"Princess...?"

Everyone's attention was focused on Aoife who tried her best to keep her composure.

Feeling the pressure that was bearing down on her from the post leaders, she withstood it all and tried to act as calmly as possible.

"Don't move. Everyone stay here. That's an order."

"Excuse me?"

Frowning, one of the post leaders looked at her.

Aoife recognized him.

Andrew Colnell of the Raging Bulls Guild. With his tall stature and burly body, he was quite intimidating to look at.

"The potential culprit has escaped, and you're telling us to stay still? What sort of situation is this? Could it be that the two of you are collud"

Aoife squinted her eyes and he stopped speaking.

"....The Megrail family gains nothing by doing this to you."

Her gaze quietly swept the room.

"If we wanted to get rid of the fifteen Guilds, we would be able to do so in a heartbeat. Those of Central would be more than willing to help. After all, without the fifteen Guilds, that would mean that fifteen Mirror Cracks will be available for the noble houses to take."

One of the main reasons why the Megrail family allowed the Guilds to be in power and granted them access to the Mirror Cracks was specifically to tie down the noble houses.

There had been several coup d'tat attempts in the past.

It was for that reason that the Megrail family was so hell-bent on keeping its power and pressuring those beneath them.

While it did affect the overall growth of the Empire, it also made their ruling far more stable than that of the other Empires.

.....It was such action that allowed them to become the strongest Empire of the four.

A strong nation with a dysfunctional head was just an empty shell in Aoife's eyes.

"If you really think I'm colluding with him, you can go ahead and file a report to the Megrail family once this is over. Of course, that will be after you deal with the aftermath of Haven's wrath. Do I even need to remind you who the two current heads of the Academy are?"

Aoife's words continued to reverberate across the room.

The eyes of the post-leaders changed.

Clearly, there were many that wanted to refute her words, and not take her seriously. However, the 'Megrail' name continued to hang over their heads, preventing them from making any rash movements.

Such was the power Aoife was bestowed since birth.

"Sit down."

Aoife's cold voice echoed across the room.

Despite clearly being the weakest in the room, it didn't seem like that at all from the way she carried herself.

Eventually, several of the post-leaders went ahead and followed her orders and sat down.

Aoife looked at them and acknowledged them with a small nod.

She was satisfied.

Of course, not all sat down and her gaze soon paused on them.

At the helm was none other than the post-leader of the Black Hound Guild.

"Are you perhaps not satisfied with my order?"

"...."

Karl didn't answer immediately.

His expression was blank, and his red eyes flickered slightly. With a twitch of his expression, he soon put up a smile.

"Satisfied? I wouldn't say I'm satisfied. You must understand that I'm doing this to figure out what is going on. Currently, several cadets and members of the supply station have fallen into a coma. The only lead we have is the cadet that we have detained."

".....I understand that"

"It's good that you understand it, princess. If you understand, then you must also understand that his sudden 'escape' is even more suspicious. He wouldn't have run away if he had nothing to hide and was innocent."

"That's not true."

Aoife shook her head while drumming her fingers over the armrest of the chair.

"....Didn't you specifically say that you were trying to not break him? From what I can tell, you were trying to torture him. My best guess is that he's running away because of that. If anything, this is all your fault."

"Hehe, he..."

Karl let out a nervous laugh.

"Princess, didn't you say that his mental score was 8.23? The little torture that I subjected him to is nothing. If anything, it probably tickled."

"So...?"

Aoife's eyes narrowed.

"Just because he could withstand it, that doesn't mean he liked it."

Clenching onto the armrest of the chair, her expression darkened.

"Sit down. I won't allow any one of you to interfere with the matter. If he's truly the culprit, then we'll find out soon enough."

"But"

"I'm sure you're confident in the bunker's safety system, correct? If that's the case, then what is there to be worried about? He'll get caught even without your interference."

To that, nobody could say a thing.

Everyone present understood how the inner structure of the bunker worked. Escaping was almost impossible.

It was like a maze.

Unless someone knew how the inner structure of the bunker worked, then there was no way they'd be able to escape.

At such thoughts, several of the post-leaders sighed in relief and relaxed back.

"Alright, then."

This was especially so for the Black Hound post-leader.

Looking at Aoife, he nodded his head with a smile.

"I'll follow the Princess's arrangement."

At the same time, he glanced at the guard that had entered the room. Though he didn't say anything, his message was clear.

'Find him.'

The guard nodded, before excusing himself from the room.

Aoife stared at the interaction without saying a word. She couldn't have said anything because he hadn't said a thing.

Not that she would've.

This was as far as her powers allowed her to help.

Though she carried the Megrail name, she was merely a princess without any contention for the throne.

Her words could only hold so much weight.

'I hope this is enough.'

She was a little worried. After all, it was almost impossible to escape without knowing how the inner structure of the bunker worked.

If possible, she would've preferred to help out more.

There was something clearly wrong with the situation and the post-leaders seemed extremely untrustworthy.

'Someone here is definitely behind this.'

