“The lady has disappeared!”
The knights who had been waiting with him on horseback nearby heard the panicked voice and looked at him.
“What nonsense.”
The castle entrance was brightly lit and the castle walls seemed to be struggling, but the drawbridge was slow to come down. He glared at the bridge that was still halfway open.
“Hey!”
Kaian grabbed the reins, wrapped them around his arm, and galloped in the opposite direction of the castle.
“My lord!”
“Where are you going?”
The knights who had been released at the thought of arriving followed him in panic.
However, Kaian turned his horse a short distance away, spurred on his spur, and began to gallop at full speed.
The knights following him hissed and retreated to the side of the road to avoid him.
“That can’t be.”
His head was boiling as if he had poured oil on it and set it on fire.
“Claudel can’t do that.”
It had only recently been confirmed that he had Claudel’s heart.
So he thought that she couldn’t have abandoned him again.
“Ugh!”
“My lord! Stop!”
The knights who had remained near the moat were shocked to see him riding into the gaping moat in the darkness.
“Get out of the way!”
When Kaian pulled the reins, the fine horse flew through the air and jumped onto the bridge that was still a third of the way down. He almost fell halfway down the still quite steep bridge, but he didn’t care and jumped off his horse as soon as he passed through the gate.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Kaian felt a cold rage radiating from his body. The soldiers guarding the castle gate were at a loss, their faces looking exhausted.
“My lord.”
The butler called him with a stern face.
Kaian hurried his steps and headed into the castle.
"Explain."
"I was looking for the lady and the baby because they were missing."
"Do you think that makes sense?"
Kaian asked sharply.
"The soldiers you placed in front of the door are probably decorations."
"That's..."
The butler hesitated for a moment.
"It seems Madam gave the soldiers medicine."
"...What did you say?"
He quickly climbed the stairs. When he arrived in front of the mistress's room, the captain of the castle guard was standing there reprimanding his men. The guards were startled at seeing Kaian indignation.
"Since when has she not been seen?"
"I, I don't know."
"You don't know?"
The soldiers bowed their heads as they saw Kaian eyes turn even redder with anger.
"What on earth did you do when you couldn't even do something like this properly?"
The captain of the guard stepped forward in place of his men.
"I apologize, my lord. You ordered me to guard the door, not to watch over the lady.”
Kaian clenched his teeth.
Crunch.
There was a small grinding sound.
What the captain of the guard had said was true.
Claudel didn’t seem too pleased with the fact that so many strong men were standing in front of her door the whole time.
“I hardly ever leave my room. I would like you to hand over the guards.”
“Why?”
“I have to be careful when I come and go.”
“Why do you have to be careful? And you have to think about the baby’s safety.”
When he said that, Claudel didn’t bring it up anymore.
He had told her to think about the baby because the situation was unstable.
Kaian wanted to tell her how he felt.
Going back through the tangled knots from before, he came across the incident where Burbrook had broken into her room. The reason he hadn’t been able to properly explain the situation to Claudel at the time was that several things had become so complicated that he didn’t have time to figure out which was worse.
How hurt and scared Claudel must have been when she heard that he would kick her out after the marriage period, even though she was pregnant, and that he would send her to another man.
Thinking back to that time, everything he said and did was the worst.
So, unlike before, he deliberately brought in more guards to show her that he cared about her and had something to show off.
The purpose was to look good to Claudel.
The guards weren’t there to watch. They were ordered to keep the stern guy from entering her room, and not to follow Claudel around wherever she went.
When the captain of the guards took their side, the hunched guy opened his mouth.
“The madam called us aside today to congratulate us.”
“She suddenly gave us tea, saying that we had worked hard, so we drank it.”
“When I came to, I found them leaning against the wall and dozing off.”
“They were lying down, sleeping.”
He felt miserable as he listened to the guards’ complaints, trying to save them.
Kaian felt a pang in his temples as if they were being stabbed with needles.
“Search?”
Damn it. He’s saying that cursed word again.
“We found her missing not long ago, so we were just assessing the situation.”
“Wake up all the servants and maids. Search the castle thoroughly.”
As he entered the room, it looked deserted, with no trace of her having stayed there. Kaian shut his mouth tightly as he looked at the neatly wrinkled bedding.
‘You gave the guards medicine and took the baby out?’
At this hour of the night?
