***

Lady Steinhouse was wallowing in sadness; she had refused to get up and do anything. It had only been three days since Walter had left, yet she still wished he had waited for her to wake up. Maybe he knew she would have had him followed so that she could join him later on. She did not like the idea of him being so far away.

She had not yet gotten out of bed even when the morning had long passed. She had specially instructed the maids not to disturb her. It seemed her instructions were ignored when she heard someone barge in. She turned to give that person a good scold when she saw her maid's bloody nose. She rose abruptly, storming towards her in anger.

"Who did this to you?" she asked with her teeth in a grind.

"There are people... people... they have come to see my lady... downstairs," the maid stuttered, her body trembling. Helen did not wait for her maid to follow her and stormed downstairs. She made her way to the receiving parlour, to find two sides in a standoff. The guards were geared up and pointing their swords and spears at those at the doorway. It did not take much to see that they were defending themselves.

Those at the doorway turned to see her storm in. Their leader smiled wickedly at her entering figure till she stood before him.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked.

"Come on, cousin, you should remember me, right? It's me, Lyson," the leader said.

"Who?" her frown deepened. Of course, she had recognised them the moment she entered. If their heavy-lidded narrow eyes, paled skin and slender form were not a big giveaway, their blue attire crested with the Ligrel clan's insignia was. But, she had no intention of admitting that.

"Oh, stop the rubbish, Helen, you know who we are. We are here to take you back to the clan," a female said, her eyes scanning Helen with scorn, as though looking at something dirty.

"Clan? Ligrel clan? I knew something smelt like cow dung, but I thought it was just the dirty mouth that just spoke. So, it's the entire lot of you that brought this smell into my home," Helen smirked. The girl's face turned red in anger and the faces of the others fell, except the leader who still held his creepy smile.

"You...!" the girl tried to talk back but could not find words. She could never win against Helen when it came to words. Even though they all had slit-like eyes, round faces and enviously smooth skin, she and the leader had fiery red hair, making them stand out from the rest.

They looked alike; obviously siblings. The rest were people Helen recognised to be warriors from the clan. They all dressed like scholars; in soft flowing long sleeves layered robes, making one think them weak.

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"We are here to bring you back, Helen; don't you wish to return?" Lyson asked.

"No, thank you. My husband said I must not follow strangers anywhere," Helen said and Lyson chuckled.

"Ah, I heard you remarried. Where is Lord Steinhouse? We wish to meet him too," Lyson said.

"He does not sit home waiting for dirt to appear. He has things to do," Helen answered.

"Ah, that's sad. It would have been nice for you to at least say goodbye before you leave," Lyson said, his face taking on one of pity.

"I'm not going anywhere. As I said, my husband said I should stay home," Helen said.

"Oh, shut up. My husband this, my husband that. Do you think we came all this way, went through all those battles, to go back empty-handed? This is an order from the clan chief. Princess Jia Ahn, you have been outside too long. For your safety, you are to return immediately!" the girl said haughtily.

Her actions caused Helen to break out into a fit of laughter. She bent over as she laughed completely amused by them. She laughed so long, that they started to wonder if she was alright.

"You have always been a stupid one, Jaine and I can see you still are. It is funny that you refer to me as Jia Ahn; a name my royal uncle gave me to cut all ties with you and not Jin Ke, my real name. Even so, that order was for Princess Jia Ahn. I'm Helen Krain now. As a married woman, only my husband can tell me where to go," she said leisurely.

"We could just take you if we wish. Do you think you have the ability to stop us? Or are you expecting these things to protect you?" the girl Jaine asked, her eyes glancing at the guards who still held their position.

"My lady, Lord Steinhouse said he gave you something to keep. You are to use it if you are in trouble," Guard Holden said and Helen paused, and so did they all. The eyes of the Ligrel clan members moved to Helen who looked as though she just remembered. She placed her hand on her chest and drew out a necklace Walter had given her, and they all paused.

The Ligrel clan members stared at her for a second, before Jaine made a move to grab Helen. She disappeared and appeared in front of Helen, only to be thrown away by an invisible hand. They all took a closer look and saw there was a barrier around Helen. Jaine got up and frowned at her state.

"I was careless," she said and her brother nodded.

"Yes, you were. This barrier, is this why you are so confident, Helen?" he asked, the smile on his face remaining.

"I don't know, I even forgot about this. I guess my husband knew I would and asked the guard to remind me. I just know my lord husband would not have left if he did not have a way of protecting me from you," Helen said. She had blind faith in Walter; when it started, she had no idea. But since they walked in, she was not even a bit scared. She was in her lord husband's house; she was untouchable. She had taken blind faith to a different level; this was a baseless faith.

"That barrier can be broken with ease, Helen. There is nothing complicated about it," Lyson said with his smile, "He should have tried harder,"

Lyson took steps towards Helen; his steps slow, as though he were strolling on a mountain trail, sightseeing. Helen's faith was baseless in the first place so, she remained undaunted. Her eyes stared back at him as he approached her, as though challenging him.

He was about to reach the barrier when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Stop!" a voice both Helen and Lyson recognized said. Helen looked towards the speaker and Lyson looked back as well; it was Protector Klienn.

Helen felt a smile take over her lips, as he was the only person in the clan that she was fond of. Someone she saw as a father.