Chapter 111: The Ambush 7

Shortly before retiring for the night, I received an urgent summons and made my way to my father’s study alongside Polena.

There, I found my somber-faced family gathered – Baitz and Dust’s expressions heavily shadowed, while my mother wept openly, supported by attendants.

After being apprised of the grave late-night emergency that had transpired, a pall settled over me as well.

“What? You mean Lady Queen?”

“Yes…she was abducted while fending off sudden assailants.”

“How could such a thing occur…?”

The lightning-bolt revelation left me utterly bewildered.

Queen Andreas – the eldest daughter of our house and, to me, an elder sister figure.

Admittedly, our relationship since my arrival had been strained to say the least.

From our initial formal meeting marred by her open hostility toward me, Queen had scarcely deigned to even speak with me – constantly affixing me with withering looks of unveiled resentment.

Unpleasant as it felt, I could hardly fault her animosity toward me.

‘Come to think of it, I’d likely feel the same bitterness in her position. The wandering brother returns to usurp her standing, essentially.’

Though Bohemia ultimately fell under Friedrich’s sway in the original storyline, until that point Queen had indeed been the legitimate heir-apparent as the Andreas family’s eldest.

Her claim merely paled before Friedrich’s more compelling bloodline and authority.

Absent his presence, Queen would have almost certainly ascended as Bohemia’s ruler given time – her lingering hopes for that future dashed by my unlooked-for arrival and rapid ascendancy in our father’s esteem.

From that perspective, to Queen, my existence could only embody the infuriating usurper – the unworthy upstart who had robbed her of her legacy while stealing away our father’s trust.

Certainly, her endless scowls grated heavily despite my understanding of their roots.

‘Yet that issue pales before our current crisis. Of all the wretched luck – Queen taken as a hostage…’

While their precise identities and motives remained unclear, I harbored grave suspicions over who orchestrated this outrage.

Our recent triumphs at Weissenburg and against Mansfelt had fortified the Heretical Alliance into an entity far exceeding Anhalt’s envisioned ramshackle coalition – a cohesive force now pivoting around newly empowered Bohemia.

Our burgeoning clout undoubtedly presented an escalating threat to Emperor Sigismund in Vienna. One he would feel compelled to undermine through any means necessary – including sowing dissension within our ranks.

And the most effective method involved striking at Bohemia’s heart and destabilizing our alliance’s fulcrum.

‘Emperor Sigismund Ferdinand…who else could mastermind such treachery? Abducting Queen to leverage my father and fracture our alliance reeks of his cunning.’

Taking a family member hostage – an utterly contemptible act against a fellow human being, much less kin.

Yet for that very reason, this calculated gambit held the potential to prove devastatingly effective against us.

Through our shared experiences, I had come to intimately understand my father Count Turen’s character:

A man who cherished family above power, renown or martial might – genuinely loving and doting upon his children.

And while he rarely showed it openly, I knew full well how deeply he treasured his eldest daughter Queen – earnestly worrying over her well-being in my presence even if he hid it before others.

Which meant that with Queen now held captive by unknown foes, my father would likely go to any lengths – even at the cost of unraveling our alliance itself – to secure her safe return.

‘In the worst case, he may very well renounce the entire alliance endeavor… Of course, preventing such an eventuality is paramount lest all our efforts prove for naught.’

At this critical juncture, any wavering from Bohemia or fracturing within the Heretical Alliance could undo everything we had labored to achieve – leaving us right back where we began, if not in an even more precarious position.

‘Dammit all, just when I thought we could finally catch our breaths… Truly, some wretched curse plagues my very existence!’

Inwardly lamenting my seemingly hapless plight once more, I felt the keen sting of helpless frustration.

While search parties had been dispatched, locating the kidnappers’ trail proved an immense challenge without any leads.

Worse still, we dealt with adversaries potent enough to effortlessly subdue not just our guards, but even a Rank 6 mage of Queen’s caliber single-handedly.

Even if found, extracting her would surely prove no simple feat.

Ultimately, we could only await whatever demands the abductors deemed fit to issue.

“Events have taken a most vexing turn…”

Polena’s murmured words beside me echoed my own tumultuous emotions.

Knowing her astute perceptiveness, I could only assume her thoughts mirrored my own misgivings.

‘Could this too stem from Catleena’s machinations? If so, then seizing Santara over Cazeros’s plight was merely one objective among others…’

“Kuhh…”

Agonizing skull-splitting migraines.

Nausea threatening to expel the contents of her roiling stomach.

A bone-deep lethargy leaving her utterly sapped of vigor.

Beset by a harrowing confluence of sensations she had never before experienced in her life, Queen gradually regained consciousness.

‘Wha…What happened…? I…clearly remember…’

Her final recollection involved defiantly standing alone against the relentless spectral legions – raining blows upon them until sustaining overwhelming injury herself.

Yet the events immediately following that point eluded her hazy awareness.

‘Could they have bested me after all? But this place doesn’t seem the afterlife… Which can only mean…?’

Surveying her surroundings revealed dense foliage and towering trees – clearly a secluded forest locale.

As she registered her bound arms, Queen deduced the unfortunate reality of her present straits.

‘Abducted, have I? Well, I suppose someone of my standing would fetch a handsome ransom… The eldest daughter of Bohemia’s ruling house.’

Gingerly assessing her confines, Queen inadvertently alerted her captor to her awakened state.

“Unthinkable…Surely not…”

“!…”

That chilling voice from just behind her instantly consumed Queen with unease.

‘That tone… Could it be the witch?’

The very same witch who had so effortlessly overwhelmed her earlier – and had seemingly absconded with her person judging by present circumstances.

Before Queen could properly react, another feminine voice joined the first in audible disbelief:

“For even you to fail, Sister… Does this Santara possess such immense power?”

“Yes…you felt the vastness of that mana projection yourself. That man is a veritable monster concealing his true might.”

“!?!”

Struck dumb by their shocking exchange, Queen’s bewilderment only deepened as their dialogue continued unabated.