The Masked prince
Chapter 217: The War

Chapter 217: The War

It was dinner time.

Ezra and Elliot were telling another wonderful story to Evelyn today.

Even the servants standing around were completely immersed in the story. However, Evelyn looked lost in her own thoughts.

"If the war didn’t start...then His Highness will come back soon, won’t he?"

She blurted out suddenly making Ezra who was speaking stop amidst his words suddenly.

The three knights who heard Evelyn’s words sighed as they looked at each other.

"My Lady, His Highness will need to stay there for a few more days even if the enemies don’t attack."

It was Elliot who spoke. His voice was soft as he continued

"His Highness is there when we doubt that there can be an attack so he can only come back when we are completely sure that this was only a false alarm. It might be possible that His Highness gets ready to leave and the enemies attack just then."

Evelyn nodded her head in understanding.

She actually wished that there would be no war. Many people perish in a war. And if the war didn’t happen then the prince would also return early.

However, as Elliot said, the prince would have to stay there until he was sure that no attack was bound to happen.

The rest of the dinner passed in silence.

At night inside her room, Evelyn had the letter sent by Regan in her hands as she lay on the bed to find some sleep.

She stared at it continuously and then brought it closer to her chest as if she was trying to feel her prince’s presence.

It didn’t bring her any coomfort and tears filled her eyes.

Never had she thought that someone’s absence from her life could make her feel so lost and empty. It was as if she didn’t even exist without him.

Evelyn didn’t get to know when she finally fell into a deep slumber.

Another week passed like this and Evelyn didn’t receive any other letter now. Her training continued but with every passing day, Evelyn found herself more and more restless.

As another week passed, a letter finally came but it didn’t say what Evelyn wanted to hear.

"The war had started."

Isla whispered.

Elliot took the letter from her hands and said

"His Highness wrote it the same day the enemies attacked and the letter must have taken at least three days to reach us since it was Lavo who sent it. It means, that the enemies attacked three days ago."

Evelyn didn’t hear what Elliot was saying.

She was silent. She had thought that there would be no war...that it was just one of Arthur’s plans to distract the prince’s attention from her. But it didn’t seem like this.

How long the war would be?

Evelyn wondered suddenly. The last war lasted for almost eleven years. Then for how long this one would last...

"I want to go there."

She said suddenly.

But Isla refused her immediately. Evelyn didn’t insist after that.

One day, she didn’t even wish to get out of bed and lay there only while staring out of the window.

Isla was worried when she entered the room and saw her on the bed. She was more worried and full of panic when she touched Evelyn’s forehead and found that Evelyn had a high fever.

Ezra brought a physician soon who prescribed some medicine and Evelyn had it.

However, two days passed and there was no improvement in Evelyn’s health.

On the third day, Isla brought a book for Evelyn. Evelyn didn’t think much and start reading it. It helped her in thinking about the prince.

Evelyn read the book. She could recognize more words now and she found it easier to read the book.

As she read the book, she found herself more immersed in it.

The book was written by the wife of a soldier who had left his home to fight on the battlefield during the eleven years war between Zamorin and Alfaros.

She described how she feared each and every passing second, how she wanted to confirm every day whether her husband was alive and not injured anywhere, how she wanted to know whether he ate his full or not, and how she missed him every moment.

Evelyn found herself relating to each and every word written in the book.

By the time, she reached the last page she was crying hard.

The soldier died on the battlefield yet his wife finishes the book with an only sentence without expressing any of her grief contrary to how she had described her grief in the whole book because of her husband’s absence.

’I am proud to be his wife who gave his life to protect his people. If I got such a chance, I would not back away from doing the same because I am the wife of a brave soldier.’

The words made Evelyn’s eyes tear up again and again.

When Isla entered the room, Evelyn had already stopped crying. The book was placed on the bedside.

However, the next day Evelyn was completely fine. The fever reduced at an incomprehensible pace.

Evelyn decided to take a bath and wore the clothes she used to wear to train.

When she stepped out of her room in the clothes of training, Isla, Elliot, and Ezra were surprised to see her.

"My Lady should rest for another day."

Ezra said in a concern-filled voice. He could see that Evelyn’s eyes were red and swollen. Perhaps she didn’t sleep last night well.

Elliot thought the same. He was afraid that their lady would get sick again if she started training so early after recovering. He actually wondered if they overdid it and because of that Evelyn fell sick.

However, Evelyn shook her head and said firmly

"I wish to train."

Her husband is fighting on the battlefield with so many soldiers who had left their homes. As his wife, Evelyn finally realized that she can’t fall weak.

She needed to be his strength, not his weakness.

Zamorin might be the Empire where she was born...but Alfaros was the Empire that had given her a new life where she found her happiness.

For its people and her prince, she needed to become strong.