Jeremiah approached the mother with a serious expression.
“Tell me in detail what you mean.”
“Yes...?”
The mother was frightened by Jeremiah’s sudden appearance and questioning her so fiercely.
“This is in front of His Highness the Grand Duke. Tell the truth!”
Knight Commander Ron, who was standing next to her, urged the mother.
Startled by Ron’s words, the mother stuttered in embarrassment.
“Oh, that... That, she said she was the Grand Duchess... She asked for the release of the hostages, so... She self-harmed...”
She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t continue her explanation properly and just rambling on and on.
“Self-harm?!”
Jeremiah’s expression turned scary when he heard the word self-harm.
His stomach started to boil with an ominous feeling.
At that moment, Jen, who was supporting a man with a bad leg in an alley, found the knights.
Jen shouted urgently to the knights.
“Knights! Grand Duchess Karina is inside! She’s badly injured! Please save her quickly!”
“...!”
Jeremiah’s face hardened and he looked back at Jen.
Jen immediately recognized Jeremiah and shouted.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! The Grand Duchess is still inside! Please save her quickly!”
Nen pointed inside the building with a hand that was not supporting the man.
“It’s a building with a small door next to a gray wall! The only hostage left inside is the Grand Duchess! Quickly!”
There was no time to delay.
Jeremiah quickly ran into the alley.
As soon as he entered the alley, he saw Karina being held by the escaped convict through the crack of the old open door.
To be exact, it was Karina, lying limply, covered in blood, with her hair held in his hands.
“...!”
As soon as he saw her, sparks flew from Jeremiah’s eyes.
He felt as if a ball of flame boiling inside him was burning his entire body.
Jeremiah drew his sword without hesitation. He then cut down the escaped prisoner who was holding Karina along with the building wall.
Kwakwaang!
The building wall shattered with a loud noise.
Ignoring the rising dust, Jeremiah went inside and examined Karina first.
“...!”
Jeremiah was greatly surprised when he realized that the blood flowing from Karina’s neck was thick.
“Karina! Come to your senses!”
Jeremiah pressed her wound with one hand to stop the bleeding and woke Karina up.
Karina was barely able to come to her senses as if she would faint at any moment.
However, he could see that she was trying to figure out who was standing before her.
Finally, Karina’s mouth opened and a thin voice flowed out as if it would break.
“Mi...khail?”
“...!”
Jeremiah’s body froze at the sound of Karina calling her escort’s name.
‘Why...’
He felt his heart twisting at this moment.
He was offended by the fact that Karina had firmly believed that the person who had come to save her in this life-threatening situation was her escort.
'Why... is she looking for an escort who is not even here?'
Anger welled up inside him.
Jeremiah clenched his teeth.
He wanted to ask why she was looking for the guy who couldn't even protect her until she was kidnapped by escapees, why she had been desperately waiting for that escort all this time, and why she was so badly injured.
However, he couldn't get angry at Karina.
He could clearly see the light in Karina's eyes slowly fading away.
At the same time, his heart felt torn apart by Karina's forced smile as if she wanted to reassure the other person.
Karina's condition was critical.
Jeremiah's hands trembled slightly.
Jeremiah felt a sense of anxiety he had never felt before engulfing his entire body.
Crunch.
Karina's small body collapsed into his arms.
The body temperature of Karina felt in his arms was surprisingly cold.
“...!”
It was a gloomy feeling of falling down a steep cliff.
Jeremiah barely managed to hold onto his senses by gathering all his patience that had been exposed.
The most urgent task was to take her and treat her quickly.
Jeremiah picked up Karina.
Her body, which had lost consciousness and was sagging, felt so light.
He suddenly became afraid that Karina would disappear forever.
He felt like his breath was suffocating.
He closed his eyes tightly and opened them to gather his wits.
Jeremiah quickly left the building and ordered Ron.
“I’ll take the Grand Duchess and go get her treated right away. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Jeremiah’s face was extremely urgent as he spoke.
“Understood...”
Ron nodded and answered, but Jeremiah quickly moved away before he could finish his answer.
