Conquering His Cold Heart

379 Assigning Guards

Caspian went back to his workroom after leaving the courtyard. He needed to calm his anger down before going to see how his wife was doing at the moment. He didn’t want to go and see Anastasia while his face was stiff from anger. It had taken a great deal of effort on his side to speak civilly in front of everyone.

While resting on his comfortable chair, he recalled how he had promised Anastasia to have tea with her. He rubbed his palm over his face in irritation because even his simple wish was also taking time to get fulfilled due to everything that was happening around them.

He sighed and closed his eyes to rest for a while. But a really good idea struck his mind. ‘Should I prepare the tea this time? I bet I can do it. I have watched Anna preparing the tea countless times.’

He suddenly became excited like a happy kid who was ready to perform some kind of experiment.

Caspian immediately gave sound to the guards outside his study and when one of them came in and greeted him, he instantly ordered, “Go and ask Holly to prepare all the things that are necessary to brew the tea. Ask her to bring it to the Queen’s chamber. Oh, and also ask her to bring two cups.”

The guard bowed and instantly sprinted out of the room to relay the King’s message to Holly.

And while he waited for a few more minutes, another important thing came to his mind. “I should assign some personal guards to Anna… I should have done that as soon as she arrived from Orsenia. So many incidents could have been prevented if I had done that.”

Caspian felt bitter after recalling the moment when Anastasia and Tilla fell victim to the vampire who was plotting revenge on him.

He clenched his jaw and muttered, “I hope he is rotting in that coffin! Wishing he was dead a thousand times already.”

.....

Caspian quickly snapped out of it and then thought who would be better suited as the Queen’s guards. After thinking for a while, he couldn’t come up with anyone besides his own personal guards. They were very well-trained in the battle arts and had never failed to follow his order, not even once.

“I think I should ask the two of them to swear loyalty to Anna instead of me,” Caspian mumbled to himself. “I can rest easy if she is guarded by them.”

With that thought in mind, he called in another guard who was standing outside his study room and then ordered, “Ask John and Isaac to come here right away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The guard bowed and left in an instant.

With nothing else to do, Caspian got up from his seat and began pacing back and forth in the room to keep himself occupied.

He didn’t have to wait long enough for his guards to arrive though.

Both John and Isaac came in and gave a low bow to the King.

“Are we going somewhere, Your Majesty,” John asked the King so that he and the other guards would be mentally prepared.

John and Isaac had thought that they had been summoned to accompany the King out of the castle. However, unlike what they had expected, they were faced with a question they never expected to hear from the King.

“How do you two feel about swearing loyalty to the Queen?” Caspian asked without beating around the bush.

The two guards exchanged confused glances with each other.

And Isaac dared to question the King. “Is His Majesty dissatisfied with us in some way?”

“No!” Caspian sighed and then looked at both of them with eyes full of nothing but appreciation. “I am not asking you to swear loyalty to the Queen because I don’t like you. I am asking that of you because I trust you both with my wife’s life. You both heard, didn’t you? How a maid dared to attack her yesterday?”

“Yes, that we heard. It was really unfortunate of the Queen to have faced such treatment,” Isaac replied while showing some empathy.

Caspian nodded and said, “That’s why I need someone whom I can fully trust her life with. Even when I am not around, I want her to feel safe while roaming her own castle. She doesn’t even go outside much and yet, she has already come face to face with death so many times.”

“That’s why I want you two to guard her at all times. I cannot imagine my life without my wife. So, in a way, you two will be indirectly protecting me as well. Can I trust you with this important task?” the King asked the guards while looking at them with high expectations.

When the King put it that way, there was no way the guards would reject him.

Both of the guards instantly bowed to the King. And John replied on behalf of both of them, “You can put your trust in us, Your Majesty. We will guard the Queen with our life.”

Caspian released a sigh of relief and praised his loyal guards. “Thank you for agreeing with me. I hope you can take the job from today itself.”

“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” Isaac replied with determination.

Caspian clapped his hands and then said, “Then follow me to the Queen’s chamber. I will introduce the two of you to her and inform her of your duties.”

With that sorted, Caspian walked out of the study while being followed by his trusty guards.

He finally returned to the Queen’s chambers after taking care of all the things that required his immediate attention.

He asked the guards to wait outside while he talked with Anastasia first.

When Caspian went to the bedchamber, Anastasia was lying down on the bed while Martha was pressing a small pouch on her stomach.

“What happened? What’s that?” Caspian was instantly worried about his wife.

Anastasia opened her eyes and looked at Caspian. She gave a subtle smile and replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. I had a cramp in my stomach and Martha here is helping me.”

“Is it bad?” Caspian asked after stopping near the foot of the bed.

Anastasia shook her head and answered, “It was just mild pain. It’s already healed now.”

Caspian let out a sigh of relief and replied, “Oh, that’s a relief to hear.” He then looked at Martha and asked, “Why don’t you give that to me? I will help her with that.”

Martha gave a bow and immediately slipped down the bed. She handed over the hot water pouch to the King and walked out of the room after saying, “I will be in the antechamber if you need me.”

Caspian nodded and then focused his attention on his wife. “Where does it hurt? Here?” he asked while softly pressing on her lower belly.

“Yes, there,” Anastasia replied somewhat reluctantly.

Caspian gently placed the pouch on his wife’s stomach and intently looked at her. He wondered if the pain was caused by the tonic that she took.

‘Should I ask her why she did that?’ he thought to himself, and the question was already on the tip of his tongue. But he couldn’t bring himself to directly question her now that she was awake.

‘Maybe next time… I should first introduce the guards to her.’