With everything happening in the palace, Harold wished he could be everywhere at the same time. But it was impossible. And especially impossible now that he felt really sick. He could not communicate with his wolf either. Walking was quite tough for him now too, but he had to keep going. He had a goal in mind, and that was to look for Alicia, or rather, Amber. He wasn't sure what she was going to do next, and it made him apprehensive. He also wanted to know where Alicia was. She couldn't just disappear like that.
According to Lady Victoria's words, "It is dangerous. We do not know what lies within one's soul. Summoning it twice could either cause havoc or kill the soul."
But that was if he had fed Alicia the potion twice. He had only done so once. Why did it happen this way?
Or had his mark done it?
Either way, he felt he had a hand in it, and the thought made him sick to his stomach.
Apprehension, guilt, anxiety, and fear—he felt all of them at once, and with every step he took within the chaotic palace, it was hard for him to breathe, and his eyes were shutting on their own. But he refused to give in to whatever illness was happening to him.
Unfortunately, he could not stop replaying what had happened earlier in his head. The memory refused to go away. How she had stabbed Queen Darcy to her death without flinching. And the look in her eyes when she faced him with blood all over her face.
He could not stop thinking about it.
Just then, a physician approached him in a hurry and stood in front of him to greet him before saying, "The head physician is currently busy handling other things, so I was sent to check on your health." He explained quickly with his head down.
Harold guessed at once that it was Alvin who had sent him. However, he shook his head.
"Go assist the head physician. It is an order." He said in a strained voice.
The young physician looked a bit hesitant, especially since it was very obvious that he was sick, and also, Alvin was a scary guard, but he could not argue with Prince Harold, so he simply bowed and ran off.
As soon as the physician left, a guard approached him even before Harold could start walking again and bowed to him.
As much as he didn't want all this distraction, he knew now. This was the price he had to pay if he wanted to rule over the Moon Kingdom. Only the affairs within the palace were this chaotic; what about the kingdom as a whole?
The guard confirmed to him that a strange potion was found in the queen's special safe, which they had forcefully broken open, and that it had been forwarded to the Royal Physician to check what kind of potion it was.
The queen's special safe itself was her personal belonging. No one else had access to it. There was only one key for it, and it was usually always with the queen.
A strange potion.
It was just as he had expected. His gut had told him that they were definitely going to find something.
Something that hadn't been planted by the queen herself.
He was too tired to talk. Too tired to think.
He simply waved the man off and decided to head towards his chamber to get one of the potions he used to take when he felt sick. Even though he wasn't sure if it was going to work, he had to try. He couldn't find Alicia in this state. He had to be well and clear-headed.
"My Prince," another guard he recognized well, approached him in long strides and bowed when he stood before Harold.
"Speak," Harold managed to tell him in a faint voice as he fisted his hands tightly beside him, refusing to give in to his discomfort and impatience.
"It was just as you expected. Damian approached the maid, Agnes. However, we could not catch him, and he fled." He knelt immediately with his head down as he said, "I deserve to be executed for my failure, My Prince."
Harold placed a hand on his head as he tried to remain sane and force out the memory of Amber's eyes staring at him from his head.
Damian had indeed approached Agnes.
"What about the maid?"
"She is safe. We brought her inside the palace."
"Make sure Damian is found. Your life is on the line." Harold ordered him, giving the man one more chance.
There was no point in punishing anyone now. He had confirmed it: Damian was indeed cunning. And he suspected that he had a hand in some of the craziness happening within the palace.
But he didn't think the queen did. Damian's recent actions seemed as though he had been baiting the noblemen into suspecting the queen. But what does he have to do with everything?
Since Agnes was arrested, the security in the dungeon had been so strict that no one was allowed to step foot in there except for Luciana's maid, whom he had chosen himself. She was to deliver food directly to the prisoners. So when Damian continued to rile up the noblemen, he guessed he had an ulterior motive because there was no way he would have remained unscathed without getting thrown into the dungeon, and Damian knew that.
So why did he keep on doing that?
Simple. He wanted to be thrown into the dungeon.
Harold had assumed that if any kind of potion was truly found in the queen's belongings, then he would believe it was Damian's work. That meant he was killing several birds with just one stone, and the noblemen were just pawns in his plot.
But why?
Damian and the queen.
Damian and Tyra.
Damian and Agnes.
He was simply everywhere.
He almost forgot... Damian and Prince Harry.
Damian had to be found!
And if Tyra really had a hand in it, then he was never going to forgive her.
Never.