Ron let out a deep sigh as he saw Jeremiah’s back.
“Whew...”
It was the first time he had seen Jeremiah so urgent.
Jeremiah was always indifferent and expressionless and was known for being cold-hearted.
Even in this situation, he would have been more focused on catching the escapees and punishing them than on the safety of the hostages.
Until he arrived here and learned that the Grand Duchess was being held hostage, he was no different than usual.
Whenever he acted differently than usual, it was always related to the Grand Duchess.
‘He doesn’t seem to know that, but… .’
Ron scratched his chin.
'The Grand Duchess should be fine...'
He was more worried about the future than the present.
However, there was something else he had to do right now.
Ron gave a firm order to the knights.
"Catch all the escapees. Don't let a single one go!"
At that moment.
"Karina!"
Someone called Karina's name in a voice mixed with worry and desperation.
It was Mikhail.
He had come all the way to the northern city to find Karina, but the signal suddenly disappeared as soon as he got close. He had wandered around the area and found a crowd of people and ran over.
Mikhail recognized Ron and asked urgently.
"Is the Grand Duchess here?"
Jeremiah had disappeared just a hair's breadth away.
"Where were you if you weren't guarding the Grand Duchess?"
Ron's voice was calm and composed.
"..."
Nevertheless, Mikhail was unable to answer as if he had been stabbed defenselessly.
Mikhail's expression darkened.
"Still, I should know since I'm guarding the Grand Duchess."
Ron briefly explained the current situation.
“The Grand Duchess needs urgent treatment and has just gone to the Grand Duke’s residence.”
“...!”
Mikhail asked in surprise.
“Treatment? Is the Grand Duchess injured?”
“We need to find out more details, but it seems the escapees took the Grand Duchess hostage.”
“...!”
Mikhail’s expression hardened upon hearing that.
“Hostage...?”
An ominous aura flowed from him.
“How injured is the Grand Duchess?”
“We don’t know yet. Fortunately, His Highness the Grand Duke rescued her and sent her to receive treatment right away.”
Mikhail bit his lower lip after hearing Ron’s words.
“Where are the escapees?”
“The knights are currently facing off against the escapees at the scene over there.”
Ron nodded toward the scene.
“We’ll catch them all soon...”
Mikhail quickly moved to the front of the building where the escapees and the knights were facing off.
When he arrived at the scene and looked inside, he saw blood soaking through the floor.
On top of the blood, along with sharp shards of glass, was the hairpin he had bought for Karina in the city, broken in two.
“....”
Mikhail picked up the broken hairpin with a miserable expression.
The hairpin, which had been torn in half, was covered in blood, making it difficult to recognize its original gentle jade color.
Mikhail’s breathing quickened as he stared at the hairpin.
‘I should have stayed by Karina’s side! I should have checked her location as soon as I saw that she was gone!’
When he realized that Karina had been in danger while he was away, he felt anger and disgust welling up in himself, making it hard to bear.
Mikhail’s clenched fist and veins bulged out from his temple. His rage, like a volcanic rage that was raging like madness, was about to explode.
A terrifying murderous intent and hostility rose up from Mikhail, making it sting.
Several high-ranking knights who had been confronting the escapees around them sensed the killing intent and looked at Mikhail in shock.
“How dare you... hurt her!”
Mikhail’s eyes became bloodshot.
Whoosh!
Mikhail lifted the bodies of the escapees in front of him high into the air.
Then, he slammed them to the ground at a frightening speed.
“What...!”
“...What?”
The knights around him had no time to stop him.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Mikhail slammed the escapees into the floor, ceiling, and walls until they were in a mess.
Some had already fallen wrong and had their necks snapped and died, or their heads were cracked and bleeding profusely.
Even so, Mikhail’s cruel hands did not stop. Mikhail mechanically moved his hands regardless of whether they were breathing or not.
Following his fingertips, the escapees continuously moved back and forth between the ceiling and the floor.
The escapees were crushed to the floor, bloody, and slammed into the floor.
