In front of the Diamond Rivière, Nora looked at the attendants of the Sorofyas, who were currently standing in line in accordance with her request, as she waited nervously for the knights to finish their investigation.

  Nora had tried interrogating Grace several times ever since she stopped the convoy, but judging from how the latter was able to calmly deal with her questions without revealing any significant information, it would appear that Charlotte had already predicted her move.

  As someone who had been entrusted with managing several of the Sorofyas’ core businesses at an extremely young age, Charlotte Sorofya was as intelligent as she was talented. This incident was a good example of her sharp foresight.

  For this incident, Charlotte might have appeared to be in a difficult position, but she had the advantage as the escapee. Nora and the Ascart House had no choice but to pursue whatever tracks she had left behind, especially since they were already three days behind Charlotte right from the start. There was very little leeway for Nora to maneuver.

  It was not that Nora hadn’t considered the possibility that the Diamond Rivière was bait, but there was simply nothing she could do about it. There wasn’t enough time for her to conduct a thorough sweep of the Ascart Fiefdom. Had she attempted it, the Diamond Rivière could simply charge all the way to the border, and she wouldn’t have been able to catch up at all.

  “Your Highness, we’ve searched through the convoy. Lord Roel isn’t inside.”


  “.……”


  Just as Nora expected, neither Roel nor Charlotte was with the Diamond Rivière anymore. She was silent for a long while before she finally passed down a difficult order.

  “Relay my orders to every reserve and militia army in the municipalities of the Ascart Fiefdom. They are to investigate every single outsider who has entered their municipality within the last three days, and all suspicious figures are to be detained right away. Aside from that, all of you are to start collecting clues from the civilians in the region. Anyone who has reliable intelligence will be handsomely rewarded for the tip!”


  After giving her orders, Nora turned to one of the guards of the Ascart House and asked grimly.

  “How many villages and towns are within a day’s journey from here?”


  “Err…… There should be three villages in total, Your Highness.”


  “Very well. We’ll be splitting into four groups. Three of the groups will be heading toward the three nearby villages to search the areas. If you find anything, send someone to inform me right away. As for the last group, you’ll be detaining the servants of the Sorofyas. Until this matter is over, no one is allowed to leave!”


  The knights and guards quickly began moving. The two guard captains quickly led their men toward the two furthest, most remote villages, meanwhile Nora headed to the closest one where Charlotte and Roel were much likelier to have passed through. According to the guards, it was a town that was not too developed but had a uniquely flavored wine.

  Nora and her group rushed ahead, and it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the vicinity of the village. When she gazed down at the village from a high slope, her eyes immediately narrowed. She meticulously noticed something peculiar about the village.

  The snowy road leading into the village was cleanly swept, creating a pathway wide enough for two carriages to travel side-by-side. Typically speaking, a small village like this shouldn’t see much activity in the middle of winter. Even if someone had to leave the village, they would usually leave on foot since the piled up snow would hinder the movement of a horse, and they would have to provide feed for the horse too.

  Winter was a time to scrimp on rations. Other than nightly interest activities, most people would choose not to do much during wintertime. This was especially so for small villages without much commercial activity. Yet, a village like this actually took the effort to sweep its main road so cleanly, clearing a pathway wide enough for two carriages to pass through.

  Something is clearly wrong with this scene!

  Nora’s heartbeat accelerated. She never thought that a desperate struggle from her would actually bear fruit. She decisively led her men in a charge toward the village, only to see an old woman limping her way out of her house with some firewood.

  Upon seeing a villager, Nora leaped off her horse and glided down on her wings of light. It brought her lithe body right before the old woman. Aghast, firewood went tumbling from trembling hands to scatter over the ground.

  “Please calm down, I’m a soldier from the Ascart Fiefdom. There are a few questions I need to ask you.”


  Looking at the frightened old woman, Nora could only hurriedly explain her circumstances. Most of the old folks in these villages had never ventured out into the world, so they didn’t know of the angels or the Xeclydes. Thus, she chose to identify herself as part of the military of the Ascart Fiefdom instead.

  The old woman was still a little flustered despite Nora’s attempts to calm her down, but she seemed to have realized that she was standing before a prominent figure and tried her best to cooperate. Nevertheless, she still continued to stutter, and she dared not raise her head at all. Nora also felt helpless about this, but with more urgent matters at hand, she could only soldier on.

  “Have there been any outsiders in this village in the past two days? Can you tell me what they look like and where they are?”


  Nora’s gentle words had the old woman stunned for a moment before she began nodding her head frantically.

  “Y-yes, outsiders! T-there was a rich noblewoman, a huge carriage. Yes yes, and a lot of people too!”


  The elderly woman used her hands to describe the majestic size of the carriage, seemingly having a big impression of it. Nora was delighted to hear those words, and she quickly proceeded on to ask about the specifics.

  “You mentioned that the leader of the group was a girl with auburn hair, and there was a black-haired boy amongst them too?”


  “Y-yes, that boy sat on a wheelchair. I-I think his legs are bad. Right! They also bought wine too, lots of it!”


  Hearing that Roel was injured, Nora’s body shook lightly as fury surged in her heart uncontrollably. She clenched her fists tight as she tried her best to ask calmly.

  “I understand. Where were they headed?”


  “T-that way! They headed east to see some s-snowscape. I said there are a lot of wolves there, and the west mountain is better, but they didn’t listen to me……”


  The old woman nattered on and on, as if trying to shirk off responsibility. Clearly, she thought that Nora was also part of the same group as Charlotte and Roel, and she was afraid that Nora would hold her responsible for any mishap that occurred to the other two.

  Nora didn’t try to explain the situation to her. Instead, she quickly got on top of her horse, which had arrived by then, and departed heading eastward. To their delight, they swiftly caught the trail of a large group of people.

  By the entrance of the village, the white-haired old woman watched quietly as Nora and her group of knights rushed eastward. A long time later, she shook her head and returned to her house. The moment she closed the door behind her, her body began to shine brightly. Her white hair was swiftly colored auburn, and her hunched silhouette transformed into the body of a slender girl.

  Having reverted back to her original form, Charlotte calmly opened the entrance to the underground storage room and waited. Soon, under the support of a few attendants, Roel walked out from within.

  “Charlotte, you really should head down to take a look. There are many fine aged wines down there, and quite a few of them are top-quality products.”


  “Mm, I’ll take a look later.”


  Charlotte tucked her hair behind her ear as she replied with a smile. She seemed to be in a good mood. Roel blinked his eyes in intrigue as he turned to look out of the window. He noticed that a group of people was rushing up a mountainous path eastward.

  “Hm? Why are those people taking that sort of path in the middle of winter?”


  “They are hunters.”


  “I see……”


  Roel nodded his head before murmuring a prayer for them with a soft smile.

  “It sure is tough on them. May their hunts go well.”