“…..”

He would have preferred it if the Regent became angry. But instead, the regent received the report without any change in expression, which caused the knight to become even more nervous.

It was an unprecedented situation where the successor of the kingdom had been kidnapped. It wouldn’t end with all the escorting knights being stripped of their status. Even if all of them were hanged, they would have nothing to say.

Even so, the regent was calm.

“Hmm…”

‘Gulp!’

Vincent was deep in thought, tapping on the armrest of his chair with a deep frown. The knight became anxious when Vincent raised his head.

“Let His Majesty Isla know that I will entrust him with all plans to track the kidnappers to rescue Prince Raymond.”

“Yes, Lord Regent.”

“And regarding the responsibility and punishment for the situation, I will hold it off until the situation is completely resolved.”

“Yes…”

The knight lowered his head, his heart pounding.

“Naturally, I will take all the various factors into account. The perpetrators took action while being aware of the presence of all the sirs and Lord Isla. In addition, they actually succeeded in kidnapping Prince Raymond. They are not ordinary by any means. There are a few places I have in mind.”

“Ah…!”

The knight looked up with an expression of hope.

Regent Vincent was very experienced and knowledgeable. It was as if there was nothing in the world he did not know. If he had any guesses, surely the perpetrators would be one of them.

Moreover, identifying the criminals would be greatly helpful in tracking them.

“I will try to discover their identity. It probably will not take long. I will contact His Majesty Isla as soon as I find out.”

“All right.”

“Be careful not to let anything slip. If word gets out, the entire kingdom will be thrown into chaos. Of course, just as His Majesty Isla said, the prince’s safety is likely guaranteed since they kidnapped him with a purpose. But if things escalate, it may become difficult to guarantee his safety.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Well, you may head back now.”

“Yes, sir.”

The knight saluted before leaving the office, and Vincent stood up and walked to the window.

‘The Grey Desperados or the Shadow Brotherhood. It’s one or the other.’

Although he told the knight that he had a few guesses, Vincent had already reached a conclusion after listening to the report.

There were only two groups who would be bold and talented enough to kidnap a member of the Pendragon Kingdom’s royal family. He was also convinced that the assassins responsible for killing Luna Seyrod in the past also belonged to the Grey Desperados or the Shadow Brotherhood.

‘This is dangerous.’

As a Master of the Twilight Tower, Vincent was well aware of how dangerous the two groups were. Although it was known to the world that the deaths of several nobles and influential figures were due to natural causes or accidents, the Masters of the Twilight Tower knew that the two groups were behind them.

But they could not reveal the truth.

Due to the nature of assassins, if the truths about them were to surface, they would shrink even deeper into their holes. As such, several Masters of the Twilight Tower had been tracking them in secret.

‘Who is behind this? What is their purpose? Why would they target the princes and the princess…’

Vincent frowned.

The assassins were commissioned to carry out tasks. As such, it meant that someone stood behind the kidnappers.

However, the Pendragon Kingdom had maintained a harmonious relationship with other nations and territories over the recent years. They had never done anything to incur others’ enmity.

His head was in a muddle.

‘I should contact the tower for now.’

The Masters of the Twilight Towers did not know much about each other. No one even knew what the masters were up to except the senior masters, known as the Five Hands.

However, the current situation was involving the safety of a nation that possessed a great influence over the world. They would surely provide the required information.

‘I hope there is progress in the meantime…’

Vincent began writing a letter to the tower with a stern expression.

*** 

Clop. Clop.

Two horses slowly passed through a deserted road.

A man in his mid to late 20s and a young boy was riding on one, and a figure wearing a deep hood was on the other. A drooping figure was finely tied to the saddle of the second horse.

“Hmm…”

Raven glanced down at the boy with interest in his eyes.

The child looked to be around seven or eight, but he was really quiet. Kids were usually curious and could not hold back their chatter at that age. Nevertheless, during the several hours they crossed the forest...

“Thank you.”

“I am fine.”

He had not spoken at all except for these two words, when he was helped on the horse, and when he was asked if he was hungry.

‘It’s clear that he is a noble. He was well-educated.’

Although Raven did not like children very much, he found the boy to be rather likeable. The child was incredibly mature and polite.

‘Come to think of it…’

He took on a nostalgic expression. He remembered his youngest sister. She was always sitting on his lap, looking up at him with her large, clear eyes, silently pressuring him to tell her stories about monsters.

Mia was as mature and quiet as the boy when she was a child. Of course, she had been mute when she was younger because of psychological trauma, and she had been older than the boy. Although they weren’t exactly the same, Raven could not help but see him overlapped with his younger sister.

‘Would she be turning eighteen this year? She must have grown a lot.’

She would have matured beautifully. Perhaps she was engaged, or even married.

‘It’s definitely been a long time.’

Irene became Empress as Ian’s wife, and Mia was also an adult. Raven felt bittersweet at the thought. Everyone he knew had aged, but he and Soldrake were unchanged from seven years ago.

The two of them weren’t present in the time everyone spent. He could not help but feel a little disappointed and sorry.

