The Grand Duke's Soulmate

Luke immediately rose to his feet upon their arrival.

"Captain."

Kyren acknowledged him with a slight nod before his attention shifted elsewhere.

Silence lingered inside the patrol station.

Agnes and Rafe continued staring at one another—one with astonishment, the other with quiet confusion.

The grand duke’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. He had expected Luke to be the centre of the matter.

Instead, it was the young court lady’s unexpected reaction towards Rafe that now drew everyone’s attention.

Even Eric and Noah exchanged puzzled glances, while Luke looked between the two, equally baffled.

Before anyone could question it, the senior patrol guard cleared his throat.

"Everyone, take a seat."

The brief moment of silence was broken.

Chairs scraped softly across the wooden floor as Kyren and his companions settled around the same table where Agnes and Luke had been seated.

Once everyone had settled, the senior patrol guard looked around the table and spoke up.

"Mr Luke Parker has been accused of pursuing this young lady and causing a disturbance in one of the back alleys. Both parties have given conflicting accounts of the incident. So, before we proceed any further, I would like to verify Mr Parker’s identity."

Kyren gave a slight nod.

"Very well."

"As you have stated that he is a member of your company, can you confirm his identity?" asked the senior guard.

"I can," Kyren replied calmly. "As I said before, Luke Parker is a member of the Blue Mantle Company under my command. He travelled to Sabel with the rest of us on company business."

At his cue, Eric presented several documents and permits they had brought with them.

The senior patrol guard accepted the parchments and carefully examined each one, reading through the names, details, and company seals.

After a moment, he gave a satisfied nod before returning them to the knight.

"Thank you for providing these," he said. "This confirms that Mr Luke Parker has spoken truthfully regarding his identity and origin."

The senior guard then turned his attention to Agnes.

"Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for you, miss," he said. "At present, no one can come forward to verify your identity."

"I told you, my friends already left!" Agnes protested.

"I understand," the senior guard replied calmly. "But we cannot rely solely on your words."

He folded his arms.

"Before we can determine who is at fault, we must first establish the identities of those involved," the senior guard said. "An accusation alone is not enough. We require testimony and evidence before reaching any conclusion."

Luke’s expression darkened.

His hand ran through his hair as he silently wondered how he was supposed to defend himself. It seemed the matter would not be settled as easily as he had hoped.

At his side, however, Kyren and the others remained composed.

None appeared particularly anxious.

Their captain had made his expectations clear before they ever reached the station—conduct themselves properly, avoid unnecessary trouble, and should any misunderstanding arise, he would see that it was resolved fairly.

Across the table, Agnes secretly smirked. The investigation was finally underway.

Soon, this troublesome man who had chased her through the alley would have to answer for what he had done.

The senior guard placed both hands on the table.

"Very well."

The senior guard shifted his gaze away from Luke.

Instead, it settled on Agnes.

"Miss Bree, would you explain why you drew a dagger against Mr Luke Parker?"

"Huh?"

Agnes blinked.

"From what my men witnessed, you attempted to stab him with your dagger," the senior guard continued. "That constitutes assault."

The court lady’s expression turned blank.

What?

Why was she the one being questioned?

Weren’t they supposed to interrogate Luke?

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

"Did you try to stab Luke?" Rafe blurted out in disbelief, leaning forward.

"Because he chased me!" Agnes protested at once. "He followed me from the pier and cornered me in the alley!"

"What exactly happened?" Rafe pressed, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

"Joseph."

Kyren called his name calmly. The healer paused and looked towards him.

The Grand Duke gave a slight shake of his head. Immediately, Rafe leaned back in his chair. Though concern still lingered on his face, he clamped his lips shut.

Kyren then turned his attention back to the senior guard. His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop. He, too, wanted to hear what the patrol had witnessed.

"Hold on."

Noah, who had remained silent all this while, suddenly spoke.

"Did you just call her Miss Bree?"

The senior guard turned to him.

"Yes. She introduced herself as Miss Agnes Bree. Why do you ask?"

A smug smile tugged at Noah’s lips.

"I guess you didn’t look into her very thoroughly," he said casually. "For all I know, that’s not her real name."

The senior guard frowned.

