In a dark forest, an elf with blonde hair was seen shining in the darkness. Her slender figure easily jumped between the large branches as if she were walking on clouds. Her smooth movements made her look like a beautiful fairy playing in a magical forest. However, if one looked closely, one could see that on the elf's beautiful face, there was a cold gaze that could freeze anything around her.
After the elf jumped for a while, her feet finally stopped as her pointed ears made a slight movement. Her bright green eyes stared directly at the group of humans resting hundreds of meters away from her position. The elf clenched her fists tightly before she whispered something that only she could hear.
"I found you," she whispered in a cold voice.
***
Elsewhere, the mood in the group of princes was quite good because they had managed to avoid any serious trouble so far. With their combined strength, they had even managed to defeat a powerful wind fairy. The group did regret that they were unable to retrieve Fay's body for their research. But at least the victory managed to raise the spirits of the adventurers, who had decreased as soon as they started to enter the Audoran Forest.
Once night fell, the large group finally decided to end their search for the day. Unlike Kenneth, who had to keep moving to avoid danger, the group could calmly set up camp anywhere they liked and start partying as if no danger could approach them.
"Leroy, Ervin, let's toast to a peaceful journey for us in this damn place!"
Maybe because their group was filled with strong adventurers, the princes were completely worry-free and relaxed, as if what they were doing was a normal journey and not a dangerous mission. They ate and drank very well. Whatever they wanted, it was all provided by the hundreds of adventurers who joined their journey.
As a result, Jarvis, who had enjoyed getting drunk and partying since he was in the palace, continued to do the same routine when he was in the Audoran Forest. He even tried to flirt with the female adventurer, who was the easiest for him to disturb. His actions made Leroy frown, then chose to focus on the map that was already open in front of him.
"Jarvis, didn't I already say that there is no alcohol on this trip?"
"I won't get drunk. I promise," Jarvis replied. Realizing that his brother couldn't have fun, his gaze shifted to Ervin, who was sitting opposite Leroy while drinking his milk as usual. The youngest prince's young face didn't look so happy. Of course, even though their trip was smooth and successful, sleeping and camping outside the palace was not something a spoiled prince like Ervin wanted to do.
"Hey, don't make such a face. Given our current strength, shouldn't killing that damn monster be difficult anymore? We'll be home soon, Ervin. And after that, you can go back to sleep in your big palace again."
"Is that true, Leroy?"
Instead of immediately believing Jarvis' words, Ervin asked his eldest brother again. Leroy stared at his two younger brothers for a while. No one knew what the first prince was thinking as he stared at his younger brothers. But the next moment, Leroy sighed and looked seriously at his two younger brothers, who were looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"Jarvis, Ervin, I think we should split up to look for that monster starting tomorrow."
Not only Ervin but even Jarvis immediately lost his calm expression when he heard his older brother's words. The two princes had just thought that their older brother was going to throw them away in this dangerous place. But Leroy's next words managed to calm the bad feelings of the princes that had risen to the surface.
"Of course, I will arrange for the two of you to be escorted by more people than me. I want you to investigate the magnetic field in this place. Then, if you find anything strange, I want you to report it to me immediately before doing anything else."
"That... why do you want to do with it, Brother?"
Leroy tried to increase his patience when he was faced with two younger brothers whose intelligence could not exceed Kenneth, who was the son of a servant. Leroy showed the map that he had been observing to his younger brothers. The prince pointed to several points that he had marked on the map while starting to explain everything to the other two princes.
"We have been in this place for more than a week. But no matter where we go, in the end, we just go around in circles in the same place. This forest is also too quiet to be called a magical forest that is a nest of rare creatures or valuable treasures. Therefore, I suspect that we have only been in an area that is useful for confusing intruders."
"So, we just need to find the right path and help you to kill the damn monster that guards this place so that we can get out of this disgusting forest soon, right?"
