Chapter 192 (1/2)

Moreover, Minos wasn't the only one who found himself in trouble. A second after Edgar left the mansion with Ios, the soil found its way to his mouth and nose before he could even realize what was happening.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you to hold your breath. Sorry."

However, Ios didn't really sound sorry and was more like laughing.

'You didn't forget. You didn't tell me on purpose.'

Edgar could only barely manage to let that go. Right now, finding Rubica was more important than his high pride.

He tried to not swallow any soil, but he couldn't hold his breath forever. The soil filled his mouth and almost blocked his neck, but he finally left the underground just before he fainted.

He spat out the soil in his mouth and breathed heavily. That had been a horrible experience he didn't want to go through ever again.

"Haha, sorry that I happen to be a land dragon."

When Edgar got rid of the dirt in his mouth, he could smell fresh air and corn.

"Where are we?"

"Well, I don't know. Minos, where are we?"

Ios had gone after Rubica's scent without much thinking. As usual, he demanded an answer to the goblin whom he carried around as a substitute for his own brain that refused to work, but only silence returned.

"Oh, right. I forgot."

Ios disappeared into the ground again before Edgar could stop him. He could just shake his head.

Judging from his appearance and what he said, he had to be Ios the golden dragon. He was known for being violent and greedy, and Edgar added one more adjective to it.

'Stupid.'

It seemed like there was no need to invent Stella just to hunt that dragon. Ios was so stupid and what Edgar already had was going to be enough.

He had great powers, like moving at a great distance in seconds through the ground, but he was helplessly stupid.

They were supposed to move quietly to find Rubica and her kidnapers, but Ios had made a big mess by coming from the ground and talking out loud.

Edgar decided it would be a hundred times better to do this alone than to work with that idiot. Plus, there was no guarantee Rubica would be fine until Ios came back. So, Edgar didn't wait for him and looked around.

'It's… a cornfield.'

When his eyes familiarized themselves with the darkness, he started to see his surroundings clearly. The scenery wasn't familiar to him, but he never forgot anything, so he quickly noticed which part of the Claymore dukedom he was in.

Sadly, he was in the opposite direction from the land of the Moreaus. It was impossible for the trackers to come to where he was in the night no matter how fast they moved.

Accepting Ios's offer without thinking twice had been the right choice.

'There is a cliff over there. To leave my domain without being seen, they would choose to go over that mountain. It's perfect since there are many places to hide.'

Edgar carefully looked around and headed to the mountain. He had memorized every map about his domain, but maps and the real land were quite different. He kept looking around, but there was no trace of Rubica or Stephen.

'Has he brought me to the right direction? What if they're not around here?'

But then, he heard the sound of hooves. He quickly hid between the corns. He had been right: two horses arrived and stopped right under the mountain.

Edgar could see two men wearing long hoods and a human sized sack. There had to be someone in it, and his heart let him know who that person was.

'Rubica.'

The feeling of something missing disappeared, but even a worse pain came to grasp his heart.

The sack didn't move at all, which worried Edgar. He wished he could run out there right now and save her.

However, he knew better than anyone that he couldn't move recklessly against Stephen. He was a well-trained knight.

"We must go over this mountain."

"Okay, then…"

The two men talked while opening the sack, and Edgar was relieved to see Rubica wasn't dead.

However, that was the only good news. Her hands and feet had been bound so tightly and there was a sack on her head, so she couldn't see.

She flinched when Stephen touched her, so she probably couldn't listen either. Thinking she was suffering for that all because of himself made Edgar's heart ache.

"We should untie her legs to climb this mountain."

"But what if she runs away?"

"Don't worry, this mountain is steep. She won't be able to get far."

Then, they undid the rope around Rubica's feet. Edgar carefully went closer while they were on it, but then Stephen looked up.

"Someone's here. I heard some footsteps."

Edgar had carefully walked on some land that was wet to not make any sound, but Stephen's ears were just too keen. Edgar held his breath and stopped on the spot.

"Yes, I heard them too."