Chapter 28
After Isilis had left, a group of people caught Berthas’ eye, who was returning to his accommodation at the annex. They were dressed in black. Their appearance was suspicious, so he was tense. In addition, there was also a sound like a cat thinly crying from somewhere.
“We’re going to get caught with this!”
“Then, what should I do? The baby is crying!”
‘…Baby?’
Why would there be a baby in the Imperial Palace?
After making his decision, Berthas followed them. He followed them out of the palace. They escaped just before the castle closed and hid in the nearby forest.
As soon as he came out of the Larchen Imperial Palace, everything that suppressed his aura disappeared. Feeling a sense of liberation, Berthas quickly looked at them. As soon as he found the man who appeared to be holding a baby, he cut him with a sword without a second’s hesitation.
Berthas gently pulled the child out of the man’s arms before he was about to collapse without even screaming.
“Who are you?”
Confused men surrounded him.
Berthas looked at the child without paying attention to those around him. The child with gentle eyes closely resembles Isilis’ blue eyes. In addition, the dark hair stood out. The men flinched at the sight of Berthas emitting his aura while holding the child with one arm.
“You cannot take the child.”
“Who do you think the child is…!”
Two wizards and two knights. It was a knight who was good with his sword.
‘It’s gotten tricky.’
It was difficult to deal with the wizard and the knight at the same time, especially if he had to protect the child. As he hastily tied the child to the ceremonial cloak that was wrapped around his shoulders, He didn’t forget to send an aura to the wizard, who was about to form a seal.
“Ack!”
The wizard’s arm flew away.
“I said you can’t take the child.”
After confirming that the child was tightly bound, he grabbed the sword with both hands. It was a blunt blade because it was a ceremonial sword, but if he placed an aura, he had a good chance of winning.
‘If the sword holds up…’
The problem was time. There was such a commotion, so there was no way the Imperial Palace could not have noticed.
‘I just have to hold on until someone comes.’
The aura can be used for ten minutes. If he could hold on for that time, he could protect the child.
“Hurry up! Strike him at the same time…!”
The wizard and knights rushed at once. The wizard, whose arm had been cut by Berthas, was slumped in the spot, bleeding. At the sight of the wizard drawing a magic circle with his own blood, Berthas hurriedly leaped his body away.
It was a rough battle.
Swords collided, and he was distracted by avoiding the magic that was thrown at him. As the fireballs flew, he evaded the sword, striking them with an aura.
“Fly it straight!”
The man who was almost hit by a fireball shouted, and the wizard shouted again.
“Get out of the way!”
Seeing the icy arrows flying towards Berthas precisely, he created an aura throughout his body.
Bang!
With a loud noise, Berthas’ sword shattered. He leopard away while looking at the broken blade. The magic circle that was drawn with blood was completed, and the magic circle shone.
“Hurry!”
At the wizard’s cry, they caught him.
Even though Berthas tried to escape using his aura, it was impossible because of Isilis’ barriers that wrapped around the capital. Without realizing that it was already too late, they dragged him away and disappeared somewhere.
“Are there any traces?”
“It stopped here.”
The chief wizard, who was following a magic that was not of Larchen, said to her. Isilis frowned at the blood-stained floor.
“A magic circle.”
“It seems that the magic circle was used because there was not enough magical power to use movement magic.”
“If they had taken the child with them, there would have been no bleeding, right?”
“It looks like someone has tracked it because there was a broken sword.”
“Cast a memory magic.”
Isilis, seeing Berthas’ appearance in the dimly visible video, widened her eyes. However, that was only for a while. There was nothing to be found on her straight face. With a more sunken face, the wizard who had been assisting her carefully opened his mouth.
“Your Majesty.”
“Where did they go?”
“It takes time to track it down. Since it is a magic circle drawn with the blood of a wizard, traces of magic are faint.”
“Find out no matter what.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
If she had moved herself, she could have found them faster, but she needed the magical power to protect Larcen. It was difficult for her to turn that magic around and use it.
“I’ll return to the imperial palace for now.”
Turning around, she left only the minimum amount of wizards needed to pursue them.
Problems in the capital were resolved faster than expected. When she caught the man who claimed to be a pirate, it turned out that he was not a pirate but from another empire. He was a citizen of Hillenton.
Faylos came out.
“Isilis.”
As he stepped forward, Isilis dismissed the people around her. It was only after everyone disappeared that he hurriedly spoke.
