Chapter 39 — Confusing Awkwardness

Laura was reading a book in her room. However, her hand held a book in an open state, apparently not with her mind. Her mind was not on the book but on something. If you look at the blush on Laura's face, something that is currently occupying her mind is someone.

Now and then, she smiled as if imagining something beautiful, and soon she shook her head, trying to interrupt all her thoughts.

"Uh, what's wrong with me? Why does that man's face keep appearing? I've never experienced anything like this. Come on, Laura, forget him. Forget about him," she muttered as her hands patted her head.

"But who is that stranger? I hope that he will have woken up tomorrow morning when I visit him," she muttered again. She seemed to be thinking about the strange man she rescued this afternoon.

Laura tried to focus her mind again on the book in her hand. She had managed to regain focus, but suddenly her focus was scattered again when her ears caught a noise outside the room, like the sound of people running.

Feeling astonished by the bustling situation in the Palace, which was usually quiet, plus this crowd happening at night like today, finally made Laura get up from a sitting position.

She opened the bedroom door, and the first thing she found was some ladies running around.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why is it so noisy?" Laura asked one of the ladies in waiting. The maid looked surprised to find Laura asking her. She was aware that she had disturbed the Princess's rest.

"I'm sorry, Princess. It seems we have woken you up," said the lady-in-waiting with a regretful expression.

"It doesn't matter. I haven't slept yet. So, what's this all about?" The lady-in-waiting was quiet. She rolled her eyes left and right as if hesitating to say it to Laura. However, the maid still says the same to Laura in the end. She thought it would be bold to ignore her master's questions.

"Well, Princess, there is a commotion in front of the Palace. Your private lady's maid attacked some palace soldiers who were on patrol," said the lady's maid. Of course, those words made Laura's eyes widen in shock because when she left her this afternoon, Nena was fine.

Without saying anything, Laura came running too. She was curious to see what was happening in front of the Palace. Is it true that the source of this commotion is Nena, her maid?

Arriving in front of the Palace, Laura could do nothing but stand still with her two perfectly round eyes. In front of her eyes, she saw Nena being surrounded by several Palace soldiers. The soldiers held weapons such as swords, and some held spears. All of the weapons were aimed at Nena.

While Nena looked very strange, her maid's uniform was messy, and her hair, usually neatly tied, was loose and messy. There is fresh blood smeared around the mouth. Both eyes bulged with a face showing a grin. What adds to the strangeness of Nena's appearance are her two fangs and the long fingernails resembling claws and the irises of her eyes which have since turned blood red.

Nena was grinning, showing her fangs in front of the soldiers. She also attacked as if she wanted to claw at the Palace soldiers surrounding her.

Laura covered her mouth in disbelief when she saw Nena suddenly lunge at one of the Palace soldiers and bite her neck. Everyone screamed hysterically at the sight, including Laura.

"Nena, stop! What are you doing?!!" shouted Laura spontaneously. She panicked when she saw the soldiers seemed to be about to thrust their weapons at Nena. Miraculously, Nena released her bite when she heard Laura scream. She was now staring intently at Laura.

"Nena, what are you doing?" she asked again. However, instead of answering Laura's question, Nena suddenly darted away. She dashed into the palace area, making all the soldiers there immediately chase her. Laura was sure something had happened to Nena, and for some reason, the image of the strange man she had saved suddenly popped into her head.

Taking advantage of this crowded situation, Laura rushed to leave the Palace. She ran as fast as she could towards the hut where the stranger and Nena had left earlier that afternoon. The distance between the Palace and the hut was pretty close, so running could still reach it.

When Laura finally arrived at the front of the hut, without knocking first, Laura immediately opened the door roughly so that the sound of the door slamming managed to startle the only person who was in the hut.

Laura was shocked when she saw the man she rescued this afternoon leaning against the bed's head. The man's eyes stared straight at Laura with a frown indicating that the man was surprised by Laura's arrival.

"Y-You're awake already?" asked Laura spontaneously, no doubt how happy she was to see the man finally come to his senses. This meant her struggle this afternoon to save him was not in vain. The antidote she had brought from the Palace had reacted as expected.

"Who are you?" replied the man in a firm, deep, baritone voice. His tone was cold and sharp. Laura walked up to the man with her heart beating erratically.

"Introduce My name is Laura Reaghlobe. I'm a princess in this kingdom," Laura said, which made the man's forehead wrinkle even more.

"Where am I, and why am I here?" the man added.

"You are in the Reaghlobe Kingdom's domain. This afternoon my maid and I found you lying on the bank of the river, and then we brought you here. It looks like you're seriously injured and poisoned. I'm thankful the antidote worked. I'm so glad you're safe." Laura explained at length. The man didn't say anything. He still glared at Laura.

"Hmm... what's your name? Are you a prince?" Finally, the question came out of Laura's mouth, which had been on her mind since this afternoon.

"My name is Cliff, and I'm not a prince," said the man, still in a curt tone.

