~Chapter 88~
From the start, the reason I gave Prenia the Troxia ring was to lure her out and capture her.
Once she had the key, she was bound to go to Troxia no matter what. Since the emperor would also be coming there, it was a chance to catch both of them at once.
But strangely, Prenia still hadn’t appeared. The wounds I had given her weren’t enough to kill her. She should have been able to walk to Troxia on her own.
‘Did she recklessly die somewhere already?’
No, that couldn’t be.
“Hm.”
I tapped the window frame, deep in thought.
If she was hiding, I just needed to make her come out.
‘The problem is whether to use a loud method or a quiet one.’
Just then, a little bird fluttered in through the open window. I brightened and welcomed it. The bird landed exactly on the window sill where my hand rested.
“Did you find anything?”
The bird shook its head.
“No signs of magic?”
It shook again.
“…Alright.”
I tried not to show disappointment. The bird wouldn’t understand anyway.
“Well, here’s your promised corn.”
The bird hopped over, pecked the corn, flapped its wings once, tilted its head, and flew away.
That had been the last bird I was waiting for. I shut the window and drew the curtains.
The idea of using birds had come to me only a few hours ago—to find the deeply hidden Prenia.
Because of the great source of mana nearby—the dragon—animals around here were unusually sensitive to mana.
It had been easy to summon a few birds and have them sense it.
The four birds I sent north all brought the same answer: nothing unusual, no trace of mana. Animals had simple minds, but that made their answers clear. If four all said the same, then Prenia wasn’t in the north.
‘So that leaves east, south, or west.’
We were staying in a village northeast of here. Troxia lay south.
I had only sent birds north because it was close. The other directions were too far, and I couldn’t keep a strong link with the birds.
‘Where’s the most likely place she’d be?’
If I went further south, there was the largest trade city in the area—the one I had stayed in once with Calix.
‘Should I go there?’
Resting my chin on my hand, I glanced at the door. No one was coming in. Quietly, I perched on the window sill and leapt out.
Outside the inn, night had already fallen. The darkness hid everything.
I walked a few steps further, then crouched and placed my hand on the ground.
Closing my eyes, I let my mana seep into the earth. It spread out quickly like spiderweb threads, probing everything above and below. It moved so fast even I could hardly follow it.
It stretched past the inn, beyond the village, through the forest, down streams… but no signs appeared even far away.
‘Maybe I picked the wrong direction.’
Seeing nothing, I stopped.
I dusted my hands, stepped back, then ran forward and leapt, with a touch of magic to boost me.
The room was silent, just as before.
Calix had been shut in his room for hours, likely talking with the knights. I glanced at his door but crawled into bed instead.
The knights here were only the elite, the rest left behind in Hertio in case of emergencies.
I could have eavesdropped on their conversation—but I didn’t.
Even if the knights swore loyalty, capturing the emperor meant rebellion. No matter how loyal, they would feel the weight of it.
But I trusted Calix. I believed he would make the plan succeed, no matter what. Not listening in was my own way of showing trust. Calix wouldn’t know, of course.
The truth was, I was hiding something from him. My plan to destroy the dragon.
I had been putting off telling him, waiting for the right time. Really, I should have said it sooner.
But how could I? Calix worried about my safety so much. If I told him I planned to destroy the dragon that was bound to me…
‘If I say that, Calix might collapse, or lock me up so I can’t go anywhere.’
He might even cry this time.
That was why I avoided chasing after him too much. Seeing his face reminded me of what I hadn’t told him.
Honestly, I didn’t think I could persuade him. But I also didn’t want to do it behind his back.
‘I promised never to leave him.’
But then—how could I bring it up?
I knew how much he feared for my safety. He had used the dragon as bait with confidence, but I doubted he would ever accept me destroying it completely.
Just imagining telling him made my stomach tighten.
‘If I were Calix…’
If I were him…
……
No answer came. My head just started to ache.
“Ugh, forget it.”
Better to sleep.
Amil was the second of the personal aides Calix Axel Hertio commanded. He had come from a small kingdom that fell when he was young, then crossed into the empire. He had joined Hertio seeking steady work.
The third was Melrn. Amil didn’t know much about his past—rumor said he had once been a knight serving a fallen noble house. Amil didn’t care much if that was true.
The first was Tan. He was around the duke’s age, and from the look of things, had known him since childhood. Though he had only formally worked under him recently.
The three weren’t close, but they shared a faint sense of camaraderie. As Hertio’s private aides, they kept a certain peace and order.
They were used whenever the duke needed something done in secret. Until recently, that mostly meant finding a certain person.
It was a waste of skilled people, Amil often complained. But Melrn and Tan simply obeyed their master.
After the duke brought back the red-haired woman, their search ended. They had enjoyed the most relaxed time since being hired—until last week, when it ended.
The duke had given new orders.
Now, Amil and Melrn were watching over a villa. “Villa” was an understatement—it was practically a mansion, maybe even a small castle.
The one staying there was the emperor herself. Amil didn’t know why their master wanted the emperor watched so closely.
Duke Hertio never hid his dislike of the emperor. He did sometimes investigate scandals and schemes in secret, but he usually ignored the imperial palace entirely. Why suddenly order such close surveillance?
“Hey, knight. See anything?”
“…Nothing.”
Night had fallen, and it was hard to see. Amil clicked his tongue at Melrn’s cold reply.
He often called Melrn “knight” mockingly—not only because of his past as a knight, but also his stiff, blunt nature.
As a coworker, Melrn was fine. As a friend, terrible—that was Amil’s opinion. Tan always teased him, saying, “You must like Melrn, since you talk about him so much.”
In any case, after several days of watching, all they saw was the emperor enjoying her holiday.
There was a huge lake in front of the villa. On good days, she would drag servants and maids out and enjoy tea by the lake.
She also didn’t neglect hunting. Riding out on horseback, she would return with prey like bears or deer.
Despite days of surveillance, there was little to report. But Amil didn’t mind. Their master had given a simple order:
“The moment the emperor leaves the villa, report to me.”
“That Tan… staying warm guarding the ‘lady,’ while we’re stuck here with boring work.”
Amil grumbled. Of course, Melrn didn’t reply.
“Knight, don’t you have some funny stories?”
Again, silence.
“Tch.” Amil turned his head, but then Melrn suddenly spoke, breaking the quiet.
“In a short time, you’d better fix that disrespectful tone.”
Amil’s eyes widened.
“Because we’ll soon be serving that ‘lady’ ourselves.”
Amil knew it too. Everyone knew their master was completely devoted to the woman he had finally found.
But what really shocked Amil was something else.
“…Do you realize that’s the longest sentence you’ve ever said to me?”
“….”
Melrn fell silent again and turned his head away. Amil clicked his tongue once more.
“Terrible as a friend,” he muttered to himself.
