Rosaline saw Adrian below with Ron. She signaled him with nothing but a look.
"Stay calm. Don't hurt him," Rosaline replied, buying time and looking for an opening. The dagger in her hand was ready.
"Don't come any closer, and tell all of them to back away!"
The people from Redlion Arena looked at Rosaline, and when the girl nodded, they retreated as the intruder demanded.
"Good."
They moved forward, and when the intruder tried to take Prince Yuasa with him, Rosaline threw her dagger. It struck the arm of the person holding Prince Yuasa hostage, causing him to let go. Prince Yuasa's body fell, sliding off the roof.
"Adrian!" Rosaline shouted.
Adrian was ready below and caught Prince Yuasa.
In a panic, the two people dressed in black attacked Rosaline, then threw a smoke bomb and disappeared.
"They're getting away!"
"Adrian! How is the prince?" Rosaline asked.
"He's safe!" Adrian shouted back.
The two of them had now returned to the room with Prince Yuasa, who was still unconscious.
"How did they manage to sneak in here?" Adrian muttered.
"Who knew the prince was staying here?" Rosaline asked.
"No one. I mean, only the healer and Ron," Adrian replied.
"Can Ron be trusted?"
"He's my partner, and I trust him," Adrian answered.
"Then how did they find out? Could it have been the healer from earlier?"
Adrian and Rosaline exchanged glances. Adrian himself did not know the healer who had examined Prince Yuasa very well.
"Is someone targeting the prince?" Adrian asked, and Rosaline nodded.
Rosaline sat beside Prince Yuasa. Then she let out a long sigh before beginning to speak.
"Back when I first became his guard, I heard that the prince had once been kidnapped while they were in Onyx City.
Could they be the same people? An attack using the wind element—the ability possessed only by people who live in Onyx City."
Rosaline noticed Prince Yuasa move. He was beginning to regain consciousness.
"What do they want?" Adrian asked.
"My blood," Prince Yuasa replied. He began to wake up and sat down.
"Prince, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?" Rosaline asked.
Prince Yuasa only shook his head.
"Apparently, my blood can be used as medicine or an elixir of longevity. A lot of people want it," Prince Yuasa continued.
"That makes sense. Anyone would want something like that. Anything rumored to be capable of becoming a medicine will always be targeted," Adrian added.
"So what do we do now? Can his training still continue?" Rosaline asked.
"Wait for now. I'll let you know later. In the meantime, the prince should return to the palace until this matter is resolved. At the very least, I'll interrogate the intruder who was captured earlier," Adrian replied.
The door was suddenly forced open from outside.
"Adrian!" Ron shouted, still visibly struggling to catch his breath.
"Calm down, Ron. What happened?" Adrian stood and walked toward Ron, who was now leaning against the door as he tried to steady his breathing.
"The intruder... they... that intruder," Ron stammered between ragged breaths.
"Drink this first." Rosaline handed him a glass of water, and Ron downed it immediately.
"The intruder who was captured earlier escaped. The prison guards were put to sleep and still haven't woken up," Ron reported to Adrian.
"What? They escaped?" Adrian looked incredulous as he pulled Ron out of the room.
"How is that possible? The prison at Redlion Arena has multiple layers of security, and there isn't just one or two guards," Adrian whispered. He did not want Rosaline to hear. It was a disgrace for Redlion Arena, a place where soldiers trained, to have a criminal escape from custody.
"It was like they were put to sleep or hypnotized. In any case, it was clearly the special ability of a white crystal, which usually comes from Onyx City," Ron continued.
"Onyx City. They're all from there. What is really going on in that city?" Adrian muttered.
Ron looked into the room, where two beautiful people sat side by side.
"Hey, let me have one. They're both gorgeous," Ron whispered.
"What?" Adrian did not understand.
"The two inside." Ron used his eyes to gesture. "They're both gorgeous," he whispered.
"Look closely. One of them is a man," Adrian replied, pointing toward Prince Yuasa.
Ron examined Prince Yuasa from head to toe.
"What a shame. Someone that beautiful, too," he muttered.
"Hey, don't change the subject. Is there anything suspicious besides the people from Onyx City?" Adrian asked.
Ron moved closer to Adrian and whispered.
"No way!" Adrian exclaimed.
"It's only a suspicion. We still don't have any proof," Ron replied.
Adrian glanced toward Rosaline. "Listen, Ron. Keep this a secret. No one can know who they are," Adrian whispered.
"Wait! That's... that's the prince, right? Prince Yuasa?" Ron whispered, unable to believe Adrian knew someone from the royal palace.
"I'll come after you if you spread this information," Adrian warned, drawing a horizontal line across his neck with one hand.
"Yes, sir! At once, Sergeant!" Ron replied, saluting.
"Now go and look for evidence—or anything suspicious," Adrian ordered Ron.
"Yes, sir!" Ron replied, immediately leaving the area.
Adrian went back into the room and closed the door.
"You two need to return to the palace immediately. There's no need to wait until tomorrow," Adrian advised, and both of them agreed.
In the middle of the night, Adrian escorted Rosaline and Prince Yuasa to the palace.
"Listen, Rosaline. Stay at the palace until I let you know when the prince can resume training. See you again," Adrian said goodbye, spurring his horse and leaving the two of them at the palace. The palace was the safest place for them right now.
Adrian returned to Redlion Arena and joined Ron in searching for evidence, as well as looking for whoever had helped the intruders escape from prison.