[Williams’ POV]

“Hah, why do I have to go through this?!”

That day, I happened to notice them while gazing at the starry sky from my balcony.

They were flying through the sky toward us.

I could think of only one reason they would come here without hesitation.

If that basement got discovered, it would be the end for me, my parents, and the Hohenheim family.

—If only that idiot hadn’t kidnapped His Highness Claude. Such a thought would have crossed my mind.

How did they find out? Where did the news leak?

No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

I hired bandits with contract magic, so while the magic is in effect, it is unlikely that they’ll leak the information, and in the first place, even my parents and servants do not know that High Highness Claude is being held captive.

“Damn!”

Even now, I am so angry that my guts are boiling!

Why did I have to run away in the mud like this?

“S**t! F**k that s**t!”

The kidnapping business was just getting off the ground, and my parents had just signed a contract a few days ago for me to take over the Hohenheim family reigns.

Why me?

Why about my future?

The glorious future that was mine easily slipped out of my hands.

However, I am not stupid.

And because I am not stupid, I am able to escape like this.

I am sure they are monsters when it comes to magic, given they are able to fly.

Their level as adventurers is certainly above S-rank, and they must be around 40 or so.

It is the best proof that the matter had leaked to the imperial side.

It showed that resisting them there and then would be meaningless.

The royal family, which probably felt its face got stained with ‘mud,’ would want to execute me, the ringleader, at any cost.

That’s exactly what the royal family would want to do, and that’s why they called in people who could fly through the air because their strength is proportional to the strength of the members they gathered this time.

“Heh, heh. But I got away! You, royalty, will have to live with my dirt on your faces for the rest of your lives!”

However, it seems I was one step ahead of the Empire, and now, I have survived.

All I have to do now is to escape desperately.

If I could only escape to the Dark Guild, I would win.

The Dark Guild is located in three neighbouring towns, two days away by carriage and three to four days on foot.