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Chapter : 27
In some ways, Bella felt almost grateful to Reivan for entrusting her with this mission. Thinking of Kaisa, her thoughts immediately shifted to Milena. Today, Milena, who had come with Kaisa, possessed beauty beyond expectation.
Could Reivan be right? There seemed to be some special atmosphere between the two of them.
Bella bit her lip.
‘Anyway, I have to do what I’m supposed to do.’
As a young lady of the Kester family, and for the future of Cyern.
Yet, thinking of Kaisa, she couldn’t hide the flutter of shyness in her heart. She never expected to feel this way. Not even once.
Meanwhile, at the Lorencia Duke’s Manor.
A heavy silence hung over Zenemia’s study. On the agreed days, Roela, Miles, and Zenemia would hold meetings. Several documents were scattered across the desk, and in the center lay the sailing log of the Blue Dove.
“Are you sure?”
Roela asked sharply, her usual gentle demeanor gone.
“Yes. This information came from an insider within the shipping company,” Miles said, picking up a document.
“It says that the day before the Blue Dove set sail, part of its route was suddenly changed.”
“The changed route was…?”
“Closer to the Sea of Monsters.”
Zenemia removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. The continuous investigations had left her exhausted.
“That alone isn’t enough evidence. The mastermind is still unclear. Honestly, a minor route change like this can’t prove the accident was orchestrated.”
Roela paced the room nervously, murmuring to herself.
“It’s been over two months… Milena…”
“She’s alive,” Miles said firmly.
“There’s no way she would have died, Your Grace.”
“Considering the possibility that the two were together, if they were, their chances of survival increase. I believe both of them are alive.”
Zenemia added, “Yes. Milena is smart. She’s definitely alive.”
Roela murmured, as if comforting herself.
Miles picked up another document.
“And there’s something else strange. The navy’s order to limit search operations came… not immediately after the accident, but two weeks later.”
Zenemia continued, “They started actively searching at first, then suddenly received an order to stop. It’s as if…”
“…they discovered something and wanted to hide it.”
The three exchanged glances.
“What if survivors were found…?”
Roela jumped at Miles’ words.
“Are you saying they’re hiding it on purpose?”
“It’s possible. It would also be wise to have allies within the navy.”
Zenemia pulled out another document from the drawer.
“I’ve already contacted a few trustworthy naval officers. They too found the suspension of the search suspicious. Having long respected the Duke, they will cooperate with us.”
“Good. And?”
“We’ve also sent people to port cities. There’s a chance they drifted to another country.”
If they were still alive but unreachable, it could mean they were far away. Roela asked, eyes bright with hope.
“What about Cyern? Could it be possible there too?”
“Cyern is… too far. They’d have to cross the Sea of Monsters.”
“But it’s not impossible!”
Zenemia and Miles exchanged looks.
“First, let’s check neighboring countries, then we can look into Cyern.”
Roela sighed and sat in her chair.
‘Milena… where on earth are you?’
A heavy silence fell again, broken by Zenemia speaking up.
“One more thing we need to discuss.”
Both looked up.
“Giberta has been acting suspiciously lately.”
“You mean the Duke’s uncle?”
“Yes. Since Your Grace went missing, he keeps visiting the Duke’s household, demanding authority beyond his deputy position.”
Roela frowned.
“That greedy man… Could he be behind this accident?”
“I don’t think it can be completely ruled out. I’ll investigate Giberta further.”
“Not only that. I’ve been reviewing monster sighting reports from the past three months. Fortunately, your uncle works in naval intelligence, so we could get some help.”
“Did you find anything there?” Roela asked.
Miles pulled a small map from his coat. Red dots were densely marked across the northern waters of Luikaron.
“These red dots indicate monster sighting areas. And these are records from three months ago. Comparing them, doesn’t it seem odd?”
Zenemia frowned.
“The monsters… have moved too far south.”
“Exactly. Normally, they should stay at least 200 nautical miles away from the Sea of Monsters’ boundary…”
“Now they’ve approached within 50 nautical miles.”
Roela muttered, uneasy. The abnormal movement of the monsters seemed to indicate something. She traced some points with her finger on the map of the northern waters.
“Ha… this is…!”
Roela turned pale.
“Have you figured something out, Lady Roela?”
“…Poseidon.”
Roela wrapped her arms around herself, a chill fear seeping through her. It was hard to believe she was saying such words. She had never faced it directly, but the presence of monsters had always been threatening.
Being a close relative to the Empress, Roela had at least a vague understanding of Poseidon. She couldn’t pinpoint its exact location, but she knew enough in general. It was a testament to the deep favor she received from the royal family.
Adults often let their guard down in front of a little girl.
Roela had an excellent memory and recalled the stories adults shared. She remembered hearing about Poseidon. For a child, Poseidon was quite an intriguing story. She murmured in a small voice.
“Poseidon is located along the route the monsters are moving southward.”
“That means…”
Zenemia pulled out another map from the drawer, showing the currents of Luikaron waters. While they didn’t know Poseidon’s exact location, they knew that the Great Monster Defense Devices were placed following the currents.
“…It roughly aligns with the current flows.”
“This suggests that someone hasn’t just tampered with the shipping route—they may have tampered with Poseidon itself.”
Roela spoke coldly.
The puzzle pieces were coming together, but the full picture was still unclear. The pieces were too few. They would need to pull out all the connected strands, no matter how tangled, to complete the picture. Until then, they would not stop.
Roela said with a determined expression,
“I’ll find a way to approach Poseidon. Maybe if I convince my father, it’ll be possible. Then the two of you…”
“I’ll try to access naval intelligence again. If I can reach the information even my uncle can’t see, we might uncover something.”
“I’ll continue my investigation as well, keeping an eye on the royal family. If someone tampered with Poseidon and the royal family tries to cover it up, the culprit must be within the palace.”
Silence fell among the three. Darkness settled outside the window.
Like the shadow of a conspiracy looming over the Luikaron Empire.
