Intense gazes were perceiving her like she was a prey, ready to be hunted.
After a few breaths, the smell changed from bitter to seductive and sweet, working as an anaesthetic and causing several of them to doze off, while others purred and transformed into their beast forms.
Some tried to reach her but got bounced back hard. Out of those, one rogue was very determined and tried several attempts, suddenly the barrier collapsed and the rogue tripped in front of Ceris. With a possessive expression and baring his pointed teeth, it leaped and pinned her down, caressed her cheeks, and was about to lick her when a hand instantly grabbed his throat and snapped his neck.
He was dozing off forever.
The semi-conscious Ceris abruptly stood up. The handcuffs were removed with a twist of her hand. Ceris took each step carefully as if she was floating on the ground with her eyes closed.
She walked away from the warehouse without a mishap and approached a hillside. Her hearing, smell, and sensibility were keen in her semi-conscious state. She was drawn to the fragrance of aromatic herbs.
Nobody saw her strange but graceful movement because it was dark. She eventually came to a little valley after two hours of wandering. She was drawn to this location for a reason other than the enticing herbal scent unknown to her.
After overcoming various obstacles, including high walls, she eventually found herself in front of a hot water pond. She quickly considered it and dove into the water, ripping her clothes. Her sore body was soothed by the hot water, which also caused her to lose consciousness once more.
She had no idea that someone was present on the other side of the hot water pond who would play a major role in her life. Yet, they were unable to see one another due to the vapour mist.
===
Ceris slept until mid day since the surroundings were serene. She found the sound of birds chirping to be musical. It was the best sleep she ever had. Her sore body had healed somehow.
She became aware of herself in a new environment once more. It hadn't been long since such occurrences, so she didn't understand why she was waking up in new settings with no memory. It began the day she turned into a teenager. To her, it was the beginning of a horrible nightmare and endless suffering.
The best course of action is occasionally to keep the truth concealed. She began to ignore it when she couldn't find a solution to her problems or predicament. Even yet, it only gave her a headache and left her feeling helpless.
Although dealing with the unknown was risky, she had no choice but to do it.
And while it's true that waking up in an unfamiliar location wasn't the worst thing, her physical state gets much worse. Similar to how her voice has ceased functioning lately, her senses would suddenly stop working after her period of unconsciousness. It was much worse after the full moon day or no moon day. It was giving her physical as well as mental torture.
Ceris was lying naked on the pond's edge when she noticed that her remaining clothing had been torn into useless pieces. She looked around and saw no one near the pond.
She sighed and got to her ripped clothing, selecting a piece large enough to cover her privates, then moved cautiously around.
She froze in place when she heard a grunting sound when she was about to exit the place. She moved to a bush and turned around to face the direction the sound was coming from.
A man, more attractive than a woman, was lying on the ground with his upper bare body, clutching his chest while displaying pain.
Ceris found delight in the image of the man's appearance. Fortunately, she didn't bleed down her nose when she experienced an adrenaline rush ready to reach out to touch the body. Collecting herself, she took a deep breath and stood where she was.
She didn't like to earn a debt of gratitude as the man could be the owner of the pond or something related to them. After giving it some thinking, Ceris chose to reach him since helping the sick was much more virtuous than constructing a seven-story pagoda.
She found a handkerchief and placed it on the patient's wrist before checking his pulse. She recognized that the gorgeous man was poisoned despite the feeble heartbeat.
She lifted his clothes, examined his body and noticed some old cuts. She forced the man to lie on his stomach by turning the body. Hitting on the vital points of his body and he puked blood. In his pile of clothes, she later discovered a bottle of herbal medication. She smelled it and realised that it benefited him right now.
She pulled a long fur coat from his clothing and wrapped her body after saving the patient- 'A payment for her hard work.'
As soon as the drug was swallowed, the man briefly became aware but was unable to elevate his body. After wearing the coat, when Ceris turned back to face him, he got a glimpse of her clear face.
He murmured, "Lady Cecelia," in a whisper, before collapsing to the ground.
Ceris didn't hear as she started to leave the surrounding. Even if she heard, she wouldn't care because she wasn't familiar with the name Cecelia.