Brian furrowed his eyebrows. It is good to have a competent governor, but it comes with various drawbacks. One of which would be the absence of Lachlan. If Lachlan is gone, what will happen to the city? Brian unconsciously shook his head.

‘They wouldn’t survive even after a gunshot…’

Brian thought, his hand moving towards the gun at his waist. Nothing that could possibly defeat Lachlan came into his mind. The gun he had picked up from Alex’s gang he had given to Lachlan. Though Brian wondered if he would have a need for a gun.

‘He probably didn’t do it.’

Once a year, Brian was aware that Lachlan would send people out. And those people would always come back with items tightly wrapped up. Brian, who saw it being snuck into the governor’s residence in the dark, was amazed that Lachlan had a secret that he knew nothing of.

After learning that the object was a painting, Brian wondered why he would secretly buy in a painting like that.

Even so, he pushed it aside as being part of his boss’s private life and continued with his daily affairs. Eventually forgetting all about it. Then, one day while looking at the newspaper which was being sold at a high price by a ship from his home country, Brian had chanced upon an article that mentioned how Lady Deertes’ portrait had recorded the highest price at the auction this year. Its cost was much higher than the diamond gemstones that Endeavour had sent.

As soon as he read the article, Brian had an idea as to what painting the governor had been sneaking in.

Lost in his thoughts, he finally came back to his senses as he heard the guards’ shouts.

“Something appeared on the hill!”

“Hand it over!”

Brian grabbed the telescope from the guard’s hands and looked at the direction they pointed towards. Not long after, Brian hurriedly shouted.

“Get all the horses that are able to run! Bring with you a bucket of water too!”

He looked to the dunes again after his shout. There, Lachlan appeared atop the hill. Brian shouted out commands to not follow after him as he rode alongside several other horses towards Lachlan.

He could see from the telescope that in his arms held someone. He must have brought her in. Brian had no idea whether she had been brought dead or alive but he had to deal with it as soon and as quietly as possible.

“Call a doctor! Now!”

The governor’s voice boomed out the moment he returned after a long while. Lachlan, who had gotten off his horse, entered with a woman in his arms. A maid which had been standing at the entrance drew a deep sigh. This was because spotting a living person in the arms of Lachlan was a rarity.

“You! Go get the water!”

“Ye-Yes!”

The young maid answered, her body trembling slightly as she ran straight towards the kitchen. But Lachlan was too impatient to wait for her to return. Looking around, he saw a vase of flowers decorated nearby. He pulled them all out and poured the water onto Deertes’ face.

Splash, water hit her face but she didn’t move at all. At his sight, Lachlan yelled.

“What’s the doctor doing? Hurry!”

“!”

Soon, a doctor that stayed in the governor’s residence rushed out. The young maid that had run to the kitchen returned with a large basin of water.

“Governor!”

“Hurry and examine her! Save her! Now!”

Craig, the governor’s doctor, was taken aback by Lachlan’s unfamiliar appearance. Once, when Lachlan had injured his arm, enough to be able to see bone, he simply asked, “How many days do I need for it to heal?” He was the type of person who asked for such a thing as if he were someone else’s business.

Yet, in this situation, this was a first for everyone as they noticed how Lachlan was shouting.

“Please bring her here.”

First, Craig was surprised that Lachlan had brought back a woman. Second, he was surprised that she was almost out of breath. Third, he was amazed that she was such a beautiful woman that he momentarily forgot what a terrible state she was in.

A pale complexion, lips that seemed drained of blood. Even though she was caked with blood and sweat, everyone’s eyes were caught on the woman’s face.

Slap!

Craig saw stars as his vision blurred.

“Get a hold of yourself and do your job. Save her. If she dies, you die as well.”

“Yes!”

Lachlan’s chilling voice brought Craig back to his sense. He looked at the woman, his hands gripping his shaking body. He dare not ask whether Lachlan meant that if she died he will kill himself or that Lachlan would be the one to kill him.

***

Looking at the forest that stretched behind the mansion, Deertes leaned sat on a chair on the terrace. The familiar sound of the birds that called out her name reached her ears. Sounds that she has heard every day ever since she was born. A cool breeze blew past her ears and brushed against her hair. Deertes closed her eyes once more.

Today was another peaceful day. As always, she could see the carriages of other families, each carrying invitations. She had to send letters of rejection to them anyway. Several times, she had wanted to accept the invitation, but her father simply ignored her words whenever any mention of such actions was said. There were only a handful of banquets that Deertes was allowed to attend.

Whenever she heard the news of her close peers getting married at banquets that she attended, her mood would worsen. The marriage of a nobleman is one where beauty is hard to be found, except in unique cases.

