Chapter 57 56: Conflicting Decision

Princess Neah had a lot of expectations when she imagined her eventual reunion with Maria. There should have been tears, confessions, and maybe even hugs to compensate for all the lost time.

Instead, what Neah got was a one-way shout match as her prey ran away from her. They had only been able to escape because Neah had been too shocked to respond in time.

The rudeness of Maria’s voice and the words themselves had served to create a shock factor so strong that it had left her rooted in her place. And without her input, none of her soldiers had taken the initiative to attack them as well.

They all stood shocked at her said, having heard that voice as well. But unlike Neah, they were not aware that the shouter was the oracle herself.

“You were aware that she was here and acting on her own. You were not shocked at that shout” Princess Neah turned toward Howl with angry eyes. This bitch had known about her Maria and had chosen to say nothing.

Maybe she even saw her Maria before but chose to ignore it. And it all served to piss the princess off even more.

“I didn’t know that it was the oracle and I never saw her. But I did guess that she was acting on her own will when I met her before” Neah felt like fritting her teeth.

She had been under the assumption that Maria had been an unwilling victim in all this. She had thought that maybe her Maria had been taken along the ride and was unable to escape on her own.

But Maria having her one will change a lot of Neah. It changed the way she would have to approach their next confrontation and also think of any possible reasons for such actions.

Was Maria being coerced into joining the enemy? Brainwashed into working for them? Or perhaps, she was being lied to make it seem like a good choice to join the enemy side. Was it a demonic agenda from one of the enemies to weaken Neah and her demon?

“Mam, should we send someone to track them down? The train was not fully fueled and should not be able to travel for long” A guard asked as he bowed down to Neah.

She felt frustration creep up her spine when she looked at those pathetic humans in front of her. They all had magic but they still acted like cowards, unwilling to think on their own and take initiative.

“Calm down or you would give yourself away” the useless demon, Howl suggested as she made a dismissive motion toward the guard. The guard actually straightened himself back up.

Did they think that Howl represented the same authority as her? That they could take her words if the princess said nothing to them?

“Your mask is slipping” Howl reminded princess Neah and the princess gritted her teeth in return.

But she did pull a smile back on her face as soon as she noticed that the guards had their attention on her. She had a reputation she could not drop and being their gentle princess was one of them.

It made getting away with certain acts much easier.

“Let’s not hurry. You can follow the trails but make sure to pace yourself. The area would be difficult to travel on foot but I want you to search that way” Let the humans search with their slow and futile ways while Maria would use her demon servants to search the fast way.

Maria, herself would be a part of this search since she could not trust other people to be able to take care of Maria. Neah needed to make sure she was the one who ended up finding Maria since there had been something different about the oracle this time.

Or, that had been the plan before Neah felt someone run toward their group with an urgency she had never seen in her human servants. The soldier looked panicked but also terrified of something.

He held a small parchment in his hand that bore the Royal seal and Neah instantly felt her back straighten.

If the royal couple had dared to involve in this problem, then it would have been a great one.

The royal couple had separated themselves from princess Neah and her demonic counterpart pretty early in their relationship. They all held different jurisdictions but it was Neah who actually had control of every place.

"P-Princess, a message from the royal castle. L-Lady Clement was recently killed in her own home. No, not only her but everyone in their family except Lord Baron Clement had been killed by an unknown demonic entity" the guard replied as he kept his head bowed.

Maria felt her eyebrows rise in surprise. Everyone but one person killed in a demonic attack? And it had been deemed as random?

"The c-court is asking for your return my lady" the guard continued and Princess Neah instantly felt a headache coming. Those court fools were trying to interfere again in her business.

"Send a message back that I'll be there tomorrow and personally see this all through. Please assure them and make sure that they are present in the court" the princess ordered. It would be so much like those disgusting nobles to not show up after specifically asking for a session with her.

The guard left once he had his orders and the princess started to pack. The guards could take care of the rest for her while she took care of the court matters.

But the princess could not help but curse the timing of this interruption. She had been so close to Maria and this single interruption made her feel like she was leagues apart from her now.

Those old men and women would pay for interrupting her and they would pay hard. Neah would make sure they all understand to respect her time and patience.

“Howl, we are returning right now. We will talk about you keeping things from me and it will involve your brother’s future as well. Guard Captain, order two platoons to follow the train track. Everyone else, follow me back to the capital. This is an emergency” everyone snapped to attention as soon as the princess raised her voice.

They had all heard the letter and they had all seen the conflict on their calm and collected princess. She was taking it hard and they did not want to agitate her.

Maybe they should encourage the princess to move on and get together with this Howl chick the princess had one day brought back. She was the only one who the princess kept close even at this time.