While I was lost in thought, the healer gave a quick bow and left the room. I hesitated and tried opening the door, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked from the outside.

    What in the world was going on? I felt perfectly fine, yet they wanted me to lie down for a week!

    I suspected Rowell might be behind this. Maybe he was bothered by me being too close to Ardion...

    I even tried opening the window just in case, but it wouldn’t open either. Just as I was about to give up, I heard a familiar voice.

    "Master!"

    I quickly scanned the surroundings, and as soon as I heard the squeaking sound in front of me, I hurriedly sat up. "Derol!"

    It had been a while since I last saw him, but he had clearly cleaned up and even had a healthy shine to his fur. I had been worried that he might have been captured and tortured, but he seemed fine. I reached out my hand, and he climbed onto it as if he had been waiting for me to do so.

    "Where have you been? No, how have you been?" I quickly asked. But Derol just lightly nibbled on my finger, his usual way of showing affection. I smiled at his unchanged behavior. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any injuries.

    "I''m relieved you''re not hurt."

    That helped calm me down as I sat back on the bed, watching Derol carefully. He snuggled up next to me, sitting comfortably.

    "But Derol, are you really okay? Do you know how worried I was when you disappeared?"

    Derol calmly held my finger, which brought him a sense of relief. He met my gaze and said, "Master, as you can see, I’m fine. And at the time, I was devastated for not being able to protect you, but fortunately, Ardion appeared."

    "Ardion planted a tracking spell on my wrist," I mumbled.

    Derol nodded in agreement. "I truly didn’t know what to do back then. When that person reached for me, I instinctively felt something was off, and then Ardion arrived."

    "Then Serina must have drained my mana and then also wanted to take your mana?"

    Derol quickly nodded. "That seems to be the case. Fortunately, Ardion showed up just in time and saved my life."

    "Derol, I’m so relieved."

    If Derol had lost his mana, he wouldn’t be here now. I had already saved his life once with my mana. But if that mana had been taken away... it would have completely severed the life sustained by it.

    "But Ardion said Serina took you."

    "I had just regained my senses and chased after that person. Perhaps that’s why Ardion misunderstood."

    "Derol, weren’t you in danger? Didn’t Serina try to kill you?"

    "When I chased after her, I couldn’t find her. Even though she was limping, she seemed to know the forest well and quickly vanished."

    "Now that I think about it, it seems like all this was planned for a long time... Could the hunting tournament also be part of the plan?"

    "Master, would they really go that far?"

    "But if you think about it, Serina knew the forest well. She must have had some plan for Ardion."

    "It seems it’s all because of Ardion that you ended up in danger, Master."@@@@

    "Maybe it’s all inevitable. In fact, things started to go wrong when Rowell sent Ardion to the frontier."

    "Then that means..."

    "It’s all Rowell’s doing. Serina seems to be acting under his orders."

    "Why would she follow his orders though?"

    "I don’t know either."

    "Is it something dangerous?"

    "It’s not dangerous, but I need to check something first. The wardrobe should be fine for you to hide in."

    I hurriedly moved the table and opened the wardrobe. Derol, though confused, followed my instructions.

    "Stay here for a moment."

    Derol nodded, and I smiled at him before closing the wardrobe door. At that moment, the door opened.

    "Laila, why are you standing?" Ardion strode in and stood directly in front of me, his face filled with concern as he looked me over.

    "Your Highness, I’m fine now. But I need to leave." I glanced behind him.

    Ardion turned his head. The door was completely closed.

    "Your Highness?"

    "Didn’t you hear the healer? There could be side effects, so you need to rest for at least a week." Ardion gently placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me back to the bed.

    When he noticed the table and chair were strangely arranged, he frowned. "Are you feeling trapped?"

    "Yes."

    I sat down on the bed, and Ardion sat down next to me. “Even if it’s stuffy, bear it. It’s better than getting sick later.”

    “But I don’t want to be like this. More importantly, why are you locking the door?”

    “I think you’ll wander around on your own. It’s still dangerous inside the palace, and there might be people planted by Rowell.”

    It seemed Rowell wasn’t an easy opponent for Ardion either. After all, Rowell had almost all the authority in the palace right now, so it wouldn’t be easy to get him to back down.

    “By the way, have you heard from Derol yet?” I asked.

    Ardion shook his head. “I’ll be the first to tell you when I hear news about Derol.”

    He smiled and lightly touched my cheek. I felt guilty for some reason. I had lied to him on purpose.

    But there was something more urgent.

    “Then you can just use my mana. I heard from Delzion that it would be easy if you tracked mana.”

    “That’s true, but it’s dangerous because you have to drain your mana again.”

    “Then, is there a way to do it without draining my mana?”

    “That would require you to carry a mana tracker yourself, but you can’t do that right now. It’s also dangerous.”

    “Mana tracker? What is that?”

    Ardion’s eyes sharpened. He looked at me intently and tilted his head. “Laila, why are you so curious today?”

    If I told him the truth, would he listen? He’d definitely tell me it’s dangerous and to stay here.

    I forced a smile. “I’m just curious. It’s my first time hearing about a mana tracker.”

    Ardion’s face hardened as he looked at me. Suddenly, the tips of his ears turned red.

    Even though it’s nothing special, he’s like that.

    I looked at him in confusion. Then I realized something. Ardion stared blankly at me like that only after seeing me smile. He seemed helpless, as if he were seeing me for the first time.