The man in black raised his left eyebrow when he heard Princess Amishta's voice. It rings in his ears as if a soft melody. He has always been a coldhearted human ever since the death of his mother. His survival in the palace inflicts on him a hundred pains that cause him to become numb.
The unknown feeling that he gets from the girl's voice makes him doubt himself. He stares at the girl for a minute and is taken aback by his action. The girl looks very ordinary, but the aura she has is nothing an ordinary girl can have.
"Your Highness, what are we going to do with this girl?" the guard asks his master while trying to figure out who the girl is. If this was in the past, he wouldn't even stare at the girl, but since his master seems to quite give a certain attention to the girl, he tends to involve himself.
He was quite surprised, more than his master, because never in his life had he seen his master trying to save someone, especially a girl that was a stranger to them. He always believed that their master always had a reason behind every action, which kind of confused him now.
The master just walked away as if he heard nothing but suddenly stopped and looked back. He then stares again at the girl and calms himself.
"Just make sure that she will safely get away from this place."
The guard was confused by his master's answer but still tried to comply. They were in a hurry for their mission, but his master was actually saving a girl first. He moved fast and carried the girl to a small village near the mountain and paid someone to look for her until she woke up.
…...
Jiro was very mad at the moment as he killed every assassin that came into his way. He was very afraid that something might happen to his sister, thus trying to calm himself by killing his enemies.
He was very worried because Amishta had never been left alone in her life. She had always been sheltered, and the fact that she was alone while danger was running after her made him lose his sanity.
Jiro stayed awake for the whole night looking for his sister. They secretly enter the Shadow Kingdom and search for the princess nonstop. No one ever felt the exhaustion because the desire to search for the princess was their top priority.
"Your Highness, the princess was found in a small village near the capital."
Jiro just nodded, and the knight showed the way.
They rode in on their horses and moved faster to the princess. In order for their identity not to be discovered, the prince was the only one to enter the village with the shadow knights in his shadow.
"Sir, do you need something?" asked a middle-aged woman who was paid to look for the princess. The woman was quite trembling because of the dark aura the prince has. Jiro was dressed as a merchant; thus, she was very respectful.
"I heard you helped a girl this morning. I am here for her."
"She was inside, but please don't hurt her because she was already pitiful," the woman pleaded.
"I won't."
Jiro looked at the princess, very emotional. Her princess was disguised as very ordinary, but she was still beautiful. She was wrapped in bandages, and small cuts are present on her hands and face. He was totally devastated, but he calmed himself and sat beside the princess.
He hasn't moved a single step away from the princess ever since he entered the room. He was trying to tend to her sister's injuries.
He just wants the princess to open her eyes and return her to the palace to be tended by the doctors. He won't want any scar to be left on his sister's beautiful face and body.
Amishta finally opened her eyes after a couple of hours and looked at her worried brother in front of her. She was very happy to see his brother in good condition, but she was disappointed not to see the man in black. Her brother noticed the different emotion from her and thought that she was in pain.
"Are you okay? Do you need something? Are you in pain?" Jiro asked.
"I am fine? What happened? How come I ended up here?" Amishta asked as she looked at the tiny house she was in. She really hoped to see that person, the only reason she wanted to visit the Shadow Kingdom unprepared.
"The head of the village owned this house. You are brought here by a man and pay for your stay. Do you know that man? What happened? How come you are wounded so seriously? The Shadow Knights make sure that you escape safely." Jiro was very curious and at the same time angry about her sister's injury.
"I don't know. I encountered robbers on my way to the city, and I fought back. They were just too much for me to handle, but someone just saved me. I lost consciousness after my savior appeared on the scene. Never mind about me. So, what just happened back there?" Amishta tried to cover for that man because she knew that this was not the time for them to meet him.
"There is a traitor in the palace. It was Antonia. She wanted revenge for her adoptive mother, so she colluded with the rebels and intended to kidnap you, but she always wanted to kill you, so she made a move to pay someone to kill you."
Antonia is the adoptive daughter of Victoria. She was born to Victoria's blood sister. Though she was said to be an adoptive daughter of Concubine Victoria, she was not conferred as a princess but with a non-status at all. She only got Victoria as her backing, and since she was gone, her place in the palace was changing badly.
"Oh," Amishta replied. She actually predicted right.
Jiro was confused by the reaction he got from Amishta. She knew how stubborn and revengeful his sister was, so he was very worried that this time around maybe his sister would really change.
"Father already decided to make me go to the capital and have Axel get you home. We knew how you make an effort to be---"
""No, it is fine. I will go back home with Axel as soon as he gets here."
"Then that is great." Jiro was not sure about what to feel, but the smile Amishta gave him was enough to assure him. He will just trust in his sister.
"Hhhmmm. Big brother, where is Jane, my maid?" Jiro saw a hint of guilt in his sister's eyes, which made him think of the timid servant of his sister.
"She is just fine. I gave the order to make them go back to the palace. She was quite persistent to find you, so she was knocked down by my knight to be able to travel back," Jiro explained, making Amishta smile.
"She is persistent indeed." Jiro now realizes that Amishta values her maid that much. Afraid that Amishta will be more exhausted, he just wants him to take a rest.
"You get a rest. Your injuries are not healed yet. Axel will be here later, so you need to gain some strength to travel back home." Jiro softly spoke to Amishta and helped her into the bed.
"You need to get rest too, brother. Don't wake up the whole night to watch me." Amishta then suddenly hugged her brother. Jiro was shocked, but his lips formed a smile after. He patted her head and softly tucked her in bed.
"Sleep." Amishta nodded and closed her eyes.
Jiro was more sure that his sister had changed, but he was happy for it. He only wishes that he and Axel will be powerful enough to protect their sister.
After an hour of watching his sister, Axel then showed himself. He walked to Amishta and suddenly burst into anger.
"Calm down, Axel. She was tired and in pain. I hope you won't wake her up."
"How can I calm down when she was---"
"Keep your mouth shut, or you'll wake her. Let's just talk outside." Jiro pointed at the door. Axel forcefully walked through the door and punched the tree near the house Amishta was in.
"Enough! Do you think inflicting pain on yourself will take away the pain Amishta was experiencing? Seeing you bleed will only make her cry. I was disappointed by myself, but I need to face things happening calmly because I don't want Amishta to cry." Jiro was holding Axel's shirt and lecturing him.
"You are the Crown Prince, and you should know that your every action will reflect on our country."
Jiro and Axel looked at the tiny house together and vowed to be powerful enough for their sister.
"What happened?" Jiro asked.
"Antonia was instigated by Victoria's father, but she didn't want to implicate them; rather, she actually wanted to die to atone for her sin. He was a marquis, and the border is not that steady. Father was trying to calm himself, but I knew that it was just a matter of time before that old man would die."
Axel has always been rational, but with Amishta, things are just getting different.
Though he was angry, as a chosen Crown Prince, he always lived up to his title, just that being a brother overthrew such title.
"Be patient. Amishta is growing up and probably will do something none of us expect. She probably knows a thing or two. Since she is not thinking of revenge right now, she probably has something up her sleeves." Jiro smirks, and Axel just nods.
As soon as the morning comes, Axel and Amishta, with their knights, travel back to the palace, while Jiro travels to the capital of the Shadow Kingdom to enter the palace as an envoy.