"You know this lady?"

"I do."

"Then why didn’t you mention it earlier?"

Noah shrugged.

"You never asked." He nodded towards Luke. "You only wanted us to verify him, which my captain has already done."

One of the patrol guards stepped closer to his superior and spoke in a lower voice.

"Sir, Mr Luke Parker also claimed earlier that Miss Bree was not her real name. Perhaps we should investigate this further."

The senior guard gave a slight nod.

"I’ll handle it."

The patrol guard bowed his head and stepped back.

The senior guard then turned to Noah.

"Since you claim to know this lady, tell me who she is."

Agnes instinctively parted her lips, about to counter. But, before she could, the senior guard raised a hand.

"That won’t be necessary."

His voice remained calm, though noticeably firmer than before.

"I have already heard your statement. You claimed an identity, yet produced no one who could verify it. You had your opportunity."

His gaze remained on her for a brief moment before shifting back to the knight.

"Now, I would like to hear his answer."

Agnes slowly lowered her gaze before turning towards Noah, seated across the table.

Her glare was enough to tell him exactly what she thought of him.

The knight merely smirked. Quite pleased, in fact.

She had tried to cause trouble for one of his companions, lied about her identity, and now expected him to stay quiet?

Not a chance.

"Her name is Lady Agnes Briar," Noah began. "She serves as a court lady directly under Her Highness Princess Callis Naver, and she came here from Semeta."

"Huh?"

Both Rafe and Agnes reacted at the same time.

Agnes stared at Noah in disbelief, shocked that her identity had been exposed so effortlessly.

Rafe, on the other hand, looked at her with equal astonishment.

"A court lady... serving Callis?"

That was the first time he had heard of it.

Kyren and Eric, however, remained silent.

Unlike Rafe, they had already learned from Noah that Luke had crossed paths with the court lady at the pier.

When he found her, the knight had instructed Noah to return first while he spoke to her alone, believing she might lead them to Anna.

No one had expected the conversation to end in misunderstanding. Much less for Luke to be escorted to the patrol station as a suspect.

That had never been part of the plan.

And Rafe, who had insisted on coming along at the very last moment, had not the slightest idea that Agnes was Callis’s court lady.

Noah had only explained that Luke was determined to find the court lady who was believed to have escorted Anna to the island. Beyond that, he revealed nothing more.

"Ohoh! How impudent of you to address our princess by her given name! Who do you think you are? Her husband?" one of the guards exclaimed.

Rafe shot to his feet.

"I am—"

"Joseph."

Eric quickly stood as well, placing both hands on the healer’s shoulders before he could say another word.

"Calm down," he said softly.

Rafe turned towards him, his face flushed with indignation.

"Easy," Eric continued, giving his shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Let’s not make things worse than they already are."

The healer drew in a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

Eric was right.

Revealing his identity now would only complicate the situation further and attract the very attention they had been trying to avoid.

Reluctantly, Rafe exhaled and lowered himself back into his chair. Both hands came to rest upon the edge of the table, his fingers gripping it tightly as he forced himself to remain composed.

Agnes, who had been equally stunned by the exchange, suddenly caught sight of something.

Her eyes fell upon the ring adorning the healer’s finger.

A crimson ruby, intricately crafted. It was identical to the ring Callis wore every single day. The only difference was its size, made larger to fit a man’s hand.

Her lips slowly parted.

That ring...

She knew it well. Ever since returning from the continent, the Mederian Princess had never taken it off.

Agnes had often wondered why Callis had become quieter as the days passed, her smile no longer as bright as before. More than once, she had caught the princess gazing into the distance, as though longing for someone.

Then came the argument.

She had accidentally overheard Callis pleading with her brother.

"Rafe is coming.’’

Again, and again.

Yet the Mederian Prince had dismissed every word.

Back then, Agnes had never known who this ’Rafe’ was, and she couldn’t ask anyway.

Now...

The court lady’s gaze slowly lifted towards the healer.

The ring.

His reaction when Callis’s name was mentioned.

And the way he had almost said something just moments ago.

Could this man be...

"I need to speak with you!" Agnes blurted as she shot to her feet, her eyes locked on Rafe.