episode_0071

That day was one where a light spring rain fell from dawn.

As if the goddess of spring anticipated a festival to follow immediately after her departure, the raindrops falling for spring were rather heavy, striking the ground with force.

Cutting through such gloomy weather,

When the messenger from the Bearen family arrived at the townhouse of Verbriz located at the outskirts of the capital Lutes, it was early morning, just after finishing breakfast and about to start the day.

Even though he had been kidnapped the previous evening, the reason for coming now to deliver that news was that the Earl of Bearen was so preoccupied with the lady’s abduction, and furthermore,

The relationship between the Verbriz Ducal House and the Bearen Earldom had not been officially established yet.

Moreover, to convey the news in the middle of the night, one needed someone with a certain level of skill, but it was unclear how to extract such personnel from the search.

Upon hearing from the belated messenger that Eleanor had been kidnapped, Dmitry immediately headed to the Bearen family’s townhouse.

Having lost his memory living as a soldier in Shilrove,

fallen victim to Shelob’s poison, rendering his body paralyzed,

and now this kidnapping incident.

It was an event rarely experienced by young nobles. The fate was truly remarkable.

With such thoughts in mind, when Dmitry arrived roughly and spoke at the Bearen family’s townhouse, Albrice, his oracle, was busy moving around the capital to find his younger sister, and the steward informed him of that.

Subsequently, Dmitry joined the Bearen family’s knights in their search efforts, but they did not achieve much success.

“Since last night, we stationed knights on the road leading to the capital, so they probably couldn’t enter the capital. Don’t worry too much.”

The knight commander overseeing the search reassured Dmitry.

The young lady… Eleanor couldn’t have ridden alone.

No, the abductors wouldn’t have left any empty carts for them either. Naturally, their means of transportation would have been a carriage or wagon. Their escape speed would also have been slow.

Moreover, the condition of the road where the wheels should roll due to the quite heavy spring rain was not favorable.

In other words, it meant that Eleanor was still within the search area.

Holding onto hope, Dmitry searched a shabby warehouse but, upon hearing the news of Albrice returning to the mansion, he turned his head towards the Bearen family’s estate.

Albrice, instead of waiting in his usual study, was waiting for Dmitry in the knights’ commander room.

“Thank you for coming here in person, Your Grace.”

“Why speak like that between us?”

If it had been the original Albrice, he might have reacted strongly to those words, maybe even causing a scene.

But now, without any particular response, he simply guided Dmitry, who handed him his coat, to a seat on the sofa.

Once the two men were seated, the servant who had received the coat soon placed a steaming hot teacup emitting wisps of steam on the table.

No matter how sturdy a man’s body may be, having wandered around in the spring rain for quite some time, Dmitry picked up the teacup, savoring the refreshing scent of peppermint filling his mouth as he looked at Albrice.

“Yes. What did Viscount Edmund say?”

“He said nothing. But judging by his expression, it seems unlikely that he was lying.”

Albrice, too, picked up the teacup in front of him as he spoke.

His blue eyes still lively, filled with anger. Perhaps after tea time, he would join the knights again to search for his sister.

However, despite the intensity in his eyes, weariness was evident in his voice.

“Don’t worry too much. Yeong-ae… Elly will probably be found soon.”

Upon Dimitri’s words, Albrice quietly gazed at his face. Looking at his manly face, Albrice pondered for a while before pursing his lips heavily.

“Your Highness. Once this matter is settled, I plan to send Elly back west.”

Albrice slightly bowed his waist towards Dimitri and continued speaking.

“The incident at the coal mine was kept secret, but this time might be challenging. Naturally, it might reach our parents’ ears as well.”

“That’s probably true.”

Looking at Dimitri nodding calmly, Albrice let out a soft sigh.

“…It means that Your Highness shouldn’t be so relaxed.”

The tone of his voice subtly changed. Albrice’s blue pupils gradually darkened.

“As the body moves away, so does the heart. Moreover, it seems like neither Elly nor Your Highness have fully expressed your feelings yet.”

With a trembling hand, Albrice continued, touching the rim of the teacup, still emitting warmth.

“If Elly returns west this time, she might stay there for quite a while. She might not even return to the capital again. This time, neither my father nor mother will easily let go of Elly.”

Albrice conveyed those words, looking at Dimitri who was staring blankly at himself.

“If Your Highness truly desires Elly, time is running out.”

With that statement, Albrice straightened up once again.

For a while, silence filled the table. Both Albrice and Dimitri absentmindedly stirred their teacups to their lips, lost in thought.

Then, it was Albrice who spoke first.

“To be honest, I’m not sure why I’m telling you this at such a crucial moment.”

“Thank you for advising me.”

“Thank you. If that sentiment had been solely yours, I wouldn’t have said this.”

His voice and gaze returned to their original state.

“Well, finding Elly should be the priority for now.”

#.

“Eleanor Yeong-ae has been kidnapped.”

As always, Ernst’s voice lacked any emotion. However, the words he uttered did not match his indifferent tone.

Yulian, who had been reviewing documents at his desk, and Christian, who had been staring out the window at the drizzling spring rain while leaning against the sofa, both stopped what they were doing to look at Ernst with a grim expression.

“What? Kidnapped?”

“Eleanor has been kidnapped?”

The quiet office, steeped in gloomy weather, was now filled with the voices of the two men.

“There were rumors circulating on the streets until morning. It became a confirmed fact after her brother Albrice rushed to Viscount Edmund’s clinic.”

Knowing everything, even where Eleanor was being held, Ernst calmly stated the facts as if he knew nothing.

“Louie Edmund, is it?”

Behind Christian muttering that name under his breath, Yulian looked at Ernst with sharp eyes.

“What exactly is happening right now? Tell us what you know without beating around the bush.”

“Yesterday evening, as she was returning home in her carriage after fitting her dress for the coronation, Eleanor was apparently kidnapped.”

Even with his deeply crimson eyes hardened, even with the surprised look from his friend Christian, Ernst continued speaking without hesitation.

“Last night. Knights of Beaurne blocked all roads into the capital and are forcibly searching those entering. However, seeing that the culprit is still lingering there, it’s likely they’ve hidden in the suburbs rather than the capital.”

After Ernst’s brief conclusion, Yulrian roughly tossed his precious silver fountain pen onto the desk.

“That scoundrel should not get away with it.”

“Y- Yulrian. Calm down for now.”

Seeing Yulrian throw even his cherished pen aside, Christian stood up from the sofa and approached the enraged Yulrian.

“How dare… how dare he do that to Eleanor.”

“Well, nothing will be solved by acting out here.”

Upon Christian’s words, Yulrian abruptly rose from his seat, grabbing the black jacket draped over the chair.

“Ernst. Was there any useful information from those scattered on the streets?”

“There wasn’t any particularly useful information. It seems like you already know who the culprit is.”

Without batting an eyelash, Ernst lied to his lord. But at this moment, Yulrian lacked the ability to discern whether those words were true or false.

“I’ll investigate myself.”

As the head of internal security, he naturally had access to quite a bit of information.

From the map of the outskirts to the layout of buildings in the suburbs, he could confirm everything by visiting the underground security office.

Yulrian stormed out of the office roughly, followed closely by Christian.

Behind those two, Ernst, as always, watched their backs emotionlessly, with an expressionless face.