Kai resumed walking slowly, his mind wandering everywhere. Could he be the one to be tortured next? But Vlad had been so gentle with him last night.
He looked at the vast garden with statues and ornaments in several places. Then his eyes widened. He saw the doctor who treated him yesterday walking across the garden, heading towards the exit.
He hurriedly flopped behind the bush. He didn’t know why he was hiding, but his fear was more dominant at the moment. The thought that the doctor would kill him for running away was very distressing now.
Obi was surprised to see that Kai no longer followed him. When he searched, the slave was ducked behind a bush, his head pressed against the garden’s decorative rocks.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Obi immediately pulled Kai to his feet.
Kai looked up at him, pleading not to be looked at. That left Obi confused, but he let the slave rest there for some time.
Kai peeked out from behind the bush. The doctor was no longer in sight. It looked like he had walked out. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with difficulty.
"I’m sorry..." Kai said without explaining anything, even though Obi repeatedly asked.
Meanwhile, in the shadow of Vlad’s building, the man stared out at the gardens with a small grin. He licked his pointed nails. Kai’s blood tasted very refreshing. Slave blood was usually sweeter than ordinary humans’, but Kai’s blood smelled fresher.
Vlad wanted to taste it every night, but he had to control himself, or his food would die too soon.
"Don’t leave your sword again," Alvaro warned as they were about to leave the inn.
Sylas was already carrying his sword and walking towards the door, so he didn’t answer. If he didn’t have to, he’d rather ride without carrying anything. But they would return to the palace soon.
Alvaro quickly opened the door before Sylas and made sure it was safe. For a few days, he had made sure that no one recognized them. As much as possible, they went out when it was quiet.
The inn was quite old and located at the end of the road. It was next to a large tree, making the wooden building look like a fairy house. But the service and everything else were excellent; the innkeeper was very kind and welcoming.
As they descended the wooden stairs to the first floor, a group of well-built men chatted at one of the tables. The area was usually used as a dining room.
Alvaro was alert. His eyes narrowed. He hadn’t seen them before. There were five of them, dressed like commoners, in sleeveless cotton clothes that accentuated the muscles on their arms.
Alvaro wanted to ignore them, but his eyes caught a badge on one of the men’s pants.
The badge of a palace soldier.
Alvaro stopped Sylas from continuing. They were still enclosed by a wall. He shouldn’t have worried if they were palace soldiers, but the way they were dressed and how they disguised themselves as commoners made him wary.
A man said, "I hope they’re really here. We’ve checked all the places."
"That’s really troublesome. If they really wanted to kill him, why not hire a hitman?" one of them retorted.
"Ssshh! We’re not going to kill him. We just need to forbid them from returning to the palace for some time." Official source ıs novel{f}ire.net
Sylas looked at Alvaro and understood why the man held him back. What were they planning to do exactly?
Alvaro listened carefully, trying to understand the real situation. But their conversation turned to the farm, which had nothing to do with them.
Who were ’they’ referring to? Why did they have to keep ’them’ from returning to the palace? Were they looking for Sylas? What was going on?
Alvaro encouraged Sylas to go back upstairs. However, his steps stopped when he heard one of them speak.
"His Majesty, it’s a pity he won’t live long."
Sylas gasped when he heard that. What was wrong with his father? Did something happen to him?
Alvaro clenched his fists. "Those bastards, what do they want?!" He drew his sword and moved quickly down the stairs, turning and swinging the tip at the nearest man.
His arrival took the men by surprise, especially with his movements. They immediately stood up, recognizing who was in front of them—the kingdom’s second-best knight.
"Answer my question or I’ll cut your throat." Alvaro brought his sword close to slash a bit of the skin on the man’s neck, making the man silent in fear.
"What are you doing? He’s our friend!" one of them exclaimed.
"Don’t think I don’t recognize you. Who sent you? What is your purpose here?" Alvaro snapped.
They were soon on alert, placing their hands on their swords. It seemed like they hadn’t expected Alvaro to show up .
The man at the tip of his sword gulped. "W-We’re just looking for Prince Sylas."
"For what?" snapped Alvaro impatiently, pressing his sword deeper.
"W-We were ordered to inform Prince Sylas that he should not return to the palace. T-This is His Majesty’s order." The man’s heart beat very fast. As Alvaro pushed his sword, he became even more terrified.
Alvaro laughed, but his words were sharp again. "You just said that you were asked to keep the prince from returning to the palace. Who told you to?"
Sylas walked over. All the men there widened their eyes at the sight of the prince appearing in front of them. For a moment, they forgot that Alvaro always guarded the man.
"What’s wrong with His Majesty?" asked Sylas. He just wanted to hear that. His worry trumped everything else.
They all looked at each other.
Alvaro understood their movements. Quick as a flash, he drew his sword, slashing the neck of the man in front of him. The man stumbled, blood spurting out without sound.
Everyone was surprised, not expecting Alvaro’s movements. They quickly drew up their swords. However, they forgot that Alvaro was famous for his speed and dexterity with a sword.
A fight was inevitable. One against four. The clatter of swords filled the small room. Blood splashed everywhere. Everyone had trouble reading Alvaro’s movements.
Sylas was alert, ready to help. But just as he drew his sword, all the men were already sprawled, bloodied in Alvaro’s hands.
"We have to go!" Alvaro pulled Sylas’ hand towards the back door. He spotted the innkeeper hiding under the stairs. He stopped to give some coins to the old man.
"Please take care of their bodies," Alvaro said. Before the man could reply, they had disappeared.
Sylas felt his heart pounding. His mind was not at ease.
"I’m sure His Majesty will be fine. We must back to the palace now!" Alvaro said, helping Sylas unhitch his horse.
Sylas nodded. But it wasn’t that easy. The palace guards were spread throughout the country to prevent him from returning.