Chapter 42: A Wonderful Misunderstanding (Double-Length Chapter)

In the imperial capital's royal palace, inside the main hall.

Gazing down at the imperial armament user kneeling beneath the throne—responsible for guarding the General's Mansion—Makoto face was twisted with uncontrollable fury. The anger climbing his young face lent him the pressure of an enraged dragon.

Yoshino had gone missing.

Upon receiving this news, he had immediately summoned the armament user he had dispatched to the General's Mansion the previous day.

"You had only one task—to protect Yoshino! And you couldn't even manage that!?"

Makoto slammed his hand against the throne's armrest. His voice rose by several pitches as he roared furiously, "That's my friend! General Esdeath sister! Do you realize what a storm your dereliction of duty could unleash!?"

"Your Majesty…"

The armament user of the Bow of Sun, wearing a bitter expression, had no choice but to defend himself in the face of the Emperor's wrath. "Lady Yoshino said she wanted some time alone today. As mere servants, how could we defy her command?"

"Please calm yourself, Your Majesty. If you harm your imperial body through anger, it would be truly unfortunate."

Though this armament user had been dispatched to the General's Mansion, he was, after all, still a member of their faction. Thus, Honest, who stood beside Makoto , spoke up to intercede: "This matter really can't be entirely blamed on him. He was simply following orders. If your father were the one on the throne now, he would not be pursuing blame, but rather focusing on the disappearance itself."

Perhaps understanding that the guard was not entirely at fault—or perhaps influenced by the father he so admired—Makoto took a deep breath.

His fists were clenched tightly, the anger on his face unresolved.

But at least, he no longer vented it on the pitiful guard.

"Tell me the full details," Makoto forced himself to calm down. "Everything you know—tell me all of it."

Realizing he was momentarily spared from the Emperor's fury, the guard didn't dare to hide or omit a single detail, and promptly laid everything out.

"Lady Yoshino entered the garden around 8 a.m., and because she was in low spirits, she did not allow anyone to accompany her. A maid from the General's Mansion entered the garden at noon to inform her that lunch was ready but found no trace of Lady Yoshino," the guard said quickly. "Afterward, I and the mansion's attendants searched the entire estate for half an hour and still couldn't find her. Only then did we report the matter to the inner city guard."

"With Yoshino personality, she would never leave without informing anyone, not wanting to cause others trouble," Makoto rubbed his aching temples. "Which means that sometime between 8 and 12, someone must've sneaked into the garden and forcibly taken her."

"Yes, that's what I believe as well," the guard said cautiously. "Because when we did a headcount of the General's Mansion staff, we discovered that one of Lady Yoshino personal maids had also vanished. I suspect that person may very well be the one who abducted her."

"Enough, I've got the gist of it. You've already reported this to the Imperial Guard, right?"

"Yes, the commander of the guard immediately mobilized a hundred men to search the entire city for Lady Yoshino. At that time, both the inner and outer city gates were shut tight. Whether she can be found or not… we don't know."

"Probably not." Makoto said with a headache. "I suspect the one who took Yoshino may be connected to the group that attacked the minister's estate last night. They assassinated Wild Hound and stole six imperial arms. Taking Yoshino may be a ploy to target General Esdeath and the Jaegers' imperial arms, using her as a bargaining chip."

"If the ones who took the General's sister are as capable as the ones who infiltrated the minister's estate last night, then closed city gates are essentially meaningless."

A deeper worry crept into Honest face. "I fear the General's sister may already be outside the imperial capital."

"Damn it!"

Upon hearing that, Makoto face darkened, and he slammed his fist on the armrest again.

Losing six imperial arms was something he could still tolerate.

After all, five of them were brought in from outside the Empire. It would be best if they returned, but if they were lost, it wasn't much of a loss. He could pretend they never returned in the first place.

But losing Yoshino was on a completely different level.

A friend he had treated with sincerity. The sister of General Esdeath. A woman who might even become the future empress. Now, she had been kidnapped by unknown assailants, her whereabouts unclear.

Her life might not be in danger, but even so, the situation was grim.

"Your Majesty, we must keep this incident a secret," Honest expression was also quite grim. "If the General finds out, she'll definitely drop everything and rush back to the capital."

Given how much affection Esdeath had shown for her sister, it was certain she'd return the moment she learned of the disappearance.

Honest wasn't worried about her abandoning the Night Raid mission.

He was worried that woman would return and freeze the entire minister's estate in ice upon arrival.

After all, the Emperor didn't know anything. The entire capital, both inner and outer cities, were essentially under Honest control.

If something happened, it would fall squarely on his shoulders.

The reason Esdeath didn't take Yoshino with her was partly to keep her from seeing violence, and partly because she believed the inner city defenses were tight enough—even Night Raid wouldn't dare sneak in easily.

But Yoshino had still been kidnapped.

Even if it had nothing directly to do with Honest, Esdeath was not someone who reasoned logically.

"Hmm… Even if the General comes back, it won't help. She excels in battle, but not in search operations," Makoto hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Rather than cause unnecessary panic, it's better to let the General focus on eliminating Night Raid. Leave the search for Yoshino to the professionals."

"Your Majesty is wise."

As Makoto and Honest conversed, the kneeling guard lowered his head even more.

"Your Majesty… the people from the General's Mansion sent a messenger the moment Lady Yoshino went missing…"

The guard's voice trembled slightly.

He had notified the Imperial Guard, who made a report to their superior. The superior had come to the palace to explain. Palace officials filed a memorial. The Emperor read it and summoned him…

That whole process had taken at least an hour.

Meanwhile, the messenger to Esdeath had ridden off on a Danger Beast and was now at least 100 kilometers from the capital.

