Chapter 12 - That Doctor's Mansion.

Rei stared at Ben, she was a bit lost and uncertain how she should behave, after all, she was still feeling uneasy about Ben's close relationship with the King.

"Here, drink this. This works well at removing bruises," said Ben as he handed that bowl of herbal soup to Rei.

Rei continues to stare at him with a blank look.

"If you are confused, it's for the bruise around your neck, the finger marks are quite clear, I can lend you a hand mirror if you are curious about it," said Ben.

Rei shook her head and accepted that bowl of soup from Ben.

"I believe you must be wondering why didn't I get you back to the castle and brought you back to my house instead, and at the same time, you also wondered who is the one that attacked you in the morning. Am I right?" Ben asked, with a totally different attitude than usual, as if he is a different person.

Compare to that icy-cold, overly serious doctor she knows all these days, Dr Ben sounds much gentler and friendlier than usual, and Rei can catch a dash of concern from his eyes.

Rei sheepishly nodded before drinking a spoonful of the soup given by Ben while having a mindset that it will be very bitter. But as the soup reached her tongue, she was surprised. Unlike any typical disgusting medicinal soup she thought it would be, that bowl of herbal soup actually taste nice, with a nice aroma of the herbs and subtle sweetness with a fruity note.

"As I said, I am not just limited to those disgusting bitter stuff," said Ben, who is kind of obsessed with fixing that controversial thought of Rei.

Rei awkwardly smiled and took another spoonful of the soup. Normally, she would have burst into laughter at that statement from Ben, but with the uncertainties she was having at that moment, an awkward smile would be the best reaction she force out of her face.

"Anyway, about your concerns, first of all, the person that attacked you in the morning is actually a drug addict who is under the influence of some unknown drugs that we are still investigating. And unfortunately, we have yet to find any useful information regarding that, since this drug smuggling and misusage cases had just been reported to us last night which indirectly related to your other concern," said Ben in a serious tone.

Rei quietly listened to Ben's explanation and was rather impressed but at the same time wondered about Ben's identity once again.

"If he is just an ordinary doctor, why would he frequently use the words 'we' and 'us' in his statement that is supposed to be referring to the authorised party of the country?"

That's what she thought.

"Miss Rei. I don't know what you might be thinking right now but I hope that you will listen carefully to every single word I am going to tell you right now," said Ben in a stern tone as he noticed that Rei is not giving full attention to the issue he is talking about.

"Ah… I am sorry…" Rei apologised.

"Hah… Last night, Chri… His Majesty had just put up an order to tighten the security check at all the castle entries gate due to the safety issues arising along with the drug smuggling activities. By right, with all those well-trained palace guards, you shouldn't be able to sneak out of the castle this easily without getting caught." said Ben while glancing at Rei for a bit.

Rei seems to be a bit thoughtful about Ben's words.

"Unless someone was trying to get you exposed to the potential danger and commanded those palace guards to let you pass easily. And after having some conversation with your maids, I discovered another disturbing detail," said Ben.

"What is it?" Rei asked, rather tense.

"One of your maids said that a palace maid told her about a marketplace that is supposed to be located near that abandoned construction site. Yes, there is indeed a 'marketplace' near that area, but it is definitely not that typical market where a lady like you would want to go… If you understand what I am talking about." said Ben.

"You mean… Like a black market?" Rei asked, in an alert tone.

"Kind of, and since it has its own 'special value', we lowkey allowed it to exist until now," said Ben.

"Did… Did that palace maid know about that?" Rei asked, even tenser than a moment ago.

"Supposedly, yes," said Ben as he nodded.

After hearing the explanation from Ben, Rei is totally shocked and unable to express her feelings through words.

"I forwarded this matter to His Majesty, he wants me to keep you in my house for a while before he found out the truth behind this matter and confirmed your safety," said Ben.

"I see… Uhm… Dr Ben…"

"Yes?"

"May I ask you another question?" said Rei.

"Yes."

"What is your relationship with His Majesty? You seem to be quite close to each other," said Rei who finally stated her concern.

"Huh?... Haha… So that's the matter that had been bothering you all these days. Well, he is my childhood friend, and he almost tricked and forced me to take over his throne once and I guess that does make me a legitimate successor for the throne. I hope this explained your concern." said Ben in the briefest way possible.

And indeed, it does explain his identity and relationship with the King clear enough.

Rei nodded without saying anything, and surprisingly, that piece of information didn't waver her too much. The shock she had in the morning is just too great compared to the real identity of Ben…

***

That night, Rei is once again experiencing insomnia, her mind is occupied by various incidents and scenes that happened in the day, from how she sneaks out of the castle and gets assaulted to how she ended up in the doctor's mansion. But what occupied her mind the most is an imaginary scene of how Ben supposedly saved her from the hand of that drug addict and Ben's face without his glasses.

Yes, glasses and spectacles are sometimes the biggest 'seal' for a good-looking face. After interacting with Ben all these days, this is the first time Rei ever get to have a clear look at that pair of hazel-coloured eyes behind Ben's glasses. Those eyes are so clean and clear that Rei feels like she can almost see through them but at the same time, it looks so deep that it's unreachable...

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.

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At the same time, the doctor is yet to be asleep as well. He is all alone in his room reading some really thick books while having a cup of drink. After a short while, he closed the book and stared at his right hand that is neatly bandaged, he smiled...