I woke up and went to Lella’s room to fix my makeup. Then I looked at the dress I’d ambitiously prepared.

It was modest, but jewels were embedded here and there. Standing under the night lights, it would sparkle brilliantly. Of course, I hadn’t forgotten to adjust the amount of jewels so I wouldn’t outshine the bride.

I put on the dress and stood in front of the mirror. The large earrings made me even more glamorous.

“This should make me stand out second to the bride.”

“It will.”

Laysia had coordinated her reception dress with me. She said she was embarrassed to wear glamorous clothes and asked me to wear them with her. Making it glamorous while not outshining the bride wasn’t an easy task.

I checked the outfit once more and left the room. Luden was standing outside waiting for me.

“The dress is extremely glamorous.”

“It’s not as much as the bride’s, so don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about that. Since it’s Annelia, I think you took care of it well.”

I linked arms with him and walked.

When we went up to the deck, we saw Laysia and Reytan, who had already come out. Laysia had 1.5 times more jewels than me. Normally, people’s eyes should be drawn to my glamorous dress, but Laysia was so splendid that wouldn’t happen.

“She sparkles brilliantly in the light and looks beautiful. I heard His Highness Reytan also likes modest clothes, but he wore them because Laysia asked.”

“Was it Her Highness the Crown Princess’s preference?”

“Rather than that, it’s a wedding, so the bride and groom should stand out.”

Luden smiled.

“They certainly stand out.”

Laysia and Reytan greeted Kajiian and greeted famous people. Then they walked to us and smiled.

“Annelia’s clothes are glamorous too.”

Reytan looked at me and looked at Laysia’s clothes.

“Laysia says she’s glad she’s not alone.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, thanks for being considerate.”

At his words, I felt proud. And I also really liked these clothes. The jewels sparkled, making me feel like I was sparkling.

We enjoyed the reception like that, and Luden and I drank just enough to get tipsy. I wanted to get some air, so I left Luden and went up on deck to look at the sky.

The black sky held darkness. Looking down, I could see the river with no visible bottom.

They say it’s very deep here.

I slowly tilted my head and raised it again.

But that’s when it happened. Someone rushed at me, grabbed me, and jumped off the ship together.

It happened so suddenly that I was disoriented. In the moment I thought “huh,” my body was falling toward the river.

Someone covered my mouth with a cloth after I fell in the water. And I lost consciousness just like that.

* * *

It happened suddenly. Annelia was resting at the edge of the deck, leaning on the railing, when suddenly a woman who had been serving people on deck approached her. Then she grabbed Annelia and jumped into the river.

People who saw that scene went into chaos.

“Annelia!”

Luden, who heard the news, quickly came up to the deck.

But in the distance, a small boat could be seen racing toward them. The boat using magic stones took Annelia, who had fallen in the river with the unidentified woman, and was disappearing somewhere.

Luden grabbed the railing.

“Your Majesty!”

At Luden’s cry, Kajiian announced an emergency. But it would take time for the military to move.

Moreover, the small boat that had sneaked in among the knights didn’t target the Crown Prince, Emperor, or Crown Princess, but targeted someone else. This was truly strange.

Above all, a boat moving at that speed was difficult to obtain. It was a boat that would only be used during war.

“What on earth…”

Luden clenched his fist.

What was certain was that Annelia had been kidnapped.

Who on earth, and with what intention…?

He was flustered because he couldn’t easily guess.

The knights raised anchor and began chasing the boat that had taken Annelia. But Luden instinctively knew the opponent wouldn’t be caught easily, and his instinct was right.

They mobilized all military forces, cut through the darkness, and tried to catch up to the boat that had kidnapped Annelia, but ultimately couldn’t catch it.

* * *

I remember falling off the boat and into the water. I quickly opened my eyes, but it was pitch black in front of me. I tried to touch my eyes with my hand, but realized my arms wouldn’t move. Only then did I belatedly realize I was blindfolded and my hands and feet were tied.

“Don’t move.”

I heard a woman’s voice, though I didn’t know who she was.

“Do you know how many magic stones went into drying that frilly dress? Really, wearing such a dress.”

She spoke roughly to me and kicked me. I gritted my teeth because it hurt where I was hit with a thud.

“The pursuers seem to have given up, so let’s go slowly.”

It seemed they’d already shaken off the pursuers who came after me. How much preparation had they made to bring me from among the navy? But why did they bring me of all people? Weren’t they targeting Reytan or Laysia?

“What are you plotting?”

I spoke calmly.

“She’s not gagged?”

“We have to feed her.”

“Well, it would be troublesome if she died right away.”

They exchanged words and didn’t answer my question. I hadn’t asked expecting an answer, but fear washed over me at the thought of not knowing what they’d do to me.

Me, unable to see or move anything. Since I seemed to be on a boat, attempting an escape would be rash.

‘Luden.’

Was he okay?

Perhaps because he was someone I loved, he came to mind first. Then Caromiel, my father came to mind, and my friends came to mind.

I felt like crying, but I held it in.

If I cried here, I’d provoke those people. Then something even worse might happen.

I suppressed my emotions and slowly breathed in. I couldn’t see in front of me, so I didn’t know where this was, but I could tell it was a place with a lot of wind.

The moving boat stopped. They approached me and removed the blindfold. I squinted briefly at the suddenly bright sunlight.

“Get off.”

