Even though the form and energy could be hidden with the stealth magic, the sound could not be hidden. Since the place was blocked on all sides, the sound of the fall echoed throughout the passage. The sound of the conversation that had been heard suddenly stopped.
"Who else is here?"
Revals asked, looking around with eyes full of caution.
"No. There can't be anyone else besides us..."
"Check it now!"
"Yes!"
The mercenaries began to search the area with torches. Karina's palms were sweaty. If they were caught here, the situation would be complicated. When she saw Aiden, she was so surprised that she froze in the same position he had fallen down. Mikhail quickly grabbed Karina, who was about to head towards Aiden. In reaction, Karina was wrapped tightly in Mikhail's wide arms. Mikhail, who was holding Karina, slowly and silently lifted his body upward. Looking to the side, Aiden's body, who was covering his mouth with his hand, was also rising into the air. Mikhail stood against the wall while holding Karina.
At the same time, the mercenaries approached Karina and her group with lanterns. The flames of the mercenaries' torches swung back and forth between Karina and Mikhail's feet. Karina's body stiffened with tension. Mikhail patted Karina as if it was okay. Then, he felt the strength in Karina's body slightly relax.
'Oh, this is driving me crazy.'
Mikhail looked down at Karina, who was still in his arms. Mikhail's face was calm, but his heart was not. He knew it was not the time, but it was hard to hold back. Karina's scent felt so sweet from up close. He could clearly feel her delicate body and her warm breath under his arm. Her beautiful face looked up at him. His own image was reflected in her clear green eyes, which seemed to contain a green forest.
Mikhail's throat trembled. He couldn't stay still because he was so greedy. Mikhail clenched and unclenched his fist with his hand on the wall. And soon he stopped holding back. Mikhail decided to use this opportunity to fully satisfy his greed. He deliberately pressed closer to Karina. He put strength into the arm around her waist and hugged her more tightly. Their bodies were pressed together without any gaps.
"...!"
Karina's eyes opened wide.
"You...!"
A surprised Karina tried to push Mikhail away.
"Shhh! Stay still. What are you going to do if you get caught?"
Mikhail whispered softly in Karina's ear so that only she could hear. Karina closed her mouth in embarrassment. Mikhail smiled slightly when he saw her embarrassed expression. Even her embarrassed look was so cute. He wanted to take her to a place where they could be alone.
'No. She has to completely cut off all ties with that guy.'
When Karina achieves what she wants and smiles happily, then he will confess his feelings again and stay by her side.
'Phew'
Mikhail swallowed a sigh and struggled to suppress his rising desire.
"There's no one. I think it's an illusion."
"Let's go."
Despite the servants' words, Revals' expression showed that his suspicions were still there.
Squeak!
At that moment, Mikhail saw a mouse squeaking and crawling on the floor. As soon as he saw it, Mikhail sent the mouse flying towards the place where many pickaxes were standing.
Squeak squeak! Clang!
All the pickaxes leaning against the wall fell over with the loud rat's cry.
"What?"
The servants looked towards the direction of the sound and frowned.
"I guess it was because of the rats."
One of the hired hands said as he noticed the rat running away.
"You came to check the situation yourself, so you may as well go."
"Yes."
Revals said in a displeased voice.
"I said it clearly. There should never be any mistakes"
"Yes, yes."
And so, Revals and the servants disappeared into the passage. Only when Revals and his party could no longer hear each other talking did Mikhail carefully lower Karina and Aiden to the ground.
"Phew."
"Whoa."
Karina and Aiden sighed as if they had been watching for ten years.
"I really thought I was going to get caught."
"Sorry."
Aiden said, cringing heavily.
"I didn't mean to blame you. I'm just glad it went well."
Karina smiled slightly. Then she narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Mikhail. But Mikhail had the same expression as usual as if nothing had happened.
"Now that we're gone, let's hurry up. We don't know when they'll be back."
"..."
But because of the circumstances, it was difficult to ask about it. And when asked what she was going to ask about, it was difficult to answer.
'Aren't you holding me too tightly? Are I surprised when I feel his breath when he whispers softly in my ear? Are I suspecting that he's holding me to satisfy his selfish desires?"
Karina shook her head. The situation was urgent and dangerous. If it wasn't Mikhail, she would feel embarrassed, thinking she was the only one making a funny mistake. And just in case.
'If he answers yes...!'
Even so, she didn't know what to say. It seemed like saying yes would be more embarrassing. Karina threw herself harder and shook off all the questions that came to mind.
"...Yes. Let's hurry."
For now, Karina decided to focus on the task at hand.
***
"It's over there."
Jeremiah arrived at a rocky hill overlooking the copper mine owned by Lamberda.
"It's bigger than I thought."
"Yes?"
The mine was not visually large. It was because it was designed to only show the copper mining area from the outside. However, Jeremiah was not talking about the mine's size. He was talking about the enormous energy he felt inside the mine and the amount he estimated.
"The newly discovered magic stone is nearby."
