Episode 105
Episode 47. The Bride of Hugo (1)
“Did you come?”
Asuka Rose was sitting on the throne in the throne room, drinking wine.
It was strong wine from Shallah. It was an audience room in the middle of the night. The silence that lingered in the dark audience room represented the empress’ heart.
“Oh my God.”
Hella was anticipating what the empress would say. Unlike Zishka, she was not good at acting.
I thought my mother would catch me as I was nervously swallowing.
“Your sister was kidnapped. To an unknown force.”
“yes?”
The Empress drank wine in silence for a while. 80% of the imperial family’s special entrustment team had already been put into pursuit, and the remaining 20% were trying to figure out if there was a duke inside the imperial castle.
The head of the special task force manipulated the post-mortem situation of Camel Driss and Lan Grey under the direction of the empress. It was an unprecedented emergency for the empress.
In the case of Tekken Asuka Rose, it was only natural to suspect the second princess first in this situation. It was because it was something that could happen enough in a hereditary battle for the throne.
The Empress raised her head and looked at Hella with clear eyes. In those eyes, there was the dignity of the world’s greatest hegemon. It was different from the realm of the Mystic Eye or the King of Pae.
It was an arrogant gaze that only a man at the pinnacle of power could achieve. A majesty that seems to see through the intentions of the opponent at any moment and drop the fire order.
“Did you do it?”
“I didn’t.”
The empress knew very well that it was not Hella’s actions. It was because the person who reported the abduction was none other than Baris Cannon.
Even if I judged her as a parent, not as an empress, Hella was not such a child.
But even if Hella was the culprit, the empress would not be shaken. If only the post-kidnapping process had been done neatly without leaving any evidence.
Rather, the empress had hoped that Hela would be the culprit. I wondered if the second daughter, who had a tender heart, had finally wielded a knife with poison in earnest.
A person who would rise to the top of the empire needed a strong heart that could trample on blood and flesh.
Again, it wasn’t. It would have been better if Hella was the culprit. The woman took a drink and let out a sigh.
If so, it would have been better to announce that Zishka had been pushed out and killed in a power struggle and to acknowledge Hella as the next sole successor. After all, the empress was thinking of handing over the empire to Hela.
“I rather wished you were the culprit.”
“Oh my God, how could you say that… How did you say that your sister was kidnapped? Can the princess be kidnapped in the middle of the empire?”
“That’s the problem. If the Imperial Family Task Force cannot find your sister, the empire must unconditionally designate a dragon country and start a full-scale war. If you don’t do that, you’ll be looked down upon. No one will fear the Empire.”
“Are you missing any clues?”
“Lan Grey and Camel Driss, the monks, are dead. No clues other than that. Just be aware of it, I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh my, my sister…
“Don’t worry about your sister. If your sister were in the same situation as you, she would have been delighted. That is the quality you should emulate.”
Hella wanted to express her disapproval of the empress’ harsh words, but she bit her lip and stayed still. The Empress snorted when she saw that.
“Moreover, you strangely wrapped around your sister. Your sister has hated you since childhood. Now, in effect, you are the only princess in the empire. Isn’t that something to be happy about?”
It wasn’t being sarcastic, it was sincere. If Jishka does not return, all power in the empire will be concentrated on Hela, using Duran as a channel.
Based on that power, he was able to put pressure on the Rollmandi family, which was Zishka’s force, and, hopefully, attract the Povianga, who always maintained neutrality.
If Hella only eats her heart.
“My mother like that was strangely, especially wrapped up in me. Why on earth…
“Because that is the right decision.
Zishka’s temper is more suited to a warrior than an emperor.”
The empress was once again convinced that Hela was not the culprit because of this conversation. That soft child is defending her sister even at this moment.
On the one hand, it was arrogant. It was the first time that Hella had spoken directly to herself.
To the Empress of the Empire, Tekken Asuka Rosé. If Hella also grew well in the future, she would be able to carry out her will to rule the empire and the world as an emperor.
“Go back. For the time being, I will attach a special escort to you. As the state of affairs is the state of affairs, make sure you behave properly.”
Even after a week, the Imperial Family Task Force had not produced any results. The number of cases could not be counted, but the number of special assignments was limited.
The clues were so meager that they had to be regarded as non-existent. From the point of view of the special task force, the only witnesses, two attendants, were also dead and silent.
Even though the Imperial Family Special Entrusted Team was a group of experts in investigation and tracking, the possibility of finding Jishka’s whereabouts was infinitely slim.
Besides, by now, the forces that had kidnapped Zishka had come to demand negotiations. The Empress waited for the abductees to approach before the Imperial Family Task Force found Jishka.
No madman in the world would kidnap the imperial princess and kill her without using her for negotiations or blackmail. However, there was no contact from the abductees, so it was frustrating.
If they asked for negotiations using Zishka’s personal situation as an excuse, they would just destroy it one by one. The Kingdom of Kozel, which kidnapped Guinness Jacques, the wife of Duran Jacques in the past, ended like that.
The Empress had no plans to spare Zishka’s life. I just wanted to organize this incident in a way that would not damage the prestige and deterrence of the empire.