“It’s not Berthas. It’s really now.”
“Why are you covering him like that? Maybe, he did take the child away.”
Hearing her cold words, Faylos wrinkled his expression.
“He’s not one to pull such dirty tricks!”
“Why not?”
“….”
Isilis smiled as she looked at Faylos, who couldn’t answer her words.
“You’re too quick to judge him when you can’t even understand him properly. Arrogant Fayl.”
“No. He is not like that.”
“Why do you keep covering him?”
“It’s not about covering him up!”
“If not?”
“You…are you okay?”
The moment it was revealed that the nationality of the one making the fuss was Hillenton, Faylos, clearly witnessed her expression hardening.
“Don’t try to deceive me.”
“What do you mean by deceiving…”
“You asked if I was okay.”
Isilis laughed at his words, her dear and esteemed cousin was afraid her heart might have been broken.
‘Well, Fayl doesn’t know that fact.’
It was a secret known only to her and some of the wizards that Berthas disappeared along with the enemies while trying to save the child. Only those who had seen the memory magic knew it, and as she commanded them to do so, they would not open their mouths.
To the wizards, she was like a god. When she didn’t say anything, the worried Faylos spoke again. She raised her hand to stop him.
“All judgment is withheld until Berthas Hillenton appears.”
“Withheld?”
“If you say so much, I can’t help but listen to you.”
With Faylos’ request, Isilis beckoned to the messenger, stating that she had changed her order.
“Find Berthas Hillenton right now.”
She could not give the order to find the child, so she ordered to find him. It was clear that wherever he was, the child would be with him.
He woke up in a dark place.
It seemed that he was traveling with the wizards and the child though suddenly, the child was no longer in his arms, and he was in a secluded place. Just before casting the movement magic, the wizard who caught him took the child out of his arms.
“Where am I…”
There was nothing.
Looking at the endless tunnel ahead, Berthas swallowed.
…Where was he? If he had been caught by someone, he should have been locked up, but that wasn’t the case either.
In fact, he didn’t know, but the wizard, who ran out of magic while performing movement magic, moved him elsewhere. However, it was their mistake that it was closer to where they were than they thought.
The dark road continued without end. Berthas, who fell into an unknown place, unlatched his senses. It seemed that one was in the distance.
Feeling safe, he stood up.
He sauntered with his hands on the wall. The rough surface of the rock was felt on his hand, but this was the only way. He put his hand on the wall and walked all the way to the exit. It was the method he used when he was young when he ran away from his uncle.
As he walked down the dark road, Berthas thought. Who was it? Who took his child? Was it his uncle? It wouldn’t be. He didn’t know. If so, who was it? Did Isilis know about this?
He didn’t even know how much time had passed.
“It’s been a few days…”
The endless road continued. He had no sense of date. As a Sword Master, he was fortunate not to need to eat for a while.
“I didn’t know that something like this would happen again.”
He didn’t know that he would go through what he had experienced as a child again. Then, all of a sudden, he got worried… Was his child in a similar situation? He got scared.
‘If something goes wrong with the child…’
At the sudden thought, he violently shook his head. He didn’t have to think so negatively. She was the imperial child of Larchen, so even those who kidnapped him would not be able to be reckless.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal…”
Two days have passed since Berthas Hillenton was gone. Isilis and the wizards were looking everywhere for the child, but they could not find it.
“She is still small…”
“It’s been two days… has she eaten properly?”
Among the handmaids, who got tearful, Isilis frowned. Noticing her discomfort, the chief handmaid gave the handmaids a glance and they hurriedly left the room.
For two days, she had barely slept.
“Your Majesty. You should sleep a little…”
“I don’t know what happened to my child, are you telling me to rest peacefully?”
She flinched at Isillis’ voice, who snapped back at her, but she did not give in.
“You must rest, Your Majesty. So, you can take better care of the princess when you find her.”
“….”
Isilis, shaken by the words that she was not concerned about her, but for the Princess, shook her hand as she sighed. It felt like the stress was eating away at her mind. The tight nerves were barely on the line. She didn’t even know how she would change the moment that line was broken. Even though she tried to calm down, she couldn’t.
It had already been two days. How was the child?
The sound of someone running was heard in Isilis’s ears as she pondered. Without a cry from the chief attendant, the door slammed open, and Allure, the chief wizard, entered.
“Your Majesty! Found it!”
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