Shaking her head, Seren went to the door and pressed her ears against the wood. 'Looks like they are gone.'

She put on the lock first so no one could come inside before heading towards the window of the room. She noticed that the window faced the back garden of the inn, and since she was on the second floor, it was not that far up from the ground. With some support, she could easily climb down and run away towards the forest. She looked around the room, checking if she could get something like a rope.

'What can I use to tie here?'

Her sight went from the floor-length long window curtains, then to the bedsheet on that large bed. After judging the length needed, she tied the curtains and the bedsheet together after pulling them away from their places. She tied one end of her makeshift rope on the curtain hook by the window and threw the remaining part down to the bushes under the window.

Without wasting any time, Seren grabbed the makeshift rope and climbed down from the window. Only a few seconds in, her arms were already shaking, as it was not as easy as it seemed. She wondered if she should jump down the midway, but she soon threw away the idea fearing that not only would she be hurt, she might also make a loud sound that would attract attention. When she was about to reach the ground, perhaps because her arms were too weak or perhaps the thought of success made her impatient, her hold on the makeshift rope loosened and she fell on the bushes.

"Ahh—!"

Despite the pain of having a sprained ankle, she immediately covered her mouth with her hands to not make any more sound, or else she was sure someone would hear her. Not minding her hurt leg, she looked at the forest beyond the back garden and stood up without any sound.

'This time, he is not around and he won't know I am running away. If he knew, he would have helped me climb down the window.' Seren grinned widely despite the pain and limped towards the forest.

In the past, that red-eyed man would always help her run away with his magic, letting her go unnoticed and unscathed, but this time, since she got hurt, that meant he was unaware of her plan. Everyone was either busy eating or resting so no one was paying strict attention to what happened around them. Though there were knights doing guard duty and patrolling the inn, they were manning the entrance of the inn, thinking there was nothing to worry about. They were working to keep people outside from coming in and missed seeing their queen running away from the back.

------

Drayce and Arlan were having their meals together in the common area of the inn as the innkeeper personally served them.

"Are you not accompanying your Queen for dinner?"

"She will be uncomfortable with me around and I don't want her to starve," Drayce replied.

"Ahh...Pity. I almost thought you still love me more than anyone else," Arlan teased.

"I forgot to ask King Armen his son in the dowry, or else I could have shut your mouth by gifting him to you," Drayce countered.

"I won't mind having two in my harem—one a Crown Prince of Abetha and the other the King of Megaris," Arlan teased again, only to see his friend signaling him to stop talking.

Arlan stopped talking without a question. Drayce focused on what he had heard. He was sure he had heard Seren's cry in pain for a moment.

Only when Drayce stood up did Arlan speak. "What happened?"

"Stay here. I have to go somewhere," Drayce said as he hurried upstairs towards the room meant for him and Seren.

There was no one outside the room and Drayce tried to open the door which was locked from inside. Using his power, he opened that metal latch on the door and entered the room, only to see no one inside. Drayce couldn't feel the strange but familiar energy indicating Seren's presence inside that room.

'She is trying to run away again,' Drayce concluded as frown lines appeared on his forehead.

After their peaceful first day, he didn't think she would attempt to run away tonight since she must be tired from both the wedding ceremony and the entire day's journey.

Drayce went towards the window and saw the curtains and bedsheet tied together in a makeshift rope. Without hesitation, he jumped out of the window with a swift move and landed effortlessly on the ground as if it was nothing for him. Drayce noticed the disfigured bushes under the window, as well as the disturbed grass on the garden leading towards the forest behind the inn. He was sure she had run away in that direction like how she chose to hide in the forest the previous two times.

He hurried towards the circle of trees. His speed was faster than a normal human, and under the night sky, he was a moving shadow barely visible to ordinary men. With each large stride he took, he could not help but berate himself. He realized it was his fault for taking his queen so lightly, ignoring her determination to gain freedom.

What worried him was what Martha told him—that his presence was necessary around her to suppress the essence of her powers. If his queen was to stray far from him, they would find her.

At this moment, he could no longer feel that strange familiar energy coming from her.

'How can she run so far in such a short period of time?'

As soon as Drayce entered into the forest, he could finally sense again that strange energy coming from her. He felt relieved as he followed it. The deeper he went, the more he found something strange.

When he was outside, this forest stopped him from sensing her powers, but the moment he entered the forest, he could sense the energy emitting from Seren.

Something was really strange about this forest, but he couldn't understand what it was. For now, he needed to get to Seren. Everything else came second.