Sylvester’s face turned ugly. He shook the Inquisitor by the collar. “What? Say that again!”

“L-Lady Tenth… she suffered the same fate as the other Inquisitors, my lord. The creature is too strong!”

“Nonsense!” Sylvester boomed. “She’s a Grand Wizard, and I have seen a grand wizard incinerate an entire mountain range to destroy a bloodling. It’s impossible she’d be dead.”

“S-she’s not dead, my lord.” The Inquisitor clarified. “She is stuck inside the dead mist. We don’t know what it is or what it does, but whoever inhales it goes into a comatose state and remains standing in one place. We know they are alive but have no way of saving them. They remain inside, standing as if dead.”

Sylvester breathed in relief. “In that case, let’s return as soon as possible. My light magic should be able to deal with whatever that’s in there. Come with me.”

‘How strong must this nerve toxin be to even defeat a Grand Wizard? Or could it be that she didn’t take the proper precautions?’ Sylvester was left in wonder. But he didn’t show his fears in the open as that would spook the Inquisitor.

Quickly, Sylvester arrived inside his camp and called the rest to report to him, including the four Crusade Commanders.

“A situation has appeared. I will have to go to the Ender Village and defeat the bloodling myself. But I cannot leave this position unguarded either. We’re the valve keeping the Duke and his witch under control. So, I will go alone. In the meantime, commanders are to continue training the men. Felix and Bishop Lazark, you will be in charge here.

“As for the Bright Mother, she stays inside the carriage, locked and secure. None shall tell her about my location. Ensure that nobody finds out where I am. Got it?” He gave them quick commands as he needed to leave immediately.

“Take her with you,” Felix suggested. “You will need a healer if you get injured there, and this time we won’t be there to help.”

Sylvester did think about this possibility, but he couldn’t bring himself to trust her. Not to mention, she was too inexperienced to do the right thing in case of a messy situation. Moreover, she had no idea how to deal with stress.

“Take her. It’s better if she’s as far away from here as possible.” Bishop Lazark added.

“Alright, I will talk to her. Get me two horses. We need to rush as fast as possible.” He dismissed everyone and walked towards the carriage.

“Chonky, how many bags of Light and Solarium crystals do we have now?” He inquired.

Miraj tried to think about it first. “Umm… I think we have two bags left. Each has more than ten crystals, Maxy.”

‘I hope that will be enough.’ Sylvester muttered and pushed the door open.

Isabella was silently sitting in the corner of the room, reading a book.

“You look dead,” Sylvester said, as there were dark spots under her eyes and her face appeared paler than usual.

He went close and touched her forehead. “You have a high fever. I guess I can’t take you then. But I can’t leave you like this either.”

She blinked her eyes in wonder. “Is it over? Did you kill my brother?”

Sylvester sighed. “Girl, I won’t just kill him without irrefutable proof. He’s a duke, not a little baron. If you’re worried I will wrong him, then you’re mistaken. If he’s innocent, he will be free to go. If he’s found guilty, you will also get to see the proof.”

She nodded appreciatively. “I’m sorry for being stupid.”

“Not stupid, I’d call it inexperienced. You’ve lived your life as a sheltered princess all this time. Now, you’re finally coming out of your cocoon. Everyone makes mistakes, but what matters is that you learn from them. Stay in here now. I will send a healer.” He got up to leave as he picked up a few extra items from the carriage.

Isabella also stood up. “Where are you going? You seem to be in a hurry.”

“To save Lady Aurora. Some Inquisitors had come to ask for help in a fight against bloodlings down south. Unfortunately, I received the news that Lady Aurora has been compromised by the toxic mist of the bloodling.”

“I will go!” She boomed. “Please take me with you!”

Sylvester ignored her. “I don’t need dead weight on the mission. You’re sick, so rest. I will handle it.”

“No! I can’t sit here… if you don’t take me, I will die from worry. Lady Aurora has helped me so much over time. She is like a big sister that I never had. She must be in pain… let me help.” Isabella pleaded.

Sylvester did smell her firm resolve with the scent of confidence flaring up.

“You’re sick. If you can’t even move, then how will you help?” He questioned.

Isabella closed her eyes and took long deep breaths. She repeated it a few more times until her face became healthy again. “It’s just a fever. I can easily deal with it. Check the temperature now.”

He did so by touching her forehead. ‘Good lord, she actually controlled her body’s temperature. How?’

“It’s easy when all you’ve studied your entire life is healing. Oftentimes, since I was locked in my room, I had only myself to experiment on. That’s how I developed the technique to regulate my body temperature. Now, I never get a cold or a heatstroke.” She revealed proudly.

‘She may be dumb in life, but in healing, she’s the best. I guess it’s about time I make her test her eye-healing abilities too.’

“Fine, you’re coming. But you will share a horse with me as you can’t steer yours fast enough yet. We will not stop until we reach the Ender Village.”

