Chilson swept the faces in front of him.
"While we wait for reinforcements to arrive, we will return to Syna."
Alexander's brows furrowed and expressed his thoughts in a displeased tone.
"Why? Shouldn't we just search this forest?"
Chislon shook his head.
"That's what they're aiming for."
The boy's wrinkles deepened.
"I can't seem to understand what your point is, Count Andreas."
"What I'm trying to say is that our opponents are using their little brains."
And he smiled and continued.
"First of all, Prince Damian not only has one tracker but two. One is this brooch and the other is his Telesphere."
"Trackers installed on the Telesphere? I never heard of that."
Fedel answered.
"It is a costume made, ordered by Her Majesty."
"Ah, I see."
Alexander nodded in understanding.
Chilson activated his Telesphere and a mini transparent screen floated in the air. Two red dots were seen flickering in the forest area and the Count explained.
"This is the location of the brooches. The culprit knew this thing had a tracking device, which is why they removed it. They were also aware that the pursuers would come and 'purposely' leave the evidence in the woods to distract them. While the truth is–"
He switched the screen to another map. This time a red dot flickered inside Syna.
"–the culprit never left the city in the first place. Prince Damian and Lady Leticia are inside Syna–or should I say… in their hideout."
Surprise dyed their faces as they were shocked by the revelation and Alexander opened his mouth.
"So they teleported here just to set up fake traces to confuse us?"
"More or less, yes."
After understanding everything, Alexander concurred and they teleported back to Syna.
.
.
.
Many knights wearing Gustav's coat of arms could be seen scattered around Syna as Chislon and the party ran up the ridge; they chose the rooftop to move faster and avoid the crowds.
It seemed the Duchess had dispatched knights to look for her daughter. A few minutes passed and they entered the slum area.
Suddenly, Chislon spoke.
"Let's get down first."
All of them jumped down and hid in an alley. Alexander immediately asked.
"Count Andreas, what is it?"
"Do you see a black-robed man?"
They peeked behind a house and finally managed to spot the one Chislon talked about.
The man in black could be seen walking while babbling something angrily.
"What the hell is wrong with this Telesphere?! The Magical Sphere won't open and I can't make calls!"
After passing two blocks, he entered a house.
"So, Damian is inside that house?"
Chislon shook his head.
"No, that man is wearing Prince Damian's Telesphere."
"What? How dare he use my brother's stuff?!"
Alexander sounded irritated and suggested.
"Shouldn't we just kill him right now instead of watching him here?"
Chislon massaged his nose bridge. Prince Alexander had always been a collected person, why did he suddenly turn impatient and violent like this?
Was it related to Prince Damian? Did he have a brother complex or something?
The Count let out a sigh.
"Your Highness, please, calm down. I know you are worried about your brother's well-being, but if you rush things, it won't make anything better. They are highly intelligent kidnappers, there must be surveillance around here and we can't let them know that we're after them."
There was a brief silence and Alexander eventually answered.
"I… understand. I'm… sorry."
Chislon smiled and patted the boy's shoulder.
"It's all right. And please have faith in Prince Damian. My pupil is a quick-witted boy, he will be fine and I guarantee that."
Alexander nodded and the Count withdrew his hand, then he skimmed the faces of the party.
"For now, we will split up and look for the watchmen around this area. If you find anything suspicious, don't act on your own, please contact me first."
"We understand."
"And as for Prince Alexander–"
Chislon turned to the boy and their eyes met.
"–please stay with me."
"I understand."
Soon, they dispersed. Chislon and Alexander left the slum to meet Duke Gustav's Knights Team Leader.
Chislon requested increased security around the slum and luckily, the knights agreed to cooperate.
Several hours later, the Imperial Knights and Investigation Team arrived at Syna.
The Imperial Knights watched over the city and the Investigation Team guarded the woods.
Chislon couldn't help but smirk. With this, the enemy had no room to escape.
However, the citizens didn't really like it when they saw many knights scattered here and there. It made them anxious and wonder if something had happened.
