The bustling night market of the Duchy of Kapatia, filled with numerous people, was more of a nuisance for Yona at this moment.
“Rubina—!”
Yona wandered around, calling out Rubina’s name until her throat felt like it was going to burst.
She started off walking briskly but ended up half-running, constantly glancing around, desperately searching for Rubina.
‘What was I thinking? I should have just taken her with me…!’
Even though it was far too late to regret now, Yona roamed the night market, calling out Rubina’s name as if her voice could magically locate her.
Nighttime and Rubina’s black hair made her particularly hard to spot, especially since she blended into a plain brown dress that was absolutely forgettable. Finding her based on attire alone was not an easy task.
Yona approached every child of similar build, checking faces in haste—
“E-excuse me…!”
Apologizing profusely, Yona continued to seek out Rubina’s name at the top of her lungs.
“Ouch!”
Not seeing the curb between the square and the street, Yona tripped and fell, rolling over. The scab forming on her face got scraped off, and blood began to flow from her cheek, while the toe of her shoe got ripped wide open, oozing blood as well.
The blood seeping from the leather left a big, vivid mark. The first foreign substance always makes the biggest impression, expanding its territory little by little.
Gazing down at the bloodstain for a moment, Yona gritted her teeth and stood up again.
“Ugh—!”
But the sharp pain shooting through her foot caused her to instinctively whimper and almost sit back down.
No, she couldn’t stay seated here.
Yona clenched her teeth and forced her legs to hold firm. A tingling pain spread up her spine, threatening to consume her.
She ignored it.
Taking a step forward.
Her torn shoe was already covered in blood—
But it was bearable.
Why did I do that?
I shouldn’t have…
Yona muttered continuously.
“Rubina—!”
Yona’s voice spread out but got swallowed by the noise of the night market, dispersing without a sound.
*
“Rubina—!”
Alex, who was about to lie down on the bed, shot up immediately. That voice from a distance was undeniably Yona’s. There was no mistaking her voice, so he quickly hopped off the bed.
A voice searching for Rubina. Hearing Yona calling for Rubina in this night market led to only one conclusion.
Without hesitation, Alex strapped on his shield and secured his hammer at his waist. There was no real need to arm himself, but this was a habit he performed swiftly and without thought, bursting out the door and running.
Upon racing down the inn, it didn’t take long to find Yona.
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes puffy as if she had been crying, and blood streamed from her face, where the scab had likely come off.
The face, dripping with blood, was definitely missing a bandage.
Moreover, the red-splattered leather boot seemed to say Yona was not in her right mind at all.
“Yona!”
Alex grabbed Yona’s shoulder and shook her.
Yona, with no strength left, wobbled around until her gaze went from unfocused to recognizing Alex, bringing back some light to her eyes.
“Rubina, Rubina…!”
“Breathe. Inhale. Deeply, inhale and exhale!”
At Alex’s words, Yona abruptly inhaled. After repeating that a few times, Yona finally seemed to be coming back to her senses.
“Did you lose Rubina?”
At that, Yona slowly nodded.
“Rubina was crying… she cried so much, but then she disappeared… I went to buy her a drink… I left her with the guard uncle…!”
Despite Yona’s rambling, Alex was piecing together the information in his mind. It was common to hear fragmented stories like this on expeditions, so it wasn’t too hard to adapt to hearing things out of order.
“Which guard?”
“The one who asked why you had no head…”
It clicked.
That guard from when they were processing entry into the Duchy of Kapatia, who had grilled him with questions. He’d left Rubina with that guard, and now both of them were missing…?
Alex took a deep breath.
He already knew Yona’s temperament. When it came to important matters, she’d freak out and make strange judgments or completely forget the obvious. While that chaotic personality had saved their lives many times, it had also gotten them into trouble just as often.
After three years of traveling with Yona, Alex had tried to keep calm whenever she was in a tizzy.
“Let’s go to the guard station. That guard might have taken her there.”
For a duchy this size, there was bound to be a proper facility for the guards. Otherwise, there’s no way they could manage such a large area.
Fortunately, the temporary guard station wasn’t far from the plaza.
When Yona and Alex entered the station set up for the night market, they found a few guards gathered, munching on something.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Since Yona was too choked up to speak, Alex greeted them. One of the guards looked up, stood, and approached Alex.
“What brings you here?”
“We lost a child.”
“Ah, a missing child report. How are you related?”
“I’m the dad, and this is her mom.”
The guard looked Yona up and down, and she definitely fit the “lost child’s mom” look.
She was a mess, and the frantic search had done a number on her.
“Oof… Mom must be going through a lot. Let’s see, we don’t have any children in our custody right now, and we haven’t received any reports either. Can you describe the child?”
“She has black hair and black eyes. She’s wearing a brown dress. Oh, and her mom said she left her with one of the guards for just a moment before she disappeared.”
“Hey, and I heard that while the mother was away for a bit, she left her kid with a guard and then just went missing.”
At that, the guard, who had been scribbling something on paper, suddenly stopped and turned his gaze towards Alex.
