Bodyguard's Love

Chapter 13

The next morning, at the palace, Azusa went to the emperor's office early, before her father arrived, to take charge of reading certain documents which had to be signed as soon as possible.

After Luana left, she and her family moved to the palace so that they could take better care of Arthur and complete their daily duties more easily.

Once she entered the room, she was surprised to see her father already seated in the armchair behind the desk, his elbows resting on the hard surface and his hands crossed under his chin, deep in thought.

"Good morning, Dad," she greeted, smiling.

He jumped slightly in surprise when he heard her.

"Oh... Good morning, Azu," he replied in a small voice.

The girl walked over to him and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"You got up very early today. Do you have a lot of work to do ?" she asked, examining the paperwork in front of her.

"No... That's not it..." he repliee, a blank look on his face.

"Hm ? Are you okay, Dad ?"

"Not really, no. I haven't slept all night."

The girl widened her eyes in surprise.

"Why is that ?! Are you sick ?!" she asked, worried.

The duke sighed heavily, resting his back on the back of the chair.

"No, I'm fine. It's more like Arthur who isn't... He... Yesterday... He..."

"What's wrong with him, Dad ? What happened to His Majesty ?" she asked, a lump in her throat.

"I… I don't know how it happened… Yesterday, after dinner, I stayed with him in his room to keep him company. He was asleep with a calm and serene expression on his face. Then, suddenly, he started to have a fever and vomit blood..."

"B-but... I visited him yesterday morning and he was doing very well though ! I-it's true that he can't move or speak to us... But he seemed to be doing well, anyway ! He was recovering little by little ! H-how is it possible that he relapsed so suddenly ?!"

"I don't know..."

"What did the doctor say ?"

Angus stayed silent.

"Dad, you have nothing to hide from me. I have all rights to know. The doctor examined him, didn't he ?"

"Yeah..."

"And what did he diagnose ? What is the cause of this seizure ?!"

"A-Arthur… He… He's been poisoned again," he replied with a dejected tone.

Azusa's face turned white as a sheet of pure shock.

"W-What ?" she asked, shaking slightly.

"Fortunately, this time, the poison was not lethal for him... His body is still resisting... But the problem is that it reduced his ability to survive from three months to just one..."

"Oh my god !" she exclaimed, putting her hands in front of her mouth in horror.

"It's almost impossible to save him now... We can't find the cure in such a short time... And we have no contact with Luana to warn her about her father's condition... I'm afraid she won't even be able to be there by his side when... when he... I don't even want to think about it !" he exclaimed bitterly.

"B-but... How did the poison get to him ? He was under our supervision all the time ! No one ever left him alone ! We made sure that he was treated as it should !"