But, the situation was quickly resolved by saying that this was just an ordinary operation to reduce the crime rate so that citizens could enjoy the festival in comfort.
Although it didn't completely eliminate their nervousness, it at least reduced their tension a bit.
Afterward, Ulrich contacted Chislon to inform him that he saw the man wearing Damian's Telesphere coming out of the house.
He also notified Chislon that they had found the watchmen. Saying that, unlike the perpetrators, they wore clothes like normal citizens.
What made Ulrich and the rest recognize them was that they just stood or sat and did nothing for hours before they were switched by other watchmen.
Also, they reported that there were around four watchmen in the area, and wasting no more time, Chislon and Alexander returned to the slum.
Hours passed and the surrounding was now tinged with an orange hue as the sun prepared to set. Even so, they continued to wait and night ultimately fell.
Chislon took out his pocket watch and examined it. It had been 10 hours since Damian was kidnapped. It would be a lie if he wasn't worried about him.
Although the blonde looked calm on the outside, deep within the storm of anxiety was raging inside.
It was just that he didn't want to make any mistakes that could harm his pupil.
It was 8 pm. Chislon closed the watch and turned to the boy next to him.
"Your Highness, please return to the Imperial Resident and rest. You can leave everything here to me."
Yet, Alexander shook his head.
"No. I'll be here."
Chislon could only sigh at the boy's persistence.
"As you wish."
Hours passed and luckily, their patience paid off. A magic circle formed on the floor and shone brightly in the dark alley.
"Count Andreas."
Alexander's voice pierced Chislon's ears.
"Yes. I saw him."
A man wearing a black robe carrying a boy on his shoulder appeared above the magic circle. He spat something angrily and entered the house.
Chislon's brow furrowed. There were so many questions popping into his head.
Did that man also teleport into the woods? If the answer was yes, then how come he could escape the Investigation Team's surveillance?
And from the scene he had just witnessed, Chislon was sure about something and spoke.
"It seemed they planted a Mana Disruption Device in that house."
Alexander nodded in agreement.
"Yes. I believe so."
Because, if they could teleport, why not just teleport inside their hideout? Why outside the house? Then the answer was they simply couldn't due to the device.
However, Alexander's forehead creased, and immediately conveyed the thought that had just crossed his mind.
"But how can they keep hundreds of children in that small house?"
"Underground."
Chislon's voice sounded firm without a slight doubt.
How clever, they dug a tunnel under the house in the slums to avoid the Empire's eyes.
And that pretty much explained why the Mana Disruption Device didn't affect the area here and answered how they stored the kids.
The Count continued.
"Seeing the man in and out of the house regularly, meant the hideout had only one way of accessing it."
"So what are we going to do?"
Alexander turned to Chislon and their eyes met.
"When the man comes out of the house, we will kidnap him."
Alexander chuckled.
"Heh, kidnapping a kidnapper, huh? Sounds interesting!"
Of course, the boy was delighted, he was waiting to beat the person who dared to kidnap his brother. Chislon could see how his golden eyes gleamed with excitement.
Soon, Chislon called the other through Telesphere and conveyed his plan. They agreed and moved to their respective positions.
However, this time it didn't take long enough, the man was seen leaving the house and walking leisurely in the dark alley.
The four immediately distracted the guards by bumping into them while spilling wine on their clothes to incite their anger.
And just like that, the watchmen poured out their anger. The moment they completely took their eyes off the black-robed man, Fedel jumped down behind him and smacked his nape.
The man's body slumped and Fedel skillfully caught him before kissing the ground and leaped up toward the ridge.
It happened in the blink of an eye, even Chislon wasn't sure what the hell Fedel had done to the kidnapper as he suddenly fainted.
"Crazy."
Chislon murmured in amazement. In terms of speed, doubtlessly the old man was the fastest in their group.
Soon, they moved some distance away and teleported to the inn they had previously booked to begin the interrogation.
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