"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Anna screamed, clutching her stomach in unbearable agony after being forced to eat the meal she had brought.
She doubled over, twisting and writhing as the pain surged through her body.
"You poisoned it… Just as I thought," he said, staring blankly at her suffering.
"Don't expect any healing potions… Endure the pain," he added coldly, using his knowledge of alchemy to mix a crude concoction from ingredients he had foraged in the forest they were currently in.
Yes, the forest. They had left the hotel. She had used a teleportation spell to bring them to the border—precisely where he needed to be—the border between Morntelia and Ezram. It was the perfect spot. Sooner or later, they were bound to pass through here.
He created the detox mixture and fed it to her. But that was all. He didn't ease her pain—he merely neutralized the lethal effects of the poison.
"Sobs… it hurts so much… sobs please, I'll do anything you want… SOBS Just one healing potion, I beg you," she pleaded, desperate to make the pain stop.
He ignored her cries and instead stuffed her mouth with a handful of leaves, gagging her. She had used a paralytic agent. Thankfully, she'd cast the teleportation spell before its effects kicked in. Now she was immobile… and in other words, useless.
He dragged her limp body into a thick bush, concealing her. With the gag in place, she wouldn't be able to ruin his plans.
Silently, he climbed a tree by the clearing near the road—waiting, watching.
He didn't care how long it would take.
He would find them.
....
....
"Auston?"
Outside a grand mansion, beneath the shade of a blossoming tree, three girls sat chatting. Their conversation was abruptly cut short by the appearance of a young man with striking blue hair.
All three stood up instantly. Cassandra was the first to approach him.
"What's wrong, Auston?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Cassandra…" he muttered, then looked past her to the others. "It's… Annabelle. I want to join the search."
"What?" Angelica stepped forward, frowning. "You're not fully recovered yet."
"I know… but it's been too long. I have this feeling—if I don't find her soon, something bad will happen," he said, gritting his teeth.
Angelica sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You really are one big worrywart. But don't panic—according to the information I got, she was seen near the academy three days ago."
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Really?" Nora asked, Auston's adopted sister.
"Yes."
"But… why the academy?" Auston asked, voicing the same question that had lingered in Angelica's mind for days. Why the academy?
Something didn't add up. Angelica prided herself on keeping everything under control—she hated variables. And this situation… was a variable.
But it wasn't Annabelle's presence at the academy that worried her. It was the young man she had reportedly been seen with.
She had a feeling.
A deep, unsettling feeling that the person might be the missing Azalea.
And if that were true…
Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
"Then let's go there," Auston said firmly.
"We can't," Angelica replied quickly. "It's already under lockdown. Both the academy and the Estellia Order are on the case."
That, of course, was a lie. She just didn't want him leaving.
"Just rest. Academy sessions resume in a month. You need every bit of strength," she added, gently holding his cheeks.
"Angelica, can you not?" Cassandra snapped. She looked furious.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't know touching my lover was a crime," Angelica chuckled, a smug aristocrat's laugh echoing through the air.
"Shut up! Since when did he become your lover?"
Their squabble, however, didn't reach Auston. Only Nora noticed how troubled he truly was.
"Anna…" he muttered under his breath, clenching his fist tightly.
....
....
"Finally," Azalea murmured as he spotted a carriage in the distance. He had waited five long days.
"Hey, Anna," he called softly, turning his head toward the opposite tree where the girl glared down at him.
"What, sir?" she snapped through clenched teeth, the title dripping with venom. Not that she had any choice in the matter—the command had been passed.
"The moment it gets close, blow the road apart."
"What?! I can't just blow the road apart!"
"You already know what'll happen if you mess up," he said, and took off.
She had cast a flight spell on him earlier, allowing him to silently glide into a strategic position.
He had to be extremely cautious. Whoever was guarding that carriage was bound to be dangerous.
He crouched in the foliage, watching, waiting.
And just as the carriage passed beneath him, heading toward Anna—
BOOM!
The road erupted in a violent explosion.
He dived down instantly.
But the moment his feet touched the ground—
Something felt wrong.
His eyes widened.
Anna.
It was a trap.