Border market

The royal city, the place where the royal family of Kalindor resided, was surrounded by forests on three sides.

These forests though quite harmless in the beginning, became more and more dangerous as one headed deeper inside.

In fact, the city was a sort of bridge between the several small and medium-sized Kingdoms and the two big Empires in the Xenith continent and the vast wilderness.

This sort of a position, however, was both a curse and a blessing to the citizens of the Kalindor kingdom.

While they resided extremely close to the dangerous wilderness, they were also the ones with the best access to the natural resources.

On top of that, they collected gold for allowing the various hunters, and magicians to pass through the city gates.

Considering that these were the best training grounds for the young magicians and warriors of the continent, this contributed to a significant portion of the Kingdom's revenue.

Mikel's carriage as well was currently headed towards these bordering forests.

Even though the academy Cassius was studying in had plenty of real combat training and practice, Mikel still took the time to personally monitor his nephew's progress.

This was also a way for him to spend time with the little kid. 

He had lost both his parents at a young age and Mikel was the only living relative he had.

So whenever the kid had a holiday in the academy, Mikel without fail, no matter how busy he was, spent the day with him.

This was also why the kid often tended to act mischievous and spoiled in front of Mikel because he had no one else to do so with.

Soon the carriage reached the city borders and the coachman stopped the horses after heading a bit inside the forests.

He stepped outside and opened the carriage door, respectfully bowing and greeting Mikel again.

Sylvia begrudgingly watched the man's actions as he flashed a gentle smile and tipped the coachman with a gold coin.

This hateful devil was nice to everyone except for her!

Did I do something unintentionally to piss him off? She couldn't help but wonder.

"Step out. How long are you planning to dawdle around?" The devil's harsh words sounded startling Sylvia out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, your highness," Sylvia mumbled and hopped out of the carriage as well.

Mikel looked at her, waited for her to meet his gaze, and then slowly spoke, enunciating his every word.

"Stick close to me, else you might not return back alive." He warned her.

Sylvia nodded. She was not a fool. She as well knew how dangerous the wilderness was.

Even the smallest village was aware of the frequent beast horde assaults on these forests.

If not for the Mage High Council and the strong experts of the various royal families and their army, the Kingdoms and the Empires of the continent would have already been wiped out thoroughly.

So no one dared to underestimate the danger hidden in these clusters of trees.

That being said, the outer parts of the forest where the group was currently in were nothing short of crowded.

There were a few soldiers patrolling here and there. There were other strong young men traveling to and from the forests.

There were various alchemy shops, weapon shops, talisman shops, restaurants, inns, and several other merchants.

This was rather a good place to set up a business because it allowed the mages and hunters to fill their supplies and take a few days of rest in the local inns without having to travel all the way back to the city.

Sylvia looked around everywhere with her mouth wide agape. She had never been to such a thriving market before.

She had also never been in the vicinity of so many experts. Every single man and woman who passed by her exuded a strong and powerful aura.

They had various scars on their body, some with even nasty ones on their face.

Sylvia gulped as she felt a little nervous in the presence of such strong men.

As she dazedly looked around everywhere, unknowingly she had fallen a little behind, even though Mikel had warned her about this exact same thing just seconds ago.

The three had already walked ahead leaving behind Sylvia who was a bit slower and preoccupied, taking in the new sights.

A couple of seconds passed when Sylvia noticed that she was standing alone by herself.

Instantly, a small hope arose in her heart, along with an excited smile on her full lips.

Waaaahhhh!!! Getting away from the devil was so easy??? Her heart started racing.

In this crowd, if she really disappeared, would the devil still be able to find her?

Ha Ha Ha. A burst of celebratory laughter rang out in her brain as she turned on her heels to run in the opposite direction.

All she needed to do was get into a carriage that would take her to one of the villages.

She could then take another carriage to a neighboring kingdom and then figure out ways to hide her traces.

Perfect plan!

The woman hurriedly turned around and dashed forward, when her head banged against something warm and solid.

Before Sylvia could apologize and continue running, a familiar voice greeted her.

"Where do you think you are going, kitten?"