Chapter 76 - WOLF AND PREY

"But… I want to wear something comfortable, like a dress before sleeping. I'm sweating." If she successfully went back to her tent after fooling him, she wouldn't even think about coming back.

"Hmm, you can wear my shirt. It is made of cotton. So, it will be more than comfortable," saying that Arthur handed a shirt to her.

"…"

The shirt was indeed comfortable. She couldn't say 'no' to that. If she did, her intentions would be exposed in the next instant. She still tried for one last time. She opened her mouth, "But-"

Crack!

A suspicious sound came from the outside.

Veronica and Arthur became quiet. After spending some time with him during the mission, she had become much more alert.

However, she couldn't hide her fear of predatory animals. She grabbed his clothes and inched closer to him, thinking a wolf might have been walking outside the tent.

Arthur grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently to assure her. Then, he let go of her arm and pushed her deeper into the tent.

Then he proceeded forward slowly, without making a sound of breathing. When he reached the entrance, he swiftly went out and looked around. His sharp orbs carefully observed the surroundings.

But, no one could be seen outside. It made him even more suspicious. He scanned the ground and tried to find any visible footprints. Just as he thought, there was someone outside his tent when he was talking to Veronica. The footsteps came from the right side and went to the left side. It would be possible that it was just a passer-by.

Since they weren't talking about any secrets, he let it go. However, he decided to be careful next time. If there was a spy among the soldiers who were sent to harm him, he needed to stay alert.

He went inside the tent and found Veronica sitting in the corner. Her face was ashen. It was obvious that she was scared.

She saw him entering and asked in a shaky voice, "Is… is there any animal out there?"

Arthur paused and realized that she was talking about wolves. He thought of warning her about certain predators but it seemed that she thought the sound was made by an animal. He planned to go along with her. "You are right. I just saw some footprints." He deliberately changed his words to make her believe what she thought was real.

Her eyes widened in horror. She exclaimed in a low tone, "Oh my goodness! What is going to happen now? It will attack the people."

'She is scared but worried more about others. What's going on inside her head exactly?' Arthur pondered. He eased her by saying, "Don't worry. You can change your clothes and stay here. I'll go outside and warn others. Don't set foot outside, you hear me?"

"But you will go out…" she was scared to stay alone when a predatory animal was roaming outside with a hungry stomach.

Arthur controlled his laughter. Although she was scared and he was deceiving her, her docile behavior amused him. "If you don't go out, it won't attack you."

[A/N: What a sadist!]

"O-okay…" Veronica nodded.

Arthur went out and walked several steps before stopping in an empty zone. He quietly asked, "Did you find anything?"

A blank shadow came forward and knelt before him. Afterward, he heard a polite apology. "I'm sorry, Master. The matter is still being investigated."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. He questioned Sebastian, "How long will it take for your men to see to it? It's a matter of inquiry how a crystal magic ball ended up in the hands of the king of Riverhill. Not just one but two. Who knows how many they are left with. These magic balls are only allowed to be used by magicians. A mere powerless human shouldn't have them in their possession."

After being reprimanded by his master, Sebastian felt wronged. He was working his butt off and so were his fellow men. If they couldn't find anything, what could they do?

He respectfully stated, "As you have expected, the person who held the crystal magic ball in his hand and recited the spell had died. His body was burned because he couldn't withstand the power of the magic ball."

"That is what the magic ball does to a mere human. Moreover, they didn't even have a magician to protect him." Arthur's golden orbs turned colder. "Things are getting out of hand. Find the source who sold those crystal magic balls to the king of Riverhill."

"As you wish. I'll be back in two days," saying that Sebastian bowed.

"Go and find the culprit," Arthur ordered.

Sebastian then backed away and silently blended himself into the darkness just as he came.

Arthur took a stroll in the camp before entering his tent. Veronica already changed her clothes and was now lying on the bed. She was startled when he came inside.  Noticing that it was only a human, she sighed in relief.

Arthur smiled and said, "I'm won't be going anywhere. You can relax and go to sleep."