Mikhail opened his mouth again.
“Who hurt Karina?”
A chillingly eerie voice flowed out.
Mikhail’s eyes flashed red as blood.
The knights who had been watching Mikhail’s actions as if he had lost his mind opened their mouths in shock.
They watched with expressions that seemed to be getting more and more tired.
Ron, who arrived in front of the building late, was the same.
He sensed an instinctive danger that he would not be able to even pick up his bones if he interfered.
However, he could not just leave it like this.
He had to catch and take the escapees under Jeremiah’s orders.
Knight Commander Ron opened his mouth in a loud voice.
“Calm down! The leader of the escapees is already dead. Do you see the body over there?”
Ron gestured toward the corpse that had been cut by a sword near the entrance.
“It’s no use trying to do this now. He’s already dead...”
However, Ron could not continue his words.
Mikhail walked toward the body of the escapee leader with an eerie aura.
Then, as he made a gesture of grabbing his hand, the body of the leader began to crumple like a piece of paper.
“...!”
“Huh!”
The knights who witnessed the scene in real-time were terrified.
It was hard to believe that the thing that had been squished together was a person.
Nevertheless, Mikhail did not stop.
He clenched his fist until it turned white.
In the end, the leader’s body couldn’t withstand the pressure and burst open.
The surroundings were a mess.
“...!”
“...Crazy guy...”
“Tell me in detail what you mean.”
“Yes...?”
The mother was frightened by Jeremiah’s sudden appearance and questioning her so fiercely.
“This is in front of His Highness the Grand Duke. Tell the truth!”
Knight Commander Ron, who was standing next to her, urged the mother.
Startled by Ron’s words, the mother stuttered in embarrassment.
“Oh, that... That, she said she was the Grand Duchess... She asked for the release of the hostages, so... She self-harmed...”
She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t continue her explanation properly and just rambling on and on.
“Self-harm?!”
Jeremiah’s expression turned scary when he heard the word self-harm.
His stomach started to boil with an ominous feeling.
At that moment, Jen, who was supporting a man with a bad leg in an alley, found the knights.
Jen shouted urgently to the knights.
“Knights! Grand Duchess Karina is inside! She’s badly injured! Please save her quickly!”
“...!”
Jeremiah’s face hardened and he looked back at Jen.
Jen immediately recognized Jeremiah and shouted.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! The Grand Duchess is still inside! Please save her quickly!”
Nen pointed inside the building with a hand that was not supporting the man.
“It’s a building with a small door next to a gray wall! The only hostage left inside is the Grand Duchess! Quickly!”
There was no time to delay.
Jeremiah quickly ran into the alley.
As soon as he entered the alley, he saw Karina being held by the escaped convict through the crack of the old open door.
To be exact, it was Karina, lying limply, covered in blood, with her hair held in his hands.
“...!”
As soon as he saw her, sparks flew from Jeremiah’s eyes.
He felt as if a ball of flame boiling inside him was burning his entire body.
Jeremiah drew his sword without hesitation. He then cut down the escaped prisoner who was holding Karina along with the building wall.
Kwakwaang!
The building wall shattered with a loud noise.
Ignoring the rising dust, Jeremiah went inside and examined Karina first.
“...!”
Jeremiah was greatly surprised when he realized that the blood flowing from Karina’s neck was thick.
“Karina! Come to your senses!”
Jeremiah pressed her wound with one hand to stop the bleeding and woke Karina up.
Karina was barely able to come to her senses as if she would faint at any moment.
However, he could see that she was trying to figure out who was standing before her.
Finally, Karina’s mouth opened and a thin voice flowed out as if it would break.
“Mi...khail?”
“...!”
Jeremiah’s body froze at the sound of Karina calling her escort’s name.
‘Why...’
He felt his heart twisting at this moment.
He was offended by the fact that Karina had firmly believed that the person who had come to save her in this life-threatening situation was her escort.
'Why... is she looking for an escort who is not even here?'
Anger welled up inside him.
Jeremiah clenched his teeth.
