However, what followed was an unexpected twist that sent shockwaves through every occupant of the chamber. The prince, breaking the silence, declared, "I don’t have much time to waste any longer. Thus, I’ll accompany you as well!"
Dara, grappling with the revelation, cautiously sought clarification, his words hesitant, "Accompany me, meaning going together… as a party of two… Your majesty?"
"Of course, what else?" Raibod responded with unyielding seriousness, his demeanor unwavering. With that, he strode purposefully towards the exit, proclaiming, "Firstly, I ought to drop in my personal pavilion and get ready. I’ll be expecting you in an hour at the waterfall, the same place you’re familiar with!"
As the prince made his exit, Dara, bowed as a sign of deference, and a collective sigh of relief filled the air. Once the prince had left, Dara's keen eyes shifted towards the Doctor, still reeling from the unnerving encounter.
"Now, explain to me what exactly occurred here," he demanded his tone commanding attention.
"You must be joking! Didn’t you witness it, soldier? He was about to hang me over a simple remedy! That’s what happened!" The frail old man, struggling to maintain his balance, was assisted to his feet by one of his younger aides.
Persistently, Dara pressed for details, "I meant before my arrival! What was precisely his Highness demanding? I need to know in detail, and I need to know now!"
An assistant, bearing a glass of water for the doctor, reluctantly responded, "Why the urgency? Is there a mystery behind all this madness that we are not aware of?"
"Yes! What is it about? And to be perfectly clear, none of us are required to answer any question, most of all, asked by a lowlife soldier like you!" Another assistant, draping a wet towel over the doctor's visage, added with a dismissive tone.
Dara's sarcasm cut through the air like a knife as he sneered, "Didn’t I just save your worthless lives minutes ago? Such ungracious lots you are!"
He settled comfortably on a bench, adopting an air of nonchalance, and continued, "At any rate, I’m not about to argue with you. I carry strict instructions from the upper echelons of the imperial palace to investigate this matter, and it goes way over your heads. If you don’t believe me, you can always check with Master Kadal. So, it is not in your best interest to debate either. As you overheard, His Highness awaits me momentarily, and I’m racing the clock here! Just surrender what you know right now!"
The lead physician, defeated and on the verge of passing out, ranted, "You know what!? I’m sick of this! Just answer this brute’s questions and be done with it!"
"To be honest, nothing much has remained to uncover," the first assistant disclosed. "The majesty approached us, offered his proposition as you heard, and became utterly mad the minute we were incapable of fulfilling his demand."
Dara pressed for more details, "What else? Did he stipulate his preference in any way? You mentioned something about him wanting to treat his female companion! What was that about?"
The other assistant responded, "I don’t recollect much. His Highness didn’t explicate significantly, though I specifically recall he mentioned that the wounds and bruises are conflicted by beating and the patient is a young woman. Consequently, I assumed the target of his therapeutic counseling is his majesty’s paramour, that’s all!"
"That’s all? Nothing else!? Didn’t his demeanor seem prominent, or did any of you find him behaving out of character in any way?" Dara insisted, determined to extract a more accurate answer.
The young men, already starting to clean up the mess and growing bored with the interrogation, shrugged. One of them replied, "No! Nothing. Just a bunch of furious talk out of the office, though! I overheard him arguing with some vendors, but I didn’t mind it. How would I know it was going to take a drastic turn all of a sudden?"
Dara, undeterred by the other man's reluctance, turned his attention to the remaining assistant, questioning, "What about you? Didn’t you listen to their conversation either?"
"No! I wasn’t that interested, why would I!? If you’re so curious, why not ask the shoppers directly? They’re staged nearby… almost…"
“Don’t bother… I’m aware of their whereabouts… In that case, maybe I should have better luck conversing with that bunch than you,” Dara interrupted, contemplating his next investigative move.
“Aren’t you done? How long are we supposed to endure this atrocity by a mere commoner? Haven't we had enough fight and misadventure for one day!?” exclaimed the old doctor, his voice resonating with sudden resentment and fury.
Disregarding the doctor's offensive outburst, Dara rose off the soothing bench and headed towards the entrance. However, just before leaving, he turned around with an intimidating aura, stating, “One more thing! It is in your best interest not to deliberate this little skirmish and the following discussion with outsiders, especially His Highness. Understood?”
Without a moment's hesitation, the resolute officer hastened out, paying no mind to the medical team members or considering their potential response.
As the formidable figure vanished, the infuriated doctor let out a vindictive scream, "Such brazen menace! That filthy peasant dares to threaten us. Who the hell does he think he is? Some sort of aristocrat! That scoundrel! He is not even of noble blood! I’m going to make him grieve over his impudent conduct!"
“Hush! He could still be in the hearing range, sir!” one of the wiser assistants cautioned his master, observing the old man's behavior spinning out of control.
The exasperated physician, overwhelmed with humiliation, blurted out, “Let him perceive! I don’t care anymore! I’m close with some higher-ups as well! You know!? I possess several influential connections in the Capital indeed. How do you think I was able to climb the ladder to this point? Just because some kid nobles are backing him up, he dares ordering us around like that, we are much superior to that lowly mongrel!? No way!”
“But sir! It is not just that! That Dara person! He might be a commoner, but he is very high up in the imperial crowds so I've heard! Therefore, I suggest we be more vigilant in our interaction with him in the future! He is an enigma and a curse, as I’ve gathered!” the more intuitive worker implied.
The other assistant probed inquisitively, “Truly? How so!?”
The man lowered his voice to share some hush knowledge, “It may well be unbacked gossip, but the way some friend in the royal court elaborated, this officer has been a tight childhood friend of the first prince as well as Prince Raibod!”
“No kidding?” his coworker replied in shock.
“Yup! Not only that, according to reliable sources, the Highness, the first Prince, I mean, has him in very high regard. His attention for this creature has gone far to the point of offering him an advanced position in the inner palace!” He continued narrating, revealing more about Dara's mysterious connections.
“Is that so? Unbelievable!” The younger assistant was intrigued by the juicy chatter, prompting his more informed partner to continue, “But it seems the meager lowlife has refused the older brother for the younger one, his Highness Prince Raibod! But… But I gather there is more to the story! And when I say more…” He hesitated momentarily, unable to resist completing his existing narrative.
“More in what way?” His coworker insisted.
The man lowered his voice almost to a whisper, “You didn’t hear it from me, but I heard rumors of first prince advances… I mean, sexual ones!”
“Oh my! … how salacious! … So, the massive ugly toad even seduced a prince!? You gotta be kidding me…”
The old fellow suddenly burst out infuriated, “Shut up, you two! Haven’t you had plenty of horror and dread? I almost lost my job and my life in one day, and now you’re brazenly gossiping behind the first prince? Stop this nonsense and go back to work before I dismiss you both in this instant!”
With that outburst, both men abandoned their gossip and resumed their cleanup duty, considering the clinic was in bad shape. The younger assistant took a glance outside, his eyes fixated on the sturdy giant, Officer Dara engaged in a calm and courteous conversation with some vendors not far away. What caught the fledgling medic's attention was the marked difference in height and body physique between the two individuals. He hadn’t recognized it before, but Dara had an absolutely impressive build as a fellow. “Wow! No wonder!” the man mumbled.
“What are you watching!? Who are you ogling out there so intensely? Get back to work already!” The hysterical doctor howled once more, but the effects of earlier discordance and the ghastly aftermath weren’t about to wash away any time soon.
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