Tobias’ eyes widened.

"T-that sounds incredibly wrong when you say it like that, my lord..."

"Does it?"

"YES IT DOES."

"...you’re still coming with me."

Tobias opened his mouth, then slowly closed it again. A moment later, he couldn’t stop a helpless smile from appearing.

"...alright."

A slave to Zephyrion Calderalth...

Somehow, he didn’t hate the sound of that at all.

Tobias exhaled deeply.

"Improve..." he muttered beneath his breath, repeating the word over and over in his mind.

Zephyrion had come all this way for him. For a nobody like him.

He was a truly great lord.

And a lord as great as that deserved nothing but the best. Beneath the silver moonlight, Tobias’ wavering eyes slowly turned resolute.

’I’ll do my best.’

No matter what.

...

The journey back toward the carriage was uneventful, with Tobias only stopping briefly at the gambling den to gather his belongings.

Soon, the carriage was moving once more.

With the four of them seated inside, the atmosphere within the carriage felt rather tense, with only Lumi seemingly having the time of her life peering excitedly through the window at the passing streets.

Zephyrion sat quietly with his eyes closed, seemingly lost within his own thoughts. Meanwhile, Kilo and Tobias remained noticeably stiff.

Especially Tobias.

Now that his emotions had settled, he suddenly realized he had made the genius prodigy of Calderalth personally come all the way down to the slums for him.

The embarrassment nearly killed him.

Every few seconds, Tobias found himself sneaking glances toward Zephyrion before hurriedly looking away again.

However, just as Tobias stole another glance, Zephyrion’s eyes suddenly opened.

Tobias froze.

The coldness hidden within those glowing purple irises sent a chill down his spine.

"Stop the carriage."

The calm voice seemed to carry unnaturally clearly through the night. The coachman instinctively obeyed, immediately pulling on the reins and bringing the horses to a halt.

Lumi, Kilo, and Tobias all turned toward Zephyrion with confused expressions.

"Y-young lord..." Tobias asked cautiously after a moment. "Did... something happen?"

Zephyrion didn’t answer.

He simply stood and stepped out of the carriage.

The moment Lumi hurried after him, Zephyrion moved slightly, blocking her path.

"I want you to return to the estate without me."

Lumi’s eyes widened instantly as she hurriedly shook her head.

Zephyrion stared at her with a deadpan expression, making it painfully obvious he was serious.

Lumi’s eyes quickly turned pleading, but Zephyrion remained unmoved.

"I’ll be back soon," he said. "I promise."

Lumi still shook her head stubbornly, tears already beginning to gather in her eyes as she pointed toward him repeatedly.

Zephyrion paused briefly before backing away slightly and giving a small reassuring nod. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Young lord..." Tobias said awkwardly. "If it’s something dangerous, maybe I can hel—"

"It’s not," Zephyrion cut in before turning toward the coachman. "Leave."

The coldness within his purple gaze instantly stiffened the middle-aged man’s back.

"Y-YES!"

The coachman immediately snapped the reins, cold sweat already forming across his forehead.

’What a terrifying child.’

Soon, the carriage disappeared into the night.

Without saying another word, Zephyrion slowly turned and swept his gaze across the surroundings. The cold silence of the night greeted him, broken only by the distant chirping of tiny creatures hidden within the forest.

Several moments passed before he finally spoke.

"Unpresent."

Beneath the ethereal glow of the moonlight, Zephyrion vanished.

Perched atop a tree deep within the forest, a man cloaked completely in black narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

’What?’

The Lightning Prince they had been observing had suddenly disappeared.

’Can anyone still see him?’

’No.’

’Nothing on my side.’

’...he vanished.’

The man frowned deeply.

Not even the trackers hidden throughout the forest could locate Zephyrion anymore.

’Where did he go?’ More importantly... how could a mere seventeen-year-old evade the senses of veteran hunters?

’Find him immediately. Don’t let him escape.’

’Yes.’

’On it.’

The captain waited briefly, then frowned.

’...Yodo?’

Silence.

’Yodo. Respond.’

Nothing.

The captain slowly straightened atop the branch.

’Check on him immediately.’

’Right away!’

Several seconds passed, then the captain’s expression slowly changed.

’Wait.’

’Captain?’

The captain didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his voice lowered slightly.

’...Maria. Report your position.’

Silence.

The captain instantly rose to his feet.

’Horn. We’re leaving. Now.’

He instantly leapt toward another branch, then froze. A second had already passed, yet there was not a single response.

"Who are you?"

The voice drifted through the silent forest like the whisper of a reaper.

The captain spun around, and his body violently snapped apart.

Blood sprayed across the night air as his trembling eyes widened in horror at the sight of his severed legs tumbling beside him. He crashed heavily onto the forest floor, blood splashing across the dirt beneath him.

"What... what happened...?"

Whoosh.

A soft breeze stirred before him. The captain shakily raised his head, then froze.

Within the silence swallowing the forest whole, the Lightning Prince of Calderalth stood before him, gazing down with detached purple eyes.

The captain’s heart trembled.

"H-how...?"

"I won’t ask you again."

The captain’s eyes widened as the metallic blade slowly formed beneath his chin.

"W-wait! Please don’t kill me! I’ll talk! I swear I’ll talk!"

Zephyrion remained silent, but neither did he move the blade away.

The captain immediately took that as permission to continue.

"W-we’re from the Horus House!" the captain blurted out desperately. "We were only hired to watch you! That’s all! I swear!"

"Who hired you?"

"That’s..." The captain’s face twisted slightly. "I-I genuinely don’t know! It was anonymous! Payment was already completed too! We were just told to write reports about what you did and leave them under a table at some random bar!"

"..."

"I-I’m telling the truth!" the captain hurriedly continued when Zephyrion remained silent. "We really meant no harm! We were just doing a job! Please... please spare me. I have kids an—"

Squelch!

Gurgling sounds abruptly filled the forest as blood poured from the captain’s mouth.

His trembling arm weakly stretched toward Zephyrion as though trying to grasp onto life itself before his body finally lost all strength and collapsed limply onto the ground.

Zephyrion observed the scene without emotion. A moment later, silver streaks flashed through the air. The corpse’s head and limbs were severed cleanly in the next instant.

Now the death was confirmed.

Zephyrion silently studied the mangled remains for several moments. Then suddenly... his head snapped toward a distant direction.

Nothing was there, but the coldness within Zephyrion’s eyes deepened slightly.

Without uttering another word, his figure vanished into the darkness.

Moments later, another figure slowly appeared before the severed corpse.