CHAPTER 130
The rising sun began to cast a dim light over the Emperor's drawing room.
The morning of the wedding day was devoid of the lively, festive atmosphere one would expect.
The air was sharp and lethal, as if it could cut through anything that touched it.
The Emperor sat in an armchair, flanked by knights standing guard. His gaze was cast downward, his brows not so much as twitching.
At his feet knelt Vera and six other maids, their heads bowed low.
"Sob, sob, we are deeply sorry, Your Majesty. We failed to protect Her Majesty the Empress. We deserve severe punishment. Sob, sob..."
As Vera wept and apologized, the other maids followed suit, pleading for forgiveness.
An incomprehensible situation had unfolded.
The Empress, who had gone to bed, had vanished without a trace.
Three maids had been on night duty in the living room adjacent to the bedroom, and four guards had been stationed outside the door.
To enter the Empress's bedroom, one would have had to pass through the drawing room. The other option would have been to open the balcony window and enter, which was nearly impossible.
Not only was the window double-locked, but the intruder would also have had to bypass the three maids in the living room.
It was only natural that guards were posted beneath the balcony.
Another option was to enter through the bedroom window, but that was almost impossible too.
The Emperor had demolished the balcony attached to the bedroom to ensure that no assassins could set foot there.
To sneak in through the third-floor bedroom window, one would have had to scale the palace walls like a lizard.
Even if by some miracle one managed to avoid all the traps the Emperor had set up and reached the bedroom window...
Opening the double-locked window would have been nearly impossible.
No one could have opened that window while clinging to the wall above a multitude of torch-wielding guards—except perhaps one person on the entire continent.
And that person was, of course, the Emperor himself.
But nothing is impossible in this world. There could be another person with such abilities.
"The bedroom window remains locked. There are no signs of anyone breaking in or out."
The commander of the 3rd Division, responsible for the Empress's security, reported.
He and his men were no different from the maids kneeling at the Emperor's feet.
No, their sin was even greater.
They had failed to protect the Empress.
The 3rd Division was the elite unit handpicked by the Emperor to safeguard the Empress.
The commander, unable to lift his head, continued his report.
"We found no trace of Her Majesty leaving the bedroom. We have not been able to uncover any clues as to how she disappeared. We have failed, Your Majesty."
After a brief silence, the Emperor spoke.
His voice was cold, sending shivers down the spine.
"Someone here knows the whereabouts of the Empress. Take them all to the underground prison and torture them until they confess. Use the harshest methods until they speak."
"Sob, sob..."
"Ahhh!"
The maids burst into tears, unable to contain their fear.
As the 3rd Division began dragging the maids and attendants away, the Emperor raised his hand.
"You are all included in the group to be taken to the underground prison."
No sooner had the Emperor finished speaking than the door to the drawing room burst open.
The 2nd and 4th Divisions rushed in and surrounded the 3rd Division.
The commander of the 2nd Division walked up to the commander of the Empress's guard.
Without a word, he stripped the commander of his insignia and sword, then removed his uniform.
"The prisoner will follow me."
The commander of the Empress's guard looked utterly devastated.
He knew that once he was taken to the underground prison, he would never return alive.
The detained members of the 3rd Division followed the maids and attendants out of the drawing room.
***
Although morning had come to the palace, it was filled with a silence heavier than the darkest night.
There was no sign of the cheerful, youthful energy that usually buzzed among the young maids preparing for the wedding of the century.
The lively steps that usually hurried between the grand hall, the banquet hall, and the kitchen had come to a halt.
The people walking in and around the palace avoided eye contact, focusing solely on their tasks.
The once vibrant and warm palace had turned desolate and bleak.
Though everything was deathly quiet, an overwhelming sense of tension hung in the air, making everyone's shoulders hunch.
The palace kitchen staff huddled in a corner, whispering among themselves.
"What about the wedding then...?"
"Is the wedding the problem? All the maids and attendants serving Her Majesty, and even the guards, might all be doomed."
"I'm scared to death. Our team was in charge of Her Majesty's dinner last night. What if the blame falls on us?"
"I heard that everyone who entered Her Majesty's quarters yesterday has been arrested. What should we do...sob."
Unable to contain her fear, a young maid burst into tears.
It was said that dozens of people who served the Empress were now suffering in the underground prison.
The Emperor had decreed that no one could leave the prison until they revealed a clue.
What was supposed to be the most joyous and blessed day in the empire could go down in history as a day of tragedy.
***
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.
The sound of hundreds of hooves echoed everywhere.
The Imperial Guard was divided into squads, searching the palace gardens, the outlying palaces, the training grounds, the stables, and the surrounding mountains with meticulous care.
The Emperor led his squad to the lakeside.
Marines were hastily deployed to check if the Empress might have fallen into the lake.
"Your Majesty!"
Sir Peter rode quickly to the Emperor's side.
Dismounting his horse, he didn't have time for formalities as he made his report.
"We found footprints on the path leading from the outlying palace to the cherry tree grove. They appear to belong to Her Majesty the Empress."
Before Sir Peter even finished speaking, the Emperor and his guards galloped toward the outlying palace.
***
Behind the outlying palace, Count Coralde greeted the Emperor.
He had been summoned to the palace at dawn and had hurriedly joined the search.
"It seems the soil was dampened by the evening's watering. The wet soil left faint traces on Her Majesty's shoes."
