"Search the palace according to the maps of the secret chambers. Check all the secret ways according to the maps without fail. " Allen instructed, handing a scroll over with his fiance"s family crest.

They have finally come this far. Perhaps it was a fortunate thing, that mans men are not here nor the other two. Although he dislikes winning an easy battle; to capture at least one of the castles that were formally under the royal family"s rule is the goal for today.

The reason why he accepted this mission was because he knew Lyn would be in the town nearby. 

When Prince Rhys first proposed taking Lyn away for a few days, he was reluctant to agree. With everything happening is it safe to take her out? But when he thought of how she always looked out of the window with that dazed expression. Allen agreed to it.

I want to take her out myself. But unfortunately I do not have the luxury to do that.

"The prince of C region is not here. "

"We can"t find the amba.s.sador of C either. The people who came along with him, are also no where to be found. They must have acted together."

 "The secret is out. Did the amba.s.sador take the Prince away?"

Naoki shook his head. If that was the case, the soldiers in this place would not have been so easily defeated by us. We have been checking the entrance very closely, and no such people went outside. We closed all the doors as soon as the revolt had begun, so they must be inside the palace somewhere."

If they cant find those people, then occupying this castle would be too risky. What if they have settled in and those people launch a sneak attack? 

"The Blondie speaks the truth." a new voice said.

That voice, Allen turned to the window and spotted bright maroon coloured hair. "So you are back Yuma."

This man is Yuma one of his royal knights. On their way to the Mist Kingdom, he sent this person to investigate something that happened in the forest.

"Yeah. Sorry about that, it took much longer than I thought it would. I didn"t think I"d be gone for a month either."

"You can give me your report later. Have you figured out where the Prince is hiding?"

Yuma nodded. "Something like that. Well just leave that coward of a Prince in my hands, I"ve always been good at sniffing out weaklings. "

 "Are you saying you wish to go alone?"

"You catch on quickly as usual."

Naoki shuffled until he was beside him and whispered. "With all due respect Prince. Going alone is far too dangerous. The Prince amba.s.sador is a dangerous man, and I doubt the other people who came with him are any easier to deal with either. If Kas.h.i.+ma goes alone and something were to happen, what would the princess say?"

Indeed it is exactly as Naoki said. To send Kas.h.i.+ma out alone would lead to a life and death situation, one that he would not be able to escape from. Even if he were to escape, it would not be without serious casualties. He does not want to bring anymore distress in her heart. 

But Allen thought the same a month ago, that the mission was simply far too dangerous. More so when they lost contact with him, he had been on the verge of going himself to find him, since the search party couldn"t. Yet here he is, in front of him alive.

It is okay to take risks. Lyn often told him that before in the past.

"Go."

 Naoki seemed stunned with his decision. Allen too felt the same, but what could he do about it? "Prince!"

With those words said Kas.h.i.+ma disappeared through the window again. Regret filled his senses no more than three seconds afterwards. But even more than that, a strong feeling of belief is here. Belief that he will return and keep his word. One of the many emotions that she has shown him.

..............

Allen made a quick stop to the town next door. He only wanted to have a quick look at her, and then he would leave immediately. But-- it seems like fate disliked him today.

"I see so she fell asleep." Allen said, as he took a gaze at the window reflecting the moonlight skies. The fact that they still cannot find that prince bothers him but at this stage they can"t do anything about it. He returned to the manor a short while ago and has been looking over the maps so many times; and yet no other place comes to mind.

Kas.h.i.+ma said to leave it to him, "If I don"t report by midnight then you can start sending your men out. But rest a.s.sured I will drag him by the neck if I have to."

The Prince of C one of his fiance"s guards. Soujiro doesn"t understand why he is hiding but one thing is for sure, unless the twelve guards are fully a.s.sembled then they would not be able to go through with the next stage of their plan.

"I could wake her if you want to speak to her."

 "You do not have to. I just called to make sure she had calmed down now. It appears as though you wasted your last day. " He did sense the spike in her king levels and didn"t like it at all.

 It"s true that he wished to discuss the state of the castle they captured. But it can wait until she is better.

"Yeah. But it wasn"t a waste. Although I"m sure she would have liked to walk around more today. The fact that we had such a talk must have made her feel more at ease. Though her doubts won"t erase easily, I"ll be here for her properly now."

Allen doesn"t have to be face to face with this person to read his tone or expression now. Right about now he must have such a soft and tender expression on his face. After all Kazuya is without a doubt a kind person.

"I am relieved to hear you say that, with this I can leave her up to you."

 Part of the reason why the third prince didn"t break the engagement was not just due to her request, or the promise between them. Even though he longed resigned himself to the fact that it would never be with him, and without fail she would choose Yuhi. He was always hesitant about one factor. The fact that Kazuya would not be able to help her when she breaks down. 

Indeed he had been correct about his suspicion, after the incident the brunette frequently had nightmares haunting her every night and broke down in tears. At that time he had been the one by her side alongside the the others; Kazuya did not come near even once. 

"She"s. .already going out with me. I understand that he"s special to her but isn"t this too much?" After hearing those words from him he understood exactly what the issue was.

 All the pieces he could not form finally came to place. The reason why Sumire"s relations with other men tend to be her seeking comfort, is because she does not want to burden Kazuya. 

"If you can say such things. I want to confirm with you first. Will you accept all her pain and suffering as your own? As you know Kazuya, that girl is not as strong as we all believe. She is emotionally fragile and I have always been worried that you would not have the patience for it. Even if you have love. If you do not work with your partner, it will easily fall apart. If you can accept everything about her regardless of the consequences, only then I shall believe that you are speaking words of truth. "