Chapter 59
In front of the royal palace of the Campton Kingdom.
As Derwin was just about to enter the palace, something caught his eye—a group of soldiers on horseback rushing out through the gates. If it had been just one or two, he would have thought nothing of it, but he had already seen them on his way here. There must have been at least fifty.
Strange. Unless there was a major incident, soldiers would never be moving in such numbers at this late hour, so close to midnight.
“Where are they going?”
Derwin slowed his horse near the palace checkpoint and asked one of the guards. He pressed down the unease in his chest, if only for a moment.
“They are moving under His Majesty’s orders. His Majesty himself even rode out with the vanguard… But, sir, aren’t you supposed to be in the Kingdom of Larta? Why are you here?”
The guard, puzzled, asked in return, but Derwin didn’t hear a word.
His Majesty rode out at this hour? With soldiers?
The strange feeling he had been having seemed to fall into place.
“Where did His Majesty go?”
“That… I don’t know, sir.”
The guard hesitated, glancing around nervously. The fact that the King had left the palace in the middle of the night was not something he was supposed to reveal to anyone. But Derwin was not only a royal guard knight, he was also an honorary duke. So the guard told him what little he knew—but the truth was, he really didn’t know more.
“Who does know?”
“I… really can’t say.”
The man’s face showed nothing but genuine ignorance. Derwin shifted his approach.
“His Majesty cannot have left without anyone knowing. Tell me who might know.”
His urgency weighed on the guard.
Just then, someone else came galloping out of the palace gates on horseback. Derwin instinctively blocked his path.
“Move aside! This is urgent!”
“You’re following His Majesty, aren’t you?”
The rider wore the white uniform of the Kaisel Knights. It was Rochess. His brow was deeply furrowed in the dark, but the moment he saw who was blocking him, he fell silent. Derwin didn’t miss it.
“So I was right. Is this about my fiancée?”
Rochess turned his horse’s head as if to ignore him and pass. But then Derwin said coldly:
“I was just on my way to tear apart the Kaisel Knights’ commander’s office.”
At that, Rochess’s face contorted.
He hadn’t been on duty that night, but when summoned urgently to the palace, he had heard everything from the royal guards.
But the report hadn’t made sense. The commander of the Kaisel Knights, Stern, had taken Chanellica with him to do something suspicious. The King’s personal guards had been ambushed by some unknown man and trapped in a pit. Only one had arrived late, learned what had happened, and rushed back to report to the King.
Whatever the case, the Kaisel Knights were the kingdom’s most elite order. No one really knew what the commander was up to. Rochess had to go and see for himself. Besides, he was certain Stern wasn’t crazy enough to do something strange with Chanellica.
But Derwin’s words made him rethink.
The King himself had gone out. And here was Derwin—supposed to be abroad as the princess’s escort—appearing in the middle of the night at the palace, demanding to know about his fiancée, threatening to tear apart the commander’s office, his face full of anxious urgency.
Something was definitely wrong.
Rochess decided to set aside his doubts for now.
“It seems so. Come with me. I don’t know the exact place, but if we ride fast, we should catch the rear guard. They went northeast.”
Derwin immediately wheeled his horse and spurred it forward.
In the dark night, the two knights rode at full speed.
After catching up with the soldiers, Derwin rode on for another half a day without rest. Dawn broke, and the sun rose.
Having ridden straight from the Kingdom of Larta for two days without stopping, Derwin’s body was near its limit. Worse still was the pain inside him, which seemed to be growing weaker, as if fading.
You must not die, Lady Chanellica. Never!
The thought filled him with dread. It was easier when the pain lashed at him relentlessly. But if that pain—and the strange sense of connection—disappeared completely, he feared it meant Chanellica had vanished from the world.
By the time the frigid night air had warmed again, Derwin spotted a massive cave deep within a menacing forest. A large carriage stood before it, with about ten soldiers guarding the entrance.
This was the place.
