This is his home. His territory. As long as he lived in this house, nothing strange happened, especially under his supervision. But from the corner of his eye right now, it happened. And now, he was furious. His jaw tightened.
He saw the rabbit she was holding turn into a magical animal, from a rabbit, its body size grew to resemble the form of a lion. his eyes flashed with fire, he opened his mouth ready to pounce on her.
He suddenly disappeared from where he was standing, his hands moved as fast as lightning, grabbed the Lion's neck, and pulled it roughly, throwing it into a corner of the garden. A faint cracking sound was heard. Out of nowhere a fire appeared and burned the lion alive. The next moment it burst into flames and left nothing but ashes.
He didn't care what happened to the fake rabbit. He immediately gripped Leigh's upper arms, face full of concern, keenly examining her condition. "Are you okay?" his tone was slightly higher than usual. his only worry right now was Leigh, go to hell with the others. Seeing her not act, made him even more worried. That probably scared her to the core. If he could split, shred the fake rabbit until there was no trace of it, even wipe it off from the earth, he would do it. If that would make her regain her sense and be aware of her surroundings.
Leigh herself was shocked to the core. One second, she was holding the rabbit in her arms. In the next second she saw the change in the form of adorable, cute creature with soft fur, turning into a scary creature. Its eyes turned blood red, its teeth were sharp fangs that were ready to tear anything apart with gusto. Its white fur became pitch black, as black as the deepest abyss. The nails of its hands and feet were long and sharp, ready to claw her until she was left with bones. Her life these past two days has been somewhat strange. And now it's even stranger. Making her ask herself, was she conscious, or was this a long dream, and she couldn't wake up from the nightmare she had experienced throughout her life. If this was a nightmare, she wanted to wake up immediately. Unfortunately, this is the reality.
Her body stood tense, shaking and sweating. Her eyes were wide open, but not looking anywhere. Dazed.
"Leigh!" called Kendric again in a louder voice.
Leigh's eyes blinked, her eyes looked dazedly at Kendric. She couldn't understand what happened. Her heart was beating fast. It was as if her ribs could no longer accommodate her heart that was beat wildly in her chest. Without realizing it, tears flowed from her confused and frightened eyes.
Seeing Leigh crying in shock, without waiting he immediately hugged her tiny body into his strong and firm arms. While stroking her back gently and muttering "It's okay, you're safe now" he hugged her tightly, hoping that his hug would calm her down. Her crying was getting worse. Making him continue to mumble soothing words.
Gradually, her crying subsided, leaving only soft sobs as they sank into Kendric's broad and strong chest. "You okay now?" he asked again, even though he knew she was far from fine. He was just looking for something to calm himself, who was still worried about her.
Leigh answered with a gentle nod against his chest. "Let me take you, to your room" without waiting for a response from her, he bent his body, only for his left hand to slip into the crease of her knees, and his right hand on her back. He carried Leigh easily in his arms. And she just cuddled deeper into his warm chest and buried her face there.
When Kendric stepped out of the indoor garden, someone greeted him "My Lord" while bowing before her master, Cora.
"Let Farley handle it" he ordered firmly, without turning his face to her. Suddenly, Leigh flinch in his arms. Spontaneously he whispered to her "It's okay". He knew that Ezra would have told Farley. For this reason, he doesn't care too much, Ociel's figure is not important to him at the moment.
"Yes, My Lord" the head servant answered obediently. And he just walked away, leaving Cora still looking down in the corridor in front of the indoor garden door.
He used his powers, so they could quickly arrive at Leigh's room. Of course, Leigh didn't know that because she buried her face in his chest. He sat her fragile body, which was still tense and shaking, slowly on the bed. This was the second time, he did the same thing, within a short period of time. Making him uneasy.
If only he hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened to her. She might now lie lifeless, and he would once again be plunged into deep sorrow. He didn't want to imagine that even the worst could happen to her. Not under his supervision. Thus, he had to put even stronger protection around her. He determined in his heart.
After making sure Leigh was sitting comfortably on the bed. He stood up, walked to the table, poured drinking water from the teapot into a cup. Then brought it to Leigh. "Here, drink it"
Leigh, hands still shaking, accepted the cup, raised it slowly to her pale lips, drank from it. She drank half the cup of the water. She lowered the cup from her mouth, still holding it in her lap, without handing it back to Kendric.
Silence filled the room, only the sound of the clock ticking on the wall could be heard and the crackling of the wood in the fireplace which was slowly burning by the fire. Leigh was still trying to calm herself. Kendric waited calmly and patiently.
Until Leigh broke the silence in the room, by asking "What was that?" her eyes, still sad from tears, looked up hopefully he could give an explanation. After this incident, she probably won't be fooled anymore by the cuteness of rabbits or other cute animals. Not if her life is at stake. She was struggling to understand the strange things that were happening. She hoped she could understand bit by bit, but her hopes were dashed because incident after incident happened so quickly, she really needed time to absorb everything.
"It is a manifestation of the Nemean Lion creature," answered Kendric doubtfully. Worried that she wasn't ready to hear it. So, he tries to use words that are easy for her to understand.
Leigh's eyebrows knitted together, furrowed deeply. "What's that?"
"A half-full creature, it is a combination of several types of animals. The head resembles a lion and a cat, has snake venom in its fangs. The tail itself is a deadly poisonous snake. One bite, the victim will die instantly," Kendric explained with a face full of hope, he understood. Of course, that was far from understanding, because Leigh's following question made his mind race wider to explain more clearly.
Leigh's frown deepened. "But, at first its was a Rabbit," she added confusedly.
"Yes, a rabbit, but that's just an outward appearance to deceive its prey. Its true form is a Nemean lion, an imitation creature." He looked at her gently. The expression on his face showed that she understood the last sentence he said.
"I thought it was just a mythical creature," she answered uncertainly, she herself doubted her statement just now. Her fingers tightly squeezed the cup she still held in her lap. If she squeezed it with a little more force, her fingers would turn deathly pale.
"No, that creature really exists, in the form of an ordinary animal" now that made her even more determined not to be tempted by the cuteness of cute and eye-catching animals. She will go far away and will not come closer to it again.
"Can they just appear, all over the place?" she asked worriedly, if so then she would think twice about exploring this place alone without anyone accompanying her. At least she needs someone who is as strong and as powerfull as Kendric. But she couldn't possibly ask him to accompany her all the time, right. He's a busy man of course.
"No, that was my negligence. I will make sure it doesn't happen again" seeing the worried eyes that flashed in her eyes, he continued "You don't need to worry, a creature like that will not be able to approach you again, I promise" he gripped her wrist tightly but gave a gentle and calming impression.
At least he thought this time, she wasn't shut herself down like yesterday. But she asked the question that was on her mind. It is a progress of understanding and absorbing the changes occurring around her. And that made him proud of her, despite the other worries he felt about Leigh.
"I-I…" Leigh mumbled, hesitant to say words that might sound strange and childish, like a very frightened child from a nightmare they were having.