CH 30

“Excuse me. You’re the Grand Young Lord of Indigentia… right?”

Calib looked up at the merchant with a stick of lemon honey candy one side in his mouth like a child.

Agh, how cute.

Even in the eyes of the merchant, Calib was cute, he said with a warm smile.

“Are you out for a picnic?”

That was a very rude thing to say.

There were no words to overcome the fear of daring to speak to the Great Noble.

“Hey, what are you saying…”

The man next to him looked at the merchant in confusion.

He seemed to like children very much.

His eyes, that were looking at Calib, were dripping with honey sweeter than the one on the candy.

When Calib only glanced at him as if he was puzzled, the man hurriedly took care of it.

“I’m sorry. This friend is mad about children.”

“Aha.”

The man said.

“This is Alonzo. I’m Jordan.”

“Ah, yes. I’m Ellia.”

“Ah, if it’s Miss Ellia…!”

For a moment, Jordan’s eyes lit up.

Does he know me?

“The one who’s going to marry Sir Cedric, who is under a curse! That’s right!”

“Ah, of that rumor! Ah~ right, right!”

Alonzo clapped his hands as if he understood Jordan’s words and said.

I was stunned for a moment, but when I think about it, there was nothing strange about it.

Cedric heavily publicized our marriage.

‘We must nail it down so that other vassals can’t beat it.’

As Cedric said, the more the rumor spread, the more the expressions of those who opposed our marriage, led by Leonard, began to rot.

‘He may find my relatives too.’

I said I had lost the memory of me and didn’t even know if I had a family or why I was living alone in a secluded hut.

Cedric seemed to want to find my relatives somehow.

After all, no matter how contractual it is, if the bride’s guest seat is empty, it will be disgraceful as it is.

But Cedric’s wish won’t come true.

For Ellia was a lonely fairy with no friends, let alone relatives.

Alonzo said with his eyes shining.

“Did you go on an outing before marriage?”

“No, rather than an outing…”

“But the timing was a little off.”

As I grumbled, Jordan said, furrowing his eyebrows in pity.

Then he blinked at the bulletin board on one side of the park.

“Isn’t the Princess of Marinenest missing? So the atmosphere in the capital is very turbulent right now.”

“Yes. There are rooms here and there, and not only the Imperial Knights, but also the enlisted members of other nobles are busy going around.”

At the end of Alonzo’s gaze, which supplemented Jordan’s words, armed knights were limping past.

“In fact, did you know that the Princess was kidnapped?”

Alonzo seemed to be a very sloppy person.

He spoke without hesitation, even though he knew that the person he was facing was the Grand Noble, the Duke of Indigentia.

“Ah, yes. That…”

But, wait.

How do commoners know that Daphne has been kidnapped?

As Alonzo said at the outset, all the rooms on the bulletin boards had it written that Daphne was ‘missing.’

The Marinenest family is one of three families that support the Empire.

Besides, didn’t she even protect the Prince with her Mirror Shield Magic?

If it is revealed that such Daphne has been kidnapped, the status of the Marinenest family will be cracked.

That’s why they insisted that, even in this busy time, she was firmly missing.

Only those with independent intelligence would know that she’s been abducted.

How the hell did the commoner Alonzo know?

As doubts began to form in the corners of my head, Alonzo said as if it was no big deal.

“Actually, when I was selling candy in Elphinium Square earlier. I heard a customer talk.”

“A customer?”

“Yes. The customer saw it.”

Alonzo leaned his upper body towards me and lowered his voice.

“What do you mean?”

At that moment, Cedric, who was going to investigate the surroundings, approached.

Alonzo noticed straight away who Cedric was, but he answered his questions instead of pretending.

“It is said that the carriage of the Marinenest family from the Imperial Castle was teleported by some people!”

“Gasp!”

For a moment, I took a deep breath.

“Even if they were dressed suspiciously with masks.”

Masks!

“I wanted to report it, but you said that you didn’t think it was like kidnapping because it was a duke’s carriage, right?”

“That’s right. It may have been moving secretly, and the area around it was under construction, so they might have moved the carriage because they thought it might be dangerous.”

“Actually, there was no mention of kidnapping in the room posted on the bulletin board, only missing.”

“So. That’s why the customer was also confused about whether it was a kidnapping or not. But no matter how much I think about it, they say that kidnapping is the right answer.”

Alonzo and Jordan said something, but they were so startled that they didn’t listen to me.

Were there any witnesses?

No, it made sense when you think about it.

The nobility is a minority, but the commoners are the absolute majority.

Their eyes and ears are everywhere.

They just don’t have the strength to protect themselves, so they just keep quiet about dangerous things.

Cedric asked.

