Chapter 47

*SMASSSHHH*!!

The windows of the hut were shattered and several men jumped inside. From the door, a lot of people were pouring in.

The two guys yelled in anger. Followed by voices of people entering the hut. The two guys, and naturally, Lucrecia were immediately restrained.

Lucrecia felt everything that happened afterwards was nothing but a dream.

Lucrecia’s arms were bound on her back as she was forced to kneel down. This was nothing like a treatment for a noble daughter. More like a criminal.

The people surrounding her seemed to be talking loudly to her, but she couldn’t hear it. She could hear voices with her ears but she couldn’t understand any words.

While remaining in a kneeling position, she cluelessly raised her head, and the one she saw there was the Second Prince Alfred. That beautiful face was now sporting a fuming expression as he stared at Lucrecia.

If it’s the royalty, they certainly will help me out. With that thinking, Lucrecia tried to reach out her hand but she couldn’t; this made her baffled. This was because both of Lucrecia’s arms were restrained and currently bound at her back.

Why? Lucrecia gave up on comprehending what had actually happened. This was beyond her cognition. She couldn’t accept what had happened.

It is unthinkable for someone of the opposite gender to even touch a noble daughter like me. A noble daughter like me should not kneel down on this dirty ground. My arms hurt. It took me long to set this hairstyle, now it’s ruined. The hem of my dress is dirty. Ah, I should’ve brought my maidservants. Can anyone contact my father as soon as possible?

Lucrecia was brought away from the scene. With unsteady steps, she wobbled away. Only leaving a sentence, “I want to go back to my room and have tea.”

One of the knights that came pouring in used the hilt of his sword to forcibly tear off the chain on Fania and Louie. After they returned to the Royal Palace, the shackles would be properly removed.

“Al!” Fania who was sitting on the ground sprang up and ran towards Alfred with a stagger. Without hesitation he hugged the latter.

“Thank you for coming!”

The moment Alfred entered the hut through the door, Fania was overjoyed.

He came to rescue me! Alfred and the others came right when he was seized with fear of what those horrible guys would do to them.

Washed with a sense of relief, strength left Fania’s body. While hugging Alfred, his feet kept dragging to the floor leaving him almost slumped on the ground. Alfred carried him up and hugged him even tighter. This was just what he wished for, he was so happy, he clutched on Alfred with his listless arms.

“Sorry. Sorry, Fania.” Alfred’s voice trembled.

Without Louie noticing, there were always four bodyguards following him. That was not limited to while inside the academy; they were also around Louie during his time at home. Therefore, when he was on his way home, including the time when he was heading to the main gate, the bodyguards were on watch.

When Fania and Louie were caught, the bodyguards didn’t come to the rescue. They were hidden in the shadows. This was the result of their instantaneous judgement that only the four of them couldn’t safely save Fania and Louie while going against the sheer number of thugs.

Of course, if Fania and Louie’s lives were at the brink of danger, they would jump out and take action immediately. But in order to make a clean rescue, they decided to act separately into two teams: two of them would call for reinforcement while the other two would confirm the place where the boys were brought to.

Alfred was immediately reported that Fania and Louie were caught. Alfred instinctively wanted to rush to where Fania was in that instant. Alas, he couldn’t.

At that moment, if Alfred went to where Fania was, and apprehend the thugs, it would be difficult to punish them—let alone dragging out the actual mastermind. Alfred and the others could be accused of doing a charade of their own, and things would only end unsettled.

The mastermind who was behind this was that powerful.

Precisely because of that, they needed someone equally powerful on their side to be the third party. The third party that would act as a witness to the whole incident.

Alfred searched around for the principal—the one with the highest authority in the academy. Once he found the latter, he spared no time for discussion and straightaway brought him to where Fania was confined.

Faster. Faster, towards where Fania is. I have to rescue Fania even a second earlier. Alfred’s restlessness only elevated over time.

The mastermind who was called the bigwig of the Second Prince faction had made their move to eradicate Fania. Even until now, there were that kind of moves. However, those were all done by others in the faction who acted out of turn.

Alfred and his aides already took preemptive strike and destroyed them. But then, once the bigwig actually made their move, they were struck with this predicament. They were totally outwitted. Bitter pains whirled inside Alfred’s heart.

By using Lucrecia, the bigwig intended to vanquish the Grand Duke behind her and render Fania dead. Following in the wake of the Second Consort Algarina, this incident will inevitably force the Grand Duke to withdraw from the public eye. As a result, the First Prince Faction would be unable to do anything. Completely defeated.

No matter what the bigwig has in mind, if he intends to eradicate Fania, I’ll never forgive them. Never ever. I’ll never let them do as they please.

Alas, contrary to Alfred’s determination, Fania still met with danger. As he embraced Fania’s warm body, a jumble of emotions went through Alfred—relief, guilt, restlessness…

“Fania, sorry. It’s my fault.” Alfred’s voice trembled.

Fania locked in his embrace couldn’t move at all. Even then, he somehow reached Alfred’s tuft of hair and gave it a kiss.

“When Louis and I were caught, I instantly knew that their target was me. It made me feel very sorry for Louie, so I apologized to him. You know what, Louie asked me to not apologize. He also said, ‘It’s not like Fania asked them to abduct me, did you? So no need to apologize’.” Fania’s hand softly caressed Alfred’s cheek.

“There’s no need for Al to apologize to me. Far from that, didn’t you come to save me, Al? I’m overjoyed, and when Al came through that door, you were very cool! I love you.”

Fania smiled—the kind that Alfred liked the most—and then nuzzled his head against Alfred’s chest. For a while, Alfred kept hugging Fania without moving an inch.

No matter who the other is, I’ll definitely protect my most precious existence from them. Alfred exerted more strength in his arms that were embracing Fania.

author’s note: Louie’s bodyguards were constantly observing the situation inside the hut. In case there was danger to both their lives or any irreparable situation, they were on standby to jump in at any moment. When the reinforcements came and made their appearance, the one who smashed the window and broke in were Louie’s bodyguards.