Selene had found herself in quite the predicament.
She had gained consciousness a few minutes ago, but sensing the sheer amount of pressure surrounding the bed she was laying, Selene hadn't even dared to twitch.
These idiots...
She inwardly sighed, cursing at the sheer stupidity that had made her attempt the absurd in the first place.
"It does not seem like mana poisoning either.... I am sorry, your grace."
The voice sounded like that of her master, and a soft hand tenderly caressed her cheeks.
Selene almost flinched.
Giving herself a moment to breath, she slowly fluttered her heavily lashed eyes open, doing her best to make the awakening look as natural as possible.
Blinding light poured into her eyes, and Selene scrunched her brows as vague blurry shapes swam across in her vision.
"She's waking!" A woman gasped.
"Thank the gods" A man sitting by her sighed.
Selene blinked a couple of times to orient herself to the sudden brightness, then slowly tried to sit up.
However, her body stayed limp.
Weird...
She tried to give her body another jerk, yet it still refused to move.
She looked at the women staring at her from the right of her bed.
"Mother."
The lady, with an expression that screamed worry and anger at the same time, shifted her hands from Selene's cheeks and slowly caressed her hair. The woman's dark blue pupils were trembling, but somehow, she still managed to look somewhat put together even while being so terrified.
Of course she did. This was a basic requirement of surviving as a noble lady.
Selene shifted her gaze to the left. Her father stood as rigid as ever, the slightest expression of worry etched in his hardened face. He was staring back at her, his eyes furiously demanding for explanations.
This is going to be a problem...
When she jerked her body for the third time, it finally listened. Regaining control of her limbs, Selene slowly sat up, wincing from the searing pain that erupted from her spine.
"Are you alright dear?" Her father, the duke supported her up, making to sure to stuff pillows behind her trembling back.
Awkward silence hung for a moment.
Then her father cleared his throat.
"Everyone other than Eira shall leave the chamber."
The sound of feet shuffling filled the chamber accompanied by a small thud of the door closing.
Her father, who was looking at the closing door, turned to her.
"Explain."
That was all he said. But Selene knew all the well just how many of his worries had been condensed into that single word.
She hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth, only to end up coughing from how parched her throat was.
Her mother helped her drink water from a marble cup, supporting her trembling hands as she gulped through the vessel.
The atmosphere in the room was strange.
It was tense, but it also felt like there was some relief. The silence put Selene on guard, but it also helped her calm down quicker.
"I'm pretty sure I left a note before leaving."
What she meant to say was,
You people would have tied me to a chair if I told you where I was going, and why I was going.
Her mother gave her a stern stare.
"Are you being serious right now." She let out scoff. "We thought you were kidnapped!"
Her father joined in.
"We thought the heir of Myrvale had abducted you."
Selene gave her father a strange look.
"Heir of Myrvale? That reclusive boy?" She let out a scoff.
"With all due respect father, if anything, I would have been the one abducting that poor thing."
She recalled the one time she had gotten a glimpse at the young master of Myrvale years ago. He had been such a cute little thing then, maybe he was all grown up now, but shaking off that kind of beauty would be difficult even for puberty.
It was unbelievable really, what had even possessed her obsessive family to come to such a conclusion.
Out of nowhere an especially searing throb erupted from her spine, and Selene winced at the pain. Barely managing to hold back a groan.
"Enough with that, I am back home safely aren't I? I suppose that's good enough for now-"
"It is not." Her father cut in, his voice final. "You will tell us what happened, and right now at that. The Myrvale has sent an envoy, we need to know the details before they arrive."
Her mother nodded along.
And Selene... she tried her best not to scream in frustration.