5 Pas

Laura was lying in her bed unconscious. Next to her, Austin stood with a slight frown on his face.

He had asked Queen Elizabeth numerous times about Laura's condition but did not receive a clear answer no matter what he did. Adamant on keeping her mouth shut, Austin knew the matter must be important.

The destruction in the dining hall and that faint blood-stirring pressure became his clues to work on.

Since no one else but Elizabeth was present at the time, Austin was confident the mess in the hall had to be Laura's doing. Perhaps the cause was related to a sort of innate ability she had. He could only believe this to be the case having learned of magical attributes in this world, assuming Laura's body hid a dormant power.

Knowing this would be the best conclusion he'd reach, Austin stopped thinking about it and brought a chair over, placing it down next to Laura's bed.

At this time any other night, he would be reading her a bed-time story, to which only after listening for a long time would she be satisfied and let him go.

Looking at her sleeping peacefully, Austin could not help but think Laura would grow up to be very beautiful. She had long, black hair and a bewitching face that looked like she was always up to mischief. From her eyes to her nose and mouth, everything about her was adorable. Thinking of Elizabeth's assets, Austin was assured Laura won't be lacking in those departments either.

Although this was the case, Austin did not have any romantic feelings towards Laura and only viewed her as a clingy little sister.

Laura constantly ordered him around in a pretentious manner, but he knew she did not have any ill-intents and only behaved as such to keep him next to her.

Since the time Laura could walk, she followed him around everywhere he went. Her earliest memories all consisted of Austin and the natural connection she felt towards him has been there for as long as she could remember. Being the only other child she had contact with, Laura had instinctively grown dependent on Austin like a baby would towards their mother.

~Six years ago~

Elena carried a crying baby into his room. "Austin, this is Laura, take good care of her." Placing her on his bed, Elena entrusted him with such a task and left the two alone together.

Laura had stopped crying and was looking at him with curiosity. Extending her finger towards him, she timidly poked Austin's face and gaining confidence, started touching him all over like a toy, squealing in delight as she did so.

From that day on, they slept together in the same bed and Laura would be crawling all over Austin the entire time. When she was tired, Laura hugged him to sleep and did not let go until she woke up.

Once, Austin freed himself from her clutch and she immediately started bawling her eyes out, kicking and flailing her arms wildly to try to get him back. After that time, Laura hugged him very tightly in her sleep, not letting Austin break free even if he wanted to. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

Having spent all their time together and her being so reliant on him, Austin naturally developed feelings of attachment towards Laura as well. He did find Laura annoying at times, but this was mostly due to the fact he did not belong in a child's world. He was unable to sympathize with her when she was laughing and having fun at things he found were silly. Thus, Austin felt himself as an elder brother overlooking her and keeping her company, complying with her wishes to do this and that.

Though he did not clearly express it, Austin did in fact care greatly for Laura.

In the past when Laura had wandered outside the Palace, she had not returned at her usual mealtime and the entire city was mobilized in search of her. Hours passed and she was still not found. Austin as well, was very worried about her. After running around to all the possible places she could be, he found her on the outskirts of the forest some ways away from the Palace where they had played near before. Laura was crouched behind a large tree and weeping for God knows how long. When she saw him, Laura leaped into his embrace and did not let go for a very long time.

When she was three, Laura had tripped herself trying to chase after Austin who had been running away trying to avoid her. She badly scraped her knee, crying at Austin for being a meanie and demanding him to carry her. In the end, he piggybacked her all the way back to the Palace, consoling her until she was happy. After returning, Laura told Elena what happened and Austin got strictly reprimanded. He was forced to be Laura's butler from then onward. Introduced to her power as the Princess, Laura quickly began abusing it from then on to keep Austin from running away.

Austin had assumed Laura's reliance on him would naturally diminish as she grew up, but this did not turn out to be the case at all, if anything only growing stronger. Knowing it would not be healthy for her to continue doing so, Austin tried ignoring her at times and acted coldly in hopes to weaken their relationship, but nothing he did ever worked.

"Austin...Austin," A weak voice desperately called out as if a dying flame trying to rekindle its embers.