Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 139: Unwelcome Guest

Chapter 139: Unwelcome Guest

’She nearly burned the castle down because she loved him so much...’

Aideen repeated Bella’s words inside her head, recalling the conversation she had with the maid the previous night about the mysterious female guest who had arrived at their castle.

Bella refused to share more details about what had happened to make Khala so angry, and she also refused to reveal the exact nature of Khala’s actions that caused such a negative reaction to her sudden appearance. But one thing remained certain—Khala was not a welcomed guest in this castle, and nobody wanted her here.

"Bella said she is very dangerous, even psychotic... And I thought Sir Stanis had managed to train her well. I am so curious about her, and yet, I cannot even meet her."

It was decided that telling Tillian about what had happened to both the princess and the mage would only make him furious. Thus, no one in the castle was allowed to inform the Duke that Khala had attacked them.

Still, scared for their lady’s safety and with their lord’s direct orders, Aideen was instructed to stay inside their bedroom and not leave it under any circumstances, especially alone.

’Tillian said he would try to return from patrol sooner today, but he still left Sir Stanis to guard our bedroom. Just what in the world did she do that every person here now thinks of her as some kind of a monster? Was Tillian’s rejection really that awful? I do not find it particularly strange that other women could be infatuated with him, but now that she is here, I cannot help but feel uneasy...’

Tired of overthinking her current situation, the woman set aside the Duke’s correspondence, which she had been sorting the entire morning, stretching this task to ensure she would be busy for a while. Then, she rose to her feet and stretched her body, dispelling the unpleasant feeling of stiffness in her muscles.

"Being cooped up in the bedroom is not good for me. I only grow more restless with each passing hour. I cannot even keep myself busy because of all this stress."

As Aideen made a circle around the room, hoping that a little walk would help to get rid of the uneasy feeling pressing on her chest, she stood before the entrance to the bathroom and wondered quietly,

"Should I take a hot bath then? I am sure Bella brought some nice lavender oils from one of the villages a couple of weeks ago. That should help me relax a little, right?"

Determined to check if everything she needed for a hot bath was already there, the princess pushed open the doors to the bathroom and froze on the spot as she noticed another woman sitting on the rim of the big bathtub, with her hands crossed in front of her chest.

Startled and confused, Aideen was about to scream, but the stranger quickly jumped right in front of her, covered her parted lips with her hand, and pressed her body against the bathroom wall, her other arm placed on the princess’s chest to ensure that she could not escape her trap.

"Do not do anything stupid, Your Highness. If you scream, I might really hurt you."

As the lady’s response was silence, the intruder slowly moved her glaring golden eyes over Aideen’s face, as if studying her every feature, and said,

"Well, you do look pretty, I’ll give you that..." Then, she curled her lips into a wide grin and added, "So, this is the famous Princess Aideen Ruan... My name is Khala, no last name, unfortunately. I bet you were dying to meet me too."

The princess widened her eyes, shocked by the sound of that name, and swallowed hard as a nervous tremor traveled all over her body.

With her mouth still covered by Khala’s hand, she tried to calm down and fixed her intense gaze on the woman’s face because she, too, wanted to study her appearance.

’What is she looking at?’ Khala met the princess’s sharp eyes, the intensity of their gaze making her strangely uneasy. ’Is she studying my face? Wasn’t she supposed to be blind or something?’

Growing rather impatient with Aideen’s audacious expression, the woman finally continued, her voice now cold and even menacing,

"I can remove my hand from your mouth, but you will have to promise me that you won’t scream. Can you do that? If you misbehave, I will force you to stay quiet, understood?"

The princess understood her words perfectly well. Still quiet, she nodded, confirming that the woman in front of her did not have to worry about her behavior.

"Alright... I simply came here to talk, Your Highness, nothing else."

At last, Khala removed her hand from Aideen’s mouth, then stepped aside, allowing the princess to catch her breath. Aideen continued to stare at the woman as if scared that averting her eyes would erase the last remnants of confidence that still lingered within her, even though her expression still betrayed her frightened state.

Having noticed the woman’s distress, Khala couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Scared? How come? Do I look that hideous? Or have you heard something scary about me? Do not worry, Princess Ruan, I am harmless... Well, unless harmed, of course."

With her shoulders still shaking from laughing, Khala turned around and walked back inside Aideen’s shared bedroom with her husband. Though reluctantly, the princess followed behind her, carefully observing the woman’s every move.

Mustering all the courage she could find within her heart, the lady finally asked,

"How... How did you get here? The bedroom is supposed to be guarded, and I spent all morning here. I could have noticed you passing by."

Khala did not rush to give her response. Taking a few seemingly long moments to look around the bedroom as she slowly paced from one piece of furniture to another, she then stood before the wide bed, shrugged her shoulders, and answered with a smile,

"Getting into highly secured places is a talent that puts bread on my table, Princess Ruan."