The mansion had finally fallen silent.
The fire had been brought under control, leaving several rooms blackened and partially destroyed, while Hwa Mae's soldiers had finished searching every floor, chamber, storage room, servant quarter, and corridor. Even the third floor had been searched repeatedly after the supposed sighting of Yuuta, yet they had found neither him nor the healer who had helped him escape.
Hwa Mae stood in the middle of the corridor, biting her nail hard enough to nearly draw blood.
"Fuck..."
Things had gone seriously wrong. Yuuta hadn't simply escaped from her bedroom. Someone had infiltrated her mansion, freed him from his restraints, caused a fire beneath the noses of her guards, and somehow disappeared despite every gate being sealed. Worse, Hwa Mae had to find him before the Demon King returned from the Dark Dominion.
She didn't even want to imagine explaining this failure to His Majesty.
"Where the hell did they disappear to?!"
