"How much further do we have to go?"
Jeremiah asked.
"I think it will take about half a day from here."
Ron, who had confirmed the shared coordinates, answered. As soon as Jeremiah and his party arrived at the Cursed Forest, they met the Crown Prince's escort at the entrance and joined them. Then they immediately entered the forest and began searching. It had been quite some time since they entered the Cursed Forest. It was already getting dark. The sun had not yet set, but the eerie scenery continued to the point where it would not have been strange if a monster suddenly jumped out from the side. In fact, from a place not far away, a creepy howling sound that could not be determined as the howling of a monster or an animal could be heard here and there.
"The sun will set soon. I guess I should use the movement scroll to get to the location coordinates right away..."
Levy, a close aide to the Crown Prince, reiterated his previously rejected opinion.
"No. This is the Cursed Forest, so the movement scroll may or may not work properly, and the location coordinates you received are also inaccurate because the signal is cut off in the middle."
Levy's opinion was once again overruled by Ron. The Cursed Forest was as large as half the size of the Imperial Capital. There was a reason why the Imperial Family did not destroy the forest and left it as it was, even though it was located near the capital. It was not that they did not destroy it, but that they could not destroy it. There was also the problem that it was difficult to destroy the forest until all the monsters were subdued because the monster habitats were scattered everywhere, but that was not the only problem.
The monsters living in the Cursed Forest emitted contaminated magic. The contaminated magic emitted by the monsters was a major problem in that it interfered with magical calculations and activations. If one recklessly used magic in the forest while ignoring the interference, it was common for a major accident or disaster to occur. The reason Levy, the Crown Prince's escort, requested Jeremiah and the Northern Knights' cooperation in the investigation and rescue was the same.
Without any magical assistance, the Imperial Guard had to find the location where the Crown Prince was being held solely through their own investigation. However, they were woefully short of manpower to go rescue the Crown Prince alone in the cursed forest teeming with monsters.
"But what if we delay like this and His Highness the Crown Prince gets hurt?"
Nick, the captain of the Crown Prince's escort knights who was standing next to him, raised his voice in rebuttal.
"If you're that worried, just scroll down and go. Instead, if your body splits in half and you only move halfway, or if you fall into the middle of a swarm of monsters with incorrect coordinates and become their food, we will absolutely not take responsibility."
Ron drew the line firmly.
"What? Demon food? Are you done talking?"
An argument broke out between the Crown Prince's men and the knights of the North. As emotions were running high, the fight was about to escalate.
"Stop. What are you doing in front of me right now?"
Jeremiah spoke in a sharp, cold voice, exuding a sense of menace.
"...!"
As he glanced at the knights around him with a cold face, the heightened atmosphere among the knights changed into a cold stillness and silence.
"Ron. Don't cause unnecessary friction."
"Sorry."
Ron immediately bowed his head deeply and apologized. Jeremiah also warned the Crown Prince's close associates, Levy, and his guards.
"Sir Levy. We are here now because you requested our assistance in the search."
Jeremiah spoke coldly, his voice as cold as could be.
"If you don't intend to cooperate, then let's act separately."
"...No. Excuse me."
Levy, who had been watching, also bowed his head in apology. Time passed quickly and the sky grew darker and darker.
"The sun will set completely soon. It is dangerous to continue moving through the forest like this."
Ron said with a serious expression. Jeremiah became more anxious because his words were not wrong. The location coordinates the Crown Prince sent were still a long way inside. Moving through the forest infested with monsters in the dark of the night was dangerous even for trained knights. If you were to encounter a situation where you had to fight monsters, the risk was several times higher at night than during the day when you could see your surroundings clearly.
Normally, in cases like this, you would stop searching and rest. It was common to conserve energy and reorganize the search party. However, Jeremiah had no intention of stopping the search.
"The search continues. There is no time to waste here."
As night fell, Karina would become even more dangerous. If the knights were in danger, there was no way Karina would be safe. Time was of the essence.
"Your Highness. It is too dangerous to continue searching. There is no guarantee that we will find the Grand Duchess any faster. The knights are also very tired from being exposed to the contaminated magic for a long time. Let's rest tonight and resume the search as soon as the sun rises tomorrow."
Despite Ron's persistent persuasion, Jeremiah remained unwavering.
"Then you guys rest and come with the Crown Prince's escort tomorrow morning. I will go even if I have to go alone."
Ron realized that he couldn't stop Jeremiah.
"Then I will go with you!"
"No, you will need to be there to lead all of the Crown Prince's guards. Stay here with the knights."
