This time, Callista woke up in a small room where the others were gathered. It looks more like a cold prison that even a bug wouldn't be able to survive in.

"You're awake already?" she turned beside her to see Anastasia "Thank god they finally got rid of the ropes" Callista sighed in relief and massaged her wrists when she noticed something.

"Where's Lance?" she asked when she couldn't see the man "I don't know but it seems like the men and women are in separate rooms" Anastasia worriedly said so Callista looked at the surroundings to see it was just women in the room.

"I wish that guy could die already" she said with a sigh "How can you say that without even hesitating?" Anastasia scolded making her roll her eyes.

"Do you see how such an idiot that moron is? He's even more stupid than Ivan" she said with a click of her tongue "Your words are always so blunt! " Anastasia said with squinted eyes that Callista completely ignored.

"By the way, isn't it about time your childhood friends came to the rescue?" Callista asked "Maybe because we're deep into the forest that's why their having a hard time finding us" Anastasia replied with a shrug before glancing at her.

"How did you know that they can find us?" Anastasia asked "Isn't it obvious? Those three dote on you. They get angry if someone says a bad thing about you." she said and twirled a strand of her hair in her finger "Makes sense" Anastasia said.

The both of them are in a daze as they waited for something to happen when Callista sensed something making her grin.

"That was faster than I expected" she uttered that caught Anastasia's attention "Hm? What do you mean?" she asked "Your knights in shining armor are here" she said that got Anastasia taken aback.

"And how would you know that?" she asked with her eyebrows furrowed "I just know" Callista said with a shrug making Anastasia raise a brow.

****

On the other hand, three men are hiding in a bush as they stared at the small castle in front of them "Aren't we going inside?" Ivan asked impatiently.

"Didn't you listen to what the Emperor said earlier? We can't make a move unless the knights arrives" Denovan said making Ivan grimace.

When they realized that the girls weren't back yet they started finding them in the Capital just to find out that they were taken away according to a street kid who was bribed by Ivan.

When Denovan and Ignis heard that, they quickly demanded Ivan to bring them back to the Imperial Palace and reported the incident to the Emperor.

Being the usual loving Father he is, he made a ruckus as he almost demanded the entire Sacred Templars if Grand Duke Alexander hadn't stopped him and calmed him down.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

They even went to the Tower of Lucis to get help from Brazen, Ivan's Father, and the Grand Mage. He was asked to cast tracking magic to track down Anastasia's location which was hard for Ivan to cast because of how difficult it was.

In the end, they were sent here first to check if the girls are okay but how will they know that if they can't see them?

Ivan whined "Can't we just go inside?" he insisted so he received a glare from Denovan "I told you, it's the Emperor's orders so calm down" Denovan argued making Ivan roll his eyes.

"Are we seriously waiting here? What if they're in trouble?" Ivan didn't stop insisting that made Denovan sigh "Why don't you just sit for a moment and we'll wait?" he said in a whisper.

"Will you two keep your mouths shut? I'll be the one twisting your necks if we get caught" Ignis said with a click of his tongue while pushing them away since he was sandwiched by the both of them.

"Look who we have here?" the three of them stiffened when they heard a voice behind them and turned to see a man in all black and had a mask on.

Even though they couldn't see his face, they were sure that he was smirking while looking down at them.

****

Ignis would've already smacked the two if their hands weren't tied "Young Master would love the three of you." the man who was leading them said as the three looked at each other.

"Young Master? Did I hear that right?" Ivan whispered "I heard it too. A nobleman?" Denovan also whispered "Silence, the both of you" Ignis scowled.

"Now that you mention it, there was a woman who had the same hair as you. She was such a beauty if you ask me" the man said that had Ignis boiling in anger that the two quickly noticed.

"Excuse me, but where are you taking us?" Ivan bravely asked "To the room with the other men, where the Young Master will be picking his slave." he replied.

"Young Master, who is that?" Denovan asked "Our Young Master likes pretty things and likes to play with them. He wouldn't care if they were men or women as long as they are pretty. You can say that the Young Master is one crazy fella" he said.

"I'm sorry but what do you mean by play with them?" Denovan asked with a forced smile not liking the information one bit.

"Isn't it obvious? It's either you become one of his lovers or get killed on the spot" he said and the guys felt chills behind their spine.

LOVERS!?

It was not because of fear but just hearing how they were about to become part of a men's love show at that, is seriously making them vomit.

"You'll be lucky if you are picked" the man said as they were pushed inside a room with no windows and no possible way of escape.

"Oh, it's you guys" they turned to the voice just to find Lance's smiling face "You again!? Didn't you just become a slave earlier?" Ivan said in disbelief to see the man earlier in formal wear.

"Are you a scam? How come you're part of The Order?" Ignis asked with squinted eyes, obviously not pleased with the situation.

"Geez, the Young Miss, and you have harsh words" he said with a sigh "Young Miss? Do you mean Callista? Did you see them?" Denovan asked in the hope of finding them.

"Oh, yes. I was with them earlier but the men and women were separated when we entered this building" he said with a smile so the three looked at each other.

"By the way, where are we? You came to save those two right?" he asked and blinked and for some reason, he looked annoying at the eyes of the three.

"We're at Hashigan Forest. In the middle of it to be precise" Denovan said "Hashigan Forest? There was a building like this?" Lance asked, bewildered.

"Well, the castle is covered in camouflage magic. Ivan was able to get through it without alarming the caster" Denovan explained.

"But we were caught in the end because some people didn't stop arguing" Ignis said and glared at the two people beside him who avoided his gaze.