"They ran away!?"
Orlan's eyes widened in shock.
"That's right." Fenric nodded with a wry smile. "They left last night."
Orlan hurriedly turned toward the window and looked out at the dark sky. However, a faint orange glow on the horizon told him that the sun was about to rise.
"Damn… I've been asleep all day!" he muttered in frustration.
Noticing his unease, Fenric patted him on the shoulder.
"It's all right. Even if you'd tried to stop Duke Malvain, you would've only put your life in danger. He took the Black Veil unit with him to the Holy Empire of Valtanir to save his own skin," Fenric said reassuringly.
Orlan let out a long sigh and nodded.
"You're right. Thanks for letting me know."
***
Orlan walked out of the Malvain family mansion and found the nobles and their soldiers asleep on the ground as they waited for him to return.
As he descended the stairs and approached them, one of the nobles suddenly opened his eyes. The moment he saw Orlan, his eyes lit up.
