"Are you ready?" Nolan asked. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Seira gave a slight nod. "I’m ready. Let’s go."

Nolan mounted his horse and extended his right hand.

Seira took it, and he lifted her up with ease. Only after she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his back did Nolan feel that she was truly ready.

"Don’t let go."

After saying that, he was about to pull the reins when a flash of light suddenly streaked across the sky.

It shot straight toward them and struck both him and Seira.

Seira jolted and looked around frantically.

"What’s happening? Was that an enemy attack?"

Nolan’s expression darkened. He stared at his right palm. A mark shaped like an eye had appeared there.

"We’ve been locked onto," he murmured.

"Locked onto?" Seira’s eyes narrowed. "Could it be the royal palace?"

Only they were capable of something like this.

"Yes. It’s the royal palace. They must’ve asked a Celestial Mage to track us. If I’m right, they’ll be coming for us soon," Nolan said indifferently.

Truthfully, he had already expected this. Searching for them without any direction would’ve been a waste of time.

Still, he wondered which Celestial Mage they had turned to.

As far as he remembered, the royal palace had no one at that level besides Flugar.

But he had already killed that old man.

So had they sought help from someone outside?

"Then... what should we do?"

Seira’s voice trembled behind him.

Nolan smiled and gently patted her hands around his waist.

"Don’t worry. It’s only a minor issue. They’re still far from our position—maybe a hundred kilometers away. We still have time to escape," he said in a soothing voice.

In truth, Nolan could have avoided the marking spell. To him, it was nothing more than low-level magic.

However, if he dodged it, everything would become boring. He needed more chaos for Karakh’s plan to unfold perfectly.

Besides, he was certain Elina and the troops from the eastern region had already arrived.

All he had to do was lure the royal palace troops toward them and ignite a large-scale war.

That way, the Ancient Kingdom of Eron would be dragged into a desperate, chaotic situation.

Seira sensed the confidence in Nolan’s voice, and her heart finally eased.

If Nolan said everything was fine, then it had to be true.

"I trust you," she murmured.

Nolan smiled, satisfied, then ordered, "Hold on tight, Sister! I’m taking you on a thrilling ride!"

"HIKKS!"

The horse let out a sharp neigh as it reared up. A moment later, it bolted straight down Miravelda’s main road.

The people relaxing along the roadside were startled by its sudden speed.

They stared after it, exchanging stunned looks, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.

"Did you see that? That was a horse, right?"

"Yeah, it was a horse! What kind of speed was that? Can a horse even run that fast?"

A commotion broke out among them. Unfortunately, they would never find out who was riding it.

...

"Tsk. They’ve already realized they’re being targeted. What an impressive prince and princess."

Flying through the sky, Thousand Faces couldn’t hide his smirk.

This situation was unusual. The marking spell he had cast would lock onto its target and couldn’t be removed unless the caster dispelled it himself.

Normally, the victim wouldn’t even notice it, much less react.

But Nolan and Seira were different. They had sensed it immediately and fled without hesitation.

Erkan frowned. He urged his horse faster and asked, "How far are they now?"

Thousand Faces gazed into the distance and replied calmly, "One hundred and five kilometers. And they’re still pulling away."

Erkan’s face went pale. It should be noted that he and his troops were riding the finest horses available.

Their speed far surpassed that of ordinary mounts.

By all logic, the gap between them and Nolan and Seira should have been shrinking rapidly.

Yet the opposite was happening.

’How is this possible? Are they riding warhorses? Did they steal them before fleeing?’

Questions flooded his mind, but none of them offered a satisfying answer.

He lifted his gaze toward Thousand Faces, his expression grim, and asked, "Can you help us speed up our horses?"

If things continued like this, they would fall even farther behind.

Wouldn’t that mean their efforts to catch up—even with Thousand Faces’ help—would be wasted?

Upon hearing his request, Thousand Faces didn’t refuse outright.

He pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

"All right. I’ll help you. Don’t forget the promise you made earlier."

Erkan nodded firmly. "Don’t worry. I’ll keep it."

Thousand Faces flew higher into the sky, raised the magic staff in his hand, and shouted, "Galefoot’s Blessing!"

Whoosh!

A five-meter-wide magic circle appeared in the air. The soldiers instantly felt their bodies grow lighter, and the horses beneath them surged forward.

The sudden change surprised everyone, including Erkan himself.

"Excellent," he whispered with a smirk. "At this speed, we’ll definitely catch up to them... hehehe..."

...

"Is Brother Nolan’s and Sister Seira’s location still far?" Elina asked as she urged her horse faster.

"Still far. The terrain they’re crossing is extremely dangerous, and it seems they’re being slowed down," Malverna replied indifferently.

Elina frowned. According to her estimate, they should’ve reached them by tonight.

But it seemed she had been wrong.

’I hope they’re okay. If something happens, I don’t know how I’ll face Mother later,’ she muttered, her chest feeling heavy.

Back then, her mother had warned her that Nolan was reckless and told her to protect him.

And now, her brother was in danger, while she wasn’t even by his side.

The thought made her anxious and miserable.

Malverna, hiding within Elina’s shadow, rolled her eyes.

She didn’t understand why Nolan was doing something so tedious.

With his power, wouldn’t it be easy to crush the Ancient Kingdom of Eron?

Forget killing Aldrian Lyren—he could wipe out the entire royal family and disappear afterward like it was nothing.

Because of that, Elina’s anxiety felt completely unnecessary.

But what could she do?

Malverna couldn’t exactly tell her that Nolan was only pretending, could she?

She let out a small sigh and whispered, ’Nolan Lorian... you’re such a jerk for making your sister worry like this.’

...

"Achoo!"

Nolan suddenly sneezed.

Behind him, Seira looked worried. "Are you okay?"

Nolan nodded slightly and wiped his nose.

"Don’t worry. I’m fine. It just feels like someone’s talking bad about me. Maybe I’m imagining things," he said helplessly.

If anyone was doing that, it was probably Gulvar.