He wanted to ask why she was looking for the guy who couldn't even protect her until she was kidnapped by escapees, why she had been desperately waiting for that escort all this time, and why she was so badly injured.
However, he couldn't get angry at Karina.
He could clearly see the light in Karina's eyes slowly fading away.
At the same time, his heart felt torn apart by Karina's forced smile as if she wanted to reassure the other person.
Karina's condition was critical.
Jeremiah's hands trembled slightly.
Jeremiah felt a sense of anxiety he had never felt before engulfing his entire body.
Crunch.
Karina's small body collapsed into his arms.
The body temperature of Karina felt in his arms was surprisingly cold.
“...!”
It was a gloomy feeling of falling down a steep cliff.
Jeremiah barely managed to hold onto his senses by gathering all his patience that had been exposed.
The most urgent task was to take her and treat her quickly.
Jeremiah picked up Karina.
Her body, which had lost consciousness and was sagging, felt so light.
He suddenly became afraid that Karina would disappear forever.
He felt like his breath was suffocating.
He closed his eyes tightly and opened them to gather his wits.
Jeremiah quickly left the building and ordered Ron.
“I’ll take the Grand Duchess and go get her treated right away. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Jeremiah’s face was extremely urgent as he spoke.
“Understood...”
Ron nodded and answered, but Jeremiah quickly moved away before he could finish his answer.
Ron let out a deep sigh as he saw Jeremiah’s back.
“Whew...”
It was the first time he had seen Jeremiah so urgent.
Jeremiah was always indifferent and expressionless and was known for being cold-hearted.
Even in this situation, he would have been more focused on catching the escapees and punishing them than on the safety of the hostages.
Until he arrived here and learned that the Grand Duchess was being held hostage, he was no different than usual.
Whenever he acted differently than usual, it was always related to the Grand Duchess.
‘He doesn’t seem to know that, but… .’
Ron scratched his chin.
'The Grand Duchess should be fine...'
He was more worried about the future than the present.
However, there was something else he had to do right now.
Ron gave a firm order to the knights.
"Catch all the escapees. Don't let a single one go!"
At that moment.
"Karina!"
Someone called Karina's name in a voice mixed with worry and desperation.
It was Mikhail.
He had come all the way to the northern city to find Karina, but the signal suddenly disappeared as soon as he got close. He had wandered around the area and found a crowd of people and ran over.
Mikhail recognized Ron and asked urgently.
"Is the Grand Duchess here?"
Jeremiah had disappeared just a hair's breadth away.
"Where were you if you weren't guarding the Grand Duchess?"
Ron's voice was calm and composed.
"..."
Nevertheless, Mikhail was unable to answer as if he had been stabbed defenselessly.
Mikhail's expression darkened.
"Still, I should know since I'm guarding the Grand Duchess."
Ron briefly explained the current situation.
“The Grand Duchess needs urgent treatment and has just gone to the Grand Duke’s residence.”
“...!”
Mikhail asked in surprise.
“Treatment? Is the Grand Duchess injured?”
“We need to find out more details, but it seems the escapees took the Grand Duchess hostage.”
“...!”
Mikhail’s expression hardened upon hearing that.
“Hostage...?”
An ominous aura flowed from him.
“How injured is the Grand Duchess?”
“We don’t know yet. Fortunately, His Highness the Grand Duke rescued her and sent her to receive treatment right away.”
Mikhail bit his lower lip after hearing Ron’s words.
“Where are the escapees?”
“The knights are currently facing off against the escapees at the scene over there.”
Ron nodded toward the scene.
“We’ll catch them all soon...”
Mikhail quickly moved to the front of the building where the escapees and the knights were facing off.
When he arrived at the scene and looked inside, he saw blood soaking through the floor.
On top of the blood, along with sharp shards of glass, was the hairpin he had bought for Karina in the city, broken in two.
“....”
Mikhail picked up the broken hairpin with a miserable expression.
The hairpin, which had been torn in half, was covered in blood, making it difficult to recognize its original gentle jade color.
Mikhail’s breathing quickened as he stared at the hairpin.