Ron pointed to a spot where there was only a small passageway with no sign. There was only an old hut and an empty wagon around it. Despite the absence of anything, the sentries stood guard the whole time as If they were under military discipline.
"Those standing guard are probably mercenaries."
"It looks like that."
Those standing guard had long swords attached to their waists and backs.
"How do I search the interior?"
"For now, the best thing to do is to gather a small group of people and sneak inside after the sun has set to investigate..."
At that moment, Jeremiah, who had been watching the mine shaft, narrowed his eyes. Something strange caught his attention.
'What?'
Something rippled and was different from the surroundings, something came out of the mine. It was so faint that it seemed like it would be missed if concentration was even slightly distracted.
Jeremiah opened his eyes wide and scanned the mine. And after a moment, his eyes opened wide.
'Karina?'
Jeremiah discovered Karina and her group, who appeared amidst a strange feeling.
'Why is Karina there?'
Jeremiah couldn't take his eyes off Karina. He saw Karina and her group hiding in the bushes. Ron, who was looking down on the mine from the mountain like Jeremiah, also spotted them.
"Huh? That's...!"
Ron muttered, craning his neck to look around in surprise.
"No, why is the Archduchess over there...?"
It was a foolish voice. But Ron soon came to his senses and looked at Jeremiah. Jeremiah's expression was frozen hard.
***
Karina and her group drew a magic circle inside the mine and escaped to join up with Hasten.
"We've finished working inside the mine, so now let's get the children out first."
Karina and Aiden nodded at Mikhail's words. The original plan was to blow up the mine and take advantage of the chaos to escape with the children. However, they changed their plan after learning that the minerals inside the mine were magic stones.
'If it's possible to move the entire inside of the mine, wouldn't it be possible to magically get the children outside out at once?'
Mikhail agreed with Karina's words.
'With the magic stone, you can go further at once. Much more reliably.'
So before they escaped, they took a bunch of magic stones from inside. Karina and her group hid in the nearby bushes and moved to the old cabin where the children were sleeping, avoiding the guards' eyes. Hasten decided to knock out two guards and watch in front of the door to see if anyone else came. Mikhail started drawing a large magic circle next to the cabin. While Mikhail was drawing the magic circle, Aiden and Selena decided to go inside the cabin and quietly wake the children.
"Uh?"
Karina was embarrassed.
"The cabin door is locked."
She searched the pockets of the sentries whom Hasten had knocked unconscious after hearing that the door was locked, but she did not find the key.
"I don't think these guys have any."
She couldn't waste time looking for the keys.
"There's no choice. I have no choice but to break down the door."
It seemed like it would take too long to get the children out through the window one by one.
"I don't think that's a good idea. If you break down the door and go in, the kids will be scared."
Hasten, who had grasped the situation, approached the door and carefully examined the door hinges.
"What are you doing?"
"Usually, places like this that were built a long time ago are not sturdy."
As he said that, Hasten pulled out the round iron core at the center of the door hinge. Karina's eyes opened wide.
"Was it that easy to get out of it?"
"There used to be a lot of doors like this. Or, if you just hit an old hinge with a rock or something, it can easily break, but then it makes a noise and someone might notice and come."
And when you pulled the opposite way, the door opened really easily.
"It's better to be as careful as possible not to make any noise."
Karina looked at him with curious eyes.
"Where did you learn this?"
"When you work as a mercenary, you get all sorts of requests. Well, you learn a lot of things."
Hasten shrugged and answered in a flat tone. Selena was right. Hasten, who had worked as a mercenary, was really helpful.
"Anyway, thanks for opening it."
Karina and Aiden entered the lodge. At first, the children inside the lodge were afraid of Karina and her group. Aiden and Dino calmed them down.
"These are the people who came here because I asked them to help. They are also the people who have helped us a lot in the past."
"Trust me! They're trying to get us out of here."
Dino added, and Philip nodded vigorously as if he was right. The children were easily swayed by the persuasion of Aiden and Dino, who were also captured. After looking at each other, Aiden urged them to hurry up, and they said they understood and followed Karina and her group's instructions. Mikhail, who had placed magic stones at regular intervals around the magic circle where the children were densely packed, opened his mouth.
"Ready to go."
"Good."
Karina checked the cabin one more time to make sure no children were missing, then opened her mouth.
"We will use magic to get you to safety."
Karina reassured the children and spoke to Hasten and Aiden.
"I've already contacted Selena. She'll be waiting for you at the transfer point. You two, go with the kids and help them get back to where they came from."
Hasten and Aiden nodded.
"Then Mikhail and I will move the mine and sneak out of here."
"All right."
"Be careful."
Aiden said with a slightly nervous expression. Karina smiled as if to tell him not to worry.
"Yes, then let's begin."
Mikhail activated the magic circle.
Wheeing.
Then, light rose from the magic circle and enveloped the children inside the magic circle. The magic stones surrounding the magic circle also resonated and emitted a bright red light. In an instant, the many children disappeared along with the light. Immediately after that.
"Stop!"
As soon as the children were moved, Revals appeared leading a group of fully armed mercenaries.
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