“Find out how the magical beasts that were waiting for the ceremony managed to escape the training ground.”

Magical beasts escaped the training ground?

Duey almost inadvertently questioned what that meant, but managed to compose himself and replied, “Yes.”

“Is it true that the magical beasts escaped from the training ground, Master?”

Zerdin asked instead, but Carlos did not answer and instead gave an order to Deuce.

“Release the Esper Knights to find the escaped magical beasts. Kill them if they cause any trouble.”

“Yes.”

As Deuce exited again, Carlos now turned his gaze to Irene.

“Return straight to Esper Castle once dinner is over.”

It meant that the festival sightseeing was now over.

“Yes.”

Irene had been really looking forward to the fireworks, and it was incredibly disappointing to leave without seeing them. Yet, judging by the mood, a serious issue must have arisen, so she replied without argument.

Carlos’s gaze shifted to Zerdin.

“You are responsible for taking her safely to Esper Castle.”

“Master, you’re not coming with us?”

“I have to find the escaped magical beasts.”

According to Deuce’s report, a total of seven magical beasts had escaped from the training ground, and they had only found one so far.

Two hours had passed since the magical beasts had escaped, and the fact that they had only found one meant that it was unrealistic to find them with just the guides.

Normally, Carlos would have left it to be resolved or simply released the knights, but—

Given that it was a festival period and many outsiders were in town, Carlos had no choice but to take action himself.

Zerdin patted his chest as if to say, “Just trust me.”

“Understood. I will make sure to safely escort her to the castle.”

“…”

Why doesn’t he seem trustworthy?

Carlos considered personally escorting Irene to the castle but lacked the time, so he reluctantly entrusted it to Zerdin and stood up.

Carlos, who looked like he was about to leave immediately, stopped and looked back at Irene.

‘Does he have something to say?’

Irene looked back at Carlos, slightly tense.

“…”

Carlos looked at Irene with an unreadable expression and then slowly opened his mouth.

“…I’ll sort this out quickly and let you watch the fireworks. Just wait a bit.”

She had expected some kind of threatening warning like, ‘Don’t you dare run away while I’m gone,’ but—

This unexpected statement left Irene’s eyes wide open.

Even Zerdin and Jesse, and even Raymond, looked at Carlos somewhat surprised.

A slightly awkward silence flowed within the dining room.

“Yes.”
The one who broke the silence was none other than Irene.

Grateful for his concern even in a pressing situation that required his own action, Irene replied with a faint smile.

“I’ll be waiting.”

The carriage they had originally ridden to the square was sent back to Duke Esper’s castle.

Feeling that summoning it again would be a waste of time, Zerdin hastily rented a general-purpose carriage.

It wasn’t easy to rent a carriage during the festival, but a generous tip expedited the process.

“I’ll charge it to my master later.”

When the wealthy crown prince complained about money, Irene chuckled quietly.

The carriage speeding toward Duke Esper’s castle soon came to a halt.

Zerdin frowned and slightly opened the window connected to the driver’s seat to ask.

“Why did we stop all of a sudden?”

Raymond, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, answered.

“The road is blocked by people who came out to enjoy the festival, so we can’t move forward.”

Jesse, who was also in the driver’s seat with Raymond, added.

“There are a lot of people, and street vendors are blocking the way. Moreover, there are many carriages like ours that are stuck, so I don’t think the road will clear easily.”

Zerdin pulled back the curtain and personally checked the outside.

Just as Raymond and Jesse had said, the street was extremely crowded.

Local security officers of Duke Esper’s territory were diligently organizing the crowd, but it was to no avail due to the sheer number of people.

How are we going to get to Duke Esper’s castle quickly?

Contemplating a solution to this predicament, Zerdin discreetly asked Irene.

“Do you like walking?”

“Are you suggesting we walk to Duke Esper’s castle?”

Realizing immediately what he wanted, Irene asked, and Zerdin nodded.

“Right. Given the current situation outside, it seems faster to walk than to wait for the road to clear… Are you okay with that?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then let’s walk.”

The moment they made the decision and stepped out of the carriage—

Bang!

A deafening, enormous noise sounded, followed by a quake-like shaking of the ground.

“Ah!”

As Irene lost her balance and was about to fall, Zerdin caught her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine…”

Before Irene could even finish her sentence, the ground beneath them split apart with a great tear.

Both Irene and Zerdin fell precipitously.

Thump.

The ground suddenly surged like a volcanic vent, and something sprang out.

“A mole?”

It was too large to be called that. It had three eyes, and its protruding large teeth seemed strong and sharp enough to chew through stone.

“It’s, it’s a monster!”

Someone screamed in a voice that seemed to be tearing.

“It’s a monster without a necklace! Run!”

“Aaargh!”

People scattered in all directions, overcome with panic.

“Wa, wait…!”

Swept up in the torrent of people flooding away, Irene flailed her arms.

She tried to hold her ground but eventually couldn’t, and was carried away like a twig in a violent current.