Chapter 49: Once Upon a Villa
"Alessio!"
Johann shot up from his seat, both surprised and visibly relieved. For a moment, he truly thought this could have been a trap.
It was impossible to mistake the man before them, with his brown hair, composed demeanor, and those familiar eyes.
A ring glinted on his finger. It was no ordinary band, but a glamour artifact. It wasn’t Alessio standing there. It was actually Allen Slovene, disguised as his ’brother’.
Still, he stepped forward with calm confidence and sat down in the chair across from the knights.
"Really, man? After all that chaos you caused, escaping from the dungeon just like that?" one of the older knights blurted, pointing a frustrated finger.
"You don’t even know what you left behind, Sir Alessio!" a younger knight added, eyes closed tight like he’d mustered every ounce of courage just to speak his mind.
Allen, now playing the part of Alessio, leaned back slightly, unfazed. His demeanor was a flawless imitation. After all, he had been by Alessio’s side since childhood, watching him closely, even during his undercover mission in the duchy, and knew most of his colleagues well.
"What happened?"
"The Duke told us you ran off with the lady," Johann said, brows drawn. His voice was level, but there was a slight tremor of disbelief.
"The lady?" Allen tilted his head, feigning a subtle confusion. "You mean Lady Sonia?"
"Yes! The patrol knight that day said he stepped away just for a moment because his stomach was acting up. When he came back, he found a robe draped over the balcony of her room." One of the knights leaned forward, his face twisted with frustration and helplessness. "We searched her room right away and found that it was empty. Then we heard the Duke’s raven and followed it. We thought we were close, but then we lost the trail completely."