Chapter 47
It had been over a month since Florence Love Lindquist went missing.
The Marchioness Baldwin, who had been bedridden for ten days with an unexplained illness, was kidnapped while visiting her family. The abduction of the wife of the most powerful man in the Yulria Kingdom, who also commanded three high-level spirits, was a huge shock. Even in her weakened state, it was unfathomable. She had disappeared from her family’s home, the Seymour estate.
“Who could have done this?”
Linus immediately dropped all his duties upon hearing the news of his wife’s disappearance. Even though it was technically his vacation, it was clear which responsibility he prioritized, whether or not the King had officially granted him leave. His obsession with his wife was well-known.
He left the capital, Redamas, accompanied by a few knights. When the trail of the kidnappers led to the slums, a significant portion of the area was burned down. People started whispering that their commander had finally gone mad.
“Even if it was the slums, burning down streets and killing living people was inexcusable. Especially if it was for the sake of finding his wife.”
“I can’t leave it all to Linus, Father.”
Blake, who had been anxiously fidgeting, suddenly stood up. His breath, as he ground his teeth, was fierce.
“It’s Florence! My sister! Why should we be left behind and unable to participate in the search?”
“Calm down, Blake.”
“How can you stay so calm, Father?”
Blake’s pent-up anger exploded as he slammed his hand on the table. The Duke of Seymour, lifting his eyes briefly to glance at his son, soon lowered them again. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and sank into deep thought.
“Getting angry won’t help us get anything. Control your emotions.”
“But Florence… while we’re sitting here like this, she’s…”
Blake lowered his head, his eyes red with unshed tears. Since Florence had disappeared, he hadn’t slept a single night in peace.
“Florence is not weak.”
“She lost consciousness for ten days due to some unknown illness. She’s not normal.”
“But she’s awake now.”
“She’s just woken up! Nothing is normal with her!”
“Nothing is wrong with her.”
The Duke’s voice carried an eerie confidence. Blake looked at his father, his breath still trembling with anger. The man he had always respected and loved now felt distant and strange. The alienation Blake had felt since Florence disappeared had only deepened.
“This is strange, Father… Why are you acting like this? It’s been a month. A whole month! Linus, that bastard…”
When Florence went missing—no, to be precise, when she was abducted—both the Duke and Blake had been away from the estate. Florence’s visit had been sudden, and even though it was important, they couldn’t cancel their scheduled duties.
“But those are just excuses now.”
Linus had rejected Blake’s offer to join the search and openly criticized him, saying that he couldn’t even protect his wife in their own home, so how could he show his face in front of Florence?
“How can I be blamed for that? Florence willingly walked out.”
Grace coldly interrupted, but Blake couldn’t accept that. His sister had just gotten up from a long illness. She had even lost all her memories a few years ago overnight. He should have anticipated that she might not be fully okay.
“Grace is the same. What is she doing traveling now, when we don’t even know if Florence is alive or dead?”
“Don’t blame her, Blake.”
“Everything is wrong! Damn it, what kind of knight commander can’t even protect his wife…”
Blake’s words were left unfinished. His criticism of Linus returned to him like a boomerang. After all, he too was part of the court magicians and had failed to protect his sister.
Blake sank back into his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. His head felt heavy, and his eyes felt as though they might fall out. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep, not knowing when the news of Florence’s whereabouts would arrive.
“Why did it come to this? What went wrong?”
Everything had been perfect. Before Florence collapsed, they had been enjoying perfect happiness. A perfect family, perfect siblings, perfect household. Everyone envied how much they cared for and loved each other.
“They always say there’s no such thing as perfect happiness, but Blake always thought his family was an exception.”
They were happier and more perfect than anyone could see. He thought this hard-earned happiness could never be shattered…
There had been tough times in the past, small misunderstandings that caused tension. But because they had gone through those hardships, Blake had vowed never to let anything break this happiness.
“But then…”
Florence suddenly collapsed, and during the ten days she was unconscious, Blake realized the line between them. Florence Seymour no longer existed. His sister had become Florence Love Lindquist, and he no longer had the right to take care of her as he once did.
“The search for Florence was left solely to Linus.”
Blake felt his frustration and helplessness grow as he realized his position.
“What frustrated him more than the lack of progress in the search was his father and Grace’s reaction.”
The Duke had never lost his composure since hearing the news of Florence’s disappearance. He went on as though nothing had happened. Grace, even worse, only shrugged and said, “Linus will find her.” After that, she completely withdrew and left on a trip.
“This is just like… “
“Just like five years ago, before Florence lost her memories…”
Blake anxiously pressed his trembling legs down. He didn’t want to return to that hellish time. He had been thankful many times that Florence had lost her memory, grateful for the miraculous opportunity to break the toxic cycle of hatred.
“Toxic relationships always start with small misunderstandings, growing uncontrollably like a snowball rolling down a cliff.”
“That girl stole our mother away, Blake.”
The trigger was a single sentence from Grace. After the baby’s first cry, they received news of their mother’s passing. Their father had cried in the early morning, saying the midwife had pulled the baby from their deceased mother’s body. She had died from the agony of childbirth, and the baby was born from a corpse.
“Words are truly strange and terrifying.”
After hearing their father’s sobbing, Blake began to see the little baby as a living corpse. The demon, the devil that had torn their mother apart. As a child, he had often felt disgusted seeing Florence suckling from the nanny’s breast.
But Blake was somewhat better than Grace.
Grace was much worse.
Grace had always been a particularly sensitive child. She had a rich imagination, but she was quick to anger and lacked patience. She was violent and had caused the Duke of Seymour much distress in trying to correct her temperament. Even their mother had worried about Grace until the very end, fearing she would one day cause serious trouble.
