"Keugh!”

Number 2 was thrown to the hard floor. He raised his head.

“Look over him for a second.”

“Yes, master.”

Berna quickly responded to Raven’s words, then stood at attention next to Number 2. Raven turned his head once more and added in.

“Oh, and don’t tell Raymond who I am yet.”

“Yes!”

“Good.”

Raven nodded his head before exiting out the door. She was much more obedient than before.

“You are dead now. Hehe!”

“Keugh…”

As soon as Raven left, Berna spoke mockingly with a grin, and Number 2 bit his lips. He believed that there were less than ten people in the world stronger than him. No, it was true. However, there were two absolute being capable of easily squashing him like a bug.

And one of them was…

Thud.

The door opened.

“Hiek!”

Although she mocked Number 2, Berna jumped in surprised when the figure walked in. She had been immensely surprised to learn the true identity of the woman.

Number 2 slowly turned his gaze. 

It was blinding. 

It wasn’t just because of her beauty, but rather, the atmosphere surrounding the silver-white woman was alien. Moreover, her eyes contained no emotions at all.

‘Soldrake, the Queen of All Dragons…’

Number 2 deflated upon seeing her. He realized the moment he lay his eyes on her. The black-haired man was truly Alan Pendragon, the founding king of the Pendragon Kingdom, and the woman next to him was a dragon. 

There were no other explanations as to why he felt intimidated by simply meeting her gaze.

“Ray, is this the child?”

“Yes. I did not think it was possible to get him to talk using any normal methods. I thought it might be possible for Sol, so I brought you here.”

“Okay.”

Soldrake made eye contact with Number 2.

“Keugh…”

He became startled and attempted to avoid her gaze, but his efforts were futile. It felt as if he was placed under a spell. He could not avoid her gaze, which pulsated with a strange light.

Fwoosh…

Light fluttered in her deep eyes, and the gaze seemed to suck him in. He couldn’t even think of utilizing an irregular technique to escape her gaze. Number 2 already knew he was completely helpless right now.

“What is your name?”

“My name is… Alberto Legan…”

“You kidnapped Raymond? What was the reason?”

“Only Number 1… knows…”

“And where is this child called Number 1?”

“I do not know…”

Number 2, or rather, Alberto Legan answered her questions truthfully and without hesitation. Perhaps his lack of resistance stemmed from the futility he felt facing her. 

Deep down, he desperately wanted to resist, but he could not overcome the pressure being emitted from her eyes.

“Then who commissioned you to kidnap Raymond?”

“That’s…”

He needed to keep his mouth shut. It was taboo for a member of an assassination organization to reveal the identity of their client. Moreover, Alberto placed special spells and bindings on his mind to prevent himself from speaking the names of his clients. Surely he could…

“I, it was Margrave Mirin…”

However, his spells were decimated in the blinding light containing the Spirit of the Dragon. He broke the absolute taboo of an assassin and spoke the name of his client.

“Margrave Mirin?”

Raven narrowed his eyes. 

He had heard the name before.

In the past, when he was still the Duke of Pendragon, he remembered hearing about a vast, remote area located at the eastern end of the Aragon Empire from Ian. In addition, he remembered hearing it once again much more recently.

“Mirin… That should be the place where one of Elkin’s bride candidates is located…”

Mirin was ruled by the father of the lady named Fiona Mirin, who was one of the three bride candidates of Isla. When Raymond was telling Raven about himself, he spoke of the group’s original plan. Their journey would have included a trip to Mirin alongside Isla.

“Hmm…”

Raven had an ominous feeling. 

There was definitely something more. A margrave was similar in status to a high lord. There was no obvious reason for Margrave Mirin to devise such an audacious plan when he wanted to receive the Knight King of Valvas as his son-in-law.

“I need to meet with Elkin as soon as possible.”

Raven clicked his tongue. The problem was that he didn’t know where Isla was currently located. Since one of his bride candidates was the sister of Governor-General Edenfield, he would surely come to Edenfield. However, with Raymond’s kidnapping, Raven wasn’t sure exactly when Isla would head to Edenfield.

“Hmm…”

Raven pondered, then suddenly raised his head. Come to think of it, before he captured the assassin, Raven had sensed the presence of the one known as Number 3 as well.

It meant the two figures had shared a conversation.

“Sol, please ask him what he talked about with Number 3.”

“Okay.”

Soldrake moved her gaze to Alberto once again.

“What did you talk about with that escaped child earlier on?”

“T, that’s… Keugh!”

Alberto clenched his teeth. 

He heard King Pendragon mumbling to himself a while ago. He wasn’t aware that the Knight King of Valvas was already in this place. If he found out that Isla was already in Edenfield and tracking Number 3, the plan would…

“T, the Knight King of Valvas is already here, and we were forced to revise our plan after being discovered by him… Keugh!”

Alberto fiercely attempted to resist by fortifying his mental strength, but his defenses were quickly shattered, and he spoke before vomiting blood.

“What did you say?” 

Raven spoke with alarm.

“Your plan? What is your plan?” 

Raven asked urgently, and Alberto had no choice but to answer after Soldrake repeated the question. He stuttered as blood kept pouring out of his mouth.

“I handed an aphrodisiac to Number 11, who was disguised as a servant at the residence of Edenfield’s governor-general. He then delivered it to the governor-general’s cousin… Since the Knight King of Valvas is occupied trying to chase after Number 3 with the knights, Number 3 is going to subjugate Princess Mia and, and… Kuagh!”

His head hung limply along with a moan. He wasn’t able to overcome the Spirit of the Dragon that penetrated deep into his mind and lost consciousness.

