厨房从后面挺进李婷

Griselda sensed his dangerous aura, and immediately hurried to assure:

<<Your Highness, I swear it\'s not a lie! I really know where she is!>>

The Crown Prince chuckled.

<<Don\'t even try to save your life with such pathetic tricks.>>

When his brother and his beloved disappeared without warning, Philip sent almost all his people to search for them. But so far I have not received any news. So how could someone like her know about this?

Rumors about the disappearance of Lady Ashford and the second Prince should have already spread outside the country. Therefore, it is likely that the maid just heard them and decided to use them to soften his anger.

Zelda saw that he did not trust her at all, and decided to use an additional method of persuasion.

<<Your Highness, I can prove that I really saw her!>> <<Lady Ashford has emerald hair, doesn\'t she?>> she said.

The Crown Prince snorted.

-- This is a well-known fact, -- the guy snapped, -- Couldn\'t you think of something else? You can\'t fool me with that.

-- Then...

The maid hesitated. In fact, she saved it for the most extreme case. If anyone finds out about this, the girl will certainly be punished. But now she had no other choice.

With that thought in mind, Zelda pulled out a pendant from her skirt pocket that she had managed to steal from the Marquis\' office. It was a jewel with an emerald and a silver pendant, on which stood the coat of arms of the Ashford family.

This is a family decoration that could only be owned by family members. The Archduke had a ring, and Leriana got the pendant from her mother. Despite the fact that the girl did not like to wear jewelry too much, this pendant was almost always with her. Philip has seen him several times.

Seeing the decoration, the Crown Prince was about to snatch it from the maid, but she took her hand away in time.

<<Do you believe me now?>> <<What is it?>> she asked.

Philippe Blanche started.

-- You... -- he breathed out stunned, -- Where did you get it from?!

<<I told you I saw a lady.>> This pendant is from her.

The guy jumped off his horse and came closer. This time Zelda gave him the pendant. He examined it carefully and made sure that it really wasn\'t a fake.

Then he turned his gaze to the maid.

-- Is it true? <<Do you know her?>> he asked cautiously.

<<I dare not lie, Your Highness.>>

The Crown Prince pursed his lips.

He had no idea what had happened, but somehow the Ashford family heirloom ended up in the hands of the Marquess of Windsor\'s maid. A man about whom he knew almost nothing, and had little interest in his personality.

Until that time, it was just one of the aristocrats of the country they captured. How could Leriana be related to him?

Philip digested this thought for some time. Perhaps this girl\'s words really make sense. And if so, he couldn\'t miss such a rare chance.

<<Okay,>> he finally agreed, <<I\'ll think about your deal. But first, I want to see her.>>

Griselda was relieved.

-- So where is Leriana now?

The maid was happy to tell him this.

<<Your Highness, the lady is in this camp right now.>>

***

Maxie and the others had been out hunting for several hours.

I was cutting carrots, intending to add them to an improvised soup. I had zero experience in cooking, but during my stay at the Marquis\'s estate, I spied some secrets from the maids.

Therefore, not knowing in advance how edible it would be, I still tried.

Razor helped me in any way he could. He watched the fire on the campfire and from time to time brought the ingredients I asked for. In general, we turned out to be a good team, if you can call it that.

On the other hand, it looked rather ridiculous. Some of the most influential aristocrats of the neighboring empire are smeared with soot, trying to cook something on their own.

The rest of the servants who came with other aristocrats looked at our concoction with laughter. However, everything was perfect for them.

We sat over the boiler for several hours, and during this time my limbs became very numb. I stretched, taking a short break, wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve.

Razor was tired too, and at one point he even felt dizzy.

I looked at him worriedly.

-- Is everything all right? I can do everything myself if you\'re not feeling well.

The guy shook his head.

-- No, I\'m...

He didn\'t have time to finish, because he almost fainted. I reacted immediately and leaned him against the nearest tree, trying to bring him to his senses.

-- Razor!

The prince didn\'t respond for a while, and I thought he might have inhaled smoke. I didn\'t know what to do in such situations, and first I refreshed his face with water.

After a couple of minutes, he finally opened his eyes.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

-- How are you? Does your head hurt a lot?

But Razor didn\'t answer my question. As soon as he came to his senses, he immediately clung to my shoulders, looking excitedly into my eyes. His throat was dry.

-- I saw...!

-- What? -- I was surprised.

-- Just now... I saw my brother coming here!

I stared at him in shock.

