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Adeline nodded her head and replied, "Yes, I was with him."

"Was he in some stressful situation before he fainted?" the healer asked non-accusingly.

Adeline felt a slight pang in her heart after that question. She reflected back upon their conversation for a while from her father\'s perspective. Finding out that his daughter is in love with the Devil must have been stressful for him, she thought.

And she replied while drowning herself in guilt, "I think so."

The healer stroked his beard and was silent for some time. He was contemplating whether or not to reveal the condition of the King to her but after careful consideration, he finally gave in and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty had strictly forbidden us from revealing his worsening heath to anyone. But I am taking the risk of being stripped off of my position and telling you the truth."

"What truth?" Adeline asked as a whirlwind of emotions began consuming her.

The healer took in a deep breath and spoke in a melancholic tone, "His Majesty is suffering from heart problems lately. I came to do a routine check-up just a while ago and I had warned His Majesty to avoid the stressful situations at all cost."

"You came to check him? His Majesty has heart problems?" Adeline reiterated what the healer told her in order to let the information sink in. And she thought to herself, "And all this time, father hid it from me? Why?"

And that was not all that the healer had to say. He further spoke in a soft voice, "Your Highness, I took the risk of telling all this to you because you are close to His Majesty and he needs someone who can take care of him. His Majesty cannot be under any stressful situations anymore. He might collapse and never wake up again if the trauma is too much for him to take in."

Adeline inhaled sharply and held in her breath. Her lips curved downwards and her eye rims were filled with tears. She dug her nails in her palms and did her best not to break down in front of the healer.

She swallowed her tears and asked, "How long has he been suffering in silence?"

"It\'s been more than a year. I have been giving His Majesty some potions to ease his heart but potions can only do as much. I had suggested His Majesty to hand over the tedious tasks to Your Highness since you will be handling them in the future anyway. But His Majesty has not done that yet I presume." The Healer heaved a sigh of distress.

Adeline took a glance at her father and asked the Healer, "Isn\'t there a permanent cure for his problem?"

"For now, the only cure is to relieve His Majesty of his worries as much as possible. It would be better if Your Highness can persuade His Majesty into handing over all the works to you." And the Healer hastily added, "And do not tell him anything that might shock him."

It pained Adeline to hear that. She blamed herself for putting her father in that state. And for the first time, she felt that her father had really grown old. Though he was already in his sixties, she used to feel that her father was the strongest person and could do anything in the world.

But seeing him like this, she really felt that her father was growing old and she hated it.

With teary eyes, she reassured the Healer, "I will try to do as you asked. And you don\'t have to worry about losing your position. I won\'t let His Majesty know that you told me all this."

She mustered up a smile and thanked the Healer, "And I am really grateful towards you for taking care of my father."

"It is my duty, Your Highness," the Healer said with a bow. And he informed the Princess, "His Majesty will wake up in a while. I have given some pain-relieving potion to him. And His Majesty\'s personal maids are giving him the potions daily. So, he should be fine."

"Thank you!" Adeline then saw him off.

She then returned back to her father\'s room and sat down on the floor in one corner. She cried silently while looking at her father. She was aware that her father would get sick very often. But she didn\'t know the seriousness of his sickness until now.

Suddenly something struck her mind. "Lillian! Did that witch do something to my father? Like she did with my mother? She better not! Because I am killing that witch if she has anything to do with his worsening health."

"I should ask Theodore to look into this matter," Adeline instinctively brought her knuckle closer to her lips, forgetting that the ring was not there anymore.

She exhaled sharply and wished that Theodore would come to her soon. She nervously clasped her hands and whispered, "Where is he anyway? He had already found me by this time yesterday."

---

"Baby brother! I never thought you would come to see me again. Welcome!" Azriel welcomed Theodore as he was drowning himself in the finest and oldest liquor of his collection.

Theodore winched in disgust and pinched his nose. "Oh Hell! Did you bathe yourself in alcohol or something?"

Azriel looked at Theodore with his drowsy eyes and answered in a clearly tipsy voice, "Hmm… why would I bathe in such a rare alcohol?" He chuckled and got up from his chair. And he started walking languidly towards Theodore, "I was just enjoying myself. I was bored out of my mind so I decided to unseal one of my treasured bottles."

Theodore shook his head in disapproval. He wanted to abandon his brother and go back to his own Cave. But he had to ask a few things to him. And what better time to ask the questions and get the honest answer than when one was tipsy.

"Brother… I am feeling so lonely. Why don\'t you join me for a drink and talk with me for a bit?" Azriel almost tripped on his own leg so Theodore went to his brother\'s rescue and held him before he could fall.

A wide smile crept up on Theodore\'s lips. That was what he wanted to do, not drink but sit with him and talk, so he gladly accepted. "Sure. Let\'s have a drink together.. It has been a while."