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Chapter 92
Ring did not return until the moon had risen high into the sky.
The villa gradually became filled with anxiety. Unable to stay in one place, Eluana paced restlessly before finally opening the door to Ring’s room.
Inside, the only thing hanging there was Eluana’s riding outfit.
The Spes family crest was embroidered prominently across the chest in gold thread, while each sleeve of the jacket had three gold buttons.
Ring had prepared it for tomorrow.
“…Ring.”
“He’ll be fine. He probably just got lost.”
Anne, who had followed her, tried to comfort her, but Eluana weakly closed the door and turned away.
Her anxious footsteps carried her toward the reception room.
Kazhar and Rain, who had been looking over the map, raised their heads.
They noticed Eluana, but neither of them could bring themselves to speak first.
Unable to stand the increasingly gloomy atmosphere, Thing shouted,
“Weed! Why haven’t we heard anything?”
Rain was offended.
“Weed?! You’re calling someone’s precious hair a weed?! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into fixing my hair every morning?”
“A well-groomed weed.”
Thanks to the two of them, the stiff atmosphere eased somewhat, but Eluana’s anxiety did not.
Just then, two members of Edelweiss who had gone looking for Ring entered the reception room.
The sight Eluana had been hoping for—Ring—was nowhere to be seen.
“We found this on the back road behind the Crystal Cave.”
What the member brought back was Ring’s hairpin.
Eluana felt as though her entire body had frozen.
The hairpin, decorated with tiny emeralds, was the one Eluana had put in Ring’s hair herself.
Sally had disappeared.
Hans had been kidnapped.
And now Ring, too…
“Was he taken?”
The air inside the reception room became suffocatingly heavy.
Eluana’s gaze fell on the map lying on the table.
The entrance to the iron mine, drawn right in the center, came into view, making her dizzy for a moment.
“It’s because of me. Because I brought her here…”
“They probably kidnapped her without knowing she was your maid.”
If they discovered that Ring was Eluana’s maid, there was no telling how they would react.
They might kill her and dispose of the body somewhere to avoid leaving a trail, or they might use her as a hostage to set a trap.
Kazhar picked up the sword he had set aside.
“We need to move before they realize we know. Unless you’re willing to abandon your maid.”
The chirping of insects and the sound of the wind rustling through the branches felt eerie in the darkness.
Hidden among waterberry vines, Eluana and Kazhar caught their breath.
Two patrolling soldiers passed not far away.
The closer they got to the iron mine, the more frequently they encountered soldiers on patrol.
Once the soldiers’ presence had completely disappeared, Eluana asked in a small voice,
“Isn’t there a stealth artifact that lets several people see and talk to each other?”
“There is, but it’s a low-grade one, so it’s easy to detect.”
That made sense.
If such a good artifact existed, the entire world would be overflowing with thieves.
Thing and Rain, who had been hiding in the bushes behind them, approached.
“Let’s go again.”
Taking Thing’s words as the signal, the four of them continued up the mountain path, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible.
The operation itself remained unchanged. They had simply moved up the schedule.
Kazhar glanced at Eluana walking beside him.
She was wearing riding clothes instead of her usual dress, but the mountain terrain was steep and treacherous.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine. I can walk.”
“Tell me if it gets too difficult.”
Instead of answering, Eluana nodded.
The path gradually became rougher.
The weeds that had initially reached their knees now came up to their waists.
They had been walking for quite some time when—
“Duck.”
At Kazhar’s quiet command, everyone immediately hid beneath the bushes.
Lying flat against the dirt with only their eyes moving, they sensed something approaching in the distance.
Soldiers wearing light armor and carrying swords at their waists slowly approached.
“Ugh, I’m getting stiff.”
“We’re switching shifts after one more round. Let’s hurry.”
The two men chatted casually as they walked away.
Once their presence had completely disappeared, Kazhar stood first.
“We need to be more careful from here on.”
The group exchanged glances and continued forward carefully, making sure not to make a sound.
Only after passing four more patrols did they finally reach a position overlooking the iron mine.
The moment Eluana saw it, she had a strong feeling.
That’s the place.
About ten soldiers were gathered near the entrance, sitting close together.
Their voices carried through the night.
“Still no reply from Flad.”
“Did you write the address wrong? Your handwriting is terrible.”
“No way. I checked it several times.”
“I’m thinking about going back home like Flad. I’ve saved up quite a bit of money by now. The pay is good, but not being allowed to go outside is driving me crazy.”
“You should make as much money as you can while you have the chance. Who knows when this job will end?”
“That’s true. But why are we even guarding this place?”
“What difference does it make? Maybe they hit diamonds while mining iron ore. People like us just need to do what we’re told and collect our pay.”
“If I’d known the pay was this good, I would’ve brought some of my friends.”
“They’d probably curse you out. The food here tastes absolutely awful.”
