The Princess And The Lord

Zhao Li Xin was in a good mood the next day. He was known to tone down his menacing aura occasionally with a smile that was more like a grimace before. However, the new change was different. This is something that the servants inside NinJing manor had never seen before. Zhao Li Xin's unusual behavior put everyone on edge as they equated it to a bad omen.

Because of that everyone did their jobs cautiously and did not dare make a sound as they feared they may provoke the devil. The mood around the Ninjing Manor becomes quieter than usual because of this.

Disregard his underlings feeling Zhao Li Xin sat in the study room amidst all this. The huge study room was decorated in three colors: black, grey, and gold with wood and stone finishes. The room was cold, hard, and stoic like Zhao Li Xin's character. There was a black wooden table and a black wooden armchair in the middle of the room.

A pile of books and ink brushes was neatly arranged on the table. There was a massive mountain scenery carved with grey stones on the wall behind the chair. Calligraphy hangings were on the right and left sides of the wall. Two medium square lanterns illuminated the room together with few candles on the side table. The rug on the floor was embroidered with a big and small dragon.

The atmosphere inside the room was gloomy and intimidating, obviously, the room was not built for relaxation or serenity as it was more than just a study room. It was also where Zhao Li Xin received his subordinate and held a meeting with his people.

It was the place where they relayed information and reported their progress, it was also a place for them to admit their mistakes and received their punishment. It was clear that this room had inflicted so much trauma on all of his subordinates.

Zhao Li Xin sat alone in a gloomy room reading the report about Luo Ri Yi. The report indicated his age of seventeen and her unmarried marital status. Everything about her was written in detail but he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. He felt that her background was so ordinary that it made him suspicious.

If she was ordinary, how was she able to heal him? This made him wonder if he made a mistake. Was she not his savior? But he remembered her voice clearly and he has never made a mistake recognizing someone's voice.

He was born with the ability to recognize sounds once he heard it once which made it unlikely for him to make a mistake. He tapped the wooden table for a few minutes in contemplation before raising from his chair to leave the room.

Zhao Li Xin watched Lory in the maid's courtyard at the Lao Manor. It was already in the middle of the night and all servants had returned to their chambers preparing to sleep.

The Manor becomes quieter with a few guards roaming around inside the manor. The security at the maid's courtyard was lax as there was only one guard near the entrance. Guarding lowly maids was not a priority to them.  Zhao Li Xin patiently sat on the high tree branch waiting to see what she would do.

A few hours passed and the woman he was watching left her room and sat on the porch.  A white bird flew above her head and nestle on her lap as she gazed at the full moon with lonely eyes. She then slowly hid her face between her knee like she was crying.

It made Zhao Li Xin wonder if someone inside the Manor bullied her. The thought somehow made him feel uncomfortable. His heart suddenly ached. It was a bizarre feeling for him. He never felt like this before. Not even with his own family.

Lory took a deep breath, got up, and pulled out something from the bush. It was a rope with a broken hoe. The same rope she used to climb the wall before. It took only a few seconds for her to get out of the Lao Manor wall.

The security around the maid courtyard was the worst. Then again, no one would have guessed a 'weak' servant would climb in and out of the Manor without fear of being punished or being kicked out.

It was not hard to get inside the forest from Lao Manor. She only needed to walk a few meters from the wall fence, follow a small path behind the bush between a row of persimmon trees, and 'voila' she was there.

The forest was dark and eerie at night. However, Lory didn't fear being alone in the forest as it gave her a sense of familiarity. She felt comfortable and more like herself when she was inside the forest. The reason could be because she spent the last decade of her past life inside the forest.

Zhao Li Xin followed her from above, leaping between branches. He wondered where the little girl was going in the middle of the night. Was she planning to meet someone? Zhao Li Xin became more curious. The report sent to him never mentioned anything about it. It seemed his shadow guards had been careless with their job. He needed to punish them later for this.

After a few hours, she bent her body past the shrubs and thick lower branches and stopped. A spread of big blue flower-like covering on the ground lay before her. The faint moonlight illuminated the flowers making the scene more mysterious and magical. Lory's hands caress the flower petal while she walked through the flowers.

These flowers were never supposed to exist in this world. They were alien to this world just like her. The flower commonly called 'Bluebell Flower' was a mysterious flower whose existence was covered with myth and legend. It was a flower that was both feared and loved by the people. Some also called it 'The Witch Flower'.

[The flowers appeared after you saved that prince and the cursed wreaked havoc inside you…] Girsha flew around her with a wary look then murmured [I thought I lost you that day…]

Lory smiled in regret [Sorry...]

On the day the curse reacted immediately after she used her powers, Lory used the last of her strength ran deep into the forest as she was unsure of what might happen. She feared she may end up hurting innocent people once the curse was released. She kept running until the pain caused her to lose consciousness.

Her body felt like it was being ripped apart from the inside while someone smashed her heart with a hammer. A minute felt like endless torture. She feared she had reached the end of her life when the excruciating pain suddenly subsided.

She regained consciousness only to find her body was surrounded by the bluebell flowers. The flowers were few at first but quickly spread as the year passed.

[Do you know what happened that time…?] Lory couldn't help but be curious again.

[As I said before, the flowers suddenly appeared beneath you, and the cursed stop causing havoc]

Girsha also did not understand what happened that night. He tilted his small head and asked [You know the meaning behind the bluebell flower...]

She smiled with a melancholy expression [Endless love... It was mother's favorite flower]

[It is also an insignia of druid priestess...] He reminded her.

[Oh, yeah…? Why didn't you remind me before?] Lory pretended to be angry.

[I just remember okay... I'm quite old] He rolled his eyes. It was funny to see a bird rolling its eyes [My guess is someone put a spell on you to help you... I think the question is… who?]

[I don't know... I met with druid priestess before I set Lazarus free but their behavior was odd... They did not stop me. You were there too. You saw it. They just watched me… they didn't even try…]

[The druid priestess duty is to serve the Seer... They do whatever she asks them to do without question]

[Arthea...] Lory frowned. [She annoyed me with her innocent smile as if she knew everything from the beginning…]

[That is because she is the one who was gifted with the power of seeing the future. She is 'The Dream Walker'...]

[After all, I've been through… there still more secret left to discover...] Lory smiled bitterly. [I wonder when I will reach my end?]

[I'm afraid it is still far ahead little girl…] Girsha said with both relief and sorrow.