Chapter 209 - To the Rescue

Meanwhile, Max had finished his search around the banquet hall. He was now thoroughly perturbed as Jubelian was nowhere to be found in the court either.

‘Damn it, where are you both?’ Regretting his actions, Max continued to wander. That was when he heard a voice that caught his attention.

“I failed once again—I couldn’t confess to Lady Floyen.”

Max quickly hid and scanned his vicinity for the person who dared to mention the lady’s name. It was Frederich Lionel Elios, the man who had constantly irritated Max throughout the ball.

‘Confess to her? You do not even deserve to look at her.’ With these thoughts, Max glared at the nobleman with burning eyes. He then sighed. ‘This is not the time to be doing this. I don’t even know where she ran off to…’

Max was about to leave when he heard a hint from the man he had just insulted.

“I guess it was just bad timing. I couldn’t believe Her Highness picked Lady Floyen for her tea party.”

Max’s eyes widened. ‘She took Jubelian to her room?’ He quickly headed toward where his stepsister would be. Seeing how the Dragon Knights were wandering in the gardens, Max deduced Beatrice had not been caught yet.

‘Damn it. If only I could know where you were at this instant!’

That was when he heard a faint noise. It sounded like the whistle Jubelian had shown to him.

* * *

The knights approached the corner where I had been hiding once I made a shrill noise with the whistle.

“You are… Lady Floyen?” One of the knights who seemed to be the group’s leader recognized me.

“Oh, I got lost and needed some help. I’m so glad you sirs were nearby!” I answered nonchalantly. However, the head knight crumpled his face. It seemed he had no intention to believe my excuse.

“This is a restricted area. How did you get in?”

“You heard me—I got lost.”

The knight furrowed his brows. “You seem pretty relaxed for someone who is lost.”

“That’s because I met you all! Now I will be able to get back to the party.”

The knights glanced at each other in response then slowly began walking toward me. “What was the loud noise just now?” the head knight asked.

“Oh, this?” I lifted the whistle to show them and blew it again. I did so a few times to buy some time, but no one was showing up. My plan was a total failure. It seemed this was a restricted area, after all. The knights soon began frowning at the high-pitched sound. I stopped making the noise and explained, “It’s called a whistle, a great item to use when you are lost or in a dangerous situation.”

The head knight smirked. “What an interesting item. It doesn’t look very useful though.”

His eyes were sinister, so I tried to blow the whistle again. However, he snatched the item away from my hand and said, “It seems you overheard our conversation just now. You should come with us, my beautiful lady.” He grabbed me by the wrist and began dragging me once he finished speaking. The strong grip forced me to follow him. In the distance was Bea—the knights had put a cloth gag on her, and she was staring at me with tearful eyes. “I will take care of Lady Floyen. You put Her Highness in the sack,” the head knight ordered.

I clenched my fists in response. If I couldn’t avoid the situation anymore, I had to fight. I swallowed nervously as I watched the head knight approach me with a cloth.

Wham!

The knight flew away in the other direction. I was wondering if someone had finally come to the rescue after seeing what was happening. Two people came to my mind.

“I told you that I would return once you realized my value.”

“How dare he make my daughter cry? I will go and rip him into pieces.”

There was no way Max would be here, so I thought it would be my father. However, I was proved wrong. Terrified, I held my mouth agape. ‘Why is the crown prince here…? And is he looking at me?’

He was wearing a mask, but I could tell that his gaze was on me. Just then, he spoke in a low, eerie voice that was frightening enough to make my knees wobble.

“How dare you touch what is mine… I will kill all of you.”