Men in the Mask

Kain's expression changed when he heard Laif's words. For a few seconds, he thought that perhaps, Laif has gone insane."What are you talking about? Why would the Princess sneak out? Why would Lady Evans helped the Princess sneak out?" The frown on his face deepened. "Tell me... what exactly is going on?"

Laif massaged at his head. He did not know how he should explain to Kain why would he think that the Princess was sneaking out.

"It doesn't make sense. We're far away from any town," Kain continued. "We are surrounded by trees, wilderness, and cemetery. Where do you think the Princess would want to go?"

At this time, the door suddenly swung open and Rae appeared. She suddenly paused when she saw the two men inside and panicked.

"What are you doing in here?" Rae asked. She quickly recovered and stood up straight. "This is Princess Amelia's room. You should not be here."

Laif's expression darkened. "Where is Princess Amelia?"

Rae clenched her hand into a fist under her robe. "Her Highness is taking a bath," she lied. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

"You are lying."

"What?"

"Move aside," Laif commanded.

"You pervert!" Rae scolded him. Her face turned red with anger.

"I need you to move aside and let me through," Laif spoke. His hand was touching the hilt of his sword. "Move aside. Don't blame me if I have to hurt you."

Rae hesitated. But seconds later, she stepped aside to let him pass through, knowing that even if she refused to cooperate, sooner or later, Laif was going to force his way into the room.

Rae unconsciously bit her lips and squeezed her eyes shut when Laif slid open the room. Her body grew tense knowing what Laif and Kain were going to see inside.

Empty.

"Where is the Princess?" Laif tightened his grip on the hilt to control his anger. He turned to Rae and gave her a scrutinizing gaze.

"I don't know," Rae shook her head. "All I know was that the Princess has somewhere that she must go," Rae admitted. She gritted her teeth when it doesn't look like the man was going to believe her words. "It's the truth. The Princess never told me anything, or what she was planning to do. I am just a maidservant. What I do was to follow her orders and not questioning her action."

Laif narrowed his eyes at Rae.

He was angry that the maidservant had not done anything to stop the Princess from sneaking out, but what Rae had said was the truth. As Her Highness's maidservant, Rae had no right to question the Princess's order.

Laif immediately looked away from the maidservant and shifted his gaze to Kain. "Did you say they were going into the forest?"

The young knight nodded. "Yes. They're heading north."

Rae grew anxious upon hearing their bits of conversation. "Are you saying that Her Highness was going into the forest? You're joking right?"

Laif took a deep breath. "I don't want anyone of you to breathe a word about the Princess's disappearance," he said to Rae. Then, he turned to the knight beside him. "Kain, please ensure that no one finds out about this incident. Buy us some times if I didn't return with the Princess before the ceremony. Inform me if the princess decided to return," He watched Kain nodded, and exited the room to begin his search for the Princess.

Following Kain's words, Laif went to the northern side of the forest.

His mind could not stop thinking about what the Princess and Lady Evans was planning to do, and why would they enter the forest at this time.

The sky had turned dark and staying in the forest would be dangerous. Even if Lady Evans guards were tagging along, Laif could not be assured that the Princess would be safe.

There were wild animals in the forest and most of them would stay active during the nighttime. If something happened to the Princess, he would not know what to do.

His mind whirled to think of the reason why the Princess would take a risk and do something so dangerous.

Could it be that she wanted to run away from everything because she was scared? Her brother was going to be buried and from then on, she will have to continue protecting Noa Kingdom and its people.

A part of him was angry that the Princess did not say a word before she left.

He had promised that he was going to help her. Does it mean that the Princess did not have her trust in him?

He could only figure out her reason later. Right now, he was worried about her safety and have to find her first.

Laif didn't care for whatever reasons the Princess might have sneaked out. He just wanted Princess Amelia to be safe. He prayed that nothing happened to her.

Entering the forest, Laif tried to recall the topography of the forest.

After venturing further into the forest, Laif finally stopped at a spot and stood quietly to listen to his surroundings. He grew alert as he heard footsteps coming from a direction.

However, seconds later, a cursing word escaped his mouth upon sensing that those footsteps do not belong to the Princess or Lady Evans.

Laif tried to listen attentively and could sense that two men were heading towards him. Their footsteps were hurried.

Worried that those people might be the enemy, Laif decided to climb up a tree and observe from higher ground.

Soon, two people with their faces covered with a mask appeared in his vision.

His expression grew darker as he saw the weapons they were carrying. Judging from their footwork, Laif was able to tell that they were good at martial arts.

Fearing that the two might be some assassins after the Princess's life, Laif made his decision to throw some darts towards them.

However, one of the men turned around in time and swung his sword to block the darts. The darts collided with the man's sword, making a loud noise before it fell farther than their location.

"Who's there?" one of the men spoke, with his sword in his hand. "Show yourself."

Laif narrowed his eyes. He was not expecting that the man would be able to block his dart in time.

He stood silently as he weighed his choice.

He could continue and pursue the Princess or stay for a while to deal with the two men.

Seconds later, Laif made his decision to stay and fight, fearing that they might find the Princess sooner than he would.

Laif jumped down from the tree and drew out his sword as he gave a dangerous look at the two men.