"Lilia!"
Rudeus spotted Lilia beside the Throne at a glance.
At that moment, Lilia's hands and feet were bound with thick rope, and a strip of cloth gagged her mouth, leaving her unable to speak.
But her eyes were filled with surprise, joy, and worry.
She kept struggling on the floor, rubbing her shoulders hard against it as she tried to free herself from the ropes, her anxious gaze darting between the children and the Throne.
"Mother!"
Aisha's eyes reddened. She tried to run over and untie Lilia, but Radeus caught her.
"Don't go over there yet. You'll fall."
Holding Aisha back, Radeus unobtrusively swept his gaze beneath the floor in front of the Throne.
"Don't try anything! I've got a hostage!"
Pax scrambled away from the foot of the wall and back behind the Throne, shouting at Radeus.
"If you're willing to come before my royal seat and apologize, I'll be willing to release that woman."
Pax thrust out his corpulent body, doing his best to look as though victory was assured while sneaking glances at the floor below.
"Fine!"
Radeus sneered and walked forward unhurriedly.
One step, two steps...
Just as Radeus was about to reach the front of the Throne, dust billowed up, and the floor suddenly collapsed into a large pit!
Below lay a prison inscribed with Magic Circles.
"Hahaha!"
"Fell for it, didn't you!"
Poking his head out from behind the Throne, Pax burst into laughter, smugly mocking Radeus's conceit and arrogance.
Before Pax could finish laughing, however, the dust slowly cleared, and he stared in terror at Radeus floating in the air.
The man who should have fallen into the prison was now hovering steadily in midair, hands in his pockets, looking down on him from above.
"H-how is that possible!"
Even Pax's voice