Chapter 7: Trouble

Irene could still hear Stefan saying a series of words to Rufus, and her brain seemed to process them too slowly. However, she vaguely still understand what he intended to do.

Her eyelashes trembled as another wave of pain wracked her body. She was gasping, breathing hard. If she was not in the middle of completely transforming into a pureblood vampire, perhaps her body would have been drenched with cold sweat at the moment. 

She forcibly endured staying conscious.

"Her Highness is busy. Go back, I will call you when she is ready." The stern words were uttered by Rufus, standing straight in front of the door, blocking Stefan and his people. His whole body exuded extreme coldness.

"This is a message from His Majesty. Do you dare to ignore it?" Stefan insisted, his head was raised high. The people behind him, mansion guards, and some maids seemed to reveal the look of approval even though they didn't voice their opinions.

Rufus' brows knitted together. He still didn't back down. "You don't need to make so much fuss by bringing so many people. I will inform Her Highness later."

He was never good at hiding his expression; the frown marred his forehead, his lips pursed together, and his eyes were sharp. The color of displeased countenance painted his face. 

"Why don't you call her to come out?" Stefan suggested. "Besides, I have a good intention here. I am bringing them so that they can serve her. They are the newly picked guards and maids. The Princess doesn't have personal guards and maids, she should have picked some from this batch of a good seedling."

Rufus wouldn't believe his nonsense. Wasn't that just planting a spy beside Irene?

"Go back later," Rufus repeated his earlier words, not patient enough to deal with this vermin. Irene must have heard the unpleasant noises just now, and it must have disturbed her.

At this moment, nothing matter more than Irene's condition. This kind of little thing usually was something insignificant for her to deal with; however, her state currently wasn't good.

Stefan seemed to have a whiff that something wasn't right. He took a step back, his hand waving to the door of the study. In his loud voice, he shouted with all of his self-righteousness. "Open the door."

Two guards stepped forward, causing Rufus' face to become gloomy.

Stefan knew that as a former elite commander, Rufus' strength wasn't weak. Two guards would soon be solved with ease.

He snorted, his eyes narrowed as the accusing words pointed to Rufus. "Who knows what did you do to the Princess? Are you doing something terrible to her that you said she is unable to come out?"

Rufus was a trained person after all, and he had dealt with a lot of things. Even when enduring such unpleasant words, he didn't immediately lash out. His priority was to chase this group of pests away so as not to bother Irene. Still, Stefan's words had crossed the line. He was insinuating something about Irene's relationship with him, and if those words were to spread, who knows what kind of distorted stories it would become in the mouth of those so-called nobles.

"Slandering Her Highness also has a consequence." Rufus reminded. He easily blocked the two guards from approaching further. His eagle eyes swept over the remaining people as a warning.

As he gazed at the group of people in front of him, the sudden movement from his left didn't go unnoticed. The guard's sneak attack was easily solved by him. He grabbed the guard's hand, his face remained indifferent as he put more pressure. The guard's wrist cracked. A pained groan resounded in the hallway.

Rufus' frown deepened and began to feel worried. It was a few hours until the three days' time, and Irene hadn't come out yet. He was also anxious that those people would insist on breaking in and notice something wrong with her.

Her sequelae were the result of teleportation between continents or worlds without any protection. She was lucky enough that she survived, even though with sequelae. Using a teleportation array and spells were considered protection, meanwhile, her body was once sucked into space, bare, without any protective measures. The pressure nearly destroyed her body and once she was out, she was bloody all over with only a breath left.

She was lucky Reyes discovered her in time.

"Who is slandering? His Majesty entrusted her to me. Naturally, I should take care of her. What if she gets hurt? How am I to answer to His Majesty?" Stefan took a step forward, slowly regaining his confidence.

Rufus' momentum just now gave him the illusion that he was a fierce beast in the middle of wanting to tear him apart. Although he was slightly uncomfortable, he didn't think about it further. He was considered a noble while Rufus wasn't.

"You are so audacious, actually injuring a guard of this mansion." He spoke after noticing that the people behind him seemed to have retreated a little. "After this, you should be punished."

Seeing the indifference of the other party, greatly angered him further. He wanted to see this scum being chained in the dungeon later for his disrespect.

"Open the door, who knows what this scumbag did to the Princess? He is trying to cover it up." 

This time, more guards stepped forward. They were originally wary that they would become the next victim whose hand was abolished by Rufus. However, when they remembered that their number was more than a few dozen, they became a lot more confident.

Rufus seemed to sense something wrong. With his enhanced sense, he could hear movement inside the room. With Reyes' enchantment, he was supposed not to hear anything.

He tried to block the guards from approaching, gathering the force in his hand. He didn't realize it until a moment later, a few howls of pain resounded in the hallway. There was doubt and surprise on his face. The strength he used to push them just now wasn't so great that they acted like their organs were ruptured.

"So noisy," A faint cold sound echoed in the hallway.

Irene stood on the door threshold, her face pale and she seemed weak. Her chest had the obvious up and down like she had run for a few miles; her breathing seemed more difficult. The red lips were such a strange contrast to the unbelievably fair face.

"Princess." Stefan was taken aback. The look in his eyes was scrutinizing. "You are alright?"

"Why? Do you wish that I am not?" She coldly said these words in a flat tone, without any emotional fluctuation.

Rufus stood behind her, his eyes also glinted coldly.

Stefan was stunned by her blunt tone. He hurriedly explained. "Princess, I just want to make sure that you are alright. Some maids reported to me that you have been in your room for almost three days and three nights. I am afraid that something would happen to you. Previously, you disappeared for a few days without notice..."

He trailed off at the end of the sentence as if expressing his doubts. His lips pursed like he was conveying his concern.

Irene didn't give any response to the obvious hint in his words. He was indirectly asking about her whereabouts when she disappeared from the mansion for several days. 

Failing to receive the desired response, Stefan was a bit irritated. His eyes swept over the guards on the floor who had some broken bones and bruises. "Princess, you also can't injure the guards. They are the ones who are taking care of the mansion. How can you treat them like this."

Irene tilted her head lazily. "Oh, I can't injure them?"

"Yes, of course. We have to treat them with a good attitude." He continued. Wasn't that indirectly saying that she was willful and temperamental?

Amusement flickered in her eyes when she saw that some of the guards and the maids nodded at his words. The rest were just lowering their head. There was even a hint of indignance on the face of the guards sprawling on the floor.

"Stefan Ferner."

Stefan subconsciously turned his head to look at Irene when he heard his name being called. Once he looked over, he met Irene's pair of eyes which seemed to be dark and bottomless.

At that moment, he felt as if his neck was strangled by something. 

"Are you the lord of this mansion or I am the lord of this mansion?" She let out a humorless chuckle. "As for the guards and maids, is it your hobby to keep a bunch of such incompetent people?"

The guards couldn't even withstand the slight force of her hand, even in this fragile state. Her condition was a bit weak at this moment, and the energy in her body seemed to be raging and boiling. She felt greatly uncomfortable, but the trouble knocking on the door forced her to endure.

"Rufus, throw them out." 

Rufus moved, and the frosty tone instantly woke people up from their stupor. Some guards and maids who can move by themselves instantly scattered, horrified, afraid that they would have some broken bones by the time they were thrown out of the mansion.

"You, get out." She turned her attention back to Stefan. Fear filled Stefan's heart, causing him to instantly obey her command like he was possessed. He couldn't think of anything besides getting out of the room quickly.

It was coincidentally at this moment that a flash of a figure with silver hair entered the room.