Chapter 268: The Fall of the Border 4

Liliana let out a quiet breath. Riley appeared utterly convinced that she was capable of using teleportation magic.

By nature, Liliana disliked flaunting her abilities. Both teleportation and illusion magic demonstrated their true efficacy precisely because no one around her knew she could wield them. Yet lying here and having Gild carry her as they broke into the fort carried far too great a risk. If they ran into the enemy under those conditions, their three-person infiltration team would be at a blatant disadvantage. In order to escape alive, she might very well end up having to use teleportation before Riley’s eyes regardless.

If that were the case, it was unquestionably far better to invoke the spell right now, even if it meant letting him know she could use teleportation.

“...Very well. We shall proceed via teleportation,” Liliana conceded.

When she gave her answer, Gild widened his eyes in surprise. Riley, on the other hand, showed neither shock nor triumphant vindication, acting as if she had merely stated the most obvious fact in the world.

Though he rarely wore it on his sleeve, Riley’s insight was second to none. While Clyde excelled at negotiation and deducing singular truths by piecing disparate intelligence together, Riley had a knack for uncovering hidden connections and teasing out possibilities from situations where nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all.

Liliana held out her hands, and both Gild and Riley obediently took her slender fingers.

“Getriebe.”

Feeling Riley’s gaze on her profile, Liliana chanted the incantation. She had no intention of showing Riley that she could cast spells chantlessly, though she suspected he might have deduced it already. Even so, so long as she never demonstrated chantless magic in his presence, she would not be confirming those suspicions.

In the next instant, the scenery around them shifted completely. Gild and Riley swiftly scanned their surroundings. There was not a soul in sight. The destination they had teleported to was a short distance from the watchtower. Because the watchtower was clearly visible, it made for an easy visual anchor for teleportation. Furthermore, the location was strategically advantageous.

This area was used almost exclusively by servants and ordinary lookout soldiers; individuals of any respectable rank would never come near it. In other words, among the enemy forces occupying the fortress, the high-ranking officers commanding the troops would never set foot in such a place.

“Which means there’s a good chance our prisoners are right around here,” Gild grunted under his breath.

Gild rumbled from the back of his throat. Riley gave a slight nod.

“Indeed. Thank you for bringing us to such an ideal spot, Sasha. Since we’re here, shall we go verify their safety first?”

“Yes,” Liliana agreed.

Liliana gave a short nod.

Through the pitch darkness, Gild advanced without a shred of hesitation. Blessed with supernatural physical traits, he could perceive his surroundings using only the faintest sliver of moonlight and starlight, even in a darkness where an ordinary person would hesitate to take a single step. To him, the reddish glow of distant burning torches was practically as bright as broad daylight.

Though not quite on Gild’s superhuman level, Riley began walking with steady, surefooted strides as well. Channeling mana into her eyes to secure her night vision, Liliana fell into step between the two men.

“Would it not be more appropriate for me to take the rear?” Liliana asked in a hushed whisper.

“Why is that?” Riley responded.

When Liliana asked in a hushed whisper, Riley’s eyes widened as if taken aback by the unexpected question. Liliana furrowed her brow ever so slightly.

“Because you are the Crown Prince. While it may be rich of me to say after sneaking into an enemy fort, you should not be exposing yourself to such danger.”

Riley remained at the rearguard to protect against an ambush from behind. Flanking Liliana between Gild at the vanguard and Riley at the rear was done entirely for the sake of her personal safety. Yet by that very logic, the crown prince should be positioned in the safest spot—right in the middle. Sneaking into an enemy fortress was hardly commendable conduct in the first place. Riley knew this full well, which was why he had slipped out of camp right under his guards’ noses. Liliana had refrained from sending him back because she recognized that his points carried weight. Even so, there was a limit to what she could tolerate. Riley must never be allowed to forfeit his life to shield Liliana.

Hearing Liliana’s objection, however, Riley merely shook his head.

“I won’t be brought down so easily. Don’t worry. Besides, I have no intention of exposing someone unaccustomed to actual combat to unnecessary danger.”

“And you are accustomed to actual combat?” Liliana challenged.

“How merciless,” Riley chuckled.

At Liliana’s sharp retort, Riley offered a wry smile and gave a small shrug.

