What the hell was that? Had Kaelan teleported him out here? But why? Rian internally questioned while glancing at Kaelan's exhausted figure, holding the unconscious princess while standing a few feet away from him.
Kaelan, as well, looking at Rian's figure, took out a dagger from his storage ring, prompting Rian to widen his eyes.
"Stop!" Rian shouted, landing a bunch of steps behind him on the branch he was standing on and immediately holding up his empty hands, showing he had no weapon. "I'm from Aetherion Academy as well! My name is Rian Ashmere! I'm not your enemy!"
Kaelan slowed down, his chest moving fast, and looked back. His eyes, wide with fear and hurt, got smaller as he recognized him. "You… you're that guy. The one who threw up all over Princess Mirai."
"Yes, exactly. That's me," Rian answered without any shame at all. "Look, just put her down. We can talk about this."
"You were among those guards who were chasing me, and your clothes… why?"
"That… uh." Rian hesitated. He couldn't simply tell him he was after the princess's bloodline after all. "I was sent inside that mansion, pretending to chase after you was the only way for me to escape. Why did you teleport me here?"
Kaelan stared at him for a long time, his breathing rough. "I didn't do anything. You must have stepped through one of the emergency teleportation pathways I had set up throughout the forests." Finally, he pointed his head toward a thicker part of the woods. "This place isn't safe. We'll talk up ahead. Follow me, I know a safe spot."
"You sure know a lot about this place," Rian spoke while jumping down the tree onto the ground.
"Yeah… I was teleported inside the forest this morning. I have been scouting this place for almost a full day by now," Kaelan answered while leaping down the tree as well.
That made sense. Rian inwardly nodded. The time difference between the planes, unless specifically controlled, could be huge. A minute on one plane could sometimes mean hours or even days on another.
This guy must have been one of the first ones to have entered the gateway. Still…
Both boys started running deeper into the forest, with Rian following Kaelan from a distance. They soon reached a small, rocky area hidden from sight.
Seeing the place, Kaelan finally stopped before dropping the princess's unconscious body on the soft moss.
"Alright," Rian began, getting his breath back and stepping closer. "By the way, you mind telling me why you kidnapped the princess of all peo…"
His words got stuck in his throat as, in front of his eyes, he saw Kaelan pull the knife from his belt and drag it across the princess's neck in one swift motion.
A wet, choking sound came from the unconscious princess's lips as her eyes opened for just a moment, wide with surprise, before the life went out of them.
"What are you doing?!" Rian questioned, a bit taken aback. "Why did you do that?"
Kaelan didn't answer, already busy pulling out some medicines from his storage ring and nursing his wounds.
Staring at Kaelan's uncaring figure, Rian's mind moved fast. The princess was dead, which was a shocker, but then again he hadn't expected Kaelan to make friends with her after kidnapping her. What mattered right now was that he got himself that bloodline ability.
Frowning, he reached out with his fingers and touched the warm, red liquid gathering at her neck. At the same time, the now familiar system message flashed in his sight.
[FOREIGN BLOOD DETECTED]
[No Bloodline Ability Found.]
What?
His eyes got big. How was this possible? The Solarius family had one of the strongest bloodlines in Taurenth. How was it possible that she had no bloodline ability? It did not make sense. Unless...
His mind raced back, as one by one the memories from the night began circling through his mind, things he had deliberately shoved out of his head to focus on escaping.
Why hadn't the Margrave or any of the stronger royal guards given chase to protect the princess? With their strength, they surely would have been able to stop Kaelan before he could escape the city.
Unless there was someplace else that was more important to protect, someone who was more important to protect.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed down at the blood pooling under the woman's corpse.
This isn't the princess, is she?
But, if not her… then who was the real princess? Was she even present at the festival?
For some reason, his mind wandered back to the figure of the peculiar woman he had met at the festival. The woman who had introduced herself as Princess Kiera's friend, someone who, despite being simply lucky to be invited to this event, was approached by the hostess herself.
No wonder those eyes felt so familiar. Rian let out a sigh as a short laugh escaped his lips. To think that Princess Kiera… no, the Masked Witch of Solaris, had been standing beside him all that time, while he was busy making plans to rob her of her blood.
"What are you laughing at?" Kaelan asked, narrowing his eyes.
Rian simply shook his head, the sound dying in his throat. "It's nothing." He looked at the body, then back at Kaelan. "Why did you kill the princess?"
Kaelan didn't answer right away, busy looking through his bag. "You don't need to know."
Rian's eyes narrowed as his mind raced. How did he even know she was going to be at the festivities? And why go after her in the first place? We got to this world only hours ago after all. I doubt she could have done something to offend him in that time.