"Help me... save me...."

"Help...."

Shout after shout sounded from inside the cells around him.

Nathan didn't care.

"Let me help you carry the dog, my Prince." Linda said when she saw Nathan had difficulty getting on Fang's back.

"I'm not a dog! I'm a nine-tailed fox. I'm a great fae-beast!" The fox, Polly, screamed in response to Linda's words.

Linda's brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes opened wide while staring at the beast. She could hear its voice, but it wasn't human or animal-like; it was somewhere between them both but different too. It was as if it came from the other side of the universe but was heard by her ears. But this time, it was screaming instead of speaking, so it was really annoying.

"Please be quiet now," she ordered sternly, "Or else, I might roast your tail, until you really look like a dog."

"Kuh!" The fox stopped shouting immediately and simply closed its mouth tightly without saying anything more.

Nathan got on Fang's back, and Linda sat behind him. She hugged him tightly from behind.

Fang started moving, and they quickly reached the 1st floor. The guards were startled for a moment at the sight of two people riding a wolf from the basement straight to the hallway leading to the mansion's entrance.

Then one man pulled out his sword. "What are you doing? Stop right there!" he shouted with his blade pointing in their direction.

"Ignore everyone Nathan. Because..." There was a short pause before continuing, "...military is coming soon, and once they come, things will get messy. "

Nathan nodded.

They quickly ran through the mansion's entrance.

Outside the mansion, dozens of guards could be seen, but they were frozen. Some had spears pointed at them, while others had swords drawn from their scabbards. But all of them stood still, not making any move, even when they were in clear view.

It looked like none of them would dare attack Nathan from now on; if anything, some among them appeared scared or terrified by something. And it didn't look like an act either, judging from their faces.

Even those who seemed unafraid showed a degree of uneasiness and fearfulness as well.

"What happened to them, Marco? Why didn't they attack me? What's wrong?" Nathan asked frantically.

"I don't know what they're afraid of. Maybe it was you, after all. If you ask me though, I think it's probably because of you being accompanied by that girl fox." Marco replied. "Well, whatever it is... Just hurry."

Nathan sighed, then kicked Fang into action again.

Fang turned and ran to the walls, jumped high, and immediately ran into the forest.

Linda cried out in surprise from the back of Fang as she shot upwards suddenly and almost fell off from the wolf.

"Nathan!" she shouted from the top of her lungs with tears in her eyes. Her heart was beating fast for a moment because of the sudden jolt. She squeezed her arms tightly around his waist for a moment until she realized she was okay. Then she leaned forward so she wouldn't fall backward anymore before closing her eyes tight while clinging on to him for her dear life.

"Are you okay, Linda?"

"Of course! You saved me, my handsome Prince!" She said, blushing brightly.

"Just call me Nathan, it's so cringey hearing you call me by this title."

"But you have saved me. You have now completely own me."

"Whatever." Nathan couldn't help but smile, "Let's get away from here first,"

Linda nodded as if she had understood what Nathan meant by saying that. So they kept running through the woods. The moonless night gave them cover, making it harder for anyone behind them to follow them by their vision alone.

After some time passed, they arrived at a field where there was a caravan parked in the middle of it.

Fang stopped right in front of Edna, Muramoto, and Marco, who were standing waiting for them.

They were all safe!

"Oh! Good timing. I was getting worried." Marco exclaimed.

"Young master, are you alright?" Edna said with a worried voice as she stared at Nathan, who looked weak when he got off Fang's back.

"Yeah..." He breathed deeply as he looked around the area. "We managed to run all the way from the mansion to this place. Thankfully, no one came after us or tried to stop us."

"Nathan-san, let me help to heal your wound." Muramoto ran to help Nathan walk.

"Edna, please take care of her." He handed Polly, the little fox, over to Edna. "Make sure she's okay. She helped me get out safely."

"Of course, young master!"

Nathan walked over, sat on a camping chair close to the caravan, and leaned his body back. His eyes closed as he barely held on to his consciousness.

Muramoto placed his hands together in prayer before giving a bow in respect.

A flash of light appeared near him. A dark blue grimoire appeared, its dark cover opened, and the papers inside flung open, emitting a bright light.

"I will cast a healing spell to heal you, Nathan-san. However, keep in mind that your stamina will not recover. I'll only ease your wounds." Muramoto said.

