Florencia woke from her light slumber the moment she felt the carriage come to an abrupt stop. It had been over a month since she had left Whydstell and the East. If she hadn’t stopped along several towns and cities along the way to rest, she could have arrived earlier. However, she certainly did not want to arrive at the lustrous capital haggard and disorderly. If she wanted to pursue her marriage with Prince Calypse, she had to keep herself at the utmost pristine condition. It was her duty as the sole face of the Vestein duchy in the capital and as a potential future princess.

Seeing that the carriage did not start to move again, she knocked on the wall. “Hello, is anyone there? Have we arrived at Luvaird already?” When she was met with silence, her brows furrowed. She knocked again. “Hello?”

The continued lack of sound caused warning signals to tear through her mind. She found herself unwilling to leave the carriage no matter what. But how else could she figure out what was happening outside? Florencia gulped.

With a trembling hand, she flipped the corner of the curtain open. Enough to just peek through the window. There was only darkness, yet her body refused to ease up. There was not a single hint of a lightsource anywhere except from within. She wanted to call out for her guards again but stopped herself short. Something told her that she should back into a corner instead and snuff out the carriage’s lantern. After regaining some of her senses, she finally made the decision to draw the curtain back shut.

But before she could make another move, a palm slammed against the window from outside!

Florencia screamed as the glass shattered into shards. All that was visible was the vague outline of a human figure shrouded in darkness. That same person reached inside with both hands and seized her by the jaw. Her cries were muffled as she was simultaneously yanked back towards the window. A sickeningly sweet smell crawled up her nose. Before she knew it, her eyelids became unbearably heavy.

She could no longer remember what happened after that as the vicious abyss engulfed her.

…

Ellowyn dashed towards the maid currently rolling a cart down the hallway. "Let me, please." These days, she preferred eating meals in the duchess’ bedroom ever since the duke and her sister’s absence.

Unfazed, the maid conceded to her easily. "Be careful not to spill the tea, My Lady. It's still burning hot."

"All right, all right," she answered over her shoulder as she took over pushing down the cart. When she reached the doors to Helda's bedroom, she eagerly pushed them open.

"Oh my," the raven haired woman already sitting up in her bed put a hand over her mouth exaggeratedly. "It seems a fairy has come to greet me this summer morning."

Ellowyn's face warmed. Helda was the only human being in the empire who could genuinely see her this way. "Good morning, Mother. You're up earlier today."

The past few years, it took Helda longer and longer to wake up in the mornings. Her body was slowly but surely turning more frail as time went on. No one in the household dared say that out loud, though. Most certainly not Ellowyn, who now fussed over her mother the most.

She proceeded to set the table with the dishes containing breakfast. She heard a bunch of fabric ruffles from her side. By the time she began to pour tea into two porcelain teacups, Helda had reached the table and made herself comfortable in one of the heavily cushioned chairs. If Helda felt any discontentment at all, she hid it well as she gave her elder daughter a buoyant smile. Ellowyn settled herself down across from her.

"Your hair is still damp. How heavily were you training today?"

"The usual." Ellowyn bit down on a buttered bread roll. Perhaps she should have taken care of her appearance a bit more instead of running out of her bath to get to her mother's room on time. At least it didn't seem to actually bother her mother that much.

But that didn't mean she wasn't able to not see past Ellowyn's apathy, either. "Next time, don't worry about me and just train for as long as you want. I don't mind skipping breakfast sometimes."

"Mother..." She noticed how the duchess hadn't touched any pieces of bread or even her tea, only chewing chunks of scrambled eggs for long lengths of time each. It seemed she did not have an appetite today either and was only keen on watching her daughter eat scrumptiously. Ellowyn could not say anything more. It would feel like scolding her mother, which would cause her immense guilt. "I want to help Oren assess our family's military personnel today and make sure their equipment is stocked up," she said, quickly changing the subject. "Please give me permission in Father's stead."

Helda propped her head on her hand. There was a lively twinkle in her eyes despite her constitution. "Of course. Go ahead, dear."

She lit up at her mother's approval.

…

At the barracks, Ellowyn sat on a chair next to the rack of swords. One lay on her lap. Leaving them to the outdoor elements made them frequently filthy, so she carefully swept a rag over its blade. After she was satisfied with its polish, she hung it back on the rack. Occasionally, a knight or Oren would come in and help. It seemed everyone in the estate was staying quieter than usual. Before, they would freely converse and laugh with Florencia on a daily basis. Her jovial demeanor was a bright source of light in this gated manor.

She sighed. Cleaning the weapons was supposed to be another form of distraction for her, but it seemed she failed. She couldn’t help but think about her sister nearly every hour of the day. Did Florencia reunite with Prince Calypse already? Was she too preoccupied with him to let her family know how she was doing? Ellowyn was incredibly anxious, but she also did not want to ruin her sister’s mood by barraging her with her own letters. All she could do was wait as she’d promised. ‘Perhaps I should have gone to the academy, after all.’ But she was a Vestein knight and would be for the rest of her life. The duke made sure of that.

She took another sword and began picking at the crevices of its hilt.

“My Lady!” Jorge’s voice called out for her. He ran out to the barracks, huffing as he caught his breaths. At the sight of his anguished face, Ellowyn shot up from the chair, sword gripped in her hand.

“What’s wrong? Rest, you hardly look well.” She beckoned for him to take the chair, but the butler only shook his head briskly.

“That’s not important right now!” With a quavering voice, he continued before she could stop him again, “The Lady–Lady Florencia–”

When she heard her sister’s name, Ellowyn turned pale. It was as if her blood had turned cold in an instant.

“Lady Florencia’s been kidnapped!”