Chapter 49

Chapter 49

* * *

Vwoooong!

The quiet night suddenly shook as the noise from the compound’s alarms sounded throughout the mansion. An intruder had evidently tripped an alarm. It had been nearly 10 years since the Agreces had enjoyed the pleasure of an intruder, which made the noise wholly unfamiliar to some of the younger Agreces. Before long, all hell had broken loose within the compound.

“Everyone wake up and gather outside! There’s an intruder!”

“Make sure to thoroughly search everywhere!”

As guards roused from their quarters, they began to swiftly into action. Some of Roxana’s half-siblings chose to use the intrusion as an opportunity to have some fun of their own and joined in on the hunting party.

“I wonder if it’s one of Pedelian’s hounds!”

Lante was noticeably excited as he marched down the hallway leading from his room. He had been preparing for just such an occasion as he had assumed Roussel Pedelian would never just sit back and wait as his heir’s whereabouts remained unknown. The last time the two clan leaders had met, Roussel had appeared fairly certain that Lante was behind his son’s sudden disappearance. What’s more, the Pedelians had been sending out search party after search party to the Agrece border, but Lante had been starting to find the mere act of eliminating them had become a chore. So after taking all of that into account, the head Agrece determined that the intrusion had to be the Pedelian’s doing.

Those sniveling rats are so good at crawling through cracks.

“Father, what’s going on?”

Roxana stepped out of her room as if she had just been woken from a peaceful slumber.

“Roxana, I think you better go make sure your mutt is where it’s supposed to be.”

Roxana nodded at her father before chancing to ask a more telling question.

“Father, is the intruder a Pedelian?”

“Very likely.”

Upon hearing his answer, she turned to go do as her father had instructed. Lante watched her with pride as he thought proudly about how her perceptive and action-oriented nature must have been attributes she had inherited from him. Then he turned to resume his march as it was time to catch and kill the rat.

* * *

Roxana made a beeline for Cassis’s room.

“Let’s go.”

On her command, Cassis stood up without saying a word. They stepped over the threshold together as the loud sirens continued to wail throughout the hallway.

“Oh! Lady Roxana!”

They hadn’t gone more than a few steps before encountering several armed guards who were coming from the opposite direction. Upon hearing their cries, the two came to a halt. They eyed both Roxana and Cassis who were obediently standing right next to her. Rumor had spread that he had become much calmer after his time in the hallucination room, and as if to drive the point home, the Blue Heir simply stood quietly at her side with all his restraints in place. Lante had warned the guards to be extra vigilant as the intruder might be another Pedelian, so they couldn’t simply allow her to casually parade the toy around in the midst of such chaos.

“My lady, what are you doing out here? Please return the toy to its room. The situation may get dangerous.”

“Yes, please do. Did the master not relay the message to you, my lady? The intruder is suspected to be fro—”

But Roxana cut the second guard off before he could say any more.

“I already know.”

Then after putting her finger to her lips to silence them, she continued.

“That’s precisely why I’m planning to have a little fun. Don’t go blabbering on or you’ll spoil it.”

At the same time, she twitched her eyebrows in the direction of her toy, indicating to the guards that she sought to keep the identity of the intruder secret to him. To her relief, the guards were quick to catch on that Roxana was not keen on her toy finding out the intruder was likely a Pedelian.

“I would very much appreciate your cooperation, men.”

Her thousand-watt smile suddenly dazzled the throng, while her sweet and lovely voice left them dizzy with bliss. Like a herd of sheep, they nodded in unison.

“I really appreciate it. By the way, where did Father tell you all to take the intruder once you catch them?”

“To the sculpture in the first-floor lobby.”

“Very well. Keep up the good work, men.”

Roxana trotted off as if she were taking her toy on a picnic, while her hand gripped the end of the leash attached to its neck. Meanwhile, the guards who had been momentarily charmed out of their wits woke up from their collective daze and resumed their march to hunt down the source of the disturbance.

“What fools. They really don’t know what to do with themselves in front of you, do they?” Cassis wasn’t making any effort to hide the disparaging tone in his voice.

“Don’t fault them. You’re actually the abnormal one for not being more like them.”

Cassis stared for a moment at Roxana as his eyes tried to glean how she could sway all those men with only a few words. He eventually decided not to say another word as he did indeed understand their reactions. The busy footsteps of people going to and fro soon faded away from them. Roxana and Cassis had actually been moving toward the heart of the mansion. Then they finally came to a stop.

“This is it.”

Roxana pointed towards an eerie-looking hallway, which had clearly fallen out of use long ago. The candles on the walls around it made the contrast between what was lit and what was cast in darkness seem far more distinct. The flame of the candle nearest to them flickered as if a light breeze had passed over it. Without warning, Roxana reached her hand out to take hold of the golden candelabra.

“Hang on!”

But before Cassis could warn her to be cautious of the flame, her hand was already over the light. Roxana gripped the candelabra with her bare hand, then turned it until the wall behind it opened.

Whoosh.

There had no doubt been a breeze, and it had been coming from the secret passage in the wall.

“There’s a spell that requires the candle to remain lit while turning the candelabra in order to open this passage in the wall.”

Her voice did not so much as waver as she removed the hot candelabra from the wall. Instead, she looked cool and collected as she gazed in Cassis’ direction.

“I’ll have to go perform the same action in order to reseal the opening, so pay no mind to this minor burn.”

Roxana’s expression offered no hint that she had just scalded her hand. Cassis frowned as he looked at her.

“You really are...”

But he stopped himself.

Then he looked at her with an expression akin to suppressed fury before slowly closing his eyes.

Whoosh

From the other side of the wall, Cassis could hear the wind practically urging him to hurry. He knew there was no time to waste. Once he reopened his eyes, he had renewed his determination. He took a step into the darkness.

Clang.

The magical cuffs fell off and onto the floor.

“There’s only one path, so just go straight.”

Since she had given him all the necessary details days beforehand, Roxana did not bother to explain any further. On top of that, they really had no time. She took a sharp breath before speaking again.

“Be careful.”

Then their eyes suddenly met. Just before Roxana could reseal the opening in the wall, Cassis reached out to her once more.

“Roxana.”

Upon hearing his voice call out to her, she felt the warmth of his touch pass over her fingers.

“I don’t think this is the end, so let’s save our goodbyes for next time.”

She gazed directly into the light radiating from his eyes as he spoke. It was a light that refused to be quelled even by the surrounding darkness. As Roxana caught sight of her own reflection in Cassis’ eyes, she suddenly felt as if she were a stranger.

“Stay safe until then, all right?”

As Cassis bid her farewell she simply offered him a small chuckle in response. His hand finally released hers, then he was lost beyond the wall.

“Goodbye, Cassis. It was a pleasure.”

And so, after spending so much time together in the short period since his capture, the two parted ways. For the time being, it was indeed goodbye.