Following him, Ankush also greeted her. "Greetings your highness."
"Greetings." Ira replied "So you are Ankush. My grandfather is talking alot about you."
Ankush nod in response and looked down, trying to hide his smile. Seeing his reaction, Viraaj laughed and hits Ankush's arms lightly.
"Don't be shy. She is younger than you. Which man feels shy infront of a woman that too when she is younger than him?" He questioned.
Ankush leaned closer to Viraaj and whispered "But she is a princess...and beautiful."
Viraaj laughed out loud whereas Agastya and Ira were clueless about what he said in Viraaj's ear.
Ira then looked at Agastya and asked "Grandfather said Ankush is your brother. But you never talked about him before."
Ira know Agastya from a long time as he is the head servant in palace who manages all the work of other servants.
"Yes your highness, he is my cousin brother. He used to live in east village with his family so I never mentioned him before. But now he came here to live with us." Agastya replied.
"Ok." Ira replied understandingly.
"How are you feeling now your majesty?" Agastya asked. "Did you take your medicine?"
Viraaj nod and Ankush started checking Viraaj's medicine to confirm that he ate his medicine.
"I ate my medicine after breakfast and I will take medicine after lunch too." Viraaj said while trying to pull Ankush away from his medicine. "Stop doing that."
Ankush stopped and kneeled down infront of Viraaj and asked "Your majesty, what do you think about that man, Shreyansh? Is he a good man? Does he take good care of you?"
"Why? Are you jealous?" Viraaj asked
Ankush closed his eyes in frustration and leaned on bed closer to Viraaj. He opened his eyes and said "I hate him. He is arrogant. He is rude."
"Me too." Ira said "I also hate him. He is an idiot. He don't know his place and he is arrogant too."
"See!" Ankush pointed at Ira and said to Viraaj "Even she don't like him only in one meeting. Then think how i am bearing him."
Agastya hits Ankush's arms as he was talking too freely infront of a princess. Viraaj won't mind it but they should behave themself infront of Ira.
Ankush looked up at Agastya while rubbing his arm in pain.
Agastya glared at him and whispered "Mind your words."
Ankush realised what he just did and quickly apologized. "I am sorry your highness. I didn't realised how I was behaving."
Ira shook her head and replied "It's ok. I don't mind."
"What is going on here?" Raksheet asked, entering inside the chamber and walking towards his wife.
He pretended that he don't know Ankush and Agastya and they did the same.
"Greetings your majesty." Ankush and Agastya said.
Raksheet nod in response and asked to Viraaj. "How are you Grandfather?"
"I am fine." Viraaj replied. "Did you had your lunch?"
"Yes I did." Raksheet replied and sat down beside Ira.
"Raksheet, meet Ankush...*cough*...and Agastya. Before Shreyansh....they used to take care of me." Viraaj said.
"Then why did you replaced them?" Raksheet asked.
Viraaj smiled bitterly "I didn't replaced them and no one can replace them....No one can take their place in my life.....But it's your father-in-law who don't want them near me."
After a while when everyone left and Ira and Viraaj were alone in his chamber, Viraaj suddenly said.
"Ira....you used to ask me....why your father and others...don't like you, right?"
Ira looked at him and was a little confused that why he is talking about it now when everything is alright and she don't have to bear her father and other's taunts.
She nod and asked "Yes, but why are you talking about it now?"
Viraaj smiled at her and replied "I don't know how much...*cough*...how much time I have left now. You should know....why you had to suffer....without any mistake."
"Don't say that. You are not going anywhere. You have a lots of time left." She said with tears in her eyes.
Viraaj cupped her cheek with one hand and said "I had accepted my fate dear.....It would be better if you accept it too."
Ira shook her head, denying to accept that her grandfather will leave her soon.
"Let me tell you the reason of your suffering."
She wiped her tears and prepared herself to listen the reason of her suffering in past.
"Your grandmother.....Sadhya, she is not your biological grandmother."
Ira's eyes widened in shock "What? F-Father is not her son?"
Viraaj shook his head "No. She didn't give birth to him. She is....she is my second wife."
"What?!" With each moment, Ira was getting more shocked after hearing her grandfather revealing secrets one by one.
"But no one know about it, except your parents and siblings."
"Am I the only one unaware of this?" Her voice came out low and hurt to know that everyone in the family know about it except her.
Viraaj held her hand and said apologetic "I didn't wanted to hurt you.....The secret I am going to reveal to you....is too complicated. It will shock you even more.....But please listen to me completely. I won't...hide anything from you now."
She nod and Viraaj continued. "When I was young...my father sent me to a academy to study. My academy was located... *cough*....outside the kingdom, in mountains. Near my academy.....there was one more academy.....for girls. At that time, people did not send their daughters....so far away for studies. So it was something.... something different for all of us to see girls studying in academy."
"One day...our fencing teacher said that...the girl from that academy are coming to practice with us. We all were surprised.....as no girls were allowed to enter in academy and meet boys.....and same goes with boys. We weren't allowed to meet them either. That was the day.....when I saw your grandmother for the first time."
Viraaj looked at Ira and said with tears in his eyes "She was beautiful....just like you. Those silver eyes containing confidence in them....the long hair. That innocent face.... You inherited everything from her."
Ira's heart skipped a beat after hearing Viraaj describing his first wife and Ira's real grandmother. The silver eyes and hairs they are just how Abhiveera described his first wife Irya.
With hesitation and fear, Ira asked "What is her name?"
Viraaj smiled at her and replied "Irya."
Ira closed her eyes, thinking why this all is happening with her. She opened her eyes and looked at her grandfather who was still smiling at her.
"I named you after her...because you are just like her."
Ira smiled at him and asked "What happened next?"
"She entered in our academy and all the eyes turned at her...She was the most beautiful.... and courageous among all the girls. Everyone wanted to practice with her but...she chose me.