Laina looked directly at Carson. She did not glare at him, merely a gaze. But he felt as if Laina was staring him down, looking into his soul to look for an answer. There was a moment of silence as everyone turned their attention to him.

They were waiting to hear his reply.

"No.. no, nothing of that sort, your Highness. I simply think this painting has far more potential than you're making it out to be."

Margaret bit her lip. Carson's choice of words was getting a little out of line and everyone in the ballroom felt it. As soon as he realized what he had said, his hands began to shake. Laina could not help but wonder just how much fear had she instilled in him.

She had not even begun to chide him, yet he looked ready to confess all of his sins. Even the ones she was not after.

"Do the other judges agree? Please, speak your mind. Art has on right or wrong, does it not? I wish to hear everyone's opinion," Laina asked, hoping to soften the mood by changing the direction of her question.

The other judges gave their points of view. Some agreed with Laina. While the painting was well put together, it did not have any unique elements to it that made it stand out from the rest. There were those who also sided with Carson.

But they did not dare to disagree with Laina too much. After all, she was the Crown Princess. If she did not see eye to eye with them, she could have them beheaded and no one would dare say a thing.

Laina listened to everything they had to say. But none of them made a strong enough argument to overturn her decision. As such, she chose to go with her original decision. Carson nearly lost his balance, ready to collapse on the ground.

But he held it together at best he could. Laina dismissed the judges so that they could rest for the day. However, she kept Carson behind. His face was pale as a sheet of paper. As soon as the door to the ballroom closed, Laina turned back her attention to him.

"Baron Carson, is everything alright?" Laina asked.

Carson darted his eyes away from the princess.

"All is well, your Highness," he replied swiftly.

Laina was not buying it. She did not want to reveal the information Margaret had gathered about him. She wanted to give him a chance to explain himself. She walked over to him and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"I don't like liars, Baron Carson. If someone meddles with my business, I like to find out who and why they did it. I will not punish the innocent. I only aim to punish the wicked," Laina said as she dusted off his suit.

His heart was pounding so loudly, Laina could almost hear it. She looked into his eyes once more with a brilliant smile.

"I will ask again. Is everything alright, Baron Carson?"

Despite the honey-coated words, Carson felt his knees give way. He knelt down before her, keeping his head low.

"Your Highness, I beg for your forgiveness! I was forced! Forced into this. I had no other choice!" he confessed.

Laina assumed she would need to interrogate him further before the Baron would spill the beans. But the quicker the truth is revealed, the sooner the wicked could be punished. Laina crouched down.

She gently pats him on the back.

"Tell me, who put you up to it?" Laina asked.

Just then, the glass window nearest to Laina shattered. The sound of shattered glass rang throughout the entire ballroom. Kol immediately sprung into action.

"Look out!" he shouted as he lunged forward.

A sniper weapon went off in the distance. The bullets traveled at high speeds, all of it aimed at Laina. Kol stood over Laina, blocking the incoming shots with his body. Margaret quickly regained her composure and summoned a forcefield.

All of the bullets came from the same trajectory.

"There's only one sniper. That's an easy fix," Margaret muttered to herself.

She rubbed her palms together while whispering an incantation. When she opened her palms, a small sparrow made entirely out of ice crystal took form. Margaret leaned in.

"Find the target. Take it out," she whispered.

Immediately, the small sparrow ruffled its feathers and came to live. It flew up into the sky at incredible speeds. Following the trajectory of the bullets, the sparrow soared through the air in its direction.

Within seconds, it found the sniper hiding in a tall tree. The sparrow flew straight into his eyes, blinding him upon impact. The sniper fell straight onto the ground below with a thud as blood pooled around his head.

Carson was shaking from the attack, he had not expected any of this to happen. At first, he assumed the attacks were aimed at him, to silence him. But he heaved a sigh of relief to find himself relatively unharmed.

In light of the attack, Margaret moved all of them to the Drawing Room. She called for more soldiers to guard both outside the room and in. Hot tea was also brought in for them to calm their nerves.

Laina, thankful to have Kol and Margaret by her side, was more worried about their safety. Kol used his body to block the bullets, resulting in bullet wounds on his chest and neck. But due to his vampiric abilities, the bullets did not damage him at all.

After they were taken out, he healed in a matter of seconds.

"You saved my life, Kol. Thank you," Laina thanked him with a smile.

For the first time, Kol looked into Laina's eyes. He had never been thanked before, and he did not know what he should say. historical

"Master, no need thank. My duty," he mumbled a reply as he placed his hand over his heart.

"Still, you saved my life and I am grateful for that. Margaret reminded me to reward him handsomely," Laina declared.

"I will, your Highness."

Laina turned her attention to Margaret and hugged her tightly. The handmaid was completely caught off guard by the crown princess's gesture.

"Princess Laina.."

"You saved my life too! I am eternally grateful, Margaret. Oh, what would I do without you!"