Austin was getting impatient at Mike who diligently looked for the Duke after he went missing.
"He suddenly vanished without a word! We knew that the Commander would not do such a thing especially when we're in the middle of an operation… something must have happened when we were out there scouting..." Salis said while looking at the expression of Austin.
"And the rest of the squad didn't even notice?! What the hell? How incompetent they can be not to notice that something was wrong with the situation?! Should I put you all to training again?"
Somehow, the knights that are waiting for orders shivered without knowing the reason. The training of the Black Stallion Knights of the North are composed of one-sided beatings by Austin as well with their Commander Hugh because they can't even land a hit to them, accompanied by some trekking in a snowy mountain range only wearing thin clothes that made them grit their teeth as well as some other hellish trainings.
Anyway… Salis and the other two knights, Justin and Michael, who arrived at the South first just ignored what Austin said in threat and just let him speak.
'It's much better to shut our mouth while he's like that…' the three coincidently thought.
"...It's been three days and even the shadow of the Commander was nowhere to be seen!" Austin continued to talk and slammed the table as his frustration sored high.
It was not about Duke Hugh who suddenly went missing but because Austin and the Black Stallion Knights knew that the Duke can handle any situation by himself and that he will stay alive no matter what. However, what they can't accept was they didn't even notice that someone was trying to separate them from the Duke until the last minute when they noticed that Duke Hugh was gone and that the trail was erased and that they were having a hard time finding who did such a thing.
Of course, they have a prime suspect as to who it was but they still need to get back at the one who executed the plan. Their pride as the Black Stallion Knights of the North won't let them accept such humiliation done by some stupid spy.
"What are we going to do, vice-leader?" Michael asked with his hands crossed against his chest.
They were inside the tent that was placed in the middle of the forest of the South as it was their temporary fort. The atmosphere inside can be told as the cold and heavy snowfall in the north, where all they could do was stand while the silence swallowed them.
They knew that they still needed to finish their mission and as Austin is the second-in-command in the Black Stallion Knights, he will be the one to give orders.
"For now, we need to wrap up these bastards that are trying to mask themselves as bandits! Gather the troops! We're going to finish this up as soon as possible..."
Salis felt his whole body shiver as he heard the chilly low voice of Austin with a smile plastered on his face. He then remembered that Austin, who looks like a person that cannot kill, was also a notorious mad man on the battlefield.
***
Austin who always had the carefree look while he's beside Duke Hugh has now the aura of the vice-leader ready to kill the enemies that comes his way. Of course, the Black Stallion Knights knew that behind the smile that he always wore and displayed was different from the murderous look he had whenever they are in the battlefield.
'If the Duke was the Grim Reaper of the battlefield then Austin was named as the Mad Hound of the war as he never let his opponent leave his sight alive with their limbs intact.' Salis reminded himself again.
"How about the commander?" Justin asked.
"Mike is enough to find out what happened and where commander Hugh is now. We can't afford to put this mission on hold any longer… The Commander has his familiars with him, we should think about ourselves when the commander gets back, he would punish us if he learned that we delayed the work for days…"
Austin then shivers and his expression that seems so distant and cold before changes into fear. Michael, Salis, and Justin also have a different reaction when it was compared earlier when Austin was angry.
The knights inside the tent recalled how mighty the familiars that the Northern Duke has in his body as the successor of the Naville Duchy with a blood of the Royal Family.
"That's right… The commander had four familiars with him and each of them had the strength of a whole army.We should really think about ourselves first before our commander gets back and see us like this… let's worry about the spy later when we finish our mission." Salis said as he agreed with what Austin had said.
The gentlemen knew what would happen if Duke Hugh was the one to get mad at them. It would be hellish and nonstop training that you would wish you just went to war.
***
Hugh who got into a situation where he needed to introduce himself was silently thinking of how the lady would respond to the infamous name.
"You have the same name as the North Duke!"
When Hugh heard the title that he was called, he flinched a little but Leticia didn't seem to notice it. He didn't know how to respond so he kept his mouth shut and only stared at her.
He didn't know why but when he heard the title, Hugh thought something unpleasant… like if the bad rumors were also spread here in the far South.
Leticia asked questions that Hugh easily gave explanations. However, when she asked how long he would stay he hesitated to answer and instead gave a different excuse.
"It would be bad if I died along the way because I strained myself while traveling... if it's not too much I will stay here until my wounds close. And when I go back I'll definitely make one of my companions bring back the reward..."
He didn't know why he gave such a lame excuse. Even for Hugh, he would think that people who see him would assume that a big guy like him can definitely move from a small slash of sword.
Then, Hugh looked at Leticia's expression. He didn't know why he did such a thing when he knew full well that he could find his way back or contact his troops to locate his location and fetch him. Hugh didn't know what he was expecting from this encounter and thought of a plausible reason for his judgement.
'... that's right. I will contact Austin and would only leave after he finds me and besides I need to compensate this woman for rescuing me.' Hugh thought.
After a while, he heard an answer from Leticia.
"Alright… I guess that would be the best for you."
Hugh can't help but express his gratitude to the kind lady for allowing him to stay at her abode. He knew that it's not easy for a woman to let a suspicious man like him stay with her when she's alone in the house.
"Thank you for your generosity, Leticia."
***
That night after Hugh and had a conversation with Leticia, Hugh decided to let his knights know what happened and what they are supposed to do for the time being that he's not at the fort.
So in the middle of the night when Hugh was certain that Leticia was already asleeps, he opened the window that was beside the couch that he's been sleeping on and called one of his familiar.
"Aquila…"
Smoke came from his left wrist where black tattooed symbols circled around it. The symbols light-up as he summons one of his familiar, the eagle.
In the dark, a few feathers fluttered in the ground before it turned into a black smoke. The silhouette of a large bird resembling a vulture in build came to Hugh's vision and the head and strong feet equipped with great curved talons held the window sill with strong grip.
"Oh~ if it isn't my contractor… I thought you died." Aquila said as he looked up at him from head to toe as if he was examining Hugh's condition.
"Tsk! You're still alive..." Aquila continued as if he was disappointed to learn that Hugh was still alive and healthy..
"Shut up! You'll know enough if I really died if the contract was broken, just deliver this letter to Austin."
"Hey! I'm not a messenger bird! Get a dove or something…!"
Aquila was stomping his large feet against the window sill which made sounds. Hugh became conscious as he knew that Leticia was just at the other side of the door in front of the living area, sleeping.
"Should I just roast you?"
The glint in his eyes made Aquila stop his rebel and gloomily accepted Hugh's order. Meanwhile, Hugh heightened his senses to notice if Leticia has woken up because of the commotion that his familiar made.
"Tsk! You never summoned me and when you do you always made me do this stupid things! I should have never made a contract with you!" The grumpy Aquila made a protest as Hugh was attaching the letter to its left foot.
"What? Do you think I also wanted to be your contractor? Just leave already."
Aquila sullenly flapped his wings before he took off and did Hugh's bidding. As for Hugh, he was thankful that familiars could only communicate with it's contractor as he knew he would make too much noise when he summoned him after a long time.