267: Missing Arlan

Missing Arlan

Inside a dark room, behind the cover of gauzy curtains, a feminine figure could be vaguely seen through the gap of fabric. She was sitting with her legs crossed, and with calculated slowness, she ran a long, slender finger along the edge of the curtain, her nails as dark as the night itself.2

Although her face was not visible in the darkness, her presence exuded an air of danger and allure.

"Seems like you have forgotten about me?" the woman purred, her hypnotic voice a haunting melody that sent shivers down one's spine. "How long has it been since you last came? Have you really forgotten me, Your Highness?"

The next moment, a bone-chilling chuckle left her mouth. 

"Must someone suffer so you will come running to me, hmm? Who shall I choose this time? Your sick father? Or…" There was a long, malicious pause. "Or that adorable newborn of your sister?"

Her laughter, laced with malice and gloating, echoed within that dark place. 

Arlan bolted upright in bed, his entire body stiff and damp with sweat. His heart raced in both panic and fear. He was so terrified, he could not breathe.

'I have to go.'

His limbs trembling in dread, he slipped off bed, only stopping in his tracks when his gaze landed on the sleepingOriana. He wanted to go to her side, to hold her and seek out comfort from her, but in the end, he did not. 

He merely raised his hand. His travel robe came flying towards his hand and he wore it as fast as he could. He disappeared after taking one last glance at his mate.

An hour after Arlan was gone, Oriana woke up. Her head felt heavy and she realized it was because she had liquor during Seren's private banquet. She drowsily rubbed sleep off her eyes and found it was still dark outside. 

'I'm thirsty.'

She peered at the pendulum clock at the other side of the chamber and realized it was indeed too early to wake up. It was only three hours past midnight. She glanced at the bed to check on the prince, but to her surprise, it was empty. 

'Where did he go? Did he get thirsty too, but I didn't wake up and he left to get it on his own?'

However, that should not be. Even if he failed to wake her up, Arlan could simply order the knight outside to fetch him a pitcher of water.

She stood up to look for him, and first she wanted to check if he was in the washroom. She walked towards the closed door of the side chamber. 

"Your Highness, are you there? Do you need anything?"

There was no reply even after she called out a few more times. She knocked thrice for good measure. She hesitantly opened the door, but there was no one inside. 

Puzzled, she walked towards the wardrobe room, and no one was there as well. She decided to step out and ask the guard on night duty. 

On the way, her gaze fell on the empty wooden stand. Arlan's travel robe should be hanging there, but it was gone.

'Did he go out?'

This time, it was not Imbert or Rafal standing outside the door but another knight called Kerry. She found herself getting her answer. Since the knight captain was basically the prince's shadow and he was not here, the two men must have stepped outside. 

Stil, she chose to ask.

"Sir Turner, did His Highness go for a stroll?"

Kerry felt puzzled as he had been standing outside the entire night. Since Imbert also participated in the banquet, Arlan ordered his knight captain to rest upon their return to their mansion. 

"No. What happened?"

"His Highness is not in the room. You didn't see him going out?"

Kerry shook his head and entered the room. After he himself checked the room and made sure Arlan was not inside, he turned to look at Oriana, as if he found the situation nothing unusual. 

"Do not worry."

When Kerry stepped out of the room, Oriana followed him out as well. 

"Stay here. I will be back in a while." Oriana watched the knight go downstairs with complicated feelings. 

'He didn't look surprised at all. Shouldn't he be worried? If I were him, I would panic if my master was gone without me noticing. What kind of knights does this prince have?'

Oriana paced outside the door, and in the end, she could only sigh helplessly. She turned around and went back inside the prince's bedchamber to wait for news. 

Just as she stepped inside the room, she almost screamed.

'What the—'

She spotted the 'missing' prince sitting at the edge of the bed.

'Has he always been inside the room?!'

A flash of relief came over her.

"Your Highness—"

However, she was forced to swallow her next words. His head was lowered with his back facing her. Though she could not see his face, she could feel something was not right with him. 

With heart sinking, she walked towards him but she froze in the middle. Her entire body shivered.

'Why do I feel…terrified?' She had no word to explain it, but she felt something dark and evil in the air.  'Am I mistaken?' 

Despite her confusion, she still continued to approach Arlan. 

"Are you alright, Your Highness?"

She was no longer interested in asking where he went and why she could not find him. Her only concern was his strange silence. The lack of response from him only deepened her worry.

"Your Highness, if you are not well, let me check you…" After several seconds of silence, she offered. "Let me call you for a royal physician."

Just as Oriana was about to turn away, her hand was grabbed by Arlan, forcing her to stay. However, the prince remained eerily silent with his head lowered and eyes closed. 

She didn't know what she was thinking but her other hand, as if having its own mind, moved to caress his head. 

As if letting down his guard, Arlan let his head rest against her stomach. His rough hand finally let go of her hand and there was complete silence within the chamber. 

Oriana didn't mind this closeness and let him be. 

Her hand continued to caress his head, while she lifted her other hand—the hand he grabbed just now—and looked at it. 

The moment he had his hand touched her skin, the same terrifying feeling from earlier came back. Before she was not sure, but now, she was. 

There was a trace of strange dark energy, equally wicked and malicious, radiating off Arlan. 

'What's going on?' 

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