Conquering His Cold Heart

Jerome was sitting on a chair beside the King. Both of them were facing the windows of the King’s chambers.

Jerome let out a heavy sigh and then said while staring at the King with an indifferent look on his face, “That’s not called dark. That’s called dusk. You need to wait until it’s dark, preferably until 10 PM or so, if you don’t want to stand outside Orsenia’s castle, shivering with cold and waiting for the morning to arrive.”

Everard rolled his eyes at Jerome and went back to staring outside the windows again. He didn’t argue with Jerome because he knew that the man was right.

“Until then,” Jerome cleared his throat and then said, “Why don’t you jog around the garden to warm up for the long journey?” He pointed at Everard’s shoes and asked, “Those are new, aren’t they? You will know if they are comfortable while running or not.”

Everard was already bored out of his mind by now. He had finished dressing up and emptying the bottle of perfume on him in the afternoon itself. And since then, he was impatiently waiting for the night to arrive.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” Everard got up from his chair in an instant and began jumping right on the spot to boost his own morale. He looked at Jerome and asked him, “Do you want to join me?”

Jerome already knew that Everard would end up getting bored or restless if he was left alone. That’s why, he nodded his head and agreed. “Sure. Let’s take a few laps along the castle’s boundary walls.”

He also got up on his feet and then gestured for Everard to take the lead.

.....

Everard instantly sprinted out of the chamber, closely followed by Jerome. The two of them ran down the corridor at a very high speed, prompting the maids and servants to scream and stick to the walls.

They reached the wall of the castle in no time. And both Everard and Jerome began running side by side.

After taking around 5 laps around the castle, Jerome looked at Everard and asked, “So, do your feet hurt? Or are the shoes fine?”

“They are fine,” Everard said with a smile.

The two of them kept on running around until they began sweating a little.

Jerome finally stopped and then said while taking deep breaths, “I think we ran for almost two hours straight. Why don’t you rest for a while and then have your dinner? By the time you digest your dinner, it will be time for you to finally leave.”

“Why, yes.” Everard pushed his raven black hair away from his sweaty face and said after gulping, “I think I should have a heavy dinner.”

Jerome gave a nod and said before running, “I will go ahead and ask the maids to set up the dinner table.”

Everard, on the other hand, began to walk towards the main entrance of the castle at a slow pace. When he reached the door of the dining hall, he saw the maids and servants running back and forth from the kitchen.

Suddenly, all of the workers stopped in their tracks when they noticed their King. They all bowed.

Everard waved his hand and said considerately, “You can take your time. Don’t rush. I have quite a few hours at my hand.”

The maids and servants seemed grateful when they heard that.

Jerome, who was still in the dining hall, pulled the King’s chair and then asked the King, “Why don’t you take your seat while they finish setting the table for you?”

Everard walked inside the hall and then after sitting down, he ordered Jerome, “Why don’t you join me for dinner tonight?”

Jerome gave a subtle smile and nodded. He then went to sit down on the chair that was on the opposite end of the painfully long dining table.

“So, are there any things that need my immediate attention?” Everard asked just for the sake of breaking the silence even when he wasn’t in the mood to do any work, not before leaving for Orsenia.

Jerome went silent for a while as if he was seriously thinking about assigning some tasks to the King after dinner.

However, he was thinking about something else. ‘I wonder if it is wise to inform the King about the team that I created to investigate the matter regarding the late King’s death.’

He looked at the King who was looking all happy and was darting his eyes on the delicious food that was being brought to the table. He shook his head and then thought to himself, ‘I think it is better to stay quiet. I don’t want to ruin his mood for no reason.’

Everard looked at Jerome again and asked while crossing his fingers, “Anything?”

Jerome shook his head. “No. I don’t think there is anything that needs your attention for now.”

“Okay!” Everard happily exclaimed and clapped his hands. Then he ordered the maids who were standing behind him, “Serve the food to both of us.”

The maids began to decorate two large plates with mouthwatering dishes, mostly meat items.

And when they were done serving, Everard gestured for Jerome to start the meal before digging in.

“The food had never tasted better!” Everard laughed after swallowing a mouthful of roasted lamb.

Jerome also agreed with the King. “Yes, it’s definitely tasty. I wonder if it is because we expended our energy by running around for hours.”

“Could be.” Everard took another huge bite of the roasted lamb.

The two of them went back to the King’s chamber after finishing the dinner. Both of them had stuffed themselves until they couldn’t breathe. So, they rested leisurely on the sofa, while staring at the moon that almost looked like a perfect circle.

After quite a while, Everard adjusted his position on the sofa and said while breathing heavily, “I hope Lorenzo is doing fine…” He looked at Jerome and then asked him, “If he comes here when I am not here then treat him with kindness. I’m sure he wouldn’t have revealed everything to me if he had any ulterior motives.”

Jerome had never really liked that man. There had been instances when he even questioned his friendship with the King.

However, he still agreed to the King’s request. “Of course. I will be as polite as I can.”

Everard smiled and patted Jerome’s shoulder. He then looked at the huge clock on the wall and then said with a tinge of happiness, “Well, I guess it’s finally time for me to go.”