IWAP - Chapter 113

"I have seen a child of Inayari—no, to be precise, a mixed-race child. You give off the same vibe as that child."

"Unless the pupils change, no one can notice Inayari!"

As he tried to get up in a state of excitement, the waiting knights drew their swords in unison and aimed at him.

"You would do well to calm down." 

"How did you find that out?" 

He didn't seem to believe me. I could see his pupils contract slightly beneath the cold blade.

"I don't know the exact reason either. I am more curious than you are about why I recognize Inayari."

His pupils rapidly contracted and dilated, as if gauging the truth of my words. It was a sight I had seen before through Rai, but it still felt alien and uncomfortable.

"We don't have much time. My father or His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be rushing over soon. Then we won't be able to have a leisurely conversation like we are now."

The events here must have been conveyed to my father and Sis at the Imperial Palace through the knights waiting outside. The two men, sensitive to my safety, would surely rush here in an instant, and as soon as they arrived, they would separate me from Cassan and prevent me from ever meeting him again.

"This time, I will ask. Please tell me everything you know about Inayari. After all, I might find out how I was able to figure out your true identity only after hearing your answer."

I could see the carriage driving away through the window. Fortunately, I was able to finish the conversation before Father or Sis arrived. The carriage, bearing the seal of the Elliot family, would take Cassan straight to the Pison Merchant Guild.

I still had many questions to ask him. I would send him to the West only after I had satisfied all my curiosity.

"Inayari..." 

I lowered my head and spread my palm. As time passed, a scab formed on the piece of flesh that had been torn off by the ingrown fingernail, and it was healing.

"Why was I able to figure out his true identity?"

In conclusion, Cassan was not an Inayari. It was said that he was a half-Inayari like Rai, abandoned as a child, and taken in by Marquis Lethan.

Cassan said that only Inayari or Inayari mixed-race people can recognize Inayari mixed-race people.

They said that they could sense a unique energy from each other, allowing them to recognize one another even without their pupils changing.

This means that ordinary people cannot distinguish Inayari's mixed blood unless their pupils change.

It wasn't something I noticed from the start. The moment I met his orange eyes, goosebumps ran all over my body, and the word 'Inayari' slipped out of my mouth. I told Cassan that it felt the same as when I saw Rai, but it was subtly different.

"I think my senses have become more acute than they were back then."

I clenched my fist tightly. I felt a stinging pain from the wound that had not yet fully healed.

'It is not the Inayari who can cross the boundary and plunder, but the Inayari hybrids. A pure Inayari can never cross the boundary.'

There wasn't much time left until Father or Sis arrived. In a short while, Cassan gave some information about Inayari.

There were many things he talked about that were not generally known. Among them were some things that were misrepresented to the world.

"Does this mean Inayari's characteristics were different from what was known?"

The characteristic of the Inayari, known for valuing their bloodline, was a lie. Cassan said that they took in mixed-bloods to take their place, as they themselves could not cross the boundary.

Even Cassan did not know why they could not cross the boundary. Although he had belonged to their village when he was young, he did not know much because he had been abandoned so long ago.

We were also keeping a close eye on Duke Deisha. We noticed that the Inayari's sphere of activity was strangely centered around his territory.

Marquis Lethan had been keeping an eye on Duke Deisha for a long time, but he only had suspicions and had not found any concrete evidence.

The Marquis of Lethan was busy enough just catching and beating up the rampaging Inayari who were running back and forth across the border regions. It was too much for the Marquis of Lethan to figure out the intentions of Duke Deisha, who was lying low and waiting for an opportunity, with their own strength alone.

"Duke Deisha and Inayari..." 

'Surely you aren't actually dreaming of world domination using Inayari?'

I recalled the image of Duke Deisha laughing heartily amidst the cool night air.

At first, I thought it might be a scheme to make Irene the Empress. However, no matter how much I thought about it, I felt that Duke Deisha's ambitions were not limited to that.

That preposterous remark, telling me to choose whether to stop myself or submit to fate, kept piercing my heart.

'What on earth is he truly after?'

I wondered how long I had been standing there, but I saw the imperial carriage and the Count of Pison's carriage entering simultaneously through the window.

“Who is it?”

It was more than enough to guess who the owner of the imperial carriage was. However, none of the visitors today were from the Pison Count family. Anasha never visited the Elliot Marquisate without prior notice. The fact that she had suddenly sent a carriage meant that a matter of urgency must have arisen.

Perhaps because I was thinking of Duke Deisha, I had a bad feeling first.

"Miss?"

I kicked open the door and left before the ladies-in-waiting could even move. Startled, the ladies-in-waiting hurriedly followed me. We passed through the hallway and went down the stairs leading to the center. At the bottom of the stairs, a servant of the Sis and Pison Count family was coming up with a butler, his face pale.

“What’s going on?”

"Uh, Miss Ariel has disappeared!"

***

The distance that I usually felt was close felt too far. During the journey to the Pison Count's estate, Sis held me in his arms and comforted me as I was anxious the whole time.

"It's okay, nothing will happen."

Inside the carriage, which was jolting violently unlike usual as it sped along, I repeated countless times that I was fine, but the anxiety did not go away.

“Anasha!”

"Oh, Bjornne..." 

