Where am I now? That thought ran through Arina's mind as she continued walking. Her steps stopped. Wait a minute, it feels like something is wrong.

     "Glasses. Where are my glasses? You... you must have hide them so I can't see clearly!" She exclaimed.

     Rion rushed over and gripped the girl's wrist tightly.

     "What are you talking about? Can't you see us now? Or are you tricking us with your magic?"

     "That... that... Actually that...."

Arina was stunned for a moment. Although her heart was afraid of the fierce-looking figure in front of him, but she realized something. She can see everything clearly without glasses.

      The girl didn't notice that Rion was staring suspiciously. Quickly, he twisted Arina's hand and dropped the girl to the ground.

      "You must be up to something. You witch, tell me what it is!" he insisted.

"Or I'll break your hand!"

       Ariana screamed in pain. Aldrich immediately rushed over and tried to intervene.

       "Rion, I don't think she knows anything," he said.

       Rion turned to Aldrich and shot him a glare.

"So you were also deceived by his pretentious look?"

        Aldrich shook his head. He then looked at Arina who looked very hurt.

      "She's not faking it, Rion. You really hurt her!" he said in a firm tone.

       Rion finally relented and let go of Arina's hand then cast a sharp glare at Aldrich.

      "If she really is a spy, then you must be responsible. If later someone gets hurt because of her, then it's all your fault!" he snapped.

       Aldrich nodded.

"I will take responsibility."

       Rion snorted and left without look them anymore.

       "Are you okay?" Aldrich asked Arina in a soft voice. Ariana just nodded. Her heart jumped with joy. She was just a nerdy girl who never caught the attention of youth. This was the first time for her that a young man had treated her so well.

        Aldrich then took out a medicinal ointment from his shirt pocket to treat the bruises on Arina's wrists caused by Rion's strong grip. Ariana's heart was pounding. Her face was dice. It was strange for a young man to treat her well. The smile that appeared on Aldrich's face made Arina even more embarrassed.

         There was a loud clearing sound, Aldrich and Arina were both surprised and turned their heads. Erland seemed to be smiling a little while walking past them with an unconcerned look.

         Aldrich and Arina immediately followed the young man.

        

***

       Ariana was taken aback. The atmosphere in the village was completely different. She felt as if she was in another world.

      'Wait, am I not in another world?' She said.

       The girl looked around in awe. She rushed here and there to see the place more clearly.

       "Whoa, what is this?" She asked, holding up what looked like a brightly colored jug.

       "Miss, if you like it, you have to buy it first," said a middle-aged man sitting near where the colorful jars were.

        "No, I don't....!"

        The girl didn't continue. Instead, she screamed loudly when her hand was pulled suddenly. Feeling frightened, she hugged the person who pulled her tightly while closing her eyes.

        "What are you doing? Let me go now!" said a curt voice. Arina slowly opened her eyes, she was surprised when she saw Rion standing in front of her. She immediately let go of the hand that was still wrapped around the young man's waist.

        Not long after that, Aldrich and Erland immediately ran over to them.

       "Are you guys all right?" asked Aldrich as soon as he was in front of the two of them.

       "Sure it's fine," Rion replied as he hurried. Arina, Aldrich and Erland stared silently at Rion's departure.

       "Don't think about it, Rion is like that, but he's actually a good person. It's just that he never shows it openly to other people," said Aldrich. Ariana just nodded.

       "Right, don't think about it, it was actually Rion who was originally aware of the danger. Because of that, he immediately saved you," said Erland.

"I'll bring him here to explain everything to you."

        "Uh, no need," said Arina. She was about to catch up with Erland who rushed to meet Rion, but Aldrich grabbed her wrist.

         "No need," said the young man.

"You must have guessed how Rion is even though we just met. He won't like it if you meet him and ask a lot of questions."

         Arina looked doubtful for a moment, but after thinking about it, the girl felt that Aldrich's words had some truth.

        "You're right, but what happened just now? You really surprised and scared me," said Arina.

        "There was a horse with carriage almost hit you. Rion realized that so he could save you. Erland and I immediately caught up with the carriage, but we failed."

        Ariana nodded. She wasn't really careful.

       "It's okay. It was my fault too. I didn't look around."

       Aldrich shook his head.

"It's not your fault. It could have been intentional. The coachman was probably Queen Solandra's orders," he said. The young man then explained that Queen Solandra was the ruler of the country, but actually the rightful heir to the throne was the princess of a long-lost king.

        "So that's what you mean looking for? But I can't be the princess," said Arina. Even in her dreams, she never imagined that she was a princess. Her father is only an office worker, while her mother just a housewife. Even so, she still had fantasized that she was a princess and a prince would come to pick her up. However, as time went on, she became more and more aware that it was only a child's imagination.

         'But it's all happening right now and I wasn't expecting it. Moreover, there is no handsome prince here and I am being targeted to be killed.'

         Aldrich smiled slightly.

"Don't worry. Even if you're not a princess, we will still protect you, especially now that you're with us. That's what made you the Queen's target."

        Ariana nodded. She wished she could trust them. The girl then saw Rion walking over together with Erland. Rion's face looked so flat, it even seemed a little sullen.

        'It seems he regrets helping me,' said Arina in her heart.

        "Are you guys done chatting?" he asked in a cold tone. Aldrich kept smiling calmly as he asked Arina to hurry.

         Rion didn't say anything else. He quickly turned around and hurried off first. Erland looked at Arina and Aldrich while laughing widely. The three then immediately followed Rion.

***

         They arrived at a hut. The owner of the cottage was an old woman with white hair. At a glance, the woman reminded Arina of the evil witch she often read about in fairy tales.

        'Did they bring me to this place to have me cooked by a witch?' Arina asked herself while looking at the three young men who came with her in turn.