Untouchable 02

"No."

Cailina's straightforward and cold answer blocked Lai's any follow up questions. She tapped her fingers on her other hand. Her puppy was taking too long.

The tea had already gone cold, and Aris and Fione have yet to return. Cailina frowned, she has been waiting for a while, and the tables have long changed its customer. She should've tagged along to where her puppy wanted to go.

Frustration bubbled inside Cailina's heart, the day should've been spent wiser, and all she did was sit and drink tea with her attendant.

She was bound to leave tomorrow. Cailina stood up and glared at Lai.

Lai scrambled to follow Cailina's pace; his Lady's annoyance could be sensed by everyone. He looked at his pocket watch and let out a soft gasp, his widened eyes made Cailina almost explode in anger.

Before Cailina ordered him to look for the two, Lai already excused himself. On his way, he met Fione, and behind her was Aris with his clenched fists by his sides.

Lai knitted his brows, he wanted to know what took them so long. It seemed that his expression was quickly read by Fione as she cleared her throat and spoke.

"There was an accident," Fione bowed at Cailina, "I apologize my Lady for making you wait."

Cailina turned her back and left the group, but was tugged by Aris by her hand. She looked up and saw his reddened face. 

"I know you thought of my day, and I'm grateful for that my Lady," Aris said as he landed his gaze to meet Cailina, "and there is a shop I want to visit with you."

Her words were stuck on her throat as her puppy was beyond adorable. She was to pour her displeasure at him for being ungrateful, but the raging emotion in her heart was calmed by Aris' soft voice.

Although she agreed, Cailina couldn't help her lips twitch in another wave of annoyance. It seemed that her puppy was interested in dolls, puppets to be exact.

She took a deep breath and said without looking at Aris, "Is this the shop?"

Aris nodded and went inside without delay. He was glad that he got to spend his day with Cailina, but as he saw the man from earlier, he was no longer in a celebrating spirit. 

He wanted to see what the man was up to, and he happened to hear the man's plans for the day. Leaving Cailina here in the shop as he was informed that the shopkeeper was good at spouting nonsense just to keep a customer. 

It would be the perfect moment to look for the man before Cailina becomes suspicious of him. 

The bell rang, and an old man's head popped out of the shelf behind the counter, "Welcome!" 

He was grinning from ear to ear as if they were the first customer that he had gotten after decades. It was commendable that he had kept his enthusiasm as his shop was frequently visited.

By beings that were interested with his masterpiece, as what he believed. 

Lai remained stoic; he was wary of the lively man. He was ready to slash the man's throat if he made any shady move.

Cailina didn't mind the man's behavior, even when the old man tried to shake her hands but was stopped by Lai. She came here as a commoner, and not as a noble. If she acted as she was, it would be troublesome to deal with another being apologizing endlessly.

She looked around and saw the neatly displayed dolls on the shelves. The simple decorations around highlighted the beauty of each puppet. 

There were also distinctive features of every doll as if one has its own personality. She was aware talented beings resided in her family's land, but she only met only a couple of them.

Cailina's attention was caught by the old man as he grabbed her hand. She looked at his hand, it gripped hers. 

As she was about to brush off his grasp, the old man smiled and said, "I will show you the best one I made."

He dragged Cailina to another room, it was a dimly lit room with only a small window. The room only had one puppet on display.

It sat down in the middle as it stared aimlessly at Cailina. The puppet could rival Edward's gift, and could even surpass its craftmanship. 

The old man let go of her hand and went behind the doll. His grin never leaving his wrinkled face, he lifted his hand and beckoned Cailina to come closer. 

His hands were the testimony of the years he had put into making this the best of among the rest. The moment the lady passed the shop's door, he knew that this puppet was meant to be hers. 

"What is this?" Cailina asked, her hands crossed.

The old man frowned and clasped his hands, "This miss, is my best creation."

He sighed, it seemed that the puppet's chosen master was a dense one. He clicked his tongue and beckoned Cailina to approach again. 

On the other side of the door, Lai was banging loudly as he tried to save Cailina from the old man.

The Duke would have his head and body separated without a second to waste if he had known that his only daughter was taken in front of Lai. 

He screamed in helplessness. The door wouldn't move no matter how much strength he put. After a second of realization, he looked around and saw that Fione and Aris were gone.

Was this some kind of witchcraft?

Lai kicked the door again with all his might, but the wooden border remained unmoved, and not even a scratch was visible. 

He unsheathed his sword and stepped back, as he took a breath, he stabbed the doorknob's side. The force bounced back at him; the sword wiggled from the impact that made no damage on the door.

Seemingly out of options, he tried looking for something to open it. He wanted to skin the two alive for leaving without permission. 

Alone with the inanimate objects that resembled beings made Lai's skin crawl. There was not enough time to go back and ask for help, and the Duke would definitely end his life. 

Lai pulled his hair as he bit his lip, he shouldn't have trusted that dog! Now, the Lady was in danger because of his carelessness…