#35. The Missing Lady 

“Aegir, come to your senses!”

It didn’t take long for a conclusion to be reached.

“Do you really believe the lady’s wicked words? Despite being of Dragonia’s bloodline, she nearly froze to death. How could someone like that possibly……!”

“Yusuf, the lady knew not only who we were despite never having met us before, but also my sister’s name and accurately identified her illness.”

Aegir stood protectively in front of the lady and said.

“So even if the lady is deceiving me, I’m willing to be deceived.”

Aegir’s eyes were red. Masha’s life was no different from a candle in the wind.

If there was a chance to save his sister, he couldn’t refuse to try, no matter how much it seemed like an absurd scam.

Even if it meant holding a sword to the throat of his fellow Amyeong.

Yusuf, who knew Aegir’s abilities, gritted his teeth.

And finally.

“Get on my back.”

“……Thank you.”

Everything proceeded according to Partanie’s wishes.

Aegir, who had personally helped the lady put on each finger of her gloves, turned his back.

Partanie, thoroughly protected against the cold, whispered as she climbed onto Aegir’s broad back.

“I’ll definitely cure your sister, Masha. I promise.”

“Yes, I believe you.”

“……”

Yusuf’s eyes showed obvious disapproval, but he added nothing more.

In truth, he was curious too.

What exactly was the lady thinking?

Outside the window of the Red Velvet Room, snow was pouring down. Dragonia’s winters were typically like this.

But why was the lady, who had just risen from her sickbed and nearly frozen to death, so insistent on going outside?

‘Surely she’s not planning to run away just because they won’t disinherit her……’

He was skeptical. She showed none of the typical signs of someone planning to flee.

She hadn’t gathered valuables, hadn’t looked back at the space she’d last occupied…… Her attitude was as fresh as if she were just going out for a short walk.

It didn’t match the grand concept of escape at all.

Besides, even though Aegir valued his sister’s life dearly, he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to the lady running away.

Aegir had only backed down because he assumed the lady would return after a brief outing.

‘Well, whatever. Let’s see what grand act she’s making all this fuss about.’

Naturally, Yusuf didn’t believe a word of the lady’s speech about the savior of Dragonia, Lady Partilova, visiting her.

But as Aegir said, it was extremely puzzling how she had accurately seen through not only their identities but also their weaknesses.

Especially her face when mentioning his real master…….

“……”

Yusuf bit the inside of his cheek. No, it’s impossible. He mustn’t be swayed by untrustworthy statements.

In the end, all questions led back to one person: the lady of Dragonia.

Yusuf, who had been watching the fragile lady with her blue-purple hair through sharp eyes, opened his mouth.

“Let’s go.”

With both the Grand Duke of Dragonia and Siyeref away, surveillance was relatively sparse.

Thanks to this, the two Amyeong and the lady of Dragonia easily slipped out of the Blue Brick Castle.

Black night. White snow swirled like spring flower petals.

“Haah……”

Partanie, riding on Aegir’s back, blinked vacantly.

Was it because her vision was blurred by the misty breath?

Everything felt surreal.

From the fact that she had returned as Partanie of Dragonia to the fact that she was finally moving away from the Blue Brick Castle.

‘Though the cold is painfully real.’

Shivering, Partanie stretched out her hand in Aegir’s line of sight and said.

“Yes, see that marker? Go straight ahead.”

“How far?”

“Tell me when you think we’ve gone about an hour.”

“……”

After traveling for quite some time on Aegir’s back, Partanie spotted something buried in the snow.

“Wait.”

At the lady’s voice, Aegir immediately stopped.

“What is it?”

“Over there……”

Partanie frowned and pointed.

She thought she saw the silhouette of a fallen person. But looking closer, there wasn’t just one or two human-shaped bumps on the snow-covered ground.

Something’s wrong.

“……Wait, let me down for a moment.”

Poof, her wool boots sank ankle-deep into the white snow. With her eye level suddenly lower, the lady spread her legs as wide as possible and approached the fallen figure.

Yusuf, who had followed, turned over the prone form.

“It’s a corpse.”

Aegir inhaled sharply in surprise, then began checking each of the fallen figures around them.

“They’re all…… all dead! They’re all corpses!”

“And they’re assassins.”

Yusuf said as he examined the bodies. He added that they all had bodies trained in martial arts and carried lethal weapons.

“Despite the heavy snowfall, it’s not piled very deep. They must have died recently.”

