There was a blush on Neyan's cheeks, looking very beautiful. Baron's heart was beating very fast. It felt strange to hear Neyan confess her feelings to Baron. He felt even more guilty for Neyan.
She touches Baron's cheek, her hand glows. Baron feels that he is just a strange animagus who has no determination to change his body shape. Neyan should have found another prince who is handsome and worthy of her.
Baron lowered Neyan's hand — the hand immediately dimmed. "I feel inappropriate of having you as my wife."
"You hurt my feelings," said Neyan, turning around. Baron has to move before his head is hitting by Neyan's wing.
"Neyan ..."
"I can't help you if my father punishes you." Neyan sounded like she was struggling with herself.
"You don't need to worry about me. I will be fine."
"No!" snapped Neyan, turning around. Her wings managed to slap Baron's cheeks.
"Ouch!"
Neyan was surprised. "I'm sorry, Baron."
"It is okay. I am fine. Don't apologize," said Baron while moving his hand.
Neyan folds her wings and comes closer to touches Baron's cheek. Their eyes met. Baron could almost read Neyan's mind. The woman is about to kiss him again.
Baron dodged quickly. Neyan straightened up and raised his chin.
"I won't force you anymore!" snapped Neyan. "You have your way of life. You don't like me at all. I feel like a lowly woman who nags at you and forces you to marry me."
"I never said that," said Baron.
"I won't help you if my father punishes you later!" Neyan shouted quite loudly.
Baron had pissed off Neyan. He also wanted to be angry, so why doesn't he reveal his heart right now.
"It doesn't matter. I don't need your help."
"What?!" Neyan narrowed her eyes.
"Before my father died, he never talked about this matchmaking. Didn't someone ask my opinion? If I could choose, I would rather move to the human world and marry one of the women from there so that I can be free from all these attachments."
Neyan looks so angry. "You prefer mortal to me?"
She pulls out her wings and spread them wide while her body is lifted. She is wagging her wings and make the food on the table messy.
"I do not mean …."
"You disgraced me, Baron!" exclaimed Neyan, her face flushed with anger.
"Listen, I'm sorry. You have the right to be angry, but I also have the right to choose," said Baron, raising his hands in front of his chest.
"Shame on you!"
"Am I not allowed to choose?" asked Baron. Then he regretted having asked that question.
Neyan looked furious as she turned green. She flapped her wings with a single stroke. Baron was hit by an attack from Neyan and thrown against the wall.
Baron immediately turns into a bobcat so that he would not be injured his back when he landed on the floor.
Even so, his neck was injured and bleeding. The attack of Neyan's wing is stinging; it can cut like a knife.
Baron turns into a human again. He curls up in pain on the floor, clutching his neck, which is bleeding profusely. Neyan sees him, and she is shocked. The greenish light had disappeared from her body.
Neyan landed on the floor and folded her wings. She crouched next to Baron, clutching his shoulders.
"Baron, are you okay? Your neck is bleeding!" Neyan looks like she is about to cry.
She clapped her hands twice into the air. The servants suddenly appeared behind the wall. One of them handed a clean cloth to Neyan. She pressed the wound on Baron's neck with the fabric, and immediately it turned red.
Baron grimace in pain. "Stop."
He rises from the floor. The servants hold his hand, afraid that Baron will stagger.
"Wait a minute, Baron. Let me heal your wound."
Neyan is concentrating on getting the magic dust out of her body. Baron prevents her.
"You don't have to do it! I am fine!" Baron removed his hand from the servant's hands.
He walks quickly toward the brick wall, which is the door. The wall split open, exposing the scenery beyond. Baron gets out of there.
Baron did not think that Neyan would attack him. His neck hurt so badly; his head felt dizzy. He must meet Muv, the palace scientist. Muv has medicine and magic dust from Mamesein's flower to treat his wound.
Baron keeps walking while holding his neck, which is still bleeding until the blood soaks his clothes. Then he enters a basement. Baron gets into the room with the narrow and gloomy door.
"Baron!" exclaimed Muv as he walked towards Baron. "What happened to you?"
"I was hit by an attack," said Baron.
He didn't want to meet Muv if he didn't have to. The scientist looks terrible. Half of his body was human, and the other half was in the form of a snake with horns sticking out of his back.
King Valo took pity on him because Muv was a flawed animagus. He cannot turn into a complete human or become a whole animal. Muv is trapped in his half form forever.
The king decided to hire Muv to become a scientist. He proved that he had succeeded in making a magic potion to make the palace animagus stronger so far. Queen Inayba is delighted with Muv's hair-enhancing brews.
Even though Muv looks terrible, he is a very good animagus. Baron chooses not to see his hideous face too often.
"What attack?" asked Muv. Baron did not immediately answer.
He pulls Baron to sit on a chair; then, he examined Baron's neck with a magnifying glass and a bright light stuck to his forehead.
"It seems that you are quite lucky. If the wound is any deeper, it will definitely hit your veins." Muv switches off the lamp on his forehead and keeps it on the table.
Baron touches his neck with a grimace. Muv hits his hand hard. "Do not touch. It's poisonous."
"Oh really?"
Muv takes a little of Baron's blood, puts it on a small rectangular glass, and places it in the microscope.
"You must have been attacked by Princess Neyan," Muv said, peering behind a microscope. "There is a poisonous green glint in your blood. That's why your bleeding does not immediately stop. What a super deadly weapon."
"Hmmm," Baron muttered.
Muv takes a glass jar from the shelf. It is filled with a blue gel and smells lovely like flowers. Muv takes a brass spoon and rubs the blue gel on Baron's neck.
"Aaarrrgghh!" Baron screamed in pain.
"Be patient a little. Soon the bleeding will stop," said Muv.
Baron got dizzy. He thinks it looks like he is going to throw up.
"Ah, what gel did you put on my neck? My head is getting dizzy." Baron closed his eyes.
"Take it easy. The dizziness will go away soon," Muv said casually.
Muv was right. Slowly Baron's headache disappeared. The bleeding has stopped. He opened his eyes, he coming out of breath. His forehead was sweating profusely.
Muv takes another glass jar, takes out a handful of magic powder from the Mamesein flower, and then blows it on Baron's neck. The powder absorbed into Baron's neck. Muv repeats this several times until the wound on his neck closes.
Baron takes a deep breath and inhales the fragrance of Mamesein flowers that smell like a forest that had just been poured by rain. Immediately Baron feels his body rejuvenate. Even so, his neck still ached if he touches it.
"The toxic effect will wear off in a few hours. You won't feel hurt anymore," Muv explained to Baron.
"Thank you, Muv."
"By the way, what made Princess Neyan attack you?"
"I refused to marry her," said Baron honestly.
"Why did you refuse her? Aren't you a very suitable couple?"
"I and Neyan are like brother and sister. I can't possibly marry my own sister. It feels weird." Baron didn't dare look at Muv's face, so he just saw his reflection on the wall.
"Does King Valo know that you have refused his daughter?"
"Yes, he knows."
Muv chuckled, his voice sounding like his throat was choking on something. "You will get a very big punishment."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am. Get ready," Muv said dramatically. "Now you better go home. Don't forget to wash your neck and hands. Don't let your blood get on your food. It's still poisonous."
"Okay. Thank you, Muv. "
"Don't hesitate."
Baron briefly glanced at Muv's face; he was smiling at Baron. It was a very terrible smile. Baron nodded and then walked out of the stuffy room.