I Will Disappear, Grand Duke

It was to appear like an ordinary outing that Julia chose to leave in the morning when everyone was awake.

After leaving the castle, Julia headed to the square at the center of the city.

There, she switched to a private carriage, determined to leave no clues behind. Only then did she proceed to the monastery where Cedric was.

“You’re here. I’ve been waiting.”

As she entered the small monastery, a tall man greeted her as if he had been expecting her.

It was Cedric in his true form, not the appearance of a child.

Julia nodded and approached him. His green eyes, filled with the essence of nature, looked at her gently.

“Lady Julia, those who came with you are not part of your group, are they?”

“What?”

Julia’s eyes widened at the sudden question. Cedric nodded, seeming to understand the situation.

“There are people who followed you here. They seem to be armed knights.”

Julia, wide-eyed, quickly turned around. Could it be that the escort knights, who she thought had disappeared, were still lingering?

Naively, she believed Fernan had truly lifted the surveillance, which was why she was able to leave without delay.

Why hadn’t she considered the possibility of being watched secretly from behind?

As Julia touched her lips with a troubled expression, Cedric smiled lightly, as if to reassure her.

“Don’t worry too much. Sir Mateus sent me to prepare for such an occasion.”

With that, Cedric gestured for her to follow him. Yulia followed behind him with a tense expression.

The knights noticed something strange around dusk.

Despite the passing time, Julia had not come out of the monastery.

As the evening deepened, one of the knights finally stepped into the monastery.

A priest, who was tidying up one side of the chapel, approached the knight who was looking around with a serious face.

“Is there something you need?”

At the priest’s question, the knight quickly replied.

“I believe the Grand Duchess, Her Highness, visited here. Where is she now?”

“What is your relationship with Her Highness?”

“I am one of Her Highness’s escort knights. It’s getting late, and we need to return soon. Where is Her Highness?”

The priest glanced suspiciously at the knights, who were speaking anxiously.

“The Grand Duchess left the monastery before evening.”

“What?”

The knight’s face turned pale as he blinked in confusion.

The knights then sought the priest’s permission and began searching the monastery, looking for Julia.

They even checked the faces of the priests one by one, but Julia was nowhere to be found.

Having found no trace of her, the knights left the monastery and began searching the surrounding area.

* * *

Two days had passed since Julia disappeared.

The staff at the grand duchy were in a panic due to the mistress’s absence.

Bennett urgently sent a message to the border area, but due to ongoing battles, the message did not reach Fernan.

Thus, two more days passed without any progress. It was around that time that the message finally reached Fernan.

Fernan’s soldiers had succeeded in invading the enemy’s base after several battles.

While organizing the border area, Lloyd rushed into Fernan’s tent.

“Your Highness!”

Fernan, wiping blood from his sword, turned around indifferently. Lloyd, catching his breath, spoke calmly.

“A message has arrived from the grand duchy. It concerns Her Highness…”

Before Lloyd could finish, Fernan snatched the letter from his hand.

As he read the contents, his expression hardened.

The letter stated that Julia had been missing since her outing two days ago.

“The letter arrived two days ago, which means Her Highness has been missing for a total of four days.”

Fernan, as if unable to grasp the situation, stared blankly at the letter.

Julia had disappeared. That couldn’t be true.

Fernan, who had been standing still for a long time, handed the letter back to Lloyd.

With a dark look in his eyes, Fernan silently walked outside.

“Your Highness?”

Lloyd, who was about to stop him, hesitated. He realized that Fernan’s demeanor was unusual.

“Lloyd, I leave the rest to you.”

With those words, Fernan left the tent and headed to where the horses were kept.

He mounted his horse with a swift, efficient movement and began riding quickly.

Fernan’s face was calm, as if he couldn’t believe the situation.

Suddenly, Julia’s last words flashed through his mind.

‘I will wait for you.’

Her blue eyes, looking at him with a soft smile, had held no deceit.

She had said she would wait. She had surely said she would wait…

Gritting his teeth, Fernan tightened his grip on the reins. The journey from the border to the duchy would take at least half a day.

He crossed the desolate land at an abnormal speed, driven by a mounting sense of unease. His heart pounded wildly.

* * *

Fernan arrived at the duchy by morning. As soon as he returned, he deployed all the knights to search the entire territory.

He also summoned the knights who had lost track of Julia at the monastery and began interrogating them.

“Tell me exactly what happened. Where and how did you lose her?”

The knights, intimidated by Fernan’s presence, stammered as they spoke.

“We, we’re terribly sorry, but we never took our eyes off Her Highness for a moment. Therefore, we can’t figure out at what point she disappeared…”

“I asked where and how you lost her, not for excuses.”

Fernan’s voice was threatening, as if he was ready to draw his sword. The knights, shrinking back, quickly answered.

“At, at the monastery in the Radel district.”

“The Radel district?”

“Yes, we clearly saw Her Highness enter, but strangely, she didn’t come out even after evening passed. So we went in to check, but the priests said she had already left long ago…”

Fernan, glaring at the stammering knights as if he would kill them, slowly replied.

“The priests at the monastery might be involved. Capture and interrogate them to find any traces.”

“Yes, yes!”

After sending the knights back to the monastery, Fernan headed to Julia’s room.

The room, kept meticulously tidy, felt cold and empty from being unoccupied for days.

Fernan searched every corner, from the bedroom to the dressing room and the bathroom. However, he couldn’t tell what was missing.

He knew nothing about Julia.

Although Fernan believed she wouldn’t have run away on her own, that assumption was also uncertain.

Biting his lip in frustration, Fernan suddenly thought of the maid who used to stay by Julia’s side.

He went outside and called for Bennett, asking about the maid’s whereabouts. Bennett responded with a troubled expression.

“Well… she’s currently on leave and has returned to her family.”

Fernan’s brows furrowed deeply. Of all times, she had taken a leave now.

Gripping the railing as if to break it, Fernan gave a calm order.

“Find that maid. Immediately.”

“Yes, yes.”

Bennett hurriedly bowed and left, and Fernan began to organize the situation.

Everything was suspicious. The maid taking a leave right when Julia disappeared. The knights who foolishly lost track of Julia.

But most suspicious of all was Julia herself, disappearing just when he was away.

Melissa returned within a few hours.

She stood trembling in front of Fernan, her head bowed.

“Did you know your mistress had disappeared?”

“N-no… I-I just heard…”

Melissa looked pale with shock. She had rushed back to the castle as soon as she heard the news from Bennett.

Fernan spoke in a threatening tone.

“Tell me everything you know. Did Julia show any signs of unusual behavior?”

“Well, actually… I was a bit puzzled when Her Highness suddenly gave me leave…”

“And?”

“And… on the day I left, I saw Her Highness coming out of the central bedroom on the second floor. She had never entered that room before…”

Fernan narrowed his eyes. The central bedroom on the second floor was intended for the couple to use together.

It was a room that had never been used to the extent that he had forgotten about its existence.

Passing by Melissa, Fernan headed straight to the second floor. Finding the door locked, he swore harshly.

With one kick, he broke the handle and entered quickly.

His piercing gaze scanned every corner of the room.

Entering the adjacent room, he frantically searched through the cabinets and shelves, then gradually slowed down.

In a lavishly decorated jewelry box, one of the two slots was empty.

Fernan took out the remaining ring. It was his wedding ring, with a gem set in the center.