Her eyes paused on the post-leader of the Black Hound Guild.

To her, he was the most suspicious.

However, she had no evidence to back up her statement. In the end, she could only sit back and close her eyes.

This really was the best she could do for now.

***

"Haa... Haaa..."

My breathing was rough. I wasn't sure for how long I had run. Looking ahead, all that met my sight was a long and narrow corridor that split in four directions.

This place was like a maze.

.....If it weren't for the fact that I knew which direction to go to, then escaping would've been impossible.

"Run! Run! We've received reports that there's someone on the run! Find him at all costs!"

In the distance, I could hear the voices of the guards.

"Huuu."

Taking a deep breath, I didn't rush forward and took a deep breath.

At the same time, I brought my hand forward and threads flowed out from my forearm. The threads extended from out of my arm, flowing to the ground and separating into several directions.

My chest squeezed at the mana expenditure.

However, this was a necessary step.

"Done..."

Taking another deep breath, I headed to my left where another corridor was.

I ran for a few minutes before stopping and jumping up.

With the aid of the threads, I helped myself onto the ceiling of the corridor. In the process, I maintained my breathing and calmed my breathing heart.

The ensuing silence was one laden with tension.

That silence was inevitably broken by the sound of the passing guards who rushed ahead.

"This way!"

"Look! There are threads on the ground! Follow the threads!"

Following the threads on the ground, they rushed past the spot I was in. I stared at their departing backs with bathed breath.

Thud.

I only fell back down when I could no longer see them.

'It worked.'

With everyone's attention on the threads, nobody noticed my presence right on top of them. Such had been one of my goals in laying the threads out.

Of course, their other goal was to allow me to know how many guards were ahead and from which direction they were coming.

"Ukh...!"

I felt lightheaded.

It was hard to keep the threads out for so long. They took a heavy toll on my mana.

'.....Almost.'

With that being said, I had no other choice but to continue.

Even as my head felt light and I could hardly think properly, I rushed ahead.

There was a certain direction that I needed to go.

And that place wasn't the exit. No, going to the exit was not a smart move. There were probably several powerful guards waiting for me there. Since they knew that my goal was escaping, I was sure they'd be there to wait for me.

It was for that reason that I headed in a different direction.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

With heavy breaths, I continued to my rush.

Whenever guards appeared, I'd repeat the same steps as before.

"This way! Go!"

Thud.

Falling down, my knees buckled.

I was exhausted.

.....It had been a few minutes since my mana had pretty much depleted. The number of threads that were on the ground was low, and the speed at which I was running was also extremely so.

"Haa... Haa..."

Thankfully, I was near my destination.

Holding onto the side of the corridor, I laid my eyes on the distant room.

Given the current circumstances, there was only one guard stationed outside. He was on the weaker side and didn't seem at all like a threat. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my hat and straightened my back.

Then, trying my best to keep my face firm, I walked forward calmly.

Tak, Tak

The sound of my footsteps echoed within the quiet hall.

"Who are you?"

Upon noticing my presence, the guard grew wary. Licking my lips, I spoke,

"Stay put."

His body stopped.

So did I.

Looking up, his entire face was pale as he looked at me with widened eyes.

"Huuu."

Extending my hand forward, a purple hand materialized right beneath his neck.

"Ukeh...!"

It grasped his neck directly.

Following that, his body grew limp and his eyes rolled back.

Thud!

His body fell shortly after.

"Haaa... Haaa... Haaa..."

Holding onto my knees, I desperately gasped for air. My lungs were burning, and sweat dripped down from the side of my face.

Still, it wasn't over yet.

Clenching my teeth, I moved forward and reached out for the door.

At the same time that I did that, I used the threads to help keep the guard's body in the same position as it was before.

My body tingled at the effort but I suppressed the pain and entered.

Clank

"Ukeh...! Who are you?!"

Immediately after entering the room, I was greeted with a white room where over a dozen beds appeared, each with a person lying in it.

In the middle of the room was a man dressed in white who was staring at me with a scared expression.

"Shhh."

He was most likely the doctor.

Bringing my finger to my lips, I looked around.

"I need to"

My thoughts stopped the moment my eyes paused in a certain direction.

"W-what...?"

I stood frozen in disbelief.

Blinking to make sure I was seeing correctly, my heart dropped.

"H-ha."

My chest trembled as I neared the body.

"H-how?"

It was a familiar face. A face that I was now used to seeing each day.

With wide open eyes, he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

I felt the beat of my own heart drum within my mind.

"Just what in"

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh

"....!"

A change occurred before I could get my words out.

I stood frozen on the spot as everyone within the room sat up straight. Their white eyes locked onto me.

Leon too.

Something inside me wrenched and soured under their gazes.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

In the silence that took over, the drumming within my mind completely overtook my senses.

"...."

Rigidly turning my head, the hair at the back of my neck stood on end as my eyes locked onto the doctor's.

He too...

Had white eyes.

Staring at me like the others, his mouth parted open.

And,

"Hieeeeeeeek"

He screamed.