She Belongs To The Devil

Both Adeline and Theodore got dressed up. They were ready to go back to the Palace. Both of them went to the place where Arion was tied up the last night.

"Hey, Rion, are you okay? You didn't feel bored alone here, did you?" Adeline asked Arion while rubbing him on the neck.

Arion let out a soft whine and shook his head.

"Awww…" Adeline glanced at Theodore and asked, "Isn't he the cutest?"

Theodore smiled and answered, "He is. I am glad that you like him so much."

"And I am glad that you gifted him to me. He is a dear." Adeline then placed a kiss on Arion's forehead.

Adeline didn't notice it but Arion gave a side-eyed look to Theodore as if he was trying to say that he was going to steal his woman from him. And in response, Theodore narrowed his eyes and made a gesture as though he was slitting his throat with his thumb as if to say that if he tried anything he would kill him.

Adeline scratched Arion's neck and further appreciated her companion animal, "He somehow understands everything that I say. I must say that he was well trained by whoever his previous owner was."

Arion lifted his front leg and gently hit Theodore on his leg as if to ask 'When am I allowed to reveal my true self to Adeline? Until when are you going to keep her in the dark?'

But Theodore completely disregarded him and then ran his fingers through his silky hair while smiling nervously. He then glanced at Adeline and asked, "I will teleport you both to the forest. Are you ready?"

Adeline narrowed her eyes at Theodore as his nervous reaction caught her eyes. If she had any time to spare then she would have pressured him to answer the question that was bugging her. But as it was already too late, she decided to let that matter go for now. And she nodded, "Yes, we are ready."

Theodore touched both of them and gave a warning before he teleported them, "Okay, then. I will be teleporting you now."

And immediately after he said that, the dark mist enveloped all three of them and in no time, they were all in the middle of the forest behind the Palace.

Unlike every other day, the forest was full of noises from the guards who were running here and there in the distance. Thankfully, no one noticed them popping out in the middle of the forest out of nowhere.

"What is going on?" Theodore was a little concerned because of the commotion. The first thought that came to his mind was that the Palace had been invaded by some enemy state. If that was the case then he was ready to teleport Adeline back to the safety of his cave.

Adeline drew in a deep breath and replied in an unimpressed tone, "What else? They all must be looking for me. Ughh! I am so doomed."

Theodore wanted to feel a little guilty for seducing Adeline and making her late but he truly was not. The time they spent together was too precious to be sulking over for. He put his arm around Adeline's shoulder and then asked, "Shall I make you invisible and then help you sneak inside the Palace then?"

"No." Adeline instantly shook her head and denied his offer for help. Somehow, being invisible was not appealing for her as it reminded her of her memories of the past. "I will go on from here. I will make something up."

"Are you sure?" Theodore asked again to reconfirm.

Adeline turned to face him and then hugged him. And she whispered, "Yes. You should go and sleep again. You look like you have not been getting enough sleep."

"Does it show?" Theodore thought to himself. And then he smiled because of her ability to tell that just by looking at him. He hugged her back tightly. "Okay. I will."

He hesitantly pulled away from the hug and kissed Adeline before he vanished into thin air.

The corners of Adeline's lips curved up a little. Her heart was filled with warm feelings even in the midst of the tension that she had at the back of her mind. She kept on standing there while gently caressing her lips with her fingertips, right where Theodore had just kissed her.

Arion saw a few guards heading in their direction so he nudged Adeline with his head to try and bring her back to reality. And it worked. Adeline inhaled sharply and then turned around. She also saw the guards who had spotted her and were running in her direction.

"Oh, God help me!" she prayed in her mind. She took a deep breath in and then held Arion's reins. Then she also walked towards the guards.

The guards stopped in front of Adeline and bowed to her. And one of the guards said hastily, "Your Highness, we have been looking for you everywhere. His Majesty is really worried about you."

Adeline smiled apologetically and said, "I will meet His Majesty right away."

Now Adeline was also really worried that her father was worried. She didn't want to keep him waiting for too long. So even though she was already near the Palace, she climbed on Arion and then rode towards the Palace at the top speed, even when it was really difficult for her to even sit on the saddle.

There were several guards along the way, all searching for her. And there were even more guards at the back gate of the Palace. She really felt like she had given trouble to each and every person of the Palace.

Adeline rode the horse straight to the King's Court. She assumed that her father would be there since there was a squad of Royal Guards standing outside the Court. She jumped down from Arion and sprinted towards the King's throne.

She saw her father resting his jaw on his fist and sitting on his throne as though he was going to break down any moment now.

The moment King Dragomir heard the sound of footsteps approaching towards him, he looked to check if it was from any guards who had the news about his daughter. But when he saw that it was Adeline herself, he got up from his throne and ran down towards Adeline.

"Adeline! You are here…" He hugged his daughter very tightly and said in a melancholic tone, "I thought that something bad happened to you. I was so terrified."

Adeline felt a pinch in her heart hearing her father's broken voice that was full of fear. She hugged him back and tried to console her father, "Nothing happened to me, father. I am completely fine.. I am so sorry for making you worry about me."