Kitanna
Chapter 43: AFTER EFFECT

Chapter 43: AFTER EFFECT

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: LET’S BREAK UP ~ THE BRIDGE]

"What’s going on here?" Khelan asked, looking at the duo with confusion.

Kitanna sniffled when she heard Khelan’s voice, she pressed her forehead against Nix’s chest before stepping back a little to face her brother.

"My guard here helped me up. I couldn’t stand properly at the sight of blood," Kitanna responded, smiling faintly at her brother.

Nix, still in his position, made no comment. His face held no expression as he continued to stare at the princess blankly.

"Yeah, that’s why I came back. I thought you might need emotional support more than anyone. Your eunuch will be released after a few investigations, but I’ll make sure he’s taken care of," the king spoke calmly.

"You can visit him when you’re ready, and also thank Mother. She was the one who conducted the underground investigation that helped catch the culprit. I should take my leave now; your guard is more than efficient," Khelan concluded before leaving the place.

Kitanna raised her eyebrow when she heard it was her mother who did the investigation. So it was the queen dowager’s plan to kill Clephas. Her mind drifted from what she was thinking about, when she remembered it was just she and Nix alone, again.

Kitanna cleared her throat. Why did she even lie about what happened? It’s not like they were doing something wrong, or were they? She asked herself mentally. Kitanna pressed her lips and exhaled. She didn’t know what to do next, so she slowly moved her feet on the ground as if drawing something invisible.

"You’ll make a hole in the ground if you continue looking at it like that," Kitanna bit her lower lip when she heard the words from Nix. She felt her blood rush up to her neck.

"Princess, if you’re done here, let’s go to your chamber," Nix said yet again, his eyes still on Kitanna.

Kitanna nodded, without looking at Nix. She started walking to her chamber with Nix behind her. She felt her heart beating with every step she took.

When they entered the main palace, Nix noticed that the princess wasn’t concentrating on her footsteps, as she was still fiddling with her hands.

As soon as they entered Kitanna’s room, Nix stopped her from taking any step further. He dragged her by the hand and gently pushed her against the wall. The sudden act caused a low gasp to escape Kitanna’s lips.

"Are you avoiding me?" Nix asked, his hands holding her tiny ones firmly on both sides.

Kitanna swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before slowly raising her eyes to look at him.

"Not that I’m avoiding you. I am ashamed of the way I threw myself at you and then lied about it in front of Khelan," Kitanna whispered.

"You don’t need to feel embarrassed. Get some rest, Princess. We can talk tomorrow," Nix finally let go of her hands. His eyes trailed down to look at Kitanna’s lips, which were slightly parted. He wanted to move his hands to brush the strands of hair on her face, which were a little messy due to the evening wind, but he didn’t. After a few seconds, Nix walked out of the room.

Kitanna let go of the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She sat on her heels, wrapping her whole body with her hands. She shouldn’t be feeling this way when the queen dowager had already drawn the battle lines visibly for her to see.

After gathering her thoughts, Kitanna started walking to the royal prison to see how Clephas was faring.

Kitanna entered the prison where Clephas was chained. She felt her heart ache when she saw him tied in isolation.

"Clephas, who knew you’d end up behind the royal prison one day?" Kitanna tried to hide her sadness with a smile.

Clephas turned when he heard Kitanna’s voice, but he was too weak to even stand up.

"Princess Kitanna, what are you doing in this filthy place?" he said, his voice frail and weak.

"Don’t stand...," Kitanna stopped Clephas from moving any further.

"You funny man, why won’t I come here, when my eunuch has decided to try out the prison chains. Do you think it’s fancy? If you wanted jewels, you should have let me know," she spoke softly, using her palm to wipe the tears that were almost escaping her eyes.

Clephas let out a weak smile, his lips already pale and dry. "I will let you know the type of jade jewels I want the moment I step out of here." He played along with the joke.

Clephas knew very well that the princess was feeling hurt and was trying to act strong in front of him. If anyone cared about him the most, it was Kitanna.

"Write them all, make a long list. I will fight and cut down anyone who refuses to sell their jade to me," Kitanna continued.

"Have you eaten anything? What about water?" she asked, noticing how dry his lips were.

"I am very fine. Don’t worry about a lowly man like me. How did you get everything sorted out in such a short time? I owe you my life," Clephas said, feeling sorry for all the stress he must have made the princess go through.

"I am not the one you owe your life to. It was the guard, Nix, who did everything. I myself was surprised," Kitanna relayed the news to Clephas.

Clephas was very much surprised to hear that his life was saved by the guard. He didn’t expect him to regard his life as something precious or even worth saving.

"I am very grateful to him," Clephas smiled, then furrowed his brow when a thought crossed his mind.

"What is the problem?" Kitanna asked when she noticed the change in his expression.

"What would have been my fate if Nix did not save me?" Clephas asked, his eyes looking at the princess intently.

Kitanna cleared her throat. "Clephas, I see you are doing well here. I will now take my leave. I shouldn’t be seen in such a lowly place."

"Don’t evade the question. Would I be lying lifeless now? I should really change where my loyalty lies," Clephas stopped the princess who was trying to leave the prison.

"No, no, no. I wouldn’t have stayed still. I’d have cut down everyone there just to save you and then we will run away together, Clephas," Kitanna turned to explain to Clephas who was not buying her obvious lies.

"I should really dedicate my life to Nix from today henceforth" Clephas turned ignoring the words Kitanna was saying.

"No! Clephas. I asked him to save you, I panicked, then he saved you. Don’t you get it?. But hold on, you once told me you will lay your life down for me, any day. Why are you now angry when the day finally got here?" Kitanna tried to push the blame onto the poor man.

"I am glad I didn’t. I thought you would save me if I did. I have seen a powerful master, I have weighed my options. I will live longer beside him. I should really start tendering my report to see if he will accept me," Clephas replied.

"I see prison food is healthier than palace meals. You should be energetic and lively, recuperating here once in a while," Kitanna humored the man, who was also smiling.

Kitanna finally decided to go back to her room, after a few minutes when she heard Clephas speak in a low voice.

"He is the right choice. Follow your heart."

Kitanna smiled without turning, she walked out of the prison.

Away from the prison, inside the main palace, Almaria, who was now in her room, continued to break every piece in her room out of anger. She had already soaked herself inside a cold bath, but she wasn’t able to calm down. With her body still dripping water, Almaria threw her flower vase, which crashed against the window. No palace maid dared to enter her room.

Everyone knew exactly the reason why the queen dowager was furious. Her closest aide just died in front of everyone.

"Who could have done this to me? Who?" Almaria asked herself, trying to recall if anyone was smart enough or had the resources to change everything in a short period of time. But it was just Kitanna who could do that to her. They had pointed Man-uel and not her. Was it Kitanna’s scheme? The queen dowager asked herself. As she was venting her frustration, the dying image of Man-uel flashed in her mind, causing her to climb onto her bed in fear.

The queen dowager knew that it was going to be a long night for her.