A guard in the fortress's tower glanced through the telescope with a frown on his face. In the distance, he could see dust rising from a wide path covered with stones and mud. Trying to focus, his eyes squinted, and he soon noticed people riding horses in black robes. His heart raced as he watched the soldiers appear one by one from a distance.

A cold sweat formed on his forehead. They have arrived, and the king hasn't sent reinforcements yet! They only had about two hundred troops stationed at the eastern gate, and by the looks of it, it seemed that the number of enemies was about a thousand! ​​

He could see a group of black-clad enemies had already appeared on the horizon. His legs trembled as he whipped out a whistle and blew it three times in response. The royals had developed a special whistle that could be heard for miles. The royal family had used magic to enhance its sound that could reach even the palace!

Everyone in the city could hear the whistle at this point. Since more than half the wealthy families had fled, the remaining ones included middle-class citizens and servants. They turned pale after hearing that sound.

Zion, who kept a watchful eye outside the hut, frowned when he heard the sound. As a result, his intuition told him that things would only get worse from here on out. He pursed his lips and went out stealthily before heading in the palace's direction. After inspecting his surroundings, he moved into the shadows in order to avoid being discovered.

But before he could head out, a certain girl appeared right in front of him on a horse, blocking his path. It was Princess Lia.

After watching this servant of hers who was supposed to be dead, she narrowed her eyes, and a smile broke out on her face. She didn't show a single trace of surprise on her face. She was so calm that even Zion was puzzled. Normally, if you see someone coming back from the dead, you would be shocked enough to tremble in fear, but this girl acted as if she had expected him to come back from the dead. Her mouth opened before Zion could figure out why she was staring at him in such a way.

"Climb on up!" She instructed. "We're going to leave."

Zion suddenly remembered who he was in his original identity. Princess Lia's servant!

He cursed his bad luck and looked away. But how did Lia escape from prison in the first place? Wasn't her father keeping her inside?

She grinned even wider when she saw her servant's confused expressions. "I'm leaving the kingdom and never coming back. My servant, you must follow me."

"But-"

"Not a word!" Her eyes squinted, as if she was displeased with her servant's attitude. She already seemed to be in a foul mood. "Do you not understand? Everyone is engaged in a war. If we don't leave, we will be under attack. That whistle you just heard is a sign that the enemy is about to arrive at the eastern gate. Hurry! My father will handle the rest."

Zion gritted his teeth and licked his lips before opening his mouth. "Your highness, I must inform His Majesty of the situation. Please grant me this wish."

He knelt on his knees and bowed his head before Princess Lia could say a word. He had seen human servants perform this action when they wanted to request something from their masters. Although humans weren't given any humane treatment, kind Dhampir owners would feel compassionate after seeing their servants kneeling on the ground like this. So this became a custom among many humans living in both brothels and the palace.

He didn't care about whether his actions were shameful or anything else. All he cared about was solving this damned case and promising himself not to take loans in the future. This thing had caused him enough trouble already!

"I won't!" Princess Lia regained her composure after her initial shock and glared at the boy in anger. "You'd better come along with me."

Zion's eyes narrowed. He did not know this girl was so tenacious! But what else could he do? There was no way he would linger around Lia anymore. He had to tell King Rhesus about the imposter! If not, this kingdom would be doomed. Not only would he fail in his first-ever case in this world, but many people would die. And who knows what this imposter wanted to do after taking up the throne?

A matter of life and death was at stake in this situation! Second, he shouldn't need permission from anyone. He was a living being. Then why force him to become a slave-like servant?

A hint of determination flashed in his eyes as he pursed his lips. He got up on his feet and looked at the stubborn girl on the horse before sprinting off in another direction without saying a single word. The princess quickly lost sight of him since he had mastery in 'run and hide' field. She gritted her teeth and glared at the place where he was standing a while ago.

She tightened her grip on the horse's rein as she rode in the direction in which she last saw him previously.

"Hah, this boy has some guts." A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes, and she galloped in that direction at the fastest speed. "I was forced to break my promise to my father because of this sudden attack, so I wanted to hide this idiot before heading to the battleground. But who would have thought this damned servant would do something like this?! Hah, this is outrageous! I have to teach him a lesson!"

Zion didn't know that he was in trouble, but even if he knew, he wouldn't care about it anymore. In college, all of his teachers would chastise him for not listening to their instructions. No matter what others thought, he would do the opposite if something went against his goals.

His primary concern was finding the king and informing him of the imposter before considering escape. After this, the case should be resolved, right?

Zion was about to call out the system when he heard a loud blasting noise coming from the eastern gate. It was only then that he noticed his enemies had already broken down one of the main gates, leaving a trail of bloody corpses behind.

His pupils contracted as he stopped in his tracks and stared at the scene before him.

Was he too late to save this kingdom and solve the case?