Because Zishka, not Hela, was kidnapped. If it had been Hella, the empress’ reaction would have been completely different from now.
“Special Commander. I expected it, but there really is no progress.”
“Sorry for the low.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s time for them to ask for negotiations, but there’s no sign of it.”
“It’s just a thought that suddenly came to my mind;5 “Tell me.”
“Jecca Dean… It’s been quite a while since we put him in the dungeon. Could it be that the blue dragon’s retaliation for kidnapping poor Zishka?”
“hmm. There are endless hypotheses.
In my opinion, that’s not the case. If so, Yuma would have informed me of something. Just in case, I should try calling Yuma today.”
The Empress planned to wait another ten days. Until then, if the abductees did not contact or the imperial special lease did not generate income, the fact that the princess had been abducted had to be announced.
The Empress had not yet informed only Hela and the Imperial Family Task Force members of the fact that Zishka had been kidnapped. Among the members of the special task force, those who were dispatched like Cindy did not know about it yet.
From the empress’ point of view, Winslting, Durand, Hayes, and Adol don’t know that Zishka has been kidnapped.
Of course, the head of the Povian family, Adol Povian, didn’t really know.
All the maids who usually served Zishka were imprisoned. They were scheduled to be released when Zishka returned safely.
* * * Early in the morning, Yuma took a carriage and headed for the capital gate. The coachman was a cog. Inside the carriage were Yuma and two women who looked very hesitant.
The two women had their dark eyelashes down with their arms crossed against Yuma, who was sitting in the middle. All the way to the gate of the capital, the three talked about vulgar things that only masters of lewdness would say.
“Stop.”
Although the fact of Zishka’s abduction was not publicized, the empress immediately stepped up the inspection. Even if there was no justification or reason, it was possible with just one word from the empress.
“There will be an interrogation for a while. Driver and passengers, please disembark and cooperate.”
Yuma peered through the window. Then, through the window, two women also jumped up and peeked out their faces.
“What check is it? I’m a Yuma from the Puang Merchants Company, and I’m on my way to travel to Matan with these older sisters. Anything more to say?”
Even in the midst of this, the women pressed their lips to Yuma’s ears and whispered something incessantly. The garrison officers and soldiers coughed for nothing, their faces flushed.
“Even if you are Sir Duran Jacques and not Yuma, we still have to check. It means that His Majesty has given orders to intensify the inspection. Probably because of you.”
The garrison officer was mistaken that the reason for the strengthened inspection order was the terror at the gateway to Yuma.
“Ah, yes. Guys, take out your ID. Cog! you also. Let’s follow the instructions of our garrison who worked hard day and night.”
Saying so, Yuma’s mouth smelled of strong alcohol. When the soldier got closer and checked, they all smelled of strong alcohol except for the coachman. They looked like people who had just come out of a drunken stupor.
In addition, Yuma’s clothes had traces of women’s cosmetics here and there. What do you mean by those unanswerable costumes of women that reveal their breastbones and thighs?
‘These… they just came out of the brothel. They’re just like commoners, but some of them wear two prostitutes and drink alcohol in brothels all night long, and some of them work from morning on.’
The skin of the women was so fine that I kept looking at them. The soldier was irritated, but decided to accept the power of money.
I am a garrison general, and he is a pupil of the well-known Duran Jacques and the small owner of the Puang Merchant Merchant.
The spending had to be different.
“…No problem. go through By the way, from broad daylight, what is this? It’s not some kind of beast…
The officer who was inspecting the inside of the carriage tut tut tut. Inside the wagon, there were all sorts of adult toys that the officer had never seen before. It was so bizarre and promiscuous that it made me sick to my stomach.
“Haha, when you get a chance, come and play with us.
I will tell you what the ultimate pleasure is.”
The officer shook his head, but secretly expected Yuma to entertain him. When Yuma returned, I really felt that I should visit the Puang Merchants Company once.
Yuma and the women were able to get out of the capital gate safely.
Naturally, the empress could not meet Yuma. Disguised as a eunuch, an Imperial Special Leaseman went to Puang Merchant and called him, but Yuma had already left the capital.
“Yuma left the capital with two prostitutes?”
“yes. I passed through the checkpoint and left.”
The head of the imperial family’s special task force replied with his hands behind his back.
“I didn’t get the impression that you would like prostitutes.”
“I was also curious, so I looked it up and found out that I had visited the high-end window shop in Pobianga a few days ago.”
“Hmm.”
“Shall I go and get him?”
“no. After all, there is no man without sexual desire. The boy is not so thoughtless. It seems clear that it has nothing to do with this case. Same with Blue Dragon.
Did you check out Jecca Dean?”
“yes. It seems that Lord Duran took care of it himself. I am living comfortably as if I am not in a dungeon, but in a first-class inn.”
“Yuma must have asked Lord Duran. That much can be overlooked. Hela’s escort or better reinforcements. Take out half of the special task force members who are being pursued and give them the task of managing public opinion. Those who kidnapped Zishka will be in touch soon.”
Yuma’s wagon was running excitedly toward the Egon Mountains.
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