"Ah…"

Honest looked conflicted and let out a deep sigh.

His son was dead. His fortune gone. And now, his relationship with his ally was about to hit rock bottom.

Today was truly the worst day of his life.

In a city near the imperial capital.

Inside the city lord's mansion, as the messenger nervously recounted everything they knew, Esdeath listened silently to all the current intelligence.

However, contrary to expectations, she did not explode in fury. Though her expression was icy, she didn't make any drastic moves.

"You may leave now."

After a long pause, Esdeath said to the messenger, "If there's any new information, inform me at once."

"Yes, General Esdeath."

Hearing that, the messenger finally let out a breath of relief.

As a servant of the General's Mansion, he hadn't been responsible for looking after Yoshino—but with her disappearance, all the staff were considered accountable.

He had already mentally prepared to be severely punished—or even executed by a furious Esdeath.

But unexpectedly, Esdeath didn't issue any punishment at all. She didn't even show visible anger.

Though he didn't know why, it was clear to anyone that Esdeath wasn't in a good mood.

So, without uttering another word, he immediately mounted his Danger Beast and rushed toward the capital, afraid she might change her mind.

"General Esdeath, aren't you going back?"

As usual, Liver, the leader of the Three Beasts, raised the question in confusion while following his master.

Nyau and Daidas had the same doubt. Though they didn't voice it, their expressions clearly showed they were thinking the same thing.

"If anyone's more anxious, it should be the emperor and the ministers. They've probably already dispatched a professional search team to look for Yoshino. Even if I go back, I wouldn't be able to help much," Esdeath said indifferently. "Besides, maybe the emperor and ministers don't understand how powerful Yoshino really is, but you all should know very well just how strong that child is."

Hearing this, the Three Beasts were momentarily stunned, then all slightly nodded.

They had personally witnessed the battle between Yoshino and Esdeath.

That seemingly delicate and fragile little girl was capable of unleashing power that wasn't any weaker than Esdeath after absorbing an entire super-dangerous beast's blood.

Kidnapped?

That kind of thing was completely impossible.

Because anyone who hadn't reached Esdeath level didn't even qualify to face Yoshino.

"So… Miss Yoshino probably wasn't kidnapped, but left voluntarily?" Nyau asked tentatively.

"Most likely." Esdeath nodded. "But judging from her personality, it's unlikely that she would just sneak off on her own. It's more probable that someone snuck into the general's mansion and persuaded her to leave with them."

"Then the person who persuaded Miss Yoshino to leave must be someone she trusts deeply."

A contemplative glint flashed in Liver's eyes. "But aside from us, does Miss Yoshino have anyone else she's close with?"

As soon as he said that, although it was Liver himself who had raised the question, he immediately thought of the answer.

Esdeath and Nyau did the same.

"Go get Tatsumi," Esdeath instructed a nearby servant. "As soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ten minutes later, Tatsumi, wearing light armor and a sword at his waist, arrived at the lord's mansion.

Maybe it was because Esdeath and the Three Beasts were all staring at him, or perhaps it was due to the strange atmosphere that felt different from usual, but a sense of unease bubbled up inside Tatsumi.

They didn't find out I'm part of Night Raid… did they?

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing sharply as he forcibly suppressed the anxiety in his heart.

During this time, since Esdeath had kept him by her side, he had overheard quite a few strategic plans targeting Night Raid.

Unwilling to see his comrades suffer more casualties, he had taken several risks to leave messages for them, allowing them to avoid multiple deadly traps.

Although he believed he had done it all flawlessly, who could say for sure?

Just as Tatsumi was tangled up in his thoughts, Esdeath opened her mouth and asked,

"Tatsumi, I remember Yoshino once told me that when you two left the village, there were two other people traveling with you. Is that right?"

"That's right."

The unexpected question caught Tatsumi off guard for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and nodded. "There were two others with us— Ieyasu and Sayo."

"How was Yoshino relationship with them?"

"We all grew up together. Yoshino got along very well with them too."

Hearing this, Esdeath slowly nodded, confirming her suspicions.

Then, her voice became serious as she stared at Tatsumi and said,

"I suspect that one of those two villagers who went missing might have joined Night Raid."

"Ah…"

Tatsumi was momentarily at a loss for words.

Only he knew—that was impossible.

Because both Ieyasu and Sayo were already dead.

He had dug their graves with his own hands.

Their deaths were the very reason he had decided to join Night Raid.

But why would Esdeath come to such a conclusion?

"Yoshino is missing, and the most likely explanation is that someone she trusts deeply lured her out of the general's mansion."

Seeing Tatsumi shocked expression, Esdeath wasn't surprised and continued explaining,

"These past few days, Night Raid has been playing a game of cat and mouse with me, stalling for time. I originally thought they were waiting for reinforcements, but now it seems they took advantage of my absence from the capital to send someone Yoshino trusts to lure her away."

It was the most reasonable deduction.

If Tatsumi wasn't a member of Night Raid, and didn't know that his two fellow villagers had already died, he might have come to the same conclusion.

The fact that Esdeath didn't know about Ieyasu and Sayo's deaths made perfect sense—Tatsumi had never told her.

And out of consideration for Yoshino fragile heart, he hadn't told her either.

This misunderstanding was just what Tatsumi needed.

"General Esdeath, I know those two better than anyone. If they really joined Night Raid, they must have been deceived and led astray."

Tatsumi put on a look of firm conviction, crafting a perfect excuse for his own escape from the Jaegers and his plan to reunite with Night Raid.

"I'm not much use here. Please allow me to return to the capital and assist the investigators in finding Yoshino."