Chapter 132 Search
Yassen described the day’s events in as much detail as possible. He had succeeded in defeating the first group, who had used a sleep-scented tool, but then another group appeared.
They used poison gas, and while Yassen himself was immune to the poison and was fine, Jediel was not, so he had to give up Jediel in order to get the antidote.
After speaking, Yassen bowed his head deeply, unable to keep a straight face.
– I’m going to the capital right now. I’ll be there as soon as I can, will you wait for me?
“Of course, Your Excellency.”
“I’ll be waiting for you, so be safe.”
– Okay.
The transmission ended with a grim look at Killion. Onyx paced restlessly in his office, while Yassen sat with his shoulders slumped in a frown.
***
Veronia’s eyes widened at the unexpected news. Thump, thump, thump, her heart racing, her strength drained from her as if all the blood that had been boiling in her veins had evaporated. She looked up at Killion, her face blue with anguish, and cried out.
“My Jediel, huhu… how could anyone do such a thing to that child, why, why would anyone…!”
Tears streamed from her eyes. They burned in her chest, hot and painful, like arrows of fire. Killion gently pulled her into his arms as she trembled pitifully against his chest.
Jediel was Veronia’s alter ego, and Killion felt sick to his stomach that he had failed to protect her again.
Stroking the small of her back, Killion spoke up.
“Nothing will happen to Jediel, because we’ll find him, and Onyx and Yassen will help us find him, and we’ll find him together, you and I and Onyx and Yassen are all trustworthy, so don’t worry.”
“But… I’m scared, and if anything happens to Jediel, I… never forgive myself.”
The sight of Veronia looking up at him and sobbing made Killion’s heart ache. He wiped away the tears running down Veronia’s cheeks and said.
“For now, we need to go to the crime scene and look for clues.”
“It’s…”
“Kidnapping a child means… must want something, money or whatever. They’ll contact us first, so we need to be ready.”
Killion was right. Veronia nodded. Now was not the time to be crying here. She had to rescue Jediel. They had to find him before he was consumed by fear.
Veronia wiped away her tears and stood up. Her arms and legs, which had been trembling like a shaky ash tree, steadied.
“Let’s go.”
They explained the situation to the Count, Evangelina, and Windler and left the castle.
Riding at full gallop and using the teleportation tunnel, they reached the capital in three hours. The whole way to the capital, Veronia couldn’t stop thinking.
‘Who did this to me? What do they want? Do they want something from me? Or Killion?’
Several faces flashed through her mind. Chief among them, of course, were her family members in the imperial household. Jonathan, Sandra, and Tate.
‘They must have heard of my appearance. Jonathan was probably the first to know, so of the three, he’s the most likely to have arranged it. But the other two could have planted an informant or two, so we can’t be too sure.’
Her foggy mind gradually cleared. With a clear target, it was much easier to formulate a plan.
‘Who is it? Who is trying to get me in trouble? Who would be most unhappy to see me back?’
At first, Jonathan, who kept me up to date on events in the south, was the most likely suspect – after all, he’d killed the Emperor, so why not another blood relative?
‘No, it could be Sandra or Tate, or one of the nobles in league with them. They always feared Killion’s growing power.’
Suddenly, there were too many enemies. Just yesterday, the world felt warm, and now, in the space of a day, it seemed 180 degrees different. Veronia was bitter.
‘Jediel, Mum and Dad will save you, so please, my son… don’t be so scared, be brave and stay strong. Please!’
Heat rushed to the corners of her eyes again, but Veronia gritted her teeth and held back the tears. She couldn’t cry until she found Jediel and held him in her arms again.
***
Deep in the darkness of night. Veronia, Killion, Onyx, and Yassen made their way to the scene of the crime.
“My God, how could we have done this!”
“We shouldn’t have brought Jediel here. It’s our fault. We should have gone to the Duke mansion to see him!”
Huhu, Luisa and Hugo sobbed and blamed themselves. Their wrinkled faces looked a decade older with the anguish in their hearts. Veronia smiled weakly and spoke softly.
“Please don’t say that. You know very well that it wasn’t your fault. It was Jediel’s attack, and it was their fault for planning such a heinous crime against a child.”
“Nia…!”
“I’m still sorry. I’m so sorry!”
“… I told you not to be.”
Veronia gripped Luisa and Hugo’s trembling hands firmly. She would never forgive them for making her precious, grateful people cry with self-pity.
“Really, don’t worry. We’ll get Jediel, we’ll get him back. Killion is the Chancellor of this Empire, there’s nothing he can’t do.”
Veronia wanted to reassure Luisa and Hugo; she couldn’t let them see her in pain. She explained slowly, hoping her sincerity would reach them.
“And the fact is… Onyx is the Vice Guild Master of the Intelligence Guild, and all information within the Empire must enter his guild; Yassen standing there is a Shadow Knight beyond the limits of his body; there is no one who can defeat him in a one-on-one fight; and I…”
Veronia paused, took a deep breath, and spoke again. She felt it was only fair to reveal her identity to Luisa and Hugo, who hadn’t asked any questions after seeing her changed form.
“My name is Veronia Boynson, Princess of the Asnerdom Empire, and I’ve been living as Nia Lampert, hiding my true identity, but not anymore.”
Luisa and Hugo’s eyes widened at her confession. Their faces turned as white as a sheet, as if they had forgotten to breathe. Veronia continued.
“I’m going to show the fearless ones who dared to mess with the Princess’s family their true colors, so… please don’t worry and wait.”
Her question sobered Luisa and Hugo, who exhaled the breath they had been holding and opened their mouths.
“Oh my… you’re Nia… Your Highness, the Princess of Veronia!”
“I always thought Nia… was special, but I never knew… was an Princess.”
“I’ll always be Nia to you two, nothing changes, so please treat me as you always have.”
Veronia hugged Luisa and Hugo tightly. But she soon realized.
She wasn’t hugging them, they were hugging her. Tears that she had vowed never to shed until she found Jediel again burst from her eyes.
***
They retreated to the Guild offices in Onyx to put their heads together. Piece by piece, they pieced together the circumstances and evidence, but there was still too little to go on.
Killion looked at the water-scented smoke bomb he’d recovered from the crime scene.
“That’s strange. Why did they leave this one behind and only take the poison gas smoke bomb?”
The sleeping grenades were left at the scene, but the poison gas grenades were nowhere to be found. It felt awkward to have taken only some of the used smoke bombs.
When asked by Killion, Yassen replied.
“I sensed it when I confronted them, but I think they were two different groups. The one that used the poison gas smoke bombs seemed to be formally trained, and the aura they emitted was quite intimidating.”
“So… are you saying that the other two groups attacked on the same day?”
“It seems so.”
Veronia, sitting next to him, opened her mouth. Disappointment dripped from her voice.
“These sleep-scented smoke bombs are a fairly common type of wand, so I don’t think we’ll be able to find the wandmaker and its buyer based on this evidence alone.”
“… I see.”
Dark shadows fell over everyone’s faces, and then the door opened and Onyx walked in. He looked furious.
“All of my captors are dead. Apparently they were hiding poison capsules in their mouths. It’s a nasty poison that crushes the faces of the dead, and it’s the work of a very professional group.”
“…”
For a moment, a heavy silence descended on the office.
