Abduction

"Your highness! Your majesty! Lord Jerome is missing!" Callus announced as soon as he arrived at the waiting tables, he was the last to arrive with his partner missing. The other participants have long been waiting.

"What?" Rowan stood up in shock and immediately rode off on his horse, "Lead the way! Where did you last saw him?! You're together! How can you take his eyes off of him!"

The Ivrecovenian servant followed closely with his horse, "I was just talking about how Ivrecovenian hunt works after we managed to trap a boar! But then when I turned around, he was gone! I thought he left me, so I spent the time looking for him!"

The red haired man clenched his jaw in annoyance, 'Who could've done this?' Is what he thinks but he instead focused on finding his fiance, "Take me to where you last saw him!"

The fair-skinned and curly haired man nodded and led him to where they trapped the boar, when they arrived there, the two men got down from their horses and looked around for some clues.

"It's like he vanished without a trace." Callus frowned.

The crown prince kept on looking around, looking for some tracks.

Soon, Wystan and the other knights arrived, "We were called by Empress Liana, your highness, how can we be of help?" The knight asked.

Rowan stood up, still looking through the grass if there were some clues, "Scatter and look for signs of Lord Jerome. Gather some magical gem lights to help us navigate through the night. I won't sleep until he's found."

Everyone can see how determined the crown prince was and immediately obliged. He was always a man of his words.

"I really apologize, your highness." Callus felt guilty that he didn't manage to protect Jerome.

"Your apologies won't find him, go and gather more men, we'll comb through this forest." Rowan looked furious that the Ivrecovenian could only nod and left with his horse.

After a while, the red haired man noticed a faint magical tracks as well as a drag of shoes and shoeprints. He did not hesitate to ride his horse and follow it.

Meanwhile, Jerome who was missing, woke up with his eyes blindfolded and his limbs bounded by a rope.

"Now all we need to do is just leave him here to die." He heard a woman chuckle, Jerome felt like her voice was familiar but he just couldn't think as to who it was.

The black haired man feigned unconsciousness, he knew that even if he struggled, he might be in a much worse situation.

"Why don't we just kill him and hide his body? Just keeping him here could lead to the possibility of him escaping and us getting caught, do you want that?" Jerome heard a man's voice.

"I don't want to kill anyone! I just want him away from Prince Rowan!"

'Rowan's admirer...' This narrowed all the possible suspects as the abducted noble man tried to assess the situation.

So far, he knew that there are two abductors, one man and one woman, the woman's purpose was to get him away from Rowan but the man's purpose, he doesn't understand, why. The man isn't seem to be a servant of the woman, so that might mean that he could possibly be a noble too.

"I'm just stating the possibilities, I just don't want you to get hurt." Jerome heard the man told the woman.

It went silent for a while, she seemed scared, "But... who would do it? You?" She asked.

The man was silent but he eventually answered, "Yes... but if you don't want to see anything, you can wait outside."

Jerome heard the door open and closed, probably meaning that the woman left.

Soon, he felt the man approaching. The black haired man actually didn't know what to do now, it would be a lie if he said that he wasn't scared.

Thankfully, the man removed Jerome's blindfold, giving the noble man the chance to open his eyes and immediately headbutt the figure he saw even when his eyesight was still adjusting.

The abductor groaned and fell on his hind, while Jerome was blinking quickly to adjust his eyesight.

He realized that his abductor was Hale Housee, the same man who tried to bully him at the Welcoming Banquet, he knew that the man in front of him never really liked him but to kidnap him, it was confusing for Jerome.

"You... why did you abducted me?" Jerome asked, confronting the man.

"Do I need to answer a born commoner that? You don't deserve to live that's why." Hale stood up and kicked the black haired noble on his side, making him wince and fall.

"Plus, you're an eyesore around Prince Rowan... like a leech." He kicked Jerome again.

The said man groaned in pain, "W-Was it because of that woman? You're ready to kill for a woman who wants someone else?"

"Don't talk to me as if you know me!" Hale kicked him hard on the stomach, making Jerome gasp in pain.

He was about to kick the restrained man again but he stopped when he heard the woman exclaim from outside, "P-Prince Rowan! What are you doing here?"

Instead of being answered, the door bursted open. There Rowan saw Jerome on the wooden floor of the cabin, bounded by ropes and Hale Housee on top of him, standing.

The black haired man actually felt scared for Hale since he could see how angry the crown prince looked.

Rowan immediately punched Hale, the impact threw the man off on the ground, almost knocking him out.

The woman, who Jerome realized was Rohesia, was about to run only to realize that the knights are closing in.

The crown prince released the noble man from the ropes and immediately embraced him.

Jerome was shocked but he relaxes in the taller's arms, lifting his shaking arms to embrace him back.

"Let's go..." The black haired man was shocked once again when Rowan lifted him, carrying him in his arms with one supporting his back and one supporting his legs.

"R-Rowan! I can walk!" The shorter exclaimed, flustered as he tried to struggle but the crown prince held him tight and did not say anything, just frowning.

Rowan walked out of the cabin, letting his knights capture Rohesia and Hale. He knew that knights would follow soon, since Wystan have a tracking gem on the crown prince for safety.

"Send them to the dungeons, I'll be the one to interrogate them." The red haired man ordered to his knight.

Wystan saluted and bowed, "Yes, your highness."

Rowan went on ahead to his horse and as he settled Jerome on it, the noble man just stared at him with a frown, "I'm sorry..." He muttered and the crown prince looked at him, confused,

"What for?"

"I made you worry... I told you that I can protect myself... it's kind of embarrassing now that I needed saving even when I'm a man..."

"Being saved is not limited to women... also... you're my fiance... I can't let you go missing." Rowan got on his horse.

His words made Jerome blush, he held onto the taller even when he made the horse walk gently and slowly.

"We're not... really engaged for real though..." The noble man muttered.

It was silent for a moment, with only the crickets and owls making noises through the quiet night.

But then it was broken by the crown prince, "What if I want it to be real...? Would you oppose?"

Jerome held on tightly on his clothes, in conflict if he should even entertain the idea.

It's just as Empress Liana said, being together is dangerous but it was more painful to let go of each other now.

"Not really... As long as you stop whining." The black haired man joked making Rowan chuckle.

"I'll try not to."