"I said let go. I am not in the mood for jokes right now, I want to go home."
"So, you are just going to leave after what you said. Ban you from the castle, are you crazy? For what, what did you do? Is it because of what I said or what you saw in that house? I didn't mean to confuse you, I was just trying to point out something that was already obvious. I-isn't that something you always do?"
"Yes, you are right about that, but I never show my emotions or sight of weakness in front of someone I don't know, if I did that we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Yet you, someone who is basically a stranger to me whom I met not too long ago know more about me than I do myself, and what's funny…he is proud of it!"
"R-rai, are you mad at me? You hate me, why? I don't get it, where did I go wrong?"
"Huh?" Oh, this is getting annoying. He isn't thinking straight anymore, I can see the fear in his eyes and his face is slowly getting as white as a ghost. He let go of me and put his shaking hands on the sides of his head as if trying to cover up his ears. He then took a few steps back mumbling something to himself, "This is all my fault. Rai hates me because I was careless. She is cautious of me because I know too much. Should I have gone with the first option? That would have been better, we would have been happy."
This is getting out of hand now, I don't know what to do or what should I say to stop him, I just feel numb. I think he is having a seizure. It doesn't look that serious, probably it's the first stage, but I am not a doctor so it might also mean that his brain stopped working and he doesn't know what to do anymore. Still, better safe than sorry. The guards are right there so while they take care of him I get to leave before things get even worse.
"What are you all doing standing at the gate for? Bring here his highness's aide, Alphread, right now!"
"Pardon me young lady, but we can not leave our spots for something so trivial, and from what I can see there is nothing serious happening with his highness."
Sigh! I thought that they were the same as other knights who graduate from the knight academy and had to make an oath to serve the royal family and their kingdom, "I pity you. I really do", I am a bit frustrated to find out that they intentionally ignored him and remained calm even after seeing what was happening, on purpose.
Hm? What is that sme-…!?! "You are going to be kidding me.", I rushed immediately to him after sensing something familiar. His eyes look completely dead, with no light or reflection whatsoever. He had stopped moving and had fallen on his knees, frozen in place looking at the ground blankly, while clutching to a small engraved dagger stuck on his right leg.
I looked away for two seconds and this happens? What did he do to himself and was he keeping that thing with him this whole time? Ugh…whatever, I am not going to help you. I am going to leave and clean up my lungs with some fresh air because his blood scent is just stuck there and I am getting dizzy without even moving an inch. Seek help from someone else or wait for your aide, I don't care… but I can't let him like this and leave, can I?
"Your highness, pull yourself together!", oh my GOD, I am going to faint! Why is he still holding the handle so forcefully? When I shook him the dagger went even deeper and opened up the wound even more. 'I have to pull it out before doing anything else.'
I had to focus so hard and use so much force to take it out because each time I pulled it out a little he kept pushing it down. We kept doing that for five minutes straight and the whole time he was muttering something and tearing up, it looked like he wasn't there at all yet he was still there, somewhere. For all those five minutes the whole process of taking the dagger out and putting it back inside felt like I was constantly stabbing him multiple times with my own hands. 'Argh…I know you don't care what happens to you anymore, but think about what would happen to me if you keep doing this, you idiot. The blood is rushing to my brain, I feel so numb as if I am no longer on the ground like I am falling down deep into despair, so close to flipping out and losing it.'
In the end, I couldn't take it anymore and punched him in the stomach. When he lost consciousness, it was easier for me to take the dagger out without him resisting or forcefully trying to oppose me.
"W-wha!? What do you think you're doing?"
If they are not going to take care of him, then I will, there is no other way, "I am kidnapping him of course, what else do you think I am doing?", I was out of breath before, but carrying his body in my arms was a bad idea. The guards left their spot right after they saw me carrying his highness to the carriage. Hearing their footsteps behind my back, it sounded like they were taking their sweet time to come after me, which was infuriating and condescending.
"Young lady, hand over his highness willingly or we will have to take action."
You didn't move when you saw how much he needed your help. You didn't even budge when I "attacked" him and kept staying at the gate like two scarecrows, but now you think I will let you two play the role of the hero and call me the bad guy when there should have been you carrying him inside the palace to take treatment before things escalated to this degree?
["If you take one more step closer, I will rip out your eyes and shove them down your throat, so you can see how I tear you both wild open and hang you on the bars of the gate for the whole palace to see."]
"…!?!?...*gulp*" x2
You both know what these eyes mean do you? Since even some random children in the middle of nowhere knew what was going to happen if they come closer so I see no use explaining why I mean every single word I said. Different from when I was with Paimon, with this I don't need to put my hand in front of my eyes to notice this type of change since my whole body knows it. Feeling the rage and hunger building up inside waiting to come out is a blessing to me since being aware of both my surroundings and this power makes it easier for me to control myself, or at least try to.
They looked terrified, if I were to be farther away from them I might have thought they had stopped breathing, but they were just breathing too fast. There is nothing wrong here, I would have been surprised if they were not, but at this rate, they are going to have a heart attack.
"Hmm? Not my problem. Coachman, start the carriage and send us to…"
"Please, wait a minute!"
Hm? Prince Jonathan. What is he doing here now? He came running like the police show up at the crime scene after everything has ended, however, I am not a criminal so why run away when I can simply show who has the advantage?
"Do you have business with me, the second prince?"
"Yes, that's why I came here when I heard you were leaving and I have to let you know something very important."
Hmm. So, he knew I was here, and I suppose the others know as well. What am I saying? They have eyes everywhere so of course they all know about my visits, but they didn't take action. Huh!? That's why he told me to leave the garden? He was well aware of the queen's servants…. the knights guarding me… they never left my side out of Alastair's study. So, all this time, they were stopping them from meeting me, and now that his highness and the security guards are out of the picture…
"Miss Rapha. If you care to come out of the carriage and listen to what I have to say, you will thank me la-…"
"Shut your mouth!", you know that Alastair is here with me and what happened a minute ago, but you are not going to stop me from taking him away and just talking about something I won't bother listening to. He is bleeding and needs treatment asap, but do you even care?
"I don't have time to talk with you right now, the second prince. So, if you have something to discuss with me, send a letter or a messenger to pass this IMPORTANT thing to me. Now if you excuse me, I have to go."
Rude, immoral, heartless. They care about him as long as he is able to do or can handle all their work properly, of course, I thought the second prince was going to be the first one to ask about his brother's wellbeings after I saw his highness doing his little brother's tasks for him the whole time I came to visit, but even he doesn't give a damn if he dies or not.
"Couchman, you know what to do. Send us to the Phelter mansion as soon as possible!"
"As you wish, my lady."
"...!?" Don't look at me like that, second prince. I should be the one disappointed, but I feel nothing more than pity when I look at you.
Then again, what did I expect from the person who stabbed him in the back for the crown? You don't deserve his or my time, so there is nothing I can do to change that. Maybe I acted rashly, maybe I was reckless, but when I saw him lying there in front of me I couldn't think of any other way I could have handled the situation. I don't know why he lost his mind and stabbed himself, he could have explained himself or found an excuse as he did before, yet he chose not to, or leave it be and forget about it.
Sigh! "So now I have done it. I took you with me. I guess now we are even, Alastair, since you took me with you while I was unconscious, but I won't lock you inside a room as you did. Then again, you would rather stay with me than do other people work for them, so in this case, I am doing you a big favor."
It's a pity I didn't have to prepare before making a decision, but if he is HIM, then it is pointless to postpone it any further. Since Mireya came up with the trip for my birthday and she is fully prepared for it, we will have to leave soon after his highness wakes up.