“Mm…”

“Ray, I think the child is awake.”

Raven escaped his thoughts at Soldrake’s voice.

“Let’s take a break.”

Raven pulled on the reins of the horse, then slowly picked up the boy before letting him down on the ground.

“Thank you.”

The child bowed and spoke for the third time.

“Yes.”

Raven stroked the child’s head, finding him to be rather commendable.

“Uh…”

Raymond was a little embarrassed. Even in the royal castle, only a few people, including his grandmother and mother, ever stroked his head. However, he wasn’t offended. Rather, it felt good. When the black-haired mister stroked his head, he felt cozy.

Thud!

“Ugh…”

At that time, the vampire slowly opened her eyes while groaning, after being randomly thrown to a nearby tree.

“Uah!”

She urgently looked over her arm. Fortunately, it was slowly regenerating. It would hopefully be restored in three or four days. However, that was very unusual. Until now, it had only taken a few hours or a day at the latest for a limb or a body part to be restored.

“Oi.”

“Hiek!”

The vampire crawled backwards. She was intimidated by Raven’s voice. Her opponent was a strange, terrifying being, capable of cutting off her arm and delaying her regenerative powers. She could not help but feel a great sense of fear.

Moreover…

“Uah… Hick! Hick!”

Her quivering eyes moved past the black-haired man and headed towards the silver-white-haired woman. The vampire’s trembling worsened, and she even started hiccupping. 

At first glance, the opponent was only an incredibly beautiful human. However, the unidentified energy emitting from her body caused the vampire to tighten up and suffocate. She struggled to speak.

“W, w, what kind of being, a, are you…?”

She could not make eye contact. Even glancing at the being caused her limbs to numb and made her feel suffocated.

“None of your business.”

“Hick!”

Soldrake responded coldly, and the vampire bowed her head and frantically hiccupped. She could die, or even be extinguished forever. The vampire had a hunch that the woman with deep, cool eyes could erase her very existence with the flick of a finger.

“What is your name?”

“A, are you asking for my True Name…?”

Raven asked, and she answered while slowly raising her head.

“True Name? Anything is fine, so tell me your name.”

“Yes. Stop being so annoying.”

“My name is Bernadette Andrea Bortan Yunka! Heuk! Hie, hick!”

Soldrake followed up on Raven’s words, and the vampire instinctively answered as fast as she could. Her expression became pale afterwards.

The True Name of a vampire was…

“Why is it so complicated? I can only remember Berna. Anyways, Berna.”

“Hiek! Yes…”

Berna nodded helplessly with a pale expression.

‘It’s all over. Ah…’

“Why did you kidnap this child?”

“To bring chaos to the place where this child belongs.”

“Chaos? Is this child that important?”

Raymond had a nervous expression. Raven narrowed his forehead while looking at the child.

“Yes. He is classified to be of an exceptional level of importance. Not only to us, but most likely to other organizations as well.”

“Hmm. Organization? Where do you belong to?”

“The Shadow Brotherhood…”

“Hooh?”

Raven’s eyes glistened.

He was familiar with the name.

The demonic army had been filled with all sorts of human trash. Raven had heard about an assassination group called the Shadow Brotherhood during his time in the demonic army.

No one knew where they were located, and it was impossible for ordinary people to make commissions due to the highly unique and difficult method of making contact. In addition, all of the brotherhood’s members were said to be skilled and powerful. Regular swordsmen and knights would not be their match.

“Hmm. If it is the Shadow Brotherhood, there could be members capable of escaping my senses with an irregular technique.”

“Y, you know about the Shadow Brotherhood? Heuk!”

Berna raised her head. Her face was filled with shock. However, she quickly bowed her head as soon as she met Soldrake’s gaze.

‘What kind of a person is he? How does he know about…’

The Shadow Brotherhood was an organization operating in utmost secrecy. Most people had never even heard of its name, let alone know their identity. Only a select few people knew about the organization among the nobles, knights, mercenaries, and big shots of nations.

She could not believe that the man in front of her knew the name of the organization.

‘Well, I guess it makes sense…’

Although Number 3 had been injured, the man had subdued him in a single blow and overpowered herself without much effort. It would not be strange for such a powerful figure to know about the Shadow Brotherhood.

“Well, that’s that. And who is this child? He wasn’t giving us an answer.”

“T, that’s…!”

Raymond became startled.

However, Berna could no longer lie to Raven after speaking her True Name. She spoke in a small voice.

“This child… is Raymond Pendragon. The prince and official successor of the Pendragon Kingdom.”

“…..!”

Raven’s eyes filled with disbelief. He slowly turned his head towards the flustered boy. If what she said was true, the child was his son.

“Y, you are…”

Raven fumbled with a trembling voice.

He had black hair and dark, clear brown eyes. And although soft and delicate, the child possessed a sharp jawline.

No wonder the child felt familiar.

How did he not notice it?

The face of the child, who was now biting his lips and reading the air, was surprisingly similar to that of his own in childhood.