It took at least half an hour for the second unit of the royal knights to assemble in front of the second prince by the courtyard.

Fran was out there with him to see him off, as Javi had dragged the messenger somewhere else, probably the dungeons, and Tan mounted the horse reserved for him.

“Fran, keep an eye out for everything related to this case.” Tan ordered, making Fran bow deeply.

“Yes, Your Highness. Please be safe.”

Tan nodded at that before leading the knights out of the palace and to catch up with his brother and the Duke.

By the time he had reached them however, he found that there’s an unbelievable pressure surrounding the area, an all too familiar sensation whenever his brother got angry and let his emotions get the best of him.

The first order of the royal knights were all on their knees, having a hard time breathing due to the pressure being directed at them while the Canael knights were making a thorough sweep of the area.

Tan saw his older brother carrying an unconscious Siane for the second time this evening. He’s not sure if she’s severely injured somewhere or only passed out due to exhaustion since she’s only awakened a few hours ago, but Tan’s attention was caught by the absence of a third red-head.

He whipped his head around, hoping to see Mikael, only to be disappointed that he couldn’t find him.

He then flinched when he heard his brother speak.

“Find them. Find those bastards and kill all of them.”

A chorus of ‘Yes, Your Highness’ echoed in the area, and Tan took that chance to look at the tracking orb.

His heart dropped when he realized that the tracker is moving away from them.

•×•×•

Mikael shook his head, still a little groggy. Opening his eyes to the darkness of the wagon he’s in, he realized that his hands and feet were tightly tied up. He frowned, squinting through the darkness to see another fellow with their head down sitting not far from him.

When the moonlight passed through a gap in the roof of the wagon, he recognized a part of the priestly garment worn by Casimir, who seems to be still passed out.

Mikael looked around, wondering where they were.

There were barrels and crates hiding them and the steady rolling of the wagon on a dirt road made him think they’re being brought out of the capital; it’s faint but he could also hear other wagons behind them, leading him to conclude that they were in some kind of a merchant’s caravan. Mikael bit down on his lower lip, hoping that his sister is okay.

The ambush at their home wasn’t for their father, but for the siblings.

The last thing he remembered before passing out due to a strong suppressant ‘bomb’ being thrown into their midst was that it hit Siane’s forehead and had knocked her out of her horse.

Whoever aimed that deserves to have their arm cut off. He hasn’t even managed to hit her with a snowball to the face yet and they did that easily like that?

When that ‘bomb’ scattered into the air, the scent had affected all of the Omegas within the group, mainly Mikael and Casimir. There were a handful of knights as well that got affected, to Mikael’s surprise.

He had thought that Calisto would have filled the ranks of his knights with Alphas and Betas but then again, he’s not one to focus solely on one’s secondary trait, but their overall usefulness to him.

He flinched upon hearing a gruff voice up front, grumbling nervously. “Those people are mad…boldly stealing from a Duke to auction them off to a distant land…”

Another voice chimed in. “Nobles with high pedigree costs a lot compared to ordinary Omegas. Imagine the money they’ll give us to keep us quiet regarding their auction.”

Ah, so the kidnapping cases were connected to an illegal auction overseas. It’s no wonder his father has been stressing over the missing people, since they couldn’t find any traces of them.

“I’m more afraid they’d silence us…we’re nobodies after all.”

“Bah, you’re too pessimistic. We’ve been working for nobles like this for a long time.”

“We stole from THE Duke Canaels. We’re lucky that the future Master of the Magic Tower seems to be out of it…”

“Heh, so much for the next Tower Master…a physical attack like that quickly downed her.”

The two ruffians driving the wagon chuckled amongst themselves, unaware that Mikael is seething behind them.

Mikael then wiggled his arms down his butt, careful not to hit any of the crates so as not to alert his captors. He leaned back, lifting his butt and legs to shimmy his bound arms through, before he flexibly got his arm through his bound ankles.

He silently grunted when he pulled a muscle on one arm. He then conjured a small fire to burn through his wrists’ bindings before doing the same for his ankles.

He then carefully made his way to the front, stepping over the unconscious Casimir, and parted the cover slightly. Pointing his index finger at the horse’s hide, he snapped a quick bolt of fire towards it, making the horses go crazy and lose control of the wagon, crashing to the side of a tree.

Mikael took Casimir, carefully slinging him over his shoulder and hopped out of the wagon, ignoring the yells of their captors.

“Duck!” He heard Tan’s voice and he immediately did as he was told.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that a fight had broken out around him. The Second Order of the royal knights were all following behind Tan, who took the lead in rescuing the kidnapped victims. 

The screams and yells, alongside the clangs of metal against metal, roused Casimir from his sleep and was surprised to see the ground.

He wiggled around to see the familiar reddish-pink hair and he flushed at his predicament.

“Lord Mikael, please put me down.”

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” Mikael said as he gently placed the priest down and freed him the same way he did to himself.

Rubbing his wrist, Casimir looked at the carnage happening around them. 

“What exactly happened to us?”

“They’re part of the Omega kidnapping incidents. Would you like to come with me to stop the Second Prince from killing everyone involved? I need to bring back prisoners for my father.”

“Better than waiting here on my own.”

The two carefully made their way around the battlefield, with Casimir covering his nose and mouth due to the strong stench of blood. Once they reached the area where the prince is,  they were both surprised to see him livid.

One of the drivers of the wagon that Mikael was in not so long ago was already missing an arm and the other was holding his companion, holding up a trembling knife in the other that he had pointed at the prince.

“You dare to think of harming my friend on a day like this?” The  prince said coldly as he approached them. “The crown prince has ordered the death sentence of everyone involved in harming the crown princess. Even if I want to spare one of you to make use of…it can’t be helped.”

“No, wait, Your Highness–!” Mikael tried to stop him but Tan made quick work of the two.

Casimir looked away, retching as he could no longer deal with all the blood and gore happening.

Tan turned to face his friend as he sheathed his sword and saw the dejected expression on Mikael’s face.

“It is the crown prince’s orders.” Tan repeated. “Don’t worry, even if they’re dead, they can still provide information.”

“Limited information.” Mikael corrected him. “Your Highness–”

“Are you okay, Mika?” Tan gently asked as he reached for him.

Reflexively, Mikael swatted his hand away. “It was my chance to help father with his incident, Your Highness. You could have spared one…”

“It is an absolute command from my brother. You have to understand that.”

“It’s not as if he’s the King of Kings! He’s an Alpha, like you are. Just because he’s your older brother–”

“The King…of Kings?” Casimir weakly asked as he looked at them. “Isn’t that a myth?”

“Oh, Casimir, you were here. Why are you doubled over? Are you hurt?” Tan said as he awkwardly avoided Mikael, not wanting him to see his hurt expression when he slapped his hand away.

Little did he know, he left someone with a broken heart who shed a single tear.