Indeed, Riley lacked real battlefield experience. Theoretical knowledge learned from books differed vastly from the chaos of a live skirmish. No matter how rigorously one trained, it was all too common to freeze and fail to react as practiced when suddenly ambushed.

When attacked by assassins in the past, Riley had cut down multiple foes single-handedly. It was unlikely he would be left helpless if attacked now, but there was always the risk of unforeseen disaster.

Besides, being viewed as someone completely helpless strangely rubbed Liliana the wrong way.

Even if she failed to notice an incoming attack, raising a barrier would effortlessly block the initial strike.

Realizing that pressing the argument would serve no practical purpose, however, Liliana held her tongue.

Perhaps sensing what was on her mind, Riley added quietly, “And besides...”

“...It’s simply my own selfish desire never to see you placed in harm’s way.”

For an instant, Liliana caught her breath. She stared at Riley intently, but in the faint gloom, his barely visible expression was unmistakably earnest.

Liliana let out a faint sigh.

“...Are you able to see your surroundings?”

Riley showed no signs of using magic. When the puzzled Liliana asked in a low voice, Riley replied, “Not with absolute clarity, no.”

“If anything, I’m relying on my other senses rather than pure eyesight.”

He explained that he was reading the auras and vibrations around them. That was why he would know instantly if an enemy drew near.

Liliana, who had always assumed sensing presences applied strictly to living beings like humans and animals, couldn't help but widen her eyes. Perhaps sensing the subtle shift in the air, Riley seemed to smile.

“Aside from that... well, having been here before makes a massive difference. I already have a firm grasp of the layout and the placement of objects, which allows me to spot anything out of place.”

Liliana found herself nodding at Riley’s explanation. Right at that moment, Gild, who had been leading the way, came to an abrupt halt.

“This is probably the entrance. Don’t make much sense that nobody’s guarding it, though,” Gild muttered.

Just as Gild said, there was not a single soul outside the entrance of the watchtower. It was simply barred from the outside.

“Either they’re undermanned, convinced no infiltrators could possibly slip in, or unconcerned even if the door is opened... I wonder which it is,” Riley mused softly.

Musing aloud, Riley helped Gild unbar the door. That final hypothesis held both an optimistic assumption and the grimmest of possibilities: either the hostages were being held in another location, or they were already dead, leaving no chance of escape and making guards utterly pointless.

The two men lifted the thick, heavy crossbar without a sound and set it gently on the ground. Keeping their guards raised, they slowly pushed the wooden door open. The musty, distinct stench of mildew pricked their nostrils.

With Gild in the lead, the three stepped inside. The interior of the watchtower was not particularly spacious. The circular room featured a spiral staircase at its center, appearing at first glance to offer only a way upward. But Gild dropped to one knee, laying his hand upon the wooden floorboards beneath the spiral staircase. When he hoisted them up, a gaping hole opened beneath. Peering inside, Gild looked up to ask Riley.

“Hey, this leads underground. Up or down—which way we headed?”

“Down, most likely,” Riley replied. “There will almost certainly be lookout soldiers posted above.”

Taking Riley’s advice, Gild peered into the subterranean depths once more. Even with his exceptional eyesight, however, the pit below was too dark to make out clearly. Giving his head a shake, he detached the wooden board and set it aside, then turned his gaze up toward Liliana.

“Can’t see a damn thing down there, little lady. Think you could use some magic to light the place up?”

“Without any trouble,” Liliana replied.

Liliana nodded and spoke an incantation. A sphere of fire promptly drifted up into the air. Both Gild and Riley widened their eyes in surprise, with Riley offering a wry smile laced with genuine admiration.

“...Normally, wielding magic outside one’s elemental aptitude is supposed to be far from simple,” Riley remarked.

Riley knew full well that Liliana’s elemental aptitude was wind. Yet the spell she had just casually invoked required an aptitude for fire.

Of course, that was not to say one was entirely incapable of casting outside their affinity. However, utilizing non-attribute magic typically required substantially longer incantations and immense reserves of mana compared to spells of one’s natural element.

Yet now was hardly the time to debate Liliana’s extraordinary magical talents. The magical light she created cast a soft, steady glow over Gild, Liliana, and Riley.

“I did bring a magic tool capable of providing light, just in case,” Riley noted.

Riley offered, but Liliana shook her head.

“Magical tools cannot maintain light for an extended duration. It would be troublesome if its power were depleted when we truly needed it later.”

