Chapter 160
Under normal circumstances, the one leading the charge would have been Rommel, the commander of the Royal Knights.
But now, Rommel was running behind Clois, whose back was impossible to catch up with.
“Your Majesty!”
Though he called out to Clois several times while running, it was as if Clois hadn’t heard him at all, sprinting on without stopping.
Rommel knew well that, for the sake of security, he should be at the front.
‘But right now, Your Majesty isn’t concerned with something like that at all.’
Eventually, Rommel gave up trying to catch up with Clois and contented himself with simply following closely behind.
He then glanced at Marquis Lagselv running right beside him.
He was normally a jovial man, full of laughter.
But at that moment, the Marquis’s face was more rigid than ever.
‘Not only did something happen in his territory, but his son is also missing…’
Since the war ended, he rarely visited the royal inner palace.
He only came occasionally to oversee the knights or teach swordsmanship.
“Ruska has been admitted to the Academy for Gifted Children!”
Ever since his youngest son was admitted this year, he had been boasting endlessly.
Though his face rarely bore such expressions, every conversation began with Ruska whenever they met.
The child had always been far larger than his peers, yet he had seemed proud and restless, like putting a crawling infant by the water’s edge.
And now that child had disappeared. Moreover, the youngest of his close friend, Duke Kailen, had also gone missing.
‘And yet Duke Kailen still remained in the palace…’
Rommel remembered the Duke’s reaction upon hearing the news.
He had gasped in shock, asked who was missing and where, and immediately organized a team to respond urgently with the ministers.
“I must remain in the palace.”
He left the pursuit of the kidnapped children to Marquis Lagselv and the Royal Knights, saying he would stay behind.
“I must do what I can.”
He requested Clois to grant him authority to act on his behalf.
He then assembled a portion of the palace knights and confined Count Aradman and his followers to the outer palace.
Though it was unclear what the Duke intended by capturing them, it certainly wasn’t a simple act.
‘And yet, not only Eve, but all the other children were kidnapped as well…’
It was baffling why Eve, who had said she’d just step out briefly, had been with the other children.
In the distance, Marquis Lagselv’s residence came into view.
When everyone madly arrived at the estate, servants and maids, their clothes stained with blood, bowed their heads to greet them.
Clois, dismounting immediately, spoke:
“Aiden? The missing people? Any new findings?”
It was almost a shout. Vanessa bowed even deeper in response.
“Sir Aiden has lost consciousness. Ain Ragselv and Eric Ragselv are pursuing Eve and the other missing people.”
Everyone sighed at her answer—they still hadn’t found Eve.
At that moment, Leon Ragselv, the third son, came out and bowed.
His clothes were also soaked in blood.
“You are the first discoverer, correct?”
Clois asked, and Leon, bowing, recounted what he had seen:
“Yes. Inside the estate, birds reacted wildly to the alarm whistle, and all the knights and maids went out to search the area. I then found Sir Aiden a short distance from the estate. At that time, he had a crossbow embedded in his shoulder, his hands pierced by swords, bleeding severely, and was poisoned as well.”
Hilde, who had been listening from behind, stiffened.
This mission would have been hers if she hadn’t been under disciplinary action.
Handing it off to Aiden was meant to relieve her, and now this had happened.
“Sir Aiden indicated that the children with Eve were taken and pointed out a location before losing consciousness. Leaving him to the servants, we continued searching and found a carriage a short distance away, along with the bodies of knights and coachmen. Inside the carriage was the unconscious Izriella Aradman, and further away, we found Irene Terins, seemingly poisoned in the same way.”
Hearing Irene’s name, Derushna, the frontier count, relaxed slightly, though his expression remained stern.
“The others have not been found yet. We tried to determine who the attackers were, but Izriella Aradman, who had barely regained consciousness, said she remembered nothing and only trembled.”
Clois listened to Leon, then entered the estate.
The once elegant estate he had visited in summer now resembled a battlefield hospital, filled with blood-soaked bandages and the scent of death.
