Just before going to bed, I was suddenly called and arrived at my father’s office with Polena.
What I saw upon arrival was my family gathered in one place, all wearing serious expressions.
Bitterness hung over the faces of Vicer Andreas, Dust, and my father, while my mother was being supported by servants, crying tears of distress.
Something serious had occurred in the middle of the night.
As soon as I heard the details, a shadow of seriousness began to cloud my own face.
“What? Queen Sister?”
“Yes… She was suddenly kidnapped while trying to fend off some attackers.”
“How could that happen?”
The news struck me like lightning from a clear sky, leaving my head spinning.
The eldest daughter of House Andreas, an important figure who was like a big sister to me—Queen Andreas.
To be honest, I wouldn’t say our relationship had been good since I came here.
From our first official meeting when she confronted me outright, to her continuously wearing an unhappy face every time she saw me and refusing to talk, Queen Andreas was an enigma.
I couldn’t help but feel bad about it, yet I also understood her frustration.
“Thinking about it, if I were her, I’d be mad too. It’s like her younger sibling returning and stealing her place.”
Although Bohemia eventually fell to Friedrich due to the scheming of Anhalt in the original story, Queen Andreas clearly had the justification to become the next power holder in Bohemia as the eldest daughter of House Andreas until that point.
It’s just that her claim was relatively weaker compared to the stronger and more authoritative Friedrich.
Had it not been for Friedrich, there was certainly a possibility that Queen Andreas would have ascended to the throne of Bohemia, despite some discontent.
With this background, I could see how, from her perspective, I must appear as a bothersome little brother who shattered her hopes of being the heir while simultaneously gaining our father’s trust.
Of course, understanding her position didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t accept her constant sour expression.
“But that’s beside the point. This situation is really bad. What are the odds of Queen getting kidnapped?”
I couldn’t immediately deduce the reasons behind this bizarre incident.
However, given the current situation, I had some inkling.
With the victory at the Battle of Baeksan and the disruption caused by Mansfeld, we had a level of solid strength and influence that far exceeded the clumsy alliances Anhalt had once envisioned—heretic alliances, of which we were at the center.
Our movement must have posed a significant threat to the emperor sitting in Vienna. So, it was highly likely that he felt a pressing need to undermine and weaken the heretic alliance.
The best way to do that would be to shake our Bohemia, the central hub of this alliance, and the kidnapping of Queen seemed closely related to that motive.
“Emperor Sijip Ferdinand… who else could orchestrate such a plot? Clearly, he’s trying to shake my father and weaken the alliance by kidnapping the Queen.”
Holding a family hostage…
As a human, it’s despicable and shamefully dirty behavior.
However, the effectiveness of the emperor’s cunning move could be all the more lethal for us.
Having spent time together, I understood very well what type of person my father, Count Turun, was.
Someone who genuinely loves and cherishes his family more than power, fame, or strength.
In that sense, although he might not show it often, I knew that my father truly valued his eldest daughter, Queen—especially since she expressed sincere worry and concern in front of me.
Now that his daughter was in enemy hands, Count Turun would likely go to great lengths to protect her.
“If that happens, in the worst-case scenario, he might be willing to break off the alliance… Of course, I must do everything I can to prevent that.”
If, at this point, the heretic alliance were to falter or Bohemia were to declare their withdrawal, everything we had struggled for until now could come crashing down.
“Damn it. Just when I thought I could catch a break. This life of mine is clearly jinxed!”
Sitting with a furrowed brow, lamenting my miserable fate, I began to feel a wave of frustration.
Though I sent out search parties, it wasn’t easy finding kidnappers who had already fled who knows where.
Moreover, the enemy had easily defeated Queen—a 6th-grade mage—along with the defensive troops.
Even if we found her, bringing Queen back wouldn’t be an easy task.
In the end, all we could do was wait for the kidnappers to make some sort of demand.
“This is getting complicated…”
At that moment, I heard Polena’s tiny voice whispering in my ear.
Her words seemed to encapsulate the emotions I was feeling, and I couldn’t help but empathize.
Being as clever as Polena, I figured she might be having similar thoughts…
“Could this be Katlena’s orders? That would imply there were ulterior motives beyond just kidnapping Santana…”
*
“Ugh…”
A splitting headache.
A nauseating feeling like my insides were twisting.
And… an overwhelming sensation of weakness, as if there was not a spark of strength left in my body.
It was a terrifying feeling I had never experienced in my life, and as these agonizing sensations washed over her, Queen slowly began to regain consciousness.
“How… did this happen? I was… definitely…”
The last scene etched in her mind was of her battling against countless ghosts, standing alone, sword swinging until the end.
While she remembered being attacked, nothing from what happened immediately afterward surfaced in her memory.
“Did I get caught by them? But this doesn’t seem like the other world, which means could it be…?”
The bushes and trees around her confirmed she was deep in the forest.
Moreover, realizing her arms were bound, Queen could roughly grasp her situation.
“Have I been kidnapped? Well, if someone like me was taken, it makes sense—being the eldest daughter of Bohemia would certainly fetch a high price.”
As she pondered this, she cautiously started checking her surroundings.
Suddenly, a voice rang out right behind her.
“I can’t believe it… no way…”
“…!”
In an instant, Queen was gripped by intense tension at the voice behind her.
“Is that… the witch?”
The voice that belongs to the powerful witch who effortlessly crushed her…
Who, based on the situation, was presumed to be her kidnapper.
After that, the voice of another woman began to emerge, and Queen decided to keep pretending to be unconscious, hoping to gather more information from their dialogue.
She felt that through their conversation, she could understand her current circumstances more accurately.
“A sister failing against such a strong foe… Santana is that strong?”
“Indeed… you felt it too at the end, didn’t you? That unfathomable source of magic. She’s a monster who hides her true power.”
“?!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected revelation, Queen was momentarily overwhelmed by deep confusion.
