"Haaa…" Sarah released a heavy sigh when the doors closed behind the shadows. She then approached the window, taking a proper look at the outside.

"This really looks bad," she whispered as she glanced at a group of nearly fifty riders gathering in the courtyard. "Someone, go and stop them," she then ordered the air around her.

The shadows flickered… Only for one of them to suddenly grow out of nowhere, right in the middle of the crowd below Sarah's window.

"So he ran away," Mera then muttered, using the opportunity to snatch the seat from her friend. She plummeted down to her pillows before blowing a quick load of air at her mask to push it away and reveal her face.

"Disappointed?" Sarah asked while glancing away from the window. Then, her eyes glistered a little as a small smile formed on her lips. "You know, you really appear to have fallen for him!"

The princess now openly grinned as she turned around and used her friend's melancholy to silently approach the chair from behind. Then, before her friend could notice, she shoot her hand to the sides of the chair, only to collapse them inwards and grab the saintess by her sizeable chest.

"Barbarian or not, once you tease him with those, he will be sure to fall for your charms!" Sarah announced with perfect confidence while making use of the opportunity to cop a feel of her friend's softness.

"Stop it!" Mera protested, more annoyed than angered. "You know it's not… like this…" she then attempted to defend herself, only for her voice to waver as a hint of hesitation appeared at the bottom of her huge, emerald eyes.

"I've called it!" Sarah exploded with laughter, unable to contain herself to such a degree that she removed her hands from her friend's chest only to grab at her sides as if to hold her body together while the bouts of her amusement threatened to shatter her to bits.

"Argh, you are annoying!" Mera cried out in protest as she flailed her limbs around in an attempt to push her friend away.

The two of them then laughed out, enjoying the random moment of amusement for a while before finally calming down.

"So?" Mera then asked once she finally managed to settle down. "If we can't count on this noble, then how are we going to find him?"

Sarah sighed.

"You are asking all the wrong questions," she pointed out before grabbing at what looked like a merely small, decorative cube, before throwing it at the main table in the room.

The cube started to shine a bit before its light suddenly danced up… and formed a detailed map of the entirety of the empire along with all of its subsidiaries that the imperial forces surveyed.

"When escaping from this city, there are only a few routes he could take and a few places he might be heading to," Sarah explained her train of thought while tracking the situation on the map for a while. "Moving north would only take him deeper into the imperial lands. Running south, on the other hand, gives him plenty of options to cross the border and lay low."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Isn't the southern path meandering a lot?" Mera asked as she approached the table and analyzed it herself. "It would take a long time to reach Qosx… Three, to four days I would say, if he really pushes it."

Just like the saintess said, while the imperial highway cut through the thin strip of land between the salty lake to the east and a huge chain of mountains to the west, the very second it crossed the border, the road would change its course. And from the straight as arrow's path tract, one would enter a world of twists, hills, and turns. And even then, by the time they would reach the crossroads, the traveler would have to practically backtrack half a day's worth of travel north to reach the city.

And all of that, for what?

The salt lake was quickly drying up. This very reason caused the downfall of the once many settlements along the lake's perimeter, leaving only the capital of the frontier duchy of Halia, the Thatcham, and the capital city of the duchy of Rivik, Qosx, as the last remaining ports on this particular body of water.

In other words, even after reaching the port, the only established naval route… would lead them back to the north!

"He is chased by the imperial nobles. And if that idiot had any brains, he more than likely sent a hunting party after the champion overnight," Sarah pointed out.

"Didn't you stop them from leaving?" Mera asked, taking a quick peek outside.

By now, Sarah's shadows successfully negotiated with the riders, forcing them to return to their quarters instead.

"Those guys were just for show, to make us believe they were the first party he was sending out after that guy," Sarah waved her hand before turning her eyes back to the map.

"He is chased by the imperial nobles, so he will try to leave the empire as soon as possible. And by reaching the crossroads here," Sarah traced her finger down the projection as she sketched the imaginary route she expected the champion to take. "He will head east, to the port of Thatcham," she muttered.

"To skip that annoying route down south?" Mera asked after taking another look at the projected map.

"Maybe that," Sarah nodded her head before her face darkened a bit. "Or he will splurge and get someone to give him a ride all the way to the eastern coast of the lake," she then pointed out another possibility.

"But there are no ports to receive him there!" Mera protested, pointing her finger at the area Sarah brought up.

Despite the proximity to the empire, this coast opened up a land that was far from developed. In fact, the northern part of the eastern coast led to the only land left on the continent that was too hostile for humans to settle it!

"If we get to him first, before that idiot scares him off, he should still be heading down south, to skip the messy part of the road," Sarah decided as she leaned back from over the table and patted herself on her hips. "But if we are even a single moment too late, I bet he will opt to just skip the empire and hide somewhere no one will have the guts to look for him."

Mera's face tensed up.

"Why do you think he will be so keen to leave the empire?" she then asked, tightening her fists as frustration filled her entire face.

"Because that's what I would do if I were in his shoes," Sarah replied, shaking her shoulders as she turned around and moved towards the doors.

"Shadows!" Sarah called before Mera could put another word in. "Gather up the scouts. Our guy can only have a few hours of lead over us. Half of that for the party that's likely chasing him," Sarah gave her dispositions right as she reached the doors… But instead of pressing them open, she turned around and approached her friend instead.

Sarah moved her hands up and brought them to Mera's shoulders.

"Listen, dear. This is the first time I saw you make a face like this when talking about a man," she revealed with a huge, reassuring smile on her face. "So even if it means moving through the night, I will be sure to bring that man to you."

Sarah lowered her hands and took a step back, before putting a bit of spice to her smile as it transformed into a slightly mocking grin.

"Even if it's just the exotic vibe of laying with a handsome barbarian that you are really after."