The Azure Sea's Chaotic Disorder

Blood-red patterns appeared on Fatenai's hand, the Gathering Mark creating a massive vortex of magic. In her eyes, the magic in the air was rapidly drawn out and then injected into Darwin.

The energy that supports a summoner's own skills comes from magic, which is the magic that appears in the air of this world—this changed the original setting where skills required Fatenai's magic to be used—unfortunately, the magic distribution in this world is sparse, and summoners are usually unable to unleash their full strength.

The Gathering Mark gathers surrounding magic and infuses it into the summoner, greatly enhancing the magic the summoner can wield, even surpassing the original skill effects—Hermes's attributes were not strong at first, and his escape from the Royal Palace was also due to the Gathering Mark.

Of course, the Gathering Mark has its drawbacks, such as the patterns on the hands, which require several days to recover after each use.

Fatenai's intention at this moment was not to use Darwin's skills; she was just exploiting a loophole...

"Huh?" As the Gathering Mark was used, the female mage was surprised to see the fireball in her hand extinguish without warning—this indicated she was unable to use magic at the moment. "This is chant interruption... Damn it!"

She certainly didn't know what Fatenai had done, and watched as she darted out of the wooden house with astonishing speed.

By the time the female mage realized she couldn't use magic, Fatenai had already run out of the small wooden house's perimeter—she didn't dare to look back, with only the sound of the wind rushing past her.

Although she was a mage, Fatenai believed that when she couldn't use magic, this female mage was just an ordinary lady—she certainly didn't want to encounter someone who practiced both magic and physical combat.

Fortunately, this female mage really didn't follow.

The surrounding trees seemed to blur past in her haste, so much so that she didn't even realize she had never run so fast—she naturally didn't have time to think about where she should run, fleeing in a panic.

"Hoo... hoo... ha..." Fatenai didn't know how long she had been running until she could no longer support herself, staggering and leaning against the nearest beech tree trunk, stopping—she leaned her entire body against the trunk, breathing heavily.

The hound had been by her side, and it hadn't recovered either. It stuck its tongue out around her, its feet still moving as it paced. As for Darwin, Fatenai wasn't worried about the old gentleman who couldn't possibly be seen by others.

Perhaps she would have to wait for Darwin to find her.

Fatenai finally caught her breath, then waved to the hound and walked in another direction—she naturally didn't dare to stop, sighing as she walked, and said to the hound, "It seems we really have to protect ourselves first before we can properly consider how Wickel is doing."

The hound was very worried about its master's safety, but the impression the female mage had left on it was profound enough—it didn't express any objection after hearing Fatenai's words.

Looking at the hound's eager desire to save Wickel—for a moment, Fatenai felt dejected, thinking that perhaps not falling into the hands of those mages was the best help she could offer him...

Fatenai thought this, while also despising herself in her heart—she who could do nothing.

"In any case, let's find a safe place first..." Fatenai said to the hound, feeling more powerless than when she met her mother.

Fatenai couldn't enter any towns—the knights of the Wisdom Family had already entered Eisole Forest, and within the territory ruled by nobles, it would be easier to find Fatenai Wisdom—her wanted posters must be plastered everywhere.

A safe place... there seemed to be no safe place.

Fatenai and the hound moved forward, deeper into the forest without a sense of direction—Fatenai could notice the color of the trees deepening, the trunks becoming thicker, the ground underfoot softer, and the air filled with the scent of dew, mist, and plants.

The person and the dog could only walk aimlessly.

Fatenai's hands were clenched into fists, her palms covered in sweat—everything had deviated from its original course, and the uncontrollable troubles still couldn't be shaken off.

Leaving the life of nobility was extremely dangerous for a noble who had never left her territory since birth, like being born anew—at the same time, for Fatenai, the events that followed her escape made it impossible for her, who had always lived a comfortable life, to react in the best way.

This world still exceeded her imagination, leaving her in utter disarray.

"Cough... cough..." Fatenai walked on, her nerves still a bit tense, when she suddenly heard a cough. Her surprise caused her to react instantly—the dagger she grabbed was held horizontally across her chest.

Although it was a bit comical, Fatenai believed she couldn't afford another scare at this moment.

"Who's there?!" Her voice involuntarily became stern.

