Chapter 22

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Holding the letter in his hand, Alexis looked around the room slowly. Except for the disappearance of the owner, the bedroom looked peaceful, as if nothing was wrong.

A bed lined with a clean blanket without wrinkles.

Light pink fluffy slippers underneath.

A vase full of fresh flowers.

A white shawl draped over a rocking chair.

“Find her.”

“We have already looked all around the area. We’ve looked all the way to the maze in the garden, wondering if she might have fallen somewhere, but she was nowhere to be found.”

“Do I have to repeat myself?!”

As the Master’s voice rose, Alsdorf felt dizzy.

No matter how much he thought about it, the Madame must have been shocked and disappeared after finding out about the western hunting grounds.

He could not have guessed how the Duke of Walten would react if he found out about this.

“Did the maid disappear too?”

“No. Emily also informed me that she had only found out this morning that Madame was gone.”

“Bring her.”

Alexis headed to his office. Feeling like he was suffocating, he threw off his cravat angrily.

Even after taking the medicine, his heart was beating anxiously. Alexis thought it might be a side effect and didn’t think much of it.

“Sir, I brought her.”

The maid, brought by Alsdorf, had swollen eyes.

“Since when did your owner disappear?”

“F-From this morning. I just prepared breakfast and went to wake up Madame, but she wasn’t in bed. Not in the bathroom, not in the garden…”

“That is a fact I have already heard. There is no need to say it over and over again.”

Said Alexis, who cut off the maid’s words as she gasped for breath as she reported.

“What about the priest?”

“What?”

“I asked where the priest who taught scriptures to Kathleen was.”

“Priest Joseph left two days ago because he had to attend a training.”

Alexis ordered Alsdorf.

“Send someone to Delafos.”

“I will.”

He looked back at Emily.

“Did you look at all the places where Kathleen could go?”

“Yes, I have already looked all over the mansion. I searched everywhere from the small storage in the kitchen to the garden in the annex, but Madame was not there. She didn’t bring any money or clothes…”

“And outside of the Duke’s mansion?”

“……Madame, she has no place to go except for the Duke’s residence.”

Emily’s voice, which had been silent for a moment, grew a little more intense.

“My wife never went to any other places unless it was the Imperial Palace or social gatherings she had to attend.”

“Then there’s a good chance she’s at the Temple.”

He muttered as he sat down on the chair.

Emily felt quite certain that the Duke of Walten was saying words to reassure himself that Madame was not gone. It was as if he wanted to believe that Kathleen was still here.

“We don’t know, she might be praying there.”

Alexis suddenly remembered the trembling light blue eyes that had been asking who Edith was. He felt cramped.

“Get out.”

Emily looked like she was going to say something but then just bowed her head. The headache, which he thought had been cured by temporary measures, came back again.

“I, sir.”

Alsdorf, who he thought had left, hesitated and came closer.

“Do you have more to say?”

“I think I should tell you. Madame learned of Miss Edith’s existence.”

“I know. She came to the Duke’s mansion, and the Viscount Rylent took her.”

It was unexpected, but Edith would never have spilled the secret.

“And that night she went to the western hunting grounds as well.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. She said that if I didn’t tell her where Edith was, she would ask you herself.”

Frowning at the sharp pain that pierced his head, Alexis took a vial from his arms and took a sip.

The drug passed through like sharp pieces of ice scratching his throat.

The headache quickly disappeared.

Alsdorf carefully described the situation in detail.

“When she came back that night, she didn’t look very strange. Emily also said that she looked calmer than expected. So I thought that Madame didn’t meet you and Miss Edith. But I didn’t think she would disappear so suddenly…”

Alexis thought as he tapped his finger on his mahogany desk.

‘Did she finally let go of my hand?’

She was a suspicious woman from the beginning. He married her for the purpose of keeping her by his side and spying on her. He thought that it would happen one day, so it wasn’t unexpected.

He didn’t know why he was feeling so empty.

‘Her behavior in the Carmine Mountains was an attempt to win my favor.’

Even after returning to the capital, he was confused for a long time because her actions seemed sincere. But as expected, that wasn’t it either. Seeing that she disappeared right after Edith’s visit, not at any other time.

He was so moved that he felt pathetic.

‘If you disclose the story you overheard in the hut to the outside, there’s no turning back.’

After neatly wiping out any other possibilities for Kathleen Winston, Alexis came to a conclusion after a while.

He said in a low voice.

“Send part of the 1st Regiment of the Imperial Knights to the Imperial Palace. She couldn’t have gone too far.”

“That order…!”

The Walten family, a branch of the Imperial Family, was specially given the power to enlist men in the capital, but never in its history had there been more than one unit.

But Alexis Walten was an exception.

He had the authority to lead not only escort knights, but also combat knights since he had always been at the forefront of battles in the border region.

Sending the knights to the Imperial Palace meant an all-out war with the Imperial Palace.

“Sir, the sun has set. If you send the 1st Regiment at this time, the Imperial Family will not sit still.”

“I have to stop the story before the Empress’s ears can hear it.

“Duke!”

“If you find Kathleen, tell them to bring her right away.”

It was critical.

Alsdorf was forced to comply and withdrew.

The armed knights left, and time passed.

As the night progressed, the tension in the duke’s residence steadily increased as if they were at war. No one slept comfortably, and even a sip of water could not be easily passed.

Only Emily, who was Kathleen’s handmaiden, cried as she hit her chest.