"Your surname?"

"I don't have a surname." Cliff didn't lie. His mother's family never gave him a last name because the Huston family did not want to recognize him as part of the family. As for his father's surname, he is no longer willing to put Dawson's name behind his name. After all, he had never felt part of that clan.

"Oh, sorry," Laura muttered as she lowered her head, looking regretful for having asked that. Awkwardness ensued between them because now neither of them made a sound. However, Laura finally found the courage to speak to Cliff, a strange man she had just met.

"Sorry, I want to ask something," she said, which did not get any response from Cliff. Cliff kept his mouth tight, but his eyes looked straight at Laura as if Laura was prey he wanted to pounce on. However, considering that the girl had saved his life, Cliff had no intention of pouncing on and drinking the girl's blood. He is not an ungrateful man.

"Do you know what happened to Nena? Hm, I mean, she is my maid. She's a girl. I asked to wait for you here because I was worried about leaving you fainting alone in this hut," Laura asked finally. Even though Cliff ignored her she felt she had to ask Cliff.

"Why do you think I know it?" A question that came out of Cliff that Laura didn't expect to be directed at her.

"Because she was still fine when I left her here this afternoon. But now, her behavior is bizarre. She attacked and bit the necks of several Palace soldiers. Her appearance is also very messy, so maybe you know something." The corner of Cliff's lips lifted into a smirk. Of course, he knew what happened to the girl Laura asked about. After all, when he opened his eyes earlier, Cliff bit the girl. Of course, Cliff remembers it clearly. The change in the attitude of the girl named Nena happened because of his actions.

"I don't know," replied Cliff lightly as if he didn't care about the chaos he accidentally created.

"Hmm… I see. Fine, I'll find out for myself what happened to her. Sorry for disturbing your rest. You better get plenty of rest, so your wound recovers quickly," Laura suggested with a sweet smile.

Laura was about to leave, but her steps stopped when she suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yes. Are you hungry? I'll buy you food if you're hungry," Laura offered kindly.

"No. I'm still full," Cliff replied coldly. Laura rolled her eyes around the room. She didn't see any food there, raising thousands of questions: what did Cliff eat because earlier the man said he was still full? Not wanting to worry about it, Laura thought Nena could make food for him.

"Then I'll go first. Tomorrow I will revisit you to see how you are." Laura didn't see any response from Cliff because the man now looked away and preferred to stare out the window instead of answering what she said earlier. Laura was annoyed with the man's bold attitude even though he knew Laura was a princess, but Cliff, instead of being respectful, was very annoying in Laura's eyes.

Stomping her feet, annoyed, she walked away from the hut.

As soon as she arrived at the Palace area, she was again surprised by the crowds in the Palace courtyard as if they were watching something. Laura also approached the crowd consisting of several court ladies and soldiers. Her brother was also there with them.

"Bro," Laura called when she was standing right in front of her brother, who was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Reaghlobe. Prince Laurent Reaghlobe turned towards the source of the voice. He smiled when he saw his younger sister, who owned that soft voice.

"Laura, what happened to your maid? Isn't she Nena?" asked Laurent, pointing to a girl tied to a pole. Of course, Laura was surprised to see her. She said it was too much if her best friend was tied to a pole.

"Why did they tie her to a stake?" Laura asked, unable to accept seeing her best friend being treated so rudely and inhumanely.

"She continued to struggle and attack anyone who approached her. Initially, Palace soldiers would put her in prison, but she couldn't stay still. In addition, there was a fear that she would injure the prisoners, so I ordered them to tie her to a stake," said Laurent.

"But, Bro, why should she be in prison? This is outrageous."

"She has attacked many Imperial soldiers, biting their throats. She even killed a soldier." Laura gasped in disbelief at her brother's story. She thought it was impossible for Nena, whom she knew so well, to do such a scary act. The girl's figure tied up was not like Nena's.

"Something must have happened to her. I'll find out why," Laura said as her legs ran into the Palace. She wanted to go to a place right now, none other than the Palace Library. She felt she had to find out why Nena behaved strangely like this, and she was sure she could find the answer from the tens of thousands of books in the Palace Library.

She took some medical books and spent the whole night reading them one by one, ignoring the sleepiness and tiredness that was taking over. She was sure that Nena's change in attitude was due to a symptom of an illness. No matter what disease it is, Laura is determined to keep looking for it until she finds it.

She has finished reading the pile of books, but until now, there has not been a single symptom of a disease that resembles the strangeness that Nena is experiencing. Laura was getting frustrated, but she didn't give up. She didn't want Nena to continue being tormented and treated inhumanely like that. She wanted to free her lady-in-waiting and best friend immediately.

"Princess!!" Laura, concentrating on reading an open book, was startled when she heard a lady-in-waiting shouting her name.

"What is it?" she asked in surprise.

"T-That, Princess. T-That..." the maid stammered, making Laura excited to hear it.