"Cough... cough..." Fatenai's question received no response—the coughing sound started again.

Fatenai quieted down and listened carefully—the weak cough was exceptionally clear in the quiet forest, "Cough... cough..."

"Who's there?" Fatenai heard the location of the voice, behind a certain tree.

At the same time, butterflies flew out from behind the tree—Fatenai had never seen such white butterflies. She stared at them without blinking until they disappeared from her sight.

When Fatenai came to her senses, the coughing had stopped, as if sensing Fatenai's presence.

"Can I come over?" Fatenai tried asking.

There was no reply—the coughing started again, as if uncontrollable.

Fatenai took a deep breath. So many unexpected things had happened around her recently that she had become accustomed to them...

Others might have fled in terror, but perhaps because the future was too bleak, Fatenai couldn't help but grasp every possible opportunity—so she walked towards the tree with a numb expression. A gust of wind blew, and Fatenai saw the person under the tree clearly, almost thinking she had time-traveled again.

It was a black-haired boy—black hair was very common in her previous world, but this was the first time she had seen it since coming to this world—his soft black hair made his skin appear even paler. Compared to Fatenai's paleness from not seeing the sun often, his was a sickly pallor.

Beneath this sickly paleness, he looked very fragile—wearing a dark blue coat that was too large for him, his long eyelashes cast a shadow, and his chest rose and fell slightly with his coughs.

Fatenai recalled some oil paintings. Duke Wisdom had taken her to admire works by famous artists. Apart from serene rural themes, which held some interest for her, she couldn't approve of anything else—this boy, for a moment, reminded her of an oil painting, sitting under a tree, so quiet that time seemed to freeze.

"Um..." Fatenai felt relieved, certain that such a boy was harmless—and walked towards him.

The black-haired boy heard the sound and opened his eyes, looking at her hazily—those blue eyes made Fatenai feel like she was looking at the vast ocean—this was a rather exquisite contrast; a boy with such eyes should be ambitious and full of life.

In reality, he was extremely weak.

"Hello, beautiful young lady." While Fatenai was still marveling, the black-haired boy spoke softly, his voice very pleasant.

Beautiful young lady? Fatenai was a bit dazed by his adjective—even when she was still the well-dressed Fatenai Wisdom, not fleeing in the forest, she had been praised at most for her fair skin, but never for being "beautiful."

She was just a small girl. Although she was the daughter of the famous beauty Adele Jennell, she had no connection to beauty whatsoever.

However, flattery seemed to work on all girls, especially when this handsome boy gave her a slight smile. For a moment, time seemed to come alive again, and the air became fragrant.

"I..." Fatenai felt like she was going to suffocate from the sight before her, unable to recall what she had originally intended to say.

"You look like you're fleeing from something? Relax, it'll be alright," the young man said again. As he spoke, he leaned against a tree, struggling to stand up, clearly exerting himself, and a hint of distress showed on his face.

"Let me help you!" Fatenai said, walking towards the young man. Soon, they were very close.

"Then..." The young man, still smiling, readily extended his hand.

But his hand froze the next second.

Because Fatenai was holding a dagger, its cold, gleaming blade pressed against the young man's pale skin. It seemed that if she moved any closer, she could cut his skin.

"What's wrong, Miss?" The young man, though perplexed, maintained his smile.

Fatenai's indifferent expression stood in stark contrast to his. She said, "The coat you're wearing is Leliet Wool. This material is expensive, which proves you are a noble—however, Leliet Wool isn't popular in the Kingdom of Luther; other countries highly favor it. I've also never heard of a noble with black hair and blue eyes. Your family's territory isn't within the Kingdom of Luther, am I correct?

"Areas in Eisole Forest that are not governed can be entered freely—but many nobles never set foot in this place their entire lives. Why are you here?

"If you'll forgive my bluntness, the forest isn't a suitable place to play the part of a sickly person; it's too chaotic here."

The young man stood tall, and Fatenai couldn't fail to recognize that posture—she had trained in that stance for a long time within the Wisdom Family.

Fatenai's string of words caused the black-haired young man's smile to gradually fade. When he wasn't smiling, he gave off an illusion of coldness, even though he was still coughing—but that was his true appearance.

Fatenai's heart began to sink, little by little.