The soldiers laughed and started talking about which meals had been the worst.
Kazhar, who had been observing the situation, pointed behind them with a finger.
The group retraced their steps and stopped once they were far enough away from the soldiers.
Hidden beneath the shade of a tree, Kazhar confirmed that they could no longer hear the soldiers’ voices before speaking.
“Stay here. Rain and I will check the entrance first.”
When Kazhar stood up, Rain took a step backward.
“I’ll go alone. His Highness isn’t very good at moving stealthily.”
“There could be danger.”
“We just need to check whether there are traps. That’s my specialty. You’ll only get us caught. If I move quietly, there’s no reason they’ll notice me, and there won’t be any danger.”
Eluana, who had been listening to their exchange, asked Thing,
“Thing, can you move stealthily?”
“My other nickname is Stealthy Thing. I’m very stealthy, you know.”
“Then go with Rain and come back. Kazhar and I will stay here.”
Thing eagerly stepped forward.
“If that’s an order. You heard her, Weed Head? Come with me. If anything happens, I’ll protect you.”
Rain grimaced and hurriedly accepted the ring-shaped artifact from Kazhar.
“I’ll just go alone.”
“No need to refuse. If something goes wrong, you’ll have trouble getting out with your rat-dropping amount of aura.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Rain was about to press the stone on the ring with an impatient hand when he noticed the whip wrapped firmly around his arm.
He looked miserable.
He was trapped.
“I’ll be back in a flash.”
Thing cheerfully turned the stone on the ring Rain was holding.
The two of them vanished.
Kazhar and Eluana relaxed their postures slightly.
“They seem to get along well.”
At Eluana’s comment, Kazhar made a face that seemed to ask, Where?
But he didn’t say it aloud.
Eluana stared at the entrance to the iron mine illuminated by torches.
“It’s probably because of mana affinity.”
Eluana turned her head at Kazhar’s words.
“Hm?”
“Your maid had the talent to become a mage.”
Kazhar had also said that Sally seemed to have the talent to become a mage.
“Do you think they’re kidnapping children with magical talent and gathering them inside the iron mine?”
“That’s the most likely possibility.”
Kazhar continued,
“The inside of the iron mine apparently looks like an ordinary abandoned mine. I told them to go ahead and explore a little farther in.”
“Hm?”
“I’m connected to them through the communication artifact. Rain too.”
Eluana felt somewhat relieved.
Even if something went wrong, they had a way to contact them.
“There’s no way it’s an ordinary abandoned mi—”
“Shh!”
Kazhar raised a finger to his lips and lowered his body.
Eluana instinctively crouched as well, and soon she began to hear something.
What’s that sound?
The sound of horse hooves.
A four-wheeled carriage was coming up the road leading to the entrance of the iron mine.
At the same time, the entrance became noisy.
The soldiers who had been sitting casually on the ground straightened up and took their positions guarding the entrance.
Several of them picked up torches hanging on the wall, preparing to welcome the carriage.
Something seemed about to begin.
“Let’s get closer.”
At Kazhar’s words, Eluana nodded and activated the stealth artifact.
Then she reached out, grabbed Kazhar’s hand, and pulled it toward herself.
Kazhar flinched in surprise but did not pull away.
Still holding hands, they approached the iron mine.
Then they saw someone getting out of the carriage.
Eluana inhaled sharply when she saw the person stepping down from the unmarked carriage.
Even through the flickering shadows cast by the torches, the face was unmistakable.
Shavia?
The revealed face unquestionably belonged to Shavia.
“That’s the Marquis Pegimul’s daughter.”
Kazhar recognized her immediately as well.
“So that’s why Fotio was in this territory. He came here with Shavia.”
“The Pegimul family also has a villa in Tuna Territory.”
Eluana’s face twisted.
Considering everything that had happened, it meant the people behind the criminals kidnapping the children might be none other than the Marquis Pegimul family.
The Pegimuls again.
“Welcome.”
One of the soldiers greeted Shavia.
“You’ve all been working hard.”
Shavia smiled sweetly at the soldier before passing the entrance to the iron mine and heading down a side path.
“She’s going somewhere else?”
Eluana had expected Shavia to enter the iron mine, so confusion appeared on her face.
Without realizing it, she began following Shavia.
Kazhar looked down at his hand, which was being dragged along by Eluana.
She really is oblivious.
Her grip was so firm that he was helplessly pulled along.
Eluana fearlessly passed between the soldiers, following closely behind Shavia.
Kazhar fidgeted with the hand she was holding for no particular reason.
The more he did so, the more firmly Eluana tightened her grip.
Even while hurriedly following Shavia, Eluana understood that if she let go of Kazhar’s hand, his stealth would be broken.
The dew-laden night air brushed against Eluana’s hair before reaching Kazhar.
The night air carried the scent of lavender.
It was a fresh, invigorating fragrance—so vivid that it made his heart tremble.