“You left a kid with a guard? Do you happen to know which guard?”
“I’m not sure of his name… but he had a black spot on his forehead and hair there.”
“Oh, you mean Neri. You left the kid with him?”
“Yes. I didn’t know his name was Neri…”
“Hmm, that’s strange.”
Seeing the guard mutter something while scratching his chin, Alex thought something was going wrong.
“Neri took a leave today to go back to his hometown. Are you sure he was at the night market?”
“I-I’m sure! I saw him clearly! The black spot on his forehead, and the hair… that’s definitely him!”
“That’s odd. Well, we’ll look into it. Where should we contact you if we find anything?”
After giving the name of the inn they were staying at, the two of them stepped out of the military camp.
In the meantime, Yona seemed to have calmed down a bit and returned to her usual sharp gaze.
“Alex.”
“Yeah?”
“What about Rubina…? Could it be a kidnapping?”
“I think so too. But why would anyone want to kidnap Rubina?”
“…Because she’s cute? Maybe someone wanted to adopt her as their daughter.”
“Making jokes, huh? Guess you’re back to your senses.”
This time, Alex delivered a light smack to the back of Yona’s head, just enough to get his point across without being too rough.
“Let’s look for her. Just the two of us.”
At Alex’s words, Yona nodded.
“Well, luckily, if it’s about Rubina, we have someone who’s dedicated to this kind of thing in our party. Lucky, right?”
“Yeah, lucky.”
Yona shut her mouth tightly.
At the door of the inn they reached, Yona looked up at the second floor.
The window of the room was tightly shut, but a gentle glow of candlelight spilled out.
That was the room where James and Kaiyak were.
*
The luxurious chandelier was adorned with luminescent stones the size of fingers, embedded in each handcrafted glass piece.
Considering the value of just one of those luminous stones, the chandelier alone could probably feed a family for a year. There were three of such chandeliers hanging in the entire dining room.
Vigrind marveled quietly when he first entered this dining room.
There were ten tables, each larger than the single table that six priests used back in Evian.
Not a single chair accompanied those tables; instead, there was a chef standing at each table, each managing a dish with impressive flair.
Moreover, at the last table stood a wine cellar, with wine bottles neatly arranged in each compartment, their labels wrapped around them in an orderly fashion.
“The Saint seems to have a keen interest in wine.”
A smooth, clear voice reached his ears.
When he hurriedly turned around, he saw a beautiful woman with milk-white hair glowing like cream and crimson lips, wearing a red dress, standing there with an enchanting smile.
In the place where she turned, a beauty with milk-white hair sparkling in the light and red lips was standing there with an enchanting smile, dressed in a red gown.
“Regent!”
“Oh dear, it’s not a position worthy of the Saint to call out like that. Just feel free to call me Ceres.”
“No, I couldn’t possibly!”
“Seeing the Saint be so humble, it seems the Church of the Celestial God will surely enjoy endless prosperity.”
A compliment not just to the Saint herself, but to the entire order she belonged to. That one statement lifted Priest Vigrind’s spirits immensely.
“Do you like the outfit I sent you?”
“Of course!”
Thanks to the hard-to-understand belief that showing more skin would earn the favor of the Celestial God, the Saint’s outfit had a bit more exposure than Vigrind was comfortable with.
Every time she wore it, she sighed at her appearance which always seemed a bit lacking in growth. Yet, even now, as she got somewhat used to it, she honestly wished she could wear something else.
Then arrived this pure white dress.
Completely covering her body, with a bit of lace, it was a simple yet clear dress, and it truly delighted Vigrind’s heart.
“Thank you very much for sending the outfit.”
“No problem at all. By the way, where’s the hero?”
“Oh my— I’m so sorry for being late!”
With a booming voice, Vigrind’s face slightly frowned.
Despite being told repeatedly to go to the restroom before entering, Ludvik, who boasted there were no issues, suddenly turned dumbfounded upon seeing this dining room and went off to the restroom, taking his sweet time.
“Oh my, Hero! You still look gallant.”
“Wow— this is amazing! I’ve been to many good places as a Gold-level adventurer, but I’ve never seen anywhere like this! It’s simply incredible!”
Ludvik flashed a wide grin.
What a refreshing and pleasant way of speaking— Vigrind thought. Though she wished he could choose his words a bit more carefully, she realized he was just someone without a filter, saying whatever pops into his head.
“Seeing both you, the hero and the Saint, so satisfied brings me great joy. Oh my, I’m being so rude keeping you two waiting. You must be hungry, so let’s get to the meal. I’ve prepared something, but I’m not sure if it will satisfy your tastes.”
Ceres didn’t seem to care too much about that.
On the contrary, with an even brighter smile, she led both of them to the dining area.
“At that table, feel free to take any food you wish to eat. Plates are provided right in front of the table, so please use them freely. As for wine… um.”
Ceres looked at Vigrind and beamed.
“For our noble Saint and gallant hero, I will personally serve the wine.”
What a lovely person.
In that moment, Ludvik and Vigrind had the same thought.
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