Chapter 180
Held tightly in his arms, Lea continued to observe the situation. She felt anxious, but since she still had some magic tools left, she decided to watch for an opportunity to escape.
The surroundings began to change rapidly. Instead of riding horses, they ran on foot, but it felt even faster than riding. It must have been possible only because all of them were Espers. With her hand inside her robe pocket, Lea didn’t take her eyes off Kyle. She had to escape the moment he let his guard down.
Noticing her gaze, Kyle’s face gradually began to flush. As he ran, he snapped at Lea.
“Tch. Are you going to stop staring?”
In truth, he was extremely flustered by his own unfamiliar state. Just being stared at by those golden eyes made his heart pound wildly.
Grumbling about how he had no idea why he was reacting like this, he suddenly sensed a fierce presence closing in and abruptly changed direction, shouting to his subordinates:
“Enemy!”
A few of the subordinates who tried to move with him had their heads cut off.
“S**t.”
Seeing that, Kyle realized the pursuer was no ordinary opponent. He climbed up a tree. From his vantage point above, he confirmed the identity of the pursuer and used his ability to e***t a barrier.
It was as if the trees themselves were walking. The mountain rumbled and shifted shape. But it didn’t seem to have much effect on the other side.
“…Your Highness.”
Lea, who was looking down from the high ground with Kyle, recognized the person rapidly approaching.
Calix.
She couldn’t help but murmur to herself.
Even though she had thought she could escape alone, seeing him actually brought her relief.
“So that’s the Imperial Crown Prince of Cantabria.”
Kyle said after hearing her mutter, and Lea wore a look of astonishment.
“Seems like you care quite a bit, huh?”
He instinctively felt hostile. When Lea, who had been tense in his arms, relaxed at the sight of the approaching man, it deeply displeased him.
It was irritating. Was she weighing them against each other while being held in his arms?
“So annoying.”
No matter where, these crown princes were a pain. Kyle decided, instead of simply blocking Calix with his earth ability, to try burying him altogether. His subordinates, knowing his ability, took cover.
Calix, who was breaking through the waves of earth like a tide, suddenly looked up. He recognized Lea above and twisted his lips into a smirk as he broke through the earth barrier with his wind ability.
At the same time, he jumped straight up. But Kyle was not an easy opponent. He waited for Calix to get close and then threw a dagger.
Calix dodged the dagger easily, but in that brief instant, Kyle moved to another location.
“Lea.”
As Calix persistently gave chase and reached out his hand, Lea quickly pulled out the magic tool she’d been waiting for and brought it to Kyle’s neck.
“…Huh?”
It was small, but the power contained within was that of lightning. Lea sneered at Kyle.
“Espers always think they’re immortal.”
“Argh!”
As lightning struck him, Lea jumped out of Kyle’s arms, landing and reaching out to Calix.
Calix used his wind ability to lift Lea and bring her to him. Only when she was safely in his arms could he finally relax.
As soon as he sensed something had gone wrong, he had rushed straight to the camp. But when he arrived, the camp was already buried in earth and barely recognizable.
Seeing that horrific sight, Calix was hit with the full weight of his own mistake. He should have been more cautious, should have had more backup plans instead of arrogantly pressing forward just to end the war quickly. No matter how easy things seemed, he shouldn’t have acted that way.
After a brief moment of regret, he reminded himself there was no time for this and sprang into action.
Using his wind ability, he searched for the barracks and soldiers buried under the earth. Lea was nowhere to be seen, which made him worry, though he also hoped she had managed to escape safely.
Tracking the traces, he soon found Lea. The other Guides were nowhere in sight—she alone had been taken hostage and was being dragged away.
The moment he realized this, rage surged instantly to his head. Who dared to take her so recklessly?
He chased after them in a frenzy, attacking relentlessly. Only after Lea was back in his arms did he come to his senses.
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