The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 180: Love Affair

Chapter 180: Love Affair

Prince Edward was worried as he hurried with Anastasia back to the military camp. The military doctors had many soldiers to attend to, so he could only rush Anastasia back to where the royal physicians were still treating the Second Prince.

When Edward arrived, Dorothy was planning to go to the battlefield to help with the injured soldiers. After assisting at the medical unit for a few days, many already respected her.

When she saw the Crown Prince holding Anastasia, she was first jealous, but then thought that if Anastasia were gravely injured or died, it might actually be favorable to her.

Thinking this way, she decided to leave, but the Prince turned to her.

"As her personal physician, you should check on her," he said with a frown.

Dorothy was not pleased, especially with the way the Prince spoke to her. She felt he was scolding her. Moreover, what benefit did she gain from caring for Anastasia instead of building her own reputation? But no matter how unwilling she was at this moment, Prince Edward didn’t notice.

Neither did she dare to disobey him.

Anastasia followed the royal physician into the princess’s tent. Prince Edward stood to the side and watched.

The royal physician frowned; he still couldn’t determine what was wrong with her, just like the last time she had been brought over.

She was unconscious, but the cause was unclear.

"Treat her injury," the royal physician instructed Dorothy, seeing she was just standing there and not helping.

Dorothy felt a bit embarrassed. In truth, she had been frowning because she noticed Anastasia didn’t seem seriously injured. So why was the Prince acting so anxious? That had made her forget to assist. Now that the physician had spoken, she felt embarrassed, but there was nothing to do.

She examined Anastasia’s hand and noticed that, apart from the injury, the bone was dislocated. Although she had learned a lot, she was not confident in resetting bones.

She glanced at the physician, who was still examining Anastasia, and felt more embarrassed.

"I do not know how to reset the bone," Dorothy said in a small voice. Of course, she could have pretended, but she was afraid a mistake might be discovered later and cause trouble for her.

At the moment, her official status was Anastasia’s physician, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep her head if she caused any harm.

Upon hearing that she couldn’t reset the bone, the physician decided to handle it himself.

"Get the ointment and apply it to Her Highness’s neck," the royal physician said as he started to examine Anastasia’s hand.

He was also beginning to feel frustrated with Anastasia’s condition. He wasn’t sure what the correct treatment should be.

Since her condition seemed stable, he decided it was best to treat the obvious injuries first and continue monitoring her.

---

"How is the Princess?" Prince Edward, who waited outside the tent, asked as soon as the royal physician came out.

"The Princess was injured in her mouth, and the swelling on her face appears to be from a hard slap. I have reset the bone in her hand. Fortunately, she was unconscious during the procedure—it would have been very painful," the physician explained.

Prince Edward nodded when he heard this.

"When will she wake up?" he asked, noticing the physician hadn’t mentioned something so important.

"Your Highness, the Princess is out of danger. We just have to keep a close watch," the physician replied. He didn’t dare admit that he didn’t know when Anastasia would wake. Since she appeared stable, he could only continue to observe and adjust treatment as needed.

Hearing this, the Prince remained anxious and returned to his tent.

Rosa, who had been nearby, was relieved to hear that Anastasia was not in danger. She didn’t forget to ask the physician what she needed to pay attention to in order to care for the Princess properly.

Anastasia did not regain consciousness until the following evening. By then, the camp was filled with a joyous atmosphere due to the recent victory.

"Do you know what happened to the soldier who protected me when I fell?" Anastasia asked Rosa as soon as they were alone.

After Anastasia woke, both the physician and Dorothy had checked on her. Seeing no major problems, they left.

Remembering the situation when she fainted, Anastasia couldn’t help but worry for Ernest, who had saved her life three times already.

Prince Edward paused when he overheard Anastasia’s question. He had been feeling somewhat guilty about her condition, and had rushed over as soon as he heard she was awake. But he hadn’t expected her first words to be about Ernest.

The question irritated him. Though he had no romantic feelings for Anastasia, he felt that if a woman woke from a coma, the first person she should ask about was her husband. After all, he had been on the battlefield. Swords had no eyes.

"Your Highness, I’m not sure who protected you down the slope. I’ve been taking care of you since you were brought here. I’ll ask around and let you know once I find something," Rosa said. She knew her lady was the type to be deeply grateful for any kindness.

"Alright, let me know," Anastasia said. She took a deep breath and asked for water.

Outside the tent, Prince Edward felt like turning back. He could excuse her asking about Ernest first—after all, he had been with her—but what puzzled him was why she changed the subject without asking about him.

After stewing in his frustration for a while, he cleared his throat and walked in.

"Your Highness," Rosa bowed. Prince Edward nodded and signaled for her to leave.

Rosa bowed again and exited.

"Your Highness," Anastasia began to rise from her bed to greet him, but he gestured with his hand.

"There’s no need. You’re injured. Besides, we’re husband and wife," he said.

"Your Highness is right. How was the battle this time? Did your plan succeed?" Anastasia asked. In truth, this had been the first thing she wanted to know upon waking. The rescue had taken so long that she feared something had gone wrong.

She hadn’t asked Rosa, knowing her maid likely wouldn’t have the answer.

Hearing her question, the Prince’s anger eased a bit. Though she hadn’t asked about him directly, in his opinion, this was as good as asking.

"The plan went smoothly. If not for a colonel making his own decisions, you wouldn’t have been trapped so long, giving that Gube soldier the chance to hurt you," Prince Edward said. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became at Colonel Simon.

"That’s good," Anastasia said. Her hand was still broken and she could barely move it, but she felt that no matter how much it hurt, it was worth it if the plan succeeded.

"Don’t worry about anything else. This time, we’ve beaten the Gube back. Even if they don’t sue for peace, they won’t attack again easily," Prince Edward said. Given how many soldiers the enemy had lost in this battle, he was confident the war would pause for now.

This would give him the opportunity to return to the royal city for his coronation.

"Okay," Anastasia said. They remained silent for a while.

"The soldier who protected me down the slope..." Anastasia hesitated. "Is he alright?" she asked in a low voice, afraid of receiving bad news.

Prince Edward frowned again. He remembered how Dorothy had visited his tent the next morning and asked whether he was injured. Why was it that Anastasia only cared about Ernest?

"He’s still alive," Prince Edward answered irritably. Though he knew she was probably just grateful, he felt that as the Crown Princess, she had no reason to express such strong concern. In his eyes, it was Ernest’s duty to protect her.

Seeing the Prince didn’t look pleased, Anastasia fell silent. She figured he must be in a bad mood. Seeing that she didn’t ask for more details, he felt satisfied.

He continued waiting in the tent, expecting Anastasia to ask if he had been injured, but she only pressed her lips together.

In her heart, she believed the Prince was upset, and didn’t want to annoy him further.

After waiting for a long time and not hearing her speak, he turned to look at her only to find her eyes closed.

"Asleep?" he muttered in frustration. He took a deep breath and left the tent. On his way back, he tried to push the disappointing interaction from his mind.

Anastasia, seeing that he had left, opened her eyes and sighed.

She had no idea what the Prince was thinking. In her view, he neither liked nor cared about her. She felt that her contributions during the war were enough to secure her position as Queen. After suffering the same nightmare repeatedly, she had resolved to build her reputation and stay out of the Prince’s love life.

Now that her dream mirrored reality, she only wanted to find a way to escape.