Just as the vile and toxic mudslinging between Prafulla and Snigdha reached its absolute peak in the palace corridor, a group of villagers rushed through the main gate in a state of sheer panic. Terror was written all over their faces. Rushing to Prafulla's feet, they began to cry and plead, "Prince! For mercy's sake, save us! Even this morning, that mysterious tiger radiating the stench of rotting flesh raided two houses in our village. We cannot even step out of our homes in fear. Has our golden kingdom of Junagarh turned into a cursed city? Please, grant us justice!"
Hearing the wailing of the villagers, Prafulla was snapped back to reality in an instant. Placing his hand on his forehead, he thought to himself, "Uff! Indulging in this filthy brawl with this ogress Snigdha, I completely forgot about the real task at hand! The very tiger mystery for which we were trapped in the cave yesterday—unraveling that mystery is our biggest duty right now!"
Assuring the villagers, Prafulla said in a stern voice, "Calm down and return to your homes in peace. Today, I promise you—I will see to the absolute end of this tiger mystery before the day ends. Do not be afraid anymore." Relieved, the villagers took their leave.
The moment the villagers left, Snigdha pulled a hideous face, curled her lip in disdain, and was about to march arrogantly toward her room inside the palace. But Prafulla barred her path, roaring like a tiger. He said, "Stop right there, Snigdha! Enough is enough, no more! There is no longer any place for a venomous snake like you in this Junagarh Palace. Get out of this palace this very instant, or go straight into the dark dungeon! Choose for yourself which option holds more dignity for you. Though a girl of such filthy character as yours has no dignity left. If you do not leave quietly, I will drag you by the neck and throw you into the prison right now!"
Hearing this ultimate ultimatum from Prafulla, Snigdha completely lost all sense of sanity. Pointing her finger at Prafulla's chest, she shrieked in an extremely obscene and cheap language, "What did you just say? You son of a dog! You will throw me into a dungeon? Where did you get such audacity? Does this palace belong solely to your father's property? Does it belong solely to your mother's property? This is my father's property too! What grand lord are you to throw me out, you son of a pig—"
The moment such foul and obscene abuses escaped Snigdha's mouth, the barrier of patience for both Prafulla and Prabhasha shattered completely. They could no longer contain themselves. Prafulla took a step forward and delivered a resounding slap across Snigdha's cheek—smack! And the very next split second, Prabhasha erupted in fury and delivered another powerful slap across Snigdha's other cheek—smack!
Under the impact of the twin slaps from the two siblings, Snigdha's head spun, and a drop of blood oozed from the corner of her ruptured lip. Holding her cheeks, Snigdha stood rooted to the spot like a stone statue. While she could tolerate Prafulla's slap, the fact that Prabhasha—a girl so much younger than her and the daughter of a rival—had raised a hand against her, pierced Snigdha's arrogant mind like an arrow. Her entire body burned with humiliation and the fire of revenge.
With her eyes turning blood-red, she shrieked, "You have such nerve! You raised your hands on me? Especially this slut, this whore raised her hand on me? Mark my words, I will return! I will return and kick both of you out of this palace! And did you think I am finished? I will live in absolute bliss making a home with my Rupanjan, and I will smear dirt on your faces!"
Saying this, trembling in rage, Snigdha rushed out of the palace. But at the time of her departure, she had stooped so low that her mouth had no restraint left. As she left, she went on hurling vile abuses at Prafulla, Prabhasha, and effortlessly at her own lover Rupanjan as well—"Let that devil Rupanjan go to hell! It is because of that worthless wretch that I am in this state today! All of you will die like dogs!"
Standing in the corridor, Prabhasha watched Snigdha's hideous display and thought to herself, "Wow Didi, wow! The very person you claim to love, your tongue did not falter even once before hurling such filthy abuses at him? You have truly turned into an ogress!"
When Snigdha departed after blackening her face, poisoning the entire atmosphere of the royal palace, and hurling one vile abuse after another, the surroundings suddenly became somber. But the way she had abused her lover Rupanjan along with Prafulla and Prabhasha without any restraint while leaving, caused the ground to slide beneath Prabhasha's feet. Her heart began to churn with an unknown apprehension.
Standing in the corridor, Prabhasha stared into the void outside. A massive storm was raging inside her mind at that moment. She began to ponder to herself in whispers, "What did Didi just say? Rupanjan? Rupanjan is that very boy... whom I have unknowingly fallen in love with! He is an extremely polite, courteous, deeply simple, and kind-hearted man. The one who spends his entire day helping everyone, and it was upon seeing that benevolent soul of his that I fell in love with him! Am I thinking wrongly or rightly, nothing is making sense! The Rupanjan whose name Didi took while screaming so vilely, and the one with whom I am deeply infatuated by the forest boundary—are both of them the exact same person?
No, no, what am I thinking! If both are truly the same person, then it is an absolute catastrophe! I will snatch my Rupanjan away from that devilish Didi in a single stroke! She does not know how to give the slightest value to love. A girl who can insult her own lover on the street like a street dog can never be worthy of love! But if it's me, I will shower my Rupanjan with immense love. I will never let a single twisted or harsh word fall upon his ears. But before that, I must be a hundred percent cautious to find out—is this the same Rupanjan whom I love with all my soul? If the two of us love two different people, then there is no problem. But if it is one and the same, Didi will never let us live in peace!"
Prabhasha could no longer suppress this intense restlessness and curiosity within her heart. Leaping forward, she tightly gripped Prafulla's hands. Tears were on the verge of falling from her eyes. She said anxiously, "Brother! Who exactly is this boy Rupanjan? You never told me anything about him before! Please Brother, tell me a little! I truly want to know, who is he? Why is Didi so angry with him, and what does he even look like? Please tell me!"
Seeing his sister's anxiety, Prafulla was a bit surprised, but handling the impending danger of the tiger was his primary task at this moment. Placing a hand on Prabhasha's shoulder, he said in a calm voice, "Let it be, Prabha, all these talks can happen later. I promise you, I will tell you everything later. Let this mystery of exposing the tiger be resolved first, then you can come to my room on your own, or I will come to your room myself and inform you of all the truth regarding this Rupanjan. But for now, for mercy's sake, do not raise these filthy topics in this hour of peril. Tell me, will you come with me now to expose the mystery of that tiger, or shall I go alone?"
At these words from her brother, Prabhasha somehow suppressed the storm in her mind. Wiping her tears, she said with emphasis, "No Brother, you will not go alone. I will go with you too. Come, it will be much better if we go together. Having two people will double our courage, and the mystery will be solved faster."
Looking at his sister, Prafulla smiled slightly. He said, "Yes, you are right. Let's go then, it won't be right to delay even for another moment."
Saying this, Prafulla and Prabhasha stepped forward together with a new resolve, shielding all the doubts and questions within their minds for the time being, to drag out the real truth behind that mysterious, rotting tiger.