Chapter 942: I Will Be Fine
Raphael remained in the hallway if only to witness the set of events and trying not to make a frustrated look on his face.
King Draco lied as easily as he breathed.
There was a tell-tale sign in one"s physiology when an ordinary person lied, their heartbeat accelerated, their eyes twitched a certain way or their palms became sweaty.
However, when Raphael observed King Draco as he spoke and lied to his daughter, there was not one ounce or hint of hesitance in his acts. It was utterly convincing, that if Raphael were not aware of the man"s evil nature and schemes, perhaps even he would have fallen for the trap that King Draco had changed.
Not only did King Draco manage to convince this Prince Liam that he was an ally, even Prince Jadeith seemed to have considered King Draco as a snake—but a snake that had lost its fangs.
Raphael needed to intervene on this matter, and yet when Rowena looked his way... her eyes seemed to question why he was here in the first place.
Rowena was curious about why Raphael was still around, but then she quickly glanced back at Liam and said. "Take me to Julian."
"Alright," Prince Liam agreed reluctantly. He glanced at King Draco and then cleared his throat. "I will ask one of my men to escort you—"
"That"s unnecessary, we already know where Julian is," Raphael said. He needed to spend time with Rowena alone and at least get through to her and didn"t need interruptions.
Liam frowned. "Very well, then. The doctors and nurses are in the infirmary, but I will be meeting with the two of you later."
"Of course," Raphael said. He realized that Liam was worried that Rowena might attempt to take Julian and whisk him away.
"For now, I"ll personally escort our guests to the chambers—" Prince Liam said.
Rowena didn"t wait for a moment longer, she looked at Prince Jadeith and bowed slightly. "Please excuse me, uncle—I need to visit my friend."
"Do not worry about me, child." Prince Jadeith smiled kindly at his niece before he looked over at Raphael. "Your friend"s condition seems the most vital right now."
Rowena smiled and then looked at Raphael. She didn"t know why he was still here, especially with all of the events that transpired, but since he talked like he was coming with her, she needed to ask.
"Can we go now?" Rowena asked.
"Of course, let"s visit your friend," Raphael agreed.
The two of them left the dining hall and then headed for the infirmary, along the way, Raphael tried to think of a way to bring up the subject—however, he didn"t need to.
Rowena did it herself.
"You said that you wanted to escort me into the human realm, but I... I didn"t
think you"d stay for more than a week as well." Rowena said.
Raphael chuckled and decided to speak honestly. "I was almost afraid that you wouldn"t realize I was here after your family... came to visit."
"Visit." Rowena frowned. "That"s one word to describe it—my father... he"s..."
"Before we arrived here, you mentioned that you couldn"t help but wonder if he"s sincere and could change. What do you think?" Raphael asked.
Rowena glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. "I don"t know. It"s hard to put a label on him after everything that happened between us. What I do know is that I need to focus on helping Julian... Do you know some other way?"
Raphael blinked. "Pardon?"
Rowena smiled. "You seem to be in an adventuring group with your friends... and you sound knowledgeable about various realms. Perhaps you know of a way to help wake up Julian?"
King Draco told her to seduce Raphael, but if the man was still here without any prompting from her side, that had to mean something, Rowena thought.
Raphael would say something if she was direct with him, right?
The Seventh Prince looked deeply at Rowena"s hopeful smile and felt his heart ache. As far as Raphael knew, Julian"s soul was gone and there was no way to recover it.
"Do you know a way?" Rowena asked again. "Your silence means that you"re thinking about it right? Another possibility?"
She was focused on awakening Julian again.
Raphael sighed inwardly. He didn"t wish to be as blunt as Liam and the others and tell her that Julian would never wake up, it would leave Rowena in a state of denial again.
However, Raphael also didn"t wish to give her false hopes. The Seventh Prince finally came to a decision as he shook his head.
"I"ve considered what might be of help to him, but I do not think I am truly knowledgeable in this area of reawakening your friend. My apologies," Raphael said.
The light faded from Rowena"s eyes as her smile vanished.
"I see… Well, that"s alright," Rowena tried to smile again as they reached the infirmary. She held the door and then looked at Raphael. "Thank you for being honest with me."
Raphael looked at her and felt rather helpless in this regard. He reached out and gently took her hand into his and said. "But I"m sure that your friend will want you to be happy, Rowena. And no matter where you are, he will always be with you."
Rowena forced a laugh and nodded. Tears stung her eyes and yet she blinked them away. "I know… so thank you for walking me here, Raphael."
Raphael looked worriedly at her. "I will accompany you–"
Rowena raised a hand. "This is enough."&
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"Enough?"
"You"ve done me a great deal, Raphael." Rowena opened the door to the infirmary and stepped in. "From the mermaid realm and even staying here waiting for me to wake up. You even ended up meeting my family–so, I think you"ve already done enough."
"Rowena–"
"Thank you, Raphael. But you don"t need to keep checking up on me… I will be fine."
"But–!"
Rowena shut the door of the infirmary before Raphael could say anything else.
The door clicked and she let out a deep sigh.
"I"m sorry," she whispered.