I watched with both pity and annoyance at the man that got tricked by the Duke. Eleanor’s father seemed like he cared a lot for her, and for him to suffer this fate, it made me wonder if her claim of being cursed was true. But, this was just the way things were with these sorts of beings. The powerful tend to do as they please if they can, and for this Duke household, both daughter and father shared the same desires.

It made me want to try to do the same thing I tried with the Duke’s daughter before, but Eleanor was still alive, so even if they were to look for her and got the daughter to confess, they weren’t going to find her. She was somewhere where even my eyes had a hard time getting into, so if they were to follow, they would lose more than they could gain.

If Eleanor was to return to her father’s side once more, she would have to figure out a way to do it from the insides of the Void Dungeon.

I watched the lonely man walking down the road back to his home. He still carried an anxious frown on his face, similar to the kind that Eleanor would make. He had done all that he could for now, but not knowing where she was, was likely something that was going to weigh on him until he found her—alive or dead.

While this happened, the Prince remained completely unaware of everything. He was currently a few days away from the town already, with a row of knights, soldiers, and warriors marching behind him as he led them with his chest proudly puffed out and a glow on his golden armor.

He carried a confident smile on his face, quite unlike the kind of expression he used to have before coming to the town. I would’ve wondered about his thoughts for a while, but he turned to look back at the place he was coming from.

He couldn’t see the town, but he sighed and mouthed with a low whisper, “Eleanor of Andras…”

Eleanor had caused quite the impact on the Prince. It seemed like he even desired to be with her more than he should’ve—at least as a prince. There were others who could also notice that, like the old knight closer to him, who galloped next to him with a wry smile.

“Your Highness,” he said, calling the attention of the prince who hardly turned his head to look at him.

“What is it?”

“If I may speak freely?” The old knight ventured the question, trying his best to appear polite.

The Prince pleasantly laughed with a nod. “Yes, of course.”

“Was it good for Your Highness to ignore the Wither’s house’s daughter after the gala?” the knight asked, leaning slightly so his voice wouldn’t be heard by more people than just the Prince.

After hearing that, the Prince’s smile faded, turning into a serious expression as he turned to look ahead at the road. “Are you suggesting that this prince has to care about such things?”

“No, not at all, but… it might create rumors and uncomfortable questions from people,” the knight said, lowering his head slightly.

The Prince smiled once more, and softly chuckled while shaking his head. “I fight for the people. What nobles think is only important if those thoughts could put the people in harm’s way. Court politics, gossip, and rumors are nothing more than a game for those who cannot fight—besides,” his face then turned serious again. “The young lady of Withers showed a side of herself that bothered me greatly. I would rather not reward such a thing.”

“Is that so…?” the old knight replied, leaning away from the prince and looking ahead again. “Then, this captain hopes that the message was clearly understood.”

“Hmm…” the Prince considered for a moment, “What about the message I sent to the Baron Andras household?”

“Ah, his territory was too far away from the town for us to go there by the time we had to leave, so it was put in the hands of the duke’s messengers,” the old knight replied.

“Well, I hope that the young lady of Andras gives this prince a positive answer,” the Prince said with a soft smile.

“Of course she would. No young lady would ever dare to reject His Highness.”

“You praise me too much,” the Prince said with the same soft smile.

The old knight chuckled as well, while shaking his head. “Your Highness, it wouldn’t be enough.”

The smile on the Prince's face faltered slightly after hearing that, but he still tried his best to appear as composed as he could in front of the knights, warriors, and soldiers. But it appeared that he didn’t quite like being praised as much.

He remained quiet for the remainder of the march, and since the Prince didn’t say anything else, and there wasn’t anything else to report, it was better to leave him alone.

* * *

Night eventually fell, and the prince and his army moved deeper ahead into the road. They weren’t close to any small village or town for them to spend the night, so a few of the knights set up a tent for the prince, and planned the way that they were going to keep watch through the night.

