“The Villainess Kidnapped the Archduke’s Heir”
The child hesitated to answer. As Milena patiently waited, Ashdel hugged the rabbit doll tightly and finally opened his mouth.
“A man and a child. I think the kid was a boy. He had the same hair color as the woman.”
He’d only glimpsed the side of the child, but the one in Lariette’s arms looked just like her. Unlike Ashdel, the boy had striking golden-blonde hair.
“Auntie… is that why Mom’s not coming back? Because she has another child now?”
Milena was too stunned to speak.
“No way… She had a child with the Tower Master?”
She bit her lip, afraid she’d start cursing without thinking.
“I wouldn’t care if she was with another man. But seeing her with a child… that really shocked me. That’s why I wanted to go and ask her about it. But she disappeared so quickly.”
Milena could see the wound in Ashdel deepening. What was Lariette even thinking? Did she know her own child was hurting like this?
Frowning in pain, she gently brushed Ashdel’s hair back.
“That must’ve really hurt. My poor Ash.”
“It’s okay. I still have you, Auntie.”
Ashdel seemed to have learned how to suppress his emotions—something no child should have to do.
“You’ve grown up too fast.”
To her muttering, Ashdel pouted and replied,
“I just grew up quickly, that’s all. Auntie.”
“That’s right. My nephew is a genius.”
The boy smiled sheepishly at her praise, and she smiled back. Her face showed a smile, but inside, her heart was boiling.
I’ll find your mother and make her apologize.
She’d tried not to get involved with her sister, but it seemed like she had no choice. She needed to drag Lariette back and get the full story.
She placed a kiss on Ashdel’s soft, round forehead.
“Sleep well.”
Maybe it was because he had let out his feelings—Ashdel soon drifted into peaceful sleep again. As Milena got up to leave, she suddenly felt a strange gaze and turned to look at the rabbit doll.
Weird. It felt like the rabbit was staring at her.
Unconsciously, she patted the rabbit’s head like she did Ashdel’s, then moved to the next room.
“Toto, let’s go to sleep now.”
The gleam in the doll’s eyes vanished the moment Ashdel hugged it tightly again.
The western region was desolate and dry. Beneath dust-covered black hair, silver-gray eyes brimmed with solitude. Duke Calion Luxen moved his arm with cold detachment.
A scream died out in the whistling night wind. Through the crumbled brick wall, the barren desert stretched beyond.
In one hand, he held a sword. In the other, a letter.
The handwriting appeared to be his wife’s—but it was fake.
He had read and reread it before realizing the truth. The name used in the letter wasn’t the pet name Lariette used for him. He’d only just noticed.
Blinded by his desperate yearning to find her, he had overlooked the details. But as his feverish obsession cooled, he began to see what he’d missed.
“They planted this letter.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who’s behind it?”
“We haven’t identified them yet.”
Without emotion, Calion pulled the sword from the corpse at his feet. He had followed the fake letter, supposedly written by Lariette, all the way here.
Someone had orchestrated this to lead him into the middle of nowhere. With so many enemies, it was hard for the duke to pinpoint who.
“Your Grace! Urgent news!”
A falcon descended from the night sky, landing on a knight’s arm. The knight approached, untying the scroll from the falcon’s leg. At Calion’s gaze, he read it aloud.
“The young master has gone missing.”
“Ashdel?”
Calion’s eyebrows shot up at the unexpected report.
“It’s assumed that Lady Lastia has also disappeared. They’re believed to have left the duchy together.”
Sigh.
Calion pressed his tired eyes with a hand. So she finally left. A woman who had lived with him for five years.
No—tolerated was the right word. If not for Lariette’s request, she would’ve been exiled or executed long ago.
“Can I ask you one favor?”
“Say it.”
“Milena. Please give my sister a chance, even if she makes a foolish decision. She’s just clumsy. Please take care of her.”
That had been Lariette’s last request before her death.
