Laura watched as the carriage was moving farther away from the place... completely fading away from her vision.
She grabbed the loot bag heading towards the inn to find her father. She saw several men gathering near the stable where the horses were being kept and saw her father among them. She walked towards the men.
"Father! I'm back!" Laura said in a loud voice announcing her return.
"D-daughter! You're back! Are you okay? Where are the bandits?" Simon asked in total surprise. He stared at his daughter in shock and disbelief. He couldn't believe that she's already back safe and alive after seeing her forcefully abducted by the bandits. Tears of happiness sprang into his eyes. He rushed to his daughter's side and hold her at arm's length, looking up and down at her body, trying to check for any signs of injury on her body.
"Father! Don't worry, I'm fine! A hero saved me from the bandits. The mysterious guy and his men killed all the bandits and returned the valuables that they have stolen from us. Here are the valuables inside the bag..." She handed the loot bag to her father.
Simon peeked at the contents of the bag. "Okay, we will return the valuables to their owners," he said and handed the bag to one of his men.
Laura looked at the men surrounding them. "W-who are they, Father?" she asked.
"These are the men who volunteered to organize a search party to find you. We were about to go after you. Thank God, you're finally back," he said. He addressed the men. "Friends, thank you so much for your help. My daughter is back, safe, and sound. And you hear directly from her... the bandits were all killed by the mysterious men who saved her! That's a piece of good news, right? From now on, no one will suffer again from the hands of those terrifying bandits," he said.
The men cheered in happiness. In their minds, they were relieved to hear the good news! The violent bandits were finally annihilated from the face of the earth! Those evil creatures can never terrorize their place ever again. They began to disperse a few minutes later.
Simon looked at his daughter. "Laura, where is that man who saved you? Why didn't you bring them here so that I can formally thank them for saving you? I also want to give them a huge monetary reward for their heroic act," he said.
"Ah, forget about those men, Father. Especially the arrogant man who is their leader!" she said, feeling a little bit furious after remembering the guy.
Simon's brows furrowed. "But why-?"
"Because that guy is arrogant. I offered him money as a reward for saving me from the bandit, but he refused. He told me that he has lots of money, he doesn't need our money. I also ask his name, but he refused to tell me his name," she explained.
"Ah, I see..." Simon reacted with a frown. "Hmm, I was deeply puzzled because who is in their right mind would refuse free money nowadays? Everyone needs money unless that guy already owned the world, and he was sleeping with endless treasures below his bed," he said.
Laura shrugged. "That's what I been thinking too, Father. He's simply arrogant!" Then she remembered that the mysterious guy forcefully kissed her on her lips and put her to sleep. But she doesn't want to confess those things to his father, they will only add up to his worries.
Simon continues to ponder about the hero's motive. "Hmm...maybe...that guy and his comrades are going in a hurry somewhere, and they reluctantly stopped to help you. Maybe that's the reason why they went on their way in a rush without getting the reward money," Simon gave his explanation.
Laura rolled her eyes while thinking about that guy. "Whatever... It's their loss! Anyway, I want to go to my room and take a bath. I feel dirty!" she said.
"Okay, daughter. Go now to your room and take a rest. My men and I will return the stolen valuables to their rightful owners," he said.
Laura walked towards the entrance of the inn.
While Simon went inside the eatery to return the valuables to their rightful owners.
~
Inside Laura's room.
She grabbed a pair of clean clothes from her luggage and went inside the bathroom to take a bath. She needs to lather her body with soap to wash away that bandit's saliva on her neck. She will also brush her teeth vigorously to erase that mysterious guy's imprint on her lips.
Bastards!
The only thing that stops her from hating that mysterious guy completely - was because he saved her from those dirty and evil bandits. She was glad that those bandits who abducted her were already dead and can never hurt anyone again.
She discarded her clothes and began her long bath.
She spent one full hour inside the bathroom, washing her body with soap over and over again, trying to wash away the terrifying experience she had encountered today.
After getting tired of lathering her whole body, she finally rinsed herself with water and stopped bathing. She finished cleaning her body and feels better, inside and out!
She exited the bathroom a moment later, wearing her pajamas. She went to bed and began combing her wet hair. She looked at the mirror on the dresser table.
Then suddenly, she remembered her dresser table in her bedroom in the mansion!
Oh, no!
She looked at the open window, she walks towards it, closing it in a hurry.
Then she grabbed a garment from her luggage and immediately covered the entire length of the mirror.
Done, she released a deep sigh of relief. She hopes that the creepy creature living inside the mirror in her bedroom won't pester her anymore.
From now on, she will never look at herself in the mirror ever again.
She finished combing her hair and lie on the bed. She stared at the ceiling of the room. She can't help but remember the trauma she suffered at the hands of the bandits. When the leader ordered her to strip naked and dance for them, she thought that was already her end.
Even if she will obey the leader and danced for them, it would be impossible if they will stare at her naked body and not do anything sexual to her. She was sure that if that mysterious guy and his men didn't arrive on time to rescue her, she will end up dead when the morning comes. Those hungry bandits will never spare her. If they won't kill her after abusing her body, she will become their sex slave, and she would rather kill herself than being abuse repeatedly by those dirty bastards.
Fresh tears emerged from her eyes. After the horrifying ordeal that she went through, she will be nursing a trauma for months to come. In the coming days, she will have sleepless nights for sure. She only feels the magnitude of her trauma after she was already out of it, safely.
She nearly went dead and broken tonight. Thanks to that mysterious arrogant stranger! She was able to come back to her father, safe and sound.
Laura shut off her eyes, trying to get some sleep. She will leave the lights on overnight, fearing that she will see terrifying shadows if she suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night during her sleep.
A few minutes later, Laura's breathing turned steady.
Thirty minutes passed.
Laura was sleeping deeply.
Suddenly, the window opened, a cold gush of wind entered the room, and the garment that she used to cover the mirror fell on the floor.