The moon was slowly rising higher in the sky. By the time it was deep into the night, Ail arrived at the Kaizel family mansion, escorted by Kaelen. As they entered, the guards who initially blocked the way, not recognizing him, quickly retreated when they noticed the actions of the Third Order knights.

The butler, who managed the mansion, hurried toward Ail to deliver the news. Lyman and Eilen were not at the mansion. Lyman was still at the palace, and Eilen had gone back to Virel due to Erita’s disappearance.

“Welcome, Your Highness. What brings you here at this late hour…?”

“I came to bring Ruth Kaizel. Where is he?”

“He is in Lady Leysha’s room.”

“I’ll go upstairs.”

“Ah, if you wait here, I’ll—”

“No. I need to meet with the lady too, so I’ll go up myself. Show me the way.”

Ail said this while waiting for the butler to move first. After all, he had wanted to meet her at least once. Ruth’s mother and younger sister, whom he cherished so much. He had met his younger sister once, along with Jessie, but she didn’t look much like Ruth. So he was curious about what his mother was like. Would she resemble Ruth a lot, or would she be completely different? And he was also curious about her life, the life that seemed to have made Ruth so eager to leave this place.

Following the butler’s lead, Ail slowly ascended the stairs to the second floor. As he walked toward the room guarded by knights, those who recognized him quickly lowered their heads. Slowly approaching the door, Ail waited calmly for it to open, hearing the butler knock.

Ruth probably never imagined this situation. He was curious to see the look of surprise on Ruth’s face when he suddenly appeared. Since it was already late, Ail planned to meet with Leysha and then take Ruth back immediately.

After the butler knocked and hesitated, Ail waved his hand. The butler, understanding the gesture, nodded and spoke.

“Lady, the physician has arrived.”

With a vague response, a voice from inside invited them in. The butler slowly pushed open the door, and Ail walked in, scanning the room for Ruth. He had his face relaxed, anticipating Ruth’s surprised expression when he recognized him.

However, what greeted him in the room were the surprised faces of Leia and Leysha, along with an unfamiliar man. Just the three of them.

Ruth and his companions, having left the capital and headed towards Mount Endia, abandoned their carriage halfway and switched to horses. Lacking one horse, they bought an extra one at a village along the way. The three of them then began to ride toward Virel, the region near the border of Vera. Since Ruth and Elsen knew the locations of the military deployments well, they made sure to avoid those areas, but given the current state of emergency, they couldn’t predict what might happen. The immediate priority was to get out of the capital.

“Ruth, don’t you think it would be better to go to the palace first?”
Elsen, still holding onto some lingering thoughts, urged Ruth.
“If we go there, we’ll just be walking straight to our deaths.”
“Even if it’s Erita…?”
“Let’s go to Vera first. We’ll think about it there. It’s too dangerous here. Not only the soldiers, but there are also assassins.”
Elsen didn’t respond to that. In fact, when they first met Ruth, they didn’t even know who was chasing them. They never imagined they would be pursued by both soldiers, knights, and assassins. Given the current situation, even Elsen couldn’t afford to be stubborn any longer.

“I’ll take you to the border, then you go straight to Vera. Find Kasha there.”
Ruth planned to escort them to the border as a precaution. Even if they made it that far, there was no guarantee they could cross the border. So, they had to go together to the border at least.
But Elsen looked a little surprised.
“What about you?”
“I have something I need to check on.”
Ruth quickened his pace as he said this.

—

Sitting in Leysha’s room, Ail, after hearing the full explanation, gave Kaelen a cold order.
“Release the soldiers. Mobilize all the soldiers inside the capital and the Order knights. Search everywhere. And find Kamiel.”
“Understood.”
The atmosphere was tense. Ail seemed to have frozen with anger, his expression completely devoid of emotion. His voice had dropped low. Though he wasn’t shouting or making a commotion, the coldness emanating from him made Kaelen feel an intense tension as he hurriedly left the room.

Ail quietly looked at Leia and Leysha, who were sitting across from him. Leia had her eyes tightly shut, her head lowered, but Leysha was sitting upright, quietly staring down at the table.
“So, what were you thinking when you did something so reckless?”
When Ail asked, Leysha lifted her gaze and looked at him. She then calmly responded.
“I’m prepared to pay any price. I just wanted to fulfill my son’s wishes. And Elsen is like a son to me as well.”
“Do you understand what this situation means?”
“I understand. Ruth probably didn’t expect things to turn out like this. He promised he’d come back.”
“Then why hasn’t he come back yet?”