WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE LATE KING'S CHAMBERS?
AH, CAPTAIN.
WITH THE PALACE IN SUCH A STATE OF UNREST,
TI FOUND MYSELF THINKING OF HIS MAJESTY.
IS THERE ANY PROGRESS ON THE SEARCH?
WE IDENTIFIED A PERSON BELIEVED TO BE THE PRINCESS TODAY
ON PRIVATE LAND WITHIN THE BORDERLANDS.
A DISGUISED RUFFIAN WAS HIDING HER HIGHNESS.
WHILE THE GUARDS WERE ATTEMPTING TO CONFIRM HER IDENTITY, HE FLED WITH HER.
WE ARE NOW TREATING THIS AS A KIDNAPPING AND HAVE EXPANDED THE SEARCH.
WE MUST NOT ALLOW THE PRINCESS TO ENTER THE MOUNTAINS.
IF I MAY, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAD TO THE BORDERLANDS MYSELF.
MY FAMILY HAS SERVED HOUSE GROER FOR GENERATIONS.
I WON’T BE ABLE TO REST EASY
UNTIL I’VE CONFIRMED HER HIGHNESS’S SAFETY WITH MY OWN EYES.
WE MADE IT, BUT...
CLOSE YOUR EYES.
...EVEN IF WE DID ESCAPE THOSE GUYS,
IF WE JUST WALK IN LIKE THIS,
WE MIGHT BE IN DANGER AGAIN.
EASY THERE!
YOU BRAT!
UNTIL I GET PERMISSION FROM THE ELDERS,
IT'S BEST THAT I HIDE YOU.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS PLACE.
IT'S TO HONOR THE DEAD, SO NO ONE REALLY COMES HERE.
IT MIGHT BE SCARY, BUT THIS IS THE SAFEST PLACE, OKAY?
SO JUST-
I-I'M NOT SCARED.
IT'S F-FASCINATING.
RIGHT.
I'LL BE BACK SOON. JUST TRY NOT TO GET CAUGHT, KID.
EDEN DEAN.
...!
THE ELDERS SUMMON YOU.
EXPLAIN YOURSELF,
EDEN DEAN.
WE HEARD THE CRIES OF BIRDS AND BEASTS FROM THE HILL ALL NIGHT. WHEN WE WENT TO INVESTIGATE,
WE FOUND THIS MESS.
A MAN WHO APPEARS TO HAVE GONE MAD?
DON'T GIVE ME THAT! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!
A CHILD WAS BEING CHASED, SO I HELPED HER.
IS THERE A PROBLEM?
YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAUSED ALL THIS TROUBLE, AND YOU STILL HAVE THE NERVE TO TALK BACK—
YOU MUST HAVE KNOWN THIS COULD BECOME A PROBLEM,
DIDN'T YOU, EDEN?
THE FACT THAT THE CHILD WAS BEING PURSUED BY HIRED ASSASSINS
MEANS SHE'S CAUGHT UP IN A POWER STRUGGLE.
FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR PEOPLE, SOMETIMES
YOU MUST LEARN NOT TO GET INVOLVED.
INDEED. A MAN WHO MIGHT ONE DAY BECOME CHIEF
CANNOT AFFORD TO ACT SO RASHLY.
I HAVE NO INTENTION OF BECOMING CHIEF, OR ANY OTHER STUFFY THING.
WHAT?!
THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT TIME TO ASK FOR PERMISSION.
THAT INSOLENT BRAT.
IF YOU'RE FINISHED, I'LL BE TAKING MY LEAVE.
IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED
WITH YOU RESCUING THE CHILD FROM THE CLIFF, EDEN.
YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED ANY FURTHER.
IT WASN’T ENOUGH THAT YOU CAUSED A DISTURBANCE
ON PRIVATE TERRITORY WITHIN THE KINGDOM...
YOU JUST HAD TO BRING THE PRINCESS INTO OUR VILLAGE.
IF WE GET ENTANGLED IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE SURROUNDING KINGDOMS,
DO YOU TRULY NOT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
BLOOD,
SWORDS, FIRE,
AND WAILS.
SUCH THINGS MAY ONCE AGAIN
RUN RAMPANT THROUGH THESE MOUNTAINS.
YOU MUST NOT FORGET
THE WAR THAT WAS FOUGHT HERE, EDEN.
RETURN THE CHILD AT ONCE.
OR, IF YOU REFUSE,
YOU WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE WITH HER.
EXCEPT FOR MY CLOTHES,
I LOOK JUST LIKE THEM.
TH-TH—
THEY
D-DON'T LOOK LIKE GOBLINS.
A palace servant caught in the late king's chamber learns that the princess has fled into the borderlands with a disguised bandit and that the search has been expanded as an abduction case; the princess must not be allowed to enter the mountains. Meanwhile, Eden Dean hides the little girl in the memorial place for the dead because they are being pursued, but the elders interrogate him and tell him to hand the child back or be expelled together, so as not to drag the village into war.
