CH 234

Chapter 234: His Worst Fears

“M-My apologies, your majesty!”

Igor’s face slowly became more stern.

“I’ve asked the whereabouts of the queen, why are you giving that as a response?”

“We’re actually… Searching right now.”

“Searching right now?” Igor’s voice was calm as he always was, but it was clear that there was wrath bubbling up beneath his voice.

“Actually, while we were going down the path we had to stop due to the tree logs blocking the path and…”

“Get to the point and tell me just about what happened to the queen.”

His voice sounded like he would immediately chew and crush bones between his teeth. The commander swallowed his fear down his throat. He was barely able to speak with tremble in his voice.

“We haven’t seen the queen for a moment now. She had suddenly disappeared while the soldiers were distracted by children for a moment. According to the children, they said that she had gone down the lake after receiving a note from someone. We’re currently searching that area as central and…”

Igor immediately started to move towards that location. The command and Basil also followed suit.

The lakeside had fields of reeds growing around it. The reeds that grew much taller than any normal person swayed like waves of seas by the wind. In the fields filled with sounds of reeds brushing against each other in rhythm had no sounds of people talking amongst it. Even if someone were to ride a boat and was going down the river right next to them, they wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Search for her! Cut down all the reeds if you have to!”

Hearing the king’s wrathful shout ring across the air, numerous soldiers dove into the field of reeds right away. They all dispersed into the sea of gold reeds swaying in the wind.

Just as Igor’s patience was about to run about, Basil ran to his side.

“We found this over that location.”

Basil handed over a shawl that women put around their shoulder. It was already a familiar object to him. Seeing it covered in mud and dirtied, Igor’s stared with his pupils feintly shaking.

“There were numerous footprints of multiple people heading towards the lake. It definitely seems that they had taken a boat and moved somewhere else,” Basil quickly continued his report. “There was no sign of blood spilled in any part of the area. We think she is still fine. She will continue to be so as well.”

“Where is this lake connected to?”

“Well… the lake actually splits into three different directions after going down this direction a bit. It goes to Dalia of the south, Anz of the west and Calsis of the north.”

Basil meant that there was no way to figure out where they went among those three locations. Igor grabbed his head and let out a wail in annoyance. Time was running out. What those people wanted was not a negotiation but simply Rihannan’s death. To go searching in all three locations would be of no use in this situation at all.

If they wasted time like that, Rihannan could be…

As Igor accidently imagined the worst possible situation just for a moment, his eyes became shook with fear. His mind became completely white and he couldn’t think of anything at all. What if he was too late this time as well? No, perhaps he already was too late this time. To see her just as a cold corpse in front of his eyes just like back then would…

“Your Majesty!” Basil grabbed his shoulders and shook him heavily. “Please get a hold of yourself. If you are shaken now, you won’t be able to save the queen’s life!”

Basil roughly shook him to get him back to his senses. If Basil went a step too far, it looked like he would strangle Igor’s neck himself. The soldiers all looked on with bated breath looking at him treat Igor so roughly.

“If you do not wish to regret this very moment, you will have to make a decision quick. There is no time to hesitate.”

Igor soon shut his lips tight and nodded. Just like Basil said, if he wasted time like this, he would simply end up letting what happened in the past happen again. He breathed in deeply, then shut his eyes tightly. His cool and collected mind started to think. Where could those people be headed towards.

“It was a place where numerous giant trees were all bunched up in a forest…”

Suddenly, he remembered what Leticia had once said in the past.

It wouldn’t be easy for a foreign person to find a place where they can hide in. There was a high possibility that they headed towards the place that Leticia was once at. If that’s the case, where is the place with giant trees neaby this area?

“…Giant trees.”

“Hm?”

Igor opened his eyes and turned towards Basil.

“Black Forest is in Calsis, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s correct. The place is filled with giant trees that don’t allow even any light through their canopies, which gave it the name of ‘Black Forest’.”

“Were there any places that are similar to that?”

Basil shook his head after thinking for a moment. “No. That kind of forest is the only one existing in Adrine. It’s definitely rare for a forest made up of trees that are more than a thousand year old after all.”

“We’ll head towards Calsis.”

“Yes! As you command!” Basil replied with a loud voice from his order.