Muramoto muttered under his breath, then stared at the book. The next moment, he started chanting loudly. The sound of the words coming out of his mouth caused a cold chill down Nathan's spine, but he couldn't hear anything at all while watching Muramoto.

Soon enough, Nathan could see small symbols glowing brightly from within the grimoire while Muramoto continued his chant.

"This is the first time I've seen healing magic in person." Nathan said in awe.

He felt his body gradually recovering as some strange energy enveloped his body.

"Young master?" Edna asked. She noticed the change in Nathan's expression when she heard about the healing magic.

"Healing spells are used for very specific things." Muramoto explained. "They're normally for helping those with minor injuries to regain their strength quickly; to fix broken bones, to speed up the recovery of patients who have been bedridden for an extended period... That sort of thing,"historical

"It's rare to find someone who knows how to cast healing spells, especially one like this, which can instantly cure serious wounds or illness." Edna said, looking at Muramoto, curious as well.

Muramoto continued casting his spell, "The mana flow should be stable now..." He finally finished after some time. He checked his grimoire again and confirmed it was completely done by looking at its pages. "Thankfully, my supply isn't depleted, so there shouldn't be any issues."

Nathan smiled weakly before checking on Linda on the other side.

Marco was looking at Nathan while Linda was still standing close to Fang.

Nathan felt that there was something wrong between them. "What happened?" He turned to Edna.

Edna shook her head slowly and shrugged.

Linda walked slowly past Marco and Edna and approached Nathan after them. She sat beside him, leaning against him gently, breathing in his scent.

"Marco." Nathan called out to Marco.

"What?"

"She is Linda." He pointed at Linda, who was sitting beside him.

"Yeah, I know." He answered casually.

Nathan turned to Linda. "You know him, right?"

Linda nodded while looking into Nathan's eyes, then said, "...I've met him many times already."

Linda turned to Marco. "But he has one leg. I think it is the wrong person."

"Can you appreciate what I've done for you, bitch?" Marco pointed at Linda with an angry face.

"Hu la la la... What can a cripple do? Watching from afar, while my Prince sacrificed his life to rescue me?" Linda mocked.

"You go back to Bastien. You are not worth even that much! Your whole body looks like nothing more than flesh wrapped around bones!"

"Hahaha..." she chuckled quietly. "Are you really going to try to beat me down here?"

"Yes." He said bluntly.

"I'm not scared of your dirty moves, puny bastard," she smiled boldly as she stood up. "I'll fight you properly now."

Marco pulled out his sword as if preparing to cut off her head as well, pointing at Linda, who had charged towards him with her fist raised.

Linda skillfully dodged Marco's attack, then kicked his leg.

Marco fell, and Linda burst out laughing.

Linda suddenly froze in place. Marco immediately got up and kicked her back, causing her to fall.

Edna smiled, then turned to Nathan again.

Muramoto sat down in the chair next to Nathan and sighed. "What a long night. Now, I have to see two stupid people as a reward."

"Young Master." Edna handed the little fox in her arms to him. "I have cleaned her wounds."

"Master Nathan." Polly lightly jumped into Nathan's lap.

Nathan picked up the fox, which was clean and free from blood.

"Hey, can you tell me what you did earlier, Polly?" he asked as he stroked the fur on her head.

"I used my life energy to release a wide range of illusion spells." She answered while staring at Nathan with big eyes. "I knew I might die at any moment, so I decided to take advantage of this chance. I am a fae, after all. So I don't care how I look. But that said, I kinda like my human form more."

"So, you can't turn to your human form for a moment."

"That's right, master. If I do that right now, it would be dangerous my life,"

"So we have another family here?" Edna smiled at Polly.

"Ahh... No... That is... Uhmmm..." The little fox stared at Edna and tilted her head. Then she moved away and hid under Nathan's arm. "I won't talk about myself anymore today."

"Polly is a little shy?" Edna said with a smile as she watched Polly go behind Nathan. "Is there anything else I could help you with, young master? Maybe something to drink?"

"No, thanks. I think I need some time to rest first. You guys should also get ready to leave here soon."

He looked at Marco, who had just got back on his feet.

When Nathan was about to stand up. He saw several people appear from afar in military attire.

Nathan looked in all directions and found the same figures in large numbers.

Edna and the others immediately got ready to stand up.

Marco whispered softly. "Nathan, whatever happens, don't put up any resistance. Please, just this once, please hear me out, Nathan, please."

Marco paused for a moment, then continued. "Ah, well, it's up to you."