Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 208: The King’s Summons

Lara raised an eyebrow. "I’ll give you one after you help me with the purchase."

"Okay, I will pick you up tomorrow morning. We go to the village, and after that, we go to the town center for the transfer of deeds." Agilus paused when he thought of something. "But why buy a grazing land? The land is so vast. You can let the animals graze anywhere."

Alaric glanced at Lara. Initially, he thought the same, but after giving it some thought, he realized that Lara had something planned for the long term.

"What do you know? The price of land will rise in the future, then I would be rich." Lara was nonchalant about her comments.

Agilus thought that she was thinking too much and wasting unnecessary money.

"So you have a lot of money to throw away?"

"It is not a throw-away. It is an investment." Lara sat back beside Alaric. "I gained a lot from joining the war. Prince Alaric paid me a huge sum to deliver the message, and also the generals paid me handsomely for healing a lot of the wounded." She explained.

"I don’t get it. You are General Odin’s daughter. Why not just go back? Your parents are rich and they have a lot of money, and so do your brothers."

"You said it yourself. It is their money, not mine."

Agilus could only scratch his head. He felt that his intelligence went down the drain when talking to Lara.

Lara stood from where she was seated and was about to express her desire to leave when a deep, sultry voice from two meters away was heard.

"Brother, there you are! I have been waiting for you since this morning, but you have no time to grace me with your presence, so I sought you out." Reuben strode confidently and entered the gazebo, not minding whether he interrupted something important.

’Damn! Why does he always seem to speak in that bedroom voice tone? So was it his normal voice? Or he was an expert in seduction, so that it became his normal tone?’

Lara’s thoughts were in chaos as she listened to Reuben talk to Alaric, but unfortunately, he was staring at her blatantly.

Reuben was distracted by the stethoscope that still hung on Lara’s neck; the chest piece fell exactly on her right breast while the tubing was on her left.

"Uhm, is that a new type of necklace?" Reuben tried to control his voice, trying to stifle a laugh. His gaze, though, focused on her breasts.

"Pftt." Felix, who was standing on the side, could not help but let out a chuckle. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Reuben glared at him; the killing intent was palpable.

Felix realized his blunder. He did not want to cause trouble for Alaric, so he was down on his knees, "I apologize, Your Highness. Please pardon this lowly subject." He uttered in a regretful voice.

Lara’s eyes darted down at Felix and at the angry prince. She needed to do something.

"This is a stethoscope, Your Highness, a listening device to determine if there is a problem with the heart or the lungs." She tried to maintain a respectful tone as she removed the stethoscope and placed it inside her backpack.

Reuben studied the backpack with interest. ’This Lara had a lot of surprising things on her.’ Reuben thought

"You can stand up, Felix. I am pretty sure that Reuben felt your sincere apology." Alaric glanced at Felix, who stood up without hesitation.

"What is it you want, Reuben. I am busy." Alaric snapped. He did not like his brother, and he did not bother pretending.

"Well, Eldest Brother," Reuben emphasized the word ’eldest brother’ as if mocking him. "Father sent a summons for you." He handed him a rolled parchment with the king’s seal. "He expects you to be back in the capital before the end of this month. There will be a celebratory banquet to honor the soldiers who contributed a lot to gain back control over the Estalis borders."

Prince Alaric did not move nor attempt to accept the summons. Reuben chuckled. "Are you defying the king’s order?"

Agilus, who seemed familiar with the dynamics between the two princes, hastily stood. He bowed as a gesture of respect.

"I accept the summons on behalf of Prince Alaric, Your Highness."

Reuben stared coldly at Agilus. "Such a loyal lapdog. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong master." His voice was equally cold and harsh.

Then he turned to Lara, and the coldness vanished from his eyes. His two brown orbs were filled with gentleness and admiration.

"Miss Lara, Lady Amielle is inviting you to a banquet here at the Baron’s estate tomorrow night. I would also expect you to grace us with your presence." Reuben’s voice had returned to its husky tone.

From her peripheral vision, Lara saw Alaric’s hands form into fists.

"Lara will not attend Reuben. It is something that you cannot force her to."

"Why are you speaking on her behalf, Brother? I have also invited her maid, what is her name?" He paused before adding with a grin, "Ah, I remember now, Reya, that’s her name."

Lara, in her years of dealing with her ’father’, could detect the threat in his voice. He would harm Reya if she did not attend. Did he investigate her? She was surprised at how fast he had gotten the information. Her gaze shifted to Alaric, who was now looking at her, a storm swirling in his obsidian eyes.

What if his condition is triggered and he loses control?

Lara gave him a reassuring smile. "It is okay, Your Highness. I will be alright. I can come as your lady companion."

Her words seemed to work as she saw Alaric’s tensed shoulders relax.

When Lara shifted his gaze back to Prince Reuben, she caught a glimpse of darkness that clouded his face but was gone in a split second as if it were just an illusion.

His smile was full of charm as he handed the scroll to Lara, ensuring that his skin made contact with hers.

Lara subtly withdrew her hand. "Thank you, Your Highness." She did a curtsy to hide the disgust on her face. Prince Reuben was blatantly hitting on her, and it bothered her.

"I’ll have Aramis escort you back," Alaric said, his hand at his back was tightly clenched.

"Thank you, Prince Alaric." Lara would not reject such an offer. She had a premonition that if she travelled alone, she would be ambushed. Not that she was afraid. An extra hand would be helpful.

"I have somethings to do in the town center. Let us go all together and while it is still early." Agilus butted in.

Reuben chuckled. "Heh, brother, are you guarding against me? Do you think I am as despicable as you?"

"What do you mean, Reuben? I see that you have investigated Lara. Then you should have surely known that Aramis is always with her."