Every head in the room swiftly turned towards Selena. However, not every pair of eyes held curiosity. Lady Seraphina's rigid, stony face instantly reminded Selena that she might be on the brink of a point of no return. The princess was quick to pick up the cue and act upon it.
Lorian, not in the mood to pick up fine details and read the room, asked her directly what she meant. She was startled, unsure whether she should reply, or what she should reply. Helplessly, she looked at Lorian's eyes, which were full of questions, and then at Seraphina's and Elmsworth's faces, which clearly told her not to speak anything regarding the matter, at least not right now.
The air in the room grew heavy and uneasy, especially for Lorian, who felt a bit left out.
Lucien read the room and, to clear the tension, ordered the guards to take the prisoner back to his cell. This dialogue broke the stupor. Lorian and Selena were sitting face to face, but now both had their faces down, eyes locked to their respective plates, as neither of them wanted to look at the other and feel embarrassed.
Seraphina felt sympathy for her son, especially after what he had gone through last night, and spoke gently, "My son, please, share what's troubling you. Everyone here is considered part of the family- that includes Lucien, Gravil, and Kaelen."
Lorian felt a bit embarrassed to openly share he was feeling left out, but he had to answer his worried mother. The answer was supposed to be real and genuine. And honestly, apart from the incident with Selena just now, there was something else that had been troubling him since last night. With a quick introspection, he grabbed hold of the thorn that was stuck in his ego.
"I…. I felt… I felt I am not enough, like…." he took a dramatic pause, to collate his thoughts to form a coherent sentence, "like, I am baggage, I could do nothing, and my people fought to save my life, risking their own, and I could contribute nothing!"
"But, my Lord!" spoke Kaelen in a desperate tone, only to remember instantly that he was not supposed to interject his Lord in between his speech, and should not have spoken without permission or being asked to speak.
However, Lorian was not in the mood to remember or recall protocol, "What? Speak whatever is in your mind!"
"Yes, My Lord," Kaelen nodded, and in an assured but urgent voice replied, "Yesterday when Jax and I were surrounded by the enemies, you were the one who came to our rescue, My Lord. If you had not killed those assassins that had surrounded me, I wouldn't be able to see today's sunrise. And the same was true for Jax, My Lord."
Lorian nodded, but was not fully satisfied, "but….", he again paused, trying to find the exact thing that was troubling him, "it was me for whom Elara is in so critical condition. If I was in sense…."
"My Lord!" Kaelen fell on his knees, "We don't deserve such compassion from you, My Lord. We are your servants; to serve you- with our lives, and with our death- is our sworn duty and goal. It would be our honor!"
"Forgive me for interrupting, my Prince," Lucien spoke, in his formal and solemn voice, "It is my fault that my men, who were supposed to protect you, sold themselves. My Lord and his family are supposed to feel secure in their own hold, in their own beds. It was my duty to ensure that. I could not fulfill your expectations of me; it was completely my fault, not yours."
"Well, technically, you are not wrong, Lucien," Gravil remarked in a calm and composed tone, with a mix of worry and dry assessment, "If someone is at fault here, it is you, commander of the Thorne guards."
"My Son," Lord Elmsworth now spoke, his voice low and imbued with gravitas, "Who are you?"
Lorian was taken aback by his father's sudden question.
Lord Elmsworth did not build up suspense waiting for Lorian's answer. Rather, he immediately started his speech to uplift his dear son's mood, as well as clear the haze that was clouding his mind.
"You are the scion of the Thorne Household, next ruler of Veridia, the crown jewel of the East Coast. You are supposed to bring Veridia to the forefront of Continental Politics, bestow glory to the nation, and give security and prosperity to every single person in Veridia. This is your duty as Lord of Veridia. This is what is expected from you.
You are not a Warlord, leading a marauding force that lays waste to enemies. No one expects you to be a fighter. Yes, there will be wars, no matter how much you want to avoid them. And in those, you are supposed to lead the troops, but not from the front, but from the top.
If you lead the troops, then what will Lucien do? You want to snatch his job? This poor guy, at his age, will not get a job as a warehouse guard in any other place."
Saying this, he smiled at his own joke. Seeing Elmsworth smile was the rarest of things. Soon the hall echoed with laughter. Everyone burst into laughter, not necessarily because the joke was of very high quality, but because after last night's incident, everyone was desperately looking for any opportunity to smile, to forget the horror and tragedy. And thus everyone joined in the near-manic laugh.
Seraphina felt profound pride in her husband; this man could break his own basic nature just for the good of their realm. She felt, once again, she had fallen in love with this man.
However, she was not the only one in the room who was having similar feelings. Lorian saw Selena smiling for the first time, and it created a crack in the wall that he had erected around his heart.
But suddenly the mood was ruined when Zara burst into the room, with the guards behind her trying to stop her from entering and disturbing the meal.
She was huffing and panting.