Oriana and Conor's group took refuge in an inn for the night, while Arlan's troop had left the premises long ago, heading to another location. Realizing that he couldn't take Oriana away at the moment, Arlan had no choice but to let her enter the palace.
Imbert and Rafal, who had been waiting at a designated location to execute the second part of the abduction plan and take Oriana and the elderly man away once they were successfully abducted, received a message from Alex that the mission had been aborted. They were instructed to return to the Prince's side.
Arlan returned to the palace in two days, while the commander's troop was still a week away due to their slow and multiple-stop journey.
Although Arlan had reached the capital, he didn't go directly to the palace. Instead, he stopped at one of the estates owned by the prince on the outskirts of the capital. It was like a mini-castle where he often handled his secret affairs along with his clandestine forces.
