Sneaking Royalties (1)

After sneaking out of the palace, Laif first headed straight into the forest just outside the city. Sitting at his usual spot just beside the river, he then took out the snake-shaped bracelet from his pocket.

With a wave of his hand, the bracelet then turned alive. It moved to climb on Laif's leg and lifted its head high. The snake's red ruby eyes were looking at Laif for a few seconds as if voicing its dissatisfaction after Laif had turned it into an inanimate object without giving it much warning.

As he watched the way the snake acted, Laif let out a laugh. He patted at the snake's head and spoke, "quit complaining. I had no choice."

The snake stuck out its tongue and hissed before it coiled obediently at Laif's laps.

Seeing that the animal was no longer angry at him, Laif pulled out a small piece of paper and charcoal to write back a letter for his sister.

Once he was finished, Laif rolled the letter and passed it to the ruby-eyed snake. The snake looked at him for a while before it stuck out its tongue and kept the letter into its belly.

Then, the snake got off the man's laps and slithered away into the forest.

Laif heaved a sigh as the snake disappeared from his view.

If only Noa Kingdom was a place that would accept magic practitioners, he would not have to sneak away to write a letter back to his sister.

However, Noa Kingdom was a part of the Eastern Continents, where magic was frown upon.

Hundred years ago, magic practitioners and non-practitioners lived together in both Eastern and Western Continents. However, war broke out and the practitioners were forced out of the Eastern Continent.

Since then, anyone who was known to have magic in the Eastern Continent would be caught away and put on trial before they were banished to the Western Continent. This was also the reason he insisted to put on the binding magic on Kain.

Although Kain can be good at martial arts, he was too reliant on magic. To stop Kain from accidentally cast magic, Laif had no other choice but to put on that bind.

Since he had finished his task, Laif stood up and head back to the palace. He did not want Kain to overly worry when he snuck out of the palace for too long. His guard, Kain can be overly protective.

Laif reached the palace area and walked over to the eastern side. His steps halted as he was a few meters away. Then he scanned his surroundings to ensure that no guards were on patrolling duty in the area.

The eastern gate has always been his favorite spot to sneak in into the palace. The security around the eastern gate was loose as compared to the other gates. Perhaps because there was only a horse stable beyond the wall, the security was not as tight.

Whoever was in charge of palace security might have thought that no one would risk climbing on the palace's wall to end up landing on horse droppings.

Laif traced the wall with his fingers, sensing any movement from the other side. His mouth twitched into a satisfactory smile when he sensed not much activity going on.

He took a few steps back and jump over the tall wall skillfully like he always did and landed safely on the ground. His movement was like a feline. Very fast. Very impossible for anyone who never practiced martial arts to attempt it.

"What are you doing!?"

Laif turned around to the voice just as he landed his feet on the ground.

A palace guard!

"Oh crap!" he cursed as soon as his eyes met with a guard.

Swiftly, Laif turned around to escape.

It would be very troublesome if the palace guard caught him. Kain would probably taunt him with 'I've warned you!' if he was caught climbing the palace wall. It would probably ruin his chance to pass the selection as the Princess's Royal Knights.

Laif turned around at one sharp corner and decided to stay hidden behind the wall. He straightened his posture and held his breath as he watched the guard passed by. When he was sure that the guard will not return to find him, Laif blew a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the guard had failed to notice him.

He sneaked around and turned at another corner. Laif knew that needed to get out of there fast before the guard notifies the others. It will become difficult to get away when a few more guards show up.

Not too long after, he reached the garden area. There were wisteria trees planted along the small path and the purple flower hung from the above.

Laif straightened up and brushed up his sleeve when he was sure that he had arrived at a safer place. He searched around for his way back to the training ground and paused when he saw a familiar figure not far away from him.

The girl's face might be hidden under the cloak, but Laif recognized her auburn locks.

Laif took a step forward to greet her and stop abruptly when he noticed another three ladies were with her. Two of them dressed in a dark hue and the other one were dressed casually in blue.

He knew just by a glance that the woman in dark hue outfit was exceptionally good in martial arts. Therefore, he tried his best to make himself unnoticed.

A crease appeared on his face as he wondered what was going on. He wondered if the girl was in trouble again.

But Laif quickly dismissed that thought when he couldn't sense a threatening aura from the other women. From the way the girls interacted, Laif figured out that the girls were acquaintances.

He stood still, waiting for the party to disband before he decided to greet the Princess's attendant.

The frown on his face deepened when he saw the three girls curtsied towards the Princess's attendant.

He watched the women turned away and walked out of his hiding place when the three women had left.

Just as Amelia turned around to head back to her palace, she was surprised to see a silhouette emerging from behind the wisteria tree.

"Don't shout!" Laif warned when he saw she opened her mouth.

Amelia paused at the familiar voice. She narrowed her eyes to get a clear look at the newcomers and gasped when she saw him walking towards her. "It's you!"