When the head guard heard the report, he cursed under his breath.
"Should we chase after them? With the illusion formation outside, we should be able to deal with them," one guard said.
"What formation? That has already been broken by the army. Since we can’t fight, let’s escape," the head guard said. He knew that given the time difference, if they chased the miners outside, they might just be delivering themselves to the army. While he was confident in fighting the army from inside, the same could not be said if they faced them head-on. So, it was best to escape.
"But how do we escape?" one guard asked.
There were only two ways out of the mine area: the main gate, where the army was stationed, and the secret passage, where the miners were escaping. It seemed that whichever path they chose would lead to a dead end.
"Follow me," the head guard said.
He knew another exit they could take. The only problem was that it led across the border into the neighboring kingdom. But at this point, they had no other choice. Staying in the mining area was out of the question; their location had been exposed.
Meanwhile, the miners who had escaped were all running toward the main gate to meet up with the army. They didn’t even notice that the guards weren’t chasing them.
At the same time, the army spotted the men who had been kidnapped along with the prince.
The Duke immediately recognized them and ordered the army to follow them back. "Save the prince. No matter what happens, he must not be harmed."
The miners and the soldiers met halfway.
"Are these all the miners?" Walter asked when he saw the group of people running for their lives.
"Yes," one of the guards answered.
"Why are there only miners? What about the guards you mentioned?" Walter asked. It was strange that the men were running without being chased.
It was now dark, and the moon was their only source of light.
The army stopped marching and allowed the miners to run over.
Walter immediately dismounted his horse to find Prince Edward, once he confirmed that no guards were pursuing them.
"Your Highness!" Walter was shocked to see the prince in such a sorry state.
Although Prince Edward was skilled, fighting so many guards had not been easy, and he had sustained injuries. Moreover, he had not bathed in the past few days.
When the miners heard Walter address Edward as "Your Highness," they were all surprised.
Dorothy, who had just made her way toward him, also froze. She had not expected the man she fancied to be a prince.
"Is there a physician?" Walter asked noticing the prince was injured. He didn’t care about the surprise of those around him. He only wanted to know how soon Prince Edward could be treated.
"We only came with soldiers. The physicians are still waiting at the entrance of the forest," Duke Albert reminded him. The forest was very dangerous, so it was not safe to have the physician enter.
"But the prince is injured and should be treated immediately," Walter frowned.
"I can treat his injury," Dorothy said.
She had actually walked over to check Edward’s wounds. She hadn’t expected to find out that he was a prince.
"Can you?" Walter looked at her doubtfully.
"She can. She often treats the injured workers in the mine," one man said.
He was still surprised by Edward’s identity, but now they were beginning to understand why an army had arrived just a few days after Edward had joined them.
Since there was no other choice, Walter set up a tent and allowed Dorothy to treat the prince.
"How is your grandmother?" Edward asked. The atmosphere felt a bit odd. Over the past few days, Dorothy had always had a lot to say to him, but now she was quiet.
"She’s doing fine. We can’t wait to reunite with the rest of our family after so long," Dorothy said.
She felt a pang of sadness. Once they left the forest, she might never see the prince again.
Dorothy carefully cleaned his wound. There was one very close to his heart, but fortunately, it was just a surface wound. If the attacker had put in more force, the prince might already be dead.
"You are very lucky," Dorothy said as she dressed the wound.
Edward suddenly recalled the moment he had been attacked by two men. As a fighter, he had immediately recognized that the strike had been aimed at his heart. The force behind it had been strong.
At that moment, he had thought he would die. But something strange had happened.
The moment the knife made a cut, there had been a flash of light, almost as if something had prevented the blade from piercing deeper. That brief moment had given him a chance to counterattack and retaliate.
"Maybe I am the favored son of heaven," Prince Edward murmured. He was genuinely surprised that he survived the stab.
"Of course you are," Dorothy said with a smile. "Someone of noble birth like you is definitely favored by the heavens."
Seeing her smile so beautifully, Prince Edward couldn’t help but smile, too.
Under the glow of the oil lamp in the tent, they both felt drawn to each other.
Prince Edward reached out, gently brushing his fingers against her cheek.
Dorothy’s heart skipped a beat as she saw the prince looking at her so intensely.
The prince, too, could not deny his attraction to her.
They moved closer. Edward felt his throat go dry, all his years of self-control training forgotten.
Just as their lips were about to touch—
Walter’s voice rang out from outside the tent.
Prince Edward immediately let go of Dorothy and moved back, quickly clearing his throat.
Walter entered. He immediately sensed that something was off in the room, but he couldn’t quite place it.
Before he could think about it further, his eyes fell on the wound near the prince’s heart.
"How deep is the wound? Can you treat it?" Walter asked in panic. A cut close to the heart was really troublesome.
"It’s just a surface wound. The prince was lucky," Dorothy reassured him.
Hearing this, Walter let out a sigh of relief. If anything had happened to the prince, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his life.
"Why did you come?" Prince Edward asked, still feeling a bit awkward about what had almost happened. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⚑fire.net
"I need to send a message to His Majesty. I reported your kidnapping to him, and he instructed us to send word immediately if there was any news," Walter said.
"Bring paper and ink. I’ll tell you what to write," Prince Edward said.
"Your Highness, with your permission," Dorothy said as she stood up, having finished dressing his wounds.
Prince Edward nodded without looking at her, feeling slightly embarrassed about his earlier actions.