Even though he had blurted out anything to divert her attention, his sister’s cute and earnest appearance as she carefully considered how to answer was admirable.

“I don’t feel anything.”

After contemplating for a while, Reibella gave her answer.

“Really?”

“Yes. But if spirits exist, I think they would be here. No, I’d like them to be here. Who knows? If there are spirits, they might gift me a wonderful demonic beast egg.”

“You want a demonic beast egg?”

“It depends on the beast. If it’s a dragon egg, I think I’d want it. It’s cool, isn’t it?”

When it comes to romance fantasy, you should have at least one dragon pet. In novels, only protagonists can obtain pet dragons!

……Well, the protagonist of this novel didn’t have one, but still.

Royan chuckled at Reibella’s words.

“You showed interest before too. You really like dragons. This brother of yours should raid a dragon lair for his sister soon.”

“Maybe you could do it in about 10 years, Royan.”

“Still, before that I…… Rel?”

Royan’s words were cut off abruptly. Following his gaze with curiosity, she saw small lights beginning to pop up around her body.

“Huh?”

What’s this?

“……What is this?”

Then all those lights transformed into transparent butterflies. The glowing butterflies swarming toward Reibella happened in an instant.

“Rel!”

Royan urgently approached Reibella, but the light pushed him away as if blocking him. Meanwhile, the light gathered around Reibella, forming a sphere like the sun, then burst, spreading beams of light in all directions.

It was such an intense light that it was impossible to keep one’s eyes open. Royan unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.

And when he opened them again, Reibella was gone.

* * *

“……She disappeared?”

A low, cold voice disturbed the quiet air of the office. The aura emanating with that voice was unlike usual, not refined at all, and so sharp it was suffocating.

“How did it happen.”

Cassius’s voice was filled with killing intent as he asked again. Aiden hesitated and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, my lord. But that’s all there is to it. Truly, it’s a light I’ve never seen before……”

Aiden recalled what had happened just moments ago.

Clearly, there was no problem at first.

His miss was as cute as ever, and the young master was as gallant as always.

Especially the young master, who was really reliable. With the will to protect the young miss, he stuck close to her, speaking to her at the right moments, and even removing stones from her path.

Thanks to that, the miss’s attention was quite distracted, allowing the Silver Wolf knights to follow secretly without being detected.

It was peaceful then.

Of course, the fact that dozens of knights were secretly infiltrating a festival where little children were playing was far from peaceful to begin with.

The reason these burly men were hiding at a cute event for children was simple.

The vassals of the elder council had shown disrespectful movements targeting his miss.

Assassins had actually appeared quite often, and Aiden and the knights had dealt with them in secret—on Lord Cassius’s orders.

‘Handle it without my daughter knowing.’

He wanted Reibella, who had gone through so much, to simply enjoy the festival happily. So he ordered them to handle it quietly without the child knowing.

The knights all sympathized with this sentiment, so they really did quietly handle many assassins while never taking their eyes off the miss.

But then…

‘If it’s a dragon egg, I think I’d want it. It’s cool, isn’t it?’

While the miss was smiling brightly and making a playful joke, suddenly many butterflies swarmed around her.

As if they weren’t of this world, the transparent and brilliant butterflies spread an intense light and disappeared in an instant.

Along with the miss.

“The culprits?”

Henan answered Cassius’s question.

“Those we caught at the scene are in prison.”

“Those who instigated them.”

“Some of the vassals of the elder council are staying in the annex, and some are in their respective homes. The knights have secured all their locations.”

Since obtaining information that the elder council was targeting Reibella, Cassius had been watching them. No, in fact, he had been keeping an eye on them even before that.

They were trash who had made his son suffer in small ways and plundered the territory in big ways.

“Do those fools not know why I’ve been holding back?”

“If they knew, would they have done such a thing?”

Evidence of their wrongdoing had already been collected. So there would be no problem in driving them out.

Yet he had left them alone because he didn’t know when he might have to return to the battlefield. If he swept them all away, young Royan and Reibella would have to deal with many issues when he was away again.

So he had buried it, planning to deal with it later. He had considered it fortunate that although they were greedy for money, the territory had continued to run without problems.

But to think they would repay his mercy with such a backstab.

“Bring them before me immediately.”

Henan immediately obeyed Cassius’s command and disappeared. Then Cassius’s gaze turned to Aiden, who was kneeling on one knee with his head bowed.

He coldly stated,

“Your fault will be judged after this matter is resolved.”

“……Yes, my lord.”

“Take the magic tower master to the place where the child disappeared. Find out what the cause was.”

Aiden obeyed his command. After he left immediately, Royan, who had been silently watching all this, carefully asked.

“Do you think Rel was kidnapped by a mage?”

Cassius answered with his eyes downcast, as if lost in thought.

“It’s not something they did.”

The light that appeared before she disappeared, the transparent butterflies…

“It’s probably Felicity’s blood causing problems.”

Royan’s eyes widened.

“If it’s Felicity’s blood…… Are you saying it was a spirit?”

Cassius did not answer the question. Royan took that silence as affirmation.

Doubt filled Royan’s eyes.

“Why would a spirit suddenly……”

It was said that spirits had rarely shown themselves after the first Felicity’s death. However, some of the spirit’s blessings remained in a few places in the empire, and the empire’s people believed that they existed and were still protected by them.

Among them, the place with the greatest blessing power was Felicity’s territory, and there was also a faint power of spirits remaining in the lake at the imperial palace in the capital, and in the blessing tree in Louvindisi.

If there had been a problem ‘coincidentally’ under the blessing tree that had never had any issues before, and specifically with a ‘Felicity,’ then it could only be explained as a reaction to Felicity’s blood.

“Since Felicity’s blood is said to be rich in the power of spirits, something must have reacted.”

Royan recalled what Reibella had said before. She had casually said it was a ‘lie’ as if it didn’t matter. That was certainly sincere.

“But Rel said it was a lie……”

“No. Felicity’s blood definitely holds the power of spirits.”

The question was why the spirits, who had been quiet until now, suddenly reacted to Reibella.

Cassius, who had been lost in thought, stood up, gripping his sword.

“I’m going to the prison.”

There were still questionable aspects, but the most important thing now was one thing.

Recovering Reibella Vicheravali.

The questions could be resolved afterward.

* * *

As everything brightened before her eyes, she felt as if her body was floating. Then the light disappeared, and her body slowly descended.

And when she opened her eyes again….

‘……Where am I?’

She was in an unfamiliar place.

It was a suspicious space with nothing but pitch-black darkness.