Jeremiah ordered. Ron hurriedly handed Jeremiah a suitcase along with the coordinates, as he was about to leave them there.
"It contains medicines and necessary items."
At the word medicine, Jeremiah obediently accepted the bag.
"There's a signal flare in the bag, so we won't get mixed up when we meet tomorrow."
Jeremiah nodded at Ron's words. Then he continued his search in a straight line toward the coordinates. The day soon became dark and night fell. Jeremiah's eyes sank low into the dark forest.
'Karina will be alive because she is with the Crown Prince.'
If the Crown Prince had any sense, he would not have let the Grand Duchess of the Empire, Karina, die.
He thought so, but he wasn't sure.
"Hoooo."
Jeremiah clenched his fists and sighed deeply. He regretted not having given Karina more protection if he had known this would happen.
'No, I should have been there myself.'
Now, the meaningless self-reproach continued endlessly. Jeremiah's face distorted into a grim expression. Even in the midst of all this, he felt a movement circling around him, gradually encircling him. Jeremiah's nerves sharpened and he put his hand on the hilt of the sword he had on his waist, immediately after that.
"Krrrrrr."
In the pitch-black darkness around them, monsters appeared with their eyes shining brightly. They werewolf-like monsters that moved around in packs.
"Kwaaaaang!"
The wolf monsters bared their sharp fangs and rushed at Jeremiah in a pack.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Starting with the sound of swords being pulled out of their scabbards, the wolf monsters were cut down with a single stroke without even giving them a chance to utter a final cry. The monsters' bodies were torn to pieces and scattered in all directions. Other monsters that had smelled blood continued to swarm him. Jeremiah slaughtered monsters all night long. His sword strikes and his hands are rougher and more brutal than usual. Blood spurted out where he passed, and the monsters' corpses piled up like mountains.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time. At the western tower. Mikhail received a call from Max, who had gone to the Imperial Capital. And he heard the shocking news.
"The Grand Duchess was captured by a flying monster that appeared in the capital."
"What?"
"Judging by the direction it flew in, it seems like it was taken to the CursedForest in the west of the empire."
"That's ridiculous."
Mikhail, shocked, quickly checked the location of the ring he had given to Karina.
"...!"
As expected, the ring's signal was indeed picked up inside the Cursed Forest, located west of the capital.
"This...!"
Mikhail tried to figure out the exact location so that he could go straight to where the ring was. However, the magical location signal was scattered every time he tried as if something was interfering. He soon remembered that magic did not work properly in the Cursed Forest due to magical interference.
"Damn, the cursed forest!"
Harsh words came out of Mikhail's teeth.
'Let's calm down.'
Mikhail internally murmured, calming his impatience. It was fortunate that he had placed a protective spell on the firestone he had given Karina. Since he had placed it himself, even if Karina had been in danger of death, she would have survived at least once. So she would still be alive and safe. That was the way it had to be.
"Where exactly was Karina taken?"
Mikhail suppressed his impatience and asked Max urgently.
"No one knew exactly where they were taken. However, it was said that the Crown Prince of the empire was also taken."
"The Crown Prince too? So Karina and the Crown Prince were just captured together?"
"I think so."
Mikhail frowned.
"Is that all you found out?"
Mikhail pressed for more information in a scathing tone.
"This was also something I had a really hard time finding out by finding eyewitnesses who saw it firsthand. Most people were only talking about the merger of the Grand Duke and his wife, so there was almost no talk about the monsters..."
"Merger...?"
Mikhail's thoughts suddenly stopped at the mention of the Grand Duke and his wife's union.
"Merger? What are you talking about?"
Mikhail asked back with a stiff, serious expression.
"It was said to be the Emperor's order. Instead of giving the Grand Duke and his wife a time to consider divorce..."
Max quickly reported the information and rumors he had seen and heard in the capital.
"..."
As Max continued talking, Mikhail became speechless.
"Rumors of the Grand Duke and Duchess' union are spreading throughout the capital. I have heard that the imperial servants have been checking on the couple in their bedroom until their first night together."
"...!"
When he heard that they had confirmed the first night, Mikhail felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of his head. The magic power that sympathized with Mikhail's emotions surged out of his body.
Crunch!
The chair handle he was holding broke badly. A hot sensation ran up his neck. However, he quickly came to his senses and shook his head.
"No. That can't be true. It's all just rumors."
Mikhail took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Karina couldn't have done that. He knew best how much effort and preparation she had put into divorcing the Grand Duke.
'But now you're saying you're going to merge with the Grand Duke again?'
That was nonsense.
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