With that, Liliana cast her eyes down into the pit, completely missing the wry shrug Riley gave behind her back.

Gild was the first to drop into the hole. A ladder extended down through the narrow shaft, though the drop was not particularly deep.

Liliana and Riley waited by the opening until Gild reached the bottom and confirmed it was safe. After a moment, Gild’s voice drifted up from the depths.

“All clear!”

With Riley lending a supporting hand, Liliana placed her foot onto the ladder rungs.

Born and raised as a duke’s daughter, this was the very first time in her life she had ever climbed a ladder. Though the drop hadn't seemed all that deep when looking down from above, the moment she began descending, that perception was completely overturned.

Although she had changed into practical attire suited for the battlefield, looking down at her footing felt as though it might throw her entirely off-balance, wiping the habitual gentle smile right off Liliana’s face.

Riley called down to her with concern.

“Are you alright, Sasha?”

“Y-Yes, quite,” she stammered.

Whining or complaining that it was impossible was out of the question for Liliana. When she replied in a slightly strained voice, Riley refrained from pressing further.

“Whoa there, you sure you’re alright, little lady?” Gild called out from below.

Having reached the floor first, Gild grumbled in amusement, but Liliana ignored him completely. She lacked the luxury to banter back while navigating the rungs.

After Liliana reached the bottom with somewhat clumsy movements, Riley descended with effortless agility, reaching the subterranean floor in the blink of an eye.

As Liliana let out a quiet sigh of relief, Gild looked around and muttered under his breath.

“Pretty cramped—though it looks wider than the tower itself.”

While hardly cavernous, it was indeed constructed wider than the watchtower footprint above. In other words, the subterranean chamber extended beneath the ground outside the tower walls as well.

“I had heard of this place before, but it is indeed surprisingly spacious,” Riley noted.

“You never visited before?” Gild asked.

“No. Simple as it may be, this is still a dungeon. As strange as it might sound coming from me, it’s hardly the sort of place one shows to royalty.”

“Hmph, fair enough,” Gild grunted.

Though Gild had asked the question, Riley’s explanation made him scowl and snort. Yet Riley merely smiled wryly without taking offense. Having interacted with him for some time now, Riley understood immediately that Gild found high society dreadfully tedious. And Gild, in turn, recognized that Riley was rather different from the average noble.

Gild peered down at Riley with a sharp sidelong look, the corner of his mouth twisting up.

“So?”

“So what?” Riley replied.

“In truth? You never snuck down here all by yourself?”

Gild asked whether he hadn't snuck down here alone behind the backs of his guards and the Calvert Knights. Riley nodded without the slightest hint of shame.

“I certainly wanted to, of course. But slipping past Lady Beverly’s watchful gaze proved rather difficult.”

“Beverly... you mean that middle-aged lady?”

“I strongly advise referring to her as ‘that gentlewoman’ if you value your life,” Riley cautioned.

Riley offered his solemn advice with a deadpan expression. Even while carrying on such banter, the three continued advancing deeper into the underground passageway, observing their surroundings with extreme vigilance.

The dungeon consisted of a single straight corridor flanked on both sides by cells partitioned with iron bars. There was no sign of anyone in any of them.

“Is she really that strong?” Gild asked.

“Indeed. Though she certainly doesn't look it,” Riley answered.

At first glance, Beverly Calvert appeared to be the quintessential high noblewoman. She looked as though she belonged in a salon, leisurely sipping tea and enjoying sweets while conversing pleasantly with other ladies of high society. She hardly looked like someone who engaged in grueling martial training. Yet Riley was entirely serious, without a hint of jest in his voice.

When Gild turned a bewildered glance toward Liliana, she curled the corners of her lips.

“I, too, have only heard the rumors. Whether those rumors hold true should become evident tomorrow.”

“Well now, that’s something to look forward to,” Gild grinned broadly.

Gild flashed a feral grin. While he detested nobility, he harbored a keen interest in anyone genuinely strong, regardless of their social rank.

At that moment, Gild froze in his tracks. He raised a hand to signal caution to Riley and Liliana, but by then, both Riley and Liliana had already noticed the exact same thing.

“I smell blood,” Gild growled.

“...Let’s make haste,” Riley said grimly.

Riley’s expression hardened. Both Gild and Liliana quickened their pace.

A sinister premonition flickered across all three of their minds.

—-

Toc