Laura snorted contemptuously. “‘Check on things’? I see. And here I was, worried that you were just trying to run away since Rufus is in trouble and won’t be of any use to you.”
Laura’s voice was so sharp that it felt as though her words pierced my very flesh.
“No, no, it’s not what you think! You misunderstand. I just really miss home…”
“Oh, shut your mouth, will you? Do you seriously think I would buy such nonsense?” Laura cut me off abruptly. Her wrinkled face contorted with rage. “Don’t try to lie your way out of this. If you really were homesick, you would’ve left a long time ago. Why did you wait until now?”
I dropped my gaze, not daring to look at her anymore. I was terrified. Laura had been mentally unstable ever since Rufus was put in jail. At this time, I reasoned that it would be in my best interest to humor her rather than get into an argument.
I lowered my head and tried to think of something-anything-that would appease her.
Unexpectedly, Laura burst into laughter. I looked up in surprise and found that there was no trace of anger on her face.
“Don’t worry, child. Rufus will be fine.” Laura sat down elegantly. Her mood changed completely. “You and your pack are the good helpers I have chosen for Rufus, so you can’t leave. As for the obstacles you are worried about, I have taken care of them for you. You can stay here at ease.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about…” My heart leapt into my throat. I could vaguely guess what “obstacles” Laura was talking about.
Alina’s POV
Laura snorted as she poured a cup of tea for herself and took a slow sip without even looking at me.
“What do you mean? Please, tell me.” I walked over to her and pleaded.
Laura gracefully put down her tea cup and gently patted my hand. “Well, since you didn’t have the heart to end the relationship, I can do it for you.”
In disbelief, I shook my head.
Laura sighed and looked at me, her eyes filled with pity. “I know Tom works for you. Did you really think you could hide things from me in this palace? And I already met Tom. He was very glad to help you get rid of Warren in the forbidden forest.”
Laura’s eyes glanced at the expensive watch on her wrist and slightly gasped. “Oh, look at the time. By this hour, he should have already succeeded with the plan.”
My mind blanked, as if dozens of bombs exploded at the same time and blinded my mind. The temperature of my body dropped severely, which sent me into a fit of shivers.
Warren was already dead. But how could he just die like that?
My lips trembled, but no sound came out of them. It seemed that there was something stuck in my throat, as I was unable to get even a word out of my mouth.
“What is with you? Aren’t you happy I removed that big obstacle for you?” Laura reached up to tuck some fallen hair behind my ear. She spoke in a gentle tone, “You can’t just keep putting off something like that. I cannot allow a walking time-bomb like him to just freely walk in the palace. Even if somehow Warren doesn’t die today, I will see to it that he will one day.”
I moved away from Laura’s hand and glared at her. “How could you do such a thing?”
Laura sneered. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Before I could think of a quick response, a crisp slap landed right on my cheek. Her slap was so hard that the force caused me to turn my head to the side and hit the table. The pain instantly jolted me back to reality.
“I am the queen of the palace, have you forgotten?” Laura grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked it back. With a cold look, she warned, “It only takes one word from me to make you disappear from the face of the earth. Did you seriously think I would never hurt you? Humph!”
Trembling, I violently shook my head in response. But I was too scared to even look at her. If I had known she could be this vicious to me, I would have thought twice before contradicting her.
“Don’t even think of betraying me, or else I can easily think of a million ways to torture you until you die.” Laura scoffed and shoved me to the ground.
With my face to the floor, I clenched my fists in hatred.
At this time, one of the guards outside suddenly stepped in. “Your Majesty! We’ve got bad news. Prince Rufus has broken out of prison!”
“What? What did you just tell me?” Laura hurriedly stood up. In shock, she even almost lost her balance.
Even I was shocked by this bold move by Rufus. Breaking out of prison was a very serious crime. How could he have the audacity to do such a thing right now?
“Yes. Prince Richard has already sent his soldiers after him, but Prince Rufus still managed to escape into the forbidden forest. This happened around twenty minutes ago,” the guard reported.
Laura was furious. “I can’t believe this! It’s been twenty minutes and you only tell me about this now?”
She then gathered up her people to leave. I also got up from the ground and wanted to have a look for myself.
But I didn’t expect Laura to order me to stay behind. She even locked me up in the room and told me to reflect on my behavior. I tried to make a scene at the door, but the guard that was stationed to keep me inside just looked at me with a blank face.
No matter how hard I cried, it was useless. Laura had already made up her mind. She wanted to keep me here to pave the way for Rufus.
I needed to inform my father, but I had no one on my side anymore. Coco, my maid since childhood, had died as well. Now, the palace was just full of Laura’s people.
Warren then popped up in my mind. Somewhere in the forbidden forest, he was probably already dead. At that thought, I was overcome with an inexplicable grief. I had never felt so much guilt and regret in my life.
Sylvia’s POV
Rin paced back and forth at the edge of the swamp, as though she had no idea what to do. Soon, she raised one paw and was about to step onto the swamp.
“Wait! Don’t come any closer! It’s dangerous!” I hurriedly stopped her. Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw the other end of the vine that Peter had thrown on the ground earlier. “Quick! Grab the end of the vine over there!”
Rin tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t seem to understand what I was asking. She ran around in circles, pawing at the ground anxiously.
I struggled to raise my end of the vine out of the mud and showed it to her.
“Bite the other end of the vine.”
Finally, Rin understood me. She picked up the vine on the shore with her mouth and yanked it hard. She used all her strength, pulling as hard as she could. Her big ears even turned backwards from the effort.
Slowly but surely, my body was dragged forward as I clung to the vine. As soon as I could, I gritted my teeth and pulled the rest of my body out of the swamp.
“Good job, Rin! Keep going!” Clutching the vine tightly, I tried to get close to the edge of the swamp.
Rin let out a guttural bark from deep in her throat. The muscles on her limbs tightened as she tugged at the vine with all her might.
Thanks to her pulling and my pushing, I finally made it out of the swamp.
“Thank you, Rin. You saved my life.” Covered in mud, I gently rubbed Rin’s forehead with mine to show my gratitude.
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