Count Coralde pointed to the entrance of the cherry tree grove.
The Emperor dismounted silently.
His long legs swiftly strode into the forest, followed closely by the guards. The atmosphere around him was so sharp that even breathing loudly felt dangerous.
The veins on the Emperor’s hand bulged as he gripped the sword's hilt.
“Your Majesty…”
Sir Jacob, who had entered the forest ahead following Arabelle’s footprints, bowed his head to the Emperor.
Arabelle's footprints had stopped beneath a bench, slightly covered in moss and vines, just past the entrance.
For the first time, the Emperor’s eyes showed signs of agitation as he looked down at the ground.
He slowly bent down, reaching out his hand.
He pulled out something almost entirely buried in the dirt: a pink silk headband. It was unmistakably the headband that Arabelle had worn last night after getting ready for bed.
To ensure Arabelle wasn’t exhausted from the wedding and festivities that would last all day, they had deliberately spent the night in separate chambers.
The Emperor's jaw clenched tightly.
There were several large footprints scattered around the small ones.
Judging by the disturbed earth, it was clear the owner of the small footprints had resisted.
From there, the footprints disappeared, replaced by scattered hoof prints, indicating they had continued on horseback.
As they observed the same scene, the faces of Sir Jacob, Sir Peter, and Sir Corald drained of color.
It was clearly a kidnapping.
No one knew why Arabelle had walked into the forest alone, but it was evident she had been taken.
Sir Jacob mounted his horse and issued orders to the guards.
“Follow the scattered hoof prints in groups!”
“Your Majesty!”
Count Corald pointed to the edge of the bench where the footprints were scattered.
The bench had been formed over the years by rocks naturally piling up, eroding, and shaping into its current state.
The count reached into a crevice beneath the bench.
He pulled out a coarse piece of cloth and showed it to the Emperor.
It was a belt typically worn by merchants who crossed borders.
“This is not from the Empire.”
Sir Peter murmured quietly as he examined the torn green belt.
Merchants who traveled between kingdoms had to wear belts indicating their kingdom of origin, in addition to carrying identification.
The belts were designed to be difficult to replicate or forge, a measure that was part of the Emperor’s security policies.
The Emperor’s eyes flashed dangerously as he snatched the green belt.
***
At the residence of the King of Semper.
Though they were technically detained in the palace, the royal treatment extended to King Ator, the queen, and their granddaughter remained impeccable.
The King and Queen of Ator were conversing at the dining room table.
The Queen glanced at the King with wavering eyes.
“I’m extremely uneasy. The Empress was kidnapped on the wedding day, and the garden incident hasn’t even been resolved yet.”
“Who would dare to commit such a reckless and bold act? The Emperor will surely catch the culprit.”
“People are already being carried out of the underground prison on stretchers. The wedding has been postponed, and I wish we could return to Semper as soon as possible.”
“If we say the wrong thing now, we won’t just be unable to return to our kingdom; we might end up in even more trouble. Let’s hold out a little longer. The Emperor is not someone who acts emotionally. He’ll soon realize that Semper had nothing to do with this incident.”
Normally, they would genuinely worry about an Emperor who had lost his Empress, but…
King Ator and the Queen currently held no favorable feelings toward the Emperor.
If the relationship between Helterd and Semper were to crack, Semper would be in a precarious position.
No one knew this better than Emperor Maxwell, yet he had shown suspicion towards them in front of the representatives of other kingdoms.
Regardless of their alliance, the Emperor was supposed to deeply respect him.
The Queen, who was of the same mind, expressed her dissatisfaction.
“Didn’t we refrain from sending Agatin as a candidate for Empress to avoid awkwardness between Your Highness and the Emperor? It would have been nice if she became Empress, but if she failed in the competition, relations might have become strained.”
Although she hadn’t spoken it aloud, the Queen’s pride was deeply wounded.
The strong alliance with Helterd had placed her among the top-ranking queens.
The thought of being humiliated in front of other queens who were wary of Helterd and potentially ostracized by them was unbearable.
The Queen gestured to a servant to remove the cold tea and bring fresh tea.
Thud, bang.
The dining room doors swung open wide.
The Emperor strode across the threshold and toward the table without hesitation.
King Ator and the Queen stared at him with their mouths agape as if on cue.
Frozen by overwhelming fear, the couple couldn’t even muster a greeting.
The Emperor’s approaching figure resembled a messenger emerging from the underworld, as depicted in artwork.
It was still early morning, and where had he been? His presence carried the cold air from outside.
As the Emperor drew nearer, King Ator finally snapped out of his daze and stood up.
He should have been displeased by the Emperor's unannounced visit, but there was no time for such emotions.
The Emperor’s emotionless expression was almost eerie.
The Emperor raised his right arm and opened his hand.
A green belt, embroidered with the four-leaf clover emblem, appeared in King Ator and the Queen's view.
“This belongs to one of Semper's merchants, does it not? It bears the mark of a merchant authorized by your royal family.”
King Ator examined the green belt carefully.
“But why is this belt…?”
King Ator looked up in bewilderment.
And in that instant, his gaze met the Emperor’s, causing ripples of fear.
Above his raised head...
The Emperor stood, sword pointed at him.
If a gaze could kill, King Ator would have already perished as he locked eyes with the Emperor’s crimson stare.
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