ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ.

"Kazuma!" The Prince didn't hesitate to kill the person who just wounded the Grand Duke. He gritted his teeth, looking around to see if someone will be able to bring him back to the barracks. 

"Hokuto! We need to bring Kazuma back to the barracks. Tell Reiki to give him immediate medical attention. If he loses more blood, he will die. We don't want that to happen." He said to the Knight of the Yoshino family and everyone became fired up because of what happened. 

They don't know where these people are coming from but sooner or later, they will know who the mastermind is. The Grand Duke gripped on him tightly while trying to stand up on his own. He needs to save the Duchess. He can't lose her. He can't let them lay a finger on her. The Prince and the Knight brought him in the carriage but he was stubborn enough to get out. 

"Kazuma, what are you doing?! You're losing more blood!" The Prince scolded and he vomited some more of it. His blood is tainting the ground and this frustrates the Prince more. 

"Lauren.. they captured Lauren.." The Grand Duke muttered and they forced him back inside the carriage. The Knight quickly went back to the barracks after this. 

"The Duchess has been captured! Search for her and kill the captors!" The Prince shouted and the General ordered the second battalion to search for her. 

The Countess with the third battalion just arrived and when she heard that Lauren had been captured, she was planning to follow the second battalion but the General said that he handed the order down to the Knight of the Hayashi family. She doesn't know if she will be thankful that they are back to their old habits, hating him and ignoring her. Though she needs to remind herself that he will be her brother-in-law soon. She looked around and saw that only a few houses were burned. It means that they prevented massive damages. She dismounted from her horse to walk and search around. The General gestured to a Knight to follow and keep an eye on her. 

"Fuyu!" The Lord of the Hasegawa family exclaimed when he saw that his twin sister was arriving. This stole the Prince's attention and his eyes widened when he saw her wearing an armor suit. 

"Go back to the castle now." The Prince said with a blank look. The Lady raised a brow and turned away. 

"If you don't want to go back, you will need to ride my horse with me." He continued and she walked away instead. 

With what the Prince said, they didn't dare to ask any more questions. They can tell that something is going on between the two and if it is true, she might be the Prince's future spouse. Lord Makoto followed his twin sister. He grabbed her arm gently and pulled her to the side for them to have a talk. He noticed that the sword she is carrying is Lord Hokuto's gift for him. 

"This is Lord Hokuto's gift for me. If he sees this, he will know that it is his sword." He said and she pulled it out from the scabbard to look at it. 

"I just got this from your bedchamber. I didn't know that this one was his gift." She said softly while staring at it. She noticed that the design is somewhat unfinished. 

On the other hand, the older Archduke of the Aoyama family has been too busy with the patients when Lord Hokuto rushed the Grand Duke. He ripped his upper clothes to see how deep the wound was since he kept on losing blood. His face is pale and he has been unconscious for some time. While checking him up, the Viscounts of the Suzuki and Sugiyama families have arrived. The King ordered those people who have medical knowledge to help the medics. Despite studying Business, their families are the ones importing and exporting medicinal herbs and medical equipment to other countries. 

They placed Kazuma on the operating table for blood transfusion and to stitch his wound. Hokuto stood at the side and watched them perform the operation. He will not leave his side until Reiki announces that he is already safe. It took them an hour to finish it. The older one removed his mask and placed the scissors down. It is not his first time to operate on someone because the one who always does it is his younger twin, Riku. 

"Who asked you to bring Kazuma here?" Reiki asked and Hokuto answered that it was the Prince. He understood that Riku is the General and will not be able to perform the operation. 

"He is already stable. We will do another blood transfusion later for him. I will send a soldier later to inform you of his status." He continued and Hokuto bowed his head before going back to the Eastern Central. They already cleared the Southern Fields and there are soldiers to keep them guarded. 

Meanwhile on the Duchess' side, she kept on kicking the wooden box, trying to knock it out but she remembered the small comb on her hair. She leaned the back of her head on the box and tried to take the comb off. After a few attempts, the comb fell and she quickly picked it up to start cutting the ropes around her wrists. She whimpered loudly when the sharp teeth of the comb scratched her skin. She has no choice but to continue. She needs to rely on herself. 

She stopped from cutting the ropes when the wagon stopped. She heard some voices and she hid the comb behind her when they opened the wooden box. She started struggling when the man carried her on his shoulder. She looked around and saw an abandoned chapel. She doesn't really know what they want from her but she tried screaming when they ripped her gown. Her tears started to fall when three of the men looked at her with such malicious intent.