It had been three weeks since Aideen's powers were sealed and Ahspid secretly left the castle in the middle of the night. Safie, the only person who saw him leave, did not confess to anyone that she saw him; something deep inside her heart urged her to respect the man's decision, no matter how obnoxious or troublesome he had been during the time he spent with them.
Although Tillian sent out his knights to search for him, the mage was never found, and they could only hope that he reached his desired destination and was not buried under the snow or torn apart by the wandering beasts.
To the duke, much like to everybody else in the castle, Ahspid's decision seemed inconsiderate and selfish, after all, he was the princess's trusted teacher, someone who could have helped her cope with the loss of her powers, offered a valuable piece of advice or simple moral support during such trying times.
