* * *
“If none of the servants knew, he might’ve escaped on his own.”
“Or maybe someone helped him flee, anticipating our arrival.”
Zeroth shook his head at Julian’s suggestion.
Karl Rooster wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
There were likely spies even within the duke’s household.
By the time Zeroth had left, Karl may already have moved Sylvian elsewhere.
“If they used the back way, he couldn’t have gotten far.”
“I-I checked outside, but no one was there.”
Henders lowered his head.
After spotting the incinerator, he’d rushed outside, but the streets had been completely empty.
Only the cold wind and dry leaves scattered around.
“Check all the nearby houses.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights began knocking on doors nearby.
Sigh.
While Zeroth tore through Count Cavern’s mansion with a face full of frustration, Sylvian sat in a carriage, warming his frozen body.
“I’m so glad I ran into you, Marty.”
Seeing the person sitting across from him, Sylvian smiled in relief.
By the time Zeroth reached the mansion, Sylvian had already escaped into the alley and climbed into the carriage.
He’d thought he was done for—sure he’d be captured and killed by Karl again.
But then came a soft “Shh—” whispered in his ear, and it was a voice he recognized.
After the people disappeared, Martius had pulled shoes and an overcoat from his bag, and draped a huge hood over Sylvian to cover his face and body entirely.
“H-how did this happen?”
“I don’t really know. I was kidnapped and locked in a big room… but I managed to escape by chance.”
He couldn’t tell Martius the whole truth. Instead, Sylvian tilted his head and said vaguely, “I’m not really sure.”
‘Am I… really okay?’
Martius watched Sylvian carefully. If his brother had been his old self, running away would’ve never even crossed his mind.
He would have burst into tears the moment he saw him—but the Sylvian he reunited with was far too composed.
It didn’t feel like he had gone through a traumatic ordeal, but rather as if they were simply meeting again after running an errand.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…No.”
The odd disconnect made Martius suspicious, but at a glance, his brother didn’t appear to be injured.
No bruises or broken bones on the surface, and his face wasn’t swollen from crying.
“How’s Zeroth?”
Sylvian, grateful his hood covered most of his face, asked calmly.
What if Zeroth was doing just fine without him?
The thought stirred up irrational anger.
Even though he was relieved to hear Martius had been looking for him, Zeroth… might not have been.
“Ever since you were kidnapped, His Grace hasn’t slept a single day. He’s been searching for you nonstop.”
Sylvian let out a sigh at that.
So Zeroth was looking for me.
That meant Karl had gone to great lengths to keep him hidden.
Which also meant it would be difficult to prove Karl’s crimes.
“Because of that, there’s barely been a moment when the lights were off at the ducal estate. Kelvin said he’s never seen things this busy before.”
Martius scratched his head awkwardly.
He and Yuri had also been combing the capital every day, searching for his brother.
When they finally found him in the alley they were checking as a last resort, he’d nearly collapsed from relief.
“Um… what about our parents?”
By now, Zeroth would have had more than enough time to take care of the viscount family.
It would’ve been easy to “take them out of the picture” under the pretext that the duchess had gone missing.
If he’d just let them be, people would have questioned his motives—or accepted that it was all driven by his boundless love for Sylvian.
“They got into a lot of debt over a bad investment and ran away.”
It wasn’t just Count Artisan—they’d made poor investment decisions elsewhere too, and nobles had been showing up at the viscount estate one after another.
But by then, Zeroth had already sent them far away, and no one could find them.
Martius knew their parents had actually been thrown into the mines, but he made up a more plausible story for his brother’s sake.
“O-Our parents?”
Sylvian, who had been speaking calmly until now, suddenly trembled.
As expected, he couldn’t be told the truth.
“You’re safe now. You’ll be safe if you stay at the ducal estate.”
“Marti, no. I can’t.”
“Why do you keep insisting we go to the square?”
Martius couldn’t hold it in anymore—this had been bothering him ever since they got into the carriage.
“I can’t go to the ducal estate yet.”
His brother’s firm response made Martius’ eyes widen.
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t know who the kidnapper is. If we go back now, we’ll lose our chance to catch them.”
Sylvian looked out the window, a cold smile on his face.
Martius remembered the duke’s pale, terrified expression—but he didn’t argue.
He, too, wanted to know who was behind all this.
“Did you see the kidnapper’s face?”
Sylvian shook his head.
“Can’t you tell me who it is?”
He shook his head again.
Martius let out a long sigh, and Sylvian pressed his lips shut.
Martius had neither the status nor strength to defeat Karl Luster.
“Then… can I at least tell Yuri where we’re going?”
“No. Not even Yuri.”
He must be panicking by now, still wandering the city after Sylvian suddenly disappeared again.
He was probably searching desperately.
Martius rubbed his face with both hands.
“Yuri was with you?”
“Yeah. He’s been out of his mind ever since we lost you.”
Sylvian felt a twinge of guilt toward Yuri.
But still, he couldn’t tell anyone.
He was sure Karl was the one—but there was no evidence.
Karl only ever said he’d kept him locked up.
He never explicitly admitted to the kidnapping.
“Let’s go to the Graham estate.”
“?!”
Martius’ eyes went wide.
That was the household of the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
There was a new chill in Sylvian’s eyes that made Martius’ stomach turn—those eyes that had always been warm before.
“Who the hell is the kidnapper?”
“I’ll tell you… once I’m more certain.”
With that, Sylvian closed his eyes, looking exhausted.
The two of them, hoods drawn low, got off in the city center and changed carriages twice.
They finally arrived in front of a large mansion.
“Please identify yourselves.”
“I’m here at Lady Elizabeth’s request. Martius Nertian, of the Imperial Knights.”
The knight at the entrance peered into the carriage.
Martius was the only one visible.
Once he verified Martius’ ID and checked the letter from the young lady, he let them in.
“So this is why she told me to always carry this.”
You never knew what might happen.
He’d only planned to use this if the opportunity came to hide in the safest place possible and watch Zeroth’ movements.
As Martius rolled down the carriage window, Sylvian emerged from the storage compartment under the seat.
“Thank God there was a use for this.”
“What are you planning to say to Lady Graham?”
“I’ll handle it. Just pretend you don’t know me once I go in. I’ll contact you through her.”
Still in his hood, Sylvian sat in Elizabeth’s drawing room, picturing her calm, thoughtful demeanor.
There was no way she would give up the Crown Prince.
Even though she said it was just a childhood engagement, the way they looked at each other was filled with affection.
It was a blessing that Aihin, buried in his training, hadn’t fallen for Yuri.
And someone like Elizabeth, who loved Aihin, would never cast out the wife of Zeroth.
* * *
