Roxanna had used a great deal of her blood to heal Calen and Orion after the brutal beating they had taken from the Devourers.
Thankfully, Calen’s natural healing was much faster than Orion’s. Their mate bond also helped speed up his recovery, so Roxanna only needed to heal about seventy percent of his injuries before letting his body handle the rest on its own.
While Roxanna focused on treating the two men, Maristella carefully prepared the medicinal herbs for Azura.
Even now, she still couldn’t believe that Sybill had become the very reason their kingdom had fallen, not even the King of Aquillian had ever considered Sybill a threat to the kingdom.
Even so, Maristella forced herself to push those painful thoughts aside. Right now, her granddaughter needed her more than anything.
She had already lost too many children in the past, and she refused to lose her granddaughter as well.
"Where do you think they’re keeping Azul? The Fire Field?" Zeir asked as soon as Orion’s condition had improved.
The shark beastman was still lying on the flat stone, more exhausted than he had ever been before. Even so, he gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and answered, "No. I don’t think they’ll use the Fire Field again."
"Mr. Kraken damaged it too badly," Orion continued. "It would take them a long time to turn it into a prison again."
"For now, they’re most likely keeping His Highness the Prince in the prison inside the palace," he explained. "It’s at the very top of the palace, and the only way to reach it is by using the stairs inside."
Roxanna blinked in surprise. "That’s the first time I’ve heard of a kingdom putting its prison at the top of a tower. Most kingdoms keep their dungeons underground."
Orion gave a small nod. "Back then, the people of the Aquillian Kingdom felt safer whenever they looked up and saw the tower still standing," he explained. "It meant that none of the criminals locked inside had escaped."
"That actually makes sense," Roxanna admitted with a nod.
Bion, who had been listening nearby, spoke up. "We built the tower to be almost impossible to break into," he said. "But because of that... it might be just as hard for us to get inside."
"Maybe..." Roxanna said after a moment of thought. "We can use the Camouflage Net to sneak in."
To be honest, she regretted not bringing up that idea when Azul was still with them. They had all been in such a panic that no one had taken the time to properly plan the rescue.
"I can get another Camouflage Net for us," Roxanna said. "But we probably shouldn’t use it on too many people, or they’ll start to get suspicious."
After all, the Camouflage Net could only hide their appearance. It couldn’t hide their voices or their scent. The Devourers had an excellent sense of smell, so they would probably notice them the moment they got close.
Unless... the system also had something that could hide their scent.
[The system has something like that in the System Market, Host,] the system chimed in. [But unfortunately, the Odor Camouflage only works on land. It won’t be effective underwater.]
Roxanna quietly clicked her tongue because they really had no other choice.
"We can’t risk staying hidden here for too long either," Zeir said. "Some of the Devourers can probably track Calen’s and Orion’s scent to this place."
He let out a slow breath as he thought things through. "Moving somewhere else would be risky too. We’d have to leave the others behind, and Calen still hasn’t fully recovered..."
Roxanna looked at everyone before speaking. "We... should probably go to the palace together," she said. "That way, once we rescue Azul, we can all escape at the same time without the risk of getting separated."
Zeir nodded in agreement. "Yes. The others can stay hidden somewhere nearby, but not close enough to draw attention."
"I know a place that should be safe," the Queen of Aquillian suddenly said, making everyone turn to look at her.
"We can hide in the Fire Field," she continued. "As long as we use the Camouflage Net, they shouldn’t notice us."
Calen frowned in confusion. "Wait, what? You want us to hide in the same place where they locked you up before?"
Maristella nodded without hesitation. "Yes. Just as Sir Orion said, the Devourers won’t use the Fire Field as a prison anymore because it’s been damaged too badly. And since there won’t be any prisoners there, they most likely won’t waste their time guarding it."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "As long as we can stay hidden there and don’t make a single sound, our chances of staying safe are very high." She gave them a calm look. "It’s better than having nowhere to hide at all."
The group fell silent as they thought over Maristella’s suggestion.
It was dangerous, but at the moment, every option they had was dangerous.
Zeir was the first to break the silence. "Then we’ll do it."
Orion let out a quiet sigh before giving a reluctant nod. "I still don’t like the idea of hiding in the same place where they tortured Her Majesty, but... I can’t think of a better plan."
"Neither can I," Bion admitted.
Orion slowly pushed himself into a sitting position despite the pain still lingering throughout his body.
"If we move carefully, we should be able to reach the Fire Field without being seen," he said. "Most of the Devourers are probably still focused on repairing the damage around the palace after Mr. Kraken’s attack."
"Then it’s settled," Roxanna said. "The others will stay hidden in the Fire Field while Zeir and I infiltrate the palace to rescue Azul."
"What? Just you and Zeir?" Calen asked in confusion.
Roxanna raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t it obvious? We can’t sneak into the palace with that many people. Besides, Azul will definitely need medical treatment from me."
She then looked at the shark beastmen one by one. "But... I think we should bring one of you with us to guide the way."