Chapter 11.

A Maid.

What the duke did not expect was that the king would secretly send one of his most loyal guards to take a little walk around the residence of the duke's mistress and if he came at some point, even from afar, to see a white-haired woman with a small child, he would immediately inform him, but he had to be discreet and cautious so as not to attract the attention of others and thus not stir up the hornet's nest.

The guard understood the situation perfectly and dressed like a villager to march towards the kingdom of Torrien; and once there, he had to take a two-hour trip by mule to reach the plains and as soon as he arrived, his surprise was to find a white-haired woman with a child playing with the cattle in the area.

The laughter was beautiful, the woman seemed totally uninhibited and only focused on the innocent creature in her arms, so the man immediately walked on to be aware that there was no other woman with those characteristics on the plains, and there were enough houses around there, so it was not that difficult to go unnoticed as a servant of a small farm in the area, since his wardrobe and the mule did practically all the work.

The guard would search the area from one side to the other for days, but there was no other woman with white hair, and the only one there was, he had seen her several times playing with the cattle, fishing in the lake and picking flowers at dusk with the child; Apparently, the boy was speaking very fluently, because he always seemed to be asking his mother things and she answered the little boy's questions with great affection with a beautiful smile, so without a doubt that was the woman the king was looking for, so, without further ado, he left, but before doing so he asked someone who was passing by on a road if he knew who the white-haired woman was, and what family she belonged to, but that person told him: she is just a visit from Miss Delfina's house, she hasn't been here for long, she only spends her time with some maid and Miss Delfina, but nobody knows her name, so I guess she won't stay for long but for a while... the guard thanked him for that little information, took a gold coin from his clothes and gave it to the other person and said: you have never seen me in this place and I don't know you either, I hope we don't meet again in this life, the person took the coin and didn't answer him, ignored him and continued on his way exactly as if he had never seen him.

When the guard arrived at the duchy again under the pretext that his majesty had sent for a painting from the palace, the other guard, seeing that this man was in uniform and had the insignia that awarded him as part of the king's security, asked him: and ¿where is the painting? The other got off his horse and opened a small bag that was in tune with the saddle and took out a painting that he had bought on the way, but which looked attractive enough to fool the guard at the entrance. 

This guard, seeing the painting, did not ask any more questions and let him pass; the king, seeing him, asked him: ¿How have you been? ¿Did you find what I asked for? The duke, unaware of the situation, was sitting next to the king and observed the expressions the guard made to determine if there was something strange in his behavior, but the guard simply answered: yes, your majesty, I have brought the painting that you sent me to look for. ¿Where do you want me to put it? The king, giving a sly smile, turned his gaze and said to the duke: ¿Where do you prefer the painting that I have sent to be brought? The duke took a sip of tea, breathed a little and said: your majesty, the palace is full of paintings, however, I am going to put it in my office so that I can feel the presence of his majesty nearby when he is no longer here. 

The guard handed the painting to a servant, who following the instructions he had heard from the duke, went to his office, while the guard simply disappeared straight to the stables where he met the duke's mistress, Miss Delfina, who was feeding a mare with her son that seemed to have recently given birth, since next to her there was a small horse that would not have been more than two days after giving birth, and without saying anything, he left the horse and left as if he had never seen her.

 On the way, he was dragged by a hand that covered his mouth and pushed him into an empty room, when the guard went to attack he realized that it was the king, who immediately asked him if he had seen her and if there was a child next to her; the guard nodded and said: your majesty, the white-haired woman has a white-haired child who is just beginning to talk, however he maintains informal conversations with his mother, he likes to play with cattle, fish in the lake, chase butterflies and watch the sunsets...

 I am sure that she was the only woman in that area who met those characteristics, so for three days in a row I was able to go unnoticed through the farms in the area and I realized that there was no one who met those description; and she was the only woman like the one you are looking for; she was simply a visitor to the house of the duke's lover, Miss Delfina.

The king took the guard by the shoulders and with a smile on his face he hugged him and said: you don't know that you have found the treasure that has slipped from my hands, when we return to the palace I will have your salary raised and your entire family will be exonerated from any debt they have, the guard bowed before his majesty and said: thank you my king for your kindness, I will never forget what you have done for this man.

The king left the duchy before dawn heading for the kingdom of Torrien, leaving behind the old man who had already fallen asleep, and also a short farewell letter to the duke in which he expressed his apologies for returning early and without saying goodbye, but some inconveniences had arisen that required his presence in the palace, however, he hoped that by mid-year they would begin to materialize what he had agreed upon within the parameters of a business alliance; and the duke, when miss Delfina was giving him oral sex in his bedroom, not only reached the ecstasy of finishing on his face, but also the ecstasy of not having to deal with the king for another second.

On the other hand, when the old man woke up and found neither the royal guards nor the king, he asked what had happened and the duke who was passing by said to him: ¿Don't you know that his majesty the king had some inconveniences that require his attention and that is why he has returned early before the sun rises? I have not even had the time to say goodbye properly, since I was asleep like you. The old man surprised said: thank you very much for informing me, it is time for me to return too, so thank you for your hospitality, I will send the king his apologies for not being able to say goodbye properly, the duke smiled and then told him to have a good trip, I hope to see you again soon, the old man bowed his head slightly in agreement and turning around put on his face of disgust, he mounted a horse and left directly for the Kingdom of Hars, a little upset because he did not know that it had been so urgent for the king to return so soon; and after a day and a half on horseback, avoiding stopping to rest, he arrived earlier than expected, and to his surprise, the king had not yet arrived and there was nothing relevant that required his attention.

However, for the king it had been a great relief to see his queen again, because when he saw her he did not hesitate for a moment to hit her by the neck, take the child in his arms and lift her with him into his carriage, the scene for him was charming, he had recovered his wife, he had a child who did not stop asking him questions and who did not seem to recognize who he was, however, he could have the beauty of his mother, but he could also find some small features that only belonged to the king like the mole on his shoulder and his pompous lips; and so throughout the journey the king had the most fun conversations with his son whom he looked at with those loving eyes as if it had been the first day he held him.

In his arms the brotherly love had never disappeared, the king had only kept it with the hope of seeing him again.

Night fell and day came, the child was wrapped in the arms of the king Cyprian V.

When the queen woke up she realized that she was in a carriage and desperately looked for the child to find him in the arms of the king who looked at her with the ferocity of a lion that has just finished hunting.