“That… that is… But it’s just fish! There’s no reason to treat us like this!”

At that moment, knights who had been searching the ship and warehouses came running with a slightly larger box.

The face of the loud-mouthed leader noticeably stiffened.

The box was securely locked with a large padlock.

As Hailey, unable to control her trembling body, tried to move forward, Axel stopped her and drew his sword.

In an instant, a blue aura enveloped the sword. With one swing from Axel, the padlock shattered into pieces.

Hailey rushed forward and opened the lid of the box.

“The, Theo…? Theodore? How is this… why is it empty…?”

Inside, there was nothing. It was completely empty. This couldn’t be. Theo was supposed to be here.

But it seemed Hailey wasn’t the only one thinking this.

The Vasa merchants suddenly began to panic. They too seemed surprised by the unexpected situation.

Their innocence was proven by the empty box, but instead of feeling relieved, they were speechless with shock. Even the leader of the Vasa merchants, who had resisted fiercely, clamped his mouth shut.

Suddenly, Hailey lunged forward and grabbed the man by the collar.

“Where is he? Where is my Theo?”

“Let go of me! How dare this woman…!”

Thud.

The sound was even duller than when she had struck the baroness.

The red-haired man with a large beard had his head snapped to the side. The man let out a groan.

The Eligos knights gaped in astonishment.

Hailey screamed at the top of her lungs, making the entire port echo.

“Where did you put my child, you bastard!”

Unable to contain her fury, Hailey shook the man by the collar and punched him relentlessly.

The knights, seeing a noble lady swinging her fists so wildly for the first time, flinched but did not intervene.

“Your Highness! You need to see this!”

Hailey stopped hitting the man and ran after Axel.

A knight who had been searching around the warehouse picked up something from behind a pillar.

“This was lying here. And there are footprints behind this pillar that seem to belong to a child.”

“…Yes, this is Theo’s candy.”

“……”

“I felt bad for leaving him alone, so I told him he could have three today. Grape flavor is Theo’s favorite…”

It seemed Theo had dropped it from his pocket while hiding behind the pillar.

Hailey took the candy from the knight’s hand and couldn’t speak any further.

“It looks like he escaped.”

Quite the clever little boy.

Axel smiled inwardly, impressed.

“But there’s something strange. This warehouse can’t be opened from the inside. It can only be opened from the outside, so unless someone let him out…”

Throughout the ride to Lint Port, Hailey had been desperately hoping and was somewhat convinced.

She had kept her sanity by believing Theo would be here. But now, he had escaped.

Hailey was at a loss as to where to start looking for Theo.

Axel was certain those Vasa men had Theo. The Vasa language filled with bewilderment indicated they too were surprised the child wasn’t in the box.

Theo had definitely been here. Somehow, he managed to escape and seemed to have fled to a safer place.

“Load them all up. And put the person in charge of this place in the underground prison immediately.”

Axel ordered the trembling immigration officer to be imprisoned for disobeying the prince’s orders and failing to perform his duties.

“That day at the marketplace was Theo’s first and last outing. He’s unfamiliar with the outside, let alone the roads. Where could he have gone…?”

“Then he might have gone to a place he visited that day. Was there any place that particularly impressed him?”

A place that particularly impressed Theo that day?

Hailey carefully recalled that day. The most mentioned thing in Theo’s diary that day was Hailey, and next was…

Hailey looked up at Axel blankly.

…That giant man.

“There is one, but it’s not close enough for a child to find on his own.”

“Where is it? Let’s start there, and if he’s not there, we’ll search all of Ludvig.”

“…In front of the candy store.”

The candy store where they met the giant man.

‘The first place I saw that cheeky little boy and this woman.’

Axel smiled leisurely, as if to ease her worries and anxieties, and extended his hand to her.

“Let’s hurry. To find ‘our child.’”

Hailey’s extreme anxiety about losing Theo forever was calmed by Axel’s confident and reassuring smile.

Hailey placed her hand on Axel’s strong hand.

* * *

The horse carrying Hailey and Axel sped off quickly. The Eligos knights followed closely, protecting them as they raced towards the marketplace.

“…Theodore!”

Axel helped Hailey down to the ground. Hailey looked around frantically.

The marketplace was dark and silent, shrouded in the night, making it hard to see anything. Even Hailey couldn’t distinguish where the candy store was.

It didn’t seem likely that a child would come here alone.

Hailey felt like tearing at her chest in frustration.

If anything happened to Theo, she wouldn’t let the baron and baroness go. She would find a way to kill them.

“Theodore!”

Hailey screamed Theo’s name until her voice was hoarse.

At that moment.

“I found him!”

One of the Eligos knights, who had been searching in front of all the shops, shouted loudly.

Hailey ran in the direction of the voice.

A young knight, who didn’t even look like an adult yet, was holding a much smaller child in his arms.

Hailey threw off her oversized slippers and ran. Her vision was blurred by tears, but she knew.

‘That’s my Theo.’

The knight handed the small, thin child to the running Hailey.

Hailey collapsed to the ground, holding Theo, who seemed to have fainted as if he were asleep.

The child, drenched in what seemed like cold sweat, was wheezing faintly.

Hailey wiped Theo’s sweat away with her palm over and over.

Theo, Theodore. She kept calling his name.

Then Theo slowly opened his eyelids.

Blinking a few times, Theo gradually came to his senses, recognizing the familiar, warm embrace and Hailey’s scent.

“Ha…iley?”

“…Yes. It’s me.”

“……”

“I’m sorry. I, Mommy… I was too late, wasn’t I? I’m sorry.”

Tears welled up in Theo’s eyes.

Hailey reached out and wiped away Theo’s tears. Only then did Theo’s face, realizing he was really reunited with Hailey, crumple into sobs.

“Uh, uh… Mom…”

Hailey hugged Theo with all her strength. For the first time in his five-year life, Theo cried out loud, calling ‘Mom’ in Hailey’s arms.

Axel and the Eligos knights watched the scene in silence. Some even wiped away tears at the child’s sorrowful cries.

Even the renowned knights were moved by the reunion of the mother and child.

“I’m sorry, Theo. I’m sorry, Mommy is.”

“Uh… uh…”

Theo had been so scared. The fear of never seeing Hailey again.

The fear of being alone in the dark, empty place.

The fear that maybe Hailey was truly unhappy because of him.

“Ha, Hailey. You won’t abandon me? But if I’m around, you won’t be happy?”

“If I don’t have you, every day will be a dark night. I need you to be happy. We promised, remember?”

“Uh-huh, yeah. We promised… to be happy together.”

“Yes. We promised to be happy together.”

Exhausted from crying, Theo answered with hiccups.

Hailey kissed Theo’s cheeks several times, comforting him.

Holding Theo’s hand, Hailey stood up and bowed to the knights and Axel.

“……!”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Although she hadn’t gone through all the official procedures, the prince had acknowledged her, so Hailey was a proper princess.

Her status was much higher than that of the knights. It was only natural to think they had done their duty. The knights themselves thought it was only natural.

Of course, Hailey knew she was now in a position to command the knights, but she wanted to express her gratitude to those who had found someone more precious than her own life.

Theo, with his swollen eyes, looked up at Hailey and bowed his head as well.

“……”

Seeing this, the knights all bowed their heads in respect to Hailey and Theo.

The dawn sun was rising in the distance.

Watching the scene, Axel extended his hand to Hailey and said,

“The sun is rising.”