Doubts

Kain rushed down the stairs the moment he saw Laif walking towards him. He glanced towards the Princess's quarters and scanned his surroundings before he asked, "Where have you been?"

He had been trying to locate Laif for almost an hour and was starting to panic when he could not see the Prince. He was supposed to be the Prince's guard, but he could not look after the person properly.

If only he can use his magic, Kain would be able to find Laif's whereabouts sooner. Unfortunately, Laif had sealed his magic before the two of them applied for the position as the Princess's Knight, and therefore, he could no longer do anything.

"Mortuary," Laif replied briefly

Kain raised a brow upon hearing his answer. "And? Did you see the body? Was the body badly charred as the adviser and the king's guard claim to be?"

Laif nodded. "It was hard to get into the department. The place was heavily guarded. But," he shrugged. "I managed to sneak in into the morgue and see the body for a while. It was just as they claim. The body was charred badly. His face, particularly. With how the corpse looks, it would be hard to tell if the body really belongs to the King."

"They would not be able to identify the body if it was not for the king's crest." Kain watched the Prince's expression for a while and saw the deep crease on his forehead. "What are you thinking?"

"Don't you think it's strange how the King's body was charred that badly?" Laif asked. "Every part of him was burned and yet, there was not much damage to the King's crest?"

A thought crossed Kain's mind and he whispered, "You suspected that the body does not belong to the King?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. We are not familiar with the King. Therefore it was hard to tell. There was nothing I can do but making a wild guess."

Kain let out a long exasperated sigh. "Let's not interfere with this matter. We came here to find that magical artifact. Not to get involved with Noa Kingdom's political matter."

"I know. I don't have the intention to interfere."

"If things are too troublesome, then perhaps, we should consider leaving this place," Kain said. "If we did not find the magical artifact, then just let it go. The council will try to figure out something."

Laif shot a look at Kain but did not answer. Right now, he did not want to think about leaving Noa Kingdom. It was not appropriate. It was not the right time.

"How is the Princess?" Laif asked after a long silence.

"She's resting," Kain glanced at the Princess room. "Her Highness has not stepped out of the room since she returned from the meeting with the nobilities. Earlier, her maidservant reported that the Princess refused to have any meal. Perhaps she was in too much shock after that news about the King."

Laif stared towards the Princess room. At this moment, he could not imagine what was the Princess feel or what was on her mind.

It was not long ago that she had told him her intention to announce her brother as dead, even when she believed that her brother was still alive. She was going to do whatever she can to protect the throne. And the decision to announce the King as dead was intended to distract her enemy. However, her enemy had made the first move by murdering the King.

"Both the Adviser and the Commander came earlier to visit the Princess," Kain spoke. "But the Princess announced that she will not be accepting any guest at the moment. The maidservants have been instructed to turn down any visitors. Even the doctor who came to check on her body was ordered to go back.

Laif glanced towards the Princess's room and frowned. Hearing what Kain had told him, Laif was suddenly worried.

The news of the King's passing was too sudden. Princess Amelia had no choice but to pull up herself and step up. She had a lot that she needed to do to claim the throne before someone snatched it away from her.

Suddenly, from their distance, both Laif and Kain could hear the maidservants started to whisper among themselves. Looking at their expression, Laif could detect a hint of panic.

The two walked over to the maidservants and saw that Rae was among one of them. The three girls were engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice both Laif and Kain approaching.

"What happened?" Kain asked.

Rae jumped slightly as she heard his voice. She looked at both Laif and Kain alternately in hesitation and spoke. "The princess is missing," she said in a trembling voice.

"What?" Both Kain and Laif echoed.

"How?" Laif asked.

Rae shook her head softly and tears streamed down her cheek. "I don't know. The Princess told us to leave her alone in her room. We knew that Her Highness was upset after hearing the news. Then, Sara and I went in to check on Her Highness but she was not around. We tried to look for her all around the palace, but we did not see her."

Laif cursed inwardly. His eyes darted everywhere as he tried to guess at where the Princess had gone to.

"Find the others and start searching for the princess," Laif said to Kain. "The Princess couldn't have gone too far from her palace."

Kain nodded and was about to turn around to leave when Kain held him on his shoulder.

"Make sure that no one hears this news," Laif warned. "We don't need to alarm the nobles or anyone else."

"Yes. I understand."

Laif watched as Kain ran to find the other Knight and started to look for the Princess. Then, he turned to Rae and the two other maidservants. "Tell the other to search for the princess. But do it quietly and do not alarm Adviser Damien and Commander Irvine just yet. Start with the princess's favorite spot and send someone to inform me when you found Her Highness."

Rae and the two maidservants nodded and quickly went to look for the Princess.

Laif took a deep breath as he tried to think of a place that the Princess might hide now. He knew that the Princess often visit the King's quarters whenever she was troubled by something.

Just as Laif was about to run towards the King's quarters, he suddenly sensed something.

It was the Princess's magic, and her power was flaring uncontrollably.