"Leave your horses"

"Where are we going, sir?"

"Why are we going out of the territory? We need to secure the duchy first now that both the duke and duchess have passed away."

"That is right. We need to prioritize the safety of the young master."

The knights that Robert took with him to search for Mila kept bothering and bombarding him with questions that they had already asked multiple times, which Robert had already answered, but after explaining it to them, the knights automatically forgot what Robert explained and asked him again, as if they had never remembered what Robert had explained.

Robert feels exhausted and regrets bringing the knights with him. He decides to ignore the knights and just let him follow him.

The knights have no choice but to follow him anyway.

They all rode their horses and rushed to the nearby territory where Robert thought that Mila had her first stop on her escape.

Upon arrival in the town, Robert ordered the knights to search.

"Look for Mila and look for any possible clues that could lead to her."

"Mila? Duchess?"

"But she's dead, sir."

The knights looked at him with confusion.

Robert crumpled his face as he groaned.

He could not look for Mila alone because he had to search from town to town, but he could not fully order around his knights because of how Mila's death was affecting everyone's memory.

As Robert tried to think of a way to make up a story for his knights to start moving, he reluctantly stated, "I mean our cousin. She looked exactly like Mila, so go and search the whole area. She's needed to rebuild the duchy."

"Yes, Sir!"

The knights finally dispersed and searched the area while Robert went to the teleportation portal to check.

"Is there a lady with an eye patch who has come here and used the portal?" Robert asked.

"Is she a f-fugitive? Sir Knight?" The town's officer looked anxious the way he avoided Robert's eyes. It shows that the man had met Mila and had transacted with him.

Robert grabbed the man's shoulder and yelled, "Where did she go? Where did you send her?"

Robert wanted to hurry and find out where Mila had run off to, but the town's officer was more worried about his own security than giving Robert an accurate response. The town's officer cowered because of Robert's usual intimidating presence and shakenly said, "I have no connection with her, sir. Please spare me!"

"She's not a fugitive! How the hell do you not recognize the duchess of this kingdom?" Robert exclaimed. He grabbed the man's collar, causing the man to flail his feet in the air.

Mila Esclamado is well known as she was the only female knight who rose to the top before she became a duchess, and she became even more famous after she became the duchess because of her uniqueness, which is far different to the usual feminine and delicate ladies of the kingdom.

Mila's dark complexion and Amazonian beauty have become well known even in the neighboring country, which is why Robert finds it strange that the citizen and the knights don't find it strange even if he announces that he is looking for someone who looks like Mila because there is no other person who could match Mila.

"D-duchess? What are you saying, Sir Knight? Don't talk bad about the late duchess like that!"

Robert wanted to punch the town's officer to show his annoyance about his situation, but he forced himself to calm down as he changed his question.

"Never mind. Tell me where you sent her."

"The eye patch lady?"

"Yes!"

"S-She went to the Gurangan's teleportation portal, but I doubt you will find her there."

"What do you mean?"

Robert finally let go of the town's officer and looked at the counter near them. "Did she buy some teleportation scrolls too?"

"Yes sir, she took three teleportation scrolls and burned the rest."

"Then there is no way we could know what she took and where she went." Robert massaged his temple while thinking about where Mila would go. Even though they had been together since childhood, Robert still had a hard time thinking of Mila's way of thinking. Mila was so unpredictable. At this time, Robert wished for the duke's presence because only the duke could fully understand what was on Mila's mind.

Poof! Bam!

Robert sends his signal to the sky to notify his knights to gather again and concludes, "Mila's outside the kingdom."

He thought that the way Mila's desperate move to run away was only leading to her completely leaving the kingdom. And the reason Mila was fleeing was something Robert couldn't figure out, so he became even more determined to find her by asking her directly instead. "There is no use pondering the reason why when I can ask her directly." was what Robert thought.

Robert tapped the shoulder of the town's officer before leaving him behind without a word.

"Where are we going next, sir?"

"We didn't find any clue about what you are looking for, sir!"

"That's fine. Let's go to the former duchess's villa first." Robert said as he jumped up on his horse again. Robert could not leave Tope alone at the duchy without a guardian while he looked for Mila. He needed someone to keep Tope safe first before he could get out of the kingdom to follow behind Mila.

"Sir!"

A knight blocks his way with his horse, forcing him to stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but instantly he noticed the smell of blood. He was so lost in thought that he lost his focus on the track they were running to. The knight blocks his way to stop him and the group from running straight to a dangerous place that had a fishy and rusty smell wafting from where they were riding their horses.

Aside from the blood smell they could smell, there was nothing abnormal about the area they were in.

They were only a few meters away from the former duchess villa, and they could see the villa looking fine and peaceful, causing everyone to feel anxious.

"Leave your horses. Let's quietly approach the villa "