Chapter 008: Love or Not
"As a grandfather I only beg you to take good care of Prince Arthur. The loss of my only daughter who I love the most has hurt me deeply. My daughter only left her son alone. I can't even imagine how sad I would be if my grandson left this world with his mother," said Duke Campbell who looked very sincere.
This was not the first time in her life, Esther had met Duke Campbell. If she counted, this was the fifth time she had met Duke Campbell. Even though the Campbell family looks very cold outside, but actually all members of the family are very warm. They love each other. His condition was very different from other noble families. The Campbells also love Queen Caroline very much because she is their only daughter.
Esther tried to smile and replied, "Don't worry, Duke. I will take good care of Prince Arthur. Don't you also know how much I love Queen Caroline? You just need to help protect and support Prince Arthur. I think that's enough."
"I'm really grateful to you, Your Majesty. I will do all these things to help my grandson. Besides that, I will also conduct an investigation into the death of my beloved daughter and ask His Majesty the king to punish that person with the severest punishment."
Esther massaged her temples with her right hand. She was really tired now. "You know Duke even though His Majesty the king knows who did it he will not punish him. In fact I'll bet that His Majesty already knows who is behind this heinous murder."
Duke Campbell patted the table hard. "WHAT? Looks like you already know who did it. Can you tell me? If His Majesty the King can't fix it, I'll take care of it myself."
"Averia and Leondell," Esther replied curtly.
Duke Campbell looked confused because he still couldn't grasp the meaning of Esther's answer. "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
"The mastermind behind this murder was one of the concubines named Averia, while the one who carried out the murder was Marquess Leondell," Esther explained.
"Can you prove the accusations you make?" asked Duke Campbell, looking unsure of Esther's hypothesis.
"Actually before the Queen's death, Averia continuously sent poison to the Queen. Whether it was in the form of food, clothes, and other items. At that time we already knew that Averia and her family had conspired to kill the Queen. As you know if the Queen died , then the only person with a high chance of succeeding him is Averia Leondell."
"Then once she becomes queen it will be easy for her to get rid of Prince Arthur and make her own son the Crown Prince," Esther added.
Duke Campbell looked even more angry. As Esther said, she couldn't do anything about it because the masterminds behind the murder were Averia and her family. Averia is also the King's favorite concubine, even today the King prefers to spend a hot time with Averia instead of seeing his wife for the last time.
Besides that, Marquess Leondell's family, which is also the Averia family, can be said to be quite powerful in the Nightingale Kingdom. For generations they are the royal swordsmen who dedicate their loyalty to the Nightingale royal family. It must be very difficult to convict them just for the charge of murdering the queen.
"I hope you can protect Prince Arthur, Duke. Because there comes a time for me to leave this kingdom and leave Prince Arthur alone. Then see you later and Please accept my condolences." Esther got up from her chair and left the place leaving Duke Campbell who looked like he was still trying to digest what she just said.
The sky had turned dark, indicating that the day had turned into night. Esther wanted to immediately rest her body and mind in her room. Sadness made him very weak now.
Esther walked into her room. Inside, she saw Arthur sitting on the sofa reading a book. The boy's eyes weren't puffy at all, it looked like he hadn't cried at all while she was gone.
"Tiny, do you want to sleep now? If you want let's sleep together," said Esther who had climbed into her bed.
"Yes, madam. I'm sleepy now too." Arthur also climbed into Esther's bed and lay down beside her.
Esther hugged Arthur and tried to close her eyes. The sound of crows chirping was clear in Esther's ears. The bone-chilling cold of the night wind. After hours of lying in bed and not forgetting to close her eyes, Esther couldn't sleep at all. Even though her body was very tired and wanted to rest immediately but for some reason she couldn't sleep now.
Esther opened her eyes. She looked at Arthur who seemed to have fallen asleep beside him. Esther turned her body into her back. She stared at the ceiling of her room as she thought about what had happened to him today. Suddenly she heard a voice from behind the glass balcony door.
Esther got up from her bed. She walked to the balcony of her room. Her feet continued to walk slowly. She tried to open the balcony door slowly so as not to wake Arthur who was sleeping. She stood on the balcony and found King Lucius II already there.
"What did you come here for?" Esther asked with a sneer.
"I just wanted to offer you something."
"What does a husband who doesn't show his face at his wife's funeral want to offer me?" sarcasm Esther.
King Lucius II chuckled. "Wow, you've become quite the sarcasm after a few days we haven't seen each other."
"At least I'm not like you who can still smile and laugh even after the death of his own wife," Esther replied.
King Lucius II seemed to be frustrated with Esther's words. "Yeah, Esther. I know I'm a really bad husband. So stop insulting me like that."
"Fine. So what do you want to tell me to take the time to my palace when I know that you still want to hug and continue your hot scene with Averia?" said Esther bluntly.
"Come on, Esther. Didn't I just tell you not to-"
"Okay. So what do you want to say now? Hurry up! I'm tired and want to sleep," Esther replied.
"I would like to offer you the position of queen. I think you are very suitable to replace Caroline," said King Lucius II.
Esther looked back at King Lucius II's face with her sharp and cynical gaze. "Wow, I didn't think so. Not even one day the Queen died but you already wanted to find a replacement."
"As a king I must be alert to find a replacement for my queen, Esther. Besides that, I am also always required not to use my feelings in doing things. You will never understand what it's like to be a king because you are just a commoner."
"It's not because I'm a commoner that I can't feel your responsibility as a king. But it's because after becoming a King, Caroline is no longer in your heart that you can easily find her successor now. I'm sorry but I completely not interested in the title of queen." Esther walked away from the balcony and closed the balcony door tightly ignoring King Lucius II.