Thump, thump, thump.
Derwin steadied himself, though his head swam. His heart was pounding strangely, as though it wasn’t even his own. A crushing sense of dread pressed down on his shoulders.
“You cannot enter!”
The guards moved to block him as he rode closer.
She’s in there, and you say I can’t go in?
Without a word, Derwin drew the black longbow strapped to his back and aimed it at them.
“Th-that’s—!”
“Stand aside.”
He had no intention of shooting, but the mere sight of that legendary bow—the weapon famed for never missing—was enough to make the soldiers blanch in terror. He snatched a torch from one of them and ran straight into the cave.
The cave was vast and winding. He ran endlessly, at times choosing the wrong fork and hitting dead ends. His body was soaked in sweat, the air thick with the metallic tang of blood. But Derwin didn’t stop. His only thought was to reach Chanellica.
At last, he saw another light ahead—faint, but real.
He sprinted toward it and emerged into a cavern so massive it hardly seemed part of the same cave. Dozens of soldiers stood in a circle, torches raised, surrounding someone.
She’ll be safe. She has to be safe.
Derwin repeated the thought as he ran. As the distance closed, he began to see the figure within the ring.
Why… is she lying down?
The face he had longed to see through two sleepless nights of desperate riding came into view. His mind went blank.
“Chanellica!”
Clang!
The soldiers’ blades crossed, barring his way.
“Move!”
“No one is to be let through!”
They seized him, dozens of them at once. In the struggle, Derwin finally saw her clearly.
“Chanellica!”
Her face was bruised, swollen, covered in cuts. If not for the telltale soft pink hair and the clothes he had once given her, he might not have recognized her at all.
Beside her sat King Eleusis. Chanellica lay against the King’s cloak, weakly sipping water from his hand.
Derwin took in the rest of the scene. The culprit—Stern—was bound and shoved against the far wall of the cavern, guarded by soldiers. Derwin’s rage at him boiled over, but he forced it aside.
“Chanellica!”
Gone was his usual composure. His cry shook the cavern, raw with grief and fury. He wanted nothing more than to tear apart everything standing between them.
The shout reached Eleusis. He carefully tipped water between Chanellica’s split lips and said gently:
“Lady Chanellica. It seems your fiancé has come.”
Thankfully, she was conscious. Her eyes were swollen shut, barely able to open, but she reacted.
After rushing here on hearing the report, Eleusis had immediately subdued Stern and taken care of Chanellica as best he could.
Her battered state made him grind his teeth. He wanted to carry her straight back to the palace, but she wouldn’t survive such a long ride on horseback. He had to wait for the carriage and physicians.
“So please swallow a little more. If you can’t drink, you won’t last. Or… shall I ask Sir Derwin to help you?”
Flinch.
At those words, Chanellica stirred. She forced herself to swallow the water, then parted her lips.
“…Don’t… want…”
Her voice was so faint he couldn’t hear. Eleusis leaned closer.
“I don’t want him.”
Her whisper rasped with pain.
“That… man… I don’t want him.”
The words barely came out, but they stunned Eleusis.
“That man… you mean Sir Derwin?”
She nodded weakly.
“You mean… you don’t want him?”
Again, a nod.
Eleusis’s thoughts churned. He gazed into her mint-green eyes through her swollen lids. The focus was weak, but it was there. And what they held was unmistakable—resentment. Anger.
Why?
The question burned, but he could guess. If Derwin was in any way responsible for this tragedy, then Chanellica’s reaction made sense.
“You mean… you don’t want to see him?”
“……”
“Then we must take you to the palace. Not to Sir Derwin’s estate.”
She nodded once more.
“Very well. We’ll do as you wish.”
Chanellica fell silent again. Eleusis thought to himself—whatever had happened between her and Derwin, this could be his chance.
“Glynn!”
He called sharply to one of his royal guards.
“Drag Derwin Cartel out of the cave.”
