Chapter 145: Hungry Hounds (Part-3) (1/2)
Roeselawik
Completed Volume 4 on Patreon. Took a small break, sorry for the wait.
“Congratulations, Princess Ilyrana! I must admit, I am quite jealous of you right now,” Naomi says, pouting playfully.
While Layla, Zakira, and Maya have no particular reaction to my decision (they already knew I was going to choose between the two Elven princesses), the same could not be said for Leena and Ilyrana.
Ilyrana is visibly shocked— she probably didn’t expect me to choose her after the angry and (somewhat) rude behavior she showed me. Leena, on the other hand, still has a faint smile on her face— her expression hasn’t changed at all. But somehow, her eyes look scarily dark and empty— and they’re sending chills down my spine.
…
“While it’s unfortunate, I recognize and accept your decision, Jacob,” Zakira says solemnly.
“On a totally unrelated note, I would like to inform Princess Ilyrana that I will be making a formal visit to the Elven country as well— right after we’re done with the magical tournament. I suppose there’s no problem with that, right?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.
…
Ilyrana frowns at this.
“A formal visit? Is it sanctioned by your father?” she asks doubtfully.
“Of course, it is,” Zakira answers promptly. “If you want, I can show you the official papers.”
…
“I was merely asking. You’re most welcome to visit our country whenever you want, Princess Zakira,” Ilyrana says coolly, finally reverting back to her calm self.
I see…
So, this is what Zakira meant when she said that she will be able to help me out in certain ways and keep me safe.
“Interesting… You know what? I suddenly feel like vising your country as well, Princess Ilyrana. I will be coming along with Princess Zakira after the tournament,” Naomi jumps in on this, smiling innocently.
The corner of Ilyrana’s mouth twitches. She is getting a bit irritated now.
“… You’re welcome as well, Miss Naomi. And I thank you for not trying to visit us unannounced this time. We nearly declared a state of emergency the last time you came,” she says, her lips getting thin.
“Oh, don’t mention it,” Naomi says, waving her hand as though she’s doing her a favor.
“By the way, you’re being too quiet, Princess Leena. Isn’t this the right time to say— whatever you want to say?” she says, turning to Leena suggestively.
…
But it doesn’t seem like Leena is paying any attention to her. Her eyes are transfixed on me, looking fierce.
“Come upstairs with me, Jacob. I need to talk to you privately,” she says in a toneless voice, standing up all of a sudden.
Uh-oh…
“Why don’t you talk to him here, Princess Lenna? Rest assured, none of us will interrupt your conversation,” Zakira says immediately.
Though Leena doesn’t reply to her either. She just strides to the stairs, heading straight up.
Shit…
“I will— I will be back in a few minutes,” I say, standing up as well.
“But Jacob—”
Zakira tries to stop me, looking concerned. But I hold up my hand to tell her that it’s okay.
Moving upstairs, I notice that the door of my room is wide open. So, I enter inside, only to find Leena standing next to my bed— looking absolutely livid.
“Close the door,” she says quietly.
I gulp down the saliva in my mouth, doing as she says. Clearly, she was suppressing her anger downstairs. And I have a bad feeling that it’s about to burst.
“J-Just listen to me, Princess Leena. I was—”
“Why would you do this to me, Jacob!?”
As expected, she starts the moment I close the door, not even letting me say anything first. Even though her voice is still not very loud (obviously because others would hear her otherwise), the anger saturated in it is quite frightening.