“Do you remember where the customer who said that came from?”

“Ah yes. I came from the front gate of Elphinium Square. It’s under construction, so it’s clear that it’s on the main road.”

“Yes, the main magic supply route buried under the main road is under construction now.”

Alonzo answered, and Jordan supplemented his words.

“Hmm. I remember seeing the notice. It’s dangerous because of construction, so they’re closing the area around for a while.”

Alonzo nodded broadly at Cedric’s words.

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why no one has come close to it since a few days ago.”

If so, it would be perfect for kidnapping.

Perhaps the coachman was bribed and deliberately drove the carriage in that direction.

“But how did the customer see the scene?”

“Oh, he lives there. He’s currently living in a temporary residence, but he said he was on his way home after a while because he had something he had left behind.”

Alonzo answered my question.

If so, there may be other witnesses.

But wait, didn’t he just say ‘main magical supply route’?

The magic supply route was referred to as the passageway through which the magic generated in the Imperial Castle was transmitted to the residential area.

In modern terms, it is like an electric wire or a communication line.

And to say that it’s under construction means that the ground was dug to check the buried supply route…

There may have been traces of magic left.

I quickly exchanged glances with Cedric.

He seemed to have the same thoughts as me.

I asked.

“Is there anyone else who knows this story?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how many people the customer spoke to… First of all, those who were in Elphinium Square will know at a glance.”

I exchanged glances with Cedric again.

He deliberately spoke more intimidatingly and coldly.

“What you just said won’t be a lie, right?”

Alonzo’s body, which had been smirking at the cool voice and expressionless expression, was firmly disciplined.

“Y-Yes! I haven’t seen it, but one inch! It is a fact without a single lie!”

“T-This friend is clumsy, but he’s not the kind of guy who would put his life on the line!”

Jordan quickly turned to Alonzo.

After confirming the truth over and over again, Cedric pulled out a few gold coins from his pocket and handed them over.

“It was a big help.”

It was also Cedric.

The flattery was very certain.

“Gasp…”

Alonzo was startled, but quickly took the money with both hands.

“I’m so glad that it was helpful.”

He said, looking only at the flashing gold coins.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

We were teleported to the location of the main enchantment route under construction.

***

Although it was clearly indoors, the sound of the refreshing water was heard.

As a possessor of family magic that handles water, his office had a small fountain and an artificial waterfall.

He was none other than Calvados, the head of the Marinenest family.

“Yes. It’s the main supply route.”

“Yes. A commoner who lived there testified, and traces of the use of teleportation magic were found nearby.”

Calvados flicked his finger as he looked down at the head of the aide who was reporting with his head down.

A piercing, sharp sound was heard from the water tank near the desk, and then the image of the square came to mind.

“Main supply route.”

At Calvados’ command, the appearance of the street that appeared in the head changed.

The aide also gave supplementary explanations while looking at the headmaster with a nervous face.

“The main supply route is said to be under construction today.”

“It’s a construction project. Then the magic stone inside the supply route must have been revealed.”

“Yes. It is said that an order has been issued to refrain from using magic in the vicinity as it reacts quickly to the surrounding magic and leaves traces.”

“But they teleported from there.”

Calvados knocked on the handle of the chair, which had been carved with cold crystals.

‘Are they stupid or is it a trap?’

Who was the kidnapper of Daphne, his only daughter, and for what purpose?

Calvados thought for a moment, but the thought didn’t last long.

Even if it were a trap, he was willing to fall into it.

There was nothing he couldn’t do if he could find his one and only precious daughter, Daphne.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Calvados and his aide headed straight for the main supply route.

At the same time, Ellia shook her head and said.

“Yes, there are traces left.”

“Yes. Mana has its own properties. It’s high-level magic, but it’s not difficult to sort out its properties.”

To say that high-ranking magic isn’t difficult, that would be limited to the strongest, like Cedric.

“But if you use magic near a magic crystal like this, it’s easier to tell them apart.”

Calib gave a supplementary explanation.

Ellia knew this too.

Because it was stated in the original work that they exhibited magic crystals to prevent the reckless use of magic in the Imperial Castle.

“So, who is the kidnapper?”

Elliah swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

Depending on who it is, it is determined whether or not Ellia is a really bad fairy.

‘Whether I can break Cedric’s curse or not is decided now.’

Ellia was tense and waited for Cedric’s words.

Then he opened his mouth.

“First, let’s go. There are a lot of people watching and listening.”

“…Yes?”

Elia, who knew that Cedric would immediately reveal the identity of the kidnapper, was bewildered.

But Cedric was right.

So Ellia and Calib held hands again, and teleported to follow Cedric.

Not long after, Calvados arrived at the same place.