"Okay." Veronica was assured. Since he would be guarding the entry, she wouldn't have to worry anymore. Her head was becoming heavy thanks to the alcohol. Soon, she fell asleep.

In the dark, a pair of rage filled eyes were fixed upon a tent, staring at the little abode intently, as if trying to shoot fire daggers out of them. The hands of the owner to those deadly eyes were clenched hard as low teeth gritting sounds left their lips, breaking the peace of this silent night.

The air around this person smelled of thick jealousy. Those eyes were directed at the very tent, where Veronica was trying to catch a wink of sleep.

At night, Veronica had a terrible nightmare. She saw some wolves chasing her. She was running in the desert. It was night time and only darkness greeted her eyes wherever they landed. The wind was chilly but she didn't care. She needed to go somewhere safe. Unfortunately, the wolves caught on to her and were ready to attack.

Veronica felt like her heart was about to break open her ribcage, trying to leave her body at any given moment now. She squeezed her eyes shut and was ready to die.

"…ca! Nica!"

Someone shook her body violently while calling out her name desperately.

Veronica opened her eyes and found Arthur was looking at her. His eyes were filled with concern. She heard him asking, "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Oh…" she realized that it was just a dream, a terrible one at that. She was so frightened that her heart was still shaking.

"You are sweating even though it's so cold. Here, drink some water," Arthur handed her a pouch of water.

Veronica drank till her heart was at ease and emptied the water pouch. After that, she wiped her mouth.

"What time is it?" She asked after she finally found her voice.

"The sun is rising. It should be half past five." Arthur sat beside her and inquired, "What were you dreaming about?"

Veronica lowered her head and tried to cover her tears. She said, "A bad dream. Wolves were chasing me."

"…" Arthur felt sorry as regret washed over his being because he scared her earlier. She was traumatized because of him. However, a sudden thought crossed his mind. He said, "You know, people say that some dreams will actually come true."

Veronica looked up and looked at Arthur with an ashen face. "T-then…"

"Until we reach our kingdom, stay close to me. I will protect you," Arthur told her. It wasn't that he was making fun of her. He was genuinely thinking that wolves might really attack her if he didn't pay enough attention.

He himself was a wolf behind sheep's clothes – he wouldn't deny that. As a wolf, he knew other wolves were going to chase her the moment they laid their eyes on exquisite prey, roaming out in the open without any protection. No predator would leave such a prey unscathed.

Everyone woke up late with killer headaches. Some of them even vomited due to a hangover. Arthur cooked some hangover soup for everyone. After having their breakfast, everyone got busy with packing. They were supposed to leave at noon.

Veronica didn't bring belongings with her. It didn't take her that long to pack her bag and was ready to leave. But, Leticia and Violet blocked her path right after she walked out of the tent.

"So, did you have a good night's sleep?" Violet's voice had a teasing tone.

However, Veronica didn't catch that. She answered honestly, "No, I was on tenterhooks all night and woke up from a terrible nightmare."

Violet's eyes glittered. She was completely in the gossip mood. "Were you scared because of a wolf?"

Veronica easily agreed, "Oh yes! And I even dreamed of wolves. I don't want to have a nightmare like that anymore."

"…So, you are really scared of wolves, huh?" Leticia commented. After that, she patted Veronica's shoulder and said, "I understand your worry. In front of a wolf, what can a woman do? You must be careful not to let them get too attached to you."

"I won't even get close to them." Veronica vigorously shook her head.

Violet realized that her fellow was being truthful. The prey of the big bad wolf wasn't joking. She exclaimed, "Wow! Did you get traumatized? What in the heavens just happened last night?"

The prey said, "Don't you know? A wolf was lurking outside the tent I was in. I couldn't sleep because of that."

"…" Leticia and Violet were speechless.

Here they thought, the prey was thoroughly eaten by the predatory wolf. But the truth was, she got scared and couldn't have a good sleep due to other wolves who were waiting outside to eat her.

Later, Veronica headed to the place where Arthur told her to stay. At that time, she met a familiar person. She shouted, "Oh! You are the burned soldier!"

She saw the soldier who she had talked to the first day she came. The man with the locket.