Lyn watched as Ralph grabbed a gla.s.s of water from the bedside table and pa.s.sed it to her.

"Thank you," Lyn mumbled.

"Don"t speak so much," Ralph advised and took the gla.s.s from her hands to refill it.

Her head still felt heavy. The pounding pain in her chest had yet to leave. She felt sick; she wanted...someone to comfort her. She wanted Kazuya...

When Ralph returned with the cup, she immediately grabbed it from him. Lyn took larger gulps this time. She wanted to wash away the sick and the gooseb.u.mps in her skin.

"You lied to your brother; you got hurt."

Lyn looked away, "It wasn"t that big of a deal."

"Princess Lyn, you were lucky this time. The enemy"s magic missed your major arteries. You should be fine, but you won"t be able to use your legs for a while," Ralph pointed to the crutches on the side. "You can walk using those for a while. No other areas of your body got affected. However, it seems you sustained a knife wound on your shoulders. The damage was quite bad."

Yet looking at it now, Lyn doesn"t feel much pain. However, she immediately noticed something different. The unusual curse mark from her hand now extended itself to her entire arm, including her shoulders. She glanced over at Ralph, who nodded.

"So it was this mark that saved her?" It seems there is a lot of things she has yet to discover about this so-called curse mark. For the longest time, Lyn didn"t pay any attention to it. Even though many people expressed interest in this mark of hers. Lyn didn"t care about it - at least not until recently.

Those two aside, the General isn"t going to be happy. Mentor said that the General sent him here, so she could determine from that what was happening.

Well, she supposes she could still attend her duties if she hid her injuries. Her thoughts broke off when the doors opened. She glanced over and spotted Allen. "Ah, here comes one." Lyn wondered which of them would first. It seems like Allen rushed over. Lyn could tell, judging from the beads of sweat on his face.

"You"re too calm," Lyn commented.

At that, the blonde hair boy walked over and sat down. He raised his hands and cupped her face, "Is this the face of a calm person?"

"Perhaps. It has also been difficult to tell what your thinking. You have a rotten personality by nature, so you saved me because you have ulterior motives."

Yes, the one who saved her during that mini fight. The reason why she didn"t sustain a severe injury was Allen. From a distance, he used his pillar of light magic to deflect the rest of the magic away.

"If we speak of rotten, you are the one who sounds terrible right now."

"That so?"

"Still, I wonder what goes on inside your head. What possessed you even to attempt something so dangerous when you just got here. Should you not have surveyed the area?" Allen questioned before he sighed. It seems like he already knew the answer to his question. "This is you we are talking about. You probably thought you"d be fine because you have strength."

Lyn pouts, "Eh, how rude. I"ll have you know I did my research. Besides, I originally went there to meet somebody. Kazuya introduced him to me before. His name is Sabaku Hiroyuki, have you heard of him?"

"Sabaku…The professor, huh? It seems Kazuya has quite the connection," he mumbled. She couldn"t miss his tone. "..and your okay after speaking with him?" Allen questioned.

"Did you think he would corrupt me?"

"People who have spoken to that man end up getting affected because of dark magic," Allen explained.

Lyn nodded. "I"m aware, but nothing happened to me."

Allen"s expression changed into something unreadable before he nodded. "Huh, I see."

He didn"t say anything more than that. But Lyn noticed his unusual gaze.

What was that all about? He turned to the basket in his hands, "I brought you something to eat."

"Ah, thank you."

Allen nodded and placed it down on the bedside table. "I spoke with your knights. It seems like lately you haven"t slept or eaten well. Even if you are reckless, Lyn, you have to take care of your health. Nonetheless, you succeeded in making my job easier for me."

"Your job?"

His lips curve to a smile. "Among those people who attacked you. Many of them were missing officials who escaped from my Kingdom. So in a way, you helped. However," his eyes twitched annoyance. "My dear Lyn, do you understand what you did? You exposed yourself in front of so many people."

Lyn looked at him with wide eyes. She didn"t register his words properly. All she was thinking was, "Allen is here, and he is lecturing her."

"Quite some lectured me like that. It feels refres.h.i.+ng."

Allen looked at her in disbelief. "You"re as strange as ever.."

"Ah, stop thinking of me as some kind of lousy decoration!"

"Once again, you"re jumping to conclusions. Forget it; eat something already."

"I can"t use my hands properly."

Ralph quickly interjected. "This is the perfect chance for you to get lovey-dovey and make a move, young Allen."

Allen"s gaze dimmed. "Don"t mock me." But Lyn watched as he reached out for the basket. He opened the lid, and Lyn spotted several pieces of fruit. He picked up the orange and peeled it.

For the next few moments, n.o.body spoke. Master stopped teasing Allen and was reading a book. A comforting silence. It"s strange. Usually, silence would frighten her. But when she is with Allen, this silence is very comforting. She wonders why, though, even though Allen is here. She still can"t get rid of the uneasy feeling in her heart.