The next day, I returned to the institute.
Rumors about Raul's escape had spread in the palace. Nobody knew how he managed to escape and why nobody found anything until the next day. The emperor even punished severely some of the guards for dereliction of duty.
But no matter how much they searched, nobody was able to find Raul.
When she learned about that, Elene came to my room in the institute and thanked me profusely. We then ended entangled in bed again.
The second day since Raul's escape, I left the institute after classes finished. I did not use my disguise this time, though. Instead, I wore a black hooded parka that hid my hair and most of my face.
I did not go straight to the Red Skull Gang's headquarters and stopped a few streets before. I then sat on a chair while waiting for another person.
Five minutes later, Elene appeared before me.
She looked around until she spotted my suspicious getup. Hesitantly, she walked towards me.
"… Prince?"
"Sister Elene. You are here." I smiled.
"… Why are you using such suspicious clothes?" She asked confused.
I smiled. "Well, my features are easily recognizable, so I have to resort to this if I want to go out unnoticed."
Elene furrowed her brows. "Prince, you are not taking me to a dangerous place, right?"
"Don't worry, that place is not dangerous. By the way, you will have to keep a few secrets of mine."
"I don't understand…" Elene shook her head in confusion. I smiled and grabbed her hand. "Just follow me. You will understand everything later."
"… Okay." Elene nodded, but she was looking at me with a suspicious expression.
"Oh right, take this." I remembered something and passed Elene a bracelet.
"This is?"
"Wear it." I said and put it on her wrist. "Now send a bit of mana inside."
Elene could not understand my purpose, but she followed my words. The next second, her expression changed completely.
"This…!"
In an instant, Elene's features changed completely. Her black hair and blue eyes turned red like mine when I use Clark's identity. I also activated my disguising spell and changed my blue hair and eyes into a crimson-red color.
"P-Prince, w-what is it?"
"A magic tool to disguise you. It changes the color of your hair and eyes and at the same time creates a spell that makes it difficult for others to recognize you."
"Prince, where in the hell are we going!?" Elene asked again, this time a bit more afraid. I held her hand tightly to reassure her. "Don't worry, you will understand soon. Oh right, our hair and eyes match, so you will be my aunt. You don't mind, right?"
Elene shook her head blankly.
A few seconds later, she looked at me with a complicated expression and sighed.
"Prince, everybody underestimated you."
"Oh?"
"… The technique you gave me last time… I tried it…"
"Is it so? What do you think about it?"
"… It felt as though it was tailor-made for me. In fact, I can't believe that a technique like that exists."
"I'm happy you liked it…"
Elene lowered her gaze. She then stared at me and asked something.
"That technique, you told me that you created it."
"I did."
"… Was it true?"
"Perhaps. What do you think?"
"… I don't know, but after seeing that and remembering how you took Raul out of his cell without anyone noticing, I can not help but think that you are much more terrifying than you show… I can not help but wonder, why are you doing this?"
I smiled mysteriously. "Good question, sister Elene. As expected of the palace's doctor, straight to the point."
"Stop flattering me." Elene rolled her eyes in exasperation. "In fact, there is another question I have been brooding from the moment I started to discover the unusualness about you."
"Do tell."
"… The technique, the disguise... Why are you showing them to me?"
"Are you sure you can't guess the answer to that question?" I asked back calmly.
Elene fell silent. One second later, she interlocked her fingers with mine.
"… Thank you." Elene whispered softly.
I smiled. "You are my woman now. I don't mind showing you some things."
"… You are right." Elene nodded.
Maybe she did not notice it herself, but Elene did not show any adverse reaction when I called her my woman.
A few minutes later, we arrived at the headquarters of the gang.
The two guards at the entrance bowed respectfully towards me and let us pass. Less than one minute later, Marana was standing in front of us.
"Is everything ready?" I asked.
Marana nodded. She then showed an expression of hesitation and bit her lips.
"Are we truly doing it?"
I nodded indifferently. "Of course, a week has passed. I'm a man of my word."
Marana's expression turned complicated. She then heaved a sigh of resignation and nodded. "I understand. I'll get everybody ready."
"Okay. Also..." I nodded and pointed to Elene. "She is my aunt, a seventh-layer healing mage. Explain to her everything she needs to know."
Marana looked at Elene curiously and nodded. "I understand. you came to the right moment, miss. We need your help right now."
"W-Why, Cl–" Elene hurriedly stopped herself from saying my name before continuing. "W-What is happening!?"
"Marana will tell you everything." I smiled. "Don't worry, you don't have to do anything dangerous."
Having said it, I took a step across space and appeared in my office.
But when I reached there, I was greeted by a sight that chilled my bones.