Isn’t that the Duke? And it seems there’s a steward behind him too.

Luid, who had been following Lucy as she stared blankly ahead, gaped when he saw Veronia stepping out from behind Vika Lamberst.

“Huh? Who’s that lady? I’ve never seen her face before. Come to think of it, she looks a lot like Kian!”

To Kian’s eyes as well, a woman emerged following behind Vika Lamberst—a woman whose radiant golden hair and blue eyes seemed impossible for even the night’s surrounding darkness to conceal.

Kian realized she was the very person who had given birth to him.

The mother who bore me…

He now understood that his previous assumption—that she was weak and powerless, imprisoned somewhere—had all been a misconception.

Veronia’s appearance looked valiant, like that of an exceptional warrior.

“Huh? But who is that person?”

Lucy and Luid clenched their lips, sensing something ominous. The person who appeared next was none other than the monarch of this country.

“That’s His Majesty the King?! But why does it look like he’s confronting His Majesty…?”

Even from afar, it was immediately obvious that the King and the Duke were facing off against each other.

The twins also knew that opposing the King meant rebellion.

Children who had learned loyalty to their sovereign from their father Reidox were deeply shocked to see their own father standing defiantly against the King.

“D, does this mean our father is, is, staging a rebellion? Together with the Duke?”

Seeing Lucy and Luid’s stunned expressions, Kian felt awkward about how to explain the situation.

“Lucy. So, you see…”

Lucy finally seemed to understand everything.

“Yes. I get it now. Disguising us as cart drivers carrying firewood, leaving us at the Duke’s mansion for so long—now it all makes sense.”

But Lucy and Luid didn’t remain shocked for long. Lucy soon lifted her head decisively, as if making a firm resolution.

“If Father made that choice, we should follow it too. Right, Luid?”

Luid didn’t answer instantly, but he didn’t hesitate long either.

“You’re right. We should follow Father’s choice. Let’s go! To help Father!”

The twins were about to recklessly charge in barehanded, which flustered Kian. Their sudden burst of courage was admirable, but they truly had nothing but courage.

“Wait! Kids! You can’t just go like that!”

“Why not? The Duke has appeared, so now we can go help him, right?”

“There are too many soldiers up front—if you get caught by them while approaching, it’ll be bad. Better to wait for a moment of chaos before moving in.”

“Oh, right. Becoming hostages for no reason would be a nuisance. We should wait for a more chaotic moment.”

Lucy quickly agreed, but Luid stretched his limbs as if itching for action.

“I can fight barehanded.”

“You might be able to fight, but you won’t win.”

“I can win!”

“How can you defeat armed men barehanded? Especially the Royal Guard!”

Normally, Kian would have stopped the two children, but right now, he couldn’t afford to focus on them.

He needed to monitor the soldiers’ movements.

“Did you think escaping through the canal would let you evade Recador’s encirclement? Now I see the Duke is utterly foolish.”

Queen Dianne was nowhere to be seen; only Rafe stood beside Gillian. It was clear Gillian had sent the Queen to his own ducal mansion to search for Kian. If Dianne had gone alone, Durion might have been able to stop her.

But the real problem was Veronia. They would surely focus their attacks on Veronia, who stood at the heart of Sikar’s group, or somehow try to take her hostage.

It would actually be more advantageous in battle if she weren’t nearby.

“Duke. We have a problem.”

“What problem?”

“The young master is here.”

“What? You mean Kian has been kidnapped?”

“No, he’s hiding over there. I don’t know how he got here, but it seems he secretly followed us all the way.”

Thankfully, he hadn’t been kidnapped. The moment Kian caught Gillian’s eye, he would become everyone’s target.

He was a far easier target than Veronia—and the ultimate objective. If Kian were eliminated, Gillian would have nothing left to fear.

“I don’t know what scheme you’re plotting with Vika, but choose now: me, or Veronia.”

Gillian stood rigidly among his soldiers, awaiting Sikar’s decision. If Sikar surrendered, he would raise his right hand; if he refused, his left. Sikar knew this as well.

“What hand does the King wish me to raise?”

“Naturally, I want you to raise your right hand. To me, the Duke is difficult to control but useful to employ. Surrender Veronia and the royal heir to me. If you do, I will overlook all the offenses the Duke has committed against me thus far.”

“I need to think about it.”

Sikar gave orders to Vika, who was momentarily pondering.

“Having Her Highness the Princess and Kian here will only be a hindrance. While I distract Gillian’s attention, tell Reidox to take Veronia and the children and escape.”

“Do we not need to stop by the ducal mansion?”

“Judging by Dianne’s absence, she must have gone there. Even if Durion is a dull fellow, he’s quick to notice combat situations—he’ll soon evacuate Yura.”

“Understood.”

Vika immediately approached Reidox, who stood nearby, and told him Kian was here and to take him along. But Reidox refused.

“Assign that task to Jeremi and Roen. I will remain here.”

“You must go. Your twins are here too.”

Shock spread across Reidox’s previously calm face.

“What? My, my twins are here?”

“Yes. I won’t let your twins become piles of spear shafts for the Royal Guard. Take them all and leave.”

How on earth had those troublemaking twins gotten here? Reidox looked around, but saw neither the twins nor anything else.

