Magical Beast

Laif snapped out of trance when he saw the look on Princess Amelia's face. Although he was relieved that he had said what he needed to say, once he finished, Laif was upset when he saw that the Princess was on the verge of tears.

He did not mean to make her cry...

Instinctively, Laif raised a hand to touch her shoulder, wanting to coax her. However, just before he could touch her, Laif felt a sharp pain on his finger.

"Ah!" He let out a yelp and was surprised to see a white creature biting at his finger. No matter how he tried to pry that creature away, that creature did not want to let him go.

"Snow!" Amelia shouted when she realized what was going on. Swiftly, she moved to help Laif to pry her pet away from her knight.

"What is that thing?" Laif shook his hand as soon as the creature let go of his finger. He studied the creature that appeared like a snow-white tiger cub. "A kitten? A puppy?"

"No, Snow is neither a kitten nor a puppy," Amelia turned to Laif. Then, she patted Snow on his head. The creature purred in her arms and nuzzled its head against her hands. "Snow, you know you are not supposed to be here." A frown appeared as Amelia shot the creature a warning look.

"Then, what is it?" Laif asked. He inched closer to inspect that creature and flinched back when Snow bared his fangs at him.

The moment Laif got a better look at the creature, his gaze darkened. However, Laif quickly masked his expression.

This creature... he knew what it was. This snow leopard cub was one of the mystical beasts. However... this creature was not supposed to be here, where magic was prohibited. If someone knew that the Princess was keeping a magical beast in her palace, things will only get ugly.

Moreover... it has been a long time since anyone had seen this creature. Why was it here, with the Princess?

Snow continued to hiss angrily at Laif. It was as if he was ready to attack Laif anytime soon, but the Princess was quick to restrain him.

"Snow is just Snow. He's my pet," Amelia said. At this time, she sifted her gaze and was surprised to see blood dripping from the knight's finger. A gasp escaped her and instantly, Amelia put down the creature and grabbed at Laif's hand to inspect his injury. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he replied quietly. He then watched as Amelia pressed her handkerchief on his wound to stop the bleeding.

Meanwhile, Snow continued to stare at Laif piercingly. Noticing that the man was looking at him, Snow continued to growl at him, warning him not to hurt the Princess.

The corner of his lips twitched when Laif saw the creature's warning. This beast was always known to be smart. "It seems like your pet doesn't like me very much."

"Snow doesn't like to be around people." A helpless smile appeared on her lips as she looked at the creature.

"He will make a very good guard for you," Laif commented. "But I have been in this room for a few times. Why haven't I see him before?" Laif saw that Snow had stopped baring his teeth at him and wanted to pet his head. Just as he was about to touch snow, the creature let out a small growl again, warning him to stay away.

"Snow always hides well whenever there are people around," Amelia said. "He only showed up when he knew that I was in danger."

Laif continued to observe the creature and decided to investigate why did he appear at Noa Kingdom. "Well, at least I know that you're going to be safe with this creature wandering around your room." He then shifted his gaze at his injured finger and felt something cold around it.

The Princess laughed. She checked the injury again and a sigh of relief escaped her when Amelia saw that he had stopped bleeding. A look of confusion appeared on her face when Amelia noticed that not only did the bleeding stopped, the teeth mark had also disappeared.

How did it suddenly disappear?

She had seen how deep Snow had bitten Laif. Logically, it should not disappear this quickly.

As if he could guess at what Amelia was thinking, Laif quickly pulled his hand away.

The two of them stared at each other and Amelia lowered her head once she was reminded of their earlier arguments.

"I'm sorry," Amelia said. "I know that I shouldn't have snuck out. You are right. I should think of the consequences of my action. But I couldn't think straight when they told me that my brother is dead." She paused to take a deep breath. "When someone showed up with his letter, I was doubtful. But I wanted to believe that my brother to be alive and safe somewhere. I wanted to see him again. I have to see him again with my eyes. That was why I decided to go. I have to meet him, even though I know how reckless my decision can be."

His expression softened. It wasn't as if he could not understand the Princess's thought. "You could have told me where you were going. I was really worried when I could not find you in the residence. None of the maidservants was able to tell me anything."

Amelia hesitated. "I could. I wanted to. But I also know that you would insist to come with me. However, I could not let you meet my brother. My brother... he can be a little difficult sometimes. I just did not want him to make things difficult for you."

"You could have told me your plan." Laif pursed his lips. "Whatever it is, your safety is my top priority. If you did not want us to meet, I can always protect you from a distance. It might be difficult, but at least, I know where you are. I know that whatever happens, I can be the first to come to aid you."

Amelia lowered her head. "I will keep that in mind." She turned around and halted. "May I request two things from you?" She looked at Laif again and spoke, "Can you keep my brother's status a secret?"

"Of course. When you were catching up with your brother, Lady Evans had explained the situation made me promise to keep everything a secret. If the enemy knows that the King is still alive, it will only bring him danger," Laif said. He cocked his head as he continued to watch the Princess. "What's the second request?"

Amelia hesitated. "Will you help me and my brother to fight against our enemy?"