Leroy nodded briefly when Ervin tried to conclude his explanation. "Then, after that, we will all return to the royal palace together," he continued. Ervin smiled slightly because of his brother's answer. At this moment, Ervin had no other desire than to return to the kingdom to live his lazy life again.
After hearing Leroy's answer, Jarvis also nodded after he had managed to conclude everything. Now that Jarvis knew that separating was the only way to end this long mission, he finally stopped protesting and obeyed his brother's words.
When they left, each of them knew for sure what mission was assigned to them. Among them, the strongest and smartest was Leroy, so since childhood, Empress Helena had instilled the doctrine that Jarvis and Ervin were there to help their brother ascend the throne. Everything would be fine as long as Leroy became the next King of the Lucano Kingdom. They could live a peaceful life and be happy because of the hard work of Leroy and Empress Helena.
However, as if remembering something, Jarvis' expression turned sour again. The man looked at his brother before saying what had been on his mind all this time.
"Brother, is there a possibility that the bastard found the monster instead of us?"
The atmosphere in the prince's tent immediately turned unpleasant because of Jarvis. Leroy's face returned to being expressionless after hearing his brother's question. Leroy's eyes stared sharply at Jarvis, who subconsciously swallowed his saliva roughly when he realized that he had asked the wrong question this time.
"Even if he had found the monster earlier, he only had two choices with his circumstances. He could die from the monster's power or die from our swords."
"T, then that's good," Jarvis said. Although he reluctantly had to admit that Kenneth did have better talent than his brother, the prince should not have survived when he was alone. After all, even if he failed, the man had managed to severely injure Kenneth before. Even if he was still alive out there, his circumstances should not have allowed him to participate in this mission again.
That should have been it. But somehow, Jarvis couldn't help but feel uneasy whenever he remembered Kenneth.
"Do any of you still want to say something? If not, you can start resting. We'll leave early tomorrow morning."
"Alright. Good night, Leroy."
"... Good night."
Ervin and Jarvis took turns saying their goodbyes when they knew it was Leroy's way of chasing them away. Leroy's tent was quiet again after that. But not long after, Leroy suddenly swept whatever was on his table until it made quite a loud noise.
"Your Highness, are you-"
"Scram!"
When one of the adventurers tried to check on Leroy, the first prince immediately chased them away with a sharp voice. The usually calm prince looked furious just because one of his younger brothers mentioned Kenneth's name. It was always that prince. Leroy could never understand why a prince with commoner blood like Kenneth could match his power as the first prince of the Lucano Kingdom.
Leroy has never been satisfied with his position because of Kenneth's existence. Although everyone in the palace seemed to hate Kenneth, some of them secretly admired Kenneth's extraordinary abilities. Leroy could not accept such a reality. He was the prince who was destined to be the next king, while Kenneth was supposed to die because he was born from an extramarital affair.
He could not kill Kenneth in the palace because King Ducan had always secretly watched his son's movements. But now that he was sent outside the palace, Leroy finally had the chance to finish Kenneth off once and for all. Leroy had gotten Empress Helena's help to get a chess slave who could most likely kill Kenneth. But in the end, even his trump card failed to finish Kenneth off once and for all.
Leroy was furious. Just like Jarvis, he was also actually afraid that Kenneth would succeed in completing the mission before them. Even without anyone's help, Kenneth had always proven to them that he could survive various trials. Such a disturbing existence, Leroy hoped that he could erase him as soon as possible and secure his position in the Lucano Kingdom.
"There won't be a second time," Leroy whispered hatefully.
"The second time we meet, it will be the day you die, you bastard," he promised earnestly.
In the dark border of Audoran Forest, no one noticed that someone was standing near Leroy's tent since the princes started talking earlier. Beautiful, bright green eyes looked cold after the figure finished listening to what the princes were planning. Killing and causing a commotion in that place was not difficult for her. However, according to the prophecy she knew, she knew that she still had to hold back for now.
She left without anyone knowing after that. Her steps were as light as the wind, disappearing quickly in the dark night of the Audoran Forest.