Love is not needed for the union of two families. If it is necessary, then it does not matter whether one searches for it after marriage. Granted that there has already been a definite successor.

“I wonder who Lady Deertes is going to marry.”

Words that people would always ask whenever they heard the news of someone’s wedding. At first, when she had heard them, she would just laugh them off. Yet, as time passed, those words weighed heavier and heavier. The two princes were not considered as being suitors for Deertes as they had already been married before Deertes was born.

Hence the people chose Deertes’ groom-to-be among the remaining unmarried aristocratic men. Deertes faced such discussions with an uninterested expression. She had always had a hunch that her husband would be one who the people had not thought of.

Her father had always kept Deertes and Serene inside their home, not letting them out. Since that’s the case, then… Deertes wanted to bring in a man from a lowly family and have him succeed as the Count of Russell. At that thought, Deertes’ head started to ache.

Deertes, wake up.

Suddenly, she heard a strange voice ring in her head. Instantly, Deertes jumped up from her seat, startled.

Who was it? Who had called me? She thought, quickly turning around and scanning her surroundings in hopes to find the owner of the voice but she could not find it. This is Count Russell’s mansion and she is having a peaceful day as per usual. There is no way she heard a sudden strange voice.

Serene entered her room as Deertes was massaging her temples. This was a strange sight for her.

“Sister, look at this! It’s a new book that I had brought yesterday!”

Serene was smiling as the servants pushed the wheelchair she sat on. In her hands was a thick book. Fortunately, the pain in Deertes’ head subsided upon hearing Serene’s voice. Deertes greeted her with a smile.

“Is it a book from Saul again? Hold on, tell me. How many books have you read already?”

Deertes’ voice was so full of affection.

Serene, her only sister, too is a child who had inherited the blood of a forest fairy. She is a child who stays in the mansion and dream of the world outside that she is unable to experience since she has poor health. Sometimes Deertes wondered if Serene was lucky to be able to stay home. There was once Serene had heard what people had said on the day of her social debutante.

“Even though she was born with the same blood of the forest fairy… She still pales in comparison to Lady Deertes…”

“Now that her health is also deteriorating, how can she possibly get married properly? Well, I mean, those who wish to have the blood of a forest fairy in their own bloodlines and families… I guess they may pay a large dowry for her…”

“Isn’t that expected though? She is a child after all.”

When Deertes overheard their words as she passed by the men’s lounge, she bit down onto her lips. She had to restrain herself from going into the room and yelling at them, “Are you insulting my brother?”, but she could not do it.

What difference would that make? Deertes thought as she continued to make her way into the banquet hall. There stood Serene, whose eyes were filled with curiosity. As Deertes approached her, Serene spoke.

“Sister, it’s so much fun here! Everyone’s so kind. I’ve never met so many people before, this is very nerve-racking.”

After which, Serene which had said so mentioned how she would no longer attend such banquets. It was only a few days after did Deertes hear from a lady that Serene had constantly been compared to her during the banquet whenever Serene was alone.

Deertes could no longer bear to ask Serene to participate in subsequent banquets as she looked at the invitations that she received. The men who had sent the invitations were those who had sent her proposals as well. It was obvious why they wanted to invite Serene, so Deertes dare not say anything about it.

Serene smiled as she struggled to stand up and kiss Deertes’ cheek.

“Hey, my beloved sister, you have no idea how happy I am because you’re my sister. So you don’t have to blame yourself over this.”

It was at that moment when Deertes made a decision. To protect Serene no matter what happens.

“Sister?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. What did you just say?”

Deertes saw her sister’s face quickly redden as she hurriedly flipped open the book. Serene replied with an excited voice.

“There are so many amazing animals on the continent of Saul. Baron Hamilton, a well-renowned biologist and the first governor of Endeavour, had sent many biological specimens again. I guess the auction that we had gone to before a long time ago was the auction with those specimens.”

“Do you mean the auction that was particularly noisy?”

“Yeah, I can never forget that day. After all, my sister had disappeared on the way there for a while, so there was an uproar…”

“…I had disappeared?”

Deertes asked, surprised. She had only gone to rest in the lounge as she was feeling tired after watching the auction that she had no interest in. It was then where she heard a loud noise… Recalling memories of that day brought about another wave of pain as Deertes pressed her temples again.

What had she seen that day? The employees working at the auction house that day were all rushing around while saying how the “products had run away”. They had asked the people attending the auction who were walking through the hallway to return to their seats as it was dangerous… Deertes had a headache because of all the commotion going around so she had gone out to the garden attached to the auction house where…

Wake up, Deertes.

There, she heard the strange voice again. No, this voice was not unfamiliar to her, instead, it was one that she knew.