“But I can’t see them, Master Vika.”

“Of course you can’t with human eyes. They’re hiding back there. I’ll send out spirits—find where the shadows dance, then take Veronia and the children and leave.”

“Understood, Master Vika.”

“Once you’re ready, inform the Duke.”

Before leaving, Reidox first informed Jeremi and Roen that he needed to evacuate the Princess.

“Go quickly.”

“Be careful, Marquis!”

“Please take care too, Lady Roen.”

Then, he promptly explained the situation to Veronia.

“Your Highness the Princess. His Highness the Royal Heir has arrived here. We must leave this place together immediately.”

Veronia, who had been holding her blade toward Gillian, felt her blood run cold at the news that her son was here.

“K, Kian is here?”

“Yes. It seems His Highness the Royal Heir has come all the way here.”

Veronia well knew that the moment Kian’s presence was detected by Gillian, Kian would become everyone’s target.

“Let’s depart.”

Reidox signaled to Sikar that they were leaving. Instantly, Vika dispatched shadow spirits to guide them to where the children were.

When Gillian turned his head as if sensing something, Sikar launched an attack to prevent him from noticing their movement.

“It seems I won’t be raising my right hand, Gillian!”

Sikar’s sharp blade thrust toward Gillian, but his First Weapons blocked it. Gillian stepped back, shielding his soldiers from harm with divine power.

“Now’s the time! Go!”

At Vika’s shout, Reidox set off with Veronia. Gillian, not missing a beat, ordered Rafe beside him.

“Go chase them!”

Pasium wasn’t sent out, as he needed to hold back the formidable weapon that was Sikar.

“So you’re trying to sneak Veronia away? It won’t be easy, Duke.”

“You won’t find it easy to stop my plan either, Gillian.”

Kian and the twins, crawling through the grass, were startled when hands suddenly grabbed them by the scruff of their necks.

“Kyaa!”

“Ah! What the—!”

“You rascals! Why aren’t you quietly staying at the ducal mansion? Why did you come all the way here?!”

“Huh? Dad?”

“M, Master…”

“We must avoid this place for now—run quickly to where the horses are!”

Kian lifted his head and looked ahead. Jeremi and Roen were blocking the soldiers approaching their location.

Sikar’s one hand and foot were already frostbitten, and soon his arm would become completely unusable. If left like this, his remaining arm would soon fail too.

“Ha, but the Duke’s current physical condition…”

“Think about why the Duke is fighting right now. The true way to care for him is to mount the horses immediately. Let’s go!”

Kian nodded and followed behind Reidox.

Kian’s guess was correct. Sikar was finding it increasingly difficult to evade attacks.

No matter how much he controlled the spirits’ minds to block attacks, his body’s agility had to keep pace.

But his sluggish body wouldn’t move properly. He could only rely entirely on mental focus to block attacks—but as a result, his own attacks slowed too.

Vika deflected a magic spell flying toward Sikar’s side.

“Damn. What a frail Duke.”

“Has Kian completely left?”

Vika didn’t tell the full truth to the Duke, fearing he’d stubbornly persist if he knew.

“He’s gone. Can’t see him.”

“Then we should also seize an opportune moment to withdraw. The moment we exit this place, I’ll destroy Pasium’s cage.”

“Good idea. Humans should use their heads.”

“I’ll hold the line and gather the spirits—tell Jeremi and Roen to prepare to escape.”

“Understood.”

Flames summoned by Pasium seized Vika’s ankles, but soon spirits summoned by Vika burned themselves against Pasium’s scorching flames to protect him.

“Jeremi, Roen. Prepare to escape. Soon the Duke will scatter all the spirits he’s gathered in every direction. Depart immediately at that moment. Understood?!”

“Ah, yes!”

Roen and Jeremi were already utterly exhausted; even replying left them gasping for breath. It was their first battle in a long time, and they were outnumbered—Vika was equally strained.

“But make sure everyone assists the Duke so he can gather the spirits properly!”

Jeremi and Roen swallowed hard and nodded weakly.

Already, quite a number of spirits, whose minds Sikar controlled, had gathered before him. Having fought alongside Sikar before, they understood why he was gathering spirits.

“They’re trying to escape! Block their retreat!”

At Pasium’s command, the First Weapons attempted to encircle Sikar’s group in a ring.

But it wasn’t easy. Jeremi summoned Greece magic to make the ground slippery, causing some soldiers to stumble and their formation to collapse.

At that moment, Sikar gathered as many spirits as he desired.

“Now! Go!”

The instant Sikar shouted, Jeremi and Roen fled the encampment first, and even Vika abandoned his position.

The spirits Sikar had gathered began attacking everyone except his own group. It was as if countless bees were swarming a single hornet.

Their plan had been to buy time with the spirits while everyone escaped—but that plan failed spectacularly.

Gillian had anticipated this scenario the moment Sikar began gathering spirits, so he allowed Sikar’s other companions to flee while encircling only Sikar himself. Pasium devoted all his magical power to restraining Sikar alone.

Vika only realized this after traveling some distance from the battlefield and reaching near Reidox.

Before Gillian’s encampment stood only Sikar—alone.