-- What are you talking about? Why would he do that?

<<That maid told him about you!>>

Razor gave it all out in one breath, while at first I froze in a stupor. Did Griselda really follow him? But why? Does she even understand that if the Marquis finds out about this, then she will not get off with a simple dismissal?

-- Is this your vision? I asked slowly.

The guy nodded.

<<They seem to show up every time we\'re in danger.>>

The unusual ability of the second prince served us in this world as something like a cheat code. When subsequent events changed dramatically, the guy could immediately see a <<spoiler>> about it. Knowing this, I couldn\'t neglect this thing at such a moment.

Moreover, I knew that Griselda already had a grudge against me. However, I could not even think that she would act so radically to take revenge.

-- So, Philip went to look for me right now?

Razor nodded grimly.

-- And what to do?!

He didn\'t think for long.

-- Run away from here! -- the guy suggested rationally, -- If you stay in the camp, sooner or later he will turn everything around here.

The idea sounded good, but I had no idea how to bring it to life. All around is this forest and the wasteland where we camped. And where to run, even if there is nowhere to hide?

Razor guessed what I was thinking without words and said:

-- My brother will definitely not look in the forest.

-- The forest? -- I was surprised, -- But is it...

-- Don\'t be afraid. I\'ll cover for you. I\'ll tell the guards that you went to get firewood.

I shuddered.

-- So you\'re staying here?

He sighed.

<<It would be too suspicious if both of us left.>> These people are still watching us.

-- But then...!

-- Don\'t worry. I\'ll try to hide somewhere too.

The guy spoke convincingly, and I decided to trust him. After all, there was no time for unnecessary thoughts now.

Nodding to each other, I took a chance on this desperate step.

As casually as possible, taking with me ropes for tying firewood, I went into the forest. Then she began to run with all her might. Hoping that I\'ll find my way back later.

The main thing now is to hide, after which I will explain the situation to the Marquis. After all, if Philip finds me, it will be unprofitable for everyone.

I wanted to hide unnoticed, avoiding other aristocrats on the hunt, and fortunately I haven\'t caught any of them yet. Seeing a secluded cave, I was going to climb there.

But at that moment I heard an angry growl.

Frozen with fright, I realized that the cave was occupied by some kind of beast. Who, sensing strangers, slowly came out of it.

I was so scared that I couldn\'t move when suddenly someone grabbed my arm. The unknown dragged me into the bushes, and the familiar scarlet hair caught my eye.

-- What are you doing here? Maxie hissed furiously, <<I told you to stay in camp. Or did you try to escape again?!>>

After walking away a little, I hastened to assure that this was not the case.

-- No...! The Crown Prince! The Crown Prince almost found me!

-- what? -- the girl was taken aback, but there was no time to figure it out.

Right now, a huge black bear came out of the cave and smelled our scent. Maxie was excited. Even before that, she had to fight with large predators, but not so much. In this battle, she could very well lose.

-- About three, we\'re running away from here, -- said Maxie quietly, -- Don\'t you dare turn around.

-- What? -- I was surprised.

-- Any questions? Or do you want this beast to eat us?

I shook my head.

-- That\'s great. Black bears are quite slow, so we have a chance. Otherwise, you will have to fight.

At that moment, I wasn\'t going to argue and completely obeyed her. Our lives right now depended on the success of this attempt.

The predator was in no hurry to pounce right away, and was waiting for us as its prey. Taking advantage of this, Maxie abruptly shot him with one arrow to detain him, after which we broke into a run.

I didn\'t know where exactly we were running to, but the main thing was to get away from him as soon as possible. After all, killing a bear even with a few arrows was an extremely difficult task.

As Maxie said, I didn\'t turn around, and just followed her. The girl was better versed in the wilderness.

Soon the angry growling of the bear behind subsided, but this was no reason to stop. The predator could have caught up with us after.

We weren\'t going to stop running until we found a safe hiding place. Truth... We didn\'t know yet that it wasn\'t necessary.

The black bear collapsed dead almost immediately, as soon as we ran away from him. The dangerous animal was killed with just one blow of a sharp blade.

And right now, brown blood was flowing down it.

An unknown man in a black raincoat stood in front of a dead predator, which he had no difficulty dealing with. Pulling out a handkerchief, wiped the weapon on it, and threw it on the carcass.

Then he slowly turned around, watching the two of them running away from here.

In the complete darkness of the forest, the stranger\'s scarlet eyes flashed.