20 A Warm Bath

Laura stopped weeping tears. Her ears perked up from Austin's words and her body became tense. Anguish was slowly filling her face and she looked like she had just been betrayed in the most awful way possible. Her trembling pupils turned more intense within those clear, sapphire eyes.

"What does that mean? You-you won't..." Laura's shrill voice was breaking. She bent forwards, subconsciously leaning closer to Austin.

The feeling of fear within her which had just started dying down was swiftly rising up. It was the emptiness that she tried so hard to forget about. It haunted her nightmares every night for the past month and she never wanted to feel it again. When Austin came back, Laura thought it would all be over now and everything would return to normal. But who would have thought...

Her blood had frozen over and her heart was clenched in fear. She was afraid. Afraid that Austin would run away at the next moment and vanish again.

A painful throbbing rose within Austin seeing her like this. He had somewhat expected her reaction, but seeing it happen was extremely difficult to watch. Laura's distressed image rang vividly in his head.

He could not help but regret speaking the words he just said.

Her unhealthy complexion, tarnished face and feeble appearance only made him feel all the more remorseful. After all, he was the one responsible for making her like this in the first place...

'Must I continue hurting her...? But I can't think of any other way. I can't stay with Laura forever. It's better for her to know this now than later. But seeing her look this sad is so painful to watch...'

Austin was torn for what to do.

His reasoning said to create some distance between Laura now so she could deal with being separated when he has to go away soon. But his heart found it hard to endure the pain of Laura's sorrow.

In both lives, the only times Austin truly became conflicted over something was when it was about the people he cared a great deal for, and Laura was one of them.

The two of them have always been by each other's side since the day they could talk, and Austin knew how devastating the impact she would suffer if he suddenly left. Alas, he had to walk down this path.

He was never going to serve the Krashal Family for the rest of his life. Him leaving had come sooner in time due to his new situation after learning magic.

'Laura is not weak, I'm sure she will get better once she gets used to being on her own. She is only finding it hard to accept it now because she still has the mindset of a child.'

'The maids are are all friendly and nice. There are also all those children from Rank 1 Families who constantly come to visit and try to befriend Laura. She shouldn't have any trouble making new friends - she would have plenty already if it wasn't for me being constantly by her side.'

'Laura has barely interacted with any other children. It would be better if she had friends she could play with and talk to on the same level.'

Musing over the benefits in his head, Austin decided to go through with telling Laura the harsh truth, even if it hurt her.

He already had plenty of experience dealing with children, being a father-figure to many abandoned and lost kids in his past life. Naturally, they all grew dependent on him because of this, but eventually found their own ways in life. Austin wanted Laura to be able to do the same. He was trying to pave a path for her so she can be more self-independent in the future.

But Austin had missed a detail. In his past life, he was already old in age so the children were less dependent on him. However, Austin is a child in his current life. To Laura, he is far more than someone who only looks after her.

If Laura wasn't the Royal Princess, Austin would not care as much about her needing to be strong and less reliant on him. But she was, and held one of the highest positions in the entire continent. Even though she did not choose this life, she had to meet the minimum expectations of being the Royal Princess. Since Elizabeth did not have any other children, everyone would look towards her.

Austin had always wondered why Laura was allowed to play around all day instead of being brought up in strict conditions like a child of her status should be. He suspected it had to do with Elizabeth protecting Laura. Since no one would dare go against her, Laura was left alone by the Royal Family.

Most likely, Elizabeth had already informed Laura about the duties and classes she needed to take, but Laura had resolutely refused and made Elizabeth give in.

'That would explain why Laura suddenly becomes warm towards Elizabeth despite the two not seeing each other often.' Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

Austin was making baseless guesses, but they were right on the money. Elizabeth had brought up the matter to Laura many times but she would go crazy every after hearing how Austin couldn't come with her. No matter how she persuaded her, Laura did not react at all to her responsibilities as the Princess. Even though she compromised and told Laura to attend a few classes - far less than those children of Rank 1 Families do, she would not budge at all. Laura must be the only Royal Child in history to spend all her time playing about. Elizabeth was helpless about it and could only let her do as she wished.

...

Austin went forwards to hug Laura into his embrace. The sun was now shining brightly in the sky and the weather was warm, but her shivering body was cold to the touch and was all but skin and bones, making her feel fragile as a leaf.

Laura could not mutter out any more words despite the so many more things she wanted to say to Austin. The past month had completely drained her and she did not know what to do anymore after hearing Austin was going to leave. She was lost in thought when Austin suddenly came forward and pulled her in.

Austin did not say anything more to her. Laura was too unstable right now and needed time to rest. He could only offer his comfort so she would be able to recover quicker. He spoke to her in a caring voice, "your body is so skinny now Laura. We will have to eat a big meal once we get back to fatten you up."

"Your clothes also need changing, look how dirty and smelly they are."

"Let's have a warm bath together when we get home. It's been a long time since we last did that."