Lucien was startled for a brief moment. Clenching her fists, Frieda shook her head as she heaved a sigh. He can’t even care about his leg injury, yet he’s thinking about Natalie? “Dr. Dalton, why aren’t you responding?”
“Prince Jonathan, let me check on your leg wound before I tell you more.” Lucien checked the wound on Bastien’s thigh and re-applied medicine before changing his dressing. Throughout all, Bastien was not at all concerned about his injury. Instead, he was anxious for Lucien to quickly finish examining his injury and tell him about Natalie’s condition.
After examining the leg wound, Bastien eagerly probed, “Dr. Dalton, now that you’re done with the examination, c-can you tell me… how is Natalie?”
“Ms. Nichols is fine, but the injury on her shoulder is recovering rather slowly because of her malnutrition and overexertion. She needs to get more rest and increase her nutrient intake from now on to get fully recovered. It’s just that…” Lucien paused slightly before continuing, “She was taken away from Luna Palace by her husband yesterday evening. It seems like her husband is skilled in medicine and could take good care of her too. There’s no need to worry too much, Prince Jonathan…”
With that said, Lucien got up and left after offering a bow. On the bed, Bastien froze in place as an overwhelming swirl of emotions flooded his mind.
He was undoubtedly relieved to learn that Natalie was safe and sound. Yet, on the other hand, he could not bring himself to stay unbothered about the fact that Samuel had taken Natalie with him away from Luna Palace.
The woman he vowed to protect for his entire life had become his younger sister from another mother. It was beyond his imagination: that such an absurd situation that frequently occurred in dramas and novels would actually happen to him.
“Bastien, listen. You should stop thinking about Natalie…” Frieda sounded concerned. “You two aren’t fated to be together. No matter how deeply in love you are, there’s no way-”
However, Bastien agitatedly argued, “Mother, this is Geert’s scheme. He’s trying to deceive us! There’s no way Natalie is my sister!” “Why are you still in denial, Bastien?” At the sight of what the son she had always been proud of had turned into, Frieda found the reality unbearable for her to accept.
Bastien is the most potential candidate to take over the king’s throne. But he’s giving up on himself now and doesn’t even pay attention to care about his injury. Dr. Dalton has specifically warned that there’s a possibility Bastien might become cripple if he doesn’t take proper care of his injury…
As those thoughts raced in her mind, Frieda could not help but cover her face with her hand and start weeping. Mikhail, who coincidentally came to visit Bastien, happened to witness the scene of Frieda sobbing pathetically while Bastien was bellowing hysterically. Without hesitation, Mikhail walked up to Bastien, raised his hand, and slapped the latter across his face.
The force of the hit was so brutal it left Bastien’s head tilted to the side. Bastien remained in that spot for a long time without moving a muscle.
“Why are you so stubborn, Bastien?” Mikhail appeared furious as he pointed at his son. “How dare you keep it a secret from me? You’re so daring to play such a trick! If Geert hadn’t betrayed you, do you know you would’ve committed an irredeemable mistake?” “Isn’t this your fault?”
“My fault?” Lifting his head, Bastien sneered disdainfully. “Sister? Of all the people, why is it her? Why must it be her?” “Bastien, what kind of answer do you wish to hear that’d quell your hatred?” Mikhail was harsh with his words. “Whether you accept it or not, it’s a fact that she’s your sister! While I understand that it’s difficult for you to accept the reality of the situation when you just learned about it, I can’t fathom why you’d rather be oblivious and disregard the truth when you know what it is!”
Mikhail’s authoritative and domineering voice rang out like thunder, and every word hit Bastien in his chest mercilessly. “Stop pushing the blame on someone else. Yes, what I did twenty years ago was a sin. But aren’t you committing a sin right now as well?”
