Chapter 87…
The next morning.
It was chaos.
When Madam Laval opened her eyes and found that Elli was gone from the room, she nearly fainted on the spot.
The guard standing watch at the door also nearly fainted.
“What?! Her Majesty isn’t in her room?!”
Rilkia, who was just coming to switch shifts, heard the news and nearly fainted as well.
She barely kept herself together out of duty—finding Her Majesty came first. But no one here wanted to faint more than she did.
The inn instantly turned into an emergency zone.
“Search every corner! Her Majesty is the master of hide-and-seek!”
Elli—who had successfully escaped Rilkia’s notice even in that empty training ground yesterday.
Inside a building with this many hiding places, she could hide so thoroughly that no one might ever find her.
‘But would she play hide-and-seek without saying anything?’
Hide-and-seek was just Rilkia’s desperate hope.
It was a mental defense mechanism to avoid connecting the situation with the most horrifying possibility.
“She’s not in the room… I searched all the way down to the bottom of the luggage bags….”
Madam Laval reported with tears streaming down her face.
Rilkia wanted to cry too.
But crying would have to wait.
Finding Her Majesty came first.
“Did you not hear her leave the room at any point?”
“I slept so deeply last night that I didn’t wake up even once… Ah, it’s my fault. What do I do? Even if I was tired, I should’ve stayed alert!”
That went for Rilkia as well.
Even if she collapsed after arriving, she should’ve stayed awake and guarded the door herself.
“Oh no, what do we do, our poor queen. Maybe she just hid somewhere to play a prank? Or maybe she got curious about outside the palace and snuck out?”
“…Let’s keep looking.”
She didn’t have the strength to comfort Madam Laval.
Her mouth felt dry, her voice cracking.
Rilkia bit her lip and sharply scanned the inside of the inn.
Only a few minutes had passed since they discovered Elli was missing. If they kept searching, they would find her. She wasn’t the type to recklessly cause trouble.
Maybe the guard had dozed off briefly. Maybe in that moment, Elli had gone to the bathroom….
Rilkia yanked open the bathroom door.
“…….”
The empty bathroom showed no sign of Elli.
Rilkia’s pupils trembled violently, like tripping over a stone.
‘No way…?’
Is she really not here?
Did she really disappear?
A buzzing flickered inside her head.
Her vision blinked between bright and dark.
‘Not yet.’
Rilkia forced herself to remain calm, looking through the inn again.
Morning had barely begun.
Outside the window, heavy rain made everything dim and dark.
With this much rain, there was no way Elli went outside alone. She had to be somewhere inside the inn.
‘But she’s NOT!’
If she didn’t leave on her own…?
Rilkia’s mind spiraled toward the worst.
‘Kidnapping? Assassination? Abduction? Or vaporized by magic?’
Any of these were things that could happen to Elli.
Because Elli was not an ordinary seven-year-old girl.
She was the queen of a country.
Kidnapping, assassination, abduction—she was the most likely target.
Rilkia’s fear peaked.
“Captain, she wasn’t seen on the first floor either. Not in the kitchen or dining hall. We’ve sent people to check the other buildings.”
“Search the roof, the terrace, and the bathrooms on the other floors.”
Rilkia was burning black—and now starting to crumble into white ash.
Her voice, soaked in rising despair, made Madam Laval sob even harder.
“Your Majestyyyy…!”
“Your Majestyyy!”
“We should have slept beside Her Majesty!”
Beside them, Bavian and Jurna were also crying in their pajamas.
Rilkia swallowed down another wave of tears and looked up at the ceiling.
“Maybe Her Majesty was lonely because she couldn’t fall asleep alone… sniff.”
“We should’ve hugged her to sleep… waaah!”
Bavian and Jurna’s cries only grew louder.
With nerves stretched to the breaking point, Rilkia raked her hand through her hair, looking away so she wouldn’t snap at them.
“……!”