And while I was away?
Kaian headed to her dressing room.
A butler with oil lamps quickly followed him and illuminated the room.
“Ha.”
Incredibly, several of the dazzling jewels that she had not touched when she ran away while pregnant were noticeably missing from their full storage.
Kaian’s eyes turned bloodshot as he looked at them.
“That’s right. You may want to say you don’t need my help, but you can’t let the baby starve.”
She even took the jewels out because she thought of a frugal and easy way to live.
All of this was evidence that she had planned her departure very carefully.
“The patrol knight that was patrolling the castle in the evening saw her in her room after the drawbridge was raised.”
“Then where could she be hiding? She hasn’t left the castle yet...”
At that moment, the old memories suddenly came to mind.
The fact that he had told Claudel the secret entrance to the castle.
“Damn it.”
Kaian ran out of the dressing room and into the hallway.
“Butler. Take the soldiers and go to the woodcutter’s house.”
“Master. The woodcutter’s house? That’s what I mean.”
The butler, who knew the secrets of the Temnes family better than anyone else, looked surprised.
“I told her.”
Kaian put his hand on his forehead.
He had not felt tired when he had been riding without resting properly, but now he felt like he was going to die.
“It must not have been that long since she disappeared. I will follow her inside. She might not have been able to get out of the passage.”
At that moment, Madame Cronach and Hannah came running in, their clothes disheveled.
“Kaian. Claudel is gone. What are you talking about?”
When he saw Madame Cronach, he was even more shocked.
‘Leaving her real mother here?’
Kaian couldn’t understand.
The people who disappeared were Claudel, the baby, Madame Lepel, and the nanny.
How should he accept this configuration?
“Claudel is not here? What should I do?”
Kaian frowned.
“I’m also looking for the baby!”
The next moment, the man’s face, which had been roughly disheveled after returning from a trip to the dusty wilderness, became eerily cold.
“...My lord.”
“I’m also looking for the baby!”
The next moment, the man’s face, which had been roughly disheveled after returning from a trip to the dusty wilderness, became eerily cold.
“...My lord.”
The knights who had been waiting with him on horseback nearby heard the panicked voice and looked at him.
“What nonsense.”
The castle entrance was brightly lit and the castle walls seemed to be struggling, but the drawbridge was slow to come down. He glared at the bridge that was still halfway open.
“Hey!”
Kaian grabbed the reins, wrapped them around his arm, and galloped in the opposite direction of the castle.
“My lord!”
“Where are you going?”
The knights who had been released at the thought of arriving followed him in panic.
However, Kaian turned his horse a short distance away, spurred on his spur, and began to gallop at full speed.
The knights following him hissed and retreated to the side of the road to avoid him.
“That can’t be.”
His head was boiling as if he had poured oil on it and set it on fire.
“Claudel can’t do that.”
It had only recently been confirmed that he had Claudel’s heart.
So he thought that she couldn’t have abandoned him again.
“Ugh!”
“My lord! Stop!”
The knights who had remained near the moat were shocked to see him riding into the gaping moat in the darkness.
“Get out of the way!”
When Kaian pulled the reins, the fine horse flew through the air and jumped onto the bridge that was still a third of the way down. He almost fell halfway down the still quite steep bridge, but he didn’t care and jumped off his horse as soon as he passed through the gate.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Kaian felt a cold rage radiating from his body. The soldiers guarding the castle gate were at a loss, their faces looking exhausted.
“My lord.”
The butler called him with a stern face.
Kaian hurried his steps and headed into the castle.
"Explain."
"I was looking for the lady and the baby because they were missing."
"Do you think that makes sense?"
Kaian asked sharply.
"The soldiers you placed in front of the door are probably decorations."
"That's..."
The butler hesitated for a moment.
"It seems Madam gave the soldiers medicine."
"...What did you say?"
He quickly climbed the stairs. When he arrived in front of the mistress's room, the captain of the castle guard was standing there reprimanding his men. The guards were startled at seeing Kaian indignation.
"Since when has she not been seen?"
"I, I don't know."
"You don't know?"
The soldiers bowed their heads as they saw Kaian eyes turn even redder with anger.
"What on earth did you do when you couldn't even do something like this properly?"
The captain of the guard stepped forward in place of his men.
"I apologize, my lord. You ordered me to guard the door, not to watch over the lady.”
