The King's Lover-Chapter 541: Suspects

"Your Majesty," squealed Chelsy and Isla as they were let into Caius’s bedchambers.

"We heard what happened," Chelsy was saying while Isla looked on the verge of tears.

Rose was alone. Caius had left just moments before the girls arrived. He didn’t leave her alone immediately; he had held her on the couch for as long as she needed, reassuring her that this wouldn’t happen again.

He had tried to call for Paul, but Rose had vehemently refused. It really was only a scratch, and she could barely feel any pain from it. She was more worried about Maximus, who had a literal hole in his forearm.

After the moment on the couch, they ate dinner, then he summoned her ladies-in-waiting, and after assuring her that he would be back soon, he left.

Rose didn’t want him to, and she would have been content with him being there, but she had seen the look on his face. He wanted to find out what had happened while sparing her the gory details.

Rose wasn’t sure she wanted to be spared. She wasn’t pleased that he was going to have a discussion and arrive at a conclusion regarding her and she might never know the details.

Unfortunately, Rose knew she couldn’t stomach more. At least not tonight. She really hoped Lady Delphine was right, because if these assassins were sent to her father, she had cause to worry.

"Your face," Isla called, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"It is merely a scratch," Rose replied with a smile.

"I am glad you’re safe," Isla said as tears poured down her face. "This is our fault. You shouldn’t have tried to help us. I am sure the old Queen did this!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Isla!" Chelsy scolded, horrified at her sister’s words, but it was clear she shared the same thoughts. However, these were not thoughts meant to be voiced.

"What? No! This isn’t your fault," she smiled, looking from one of them to the other. "We don’t know who planned this attack, but you have nothing to worry about. I am fine, aren’t I?"

Whoever had attacked her was good enough to strike her without any visual while in a moving carriage. If they hadn’t struck wood the first time, Rose wasn’t sure if Maximus would have been able to stop the second arrow in time.

Rose forced herself not to think about it as they helped her get ready for bed. She also had to remember to keep a little smile on her face to reassure the girls.

They were clearly agitated, though they did their best to act otherwise. Isla told her of all the silly things that had happened in the castle since Rose left and how the other maids were brimming with jealousy.

Rose listened and laughed, and by the end of the warm bath, she truly did feel better. Thinking back on the incident no longer felt as suffocating as it once did.

After the girls dressed her for bed, they didn’t want to leave her alone and stayed with her, keeping her company. Isla couldn’t stop talking, and Rose couldn’t stop laughing. It did help, and the weight on her shoulders felt lighter.

---

Maximus stood in the middle of Caius’s private study, a sling around his neck that held his injured hand in a still position. The wound had been cleaned out and rewrapped.

He had been given something for the pain and told not to use the hand for any activity for at least three weeks, and he should wear the sling for the same amount of time. Maximus thought this was too long.

According to the physician, no major artery had been hit, and luckily for him, the arrow had passed through the space between the bones in his forearm.

Maximus didn’t think it was luck; rather, it spoke of the skill of the archer. Maximus was made of dense muscle, especially in his arms, yet the arrow had managed to pierce right through, and from quite a distance too.

"What do we know?" Caius impatiently asked the men in the room.

"Nothing that can pinpoint us to the assailants," Rylen spoke.

"Assailants?" Caius asked.

Thomas nodded. "There were at least two—one more skilled than the other. They used the same arrows. I am unfamiliar with the shape of the arrowhead."

"Is there anything you noticed, Maximus?" Caius turned to the huge man who took up space in the middle of his study.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but no. At the time, I was more concerned with Her Majesty’s safety. I did not attempt to look out the window, only to get away from the scene. But whoever it was had a pretty good aim and a steady arm."

Caius made a fist, fighting back the urge to punch something. They had absolutely nothing. "And the marketplace?"

"The shooting caused panic in the market, giving the men enough commotion to get away. A few people did say they saw someone shooting an arrow from a roof, but there isn’t any way to prove what they are saying is true."

"They might be hired hands," Thomas ventured.

"Perhaps," Caius replied. "But these aren’t mercenaries."

Mercenaries tended to be more aggressive, and they wouldn’t attack from a distance. They would have attacked while the carriage was going through a stretch of empty road, and they would have been more thorough.

"No poison?" Caius asked.

Maximus shook his head.

There wasn’t any, because a scratch would have been incapacitating to Rose, and the arrow piercing through Maximus would have been fatal. Caius was grateful that it wasn’t the case, but poison would have given them some evidence.

All they had now were strange arrows and sightings of a man on a roof.

"Do you think Wresthal might be involved?" Rylen asked with a frown. He was certain this was a local incident.

"We can’t rule anything out. Tell me your suspects—it doesn’t matter how preposterous it sounds."

Caius looked around the room. He trusted the men here. His cousin did leave much to be desired, but Caius was confident he wouldn’t be foolish enough to betray him again, especially in such a manner.

"One of the lords," Rylen was quick to venture. "Lord Nicholas perhaps; he seemed particularly agitated."

Thomas’s expression darkened at the mention of his uncle. "Are you certain?"

"No," Rylen stated immediately. "His Majesty said to mention who we might suspect."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I can’t think of anyone," Thomas replied.

"Maximus?"

"Your mother, perhaps. However, I am unconvinced. The last time she needed such services, she implored my help. I doubt she has access to such a skilled individual without my knowledge or yours."

It wasn’t that he doubted the old Queen, but Queen Violeta didn’t like to be directly involved in violence. She would have hired someone, and he didn’t think it would be possible for her to hire someone so skilled while in the castle without him or the King getting wind of it.

"Her Majesty?!" Rylen called in horror.

"Yes," Maximus explained. "Especially after this morning."

Caius knew all about it and was especially proud of Rose for taking her maids back. He didn’t bring it up because Maximus had explicitly stated that it was clear she didn’t want him to know about it.

He couldn’t deny that his mother was a good suspect. She had tried to get rid of Rose before. However, as Maximus said, he doubted she could find someone without him getting wind of her plans.