Chapter 73 - The Kidnapping

Kais was kidnapped? I didn’t understand. “Why? Why would they kidnap Kais?” I couldn’t stay put. I tried to run out of the office but the Grand Chamberlain blocked my path. “I’m going to Daddy.”

“You cannot leave the room. His Majesty told me to keep you safe.”

“Move aside! I have to go!”

“You can’t, Your Highness. My life will be in danger if you leave this room.” When did Miltiades become such a caring father? I was both happy and upset at the same time. What a pain! But I couldn’t let the Grand Chamberlain die.

“…Fine,” I backed down, and the Grand Chamberlain seemed to relax.

“I want something sweet.”

“Alright, I’ll bring some desserts. Please wait here.”

“Okay,” I replied. But as soon as the Grand Chamberlain left the room, I bolted out of my seat. Did he really think I would sit here quietly? What a fool! “Luciana!”

“No.”

I stared at Luciana with sparkling eyes when I came into the office and she frowned, “You’re going to do something dangerous, right?”

“No. I would never.”

“You can’t.”

“You’ll be there with me. I won’t do anything dangerous,” I begged. Luciana stared at me for a while, and then followed after me. Although I felt sorry for the Grand Chamberlain, I needed to do this. I left the room and was walking towards the detached palace when Ludwig came running over. “What happened in the detached palace?” I asked him.

“Someone deliberately staged a riot in the survivor camp and kidnapped Kais.”

“Who?” Ludwig shook his head.

“Do you know where they went?”

“That way,” he pointed.

“Let’s go.”

I wouldn’t let anyone snatch the male lead from me. I hadn’t even made him happy yet! “The kidnapper and Kais probably haven’t left the palace yet.” I looked up and noticed the barrier surrounding the palace. It was usually invisible, but now I could see it clear as day. If I could see the barrier, then this must mean that someone was making a ruckus on purpose. “What will you do about the riot?”

“You already know who started it. Just capture them and it’ll die down,” I said. My dad was going to the scene anyway. Ludwig nodded at my words. “Kais is our top priority right now.” I was glad that I had placed a blessing on Kais, just in case. I walked towards some flowers in the path and blew on them, “Take me to him, butterflies.” To the one with the same divine power as me. The flower petals flew out of my hand and turned into butterflies, which flitted away. “He’s over there.”

Ludwig was dumbfounded for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses and carried me in the direction of the butterflies. I prayed that nothing had happened to Kais. I thought the kidnapper would flee the palace, but we went deeper into it. We followed a path that I didn’t know existed and entered a ruined area that didn’t look like it was part of the palace at all. ‘What is this place?’

I didn’t even know there was a place like this in the palace. Amidst my shock, I realized it was getting darker all around us. This was a strange sign. It didn’t take long for chills to run down my back. “Ludwig!” I signaled for him to stop, but it was too late. Our surroundings became pitch black. When I was able to see again, Ludwig had disappeared.

“Ow, that hurts,” I had fallen when I got separated from Ludwig, and my knees were bleeding. When I turned around, I realized I was inside a barrier. I could barely see in the darkness. To think someone made a barrier in the palace. That would explain why they hadn’t been caught yet.

As I kept walking, I started to smell blood. “Ugh,” I saw the sheen of a white sword on the ground amidst the darkness. There was a puddle of blood, and I could see two red eyes in the shadows. I felt the bloodlust of a starved beast, and when our eyes met, my breath stopped for a moment.

“…It was you.”

A familiar face emerged from the darkness. Claud walked to my side with blood dripping from his blade. “How could a famed paladin stoop this low?” He was the complete opposite of when I last saw him. It was hard to even recognize him.

“This…is…all…because of you!” his voice sounded like the growls of a beast.

“All because of me? What is?”

“Because…of you…I…!” A blackish-red aura spilled out of Claud’s body. I recognized it. It was Magi. Someone was making him go berserk…

“I was baptized anew! I met a god who gave me all the power I want!”

“There’s no such god. And that’s not your power. If you keep using it, you’ll end up…”