ALL NOVEL Chapter 28- Strange
Upon not being able to find Blake or receiving any words from the other two, Carlson grew worried.
Without thinking much he used all his focus on detection to search for them and found that Charlotte was far away and Catherine was walking in his direction.
'So she couldn't find him huh...' For some reason, Carlson felt a sense of relief that she wasn't able to find Blake. He was a little disgusted with himself as well, for feeling this way.
Launching a small flame into the sky, Carlson gave a signal to Charlotte as he moved in Catherine's direction.
After walking for a few minutes, the face that always calms his heart comes into view.
'Hmm?' Carlson was expecting Catherine to wear a saddened face—given she wasn't able to locate Blake. However, seeing that soft smile on her face and dazed look, he felt a little confused.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she was about to walk past him.
Carlson held her hand and that helped her to return to reality.
"Huh?"
"What happened to you? Are you okay?" Carlson asked in concern. Being a healer it was highly unlikely she might have consumed something poisonous. And even if she had, Catherine has ventured into the wild enough to take necessary steps when needed.
"Carl...did you find him?" She sobered up and asked in a hesitant voice.
For once Carlson had trouble believing her words. Why did she seem so content when she wasn't able to find Blake? But then again, if she really had, there was no point in hiding it from him.
"I couldn't. There were no traces of his in the north. No trap, no traces. Just...nothing." Although a part of him didn't want to let Catherine and Blake unite, it doesn't mean Carlson wasn't diligent when he was searching for Blake.
He did his best to find any clue that could tell that Blake was here so Catherine could be rest assured. However, just as he said, he couldn't find anything at all.
A part of him had a very bad premonition about Blake, considering how sheltered and weak he was. Living in the forest was not something a person of his status could tolerate. Even though he no longer was filthy rich, as he once was, his skills and instincts were still quite underdeveloped to survive here.
Naturally, Carlson didn't share his fright with Catherine which surely would have made her worried even more.
"Should we continue searching?" In a daze, like she was losing all her hopes slowly, Catherine asked while her eyes remained constant on nothing particular.
Carlson heaved a sigh. Witnessing the love of his life being so helpless was not a good feeling. And more so, when that helplessness arose because of someone else.
Taking a deep breath, he moved his feet in her direction before bringing his hand to rest on her shoulder—urging her to look up at him.
"Cathy...I know you are hurt and worried, however, searching for him here seems pointless now. " Directing his gaze towards the dense forest he added, "Believe it or not, even I wouldn't have chosen to live at such a place where a mythical beast resides."
He redirected his gaze back on Catherine and continued in an apologetic tone, "And don't take offence, but Blake is extremely weak and unaware of worldly dangers....so, it's highly unlikely he would come here. After all, he has a wise mind and clever judgement."
Carlson accepts that he added the last part after witnessing her narrowing eyes because he called Blake weak.
However, thankfully, his following words soothed her growing hostility and she dropped her gaze to the ground—seemingly in defeat.
Soon, Charlotte arrived and upon looking at the intimate(?) scene; she stopped from saying what she intended to.
A strange emotion flickered in her eyes seeing Carlson being so worried for a girl who wasn't her. An emotion she wasn't completely unaware of, arose in her heart.
Charlotte has been with Carlson longer than Catherine....but until now, not even once has Carlson looked at her like he was gazing at Catherine at the moment.
'In the end, everything comes to a beautiful face and big bazookas eh...' Charlotte smiled in self-mockery before she made her presence clear by coughing into her fist
Catherine didn't show a surprised reaction, unlike Carlson, since the Saintess had sensed Charlotte from the very moment she arrived.
"Are we done with this search operation? It's already morning."
Carlson blinked in surprise before he looked up and found that the sky had indeed begun to brighten up.
Glancing at Catherine, he answered Charlotte, "Yes...we are done here. Let's go back."
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Until very late, almost afternoon it seemed, Blake remained in a drunken state. And after that, he slept until evening. When he woke up, he was completely listless—watching his surroundings in a daze for a long time.
He remembered everything that happened last night as a fuzzy memory but he forgot nothing.
'Urgh...I hope I didn't make her uncomfortable...' The person who was talking(flirting) with Catherine last night wasn't Blake but his real self. And now, considering the relationship Blake and Catherine shared, she might have felt uncomfortable being cornered by him.
But well, she didn't show any reluctance and also promised to help him.
'Fuuu...I feel hungry now...' Getting up he went towards a large tree and crouched down to pluck the berries sprouting from its roots.
Munching on the sweet and sour fruit, Blake planned what he had to do.
He was looking at his surroundings with a different perception now. He already deemed his environment quite useful but now, he was excited to explore things and extract what he would require to become stronger.
The information regarding mana purification has fully assimilated with him and with some makeshift tools and naturally found materials, he could brew what it takes to purify one's magic.
He finally could see a definite route that could lead him to a bright future.
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In far away land. Situated in the heart of the main capital was a golden palace that remained guarded from all corners and shone as a bright star among several other small ones.
Inside the palace, in the conference hall, sat several men around a round table—discussing something related to a matter which generally wasn't discerned as important from the central administration's perspective.
The abduction of the saintess.
Henry Cardirenge—the chief advisor of the Emperor, has never seen his majesty acting so weirdly before.
Some days ago, the Emperor assigned the role of investigating the case of a student from the central academy. Things seemed strange from Henry's perception since there were several other, more important, matters to which the Emperor usually paid attention.
Why would the Emperor concern himself with a matter which a responsible man such as the headmaster of the academy could handle? It was a fact that the Saintess was an important entity but to go to such length to assign the role of apprehending the culprit to the Royal Order?
Henry knew something was wrong.
And just like yesterday, today was another meeting was arranged and the subject of today's meeting was the same.
Blake's capture.
"We have to lure him and take a hold of that slippery fish." The Emperor spoke in an indifferent voice. Looking closely one could tell that his eyes were a little unfocused and blank as well.
Henry grew worried as he asked, "But my lord, should we really focus on him when there is a possible war knocking on our-" Henery was silenced by the stern gaze that the Emperor directed at him.
Leaning forward while still glaring at the chief advisor, the supreme authority clarified, "There is nothing more important than capturing that bastard who dared to lay his hands on the Saintess. So cease your excuses and assign another battalion to search for him."
Henry remained speechless for a good ten seconds before he decided something inside his heart and while looking down, he said, "Understood. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
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A/N:- Eminence in shadow? Crossover? XD