“Dammit…”

Raven felt a sense of urgency.

“Sol! We are going to the residence of Edenfield’s governor-general right away.”

“Yeah.”

“You come as well, vampire. You take care of this guy.”

“Ye, yes, master!”

Berna hurriedly slung Alberto over her shoulders before following.

“Raymond!”

“Huh? Yes, mister.”

Raymond answered with wide eyes. He had been hanging around outside the door.

“We are going to leave right now. Get on my back.”

“What? Ah, yes!”

Although he was young, he quickly grasped the urgency of the situation. He hurriedly climbed on Raven’s back.

‘It’s warm…’

It was the first time he felt the warmth and width of his father’s back.

“We are going to make haste, so make sure you hold on tightly. If there is a situation where I have to fight, hold on to my waist.”

Raven spoke gently after wrapping a piece of cloth around his son’s back to his shoulder.

“Yes, mister.”

They came to a tacit understanding. Even before his father spoke, the son was already tightly grabbing onto his father’s waist. He tightened his grasp even further with a look of determination.

“By the way, where are we going?”

“The residence of Edenfield’s governor-general.”

“Ah!”

Raven looked back towards his son with a warm, soft gaze. He continued, 

“Let’s go save your aunt together.”

***

“This is strange…”

Isla slowly observed the surroundings with sharp eyes. Ten soldiers accompanied each knight. Almost one hundred men were mobilized to thoroughly search the streets crowded with mercenaries and travellers. 

Even so, they weren’t making any progress.

Isla could only sense a very dim, cold trail of the assassin. The same was true of the place where the assassin was spotted last. 

No trace of him could be found even after thoroughly searching through more than 30 buildings in the vicinity. It felt like smoke and mirrors.

“Did you hear anything from the gates?”

“No, Your Majesty. We have deployed troops in every corner of the walls, but nothing out of the ordinary has been reported thus far.”

“Hmm…”

Isla narrowed his eyes even more at the words of a knight of Edenfield. As an imperial directive under the direct control of the empire, there were about 5,000 troops residing in Edenfield. 

Such an enormous number of soldiers were guarding the gates, the walls, and thoroughly monitoring and searching the cities. However, they could not find any traces of the enemy. This could only mean…

“Are they still here…?” 

Isla muttered quietly, then focused his mind. 

“If I were them…”

Isla wasn’t simply strong, but also intelligent. He put himself in the enemy’s shoes. 

It was highly likely that Number 3 returned to Edenfield to report back to his superiors, but Number 3 ran after encountering himself.

He would be left with two options. 

Any ordinary human would immediately evacuate the city or hide themselves in the shadows to gauge the atmosphere. However, the opponents were bold enough to kidnap the prince of the Pendragon Kingdom in broad daylight.

“That means…”

Isla had to think outside the box. 

Someone who was audacious enough to kidnap the prince…

“Did you meet your superior, as originally planned?”

That was the only plausible answer. And by now, it was certain that they would have reported back the current situation. So, the two of them were probably planning an escape together while holding Raymond.

“However…”

Isla stroked his chin while falling in deeper contemplation. In the first place, the enemies were after both Raymond and Mia. It was obvious that their tasks would have been much easier if they had been planning to kidnap only one of the two, but they still attempted to take both. As such, they…

“Ah!”

Isla suddenly raised his head.

“Continue the search! I’m returning to the residence!”

“What? Ah, yes!”

The knights of Edenfield hurriedly replied, but Isla was already long gone.

***

“I greet Your Highness Princess Mia. I am the eldest son of the Lord of Beal…”

“I am Pairin Lance of the Knights of Lance.”

“It is a great pleasure to meet you. I am well aware of the reputation of the Knights of Lance.”

Although the banquet had not yet officially begun, Mia was responding with a smile to the greetings of numerous nobles, stretching out her hand towards them.

Despite being drunk on her beauty, they were also thrilled to see her willingly stretch out her hand for them to kiss. However, there were just too many people wanting to greet her, so only a limited period of time was granted to each of the knights and nobles. In the end, they had no choice but to step aside with regretful expressions. It was even truer of young men.

However, they dared not complain. The knights standing guard at her sides possessed sharp gazes and exuded an intimidating atmosphere.

“Princess Mia,” o

ne of the knights of Edenfield spoke carefully.

“Yes? What is it?”

“The governor-general would like to see you for a moment before the banquet. He has something to discuss with you.”

“Is that so? Hmm, all right.”

“Please, come this way.”

She felt a little puzzled but followed him anyways. Pendragon Kingdom’s knights naturally followed behind the two like shadows.

“He is inside.”

The knight spoke after arriving at a door located deep inside the hall. Mia nodded before walking forward, and the Pendragon Knights followed behind her.

“Ah, the governor-general informed me that it was an important issue. He wanted to see you alone if possible.”

“Is that so? Please stay here for a while, sirs.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The knights bowed their heads before retreating. They had to respect the words of the governor-general.

Squeak.

Mia slowly opened the door before heading inside.

Dozens of fragrant candles were burning from the hanging chandelier. The interior felt very cozy and soft.

“Your Excellency?”

However, she could not see Count Elven. She walked deeper into the room while looking around.

Click.

Suddenly, a metal click was heard from the door.

It was the sound of the door locking.

“Huh? Ah…!”

Her eyes were filled with confusion and shock.

It wasn’t Count Elven standing at the door.

“Oohh…! You look truly beautiful in a dress, princess!”

Count Elven’s eyes possessed a strong, but gentle light. However, the man’s gaze was filled with nothing but deep desire and lust. Gerard’s eyes slowly swept over Mia’s figure.