Karina looked around anxiously but calmly to see if there was a place she could hide. However, there didn't seem to be any place to hide since the surrounding area was an open space.
'If I can't hide, I have to run away!!'
But even that wasn't easy. The new monster was too fast to run away. It was as fast as a hunter catching a fish. The first thing the new monster tried to catch was David. Its sharp claws rushed at him.
"Your Highness!!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!!"
The two guards next to David drew their swords and blocked the new creature that was rushing at David. However, while the guards were dealing with one, another one rushed at them. David also drew his sword at some point and swung it at the new creature that was rushing at him. However, the new creature dodged easily as if it was used to such attacks. Then, it grabbed Karina and David at the same time.
"...!"
Karina, who was caught by the monster, felt like her heart was going to burst out of her throat. The new monster grabbed David with its right foot and Karina with its left foot and flew up into the sky in the blink of an eye. Perhaps because of its large size, it flew up very fast. As soon as Karina thought that she had been caught, she saw people in the air looking like ants.
"OMG...!"
Karina was so scared of the situation she was experiencing for the first time that she couldn't even scream. She couldn't even resist trying to get away from the bird's claws, thinking that she would definitely die if she fell while being hit by the strong wind.
"Clang! Clang!"
When she looked to the side at the sharp sound of metal clashing, she saw David slashing the bird's claws with his sword.
'Stop it! If you fall, you'll die!'
Karina wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't come out. And anyway, the wind blowing past her ears was so loud that even if she spoke, she didn't think it would be heard properly. Fortunately or unfortunately, the bird's talons were as strong as steel, so they didn't seem to be affected much. Every time the bird flapped its wings, Karina and David's bodies also shook up and down along with the talons. In the meantime, it must have risen higher, because the ground was obscured by the hazy clouds.
'Cold.'
As her mind grew dizzy, Karina found it increasingly difficult to breathe. As her body shivered from the cold, she unconsciously held the warm air in her hand close to her chest and clutched it more desperately. Then, the warmth gradually spread through her body.
'Ah, it's warm.'
Karina lost consciousness after thinking that she would live a little longer.
***
Meanwhile, at the Grand Duke's private residence. As soon as David left, Jeremiah went looking for Karina.
"Is Karina awake?"
"Yes."
When Jeremiah heard that she had woken up, he hesitated to go straight to Karina's room.
'If I come to her right after she wake up and in a state of confusion, I'm sure she'll hate it'
Jeremiah opened his mouth thinking that it would be better to tell her in advance and give her time to prepare.
"Tell her I'd be happy to have dinner with her."
"Ah, that's..."
But when he came back he heard that Karina had already gone out.
"You already left while I was meeting the Crown Prince?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Her Highness didn't mention a destination. She said that escorting her would be burdensome, so she only took the bare minimum number of people."
"..."
Jeremiah's mood sank. Originally, he had planned to wait for Karina to wake up this morning, have a meal together, and take a walk in the garden together to cheer her up. However, the Crown Prince came early this morning, and his plans were ruined from the start.
Jeremiah let out a sigh. At that moment, one of the knights who had gone out with Karina as her escort returned. The knight who found Jeremiah bowed and opened his mouth.
"The Grand Duchess asked me to bring some things she left at her private residence."
The knight handed over to Jen the note that Karina had written, saying that it was the things she would bring. Jeremiah's brow furrowed slightly at the sight of the situation. He was already displeased that Karina had taken only the bare minimum of escorts. But when he heard that she had sent one of the escorts she had brought back to the Grand Duke's house on an errand, he became even more displeased.
"You, you went out as an escort, so why are you here?"
Karina's escort was criticized for being here.
"An escort has to protect his master. Don't you know what the top priority of an escort is?"
Jeremiah said with a stiff expression.
"Sorry."
The knight's body stiffened under Jeremiah's cold gaze.
"Where is my wife now?"
The nervous knight answered in a disciplined voice.
"The Grand Duchess is currently at an inn on the outskirts of town."
"Her escort?"
"John and Anne remain to guard the Grand Duchess."
In fact, Karina had sent the remaining guards away to run errands. None of the knights of the Grand Duke's family who had gone out to escort Karina were escorting Karina, but the knight who had received the order first had no way of knowing that. Jeremiah spoke without hiding his discomfort.
"I will deliver the necessary items through the maid, so return Immediately. Take other knights with you as well."
He wasn't reassured by the three escorts. In fact, Jeremiah wanted to go to where Karina was himself, but he barely held himself back. It was because he was concerned about Karina's rejection of him last night. He hoped that Karina wouldn't hate him more than she did now. However, he couldn't back down when it came to Karina's safety. He wasn't going to give in even if Karina didn't like it.
***
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The regular sound of water drops reverberated throughout the room. Karina, who came to her senses at that sound, groaned and sat up.
'Where is this?"
