Chapter XXV • Clemence

Bustling with men in armor, even ‘til nightfall… at every damned place inside and outside the manor!

The number of my father’s men had increased, and I found not only more of them at the manor's gatehouse, but also guarding the manor’s halls, the inside of some bedchambers, and most especially the cobblestone footpath for the villagers. I may have made it out of the manor’s vicinity unseen, but I cannot risk going off on my own again…

Not when my family is still waiting for me to return.

“I should not have scouted alone; I was ill-equipped, and I could have been caught. The organization will have no idea how to rescue me if I did… if they even bother to rescue me."

With a sigh, I cautiously scan my surroundings before going through the hideout's main entrance— across a creek that is a walk away from the central village, through a narrow crack in the hillside that leads into the cave, and then a guarded metal gate. There is only one entrance, but there are many, many exits around th