"Are you sure you will be alright without us? If you want, I can go with you," Princess Eliane said.

It was early morning and the weather was pleasant. That is, pleasant because we were in the sitting room inside. Outside, it was cold since a chilly wind was blowing.

Sam and I were preparing to depart for the Duke's castle. Since we had no carriage and weren't informed that they would be sending one for us, we decided to go there on foot.

"Thank you, Eliane. But I think I should go there by myself. If you come with me, I will depend on you too much."

Princess Eliane smiled when she heard my response. It was only a second later that I realized I accidentally called her by using just her name. The next second, a conflict arose in my mind whether I should correct myself or just let it slide. But then I realized that she wasn't minding it, so I decided to let it slide.

"I wish I could go too," Sistina said while looking a little grumpy.

"Yeah me too, I know they wouldn't mind having me there," Princess Anna said while brushing her light-blue hair with her hand.

That was true since nobody would mind having a princess at the party. And even if they did mind, they would never be able to say that out loud.

Though this wasn't a good enough reason to take her with us since I had a feeling that with her, things might get more complicated.

"Girls, just let Nara go alone, okay? He must have his reasons," Arica said as she walked in. Considering how loud everyone was, she must have heard our conversation from outside.

Nina and Marina weren't here with us because they were keeping Ronald company. As for Yoru, she was bummed out after I said I would only be taking Sam.

"But I am his summon, and it's a master's duty to take summons wherever they go... I feel like I am being ignored."

"No, you are not. Besides, tomorrow we are going to the residential district together remember?"

Obviously, she doesn't remember. Even though I thought of doing this a while ago, doing it tomorrow was something that I came up with just now.

"Really? Then I guess it's alright. I will just have to be patient," She said while folding her arms.

Now that everyone was happy with it, I decided to take my leave. It was still a little early, but since we were walking, it was a good idea to head out a little ahead of time.

"Okay everyone, I am heading out. See you in the evening," I said as I walked towards the front door. Sam, who was standing behind me this whole time, followed me.

"Okay, bye-bye."

"Don't get engaged to some noblewomen out there."

"Does that really happen, Arica?"

"More commonly than you think, Sistina."

'Yep, they are definitely loud.' I could hear the noises they were making from the front door. This made me hope that there weren't any spies around. Because if there were, all the noises they were making would make their job fairly easy.

When the two of us got out, I realized that it was indeed very chilly outside. It wasn't like I couldn't handle this level of cold, but since we have magic, why not use it to make myself comfortable?

I used wind magic to manipulate the wind around me so that the temperature would stay warm constantly. For the first few minutes, I need to concentrate to maintain it, but after a few minutes, my body got used to it. Sometimes, I am amazed at how fast this body of mine is when it comes to learning and adapting things.

[Flare, can you hear me?]

[Yes Master. Do you need me?]

After we reached a bit further, I contacted Flare telepathically. Normally, I should be able to handle things myself, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for the worst possible scenario.

[I want you to circle the sky above me and be ready in case I need assistance. Can you do that for me?]

[Of course. I will keep an eye on your surroundings.]

After walking for a while, the front gate of the Duke's castle came in sight. Compared to last time, there were more guards on the gate. This made me wonder why they were being so cautious all of the sudden.

"Master, before we go in, I suggest that you speak steadily. Also, if possible, hide emotions like surprise and annoyance. And do not space out like you usually do."

I had no idea that I used to space out that frequently. Now that I think about it, I do think a lot these days and that probably happens when I am in deep thought. But this was something that happened involuntarily, and I had no control over it.

"Most of the time these things happen reflexively. But I will try."

"I think you will do fine if you are able to do that. Also, please don't show too much excitement, react as if you have seen everything before."

As we were talking, we reached the front gate of the castle. There, when the guards stopped us, I realized that there was a familiar face among the castle guards.

"Nara?!"

His reaction was normal considering the fact that it had been a while since we last met. And I, myself was somewhat surprised to see him as a castle guard.

"It's been a while. How's life, Dale?"

"I guess you could say it's finally getting normal. But more than that, how is your friend doing? Has he recovered?"

"Yeah, he is doing fine now. He is still recovering, but he has regained his consciousness."

Dale sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

"Hey Dale, do you know this kid?" Another guard dressed in a sturdy-looking metal armor asked.

"Yeah, he is one of the kids who helped us back then."

I realized that there was definitely something wrong by the way they were acting all vigilant. Since there was still some time left, I decided to use this opportunity and ask them about this.

"Is there something going on? Because when I came here last time, there weren't this many guards."

"You don't know?"

The way Dale was asking that made me feel like I was unaware of something that was general knowledge at this point.

When he realized that I was still confused, Dale continued, "Lord Goro has disappeared from the castle. He was last seen in the city entrance where he ordered the guards to let some suspicious men in."