In a corner lay neatly lined corpses covered with white cloths.
Beyond them, Aiden lay with his eyes closed.
“Oh my…”
Rommel groaned upon seeing Aiden.
It was clear immediately—this was not just a simple attack.
Every mark on Aiden’s body reflected the attacker’s malicious intent to inflict a miserable future.
Seeing Aiden’s condition, everyone clenched their fists.
If someone with this level of malice had taken the children, what fate awaited them?
Amidst the shock, Clois spoke in a cold voice:
“Bring Izriella Aradman.”
Shortly after, the maids brought Izriella, who immediately bent over, on the verge of tears.
‘How did it come to this?’
She couldn’t comprehend the situation.
The only clear memory was eating the candy Eve had given her and losing consciousness.
Her instincts told her that Eve had been deeply involved, and that her own responsibility was great.
‘I just went along shopping…’
She didn’t understand why she was in such a terrifying situation, unsure if surviving alone was fortunate or not.
What was certain was that the family, and she herself, could be in danger if they weren’t careful.
“I-I don’t know… I have no memory… I think… it was the poison…”
Thus, Izriella decided to flee.
This was beyond what she could handle.
Those behind her sighed. She was the only witness who had regained consciousness.
But if she remembered nothing, where would they even start?
“A lie! Why can’t you remember!”
A sharp voice echoed through the lobby.
Everyone turned to see Irene trembling, holding onto a maid.
Having exhausted herself shouting, she collapsed.
But the sharpness in her eyes remained.
“E-Eve was waiting… for us… with candy…! After eating it, we… lost consciousness…!”
Still weakened from the poison, Irene spoke in fragments.
Derushna approached and gently patted her shoulder.
“Breathe slowly, Irene. You must testify properly to save the others.”
Trembling, Irene took a deep breath.
After a moment, her shaking subsided, and she recounted everything she remembered:
Eve had been waiting for them and gave them candy. Then came the attack and the fallen carriage.
After that, her memory was fragmentary, but she told all she could recall.
“Sir Aiden definitely… called the attacker Sir Siren…”
“…!”
Everyone’s expressions hardened.
Clois turned to Izriella.
“Do you still have no memory?”
“….”
Izriella lowered her head, unable to answer.
Though she had lost consciousness, fragments of memory remained: the voice conversing with Aiden—undoubtedly Noma’s.
‘But… Siren…’
Izriella knew the name of the only rebel the Emperor had failed to capture.
Not knowing what to do, she simply crouched as Clois spoke:
“Send this to the palace, to Duke Kailen.”
The cold voice referred to Izriella as “this.”
“Also, instruct them to adopt wartime-level measures and obtain testimony from all relevant parties, regardless of age, gender, or situation.”
Clois then turned and commanded:
“I will pursue them myself. Bring all remaining forces.”
“Yes!”
No one dared oppose his sharp command.
As Clois left with the knights, Irene collapsed fully to the ground.
“Ugh…”
Her still-poisoned body lacked strength, yet she crawled toward the window.
A startled maid helped her up, and Irene reached toward the window.
Understanding her intent, the maid led her to the window, where she saw the Emperor and others leaving the estate.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Eve… Eve…”
Crying like a child, Irene called out.
“Ah, Arsel… Ruska…”
Uttering Ruska’s name, sorrow welled up.
Ruska, you bastard. Kicking me? Leaving me alive alone?
If she had been there, she would have grabbed his hair and shaken him.
“Ugh…”
Irene collapsed again, weeping.
My friends…
Please save my friends…
Through her sobs flowed desperate prayers.
Some time later, a voice whispered near her ear:
“…Bi.”
“…Bi!”
And her body was shaken.
‘Who?’
Eve slowly awoke from the darkness.
What had happened?
‘Eve gave candy… it was awful…’
At that moment, she opened her eyes.
But all she saw was endless darkness.
Damp air and a musty smell flooded in.
From that alone, Eve knew—she was in a basement.
