Ruth arrived at a small inn far from the city, near the Endia Mountains, and walked into the building through the dimly lit night. He then climbed the stairs to find the room that Elsen had written down. It was an old building, and each step he took on the stairs creaked under his weight. Cautiously, Ruth ascended to the second floor, carefully checking once more for any followers. After making sure the coast was clear, he located the room number written on the paper and knocked on the door.

Following the agreed signal, he knocked quickly twice and then slowly three times. After waiting a moment, the door creaked open. Elsen’s face appeared through the slowly opening door.

Ruth hurriedly entered the room, filled with relief and joy, and clung to Elsen’s shoulder as he locked the door behind him.

“I’m so glad. I’m so relieved you’re safe.”

Elsen sighed with relief as Ruth’s arms tightly embraced him, and he gently stroked Ruth’s hair.

“It’s alright. Both Erita and I are fine.”

“I’m so glad.”

Ruth, still clinging to Elsen with his eyes squeezed shut, jumped back in surprise at the presence of someone else who had approached. He quickly released his grip on Elsen and looked to his side.

“It’s been a while, Ruth Kaizel.”

A woman’s voice spoke, but standing next to him was a boy with short blonde hair. Ruth turned to look at him, still dazed, and the boy flashed a grin.

“I had to cut my hair and dress as a man because of the situation. You’re still as oblivious as ever.”

Ruth, finally realizing who it was, blinked and recognized the boy as Erita.

“Ah, Erita… is that you?”

“Yeah.”

Ruth felt embarrassed as he looked at her smiling face. Even in this situation, she seemed so carefree, so different from his tense, serious self. For a moment, he wondered if this was really Erita.

“There’s no need to look at me like that. The deed’s already done, and there’s nothing I’m losing from this. Well, running away is a bit tough… but anyway, because of this, the position of crown princess is automatically out of the picture for me.”

“Ah…”

Ruth stood there, stunned by her cheerful tone, and Elsen gave a bitter smile.

“I was surprised too. I didn’t expect her to change like this.”

“I was always like this. You just had some strange illusions about me.”

Erita grumbled as she plopped down on the bed in the room and waved them over with her hand.

“Sit down and let’s talk. And Ruth, could you persuade that frustrating man? He keeps saying he wants to sleep with me, but he won’t listen.”

Ruth stared at Erita in disbelief. With the capital’s soldiers, the enemy’s knights, and soldiers from the Jenin and Kaizel families all chasing after them, she remained utterly unfazed. She was even acting confident. Was she oblivious to the severity of the situation, or did she just not care? Ruth couldn’t understand her mindset at all. If it were him, he would have passed out from the pressure, but she seemed to be enjoying the chaos.

“Erita, Ruth is sensitive. You should be more careful with your words.”

“If someone’s still like this at that age, don’t you think there’s something wrong with them?”

Watching her calm demeanor, Ruth suddenly thought of someone. He knew someone with that kind of tone. A person who was always confident, calm, and sometimes annoyingly sharp, no matter the situation…

Kasha. It was Kasha, the friend who had stayed behind in his hometown. She was a woman very much like Kasha. Thinking of this, Ruth felt a sense of familiarity toward her.

“Ruth, let’s sit down and talk first. You weren’t followed, right?”

Elsen, his attention fully focused, turned toward the door and asked. Ruth quietly shook his head. Elsen then led him to the bed where Erita was sitting, and sat down on the other bed.

As soon as he sat down, Ruth couldn’t contain his nervousness and immediately asked,

“By the way, what do you mean by Salina and the Crown Prince being involved in this?”

Elsen hesitated briefly before looking at Erita. His reluctance to speak made Ruth uneasy. His heartbeat pounded louder and louder, and Ruth pressed his hand to his chest to calm himself. Hiding his anxiety, he waited for Elsen to speak, who finally opened his mouth after a long pause.

“I overheard the men who were watching me. They were talking about how Salina Astro is planning to eliminate Erita to take the position of crown princess. And the Crown Prince knows about it and has been ignoring it.”

Ruth bit his lip hard. There was no longer any need to confirm things with Ail. Everything had become clear.

“I don’t know what to do right now. There’s no guarantee that the palace is safe, so I wanted to understand the situation better, which is why I called you here.”

While Ruth was lost in thought after Elsen’s explanation, Erita, sitting in front of him, suddenly snapped in a sharp voice.

“See? I’ve been saying we should just run. I keep telling you that we can’t be followed into Vera since the military can’t enter, but you’re not listening. What are you doing?”

“Erita, if we do that, we’ll both become traitors.”

“So what?”

“That matters a lot. We can’t cause trouble for others. First, we need to clear things up and make a plan…”

Ruth was still listening to Elsen’s words when he suddenly heard a faint sound in the distance. He quickly stopped Elsen from speaking. There were cautious footsteps coming from down the hallway. Normally, they wouldn’t have been audible, but the building was so old that the creaking of the wooden floorboards could be heard.

A guest would not walk so quietly in this inn. And the number of footsteps was too many. Elsen must have heard them too, as he whispered softly.

“… Soldiers?”

“Soldiers don’t walk like that.”

Those who had received official orders tended to walk noisily, drawing attention to themselves. They didn’t sneak around like thieves. The careful footsteps could only belong to two types of people: those who had to steal something or those who had to kill someone. Given the number of footsteps, it was likely the latter.

“Escape through the window.”

Ruth quickly stood up, blocking the door with furniture. Meanwhile, Elsen had already sent Erita out through the window. He gestured for Ruth to follow. After seeing Erita’s feet touch the ground below, Ruth leaped out of the window right behind her. As Erita clapped in approval, Elsen lightly followed.

“Wow, knights really are different.”

Ruth began to genuinely doubt Erita’s state of mind as she casually admired the situation. But Elsen, now seemingly accustomed to her, ignored her and ran toward the carriage that was waiting. The sound of something crashing came from the room above.

“Hurry up!”

Elsen pushed the coachman aside and grabbed the reins, shouting. Ruth helped Erita into the carriage and then sat next to Elsen.

“Let’s go!”

With Elsen’s shout, the carriage started moving. At the same time, an arrow flew from the window of the room Elsen had been in and struck the ground. Thankfully, it was night, and the aim wasn’t perfect.

Ruth, struggling to maintain his balance inside the speeding carriage, grabbed the arrow that had pierced the carriage. He looked at the Kaizel family crest embedded in the arrow’s feathers and gripped it tightly. He had feared this, and now it had been confirmed.

His teeth ground together in anger at Ail’s ruthless actions. He hadn’t expected him to be this thorough. No, he had known. He just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

The cold air hit his face, but it was nothing compared to the pain piercing his chest.