Hinael crouched in front of the fireplace.

Staring blankly at the flying sparks, she suddenly brightened up.

“If I’m sick enough to be in pain, he might not touch me.”

If something unexpected happened, it might displease Chetter, and he might not maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, but if she coaxed him gently, he might hold back.

Though he was a cruel man who didn’t hesitate to kidnap and imprison her, Chetter hadn’t mistreated her on the way to the villa.

Just giving him the impression that she was willing to share a bed might buy her more time. He might even restrain his lust for the right moment.

“We must avoid it today by any means necessary.”

Hinael brought a basin of water and poured half of it into the corners on either side of the fireplace.

Some of the burning logs hissed and went out.

She then soaked her discarded negligee in the remaining water. Although the amount of water absorbed by the fabric was not much, it was enough to wet it entirely.

After that, she lay down on the bed without covering herself with a blanket.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

Already feeling chills, her body started to shiver violently without any added warmth.

Hinael curled up on her side and forced her eyes shut. Her head throbbed, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Her teeth chattered even with her mouth closed.

Perhaps it was a small blessing that she was so exhausted she felt like she might pass out…

After shivering for a long time, she finally lost consciousness.

* * *

Lutz left Dwen Castle using the route informed by Viscount Ted.

He immediately rode his horse into the forest. Here, he would wait for news from Evan.

The sun was gradually rising. He glanced at the sky and muttered to himself.

“We need to hurry.”

Darkness is inherently dangerous.

It is easy to hide, urgent cries are muffled, and one becomes a slave to their instincts.

He planned to find Hinael before nightfall if possible.

By now, it was past noon.

Lutz, searching for hoofprints or horse droppings, raised his head at the sound of dry leaves rustling.

“Greetings to Your Highness the Prince.”

A man dressed in black and wearing a mask knelt on one knee on the ground.

“Did you find out anything?”

“I have obtained information that a fairly large mercenary group recently stayed in Dwen and then left.”

“If they left Dwen, where did they go?”

“One group moved northeast, and another headed southwest.”

Northeast led to the capital of Trycas, and heading southwest would bring them to the Kingdom of Sarr.

Annoyingly, this made him think of both Kailo and Chetter simultaneously.

“So, the missing worker from the Count’s residence is part of that mercenary group?”

“It was said that the mercenary leader recently made a lot of money from a personal commission. Additionally, he spoke with a southern accent.”

“It was the leader. Which way did he go?”

“Southwest. We are circulating the message, so we will soon know if Her Highness the Princess is in that direction.”

“Find out before sunset.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The man, who answered with precision, disappeared in the direction he came from.

Although he had a lead, it would take more time to confirm.

He needed to find Hinael quickly…

Feeling impatient, Lutz tapped his fingers on a tree trunk, lost in thought.

“If Hinael is with the southwest group, she might be on her way to Sarr. Chetter, you really have gone mad.”

The situation was becoming clearer around Chetter. Although he could wait hidden in the forest for his men to bring news, he couldn’t stay still. His fingers tapped faster on the tree, and he kept biting his lips.

If it was indeed Chetter’s doing, Hinael was in even greater danger. If it were Kyle, he might just tarnish Lutz’s reputation slightly and return Hinael, but Chetter was different.

He showed obsessive, manic behavior.

A person like that would either forcibly take her body or kill her if things didn’t go his way.

Recalling Chetter’s provocative actions, even knowing Lutz was an imperial prince, it was clear that once he decided to have Hinael, nothing else mattered.

Despite the inevitable backlash, he committed the outrageous act of kidnapping Hinael.

Lutz even found himself wishing Kailo were the kidnapper instead.

“Hmm…”

Lutz exhaled heavily through his nose and straightened up, slapping the tree trunk.

Standing still and fretting didn’t suit him. He needed to move to clear his mind.

He decided to continue searching the nearby area.

Dwen was surrounded by forests. To move to another region, one had to pass through the forest.

“Since no one left the castle gates overnight, he must have taken Her Highness the Princess through the forest.”

Lutz recalled the viscount’s report and set off with renewed determination. The search would be challenging due to the vastness of the area, but he resolved to try everything.

Lutz expanded his search radius while looking for paths leading southwest.

With skilled subordinates and his own experience in tracking, Lutz trusted his abilities.

But finding clues was not easy. After discovering nothing and changing direction, Lutz stared into the dense forest.

His initial confidence that he would find her quickly began to wane, and his frustration grew. Although it hadn’t been long since he sent out the message network, he felt like days had passed due to his impatience.

“How should I kill you to satisfy my anger?”

The sunlight filtering through the branches reminded him of Chetter’s greedy eyes.

By now, Chetter must be reveling in his victory, having captured Hinael. Successfully hiding her would mean achieving two goals.

He would monopolize Hinael and shift the blame for future conflicts between the two nations onto Lutz.

“You must be having a great time.”

In reality, it didn’t matter if Hinael wasn’t his lifelong partner. However, he had promised to take her to Trycas, leaving a gritty feeling like sand in his mouth.

Besides, since she had become an imperial princess, he was now obligated to protect her.

Recalling Hinael’s clear eyes as she listed her demands made his blood boil.

Lutz cut through the obstructing underbrush with his sword, repeatedly checking paths suitable for horses.

How long had he wandered?

He was contemplating calling the trained eagle for communication when he spotted a white ribbon at the edge of his vision.

Lutz quickly tore through the vines and moved forward.

“This is… Hinael’s?”

He couldn’t be sure, but his instinct told him it belonged to Hinael.

Lutz brought the string to his nose. It was no easy task to sharpen his sense of smell while facing the cold winter wind.

He scanned the surroundings, trying to gauge the direction.

‘Strange. It’s not southwest.’

No matter how much he had to pass through the forest to reach another region, this point was too far off from the southwest.

At this rate, the kidnapper would have gone north.

There was no time to wait for his operatives anymore. He clicked his tongue as he grabbed the almoner.

“Damn it! I really didn’t want to do this.”

Until now, he had relied solely on the information his secret organization would bring back after dispersing efficiently. Of course, if he continued to trust them and wait, they would undoubtedly fulfill their mission.

However, a slight deviation in the situation brought a foreboding feeling.

He didn’t want to go this far, but he couldn’t think of any other method.

He chuckled at the absurdity of risking such danger.

“Doing all sorts of things now.”

Lutz took out a small, thin whistle from his pocket. Then, he blew into it twice, aiming at the sky.

Wheee― Wheeeeek―.

After sending the signal, an eagle soon flew across the sky and circled above Lutz.

An eagle, known as a sacred creature in the north, was intelligent and perfect for communication training. However, there weren’t many trained eagles, so they couldn’t be used extensively.

He looked up at the eagle, which responded only to specific individuals and predetermined signals, and then skillfully altered the sound and blew the whistle again.

The eagle swiftly descended and perched on his outstretched arm, blinking its keen eyes.

“Please, don’t forget to return to me on time. Got it?”

Though the eagle couldn’t understand human speech, its sharp eyes instilled trust.

Lutz took a deep breath. The risk involved made it impossible not to feel tense.

Thinking of separating from the almoner made his nerves stand on edge.

Why wouldn’t they?

He had had two unpleasant experiences with the almoner recently.

Once when he lost the almoner, and another time when he fainted in Sarr due to overusing the power of the magic stone to avoid detection by the high priest.

So attempting this again naturally brought resistance.

“But there’s no other choice.”