She looked around carefully. As she slowly looked around, she saw that it was a damp, dark, cave-like place.
"Are you awake?"
"?"
Karina quickly turned her head at the voice she heard next to her. David was looking at her with his usual relaxed expression.
"Your Highness?"
Karina recalled the time she was captured by the new monster just before losing consciousness.
"Where is this?"
"It's the Cursed Forest at the western end of the capital. I think it's a rock cave somewhere near where it meets the Ventrum Canyon."
"The Cursed Forest?"
Karina jumped up in surprise. The Cursed Forest was wide and dense, so it was easy to get lost, and because it was dark and damp, monsters often came out, so it was a place that ordinary people did not enter carelessly. The Cursed Forest itself was dangerous and precarious, but the contaminated magic emitted by the monsters was spread everywhere. If an ordinary person was exposed to it without taking any measures, they would show symptoms similar to going crazy or being poisoned. If left alone, they would often die within a week. Karina screamed inwardly.
'Ah... I have really bad luck!'
In the end, she was captured and dragged here by a demon. She was already having a headache because of the divorce, and now she was captured by a demon. It was so frustrating to think that she would be eaten here without anyone knowing. The only silver lining was that she wasn't dragged here alone, but that the Crown Prince was with him. Jeremiah wouldn't risk his life to save her, but the royal family was different. Since the Crown Prince, the next Emperor, was captured, the royal family would come here with their eyes wide open to save him.
While Karina was lost in thought, David opened his mouth.
"I don't know the exact location, but I have already relayed the general location that I saw when I was captured to my close associates."
"You contacted your close associates?"
Karina looked at him in surprise.
"Yes, I have a magical artifact. However, the connection is not smooth due to interference caused by the contaminated magic that is spread throughout the forest. I am not sure if the contact was properly made."
David frowned,l as if that part bothered him a little.
Karina made a dumbfounded expression. She had nothing to say other than that it was amazing. It is said that even in a situation where he was caught by a monster and was in danger of death, the Crown Prince kept his eyes wide open and confirmed the location where he was caught, and relayed it to his aides.
'Oh my... Should I really say that he is a Crown Prince who studied the art of ruling a country?'
There was no gap, anytime, anywhere.
While Karina was admiring, David opened his mouth again.
"The Knights need to find this place first before the monster that brought us here returns."
Only after hearing that did Karina realize that the new monster that had captured them was no longer there.
"By the way, where is the new monster?"
"They dropped us here and flew back out."
Karina's expression brightened slightly.
"Then, now that the demons are gone, shouldn't we escape from here quickly?"
David, who was listening to Karina, smiled faintly with the corners of his lips raised.
"Usually, that would be the case."
Somehow, there seemed to be a hint of laughter in that smile.
***
At that moment, Karina and David were talking inside the cave.
"Selena!"
Hasten returned to the inn in a hurry.
Selena, who had been organizing the information she had gathered, raised her head with a look of confusion.
"What is it? What's going on?"
Hasten, who saw Selena at the inn, opened his mouth again with a brief sigh of relief.
"This is a big deal. The Grand Duchess has been captured by a monster."
"What?"
Selena's eyes opened wide in surprise.
"What does that mean?"
Hasten quickly described what he had just seen.
"A monster suddenly appeared in the middle of the capital...! And a flying monster appeared and took the Grand Duchess away...?"
Selena's face turned pale.
"I couldn't get out in time because the monster appeared while I was keeping my distance."
Hasten crumpled his face like a piece of paper.
"First of all, since the man who was captured together seems to be the Crown Prince, the imperial family won't just sit there. They'll immediately form a search and rescue team."
Despite Hasten's words, Selena could not calm down and jumped up from her seat.
"We must inform the Grand Duke immediately!"
"Don't worry about that. The news has probably already reached the Grand Duke's family."
"How do you know that?"
"The knights of the Grand Duke were also present in the place where the Grand Duchess and the Crown Prince were captured by the monsters."
Hasten clearly saw the knights of the Grand Duke's family coming towards Karina from across the square. They, like him, were too far away to do anything when Karina was taken by the monster. Instead, they would have reported it to the Grand Duke."
Only after hearing that the report had reached the Grand Duke's family did Selena regain some of her composure. But that was only for a moment.
"But time is running out. I saw the monster that took the Grand Duchess to fly west, but if it entered the Cursed Forest..."
"...!"
"I don't know about the Crown Prince, but I wonder how long the Grand Duchess will be able to endure being captured...
Hasten confided his concerns.
"I should contact the Grand Duchess's escort wizard."
Selena quickly found the magic communication device Mikhail had given her.
"Didn't you say he was out of the office right now?"
Hasten made a face of disapproval.
"It's an emergency, so we have to do whatever we can."
"That's true."
Hasten nodded in agreement with Selena's words. Selena immediately activated her magical communication device and waited for a response. However, despite their urgency, no matter how long they waited, the communication did not connect.
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