‘I should have stayed by Karina’s side! I should have checked her location as soon as I saw that she was gone!’
When he realized that Karina had been in danger while he was away, he felt anger and disgust welling up in himself, making it hard to bear.
Mikhail’s clenched fist and veins bulged out from his temple. His rage, like a volcanic rage that was raging like madness, was about to explode.
A terrifying murderous intent and hostility rose up from Mikhail, making it sting.
Several high-ranking knights who had been confronting the escapees around them sensed the killing intent and looked at Mikhail in shock.
“How dare you... hurt her!”
Mikhail’s eyes became bloodshot.
Whoosh!
Mikhail lifted the bodies of the escapees in front of him high into the air.
Then, he slammed them to the ground at a frightening speed.
“What...!”
“...What?”
The knights around him had no time to stop him.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Mikhail slammed the escapees into the floor, ceiling, and walls until they were in a mess.
Some had already fallen wrong and had their necks snapped and died, or their heads were cracked and bleeding profusely.
Even so, Mikhail’s cruel hands did not stop. Mikhail mechanically moved his hands regardless of whether they were breathing or not.
Following his fingertips, the escapees continuously moved back and forth between the ceiling and the floor.
The escapees were crushed to the floor, bloody, and slammed into the floor.
Mikhail opened his mouth again.
“Who hurt Karina?”
A chillingly eerie voice flowed out.
Mikhail’s eyes flashed red as blood.
The knights who had been watching Mikhail’s actions as if he had lost his mind opened their mouths in shock.
They watched with expressions that seemed to be getting more and more tired.
Ron, who arrived in front of the building late, was the same.
He sensed an instinctive danger that he would not be able to even pick up his bones if he interfered.
However, he could not just leave it like this.
He had to catch and take the escapees under Jeremiah’s orders.
Knight Commander Ron opened his mouth in a loud voice.
“Calm down! The leader of the escapees is already dead. Do you see the body over there?”
Ron gestured toward the corpse that had been cut by a sword near the entrance.
“It’s no use trying to do this now. He’s already dead...”
However, Ron could not continue his words.
Mikhail walked toward the body of the escapee leader with an eerie aura.
Then, as he made a gesture of grabbing his hand, the body of the leader began to crumple like a piece of paper.
“...!”
“Huh!”
The knights who witnessed the scene in real-time were terrified.
It was hard to believe that the thing that had been squished together was a person.
Nevertheless, Mikhail did not stop.
He clenched his fist until it turned white.
In the end, the leader’s body couldn’t withstand the pressure and burst open.
The surroundings were a mess.
“...!”
“...Crazy guy...”
Even the knights who had been through all sorts of things and seen all sorts of things frowned.
In particular, Herbison, who had been talking about completely crushing the nose of the wizard Mikhail, swallowed hard and held his breath. Herbison had also been saying that if a wizard got in his way, he would catch him and beat him up.
However, Jeremiah had recently come to the training ground and was making the knights look like rags, so he hadn’t been able to do it.
That was a good thing.
The thought that he would have been crushed if he had messed with Mikhail sent shivers down his spine.
No matter what the reactions of those around him were, Mikhail still seemed to be unable to calm down as if his anger had not completely subsided.
Meanwhile, Ron, who had been watching them all, thought.
'It's a good thing that guy didn't run into His Highness the Grand Duke here earlier.'
In particular, Herbison, who had been talking about completely crushing the nose of the wizard Mikhail, swallowed hard and held his breath. Herbison had also been saying that if a wizard got in his way, he would catch him and beat him up.
However, Jeremiah had recently come to the training ground and was making the knights look like rags, so he hadn’t been able to do it.
That was a good thing.
The thought that he would have been crushed if he had messed with Mikhail sent shivers down his spine.
No matter what the reactions of those around him were, Mikhail still seemed to be unable to calm down as if his anger had not completely subsided.
Meanwhile, Ron, who had been watching them all, thought.
'It's a good thing that guy didn't run into His Highness the Grand Duke here earlier.'
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