9 Secret

" Neigh!"

A simple four-wheeled carriage drawn by the brown horses has made its stopped at the entrance of the King's Palace. After a few minutes, the coachman of the carriage gets down and opens its door for his master.

Doctor Neil, who is looking at the window is startled to see the person waiting for him outside, he breathes deeply several times to calm down his racing heart, before he stepped out of the carriage.

'Why he is here?' He thought to himself while walking towards the old man waiting for him.

The old man in front of him is none other than the head butler of the palace, called Henry. Henry is known to assist the King since he is young and up until today. In fact, King Rupert himself highly appreciates his butler loyalty that he appointed his butlers two sons to serve the princess, that decision of the king just proves to the noble circle how King Rupert valued his Henry.

So seeing this old man welcoming and waiting for him Is very unlikely to happen. Since this old man will only show himself at any events as long as it is related to the king.

'Could it be that... His Majesty's, King Rupert will attend the meeting that is originally attended by the head chief of the health ministry department and the other five head chief from the other hospital of the kingdom?' He thought to himself.

"it's nice to see you butler Henry!, I'm glad to see you happy and well," he said cheerfully while concealing his uneasiness "... and I'm sorry for being a bit late. " he sheepishly smiles at the butler.

"Thank you, Doctor Neil," Henry said and smiled at him "And your okay, I heard that you are quite busy."

" Yes, there is an increase in the number of patients that we are attending right now. Just this morning, a father is carrying his sick young daughter begging for help. That child is been infected by her mother's illness." he said as he remembers Antonio and his daughter Meredith from this morning.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I hope that we can discover soon how you and the other doctors will treat it."

"We are doing our very best to make it happen. "

"I know. And we all appreciate everyone's effort" Henry said.

He nods his head to acknowledge it. And ask a question that bothers him. "If... you do not mind me asking, will the king attend this meeting? I'm sorry, it just that I arrived late at home! And I never had the chance to-"

"It's okay," Henry said and waived his right hand to make the doctor stop "and for your question, not just the king but also the Crown Prince will attend this meeting, and you don't have to worry being late, Doctor Neil, the Royal Family members are understanding"

Dr. Neil felt that a heavy stone was removed from his chest after hearing what the butler said. He can now breathe easily compare to earlier. Due to his fear that he let the royal family wait for him, he did not even notice that his right hand is in his chest, feeling his breathing as his chest makes some small movement.

He is just an ordinary doctor and letting the king wait for him is just so rude, even if it's one minute. But the situation isn't like that, earlier, he thought that he will not be late and will have enough time to arrive at the Palace and make his greetings to his colleagues but what he did not expect is that he will encounter some trouble along the way as his coachman nearly cause an accident to an old man crossing the street. He looks up at the sky as a sign of relief he then sees the clouds in various shapes.

'At least, the king and Crown Prince Aster is not short-minded people'

"If you do not have any more questions doctor, I will lead the way to the meeting room." the butler said and turn his back to him to lead the way.

He is about to follow Butler Henry when out of the corner of his eyes he sees a human figure at the balcony of the Eastern Palace.

He really can't see the face of the man due to distance, but it looks like that the man is also looking and observing them. As far as he knows, the Eastern Palace belongs to the Second Prince, Prince Luan Crevalia but unfortunately, the prince is been involved in an accident that made him unconscious for many months and the last time that he heard the news about him, the prince remains unconscious and is not getting any better.

He narrowed his eyes to see the man. Thinking that maybe by doing this he can know who is it. 'It can't be a servant as no servant will stand leisurely in that place since it is been prohibited by the king, besides all servants here have the works that will occupy them for a whole day. also, only an authorized person can get into the room as a command from King Rupert.' He reasons out to himself.

"Butler Henry, someone is standing at the balcony of the Eastern Palace." He said out of curiosity.

The butler stopped and looked at the Eastern Palace. His face saddened when he saw the figure of the man. "Must be the second prince."

"The second prince? He is already awake? Wow! I'm happy to hear that!. When did that happen? I know that the Royal Family is in chaos when Prince Luan got that accident" he said and is shocked by the news.

"I can't believe it!, did I stay too much at the hospital that I hadn't heard the news? It seems like even my wife did not tell me about it." He said unbelievably to himself.

" Your wife can't tell you anything about it, because no one knows besides the people here in the palace. I'll tell you more about it as we go to the meeting place. You are already late, we can't make the King and the Crown Prince wait too much."

"Yes of course! I'm sorry again. Butler Henry, please lead the way."

The butler turned back to him and guide him along the hallway of the palace.

"I hope that you will not tell anyone what you see and heard from me." Butler Henry firmly said while walking along the hallway.

"But... Why? Isn't it a piece of good news that His Majesty's should be celebrating and sharing the good news to his people?." Doctor Neil can't help asking. "I'm sure that the people in our kingdom will be happy and thrilled to hear that Prince Luan is already awake."

"If the Prince stays the same, maybe the people will be ecstatic to know about it."

"What do you mean by that butler Henry?" Doctor Neil asks in confusion, he can't comprehend what the old butler is implying.

"There are some changes in the mood of the second prince, he is not the usual prince that everyone knows, he somehow...become like a different person." he paused for a moment, then continued walking again.

"I... still do not understand what you are telling to me."

"Doctor Neil." Butler Henry said as he stopped walking and turned around to face him. " You do not need to know too much. The Royal Family decided not to tell anyone about it outside the palace. Doctor Lucas, is still monitoring the Prince. Besides, King Rupert already decided to keep it a secret for a while and asked all of us here in the palace to not tell anyone outside about it, while Doctor Lucas is checking the sudden changes in Prince Luan's behavior."

"I see. Then, rest assured that I will not tell anyone about it, but do the other physicians like me know about Prince Luan's condition?"

"No, as it is been kept in a secret, aside from doctor Lucas, you are the second doctor that knows about the prince's condition now." Butler Henry replied. "Neil, I am already old but I watched you grow until now, I told you all of those things because I know that I can place my trust in you."

Henry said out of nowhere that made the doctor stunned.

"Of course, Butler Henry and... Thank you for trusting me... I will not break it." He earnestly said.

The old man smiled at him and continued to walk again.