When she took her final breath, it felt like the entire world stopped. The breathtaking woman who had ensnared his heart had died, leaving only her memory behind.
Why? Why had she gone to such lengths?
The questions circled endlessly, without answers.
Faking her death—was even her illness a lie?
The heart that had raced wildly upon learning she was alive was now slowly freezing over.
I thought I needed nothing else as long as I had you. But where did you run off to?
“Shall I order the search party to include the young master as well?”
Calion, lost in memories, opened his cold eyes.
His men expected him to issue a warrant for Milena Lastia. They all assumed, “That villainess finally went mad and kidnapped the duke’s heir!” But the order that followed was unexpected.
“No. Don’t search for them. He’ll take care of himself—leave them be.”
“Then… Lady Lastia…?”
“The only one you need to worry about is the duchess.”
He was saying that Milena Lastia wasn’t even worth his concern.
His subordinates bowed in response.
They felt it made sense to ignore the villainess, but not to overlook the heir’s disappearance. Even so, no one dared to speak.
Calion looked over the dusty expanse and said,
“We need to hire the information guild.”
Wandering around aimlessly like this was a waste of time. He was willing to spend as much gold as needed—the priority was finding Lariette. Or rather, seeing her again.
Locking her in the castle and chaining her so she could never leave again—he could plan that after finding her.
“Which guild should we contact?”
“Hart.”
The largest and most influential information guild in the empire.
“I’ll look into it. Should I commission them for information about the duchess?”
“No. I need to meet the guild master.”
The Hart Guild’s leader was shrouded in mystery. It was said he never left the capital and was not someone just anyone could meet, regardless of wealth or power.
But Calion was determined to meet him face to face.
He cleaned the blood off his sword and turned away.
“To the capital.”
In the western border village, an inn lay half-destroyed. A scene of carnage. Or rather, a one-sided massacre.
After the duke’s group left, only a chilling silence remained.
From the shadows, a man stepped out. He pulled out paper and pen from his coat and wrote a quick report:
“Western branch half-destroyed. All guild members dead. Duke Luxen heading to the capital.”
He whistled, and a small white wren popped into the air with a soft poof—a magical messenger bird used by mages.
It consumed too much mana, so even mages rarely used it. But the man had special permission, as he couldn’t use mana or magic orbs.
The tiny bird landed on his palm, grabbed the rolled message in its beak, and swallowed it whole.
“Please,” the man said, stroking the bird’s head with his large finger.
The bird nodded and vanished with another soft poof.
The man turned to clean up the scene.
The duke’s group hadn’t realized—they had just killed Hart’s own guild members.
The guild members had kept their identities hidden, even in death. Their loyalty to the guild master was unwavering.
Known as “Number Two” by the crown prince, the man closed his eyes briefly in mourning.
Poof—a small wren appeared.
It tumbled through the air and fell—plop!—right on someone’s red head.
“Ah!”
Gerard caught the bird in his hands just in time.
“Why do you always fall on my head?!”
The bird, nearly crashing to the ground, lifted its tiny wings and mimed wiping sweat from its brow.
After catching its breath, it gagged and coughed up the rolled message.
“Ugh, gross! I told you to carry it in your beak—not swallow it!”
Still grumbling, Gerard unrolled the damp scroll.
“My lord.”
Lexion, arms crossed and expression serious, turned toward Gerard’s call. The wren fluttered and landed on his shoulder.
“A message from the west.”
Its job complete, the wren dissolved into mist on Lexion’s shoulder.
“So… the shadow knight proves useful.”
The archduke had resurfaced—right after he began murdering their guild members in rage.
We failed to protect them. Tch.
Everyone under the guild was a precious asset. The loss was massive.
Apparently, Calion had realized Lariette’s letter was a fake.
“So?”
Lexion scowled as Gerard delivered the rest of the message.
“The duke is headed to the capital.”
Thank you very much