However, the prince didn’t have time to set himself down inside the tent before the old knight rushed inside. He did a quick salute by placing an arm across his chest and bowing. The prince didn’t appear pleased about being interrupted when he was about to remove his gear, but noticing the urgency in the man’s movements, he waved his hand, indicating to the man that it was okay to speak.

“Your Highness, we’ve caught a group of bandits not too far away from the camp,” the knight said, standing as straight as he could.

The movements of the prince froze for a moment when he heard that, and his eyes turned sharp. “How many of them?”

“There’s about twenty. It seems like they had been attacking innocent travelers and merchants, and…” the knight paused for a moment as he considered his words. “They… had been having their way with women and children.”

It was then that the prince picked up his weapon, strapped it on the side, and walked outside of the tent by harshly pushing away the flap by the entrance. The rest of the knights saw the prince marching out with furious steps and they all got into formation, quickly setting themselves right behind his step and following as closely as they could without getting in his way.

The old knight that informed the prince quickly moved to point the direction, and the prince didn’t waste time getting there, with the sharp look on his eyes getting colder and colder the closer he got to the place where they held the bandits.

It was still a few minutes of walking, and when he got there, he found a squad of knights, who had surrounded and bounded the bandits with magic rocks, as well as rope to ensure they wouldn’t get away.

“W-who?!” asked one of the bandits; a large, bear-like man with scars all over his body, a bushy brown beard, and a bald head. “Ah! We’re so sorry for getting in the way of your army! We never intended to do anything! We’re just a group of adventurers, currently in the search for a World Dungeon to take on. There’s no need for something… Like… This…”

The bandit's words were caught in his throat once he noticed that the prince’s eyes were set somewhere in the distance. The bandit turned to look in the same direction and his face immediately paled.

There, arranged in a row, were the battered and naked bodies of children and women. The prince’s knights had found them in the bandit’s camps and swiftly brought them all out to show them, while still placing some cloth from the bandits to not shame the victims of their heinous acts.

“T-t-that's not us! W-w-w-we were just passing through here as well!” the large bandit shouted, turning his head to the rest of the men. “Right boys?!”

“Yes! Y-yes! That’s right!”

“We didn’t do nuthin’!”

“That was already there when—”

And such were the excuses of the bandits. Seeing that the prince had no reaction, the bandit pleaded once more by looking up at the prince with a smile, “I-in fact! We’re volunteering to join your army and find the ones responsible! Yes…”

The rest of the men nodded in quick agreement; however, the prince remained cold with his eyes set on the victims. There was a moment of silence where the bandits simply looked at the prince, with a few of the swallowing hard in expectation. Once that moment passed, the prince finally looked at one of the knights.

Understanding the questioning gaze of the Prince, the knight shook his head. “They fought us as soon as they saw us.”

“T-that was because we were startled!” shouted the bandit.

One of the knights scoffed in response. “Didn’t seem startled when you recognized us and still tried to kill us.”

“W-we were in a panic! Sir” —he turned to look at the prince once more— “This is all just a big misunderstanding! I’m sure that we can—”

Without waiting for the bandit to continue speaking, the prince plunged his sword into the bandit’s chest. The man gurgled in pain, and even tried to get away, but the knights closer to the prince quickly activated their magic, and the bindings got stronger.

The prince coldly looked at the bandit who struggled to survive for a few seconds, before harshly pulling the sword out and swiftly decapitating the bandit. Once the head hit the ground with a thud, the prince turned around.

“Execute them all,” he simply said, swiped his sword to clean the blood, and continued to leave.

Behind him, the knights moved without hesitation or saying a word, and every single bandit in that place fell in a pool of blood.

The old knight, instead, walked closely behind the prince. “What about the victims?”

“Recover their bodies and take them out of here,” he said without stopping to look. “We’ll give them a proper burial… Just as they deserve and as the Goddess demands.”

“Right away!” the old knight said and returned to the screaming bloodbath as the prince left it behind.