They took me off the boat. Walking to a secluded place, there was a carriage. They put the blindfold back on me, and I traveled by carriage.

Where were they going?

They blindfolded me except when walking so I couldn’t know the destination.

After changing carriages several times and taking a boat out to sea, they finally removed the blindfold I was wearing.

“We’ve arrived.”

I looked ahead. A small island could be seen in the distance.

“That’s a private island, so no one will be able to find it.”

Their faces looked cruel as they spoke with smiles.

‘Luden.’

Even he might find it difficult to find this place. I was engulfed in fear. This time I couldn’t contain my emotions.

Tears came out on their own.

* * *

Luden roughly ran his hand through his hair and sat in a chair. He mobilized all the navy to chase Annelia but couldn’t find her. So even though he joined forces with Kajiian and moved, Annelia wasn’t found.

They’d plotted things frighteningly perfectly.

No one could know who kidnapped Annelia or for what purpose. Luden bit his lip and lamented. His heart felt suffocated because he seemed so incompetent.

At this very moment, he couldn’t even know if Annelia was safe.

He also waited because contact might come first from those who kidnapped Annelia. But even after several days, there was no contact.

“I finished investigating.”

Andre opened the door, came in, and told Luden. They investigated the nobles and servants who attended the ball, but there were no suspicious people. Anyway, they wouldn’t be remaining since they’d all escaped by boat.

“But doesn’t this method seem familiar?”

Andre felt chills all over his body. Plotting things without leaving evidence was similar to Alsellon. Luden understood what Andre was saying and nodded.

“But he didn’t even appear at the party venue. He has no suspicion.”

Luden’s words were right. To publicly interrogate him, they needed justification. Clear evidence that he did it.

“When did they start plotting this?”

Luden leaned his chin and fell into thought. Andre raised the corner of his mouth.

“It must have been a long time. It gives me chills because it’s exactly like before—not attacking directly himself but recruiting others.”

At his words, Luden stood up abruptly.

For now, though suspicious, they couldn’t interrogate him because there were no other movements from him.

“We’ve been watching him continuously. There really were no particular movements.”

“I know.”

Luden ran his hand through his hair again and paced around.

“Isn’t there a way to find out?”

Luden, who had been lost in thought, suddenly stopped at Andre’s question.

“It’s not that there’s no method.”

Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?

“What method?”

“I need to go to Sella’s lair. Prepare quickly.”

“The dragon’s lair?”

Suddenly why a dragon? Andre didn’t understand Luden’s words but prepared anyway.

Luden tightly grasped his trembling hands.

Hoping he could seize the opportunity to rescue Annelia, he departed for Sella’s lair.

* * *

Sella quietly looked at Mesriten sleeping soundly beside her. Long black hair was stuck to his cheek.

She knew he wasn’t a man to formally acknowledge as a mate without any feelings, but after taking her as his mate, he was always together. He played well with Igol and spent long hours with her too.

Was this a dream?

If it was a dream, she hoped she wouldn’t wake up.

Thinking that, she stared at him intently. Mesriten, who opened his eyes at that gaze, made a drowsy face, then saw her and quickly trapped her in his embrace.

“Mesriten?”

“It’s unfair to have such hot eyes from the morning.”

He said that and prepared to have her again. Though he’d already held her at night, when morning came he wanted to make love again.

When he positioned himself, Sella also wrapped both arms around his neck without pulling away.

And just as they were about to start!

“Dad! Mom!”

A booming voice was heard. Igol was calling them from outside the door.

“Of all times…”

Mesriten clicked his tongue. Sella felt the same regret, but she couldn’t not get up when Igol was calling. The fortunate thing was that Igol didn’t have the habit of opening the door and entering without warning. Otherwise, the child would have caught them in this state.

“Come in.”

At Mesriten’s words, Igol opened the door and stuck his head in. He smiled slightly seeing his parents together affectionately.

“We’re going out to play today, right?”

“Of course.”

There were many places with good scenery in the area where Sella’s lair was. Mesriten had decided to go on a picnic there with Igol today.

When Sella stroked Igol’s head, Igol smiled brightly. Mesriten hugged Igol tightly in his arms and looked at his son’s face.

The overall appearance resembled Sella a lot, but he could occasionally see glimpses of his own childhood self. Looking at it this way, a child seemed like a truly mysterious existence.

“Hm?”

But then, a crystal ball placed on the table in the room was sparkling. It was a crystal ball that emitted light when someone invaded the lair.

“Someone’s visiting?”

“We don’t have any particular appointments.”

Dragons used magically created mailboxes, so letters flew to the lair on their own. And they made appointments in advance when visiting each other’s lairs. So it meant it probably wasn’t a dragon.

“I think it’s a human I know.”

Sella was going to go to the lair entrance first. Then Mesriten, holding Igol tightly, said.

“I’ll go with you.”

Mesriten had to meet everyone who approached Sella to be satisfied.

He kissed Sella’s cheek and went to the front of the lair.

* * *

Luden fell into deep thought while riding the Warp. First, he had to calm his frustrated heart because he didn’t know if Annelia was safe, and he resolved that if she was just alive, he would do anything.

He hadn’t known she was precious to this extent.

Without her, it felt like half his life had disappeared.

Luden, who arrived in Sella’s territory, walked to the place Sella had mentioned before. Her lair was near Count Root’s territory, but you couldn’t travel by carriage near a dragon’s lair. So he had to walk.

“There really is a method here, right?”