“Your Majesty, please make a splendid stage where the saint can stand out.”

Facius. They had their own rules when it came to their movements. They liked to instill fear. With a big stage where everyone’s interest would be focused it would be too tempting an opportunity for them to pass up.

Although they had been quiet recently, their old tactic was to indiscriminately destroy places where large crowds were concentrated to all to instill fear.

“If you expose the saint to them and create a situation where they can act, they will surely come. Give them a chance to steal the sweet candy, so they can’t help themselves.”

“What’s next?”

“Let the saint get kidnapped. Then go after them and find out where they are.”

The Saint.

She has a considerable identity.

If she is kidnapped, she will surely be delivered to the leaders of Facius.

The first objective to accomplish by using her as bait is to discover their stronghold, capture warlocks, and then obtain information through torture.

“Didn’t they blow up when they were tortured?”

“There is a magic that prevents torture. The body of a man trying to answer my questions suddenly exploded. It parallels the way the Duke killed them in a banquet hall.”

How predictable.

Alastair put on his gloves.

They were the gloves he took off when she came in contact with Serina.

“How many of them are alive now?”

“Three or four, I think. I can’t remember.”

“Then leave one alive, and kill the rest.”

“Why?”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to follow the survivor.”

Alastair glanced at the warlocks who had been severely tortured.

“Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, may I personally interrogate them myself?”

“Of course.”

The Emperor laughed happily as he saw the cruel light on Alastair’s face.

There was a saying that friends look alike

Duke Melford and the Emperor were famous longtime friends.

Perhaps that’s why the Emperor’s smiling face overlapped with hers.

Alastair picked up the heated iron.

In fact, this was him taking private revenge rather than an interrogation.

***

When did I fall asleep?

Upon opening my eyes, I saw the inside of the carriage.

After rubbing my sleepy eyes, I looked out the window.

How far were we?

The wagon shook violently.

The recoil shook my body and vision.

I looked out the window with vacant eyes with my unsteady eyesight.

All I could see were trees. My body leaned back as the carriage went uphill.

Something felt off…

Was there an uphill road on the way to the Duke of Agernia’s mansion?

I looked out the window again with a hazy stare.

Was this…..a mountain?

My dreamy mind was suddenly awake.

The direction to the Agernia estate is not this way.

A sweet scent permeated my nostrils.

The smell made me drowsy again.

Having grasped the ‘sleeping scent’ situation, I hurriedly pulled the doorknob of the carriage.

Click! Click!

I roughly tried to force the doorknob open, but the carriage’s door didn’t budge.

It was clear that someone had intentionally locked it.

After waking up, I was flustered upon discerning this unexpected situation.

I took a deep breath.

I circulated mana around my body and released magic through my hands.

Boom!

The carriage door was violently shattered.

The fallen door crashed into a tree, scattering debris in all directions.

Immediately I jumped out of the carriage. A piercing pain erupted up my legs—upon landing, I sprained my ankle due to my high heels.

Whee-!

As I got out of the wagon, the coach took the horse by the reins and stopped the vehicle as it was rushing up the mountain.

The coachman got off the carriage.

With the night sky, the man’s face was further obscured by the shadows of the leaves. He was barely recognizable.

But I could tell he was different from the coachman.

The ‘real’ driver who drove the carriage had a chubby body, short stature, and a protruding belly.

But this man approaching me was tall with broad shoulders and a slender waist.

“Who are you?”

I frowned.

Who would abduct me out of nowhere?

As I started to feel drowsy, it became difficult to figure out my location.

Especially since it was dark.

All I can see is the round moon glowing among the clouds. Soon the clouds drifted past the moon.

The moon wholly revealed itself, uncovering the man’s appearance.

I held my breath as I looked at him.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

There’s no telling what fate has in store.

Damn it, perhaps it was God’s will, to twist this connection like a tangled thread.

It was the man who endangered Igelto at the slave auction house.

I never thought I would see him again.