Kaian clenched his teeth.
Crunch.
There was a small grinding sound.
What the captain of the guard had said was true.
Claudel didn’t seem too pleased with the fact that so many strong men were standing in front of her door the whole time.
“I hardly ever leave my room. I would like you to hand over the guards.”
“Why?”
“I have to be careful when I come and go.”
“Why do you have to be careful? And you have to think about the baby’s safety.”
When he said that, Claudel didn’t bring it up anymore.
He had told her to think about the baby because the situation was unstable.
Kaian wanted to tell her how he felt.
Going back through the tangled knots from before, he came across the incident where Burbrook had broken into her room. The reason he hadn’t been able to properly explain the situation to Claudel at the time was that several things had become so complicated that he didn’t have time to figure out which was worse.
How hurt and scared Claudel must have been when she heard that he would kick her out after the marriage period, even though she was pregnant, and that he would send her to another man.
Thinking back to that time, everything he said and did was the worst.
So, unlike before, he deliberately brought in more guards to show her that he cared about her and had something to show off.
The purpose was to look good to Claudel.
The guards weren’t there to watch. They were ordered to keep the stern guy from entering her room, and not to follow Claudel around wherever she went.
When the captain of the guards took their side, the hunched guy opened his mouth.
“The madam called us aside today to congratulate us.”
“She suddenly gave us tea, saying that we had worked hard, so we drank it.”
“When I came to, I found them leaning against the wall and dozing off.”
“They were lying down, sleeping.”
He felt miserable as he listened to the guards’ complaints, trying to save them.
Kaian felt a pang in his temples as if they were being stabbed with needles.
“Search?”
Damn it. He’s saying that cursed word again.
“We found her missing not long ago, so we were just assessing the situation.”
“Wake up all the servants and maids. Search the castle thoroughly.”
As he entered the room, it looked deserted, with no trace of her having stayed there. Kaian shut his mouth tightly as he looked at the neatly wrinkled bedding.
‘You gave the guards medicine and took the baby out?’
At this hour of the night?
And while I was away?
Kaian headed to her dressing room.
A butler with oil lamps quickly followed him and illuminated the room.
“Ha.”
Incredibly, several of the dazzling jewels that she had not touched when she ran away while pregnant were noticeably missing from their full storage.
Kaian’s eyes turned bloodshot as he looked at them.
“That’s right. You may want to say you don’t need my help, but you can’t let the baby starve.”
She even took the jewels out because she thought of a frugal and easy way to live.
All of this was evidence that she had planned her departure very carefully.
“The patrol knight that was patrolling the castle in the evening saw her in her room after the drawbridge was raised.”
“Then where could she be hiding? She hasn’t left the castle yet...”
At that moment, the old memories suddenly came to mind.
The fact that he had told Claudel the secret entrance to the castle.
“Damn it.”
Kaian ran out of the dressing room and into the hallway.
“Butler. Take the soldiers and go to the woodcutter’s house.”
“Master. The woodcutter’s house? That’s what I mean.”
The butler, who knew the secrets of the Temnes family better than anyone else, looked surprised.
“I told her.”
Kaian put his hand on his forehead.
He had not felt tired when he had been riding without resting properly, but now he felt like he was going to die.
“It must not have been that long since she disappeared. I will follow her inside. She might not have been able to get out of the passage.”
At that moment, Madame Cronach and Hannah came running in, their clothes disheveled.
“Kaian. Claudel is gone. What are you talking about?”
When he saw Madame Cronach, he was even more shocked.
‘Leaving her real mother here?’
Kaian couldn’t understand.
The people who disappeared were Claudel, the baby, Madame Lepel, and the nanny.
How should he accept this configuration?
“Claudel is not here? What should I do?”
“I don’t know. I’ll search for now.”
“Search? Where did Madam go with the baby?”
Kaian answered coldly to Hannah’s sharp voice.
“I want to ask.”
However, he quickly decided that they wouldn’t be of any help.
The elite knights who had crossed the drawbridge followed him as he quickly went down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. The lights in the castle kitchen were off because of the confusion, and only the stove that had been lit was dimly lit.
He vividly remembered the day he had brought her here.
The woman who was pregnant and sleeping was in front of him, so he brought his work and watched her in the bedroom. When she woke up in the morning and said she was hungry, he brought her food into the kitchen and showed her the water-boiling device in the castle as if it were some kind of new thing.