"What is it? Say it clearly," Laura said, getting irritated.

"Nena. S-She..." She felt something was wrong when she heard the lady-in-waiting call Nena's name. Laura got up and ran out of the Palace Library.

She was arriving at the palace grounds. Laura didn't know what to do now. Nena's body, tied to a pole, was screaming hysterically, with her skin starting to blister. The skin on her face started to melt as if it were on fire, even though no fire was burning it. Only the sunlight that had appeared in the sky hit her skin.

Laura looked shocked. She strolled over to Nena.

"Nena," she called in a low voice accompanied by both eyes that were still bulging in disbelief with the state of Nena she saw.

"Princess, help me," muttered Nena in between screams of pain. Laura, who heard about it, was about to approach Nena. She was determined to untie Nena. However, not until her legs brought her closer to Nena, suddenly, a fire burned Nena's body. The flames blazed violently, devouring Nena's pitiful body mercilessly.

"Nena!!!" Laura shouted as she was about to approach Nena's burning body. However, someone held her body, that person, who turned out to be her older brother, was hugging her from behind, holding her back from taking reckless actions by approaching Nena's body which was being devoured by the fierce flames.

Several palace soldiers tried to put out the fire by pouring water on it, but nothing seemed to extinguish it. Laura and everyone gathered there could only stand still, watching Nena's body quickly devoured by fire, and in an instant, Nena's poor body had turned to ashes.

Laura slumped in her brother's arms. Her eyes flooded with tears. She didn't understand what had happened to her beloved lady.

"Come on, Laura. Maybe this is destiny," said Laurent trying to calm and comfort his younger sister.

"What happened to her, bro? Even though yesterday afternoon she was still fine," Laura said, still unable to accept that her lady-in-waiting was gone.

Laura didn't say anything else when Laurent took her to her room. Laura remained unmoved even when her father and mother visited her in the room. She lay on the big bed with a blank look. The image of Nena being burned by the fire just now kept ringing in her head.

When evening came, and Laura was alone in the room, she got up. She was determined to meet someone. After all, on this day, thinking about all the strange things that happened to Nena, only one person, according to her, must know the cause of this incident.

She was ignoring the limp body because all day she hadn't eaten anything. She ignored the amount of food that was served in the room. She didn't even care when her mother was about to feed her. Her mind was blank. She couldn't think straight before knowing the cause of Nena's death.

With steady steps, she headed towards the stables. Then she climbed onto the back of one of the horses and spurred the horse to dash away from the palace. She goes to the hut, the last place she sees Nena's condition, which was still normal yesterday.

Arriving at the hut, Laura found Cliff lying on the bed with his eyes closed. Laura came over and rudely woke Cliff up. She shook Cliff's body, making the man growl because his rest had been disturbed.

"What do you want? Why did you come here again?" said Cliff after he leaned his back against the head of the bed.

"Tell the truth. What did you do to Nena? What happened to her yesterday afternoon in this hut?!" Laura asked vehemently. She even ignored the shrill scream that came out of her mouth.

"You think I know it?" said Cliff with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, because yesterday afternoon, she was still fine when I left her here. It's only the two of you in this hut, so something must have happened between you two," Laura said firmly, showing her charisma as a princess.

"Instead of you keep asking me because it's useless, you won't get any answers from me. Why don't you find out for yourself?" Cliff's gaze was disdainful. He smiled a little as if looking down on Laura, whom he should respect because of her high position.

"I've looked for it and read many medical books, but none of the diseases have signs like Nena's." Cliff smiled faintly at Laura's words, making Laura even more emotional.

"Do you think all this is funny? An innocent person's life has been lost, this is a serious matter, and you smile about it?" Laura said, annoyed with Cliff's carefree attitude.

"Perhaps what happened to your maid had nothing to do with illness. Why don't you look for other possibilities? Maybe the changes that happened to her were caused by other creatures?"

"Other beings, you mean ghosts? Or stealth?" Cliff shrugged indifferently as if no longer interested in continuing their conversation.

"Find out for yourself and stop bothering me if you don't want to regret having dared to bother me." Cliff lay back on the bed. He wanted to continue his disturbed sleep. The wound on his chest was still throbbing painfully. He wasn't even able to make any exaggerated movements yet.

"Okay, I'll follow your advice. I will look for other possibilities. I'm sure I'll find out why Nena became like this. If everything has to do with you, you're the one who will regret hurting my lady-in-waiting. Remember this, Master Cliff."

"Hoo… I can't wait for it, Honorable Princess. Do whatever you please but don't blame me if I become ungrateful. Go and get out of my sight!" said Cliff with a sharp look at Laura. Laura felt her body tremble, seeing Cliff's scary look in her eyes. The man's irises were getting redder.

Laura turned her back to Cliff, then, with firm steps, she rushed out of the hut. As the man said, she would discover the cause of the strange thing that happened to Nena. She was determined not to stop looking until she found it.