CHAPTER 14

Earlier...

The young man arrived at the right time to save Penelope and Nanny Lisa from their kidnappers.

After helping Penelope to stand up, he tells the knights with him to knock out the other men. After that, the young man orders those knights again to tie their kidnappers tightly and bring them alive to this kingdom's prison. He will let this kingdom's knights deal with those pests.

While the young man is busy dealing with their messy situation, Penelope observes him with calm eyes. She thought at first that the young man is just an ordinary son of a noble. Based on his posture and the kind of cloth he is using for his clothes, Penelope can easily detect if he comes from a wealthy family or not.

But seeing him ordering the knights wearing their black armors, that young man is obviously not just an ordinary noble. Penelope only knows that aside from the royal family, the are three more ducal families aside from the Dresvil family who have authority among the nobles. She is wondering if that young man belongs to one of the ducal families in their kingdom just like her.

While Penelope still sitting on the dusty ground, someone suddenly holds her and gives her small body a tight hug. It was her nanny. Lisa's cheek is now swollen because of the hit she received from one of those men. But her nanny ignores it just to check her condition.

"Are you alright, little miss?! It's okay now. They will never hurt you again. I'm sorry if I cannot protect you. I'm sorry, Penelope."

Lisa did not stop checking up on her until she can make sure that her little miss is alright. Aside from the scratches on her knees and palms, Penelope has no more injuries on her body. Lisa suddenly cry again before softly pulling her little miss for a hug. She ignores the pain in her body and keeps telling herself that everything is now alright.

Penelope can feel the huge concern and fear that her nanny is experiencing at that moment. Penelope also wraps her small arms around her nanny and tries to give some gentle pats on her back. Although today's event is truly a scary experience, her nanny is still trying to fight her fears just to make sure that she's alright. In both of their lives, Lisa is still trying to keep her safe no matter what situation they are in. Resting her head on her shoulder, Penelope continues comforting her nanny until she can finally calm down.

"I'm okay now, nanny. Please don't cry. Penelope doesn't like to see her nanny sad." Penelope said in a childish voice.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, little miss. Nanny is okay now." Lisa said while wiping her tears.

"Hmm... Penelope wants to see her nanny happy all the time."

"Little miss..."

Overwhelmed with her emotions, Lisa cannot stop herself from crying in happiness. She is really scared not only for her life but also for the little girl under her care. She really thought something bad will happen to them. Lisa is not stupid. Despite their terrible situation earlier, she knows that the abduction attempt for her little miss is not just a simple case. She knows now that someone is trying to get rid of Miss Penelope.

And she can only think of one person who is capable of doing this thing to her little miss.

"What an interesting little girl."

Penelope looks at the young man who saved them while she's busy coaxing her crying nanny. The hood of his cloak is no longer covering his face. In this situation, Penelope still has time to admire the unique and exquisite face of that young man.

He has bluish-silver hair that looks so soft to touch. He also has healthy pale skin that most women in their kingdom want to achieve. But the most attractive part of his face is his jeweled eyes. His eyes look like a real emerald that is polished with care just to show its real beauty.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The young man asked.

"Brother, you are really handsome!" Penelope sincerely said.

When she tries to compliment him in the plaza, Penelope was just trying to catch his attention. She cannot see his face properly earlier because of the hood he was wearing. It turns out he is truly handsome. She bet that the young man in front of them has a lot of admirers already.

"You are so smart, little kid." The young man suddenly said.

Penelope lowers her head to avoid the young man's gaze. He is wearing a smile on his face, but she has no idea what thoughts ate running through his head. Knowing that he is really capable of doing things, it only means he is not just an ordinary person.

The reason why Penelope approached the young man in the plaza is to lure him into following her. She purposely took something from him that looks valuable so he will have the urge to follow her and get the thing she stole from him. It was really a gamble. Penelope even told that young man some hints hoping that he will get what she means.

"Very interesting." The young man said to himself before looking around their surroundings. "But first, we should to go a safer place."

Then a knight comes closer to the young man and whispers something in his ear.

"I see." Penelope heard him say. "Then bring them with us. But tie their hands first and put them in a separate wagon. Make sure that they cannot escape until we put them in their right place."

Penelope cannot understand his words. But she doesn't need to wait that long to understand what he means. Two knights suddenly approached the carriage and pulls Amanda and Emilia out of it. Soon, the knights tie their hands and ignore their screams.

Both Penelope and Lisa did not try to stop the knights. They just remain in their places as the knights drag them to a wagon filled with things they brought on their journey. Amanda kept on saying she is the duchess of the Dresvil family but no one paid attention to her. Penelope also ignored the scared expressions on their faces after facing an unexpected situation.

The young man who orders everything did not pay attention to that woman. Instead, he looks at the little girl who is silently watching as the current scenario unfolded right in front of her eyes. If this happened to other kids, they will surely become lost and scared. Most of them will cry or hide anywhere away from these horrible scenes as soon as possible.

But this little girl is different. She is abnormally calm and collected although they almost got kidnapped and killed by those rough men. She is also smarter compared to the other children he had met in the past. He knows that the little girl lured them into this place by stealing his necklace and giving him a clue about what will soon happen here.

"We should go now." The young man announced.

"May I ask where are we going?" Lisa warily asked.

"We are going to the Royal Palace." The young man replied and pay no attention to the nanny's wariness against him.

"The Royal Palace?!"

Ignoring the nanny's surprise, he looks at the little girl who is staring at him without blinking her eyes.

"Do you want to see your father, little girl?" He asked.

"Do you know who is Penelope's dad?" She asked him back while tilting her head.

"I met your father a lot of times already." He replied. "He's Duke Clementine Dresvil, right?"

The little girl's eyes widen in surprise which makes him chuckle a little.

"But how did you..."

"That woman keeps on screaming that she's the duchess of the Dresvil family. It only means the children with her are his daughters. And your eyes resemble the Duke's eyes. That's why I'm very sure that you are his youngest daughter." The young man explained. "Right?"

Penelope stares at him for a moment before slowly nodding her head. She is calculating in her head if they can trust him or not. So what if he saved them from getting kidnapped and he looks so handsome? Not all handsome and beautiful are good people.

The young man smiles seeing the wariness on her face. She has every right to do it since they are still strangers to each other. Instead of getting mad, the young man lowered his body until his emerald eyes are now levelled with her ocean eyes.

"Sorry for my late introduction, little lady. I am Prince Lucien Iryl Hesvia, the first prince of the Lastoval Kingdom."