Graciela purposely helped Brice because she thought a slave would not affect her life. After helping Brice and meeting Dexter, she just needed to return to the palace in peace. She believed she would never see Brice again because they had no special relationship.
Her thoughts immediately changed because of the seal marks on Brice's body. Graciela indeed was not the one who cast the magic, but she could not ignore it after finding out that someone had sealed a slave. That person must have a powerful reason to seal Brice.
"Brice, may I ask you something?" Graciela raised a question in a soft voice.
Brice nodded without a second thought. It was an impossibility if he rejected Graciela, who had saved him. He did not know what would have happened to him if she had not come. Probably he would die because the Count of Lutra had tortured him ruthlessly before.
"What do you want to ask? I will answer it as best I can," said Brice, a little afraid of not being able to answer the question given to him.
The man's nervous expression made Graciela take a deep breath. She really wanted to ask about Brice's past, but she was afraid that he might have terrible memories of his past.
"I just wanted to ask if you want to get out of here with me," Graciela told, giving her best smile.
Today might not be the right time to dig up information about Brice. However, she could still do it if they already knew each other. She had to free Brice from his master at all costs.
Nonetheless, Brice showed indications he would refuse Graciela's offer easily. Memories of how the Count of Lutra treated him flashed through his mind. In the past, he had tried to run away because he could not bear the cruel treatment anymore.
The action was unsuccessful because the Count of Lutra could still find Brice and torture him. The count purposely bought Brice from the auction to be tortured. He was a noble who was known for his patient nature, even though he could act like that because he took all his emotions out on Brice.
"I-I don't know. I can't leave," Brice spoke in a trembling voice.
After all the tortures in the past, he did not dare to argue or run away. What he had in mind when he intended to run away was a whip. It was a whip that would lash every skin on his body and make him difficult to move.
Even Brice could feel the sensation of those terrible memories now. Graciela had healed all his wounds some time ago, but his skin felt sore. The trauma was so real that he could feel it, even though the Count of Lutra was not there.
"I know you're a good person, but I can't go. I-I can't! You understand, right? I have to stay here."
Brice spoke out of breath. His behavior brought a sense of guilt to Graciela. She did not know that Brice's master had given him such a terrible trauma.
"Listen to me, Brice. I won't force you if you're not ready. So please calm down now and breathe slowly," Graciela begged carefully.
Instead of feeling calm after hearing those words, Brice's condition only got worse. He wanted to breathe slowly as Graciela ordered. However, his mind and body did not respond to his wants.
Brice's breaths grew shorter, and he thought his lungs had stopped functioning. His breath caught in his throat so his chest felt tight. A moment later, he coughed violently and lay back down on the ground, beating his chest.
Without waiting too long, Graciela immediately used her magic to destroy the iron bars. It looked like Brice had a panic attack because of stress and trauma. She had never dealt with panic attacks before, but now she had to take responsibility since she was the only person there.
"You can hear my voice, right? Try to clear your mind. Don't think about anyone. Think about you seeing a light," Graciela ordered, while holding Brice's hand.
Then she continued, "You follow the light and you come to a flower garden. Isn't the flower garden exquisite? You see a lot of flowers there. Some are white, yellow, and red."
Those kinds of words would not work if Brice panicked too much and ignored Graciela. It was a stroke of luck that the man could hear other people's voices. He slowly forgot about the Count of Lutra as Graciela's voice filled his mind.
Brice actually did not imagine an extensive flower garden like the girl had ordered. It was because Graciela's voice calmed him down, as if her voice was the oxygen he needed.
"Have you calmed down now?" Graciela asked after seeing that Brice opened his eyes. Some time ago, the man closed his eyes while beating his chest and coughing violently.
Meanwhile, Brice immediately got up and let go of Graciela's hand. He did not dare look at the girl as he replied, "I-I'm fine. Thank you so much for helping me. I'm also sorry for troubling you twice. I don't know what happened to me earlier."
"It's okay. You must have a problem that cannot be told to others. I'm so grateful that you've calmed down now."
"Umm..., d-do you really want to help me without wanting anything in return?"
"Of course. For your information, I'm very rich and lack nothing. I helped you because I wanted to."
This time, Brice ventured to look at Graciela's eyes. The girl showed a sweet smile again. He rarely saw humans because the Count of Lutra kept him in prison for years. It was strange that Graciela's eyes could dispel all his doubts.
"You might be an evacuation officer from a rich family. However, my master is the Count of Lutra, one of the most influential nobles in this kingdom. I don't want your family to have a conflict with him just to help me. Therefore, can you leave me alone?"
Graciela wanted to reveal her identity as a crown princess to Brice. Unfortunately, it was an action that she could not do now. Brice and the others should not know that the crown princess went to the abyss at night.
"I respect your decision." Graciela finally spoke. "If you care so much about my family, then I have no choice but to let you stay here."
Brice nodded in discomfort. He should be relieved that Graciela agreed to his request. But now he instead wanted the girl to take him away from this prison. He immediately ignored the thought because he did not want Graciela's family to have a conflict with the Count of Lutra.