Anastasia let Miss Magdalene in. "What about Dorothy?" she asked, noticing that Miss Magdalene had come alone.
"The physician seems tired and did not hear the noise outside. I figured there was no need to wake her," Miss Magdalene answered.
Anastasia found the reasoning acceptable. Since no one could sleep, they remained silent, listening carefully. At some point, the noise grew louder, but after a while, everything became quiet again.
The sudden silence made Anastasia and the others uneasy. It could mean one of two things: either the soldiers guarding the provisions had been defeated, and the supplies were stolen, or the troublemakers had been dealt with, and peace had been restored. They all remained quiet, barely daring to breathe, especially when they heard hurried footsteps approaching their room.
"Commander!" The guards stationed outside had already drawn their swords upon spotting someone approaching. The person had the faint smell of blood and also had his sword drawn. Only when he came closer did they recognize him as their commander.
"How is the princess?" The commander, seeing that the two men stationed outside her room were still standing, felt a bit relieved.
"Her Highness is fine," one of the guards answered.
Hearing the conversation, Anastasia rose from her seat and opened the door.
"What happened?" she asked the commander, whom she regarded as the head guard.
"Your Highness, we were attacked by thieves," the commander replied.
"Thieves?" Anastasia furrowed her brows. It seemed odd. With the number of soldiers guarding the supplies, ordinary thieves would not dare to attack.
"Your Highness, they dressed like thieves and appeared to be looking for something, but they were highly skilled. They cannot be ordinary thieves," the commander said. He had observed that, despite seeming to want to steal supplies, these so-called thieves had actually been searching for something specific.
"Were you able to interrogate anyone?" Anastasia asked. She suspected the attack was connected to the poisoning of the king. Perhaps someone had betrayed the kingdom.
"No. The few who survived managed to escape. They even helped their wounded comrades flee. Now, we only have two bodies, but I have yet to search and investigate them. The fighting was chaotic just now. I was wondering if anyone had come this way," the commander replied.
"I will follow you to check," Anastasia said. She had just dreamt of an ambush at sea, and now their group was already under attack. A chill ran down her spine. Was this a sign that she should take her dream more seriously?
The commander wanted to advise against it but knew the princess was reasonable. He allowed her to follow. Rosa and Miss Magdalene also joined them.
When they reached the small camp the soldiers had set up, the place was in disarray. Several carriages had been overturned, and some soldiers were scrambling to recover the supplies.
"Your Highness," a few soldiers bowed.
"Did we lose anyone?" Anastasia asked.
"No, but one person is seriously injured. The others have minor wounds," the commander replied.
"Rosa, go back and wake Physician Dorothy. Since she is here, she should tend to the injured," Anastasia ordered.
She was then led to where the two bodies were being searched.
"Did you find anything useful?" the commander asked.
The men searching the bodies sighed.
"Answering the commander’s question, there is nothing to trace these people by. Their clothes are ordinary. They have no tokens or identifying marks," one soldier reported.
"Yes, but I noticed that the craftsmanship of their swords is similar to that of Gube," another added.
Anastasia’s heart skipped a beat. In her dream, the men who had attacked them at sea were from Gube.
"Let me see," the commander said, taking the sword to examine it. "You’re right, but this is strange," he muttered after a pause.
"What is strange?" Anastasia asked.
"This part of the kingdom is very close to the royal city. How could someone from Gube get this far?" the commander said. Dıscover more novels at novel•fire.net
"Commander, you forget that the water route is not entirely safe. They could have easily sneaked in. Or they deliberately got this weapon to hide their identity," one soldier pointed out.
"You’re right," the commander frowned. "Clear up the scene," he ordered. If they could not figure out the identity of the thieves they could let it be for the moment and deal with other things.
Anastasia listened to their conversation intently. At first, she had believed her dream was over since the attack had already happened and she was safe. But after hearing that the sea was an easy route for people from Gube to infiltrate the kingdom, she began to worry again.
"Send two men ahead to check the situation at the sea and inspect the boats," Anastasia commanded. She had no intention of drowning in the river without even a proper burial.
"Yes, Your Highness," the commander agreed. He knew her decision was wise. The escaped attackers might have reinforcements. It was better to investigate and be prepared.
As she turned, Anastasia saw that Dorothy was already outside, tending to the most severely injured man.
"How is he?" Anastasia asked.
"He’ll be fine, Your Highness. Fortunately, I had medicine prepared," Dorothy replied, making sure the soldiers heard her. She wanted them to know that it was thanks to her foresight that they were safe.
"That’s good," Anastasia said, feeling relieved. Though she did not know these men personally, she did not wish for any of them to die. Seeing that many were still wounded, she decided to ask Dorothy for medicine so she could help prepare it. After all, the sooner the injured received treatment, the better, as they needed to depart in the morning.
Dorothy was reluctant. She had hoped to impress the soldiers with her medical skills and earn their gratitude. But she did not dare refuse. So, she listed the necessary herbs, and Anastasia assisted in preparing the medicine while Rosa helped the wounded men apply it.
Seeing the princess personally caring for the soldiers, many of them began to praise her humility and kindness. Some even murmured that the position of queen could only belong to a virtuous woman like Anastasia.
Dorothy, overhearing these whispers, was livid. She wished she could slap them all into silence. ’These men are truly blind,’ she thought angrily. ’I am the one with actual skills. Anastasia only ground a bunch of herbs together, and yet they’re praising her to the heavens!’
She scowled to herself. ’No wonder they got injured in the first place.’