“I agree. The blood hasn’t congealed yet and hasn’t frozen much despite this weather.”

But why were assassins’ corpses scattered in a place like this?

The more they analyzed, the more puzzled Aegir and Yusuf became, and their eyes unconsciously turned to the lady.

‘Could this also be wisdom that the previous Grand Duke shared with the lady?’

Partanie had no idea what absurd misconceptions the two held.

She couldn’t help it.

‘Why are there corpses here?’

Coincidentally, this was the destination she had been hoping for.

Though it appeared to be just the middle of a snowy field, it was actually a hideout known only to a select few among the Dragonia family bloodline.

She had planned to disappear through this place.

Abandoning both her burdensome name, Partanie, and the wearisome surname, Dragonia.

But an unexpected variable had interfered with this plan. Her heart pounded against her ribs with the anxiety that something had gone wrong.

‘No, stay calm.’

Panicking now would get her nowhere.

Partanie took a slow, deep breath. The cold air entered her lungs and reached her brain, gradually clearing her confused mind.

At least one thing was certain.

‘There’s a spy nearby.’

Recently deceased assassins. Snow lightly covering the corpses…….

Since they must have arrived not long ago, the spy was likely hiding somewhere in the vicinity.

‘But how?’

How did they know about this place?

Perhaps because her mind was in turmoil, Partanie’s feet moved restlessly here and there.

The bodies that continued to appear wherever her footsteps led seemed to show just how fierce the fighting had been here.

It was at the moment when she reflexively turned her gaze toward that brutal scene.

“?”

Woong— a strange sensation as if passing through some kind of barrier.

Reflexively looking back, Partanie realized that Aegir and Yusuf were no longer visible.

Simultaneously, Partanie immediately recognized that she had now entered the barrier of the hideout she had been searching for.

“……Stop.”

A voice like a fierce growl.

Somehow it felt familiar, and Partanie turned her head as if drawn by a magnet.

And she discovered him. A blood-covered young man with deep golden hair.

Partanie’s eyes widened.

Not just because a stranger had appeared in a hideout known only to a select few among the Dragonia bloodline.

“Y-you are.”

Because this stranger wasn’t unfamiliar.

A being who had left a clear mark on her, different from the Dragonia family members, one she couldn’t forget even across lifetimes.

‘Prince Lukaris of Fenrir!’

Startled, Partanie thought to herself.

‘Why are you here?’

I only told you about this place in my past life.

* * *

“L-Lady!”

Aegir raised his voice in shock. The youngest lady of Dragonia had suddenly vanished before his eyes.

Yusuf’s eyes widened too. For someone who had been there just a moment ago to disappear so suddenly…….

‘……A barrier?!’

The two Amyeong frantically searched the surroundings.

But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find the lady’s footprints, which had been cut off at some point.

That they couldn’t detect it even with the Amyeong’s magical tools… If it truly was a barrier, it was an extremely sophisticated one.

“Lady!”

Aegir’s face turned pale as he called out for Partanie. Could it be that the small girl had deceived him?

A sinister suspicion suddenly rose in Aegir’s mind. Perhaps the lady had only intended to escape all along.

She had deceived him, mocked his hope and trampled on it…….

His heart ached with betrayal.

But….

“Where on earth did she…!”

The more realistic fear was even greater.

If this situation became known, they would be filleted alive.

And not just them. Their relatives and anyone connected to them would not be spared.

Aegir’s mouth was covered as he raised his voice in fear.

“Shh.”

It was Yusuf. Silently, he pulled Aegir behind a rock to hide and nodded his head in a certain direction.

Slowly turning his gaze in that direction, Aegir’s eyes widened.

“……There seems to be something over there.”

The approaching footsteps were numerous, but only one person spoke.

“Check it out.”

A low, dry baritone.

With a stride, Dragonia’s characteristic ice-blue eyes fell on the fallen corpses.

‘Lord Siyeref?!’

The two Amyeong realized only then that their original master, Siyeref, had arrived nearby!

The search party’s footsteps approached in an instant.

The two covered their mouths to prevent even the sound of breathing.

‘Please, please……! Don’t find any suspicious traces!’

Thump, thump— their hearts beat rapidly.

“There are corpses here!”

But contrary to their wishes, Siyeref and his people only drew closer. The two Amyeong desperately concealed their presence.

It was then.

The expressionless Siyeref suddenly frowned and muttered.

“Partanie?”