‘Yes. At that time, I thought that she might have something to avoid with the baby that was about to be born.’
If something happened to Kaian, the responsibility of protecting the succession and building the territory would fall on him as the lord. It was when Kaian's spirit, fueled by anger, ran wild.
Bang.
The person he was looking for was standing in the warehouse at the end of the hallway, the door half-broken open.
"...Claudel?"
The moment he saw the red and luscious hair that fell down to her back, his furious emotions subsided.
Madame Lepel and the nanny standing next to her stamped their feet and lowered their heads when their eyes met his.
“What are you doing here?”
When Kaian glared, the old woman and the nanny retreated outside the warehouse.
He grabbed Claudel’s shoulder and carefully turned her body.
“Why are you crying?”
Kaian was truly confused.
He was the one who wanted to cry after trusting her and getting his foot kicked and the back of his head hit, but his heart ached as soon as he saw her small, damp cheeks.
In his mother’s arms, the baby was sleeping soundly, not knowing what was happening.
However, perhaps worried about being exposed to the night wind, the baby was wrapped tightly in thick swaddling clothes, and the slender fingers that held the baby were so strong that the tips of her fingers were visible.
“Kaian.”
Claudel called him softly, her face pale and trembling.
“I want to trust you. I’m too scared.”
“What are you talking about?”
Kaian’s voice grew louder without him knowing it because he was flustered, but he tried to lower it when he saw Claudel flinch.
“You have to speak properly so I can understand. Please speak so I can understand.”
In the meantime, her hand that had been caressing him got cold and he sighed involuntarily.
“Give the baby here.”
“No. No.”
The woman who had been happily watching him whenever he held the baby, soothed him, or burped him shook her head in horror.
“Claudel?”
Tears flowed down her golden eyes.
“...The baby was a boy.”
“Search? Where did Madam go with the baby?”
Kaian answered coldly to Hannah’s sharp voice.
“I want to ask.”
However, he quickly decided that they wouldn’t be of any help.
The elite knights who had crossed the drawbridge followed him as he quickly went down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. The lights in the castle kitchen were off because of the confusion, and only the stove that had been lit was dimly lit.
He vividly remembered the day he had brought her here.
The woman who was pregnant and sleeping was in front of him, so he brought his work and watched her in the bedroom. When she woke up in the morning and said she was hungry, he brought her food into the kitchen and showed her the water-boiling device in the castle as if it were some kind of new thing.
‘Yes. At that time, I thought that she might have something to avoid with the baby that was about to be born.’
If something happened to Kaian, the responsibility of protecting the succession and building the territory would fall on him as the lord. It was when Kaian's spirit, fueled by anger, ran wild.
Bang.
The person he was looking for was standing in the warehouse at the end of the hallway, the door half-broken open.
"...Claudel?"
The moment he saw the red and luscious hair that fell down to her back, his furious emotions subsided.
Madame Lepel and the nanny standing next to her stamped their feet and lowered their heads when their eyes met his.
“What are you doing here?”
When Kaian glared, the old woman and the nanny retreated outside the warehouse.
He grabbed Claudel’s shoulder and carefully turned her body.
“Why are you crying?”
Kaian was truly confused.
He was the one who wanted to cry after trusting her and getting his foot kicked and the back of his head hit, but his heart ached as soon as he saw her small, damp cheeks.
In his mother’s arms, the baby was sleeping soundly, not knowing what was happening.
However, perhaps worried about being exposed to the night wind, the baby was wrapped tightly in thick swaddling clothes, and the slender fingers that held the baby were so strong that the tips of her fingers were visible.
“Kaian.”
Claudel called him softly, her face pale and trembling.
“I want to trust you. I’m too scared.”
“What are you talking about?”
Kaian’s voice grew louder without him knowing it because he was flustered, but he tried to lower it when he saw Claudel flinch.
“You have to speak properly so I can understand. Please speak so I can understand.”
In the meantime, her hand that had been caressing him got cold and he sighed involuntarily.
“Give the baby here.”
“No. No.”
The woman who had been happily watching him whenever he held the baby, soothed him, or burped him shook her head in horror.
“Claudel?”
Tears flowed down her golden eyes.
“...The baby was a boy.”
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