With her face smeared with tears, Anasha reached out her arm to me. I ran over in an instant and took her hand.

"Elle, Elle, Elle..."

"Shh, Anasha, it will be alright. We will be able to find Elle soon. It's okay."

My heart trembled with anxiety. But when I saw Anasha sitting there with a face that looked as if the sky had fallen, I couldn't let even a tiny bit of my anxiety show.

"What on earth happened?"

Holding the sobbing Anasha in his arms, he looked at Evan. Judging by his disheveled clothes, it seemed he, too, had rushed here as soon as he heard the news.

"I haven't heard the details yet either, but I hear that the sleeping child disappeared without a trace." 

"How could a sleeping child disappear?" 

"It was... it was nap time. Sob... I put her in her room as usual, but when I went to wake her up after the usual time had passed, Elle... Elle was gone. Sob..." 

Anasha stammered as she explained the situation, then burst into tears again. I was worried that she might collapse from exhaustion due to the ceaseless flow of tears.

"First, have a doctor call. When the doctor arrives, have Anasha compose herself first."

"N-no, I can't do that. Elle... Elle..."

"You must stand firm so that Elle can return safely."

I met her eyes, which were heavily distorted with tears, and spoke so strongly that it seemed heartless.

"Honestly, the way you are right now is a hindrance to finding Elle."

"...!"

At my words, which were even colder, several people gasped. Anasha's chocolate-colored eyes trembled as she looked at me.

I knew it was a heartless thing to say. But it felt like Anasha would collapse before I could even find Elle. I was already used to playing the villain. Adding this one more thing wouldn't change anything.

"If you want to find Elle, be cool-headed, Anasha."

I pushed her away and stood up. I saw the maids rush over to support Anasha. As I watched Anasha follow the maids into the room, I spoke to Evan.

"I must gather everyone in the mansion immediately and find out Elle's whereabouts."

"All right."

Evan disappeared, and Sis approached me. Instead of speaking, he gently patted my shoulder.

"Everything will be alright, right?" 

"Yes."

His large hand wrapped around my head and led me into his embrace. I obediently nestled into his broad arms. Along with a sense of relief, a warm sensation enveloped my body. I could feel my slightly trembling body calming down a little.

Elle was a very special child to me as well.

The child who did not exist back then was now alive and breathing, growing beautifully day by day.

The being who could prove that I am who I am now. That was Elle.

" Is everyone here?" 

"Yes. I called everyone who works here."

I carefully looked around at the people gathered in the hall. Most of them were familiar faces.

Most of the people working for the Pison Count family were either connected to merchant guilds or had pledged their loyalty to the Pison Count family for generations.

I have visited the Pison Count's estate several times from the time my maternal grandfather was alive until now. It would actually be strange not to know their faces.

"Is there anyone missing?" 

They looked at each other with gloomy faces and shook their heads.

"Um, I can't see Rai."

The woman, who had been glancing around cautiously amidst the crowd, carefully raised her hand. Only then did she realize that Rai was missing.

People who noticed this started murmuring.

"Since when haven't you seen Rai?" 

"I saw him having a snack with Miss Ariel." 

The next to step forward was the maid in charge of Elle.

Elle was born blind, so maids took turns attending to her. She spent almost all of her time with the maids. It had to be seen as being together.

However, ever since Rai began staying at the Count's estate, Elle was always by Rai's side. Not only when eating, but also when studying and having snacks, the two acted exactly like twins.

The only time the two were apart was when they were sleeping.

"It must be before Elle takes a nap. After that?"

"I haven't seen her since then. I was immediately assigned to work in the annex after attending to the young lady's sleeping quarters..."

“Annex?”

"A pillar in the annex on the east side collapsed a few days ago. The work is progressing slowly as we are trying to repair it using as much of the mansion's personnel as possible." 

"So you're saying there was such a shortage of personnel that they had to mobilize even the staff from the main building." 

"Yes."

The Count's butler bowed his head with an apologetic expression.

Unlike most noble families, including the Marquis of Elliot, the Count of Pison never hired outsiders. For a family running a trading company, their closed nature was extreme.

However, the Pison Count family has long adhered to the strict practice of carefully selecting each and every person to employ. They were so selective that one had to have served the family for at least two generations to be granted the qualification to work at the Count's main residence.

Currently, the majority of the Pison Merchant Guild members were pursuing the killer of the First Prince. Between maintaining the business and keeping a close watch on Duke Deisha, they were woefully short of personnel. As the Pison Count family did not carelessly admit outsiders, there would have been no other place to replenish their ranks.

'Could it be that you were aiming for this!'

Under normal circumstances, the Pison Count's estate would not have been empty like this. However, most of the staff were currently out on my orders.

'It's my fault.'

“Bee!”

The moment I realized it, everything went black. Sis's strong arm caught me as I started to stagger. He looked down at me with a face as pale as snow. I grabbed his arm and straightened myself up.

'I can regret it later. Finding Elle is the priority right now.'

I clenched my jaw and bit my lip. I could feel Sis still watching me with an anxious expression, but looking at his face made me want to lean on him and weaken. I straightened my back and held my head upright.

"Has anyone seen Rai since then?" 

No one stepped forward to answer my subsequent question either.

"Does no one know where Rai is?"

The murmuring grew louder at my sharp voice.

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