to admit it, Chancellor Allan's worries were normal considering he didn't have a successor yet.

Despite his polite gesture, as soon as Chancellor Allan raised his head, he spoke again.
"But I hope I can get some good news tomorrow, Your Majesty. Euphorion needs a successor," he reminded. His eyes that looked at Angel were filled with seriousness.