The moon rose and sank.

Only after the sun had risen did the knights return and report.

“For three days, including last night, no outsiders have been in and out of the Imperial Palace. No one is circling around, especially the Duchess, who was said to have no record of entry.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. His Majesty the Crown Prince allowed the inquiry and confirmed it. It is clear.”

No cloaks were allowed to be worn when entering the Imperial Palace. With her looks so striking, it was impossible for her to infiltrate even if her entry and exit records were manipulated, especially in times of increased security like these days. Even the Empress’ hands couldn’t reach that far.

They also investigated the prince’s movements, but he never came out of the palace.

The labyrinth was endless. After thinking, he got on a horse.

“I am going to Delafos. Let the knights prepare for an ambush around the Temple to find her traces.”

He had already sent his men, but he had to hurry if she really escaped by going there.

When Duke Walten arrived alone without prior contact, the high priest of Delafos, who had been training for a long time, was stunned and ran out.

“Your Grace, what did you come here for?”

The Duke of Walten had never been in any Temple of the Empire, not just Delafos. Even though he was of the Imperial Family, he did not attend the New Year’s ceremonies several times, so he was accused of blasphemy. But, suddenly, without even an attendant, he came here.

“I’ve come to see Priest Joseph.”

“Are you talking about Joseph? The child is now training… Your Grace!”

Alexis, who headed to the training center without listening, seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.

Bang-!

In the meantime, Joseph, who had been stuck alone in a small room for three days neglecting his training, looked at the sound of the door being smashed.

“Duke?”

The face of Duke Walten, who was busy examining the room without making eye contact with him, stood stiff.

“What are you doing here?”

“Priest Joseph, I have something to ask you.”

“Is it urgent enough to personally come yourself?”

It was just absurd that he used to be treated as an invisible person at one time, and then ran directly to him saying he had something to ask. In any case, the high priest stood there watching, so he could not say anything profane.

Joseph got up, thinking that the Duchess must get very tired dealing with her husband.

“Ask. I will tell you anything I know.”

“It disappeared from the duke’s mansion.”

“What?”

“Do you know where it is?”

“What the hell did you lose for you to actually come here?… And how in the world would I know where it is when I don’t even know what it is?”

“You are the last outsider to see it.”

“Are you suspicious of me now?”

[T/N: As you guys may already know, they aren’t big on pronouns, so when Alexis was speaking here, it wasn’t clear if he was referring to a person or a thing. Joseph assumed it was a thing.]

Joseph was very embarrassed and was about to raise his hands. He thought the duke came to ask him for a reading like a fortune teller or a prophet, but instead he was being treated like a thief, which was even worse.

“I didn’t take anything out of the duke’s mansion!”

“Can you swear?”

“Of course! I am a servant of God working in Delafos. I do not covet anything that is not mine in the first place.”

“I hope that’s true. I’ll search the Temple.”

“What? Your Grace!”

With those words, Alexis left the newly appointed Delafos priest. The High Priest chased him in despair and protested, but soon the knights arrived and he had to retreat as they searched the Temple.

“Nothing, my lord.”

“No outsiders were allowed access to the Temple either.”

However, the results of the investigation were unexpected. Alexis returned to the duke’s residence, feeling even more depressed.

“Alsdorf, Kathleen?”

As soon as he entered the main building, the old butler felt that the situation had taken a turn for the worse.

“…She hasn’t come back yet.”

Alexis went up to her bedroom with a hardened face. Her bedroom was still empty. Alsdorf followed up and reported.

“As ordered, we searched and checked Madame’s belongings, but nothing was missing. Money, jewelry, land documents, even clothes and shoes in the dressing room are the same.”

“Did she disappear naked?”

His heart sank.

He thought for a moment that she had been kidnapped, but he quickly changed his mind.

The security in the duke’s residence was not lax. She left on her own will.

‘Maybe she wanted to appear kidnapped.’

The idea was to expand the suspects to the Empress and Count Winston. He was just about to summon the 2nd Regiment’s Knights Commander. When a maid, Emily, came in.

She was still crying, her nose was red.

“Master, there is something she brought with her.”

“What is it?”

He would be able to track her destination according to the things she took. The flow of money is easier to understand, and if she has taken the gifts from the Imperial Palace, she could call in a jeweler who handles stolen goods.

“The things she brought with her when she came to the Duke’s residence six years ago.”

But the words that came out of Emily’s mouth were unexpected.

“She took all the things she used when she shared the room with me. Nothing in Madame’s room was touched, and she took all the clothes, shoes, combs, apron, etc. she was wearing back then… They were all old things.”

Her trembling words eventually turned into tears. Emily sat down on the floor.

At those words, as if water was poured onto Alexis’ head, all his assumptions and reasoning that he had built up until now crumbled.

‘Why?’

After that, only doubts came to mind.

‘Why did you take only those?’

The money, goods, and rights he threw at her were countless. She never turned them down and received them all. But she didn’t take any of the Duchess’s belongings, only all the old things she had used while working as a maid?

“Shall we summon the 2nd Regiment Knights, Your Grace?”

The old butler, who has served Alexis for over 20 years, promptly noticed his intentions and asked him.

“Do that. Extend the investigation throughout the Empire.”

Opening his motionless mouth, Alexis barely commanded that. He thought that if he caught her soon, her reasons would be revealed as well.

However, Alexis Walten could find no trace of Kathleen even though he did everything he could to find Kathleen Winston.

Three years passed like that.