* * *

After quickly taking stock of the situation, the first thing Alesia did was to lead Cairn towards the camp, correctly judging that he couldn’t chase the masked men in his injured state.

Ten masked bodies lay on the ground like corpses. Some were dead, and others barely clung to life.

Raw talent truly was frightening.

Even injured, Cairn had dispatched more assailants than Alesia. She nearly despaired at the vast gap in talent, but there was no time for that right now.

The sight of the bleeding third son of Everett being carried by Lady Leshan was odd to anyone’s eyes.

Even so, those who witnessed them thought, ‘Is there a strong monster nearby?’ and nothing more.

The knights who were guarding the area tried to stop Alesia as she headed towards the crown prince’s camp, but they quickly stepped aside upon seeing the gravely injured Cairn.

A few who realized something was wrong ran to report to the crown prince. They hurried to call a physician as well.

Inside the tent, instead of the crown prince, there was Roen, known as the prince’s left arm.

“Lady Leshan? What happened all of a su— …Cairn?”

“It’s serious. Lady Violet is…!”

Alesia, who had laid the injured Cairn down, quickly summarized the recent events.

They were walking inside the forest where the hunting competition was taking place when suddenly, several masked assassins attacked.

In the process, Cairn got injured, and Violet was kidnapped.

It was a clean summary but omitted the before and after explanations.

The physician called by the knight gasped upon seeing Cairn’s condition and quickly disinfected and bandaged his open wounds.

Alesia was also in a severely injured state. She initially refused treatment but began receiving it quietly after the physicians reprimanded her.

Thoughtfully mulling over the overly brief explanation, Roen asked a few more questions.

Why was Violet with Alesia, and why were they strolling in the forest?

Alesia refused to explain. Roen became furious.

A commotion soon ensued.

Knights hurriedly searched for the crown prince, who had formally gone to participate in the hunting competition with a knight in tow.

The sudden stir unsettled the waiting nobles, but it was soon dismissed as, ‘A big monster must have appeared. It’ll be resolved soon.’

Soon after, the crown prince, the empire’s sole heir to the throne, even if accompanied by a knight, arrived upon hearing the news.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no attack directed at the crown prince.

Under his command, the search discretely divided into several groups, following Rajaden’s directive not to ruin the atmosphere of the national event.

Following orders, the knights headed to the location strewn with the corpses of the masked individuals.

Silence filled the barracks amidst the chaos.

The atmosphere inside was even more intense as they had just been discussing war with a foreign prince.

And once again, Alesia had to explain the situation in front of the imperial crown prince.

With each word she spoke, Roen’s anger deepened. However, no matter how angry he was, he couldn’t direct it at Alesia.

Cairn’s condition was more critical, and she too was severely injured.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“What fault of yours could it be now? This isn’t the time to discuss right and wrong.”

Roen replied, gritting his teeth, his words saturated with palpable anger.

In an instant, his younger brother was seriously injured, and his younger sister had gotten kidnapped.

His anger, with nowhere to direct, wandered for a while before turning inwards.

‘If only I had insisted on being careful…’

The situation was a result of his preoccupation with Aileen and Vaughn’s arrival and failing to take care of his siblings.

He felt responsible, although there was no actual fault on his part.

“So, rry. If only I, followed in, time…”

Just then, Cairn tried to get up, causing the physicians attending to his wounds to panic and lay him back down.

“What’s your fault in this? …Rest.”

If Cairn had been by Violet’s side, this might not have happened.

Instead of rolling to defend and getting injured, he would have parried the incoming blade and swiftly eliminated the enemy. If only he hadn’t just stood there stupidly after being dismissed…

“Why they specifically kidnapped the Ducal Lady— I don’t understand.”

Rajaden muttered with a serious expression. If Violet isn’t found today, the seriousness of the situation will double by tomorrow.

It was better to resolve it quickly.

Someone interrupted the grave atmosphere.

“Right~ Is there anything I can help with?”

“…And who might you be?”

Alesia was surprised by the unfamiliar face, a remarkably beautiful person with a captivating presence.