Chapter 67 - Is The World Ending?
Chapter 67 – Is The World Ending?
The hot spring was located in the inner palace. Hence, we headed straight to the inner palace instead of the Rosa Palace, where the princess lived. As usual, the Tempest sisters were excited, giggling and laughing as we headed in. Teresa had her arm hooked around my right arm while Priscilla was on my left.
"Sister, do you drink wine?" asked Teresa as she perked her head at me.
"No. Do you?" my brows rose as she nodded in response. Wasn't she too young for that? Teresa was one year younger than me, so how was she allowed to drink?
"But just a paltry amount, though. Priscilla doesn't drink and Sally too, since Sally only drinks milk!"
"Hey, don't make my efforts sound like it is a joke!" Sally, who was listening to us even though she was chatting with Alice, sassed. Teresa giggled in response while covering her lips with the back of her hand.
"Anyway, drinking is good, especially with some snacks in a hot spring. I can feel my muscles tense up and I really deserved this treat." Teresa let go of my arm as she stretched her shoulder, pounding the bottom of her fist against it.
"Is the hot spring really that good?" I asked, and Priscilla nodded profusely.
"It's our favorite activity. There no more fun than bathing together."
"Oh, ho~! I'm so excited to scrub Rinnie's body." Suddenly, Alice laughed as she joined in our conversation. I looked at her and she had this playful smile on her lips. She looked evil, right now.
"Sister, let me bathe you too, alright?" Priscilla also suggested, or rather, demanded, with puppy eyes. My mouth opened and closed like a fish. It was not like there was a problem with that, but was it really alright? They were still princesses of the empire.
"Uh, su — sur…" I trailed off when I felt a sudden presence behind me and a shadow cover Priscilla's face. After a second, I felt something heavy drape over my shoulders. I looked back instinctively and caught a pair of crimson eyes glinting menacingly at me.
'Hugo?' Perhaps, I was already used to his dangerous countenance and mood swings that I wasn't surprised seeing his unsmiling face. Instead, I noticed his usually tousled dark ash hair was neatly brushed back, giving one the pleasure of adoring his bewitching beauty. He was also wearing a uniform fitting for a man in power. Now, Hugo looked like a nobleman instead of a wandering mercenary.
The side of my lips stretched from ear to ear until my eyes squinted. I was happy to see this side of him as if he transformed into a different person.
"Hello," I greeted with the same smile. Hugo's sharp eyes, as if they could kill, slightly dilated as he gazed at me. The next second, his arched brows relaxed, giving him a soft look. My heart warmed up witnessing his sharp features slightly soften while looking at me.
"Bambi." Hugo raised his hand and rubbed his fingertip on top of my head. "Did you have fun today?"
My smile stretched even wider as I nodded profusely. "Yes. We're planning to bathe together in the hot spring."
"Oh? Bathing? Together? With them?" Hugo nodded, closed-lipped. His eyes then veered to the people behind me and, for a moment, I saw his eyes glint dangerously once again. I blinked twice, wondering if it was just my imagination.
"Hugo, dearest baby brother, that is not healthy." I looked back when Alice spoke indifferently. To my surprise, Alice, Sally, and Cora retained their stoic expression, but not Priscilla and Teresa. Those two young princesses were looking away as if they were scared of something. Not just them, but servants and other people who were around weren't moving a muscle and were just looking away.
'Huh? What was going on? Did they agree not to look at Hugo?' I wondered internally as I caught some knights sweating profusely.
"What is not healthy, sister?" a chill ran down my spine when Hugo's cold voice caressed my ears. "I simply came to greet my Rinnie and my sisters back. Was my kind gesture, perhaps, doing you discourtesy?"
"Tch… poor Rinnie," Cora muttered in a dead tone as she glanced at me with a frown. I nearly flinched as soon as our eyes met. The affection in her eyes was gone, replaced by nothing but coldness. What was this sudden hostility?
"Haha! Brother, sisters, is this really the time to pull an aura on each other?" Daniel's light voice suddenly came into the scene, making me turn my head in his direction. As usual, Daniel, the crown prince, had this smile on his face as he stopped in between Hugo and Cora.
"It's not good if you keep doing this. Think about the people around you."
Cora let out a sigh as she snapped her eyes, setting them to Daniel. "Tell that to this rascal. He came here reeking with bloodlust. Is he looking for a fight or what?" She pointed her thumb at Hugo while I raised my brows.
Was that the reason they suddenly grew hostile? They said werewolves' senses and instincts surpassed any other being in this world. So, I didn't doubt Cora. I frowned.
"Come on, sister. That is just natural for me," Hugo snickered sarcastically. I might not understand what other werewolves were feeling right now, but I could tell in his tone that he was pissed at something.
"Hugo." I turned around to face him, looking up with a frown. His brows quirked up as our eyes met. I said nothing despite wanting to voice out my displeasure, but he still let out a defeated sigh after a few seconds of silence.
"I'm sorry, alright? Don't be upset." Hugo raised his hands on his shoulder level, clicking his tongue as he looked away.
I pressed my lips into a thin line as his apology sounded so half-heartedly. Although I didn't need the apology since he should apologize to his sisters. I looked back to face Alice and Cora, but to my surprise, they were staring at Hugo in bewilderment.
"Wow… I should've called all our brothers to witness this.. I think the world is ending for those words to come out of his virulent mouth," Sally muttered in disbelief as she scrunched her nose up.