Chapter 81: Laif's Anger
As the sun rose, Princess Amelia walked out of her room in her mourning dress. Her face was pale and the rings under her eyes were dark, giving the impression to everyone that she could not sleep soundly as she thought about her dead brother.
On that day, the King's funeral went smoothly. Everyone who presented on the day had a somber look on their faces.
Meanwhile, Amelia lowered her head, not daring to meet with anyone as she watched the coffin with the unknown man buried to the ground. From the corner of her eyes, the Princess continued to watch the other's reaction.
...
Princess Amelia noticed that something was not right after they returned from the funeral. Her First Knight, seemed as if he was avoiding her. Although he would stay around to do his job, Amelia began to notice that Laif would prefer to keep his mouth shut rather than having a conversation with her as he would in the past.
In the beginning, the Princess had thought that perhaps, Laif was focusing on his newly pointed position. However, she soon noticed that the man would look away whenever their gaze met. The warm smile he used to give her was no longer frequent and the frown on his face would not disappear.
After thinking about it for a few days, Amelia concluded that Laif was angry.
It was understandable that he would feel that way, especially after how she had disappeared from the residence to meet with her brother without telling him anything. It was a reckless move, and she knew it. She should have told Laif about her plan, but she didn't.
Amelia looked up from the documents on her study and caught that Laif was watching her with an unreadable expression. As soon as their gaze met, Laif looked away and a deep frown appeared on her face.
These exchanges are making her uncomfortable and Amelia knew that she needed to talk to him.
...
Whenever Laif thought about the incident in the woods, he would feel irritated.
No one could tell what he had felt the moment he saw Amelia in the woods, alive and well. But when he found from Miria about the letter and how the Princess had decided to meet with her brother at such place, with little security, as if she did not care about herself, Laif grew angry.
He didn't think that the Princess would be so thoughtless to go to the meeting without confirming that the letter was indeed from her brother. He was mad that the Princess had not found him and consulted with him first. He was her First Knight, the person in charge of her security.
When he had gone against Commander Irvine to fight for him, Laif had thought that the princess trusted him. However, this incident proved that she did not trust him enough. What was the point of having her in charge of her security if she could not trust him?
This was the reason why he had tried to create a distance from her. As her First Knight, he was her subject, but Laif needed the Princess to see that he was unhappy after that night.
However, trying to distance himself from the Princess was not easy. His position as the Princess's First Knight demanded him to be with her most of the time.
Moreover... Laif would worry whenever he could not see her. He would be afraid that the Princess might pull something rash and stupid by sneaking out without her guards again.
Laif heaved a long sigh as he followed the Princess with her entourage as they headed back to her palace.
He went in first to check for any sign of intruder and was about to turn around to give his approval when he saw the Princess, standing right behind him.
"Your highness." A frown appeared on his face as Laif was not expecting this to happen.
From the corner of his eyes, Laif watched as the Princess motioned her maidservant to close the door, leaving them both alone in her study.
"Laif..." Princess Amelia took a step forward as he stared directly into the Knight's eyes. "What are you doing?"
His frown deepened. Laif lowered his gaze and answered, "Inspecting for any sign of intruders before it was safe for you to come in."
Amelia shook her head. "That's not what I meant. You may have been sticking around me all day, all the time, but I noticed how you were trying to avoid me. You barely say any words to me since we returned from the funeral. I'd like to know why." She heaved a sigh when the man did not give her a response. Her gaze continued to stare at his reaction. "Have I done something that angered you?"
His eyes darkened, at her question. After a long silence, Laif then replied, "Yes."
Amelia blinked, as she was not expecting him to be honest. "W-what?"
"Of course I'm mad at you," Laif said. His voice was a whisper. "I'm angry that you did not care to consult me before you decided to sneak out to see your brother."
"What's wrong with it? He's my brother. The King."
"You didn't know for sure that the King was going to show up, do you? You weren't so sure that the letter was from him, but you still go," Laif said. "Your Highness, you appointed me as your First Knight. I am supposed to be in charge of your safety. What if the letter was bogus and something happened to you? Did you think about what will happen to me and the rest of us?"
Amelia finally looked away from his gaze. She had wanted to corner him but did not expect that he would counter-attack and made her feel guilty about her action.
"I was with Lady Miria and her guards," the Princess said. "I know that I will be safe with them."
"But they're not me," Laif said. He took a deep breath and continued. "Have you forgotten what the commander said? Everything you say or do will affect your subordinates. When you disappeared that time to meet with your brother, you have put your people's lives in danger. If anything happened to you, your guards, your maidservant, and everyone who served you will be punished and executed for treason."
Amelia swallowed. When she decided to meet Asher in the woods, Amelia knew how dangerous her decision can be. However, she knew that she needed to see him. Her maidservants did not dare to say a thing when she decided to go out in the middle of the night. At that time, she was too worried about Asher that she did not think of the people who were there to serve her.
Hearing Laif mentioning the words 'execution' and 'treason' paled her instantly. "I-I hadn't thought of it that far."
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