n

n

n

"What? Why do I need to show you proof? She might or might not be my slave. How is that any of your business?

"

nRick chuckled.

"Now. Now. Mr. Allaster, if we all take such an approach, wouldn't everything crumble and fall into chaos? Are you perhaps secretly trying to undermine the ruling royal family?

"

nThis made the man immediately shut up and he was unable to say anything further. Rick was satisfied with his reaction. However, he was still not done yet.

n

"Mr. Allaster, you should probably apologize…

" Before he could finish his sentence, the man who was silently observing everything until now, as if this had nothing to do with him, finally stepped forward.

n

"I think that's far enough. Hmmm?

" Mikel chuckled lightly.

n

"Your highness.

"

n

"Your highness.

"

n

"Your highness.

"

nImmediately, everyone stood up, including the one who had just recovered from being knocked out unconscious, and greeted Mikel.

nThe man smiled gently and waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit back down and relax.

n

"Let's not take this too far. It's a party after all. Things are bound to get heated up, hmm? Relax and have some drinks, not you two, of course.

"

nMikel chuckled and chatted with the group for a bit, perfectly smoothening out the creases without leaving any mark.

nPriscella, of course, stood next to him and also smiled radiantly, laughing and chatting with her guests, her one arm locked into Mikel's.

nShe was actually somewhat relieved that things had played out this way even though she hadn't expected it to.

nShe almost doubted that the Prince held some sort of affections for the damned slave and had expected him to take her side and comfort her or reprimand the two court officials for their misbehavior.

nBut seeing that Mikel was not in the least bothered by it, she had a big smile on her face and breathed in relief.

nThe same could not be said for Sylvia who had paused when she had heard the man talk finally, only to wish that he hadn't spoken at all.

nShe knew that she had no right to expect anything but she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

nA random stranger had been kinder to her than the man whom she had come to know these few days. So this was their so-called partnership huh?

nIn the end, it turns out that he only cared about her to achieve his own goals, and other than that he had absolutely no regard for her whatsoever.

nSylvia smiled bitterly at the thought of how the man would have probably treated even Jane or Ana better.

nThe things that were confusing her in her heart were only her own thoughts at the end of the day. He clearly did not share any such feelings.

nSylvia didn't need a cold shower to wake her up this time, his words were enough to do the same.

nHowever, she felt a bit tipsy from the drink those men had poured down her throat and so she walked over to the edge of the ship where Leol was still standing, munching on something.

n

"Done with your maid duties?

" He asked, seeing her wobble and walk over towards him.

nMmm. Sylvia nodded absentmindedly. Her heart was heavy and she didn't feel like having a conversation with anyone.

nShe gazed at the vast expanse of water in front of her, reflecting the gentle rays of moonlight, which made the water shimmer like gems.

nThe cool breeze caressed her wounded wrist and licked the tear that was threatening to drop out.

nAfter taking a few deep breaths, the irony of the situation finally dawned on her which made her chuckle lightly even though she was at the butt end of this joke.

nThe worst part was that she hadn't even grasped yet why she suddenly felt such an explicable pull towards the man whom she knew very well was not trustworthy, but that had already become an unrequited feeling!

nIt was more than clear to her now that she was simply a fool to think of such things.

nShe would be better off becoming stronger so that the next time something like this happened, she can protect herself instead of expecting someone else to come and save her.

nSeeing that she was deep in contemplation, Leol didn't say anything else to her and continued staring at the sea as well.

nThe rest of the night was much more tolerable for Sylvia as the woman who had had her eye on her suddenly stopped bothering with her.

nThe ship had sailed quite afar from the harbor and was now turning back, as the party was coming to an end.

nSylvia sighed in relief seeing that at least the horrible night was coming to an end.

nShe wanted to return back to the castle and wash her body until she could erase the feeling of that nasty man's hands from her mind.

nAs she let out another deep breath, staring into the distance, Sylvia suddenly felt something weird, as if someone was calling out to her.

nShe turned her head to stare at a random direction out of her gut feeling and she could see the silhouette of a mountain, amidst the dense fog.

n

"Mr. Leol, what is that over there?

" She asked.

n

"Hmmm? That mountain? That part of the mainland is wilderness, inhabited by the magical beasts and demonic beasts.

" Leol explained.

nSylvia nodded, still looking in that direction.

nShe as well knew that beyond their Kingdom, on the other side of the ocean, was only wilderness, with their Kingdom lying on the border between the small stretch of land collecting the two continents, but she didn't understand why she felt such a strong urge to go there…

nNot that she would survive for even a minute on that continent.

nShe would probably be feasted on by something powerful like the Quilin beast or perhaps even by a lesser beast like a dire wolf.

nShe gazed at the cluster of tall mountains at the distance, with the center one being the most magnificent among them. She wondered just sort of beasts resided in such a dense thick forest.

nHeh. She then lightly chuckled. No matter how ferocious those beasts were, they would probably pale in comparison to the humans around her, who were much worse than those beasts.

nAfter staring at it for a while, with a bitter smile on her lips, a small glint crossed her eyes and Sylvia lightly jolted back.

nShe thought that she saw a pair of eyes directly looking back at her which made her gulp and look away.

nAfter a couple of seconds, she blinked and looked again, but this time nothing was out of place.

"What the hell? How could I even sense someone at this distance?

" She muttered and shook her head.

nIt seemed as if she was truly losing it this evening. She continued looking into the distance and the vista soon disappeared as the ship turned around and made its way back to the harbor.

nHer gaze disappointedly shifted down, when something bright red caught her eye instead. It weirdly looked like a pool of…

n

"Huh? Blood?

" Sylvia gasped and looked down in alarm. However, the next second nothing was visible except for the crystal clear waters of the ocean lightly roiling about.

n

"Damn it.

" Sylvia bit her lips and turned around, no longer trusting her own mind which was clearly deteriorating by the minute for whatever reason.

nShe tucked the unruly strands of her silver hair behind her ears and left to go back down to the lower deck where the maids and the other servants stayed.

nAfter she left, Leol looked down in puzzlement, wondering what the girl was murmuring to herself about, only to see the same thing which Sylvia had seen.

nA pool of blood gurgled and disappeared in the waters of the ocean and also floating on top of it momentarily was a pair of heads that got smashed onto the ship's edge and pushed down to disappear the next instant.

nLeol vaguely recognized the two floating heads as court officials of Duke Reynold but he was not too sure as he hadn't personally interacted with them.

nThe man pensively gazed at the ocean for a while before breaking out into a laugh.

"Mikel, you have been bad, haven't you?

"

nHe fished out a cigarette from his trouser pockets and placed it in between his lips and the figure now standing beside him lit it up for him.

n

"Tsk. Tsk. How do you know it's me?

" Mikel grumbled, who had now come to stand near Leol.

nHe as well lit a cigarette and took a big puff, before putting it out with his feet.

"I can't even smoke a damned cigarette without you accusing me of things?

"

n

"Heh.

" Leol chuckled.

"Don't direct your anger at me, petty prince. Aren't you satisfied even after killing them?

"

nHmm… Mikel hummed.

"They deserved worse.

"

n

"For what?

" Leol asked, making Mikel chuckle and leave wordlessly.

"For touching what is mine.

" He muttered for no one to hear.

n