Chapter 97


    “It’s okay, my King, I know you have to,” she says, focusing on me. I felt terrible. rice had been with


    me since I was a kid, and I knew she never would, but I wasn’t going to trust blindly when it came to my


    mate. My guards were under oath to protect my mate and future Queen and couldn’t go against the


    promise; there was no way they could even if they wanted to.


    “I’m sorry, but I have to be sure?” I tell her, and she nods her head in understanding. rice was the


    oldest of my staff, besides Tanner, the gardener. Mymand dropped all the kitchen staff in the room to


    their knees because they could not fight it. A king’smand is excruciating when used at full strength.


    I s*****w and nod to Damian, who grips her arms, so she doesn’t hit the ground as the rest did. He


    looked away, and I knew he felt terrible; he loved rice like a mother. I am sure everyone in the castle


    did since she raised most of us when she was still my nanny when l was a small boy; she had been by


    my side since I was a toddler. She raised half of those here in this room alongside me, everyone here


    taking their parents’ ces within the castle walls when they retired.


    “Did you poison my mate?” I asked her,manding the answer out of her. She shrieked and dropped,


    but Damian gripped her tighter. Tears sprang in my eyes, and she shook her head, gasping. “No, my


    King,” she rasped out.


    “Do you know who did it?” I asked, and she screamed, the sound so agonizing some of the staff broke


    down, and others covered their ears. I cupped her face in my hands and brushed her tears away with my


    thumbs.


    “No, my King,” she answered.


    “Do you suspect who might have tried?” I ask her, tears slipping down my cheeks, and she cries out


    before looking around at her kitchen staff. “No, my King,” I sigh, dropping themand. She panted, her


    face flushed, trying to catch her breath, and Damian rubbed her arms.’


    “It’s okay, Son. I know you had to,” she whispers, clutching my hands in her shaking ones. Her words


    didn’t make me feel any better about using it on her.


    “When I find out who did it, I will not just punish them for what they did to Azalea; they will get double for


    making me hurt the woman who raised me,” I assure her. She nods, and Trey rushes over, grabbing her


    arms, and Damian let her go before getting her a ss of water and helping her hold the cup to her lips


    so she can drink.


    “Help her back to her room,” I tell Trey, and he nods his head quickly.


    “One minute,” I said, stopping him.


    “All the food. Where have the orders been going out to?” I ask her.


    “The fruit is from here, obviously; the rest ordered in from town and the usual shipments we receive,” she


    answers. She points a shaking finger toward the back wall.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    “All order forms are pinned over there, Kyson,” she says. A few of the kitchen staff gasped at the casual


    way she addressed me. rice in front of staff always called me by my title except when Azalea was


    around or my guards. rice recognizes what she did and quickly corrects herself, but I shake my head.


    “You know you can call me anything you want, rice,” I tell her.


    “I know,” she says, and the kitchen staff looked relieved that she wasn’t being punished for it. Not that I


    ever would punish her for the casual use of my name or anyone for that matter, not that I would tell them


    that. Everyone slips up from time to time, but considering the woman who used to change my diapers


    when I was a baby, rice had earned her the right to call me whatever she wanted and has never been


    afraid to scold me either.


    Damian fetches the paperwork down and the kitchen inventory lists from the noticeboard at the back of


    the kitchen where rice pointed.


    “Everyone is dismissed for now,” I tell them, allowing them back to bed. Damian hands the documents to


    me, and I shake my head. “You handle it; I want to go check my mate,” I tell him, and he nods before


    following me out and back to the infirmary. When I entered, Dustin was sitting beside her in a chair while


    holding her hand, rubbing circles on its back with his thumb. He quickly stood, but I shook my head. He


    looked terrible, and I knew guilt was eating at him.


    “Has she woken up yet?” I ask him.


    “Briefly, she asked for you,” he answers, and I nod, brushing her hair from her face.


    “Did you find who did it?” he asked, and I shook my head.


    “No, but until I do,”


    “Until we do, I will be cooking all the King’s and Queen’s meals,” Damian says, cutting me off. I was


    about to say I would do it.


    “I will be. You are to stay with our Queen at all times.”


    “Fine, you’re a better cook than me anyway,” I tell him, and he chuckles before sitting at the desk in the


    corner, going over the paperwork he retrieved from the kitchen. I look down at Azalea, and my body


    starts rxing, and I suddenly shift back abruptly. Dustin clears his throat, averting his gaze before


    standing up.


    “I will get you some clothes,” he says, exiting quickly. Damianughed.


    “The only time I see that man blush is when one of us stands naked in front of him,” Damian says,


    unfazed by nudity. Not like we hadn’t seen each other plenty of times before. I was confident every


    person within the castle grounds had caught sight of me naked at some point. I take his seat before


    grabbing her hand and kissing it.