As Chantria disappeared through the doors, how could she realize she had left behind five equally shocked men who stared after her with mouths agape.
It was as surprising to each as it was to the other that Chantria had just indulged Amir's request and even made a jest before leaving rather than flying into a rage as she usually would whenever any of the five got any closer to her than she was willing to allow.
"Can someone explain to me what just happened here?...I mean I saw but, my brain fails to comprehend it..." Zevon, the young man with a broad and muscular built muttered in astonishment,
His green orbs darted from Amir, to the entrance Chantria had just disappeared through and then right back to Amir again.
"I'm not sure..." Irvine, the young man with the red hair whispered as though if he spoke any louder, all that had just happened would become merely a figment of his imagination.
Amir himself stood in a daze, his eyes mystified and a hand lifted to touch his lips lightly before his lips stretched into a silly smile.
"She kissed me..." Amir murmured, a giddy expression on his face as though he had not been the one to attempt to take his own life just a moment ago.
As angered as the other four were by Amir's actions, the present situation was clearly more shocking to them.
Amongst the five, the golden haired beauty was called Kahlel, he retained a thoughtful expression, saying nothing but his mind contemplated much the same thought as the others.
And then there was the fifth, Jai, with eyes a deep shade of violet. His expression was cold and unmoved, unlike the others, he did not seem interested to ponder over what had just happened.
"Misplaced hope will only bring you trouble. One would think we all know by now to be wary of the saint." Jai stated directly.
"Do this again, and I will kill you myself." Jai promised Amir in a cold tone before he took his leave, not in the direction of the castle but through a narrow path leading around it.
For the other four, the scene they had just witnessed was replayed over and over again.
Chantria had not only exhausted every effort to save Amir, she had admitted to the error of her ways and accepted her wrong.
The cold, unfeeling yet arrogant Chantria Kivon had actually been willing to admit to her wrong in their presence.
It was simply too unbelievable, and what was more, just what was with that kiss?
Who did not know of the fact that the revered guardian of the deep did not favor her harem?
She had never been willing to be in their presence even for extended periods, as though their presence reminded her that for the very first time, the revered guardian had been forced to something against her will.
Truly the tributary harem of five had been bestowed upon Chantria upon her coming of age, unlike the other members of the royal family,
Chantria had not been allowed the privilege to choose her own lovers, it was the burden that came with being guardian, the harem of the guardian was chosen even before the guardian herself was.
All five men understood well enough that this was the very reason Chantria l would not open her heart to them.
If there was one thing the cold saint detested, it was having her choice taken away from her and it was not something she often had to endure.
However that did not make her actions over the past years justified, how could she see only the fact that she had not been allowed a choice of her own lovers,
And not the fact that there were five by her side, willing to do anything and go to any lengths for her?
Yet she had turned a blind eye to them, ignored their existence and neglected their affairs for over a year, so exactly what had just happened today?
"Jai is right you know. Her Grace is rather strange today..." Kahlel pointed out in a tone of suspicion.
"This kind of strangeness... I don't know about you, but I quite like it." Amir murmured, though his expression was also thoughtful.
Kahlel shook his head slightly, it was obvious to him that something about Chantria was very different and it was something more than her loss of memories.
Kahlel could not quite place a finger on what it was and so he kept his thoughts to himself.
"Amir, you should get some rest now. What happened today cannot repeat itself,"
"There are already a lot of eyes on the saint's palace, and particularly on you. This is not the right time to take any rash decisions." Kahlel warned before he also took his leave in the same direction Jai had gone.
"Come, I will see you to your room." Zevon said, gesturing for Amir and Irvine to head back into the castle ahead of him.