The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 171: Disappointed

Chapter 171: Disappointed

While the physician was yet to answer, Dorothy walked into the tent.

"Your Highness," she said with a bow. She was feeling jealous just watching the crown prince worry about Anastasia.

Prince Edward smiled upon seeing Dorothy.

"Quickly check and see if there is anything you can do," Prince Edward said.

Of course, he knew her medical skills were not above those of the royal physicians who had already examined Anastasia, but he wanted to help her build her reputation, so that when she became his official mistress in the future, she would not be looked down upon.

Dorothy was happy to get the opportunity. She walked toward the bed, but before she could touch Anastasia, Anastasia’s eyes snapped open.

"Your Highness!" the physician called out. Although they had expected her to wake at any moment, they were still shocked to see her eyes open.

Although Anastasia had been unconscious, she had been aware of the discussions around her. She had been struggling to open her eyes ever since someone helped clean her up and change her clothes. She had been worried sick about the seal and the sceptre. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she had been unable to open her eyes.

While listening to the conversation between the crown prince and the physician, she had felt very helpless. She wanted to open her eyes and tell the prince about the situation, but she could not. However, the moment she heard Dorothy’s voice, it was as though something snapped loose in her mind, and she opened her eyes.

She did not trust the prince and his mistress. What if Dorothy suggested something harmful and the prince agreed? The thought was so overwhelming that she forced her eyes open within moments.

"Check her condition," the prince instructed.

"I am fine," Anastasia said, seeing that Dorothy was about to touch her. During her two days of unconsciousness, she had sometimes thought of her nightmares, that was mirroring reality as the day goes by.

Dorothy was shocked and did not know what to do for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but Anastasia beat her to it.

"I have something urgent and important to report to the prince," Anastasia said.

Hearing those words, the prince, who had found Anastasia’s behavior strange quickly came to his senses. He immediately asked everyone to leave. Dorothy felt extremely embarrassed, but the prince did not care about her feelings at that moment.

"What happened to the things my mother entrusted to you?" Prince Edward asked as soon as only the two of them were left in the room.

Anastasia looked at the prince. When she had heard his anxious voice while unconscious, she had thought that perhaps he cared a little about her. But now, hearing this question, she realized why he had been anxious.

"Who saved me?" Anastasia answered his question with one of her own.

Prince Edward frowned. He did not understand why she refused to answer him directly.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a low voice. He was her husband, she should not ignore him.

"If you want answers, I can only give them after I meet the one who saved me," Anastasia replied.

Actually, she could have just told him to find the woman who had helped change her clothes and ask for the items. But since the prince did not truly care about her, she could not help but remember the man who had saved her.

She still remembered his words. She wanted to know if she recognized the person who had saved her, if those caring words had been meant for her or for someone else.

Since she did not know who had saved her, and because giving the information to the prince might prevent her from meeting him, she tied her selfish wish to the prince’s need to recover the seal.

"Some merchant who went into the woods to hunt," Prince Edward replied.

Although he felt there was something strange about Anastasia’s insistence, there was only one day left before he had to send a message to the royal palace. The seal was very important.

Anastasia frowned. She did not know any merchant.

"I would like to meet him and ask a few questions," she said.

Although she already guessed that she did not know the man and that he must have mistaken her identity, she still wanted to be sure.

"I already asked. He said he did not find anything close by when he rescued you," Prince Edward said.

He did not know why he felt extremely uncomfortable seeing his wife ask about another man just after waking from a coma.

Anastasia looked at him. She did not want to get the person who had saved her into trouble, but she was determined to see him.

"In that case, I should still see him and thank him. I was bitten by a snake and lost my way, but I kept the seal and sceptre of authority safe. I fear he might be the only one able to find it after I describe where I hid it," Anastasia said.

Prince Edward pursed his lips. He still felt uneasy in his heart, but finding the seal was the most important thing.

Thus, he stepped outside and asked for the merchant to be brought over. Fortunately, because he had feared being deceived, he had brought the merchant to the military camp.

"Your Highness," the merchant said with a bow as he entered the tent.

Prince Edward stood by the side. He did not feel comfortable leaving his wife alone with another man.

"You saved me?" Anastasia asked.

The voice sounded different from what she had remembered in her half-conscious state. She wondered if that was simply the effect of her unconsciousness.

"Yes, Your Highness," the young man replied.

He could see the doubt on the princess’s face. His heart skipped a beat, but he could not expose what his master wanted hidden.

Anastasia frowned.

"Where did you find me?" she asked.

"Close to the river, deep in the woods. When I saw you, you told me you had been bitten by a snake and then fainted," the young man said with confidence.

Anastasia’s frown deepened. She already guessed this was not the man who had saved her.

Even though she could not clearly see his face while half-conscious, she could tell from his voice and account of the situation that he was not the one.

"Then where are the clothes I was wearing? There is something very important inside," Anastasia said.

"They should be in the carriage. I placed them inside," the young man answered.

When the woman from the village had changed her clothes, she had handed them to Ernest, as he was not present at the time. Before leaving, Ernest had returned the clothes to him, instructing him to hand them over to the lady when she woke up.

He had been curious and had peeked into the bag. Seeing that it contained only the lady’s old clothes, he had wondered why his master would insist that he return them to her.

There was nothing special about the clothes, and in his opinion, they should have been burned. But fortunately, he had always obeyed his master. He did not hand the bag over to the prince but hid it inside the carriage. His master had told him to give it to the lady directly, and he would not dare pass it to anyone else.

"Then, can you help me bring it?" Anastasia said.

She was feeling disappointed. Seeing her lower her gaze, the prince wondered what she was feeling sad about.

The young man bowed and left the tent. A guard escorted him to where the carriage was kept so he could retrieve the cloth bag.

After retrieving it, he returned to the tent.

"Your Highness, everything should be here. I kept it after the maid handed it to me," he said.

"Thank you," Anastasia said, accepting the bag and immediately opening it.

When she saw her old clothes, she felt a bit relieved. After checking and finding that nothing was missing, she thanked the young man.

"Thank you for saving me and for keeping my things safe," Anastasia said.

She felt bitter in her heart. After all, since he could produce the clothes without anything missing, it meant he was indeed the one who had saved her. She just felt sad that she did not truly know him.

Meaning the care and concern was for someone else.

"I am happy Your Highness is fine. With your permission, I will take my leave," the young man said with a bow.

"Thank you," Anastasia replied.

The prince, seeing that Anastasia had confirmed whatever it was she had wanted to confirm, also left the room.

He felt that he was being too sensitive. He was a prince; why would Anastasia look at another man when she was married to him?

He then instructed Walter to send two guards to accompany the young man home and to reward him for saving the princess.

After making the arrangements, he quickly returned to Anastasia’s tent.

He wanted to ask her where she had kept the two items safely.

When he entered, he was shocked to see her holding the two items.

"Your Highness, I apologize for opening the box, but after escaping, it was the only option I had. The box was a bit too heavy to escape with," she added after a pause.

Since she had been conscious, she had heard Eldric reporting the situation about his kidnapping.

Since he had not mentioned the original plan from Wiwell, she decided to also act ignorant, at least until she found out his reasons.