We continued to move forward, but we moved faster this time. Only the sounds of feet stepping on the snowy ground and the cracking of twigs and leaves as well as heavy breathes could be heard. A smell of timidness hovers in the air, the fear that was keeping us on alert.
"They are close." Athy suddenly spoke looking to the left then to the right.
"There seems to be running water on the right." I told her as I could sense it with my ability.
"There should be a river a few meters to our right." Felix Salvatore spoke as he stood beside me. "Do you think they would be there, where water is close?"
Athy poked her head and frowned.
"Who are you?" She asked plainly.
Felix Salvatore was caught off guard by her question and was stunned for a moment.
"I am Felix Salvatore, from the Duke house of Salvatore." Felix politely answered her after he composed himself.
He must have been surprised by the fact that there was someone who does not know him, especially a Castellan. I could still remember what Yan said when I met them at the meadow just this afternoon. No noble lady does not know them. Well, jokes on them since Athy has absolutely no interest in other nobles so besides the Ruchel and Polit kids, she does not know anyone else.
"This area belongs to the Salvatore's territory." I added.
"Ah, that explains it." Athy nodded uninterestedly.
Felix looked at us questionable but did not ask anything in the end.
"We should go left." I suggested, making Athy look at me weirdly. "The first explosion happened to our left, father and the knights should have headed there to check."
"No." Athy immediately disagreed.
"What do you mean?" I asked her confusedly.
"Father may have wanted to go check it, but remember that Ajax Ragnar is with him." Athy pointed out. "If anything, he would never allowed father to go and would have prioritized his safety. His instincts is something father trusts, so he must have heeded his advice. "
I thought about it, Ajax was someone who stayed by father's side, as both his butler and his aide, so him advising father to otherwise was to be expected. If they really followed his instincts, they would be away from the explosion and close to where they could easily use their abilities to the fullest.
"The top?" I asked looking up but unable to see the top.
"That would be the best place they could go where they can protect themselves." Athy answered.
While we were talking, we did not notice the stares and weird glances that the other nobles and knights who were with us. To us and our knights, having Athy and me talk about tactics and fighting is normal. But to the others outside our people, we were just little girls who are talking about adult stuff that children should not even be aware of. Thus, seeing us talk about this calmly made them extremely confused.
"Do the Castellan children undergo tactics and warfare training as soon as they were born?" Someone from the crowd behind us asked.
I turned and stared at the person with cold eyes making him shut his mouth.
"I can feel them close, but I am not sure where." Athy mumbled.
"Could they be hiding?" I frowned.
"If I would transform, maybe I can smell them better, my lady." Loki suggested.
"And that would scare the shit out of everyone." Athy refused him flatly.
"It would also be useless, with this much smoke, their scent would have been buried." I added. "It would only hurt your nose."
"Is there anything we could help you with, Lady Castellan?" A soft voice asked.
I turned around to see a caramel colored girl, the one in the Salvatore camp, standing a few steps away from us. Her voice was soft as her features, but what caught my attention was the determination in her eyes. The kind of eyes that I have always liked.
I sighed.
"We are debating whether we should head up, where it is the most probable place they would be able to defend themselves." I answered.
"Or if there is another place that they could hide and would be easier for them to defend against demon beasts or a necromancer's undead." Athy finished.
If there was a place that they could hide and was easier to defend themselves, that would be the most probable place they would have gone to.
"A place they could hide would be the most preferable, if you know any." I added, knowing some of them have come here to hunt before and there was also the young Salvatore.
The girl thought for a bit before turning to look at Felix.
"Do you think they ran to the cave near the falls?" She asked him.
"If all the missing people are still alive, they will not fit in there." Felix shook his head.
"What about the open field where we used to hunt horned rabbits during summer?" Yan asked too.
"Too open." Felix answered with a look that says; 'Are you stupid?'
This made Yan immediately shut up.
"How would you even know that they are not fighting at the top all these time?" A scrawny brunette boy with green eyes, wearing silver armor that was a bit bigger than his actual size, asked.
"Easy." It was Athy who answered. "If they were fighting, we would have seen flames being thrown around."
"Flames?" The boy asked with a face filled with doubt.
"One of the knights with our father is a Flame ability user." I answered. "Her name is Marionne Fuego."