Then Rilkia’s eyes landed on the one place they hadn’t checked.
The Duke Berndt’s room.
A place guards couldn’t enter freely—and barging in could cause real trouble.
Even the Berndt knights stood only outside the door so as not to disturb his sleep.
Rilkia’s eyes met Dulsen’s in the air.
“…No way.”
“…No way?”
Instead of a greeting, they exchanged “no way.”
Both turned toward the door behind them.
“…No waaay?”
“…No waaay….”
Their eyes met again, filled with tension and… a sliver of hope.
No way, no way, no way—yet “no way” quietly turned into “maybe.” If “maybe” could turn into “definitely,” that would be even better.
“This is the only room we haven’t searched yet, Captain.”
“I know that, Commander.”
“…….”
“…….”
Multiple layers of authority, pride, and responsibility collided between the two adults in that silence.
Normally they addressed each other casually, but now they used full formal titles.
It was as good as acknowledging the danger—entering the Duke’s room without permission was a serious matter.
But they no longer had the luxury to hesitate.
“Let’s call for the Duke first. It’s about time he woke up anyway.”
“…Very well.”
Dulsen loosened his stiff neck and leaned closer to the door.
“My lord Duke. It is morning. Time to rise.”
“…….”
Rilkia watched with a pounding heart.
No answer.
“My lord Duke! It is morning!”
Dulsen raised his voice.
“Please wake up! My lord Duke! Are you well?!”
Rilkia banged on the door alongside him.
But still—silence.
“…Huh? Usually he wakes at the slightest noise.”
Anxiety crept over Dulsen’s face.
“My lord Duke? Duke Berndt?!”
Still no reply.
They wanted to blame the rain muffling the sound, but Cleas was especially sensitive on rainy days.
“…No way. Did something also happen to our Duke…?”
“…No way…”
The two looked at each other again, mumbling.
All color drained from Dulsen’s face.
The Duke was nearly as important as the king.
Why had they assumed he would be safe?
“…Should we open it, Captain?”
“…Give me a moment. I need a deep breath, Commander.”
Normally, no one opened a door to wherever the Duke stayed.
Even outside his manor, the room where he slept was considered his territory. Entering without permission was akin to declaring war.
But the queen was missing. This was an emergency.
Dulsen clenched his teeth and decided.
“…I’m opening it.”
He grabbed the doorknob, imagining the worst.
Their Duke bound hand and foot by intruders…
Their Duke collapsed under an assassin’s blade…
Their Duke being thrown out the window…
All kinds of tragic scenes filled his head.
“My lord Duke!!”
“Your Majesty!!”
The two burst into the room ready to neutralize any attacker at once.
Shhhhhh—
But instead of a fierce battle, the sound of rain greeted them.
They froze at the doorway.
“…….”
“…….”
What met their eyes was… soft and peaceful.
Two children asleep in one bed, hands clasped, foreheads touching.
Gentle breathing.
Their soft breaths filled the room, blending with the sound of rain—perfectly unaware of the chaos outside, peaceful beyond words.
Adorable.
Angelic.
Beautiful.
But Rilkia had no space in her mind for such tender thoughts.
“YOUR MAAAJESTYYYYY!!”
Her scream had a bit of blood in it.
Rilkia shouted as if coughing up her soul.
“Ugh…?”
Startled awake, Elli opened her eyes wide.
The oppressive heat of the adults surrounding the bed was intense.
“What is… h—!”
Beside her, Cleas felt the presence and sat up abruptly, flustered.
This had never happened before.
He trained himself to stay sensitive even while asleep.
But last night, between the thunder and lightning that kept him up late, the sound of rain, and Elli’s warm presence beside him, he had fallen completely unconscious. Enough not to notice someone entering the room.
“Ah, this is, um.”
Cleas recovered faster than Elli.
He quickly pieced together what was happening.
“Explain. What is the meaning of this, Duke Berndt?”
Rilkia’s voice was icy.
