I blearily opened my eyes, brows furrowed at the deafening silence of the carriage and the absent sound of the rolling wheels against the well paved road.

Pushing myself off Konrad, I stifled a yawn behind a lazy hand, unaware of the situation.

"We've already arrived? If the Capital was this close to home, why did you use the crystal then?"

"Aine…" Konrad called my name in a hush and I looked at him irritably.

Though whatever complaint I have against him died in my throat when I saw Fion standing by the carriage door, a benign smile on his lips.

Seeing the afternoon sky behind him, I wondered how far we've covered.

Surely we're far enough from home that Fion has no choice but to bring me along instead of sending me back?

Somehow, the combination of that thought and seeing Fion smile like that sent shivers down my back.

"Oh…uhm…hi?" I nervously greeted my cousin.

"Hello." He replied, still with that smile plastered on his lips. "May I come in, Your Grace?"

"Okay…"

"Thank you."

Kieran moved to the other side of the carriage, close to the window, to make some room for Fion to sit in. The moment the door clicked close, the tension between the three males within the carriage thickened.

However, I didn't notice this as the situation kind of reminded me of those dating simulation games I played when I had crippling depression.

Konrad would surely take the place of the 'canon' pair for that fairytale happy ending.

Fion is for those who have a somewhat dubious taste once the story reveals that he's not actually her cousin by blood; though in this setting, he's definitely a cousin of mine.

Kieran is probably the secret route that needed to be unlocked first by playing through two routes; if one's impatient, they could unlock the route with real life currency.

It was an amusing thought, but it only filled me with dread that I have to deal with being surrounded constantly by guys.

I'm not looking forward to hearing about how much of a flirt I am or anything like that because I've already went through thirty-two years experiencing that for fuck's sake.

Can't a lady be friends with guys without any issues for once?

"So, Your Grace…why are you here, along with this guy?" Fion asked me and I blinked stupidly, reeling back my thoughts to the present.

"Avoiding the Church's gaze." I immediately lied. "I want to personally inspect the situation at the Capital before they drag me into the temple."

I flinched when all eyes turned to look at my direction, and I lowered my head subconsciously while fiddling and picking on the skin around my left thumb.

I understand why Konrad and Kieran would look at me like that; I did give contradictory excuses after all.

I told Konrad I wanted to sight see without all the cumbersome escorts; when Kieran caught me sneaking out to meet with the Crown Prince, I told him I wanted to check on the King's health personally without many people knowing about my visit.

Well, technically speaking, I do have plans along those lines, but my main reason is to look for people I could recruit into working for me.

Fion pursed his lips, not really buying what I told him.

"Does Lord Allen know? Or Young Master Darius? Or even Uncle?"

I turned my head away to look at the closed curtained window at my side.

Fion sighed loudly at that, frustrated. "This won't do. I'll have you escorted back home. If you get permission from Lord Allen or Lord Uncle, then I promise you that I will personally escort you to the Capital."

"No!" I told him hurriedly, surprising everyone. "I…well…you can't send me back home. Konrad has already given—"

Throb.

I stopped mid sentence with a silent gasp, my eyes going wide as my heart started racing.

Something powerful tugged at the ether around us, to the point it intruded into my senses.

"Aine…?" Konrad asked tentatively, worried that she stopped talking and looked like she's afraid of something.

Kieran noticed how her right thumb dug into her left thumb as she squeezed her hands tightly together, making him raise his eyebrows.

Fion only frowned at my direction, before turning his head to look outside as if he belatedly sensed what I felt earlier.

A bark was then heard.

It was unlike any normal bark of a dog.

It had an ethereal malice in it.

Instinctively, my shoulders curled up in fear while Konrad's face stiffened. Fion slammed the door open, not caring about the knights seeing the additional passengers.

Though their escorts were barely paying attention to them; hearing that first bark had instilled fear deep within their consciousness.

"Go!" He yelled at them. "We have to leave!"

The knights looked at him, their pupils shaking.

"Put some distance between us and those things! Now!" Fion angrily yelled at them. "Or are you willing to be mocked for being unable to protect the Holy Maiden and the Crown Prince?"

His words somehow helped them regain their composure, though some were bewildered as to why Fion is mentioning the Holy Maiden.

The horses finally moved, with a slow start before picking up pace, and Fion went back in the carriage, pulling the door closed.

"What's going on?" Kieran asked with a frown.

"I'm not sure." Fion answered him as he peeked around both of the curtained windows. "It's impossible for those mad dogs to show up within the Kingdom, much less survive in it when we have Her Grace still breathing…"

I curled myself down, trying to make myself smaller and unnoticeable.

Is it because the soul that inhabits the Holy Maiden's body is different that the protective blessing no longer recognizes Aine as a Holy Maiden?

So then, is the protection around the kingdom slowly dissipating because of me?

Another bark was heard and I flinched hard, unaware that Konrad's hovering next to me with such genuine worry, probably guessing that Fion's words were making me anxious for some reason.