So, Isabella also prepared a small bag for herself and followed Sylvester. It was already turning dark, so Sylvester had an excellent cover to leave secretly. But he was also scared as night was when the Shadow Knight struck.

“Good luck, Max. Go and beat that Bloodling’s ass!” Felix cheered him up.

Gabriel handed Sylvester, Isabella and the Inquisitor a small piece of paper with some runes. “This is a talisman I learnt from Archbishop Noah in the Holy Land. I don’t know if it works, but I hope it does.”

Bishop Lazark moved closer to Sylvester’s horse and handed him a small vial. “This can heal any flesh wound you can imagine. A mere drop is enough—this contains ten. Use it wisely, Lord Bard.”

Sylvester took the precious deep purple liquid. “This is magnificent. You should make more of it later.”

“Each drop costs one hundred Gold Graces, Lord Bard. The likes of us can’t fund it.” Bishop replied.

Sylvester didn’t even ask and took out a big pouch of money. “Here you go, these contain a few dozen diamonds—large in size. Go to the nearest city later and buy the ingredients. Make a vial for all four of us. If this is not enough, I’ll give more later.”

“…”

“Ha!” Sylvester slapped Frost lightly, and the loyal horse sped up. Isabella was sitting in front of him, but this time she was wearing pants and occupying a second seat on the custom saddle. He had to hold the reins by wrapping his arms around her waist, but neither he nor she minded it.

Soon, they were out of sight, leaving behind a perplexed necromancer. “H-How is Lord Bard so rich?”

Felix, of course, knew the answer. He knew they scammed the Duchess that morning, but how, he had no idea. “Some questions are never meant to be answered, Bishop. Let’s return; we should take the attendance of the Crusaders.”

…

The path to the Ender Village was harsh at night. It was just an uneven mud road through various farmlands and small forests.

“Sylvester, can I ask you something?” Isabella spoke as they rode at top speed.

“We don’t have much to do, so fire it up.” He acknowledged and shifted himself a little back into his seat to avoid touching her too much.

She knew he was a gentleman, and that was why she was comfortable enough to ride with him. “I… I want to get stronger… like you.”

“You can become a Master Wizard if I remember it right. Being my age, you’re still not too far behind, Isabella. As long as you train, you surely can get stronger.”

But she had something else in mind. “Not strong like that… I meant mentally. I’ve never seen you not in control of a situation. I want to be like that.”

‘Only if it was that easy, princess.’ Sylvester thought to himself. He knew if he didn’t have experience of his old life, he would have been a foolish teenager as well. Perhaps even dumber than Felix and Isabella.

“As I said, you need experiences to get better. But you can also learn from the mistakes of others. Just keep your eyes and mind open, and you will learn a lot.”

“Even if it’s about running a Kingdom?” She inquired.

‘What’s she cooking up in that head of hers now?’

Sylvester silently thought about what he should reply with. He didn’t want to give her any false sense of hope. “Certainly can, but I’d say, to run a kingdom, one needs many more abilities. Leadership skills, management skills, critical thinking, and much more. Such things require a lifetime to acquire, Isabella. There is a reason why kings or Clergymen who are called wise have a long white beard and a wrinkled face.”

“But.” She slightly shifted back and looked up at his face. “You have no white beard. You’re my age, and people already call you the Wise Bard. The local Bards also sing of your wisdom.”

No excuse could justify how he knew the things he knew. Hence, his usual answer was mostly about mystics. “There is a reason why they call me Lord’s Bard, Isabella. The first time I sang in the arms of Lord Inquisitor, I was a month-old baby. I merely repeated what echoed in my ears—and you know whose echo it likely was.”

Her eyes shined in admiration, and she smelled of pure worship. “S-Solis?”

“Ah… it’s getting so cold all of a sudden, my lord.” the Inquisitor moved slightly closer to Sylvester all of a sudden.

“I feel it too. Look at the cloud of fog from our mouths as we speak.” Isabella breathed out the air.

Sylvester’s heart was beating faster than usual, however. Isabella felt it too, and shut her mouth.

‘No, no…’

He looked left and right in the absolute darkness with only a faint moonlight helping. As far as he could see nearby, he was in the middle of farm fields. But, on the left, in the distance, was a cluster of mountains called the Iron Mountains—the biggest source of Iron ore in the Gracia Kingdom and likely the East side of Sol.

‘Is that you?’ Sylvester wondered as he stared at the mountain. He could feel the wind coming from the mountain’s direction was colder.

Woosh!

“Birds!” the Inquisitor shouted. A massive horde of animals was also there, running away front the mountain.

Then Sylvester saw something that took his breath away. Near the base of the mountains, just before the treeline started, a dark shadow appeared, darker than anything around it, with two sharp slits of shining white eyes ominously looking back.

He felt his scalp going numb.

“Ha!” He went faster. “Sir Kennedy, do not question, do not look back! Run—or forget ever again seeing the sun!”

________________________

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