Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 29.1
Chapter 29.1
Not one or two, but dozens of animals in the drawing-room turned aggressive in unison, as if by prearrangement.
They didn’t even recognize Bashar, the one they were supposed to protect. Or had they targeted Bashar from the start? The now lifeless beasts had been approaching as if their sole intention had been Bashar all along, even though there were other knights nearby, and I, seemingly an easier target.
“Why have the animals suddenly become ferocious?”
“…It seems my commands don’t reach them either.”
As I murmured, Bashar spoke, shaking his head as he rose. His expression was grim. “Someone must have tampered with them. If that’s the case…”
His gaze shifted towards the outdoors, towards the back garden. There, even more animals than those inside the drawing-room bared their teeth, staring in our direction, as if waiting for us to emerge.
“…Brother is also in danger.”
“Your Highness.”
“I must go to him. It’s even more dangerous outside!”
Bashar looked ready to rush to Haroon at any moment. He seemed to think the beasts wouldn’t listen to Haroon’s commands either. Moreover, the garden being outdoors, there would be a far greater number of beasts than in the drawing-room, making an attack even easier.
“Calm yourself, Your Highness!”
“It’s an order! Let go of me!”
Ricardo blocked Bashar, who was heading for the garden. Bashar, who usually appeared composed, lost his composure when it came to Haroon. That’s how important Haroon was to him.
I stared at them—Bashar trying to leave, Ricardo and the knights trying to stop him—and murmured, “Just who, and how, could they have agitated Kishan’s animals?”
At my muttered words, Bashar and Ricardo abruptly stopped. Bashar furrowed his brow and exhaled roughly. As if calming himself, he pushed away the knights who were trying to restrain him and ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture. “It must be Pazl’s doing.”
“But you said Kishan’s animals wouldn’t obey anyone who wasn’t of royal blood.”
“….”
Bashar’s mouth snapped shut. His face gradually paled as if recalling something. Yet, he slowly answered my questioning look.
“Your Highness, do any of the attendants know how to handle the beasts…?”
“No. They are conditioned to respond only to royal blood.”
“How is that possible?”
“They’re enchanted at birth. To respond only to those of royal blood—specifically, direct descendants and their companions. Especially the ones brought here are all Brother’s.”
He seemed to be implying that it would be impossible for other princes to use the beasts to eliminate Haroon or Bashar. Even Pazl couldn’t control all the beasts.
Then the only person who could do all this…
“…Could it be…?”
Bashar’s voice, stiff as if he’d realized something, reached my ears. Disbelief and confusion spread across his face as he voiced the thought he didn’t want to believe, didn’t want to acknowledge. “Could this be Brother’s doing?”
Ricardo shook his head and approached him. “Your Highness, we can’t be certain yet.”
“If Brother wanted me dead, he wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble,” Bashar said, seemingly deaf to Ricardo’s words. “I would have gladly obeyed his command.” He only muttered self-deprecatingly.
Ricardo, giving up on calming Bashar, reinforced the drawing-room’s defenses with the help of the knights. He also sent a few knights out to request reinforcements, so the number of knights remaining in the drawing-room wasn’t large.
‘Haroon Kishan tried to kill his younger brother, Bashar Kishan?’ It wasn’t entirely implausible. I, too, had suspected him. Pazl was Haroon’s attendant, and he was the one who would benefit from Bashar’s death.
“But…” I recalled Haroon and Bashar as I had seen them today. Haroon, who had suddenly wanted to go out to the garden, who hadn’t wanted to be with Bashar.
Bashar, who reacted only to matters concerning Haroon. And finally, the ferocious beasts. ‘Was it all Haroon’s plan?’ It couldn’t be.
“Bashar, Your Highness.”
Just as I called out to Bashar—
Thud!
The ground shook, and an earsplitting roar echoed, so loud that I couldn’t stand properly. Staggering, I desperately reached out and grabbed onto something nearby.
‘What now!’
This was different from the previous two incidents. The scale was far larger than anything the beasts could have caused. It sounded as if something had exploded or a building had collapsed.
My wavering vision momentarily went dark, as if night had suddenly fallen. Ricardo’s voice rang out, ordering the knights to protect Bashar and me.
‘…Something just…’
A chilling sensation, enough to make my neck shrink back, washed over me. Following my instincts, I turned my head. My vision was still blurry, but something seemed to be moving in the distance, outside.
The prolonged rumbling finally ceased. I collected myself and immediately looked around. Fortunately, the darkness had lessened enough to discern objects. The first thing I saw was Ricardo, standing protectively in front of Bashar and me.
