Chapter 56
Kidnapping
The sky had darkened so much that continuing the search was impossible.
With visibility gone, finding Yulia would be difficult, and there was a high chance of encountering monsters that roamed at night.
After much deliberation, Martin addressed the team.
“All right. Let’s end the search here for now. We’ll resume first thing in the morning. Understood?”
“Yes!”
The team responded energetically and began preparing their camp in unison.
Having crossed the snowy wilderness all day and searched for Yulia, their stamina was already completely drained.
To move effectively the next day, they needed to rest quickly.
While everyone busied themselves with camp preparations, Martin quietly walked away on his own.
“Captain? Where are you going?”
Without looking back, Martin replied to Oscar’s question.
“Rest for now. I’ll search a bit longer.”
“But it’s night… it’s dangerous—”
“The real danger would be for the vice-captain. If she’s truly lost, she might be incapacitated. So I’ll keep searching.”
Before Oscar or anyone else could stop him, Martin quickly walked away.
To find someone trembling alone somewhere in the expanse of white snow under the black sky.
“Ugh…”
A faint pain came from the side of my torso.
I slowly opened my eyes and surveyed my surroundings.
Because I had been stabbed by Karl, it seemed I had briefly passed out and ended up in a completely unfamiliar place.
It looked like Karl had used his spatial transfer ability to move me somewhere else.
Checking my body, I was relieved to find the stab wound had been treated.
It still hurt a little, but it was manageable.
More importantly… where was this place?
What was certain was that it was extremely cramped.
It seemed I had been shoved into a box just big enough for a person.
My arms and legs were tightly bound, and an ability-sealing item hung around my neck.
Was I being transported somewhere in secret?
Focusing, I thought I could hear the sound of waves.
“…Waves?”
A foreboding thought flashed through my mind.
Perhaps they were taking me to a deserted island or somewhere similar.
It was entirely plausible.
Ernant probably considered me a nuisance for not cooperating with his will.
He might have ordered Karl to send me to a remote island.
Following that order, Karl would have used his ability to place me on a ship headed to such an island…
So, was the claim that Ernant ordered my execution a lie after all?
It was fortunate I hadn’t been killed immediately, but it was still dangerous.
If I was truly being taken to a deserted island, I had to escape immediately.
I kicked hard against the side of the box that confined me, using my tightly bound legs.
Bang!
The box was made of sturdy wood, but after kicking it about three times, it broke with a cracking sound.
Finally able to see outside, I frantically looked around.
I was in a cramped storage-like room, filled with miscellaneous items, and there were no people in sight.
Breaking out of the box made the sound of the waves even clearer.
It seemed I was indeed on a ship, being taken to a deserted island.
At that moment, the warehouse door creaked open, and a bearded man walked in.
“Tch, you should’ve stayed still. You just had to pop out, huh.”
He probably came after hearing the noise I made breaking the box.
I immediately demanded of the man, who seemed to be some kind of guard:
“Where is this? Are we on a ship? Where are you taking me?”
“Hmm…”
The man hesitated as if deciding whether to answer, then finally spoke.
“We’re on a ship. You’ll be abandoned on an island soon.”
“What…? Ernant’s… the Emperor’s order?”
“What? Ha! A bunch of sailors like us don’t care about the Emperor’s orders.”
The man laughed heartily, then continued.
“We’re just following instructions from some guy who paid us to take you to an island.”
“The red-haired man? His name was Karl, right?”
“Never heard the name, but he did have red hair. He said we’d get more money if we delivered you safely to the people on the island.”
It seemed this man had no connection to Ernant—just a regular sailor.
Karl probably offered money for my transport, and they accepted without hesitation.
They probably had no idea how dangerous the task was.
“Release me immediately and turn this ship toward land. I am Yulia von Schnestern, from the House of the Schnestern Marquises and a member of the Silver Knights.”
“……”
“If you know I’ve been kidnapped, my family and the knights will make you pay dearly.”
The man listened silently, then suddenly burst out laughing, spitting as he laughed.
After a while, wiping the tears forming in his eyes, he looked back at me.
“You really say some nonsense.”
“What did you say…?”
“We’ve heard of Lord Schnestern. He’s famous, right? Supposedly a very strong knight? Does it make sense for someone so great to be so helplessly captured? If you’re going to impersonate someone, at least do it properly.”
Caught off guard by his unexpected reaction, I quickly spoke again.
“Wait, I can’t use my abilities because of the ability-sealing item around my neck—”
“Ah, shut up. Just stay still. We get paid to deliver you to the island. We don’t have to listen to your nonsense.”
“……”
It seemed persuasion wouldn’t work.
They didn’t believe I was Yulia von Schnestern, and even if they did, they probably wouldn’t release me.
If they realized they had kidnapped a noble, they might even kill me to cover it up.
Kidnapping a noble was a grave crime.
If they failed to deliver me safely, they would be lifelong fugitives.
“Anyway, if you cause trouble again, we’ll tie you upside down. So just stay still. Tch.”
The man left the warehouse, leaving me tied up.
Being on the sea and tightly bound, he probably thought I couldn’t escape easily.
Seeing the lax guard as my only advantage, I began to carefully plan my escape.
Morning in the snowy wilderness was cold.
Not just because of the snow surrounding everything.
Despite searching all night, Martin had not found Yulia.
His tension was palpable, and the other team members remained silent, observing him.
In this uncomfortable silence, Karl sat quietly, drinking the cold stew breakfast, lost in thought.
He wondered where Yulia might be by now.
The previous night, he had pushed himself to the limit, using his spatial transfer ability four times.
From the northern snowfield to Nurnberg, a port city in the east of the empire.
Ernant had earlier instructed Karl:
If he failed to persuade Yulia, he was to imprison her on an imperial island not far from Nurnberg.
So Karl followed the order, using two spatial transfers to reach Nurnberg, then two more to return to the northern snowfield.
By moving quickly with his ability, he avoided Martin’s suspicion.
Yet even so, Karl could not shake his worries.
Would nothing go wrong on the way?
His mind was filled with concern for Yulia.
Although he had no choice but to treat her harshly for his brother’s sake, he didn’t want her to get hurt.
The time they had spent together had been real; a few quarrels wouldn’t erase it.
Just then, Raymond approached Martin.
“Duke Havicht, I have a report.”
Martin furrowed his brows, signaling him not to come closer, and Raymond stopped.
Then he spoke a line that froze everyone.
“One of our team members has found traces of Lord Schnestern.”
Martin, who had always been wary of Ernant’s personal guards, asked urgently in disbelief:
“What did you say…? Traces of Yulia… our vice-captain?”
Raymond answered in his usual businesslike tone.
“Yes. Would you like to see?”
“……Of course. Lead the way.”
As Martin said this, Raymond led him somewhere.
After walking a considerable distance, Raymond stopped before a snow-covered rock and pointed.
“Here.”
“……!”
There were bloodstains.
The crimson color on the white snow was unmistakably blood.
Martin carefully picked up the torn piece of clothing lying on it.
“…Yulia’s garment.”
