Chapter 129
She was kidnapped by an unknown assailant.
‘What?’
Her life is so eventful, one incident after another.
When she was captured, she tried to fight her way out, but the strength of a child was too little. Besides, she is the weakest…
She was overpowered, and she doesn’t remember what happened after she went through the gate.
When did she pass out?
When zns woke up, three days had already passed.
‘Well,’ she thought, ‘my sunfish body has been through a business trade show, an unscheduled presentation, a wizard rampage, and a performance.’
What a way to end a long day! A kidnapping! A kidnapping ending!
“Oh, she’s awake.”
“Hurry up and get the doctor.”
“Medicine, medicine.”
The maids, who had found her awake in the meantime, quickly gave her medicine and called a wizard.
She blinked dazedly as she received the revitalizing and healing magic and saw a completely unfamiliar scene.
The maid sisters, whom she had never seen before, bathed her, dressed her in new clothes, and fed her until morning.
“You’re cute.”
“You’re so quiet.”
“Yeah, I thought she’d be a little more fussier.”
“But is that okay, she’s so calm?”
She was exhausted and didn’t say anything, which must have caused some strange misunderstanding.
“Isn’t it just that you don’t understand what we’re saying?”
“That’s right, Albrecht speaks a continental language.”
“We speak DeLorean.”
She realized the accent was different, a foreign language.
She scratched her head for a moment, stunned by this unexpected mastery of a foreign language on top of her character mastery.
Whatever it was, she was able to piece together the situation from the brief clues in the maids’ conversation.
This was Pythal, the so-called Southern Empire, an Empire on the southern continent that boasted year-round mild weather and rich soil.
“…?”
She asked.
“Uh-uh-uh. You can’t do that!”
“You’ll ruin your hair!”
The maid sisters, who were trying to stop her while she was clutching her head because she didn’t understand why she was here, suddenly went quiet.
Then they all stood in a straight line and suddenly stopped breathing.
The door opened with the sound of heavy footsteps, and a man appeared with a sense of authority that seemed to crush the air in the room.
“Uh…?”
It’s her kidnapper.
The man raised an eyebrow at the appearance of the only face he recognized.
“Uhh.”
She immediately lowered her hand in response to the sharp, scary look, and the man’s expression went blank again.
“…”
“…”
What the hell, this situation.
As she fidgeted with the unknown tension, she made eye contact with the man.
That’s when she saw his jaw slacken.
He said just one word.
“From this day forward, your father is me.”
No, whoever you are, you’re changing my family name.
***
“Oh, him?”
“The absolute ruler of this southern Imperial pact.”
“His Highness the Regent, Archduke Ludwig van Locke.”
The mystery of the kidnapper was solved with the appearance of the maid, who spoke the common language of the continent.
No, why would someone like that?!
“Why would you kidnap me?”
She was so stunned she could barely speak.
‘Do you know me?’
She forgot to be scared and asked, but Regent’s answer was even worse.
“Because you are my daughter.”
Since when does he have such an illusion?
She knew that there were people in the world who saw other people’s children and claimed them as their own, but she never thought it would happen to her.
She was stunned by the sudden change in circumstances, but the kidnapper who suddenly claimed to be her father didn’t seem to have any explanation.
“Make yourself comfortable, this is where you will live for the rest of your life.”
“…?”
Whose place?
“I want to go home.”
Again and again, she said what she wanted, but Regent didn’t even pretend to listen.
“I’ll do whatever you want. Make yourself comfortable.”
She wants to go home, she’s a wimp, she wants to go home!
Part of her wanted to run away.
“I don’t even know how to run away!”
Poof.
The only consolation is that Ether is still clinging to her.
“Oh no, it’s my nephew.”
Apparently, her four corners were badly twisted. Otherwise, nothing that’s happened to her these past few months makes sense.
She wondered if she should go to the temple with her pocket money and ask for a blessing, then stretched out on her bed.
“Mom…”
Is Mehen okay? Is he worried about me?
“… Dad.”
She remembered her immature father.
Hopefully Mehen will be able to talk him down.
***
Halbern Manor.
Mehen was barely holding onto Valar with his casted arm, trying to dry him off.
“Please, calm down!”
On the day of Arellin’s disappearance, Mehen and Valar had realized too late that Arellin was gone.
There were many reasons. The capital had been rocked by a major institutional attack that day,
Valar was trapped by the Crown Prince and the civilians he was with.
That so few people had witnessed Arellin’s kidnapping and disappearance.
It was an exquisite coincidence that it happened just as the rampage had ceased and the settlement had normalized, so no one saw who took her.
Even the wizards of the tower were furious that they had missed their savior.
“Please, please, calm down.”
So it wasn’t until they checked the gate records on the second day of her disappearance that they realized Arellin had been kidnapped.
What should have been a half-day confirmation was delayed by a bombing that paralyzed key institutions in the capital.
Whatever the terrorist group’s intentions, they ended up helping Regent Locke.
Valar barely stopped in his tracks as he realized that the kidnapper was Regent Locke.
Valar’s gaze lingered on Mehen’s casted arm.
“Why is your arm still like that?”
“There were too many serious injuries, and I said I would let it heal naturally.”
“Stop shaking your head and pour a potion.”
“Shivering?”
Mehen narrowed his brow.
“It would help everyone if you recovered quickly.”
Clicking his tongue, Valar took the potion himself and poured it on Mehen’s arm.
“So why did you help that woman? She wouldn’t have died if you’d left her alone.”
“Do you even realize that ‘the woman’ you speak of is the Empress of this country?”
Mehen raised an eyebrow.
“…”
Valar shut his mouth, as if he were about to be scolded. Mehen pressed his temples and sighed, asking.
“I’m not going to ask you to get along with the Empress, so please don’t antagonize her.”
Valar twisted his lips into a smile. Mehen let out another sigh.
“Are you sure Arellin has been captured, kidnapped? Are you sure you can just jump to conclusions like this without checking first?”
“That’s right.”
“…”
Mehen’s face crumpled into a fierce scowl.
“Are you trying to start a real war? Do you think His Majesty will stand for that?”
“Mehen.”
Valar whispered softly.
“He doesn’t care, as long as Ed Albrecht’s territory doesn’t become a battlefield.”
His finely folded eyes were too cold today.
“He doesn’t care what the outcome of the war is, as long as it doesn’t hurt him.”
“…”
“As long as the blood is Halbern’s.”
“Will that do?”
Easier said than done.
Mehen pleaded with a weary smile.
“Valar, are you sure this is the best you can do? I’ll see what I can do. If you can think of another way to…”
“Mehen.”
Mehen looked up at Valar with shaky eyes. His violet eyes were sparkling unnecessarily today, deceiving him.
“Neither he nor I will give up Arellin, not until one of us dies.”
Valar remembered.
The time he’d confronted the human in the back of the auction house.
“Because neither of us can let go of her.”
The half-turned eyes, still haunted by the past.
He wonders how he doesn’t recognize him.
He looks like that himself.
“I’ll bring her back.”
Finally, Mehen’s grip loosened. Mehen had no choice but to let Valar go.
And.
When Halbern forces, including the Knights of Saren, were deployed to the Southern Front, Regent Locke filed an international lawsuit against the Grand Duchy of Halbern for the custody and guardianship of Arellin.
