TWQA 08

Chapter 8

The strong wind made the forest fire grow larger and worsened the situation, but because of that, things actually worked out better.

If there had been no wind at all, her ability would have been limited.

There were limits to a mere human being’s ability to control the enormous power of nature.

The stronger the wind was, the more Lea’s ability was amplified, but it also became harder to control it precisely.

The power of the spirits was like a moody child.

It was not something she could command and force. She had to gently soothe and guide it.

‘Not that way. Move a little more.’

Lea changed the direction of the wind around the small flames spreading near the strongest fire.

She planned to create a backfire so that the fires would consume each other.

She tightly gripped the railing of the watchtower and focused.

The flames rushing toward the camp slowed down when the wind was taken away from them.

The flames that had been moving wildly like a demon’s tongue suddenly shot straight up into the sky.

While the strong flames slowed down, the smaller fires around them burned through the forest first.

The flames coming from all directions with the wind slowly surrounded the huge fire.

‘Done.’

She felt that she had completely controlled the wind and relaxed.

Unless there was a major change, the wind containing the spirits’ power would not change direction again.

As she caught her breath, she noticed a small fire still moving in the forest a little away from the place where her backfire plan had succeeded.

‘Not that way. You have to go the other way.’

Lea focused again and frowned.

No matter how many times she tried, the wind would not reach it.

The wind could not approach that fire and bounced away.

‘This has never happened before….’

A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

‘Could it be?’

Lea immediately jumped down from the watchtower and ran straight outside the residence.

She only waved her hand at the people gathered in front of the residence before continuing to run.

“Where are you going?!”

“Wait there!”

She answered Penny’s shout and stopped whoever she could see, asking them.

“Where is His Highness? The Imperial Prince?”

She passed by people who could not give her a proper answer until she found Cedric commanding the soldiers.

“Sir Milo! Where is His Highness?”

“It is dangerous. Please move to a safe place!”

“I asked where His Highness is. Did he go into the forest?”

Seeing Cedric’s expression, which was practically an answer, Lea immediately turned around and ran.

Cedric could not stop her as she disappeared among the soldiers in an instant.

He pressed his lips together and turned back to the soldiers, continuing to give orders.

Right now, it was more important to focus on his mission than on the princess’s safety.

While running, Lea encountered soldiers moving the horses from the stable.

She picked one of them and nimbly jumped onto its back.

“Giddy-up!”

“Who is that?! She’s stealing a horse!”

“Hurry and chase her!”

The soldiers shouted while pointing in the direction she had disappeared.

But they could not immediately chase after her and did not know what to do.

They had been moving the horses that had been resting without reins or saddles, so they needed time to prepare.

“What a good runner you are. Let’s go that way!”

Lea grabbed the horse’s mane and skillfully rode the unsaddled horse.

People from the Kingdom of Zephyros had ridden horses without reins or saddles for fun since they were young.

Besides, after awakening the power of the spirits, she could easily form a deep bond with animals.

‘Show me the way.’

She remembered the place she had seen from the watchtower earlier.

Lea rode the horse in the direction shown to her by the wind.

Karion took ten elite royal guards and rushed toward the village in the forest.

The closer they got to the village, the denser the forest became and there was no path, so they could no longer ride their horses.

“One person stay behind and guard the horses.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Karion and the remaining soldiers went deeper into the forest.

Even though it was late at night and they could barely see anything ahead, they moved without hesitation, finding their way through the forest.

Karion was at the very front.

His ability to find his way was so excellent that even professional guides would admire him.

Even if he had only visited a place once, he could find it accurately in a forest at midnight without even a single ray of moonlight.

He himself thought his ability was mysterious.

It was as if an invisible guide lived inside his head and showed him the way.

He would never have to get lost for the rest of his life, yet ironically, he felt that he was wandering because he could not find the path of his own life.

When they arrived at the entrance of the village, it was buried in quiet darkness.

The commotion at the camp would not have reached this far, and everyone seemed to be sleeping soundly, unaware of the world.

By the time they noticed signs of the forest fire, it would already be too late, and after panicking, the entire village would have been wiped out.

“Everyone, wake up!”

“It’s a forest fire! Everyone, get up!”

The soldiers shouted as they moved around.

Soon, frightened people rushed out of the small huts here and there.

“Everyone must evacuate. The forest fire will spread this far! Do not take anything with you! Hurry!”

There were only around fifty villagers, and half of them were children.

“It is a forest path in the middle of the night. Stay close enough to see the person in front of you so that you do not get lost!”

Karion led the villagers from the front and found the way.

They moved slowly because there were many children, but they safely reached the place where the horses had been tied.

The village chief was checking the number of people when he shouted.

“What? Lara is missing?”

“Chief, I can’t see my little sister. Lara! Lara!”

The children began to cry, and the people became restless.

“Lara!”

“Lara! Where are you? Answer me!”

Even after the people called her several times, there was no answer.

Karion asked the village chief about the situation.

“She is an eight-year-old girl. We definitely counted everyone before leaving.”

A soldier spoke.

“I was at the rear of the group, so she could not have left somewhere in the middle. It seems she never joined us just before we left.”

Karion stared into the darkness of the forest for a moment before speaking.

“You take the villagers to the camp. I will go back to the village.”

“Your Highness, it is dangerous. I will go.”

“Can you find your way better than I can? It is better for me to go and return quickly. Go to the camp.”

The soldiers could not stop Karion as he disappeared into the darkness of the forest in an instant.

They exchanged glances and nodded.

They believed that with the ability of the commander-in-chief they served, he would quickly bring back one little girl.

While entering the village, Karion smelled something acrid.

‘The fire has already spread this close!’

He hurried his steps.

By the time he was almost at the village, thick smoke had filled the surroundings.

“Lara!”

Karion shouted the child’s name as he searched every part of the village.

But he could not find any trace of the child, nor could he sense anyone nearby.

The frightened child might have been hiding somewhere, so he entered every house he could see and checked each one.

Just as he came out of the last house, an ember flew onto the roof.

The roof, covered with dry branches and leaves, immediately burst into flames.

The moment Karion saw the bright red flames burning right before his eyes, he heard a pounding sound that shook his entire body.

“Ugh….”

He clutched his chest and dropped to one knee.

‘Of all times.’

His cursed chronic illness had been triggered.

His breath immediately rose to his throat, and an enormous ball of fire seemed to burn inside his stomach, bringing unbearable pain.

Moreover, today’s attack was much more severe than usual.

His vision became hazy, and a groan, “Ughhh,” escaped his throat on its own.

He wanted to roll on the ground and scream right then and there.

“Huu.”

Karion clenched his teeth and supported his staggering body.

Even though he knew that he would die if he stayed here, his body would not obey him.

He almost crawled away from the burning house and finally managed to lean against a tree a little farther away.

“Your Highness!”

It was a clear, beautiful, desperate voice.

Breathing heavily, he thought that he must even be hearing things now.

“Your Highness! Please wake up. Your Highness! Karion!”

His brow twitched as his eyes began to close.

⌜Karion!⌟

Was the last person who had called his name his mother?

He could not remember when that had been.

Something gently stroked his face.

It was not a touch.

It was formless, like the wind.

‘Wind?’

And this time, someone’s hand touched his face.

“Haa….”

Karion suddenly felt as if his blocked breath had opened up completely.

“Are you all right?”

The flames burning inside his body instantly died down, and a refreshing energy wrapped around his entire body.

Perhaps this was what the miraculous hand of someone saving a person thrown into a fire and left to burn to death would feel like.

Save me.

He desperately reached out both hands.

He blindly pulled the savior he caught in his hands into his arms.