novelWhy is the white poplar by the river shining alone? (4)
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Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Why is the white poplar by the river shining alone? (4)
She turned toward the dark, pretending not to have heard him.
Looking at her sullen face, he smiled secretly, "It looks like this liquid from the blades of grass is a great meal for them. They won't move from the leaves... I'm thirsty while looking at these guys. I think I have to drink some cool water when we get back."
At that moment, she recalled him asking her for tea at her shop.
She narrowed her eyebrows a bit. She felt romantic around the fireflies enjoying the midnight teatime.
He whistled for Balos and it rang through the forest. Listening to the strange sound of unknown scales, she deliberately pretended not to see the fireflies that knew no shyness.
A horn blared three times. Knights scouting the forest to find the missing people followed the trail of the two and went deeper into the west side of the forest. The torch wrapped with oil-stained cloth burned and brightened the darkness of the forest.
"Sir Renkin!"
A search squad led by Jean Jacques Simuan met a group of knights. Jean called the knight at the forefront of their party and rode towards him. The group belonged to the first batch of the searchers who were hurriedly formed after Lard and Wendy went missing.
"Is there any update?"
"Not yet. I've searched everywhere but haven't found any traces yet.
Jean groaned at his reply.
Although he did not doubt his boss Lard's survival skills, he was concerned about the safety of the woman who accompanied him. Lard defending himself alone was different than trying to defend them both. Since he saw Snowyko running like crazy, he was all the more troubled.
"Don't worry too much because the search team led by Sir Enos is chasing their trail.
As you know, they are experts in searching for missing people."
He was referring to Badge Enos, the head of the 2nd Imperial Knights and his men. Enos was a classmate of Jean at the military academy. His search team began chasing their trail from the point where Lard and Wendy went missing. Jean believed that he and his team could find the two, but how long would it take?
"Got it. I think they are safe... Sir Renkin, thank you!"
Jean spoke with a strong voice then turned the horse. It was time for him to speed up the search.
Meanwhile, Melissa, who returned to the entrance of the forest, was constantly nervous under somebody's sharp gaze. She didn't know how many times she met his eyes. With her head down, she fiddled with her fingers.
"Melissa, who caught the bear over there?"
"...Your Majesty, in fact..." Melissa barely spoke after hesitating for a while.
"...Sir Lard Schroder and Sir Jean Jacque Simuan shot the arrows together..."
"After all, it's Sir Jean who killed the bear. That's what you mean?"
The prince cut her words off and repeated what she told her until now.
"Yes, that's right."
"Really?"
He cast a suspicious look, narrowing his eyes. She was at a loss about what to do.
He asked with a soft smile, "Melissa! You said Lard and Jean kept shooting arrows.
Then, how do you know which arrow was more effective in killing the bear?"
Although he was interrogating her, his tone was sweet and soft as if he was soothing a child.
"...Well, at the time I was so scared and absent-minded because the bear was roaring at me, so I couldn't see exactly which arrow hit the bear, but it was Sir Simuan who stabbed it in the neck..." she continued prudently, checking his expression cautiously.
Although she missed the crown prince so much, she was well aware of his hot temper. He was notorious for flying off at the handle when he was not satisfied with something.
"Even Miss Wendy said that Sir Simuan knocked the bear down. Yes, that is correct! Wendy said it. She said Jean's last arrow that hit the bear was really impressive. Sir Schroder also praised Jean, " she said confidently with a smile on her face, as if she had just remembered it.
Looking at her laughing silly like a child, he made a frown, "So, Lard and Wendy recognized Jean killed the bear, right? But the servant who went hunting with you fled early because of the bear's attack, so I can't take him as a witness... Well, as the two recognized it, what can I say? Melissa, you may go and take a rest as you must have been stressed out."
Prince Isaac quickly changed his expression comfortably as if he resolved all his questions.
Melissa breathed with ease, relieved that she finally convinced him.
"Lord Kenshuland!" The prince called the knight who was on standby nearby.
"Bring me a veterinary professor at Jeddah Academy right now. Oh, did you say his name was Bilterhan with Investa (Criminal Investigation Agency of Benyahan Empire)? I mean that investigator who received a meritorious award at the recent ceremony. Bring him here, too.
Well, I need to bring old man John in the stables. He's retired now, but he is an expert in hunting. I want to ask them something."
Prince Isaac laughed, looking at the body of the bear far away. A satisfied expression he made after listening to Melissa's explanation was false. He did not call the imperial knight to investigate the bear's corpse. Instead, he was shrewd enough to call the investigator with Investa, a separate agency.
Melissa opened her eyes wide, belatedly realizing the meaning of the prince's order.
She briefly thought of explaining the situation to him once again, but she immediately gave it up and walked into the tent because, for now, finding the two missing men was far more important than trying to figure out who caught the bear.
She didn't care about the award of the hunting contest. Clasping both hands, she prayed that the two would come back safely.
In the west of the forest, the search team led by Badge Enos sped up the search for the two, following the horseshoe marks left in the forest. Leading the team, Badge scrutinized the messy ground covered with grass and fallen leaves. His dark blue eyes glowed even in the dark.
Shortly after they followed the horseshoe tracks through the forest, they reached the cliff where Wendy and Lard fell.
They found a horse neighing wildly in front of the cliff.
It was Snowyko. The white mare nervously kept neighing in the small vacant area leading to a cliff through the dense forest. As the drug was still working in its system, Snowyko shook its head and keping hovering around. They carefully approached and grabbed Snowyko's reins to stabilize her. As Jean warned them about Snowyko's abnormal symptoms in advance, the knights were more careful not to provoke the horse.
"You told me Sir Schroder's companion was riding a white horse?"
"You bet." A tall knight replied confidently when Badge asked him.
The roaring lion and shield inscribed on one side of the horse's saddle showed that he belonged to the Schroder family.
Looking at the ground caved in near the cliff, he presumed that they fell from the cliff.
Given the impact of the crash, they probably would have suffered a major injury. Fortunately, it had rained over the forest, making the ground soft. It could have absorbed the impact of their crash to some degree.
"I can see their traces down the cliff."
But the shower could not have mitigated the impact of them falling down the cliff.
Badge carefully approached the edge of the cliff and pointed the torch down. He could see only darkness underneath the cliff, but there was no human movement. There were a few branches of trees that protruded from the cliff. He could smell a dark floral scent blown by the wind somewhere.
"If we go south, we can go down the cliff. Don't you think we should go and confirm?" said a knight. He seemed quite hesitant as if he was already foreboding an ominous accident.
"Absolutely, we have to check, even if our efforts turn out to be in vain..."
Badge revived some hope in the group. He felt Sir Schroder could have survived even if he had fallen off the cliff like this one.
His assumption might sound nonsense, but Badge was very serious. As a seasoned searcher who judged the situation through the traces of the missing, he felt the present situation questioned the possibility of their survival. Nonetheless, he was confident that Sir Schroder survived. He was convinced that a monstrous guy like Lard would not lose his life because of a crash like this. Obviously searching underneath the cliffs would be futile, he thought.
So, the search team turned southward.
Given the trails left in the forest, it was clear that the other horse also turned south. The trails were probably those of Lard's beloved horse Balros. Every imperial knight knew Balros very well because of its dynamic energy.
"Sir Enos!"
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