CH 24

The boy in the hat ran frantically on the dark mountain road at night.

The purpose of going to the imperial capital was a great driving force.

“Gasp…gasp.”

Sebastian’s leather boots were buried in the snow. However, since he had lived in the Duchy all his life, his pace was unstoppable.

A wolf howl was heard in the distance.

When Sebastian reached the bottom of the winter mountain, a harsh man’s voice rang out.

“Who’s there? A monster or a human?”

A lamp lit Sebastian.

The new character was none other than a hunter belonging to the Winter Castle who lived nearby and hunted monsters.

“Sebastian? What are you doing here dangerously when dawn is approaching? Since guns are allowed around here, you might get shot.”

“Ah, ha ha… . Mister…”

Sebastian laughed awkwardly.

From the way the man looked at him, it seemed that the news of Sebastian’s imprisonment had not been reached here.

If caught here, he might face execution, so Sebastian quickly made an excuse.

“It’s too bright, could you please put away the lamp?”

“Oh okay, where are you going? You’re not going to fight the monsters, are you?”

“Chef Alex suddenly needed dried lamb. You know him, right? He’s a talented chef.”

“At this time? He’s just an eccentric chef.”

Sebastian had no time to delay.

Even at this moment, the people might have already noticed the empty prison in Winter Castle, so he had to rush.

“I’m sorry, but I’m busy, so I’ll go first. Say hello to the people down the other mountain.”

“Okay, be careful with the guns around as you go and come back early!”

“Yes…… ”

Sebastian went down and turned around.

It was a serious expression.

“I will come back quickly, as soon as possible.”

It was sincere for now.

He swore he would definitely get his lost place back.

“I’m going to get rid of that woman. For me and everyone.”

“Huh? What?”

“Nothing. I’ll go now.”

So Sebastian fled from the Winter Mountains.

***

Blake, feeling the beastly anxious, returned to the office.

The man sensed strangeness.

In the air slowly sinking.

The room looked the same, but a lot had changed. Finely stamped footprints on the floor, and dirt…

This sign was definitely Sebastian.

Sebastian was confident that it was the perfect crime, but no one could avoid Blake’s beastly sense.

‘How did Sebastian get out of the dungeon?’ Since there are no prisoners these days, the security must have been poor. Just a few decades ago, it was a place where spies from the capital were thoroughly locked up.

Blake followed Sebastian’s movements in the office.

The footprints reached the front of the desk drawer.

‘What the hell did he take?’

He opened the drawer and looked through the newsletter he had put in earlier, but there was no paper.

The poster offered a reward if anyone helps find Lily.

“…this scumbag.”

Blake hurriedly turned around.

‘Is Sebastian going to announce that Lily is staying at the winter castle?’

If Blake summoned the knights right away and went down the mountain, he could pursue Sebastian. All were masters of pursuit.

But the moment when he was about to call people together by shouting out loud.

Blake stopped walking.

“No. No. Rather, this is an opportunity…”

It was the best chance. To both himself and Lily.

Because he was arguing with Lily, he couldn’t even discuss with her about staying longer.

However, this could have solved the problem at once.

He continued to ponder and then smiled fiercely in the dark.

“Sir, why are you laughing like that?”

IlDexter followed after Blake.

“Why do you like being alone in the dark? Scary.”

“What do you think?”

“Perhaps… Are you thinking of getting me promoted?”

IlDexter literally laughed ‘Heh heh’.

Blake slapped the aide in the head and left the office.

“Ouch! Why are you hitting me! I’m going to tell Miss Lily. She asked where you were! The protagonist left the banquet hall again.”

“I’m going back now. Besides, the party will go on for a few more days, so what’s the matter if I’m gone for a few hours?”

Winter Castle’s banquet was meaningful for everyone to gather.

Since it was a meeting once a year, it was going on for several days.

“Mr. Taylor, the carpenter, is looking for the captain.”

Amidst the noisy crowd at the banquet, a knight pointed to the dining room.

Blake and Lily were talking affectionately under the lion statue.

“It’s really surprising… It’s the first time the master smiles like that.”

Blake was a pretty decent boss.

But that didn’t mean he smiled at his subordinates. All he had for them were curses if they tried.

The knight mumbled involuntarily.

“If he announces that he will get married, I will have no wish.”

“The captain is past the age to get married. If he misses a woman like that, he’s worse than a stupid goblin.”

“Besides, Captain Blake said he needed to find more sorcerers besides Mr. IIDexter because of this incident. If he marries Miss Lily, that problem will be resolved, won’t it?”

“Isn’t it a win-win? Besides, there’s a good chance that the sorcerer’s offspring would also be sorcerers.”

“There is another good reason. Whenever the master bullies us, we can always tell Miss Lily.”

Truly a three-pronged road!

The knights were serious. Lily was the only one who could beat Blake in their opinion. So what if she said she’d be here for the rest of her life?

They were willing to spend two nights plowing the ground and writing, ‘We welcome Miss Lily with open arms.’

Quite a few of them also glanced at Blake and Lily from time to time.

The distance between the two was too close.

After Blake and Lily reconciled, Blake became a little more friendly.

“Would you like some cocktails?”

Blake suggested to Lily over two cocktails.

“Everyone drinks alcohol like water, but cocktails seem to remain?”

“I heard someone spilled a whole bottle of vodka while they were making a cocktail. We added other alcohol to match, so the finished product filled the room.”

“Oh! Next time, I hope someone spills something on the bread dough! Sugar bags would be perfect to spill by mistake.”

“If you want to eat a lot of bread, ask for it. If we don’t have the stored ingredients, we can just send the wagon down.”

Lily narrowed her eyes as she took the cocktail.

“You are very kind today.”

She felt very strange.

He would have been nagging her considering his personality.

Lily thought.

The man originally would have uttered endless words like the headmaster of the academy. ‘The survival of the winter castle is not as easy as you think… blah blah… … …’

Lily wondered why he had suddenly changed.

Why? Did Lord Blake’s soul suddenly change?

There was no sorcerer in history with that ability. But it was serious enough to be considered.

Maybe Blake felt better because she stopped talking about Sebastian.

‘Anyway, I’m glad…’

Blake, on the other hand, had a plan.

A day had already passed since Sebastian ran away.

At that time, the knights selected a pursuit team to arrest him immediately, but Blake refused.

“What will he do? All right, just don’t let the news of the escape reach Lily Hedwick’s ears.”

“But…..…”

“Stop.”

When Blake responded in a serious way, the opponent felt threatened.

In the end, the knights scattered without saying anything.

Blake muttered.

‘By this time, Sebastian must have already escaped the duchy.’

Blake hoped Sebastian would hurry up and run to the nobles. So he wanted everyone to know that Lily was here.

***

*Blake had a plan to let Lily stay at the winter castle legally instead of hiding when everyone in the capital knew….