For two days, Lucas tried to ignore it.
He trained longer.Attended meetings.Reviewed military reports.
But none of it worked.
His thoughts kept returning to one person.
June Astral.
Her nervous eyes.Her soft voice.The strange feeling he couldn't explain.
Lucas finally slammed the report shut.
"…This is ridiculous."
Without another word, he stood.
"Prepare my carriage."
The knight blinked. "Your Highness, where are you going?"
Lucas walked past him, expression cold but determined.
"To the Astral mansion."
At the Astral residence…
Jenny was peacefully eating fruit in the garden when the gates burst open.
A servant ran toward her, panicking.
"Lady Jenny! The Crown Prince has arrived!"
Jenny choked on her fruit.
"WHAT?!"
Moments later, Lucas de Dravian stepped into the garden like a storm in human form.
Everyone bowed instantly.
Jenny forced a smile that looked more like fear.
"Your Highness… what an unexpected honor."
Lucas's eyes scanned the area.
"I came to see Lady June Astral."
Jenny's heart dropped.
"O-Oh… June…"
She laughed nervously.
"She… um… she left."
Lucas's gaze sharpened.
"Left?"
"For a trip," Jenny continued quickly."To the northern lands."
Silence.
The air grew colder.
Lucas took a slow step forward.
"When will she return?"
Jenny swallowed.
"…She didn't say."
For a moment, something unreadable crossed his face.
Disappointment.
Concern.
Something deeper.
He turned away.
"I see."
As Lucas walked back toward his carriage, the wind stirred the trees violently.
"Northern lands…" he repeated under his breath.
The same place where the strange magic surge came from.
His eyes darkened with realization.
"So that's where you went."
A faint, dangerous smile appeared.
"June Astral… you really are hiding something."
He stepped into the carriage.
"Change of plans."
The knight straightened. "Your Highness?"
"We're going north."
Back at the tower…
Far away in the frozen wilderness…
June suddenly felt a strange pull in her chest.
She looked toward the south, confused.
"…Why do I feel like someone is coming?"
The crystal behind her pulsed ominously.
As if it knew.