Chapter 43
“What on earth is happening?!”
Diana snapped back to herself as Luery gripped her arms.
There was no time to collapse. She had to find Icel.
“I think Icel’s fallen into a trap…! We have to save her, Luery!”
Luery quickly understood the situation.
“You said she went to the Tower?”
“Yes…!”
“Then she must’ve taken the road toward the Sansveria Mountains. Even if they used mana tunnels, they wouldn’t have arrived yet. We can catch up if we follow the road.”
“We’ll need a horse to check the carriage route.”
Diana fetched one swiftly, and with Luery’s help, they teleported straight to the mountain path.
Mounted together, Diana practically clung to Luery, but there was no time for shame.
“Hold tight!”
They rushed down the path.
“Gasp…”
Diana spotted the overturned carriage first.
“Icel!”
She leapt off the horse and ran to the carriage, flinging open the door—
Bloodstains filled the interior. She covered her mouth in horror.
A groan nearby—
“Jackson!”
Their coachman was injured. He explained the carriage had flipped due to a loose wheel.
“This bolt… someone tampered with it.”
“Only Alicia could’ve done something like this.” Diana ground her teeth.
But she had to focus. Icel and Belinda were missing, which was oddly comforting—it meant they had survived.
“If one of them was injured, they would’ve gone to the nearest village. Let’s teleport there.”
“Thank you, Luery.”
“Save your thanks for after we find her.”
They arrived near the clinic.
“Go in—I’ll bring the coachman.”
Inside, Diana found a heavily bandaged Belinda.
“Belinda!”
“We put her to sleep to remove the shards.”
“Was there a young girl with her?”
“Yes, but she left a while ago…”
Belinda awoke.
“Your Grace… Icel wasn’t hurt. She even supported me here… I’m sorry…”
Diana was relieved but immediately grew frantic again.
“Where is Icel?!”
The doctor confirmed: Icel had gone out and hadn’t returned.
Diana dashed outside—
“Icel’s not in the clinic… and she’s been gone for a while!”
Luery returned with the coachman and reacted quickly.
“She can use magic. There must be traces.”
He released his mana. Red mana spread across the path like fireflies—then a signal.
“This way.”
Traces of wind-attribute mana appeared—not Icel’s ice-type.
“She doesn’t use wind, right?”
“No… but the kidnapper might.”
“Then the culprit knew Icel could use magic… Alicia or Catherine must’ve hired someone.”
“A Tower mage wouldn’t do this… but I know someone exiled for similar work.”
“One who uses wind magic.”
Realization flashed in Luery’s eyes. He offered Diana his hand, and she took it firmly.
“Nngh…”
Icel awoke in a dark, filthy shack. Her mouth was gagged, and her hands tied behind her back.
Fear and confusion clouded her thoughts—this was her first true kidnapping.
“Not again…” The feeling of being helpless, trapped, like she once was under Catherine.
But then she remembered—
Her mother.
If she died, Diana would suffer losing her again. That terrified her more than death.
“I have to survive.”
She wasn’t wearing flashy clothes—her mother had chosen a modest dress to help her blend in.
“It wasn’t a random kidnapping. It was planned.”
She tried releasing mana through her bound hands, hoping to cut the ropes.
But then—
“Tsk. I wanted to finish this before you woke up.”
The robed man entered the hut, eyes gleaming beneath the hood.
