Eleden knocked on the door of Estevan’s designated room.

“Estevan, let’s talk.”

There was a moment’s delay before the door opened up. Greeting him was a tired and irritated-looking Estevan. Estevan left the door open and walked back to sit on the chair by the window without waiting for his elder brother to step inside. Eleden entered the room and closed the door. He narrowed his eyes at Estevan, who had not even yet removed a single part of his armor, as if he had no intention of resting just yet.

“You were pretty rude to our father,” Eleden said as he leaned his back on the door.

“Hm.”

“... That’s all you have to say?”

He turned his eyes to glance at Eleden. “What do you want me to say?”

“At least show a little regret.”

Estevan sighed. “... I, I do regret it.”

“Good. That means you have calmed down a little.”

Estevan shifted his eyes back to the outside scenery.

“Estevan… You’re only hurting yourself doing all this.”

“... I just want to find our little sister.”

“And we have found nothing. To be honest, I don’t think she’s in Wisteria anymore.”

Estevan lowered his head.

“You have not mourned the death of our mother. It’s time to let this go and leave the search to the others.”

Estevan gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly. “How could I do that to Estelia?”

“Spend time beside our mother. It will be the last time we’ll ever see her face. Would you like to depart from Mother like this?”

“... No. But… Estelia could be in danger while I do nothing.” He bit his lip.

Eleden stared at him for a moment and let out a long breath. “It’s not bad to be so worried about our dear sister. But do you think she would want you to disregard everything else? Our kingdom, and our mother’s passing?”

“...” Estevan only lowered his head and said nothing.

Eleden walked closer to him. “I am also worried about her. But I have faith in her. Our little sister is now more reliable than in the past, if you have forgotten. She has grown tremendously.”

“But…”

“Estelia wouldn’t like seeing you like this. She would want you to take more care of yourself. So please, rest for now. Mourn our mother, and help the kingdom…”

Estevan closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he fell into thought. “... Very well.”

Eleden patted Estevan’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you the situation tomorrow. I’m having a meeting with our father and Uncle Meril shortly.”

“What is it about?”

“It’s about our little sister.”

Estevan raised his eyes at him. “Then shouldn’t I join you?”

Eleden smiled. “You’re not well right now. Leave it to us for tonight.”

“... Alright. Tell me about it first thing in the morning.”

“Of course.”

Estevan returned his eyes to the outside. “I miss Mother… I miss Estel. Everything feels so empty without them.”

“I know…”

“... I should have stayed with them. I should have closely guarded them.”

“...” Eleden couldn’t find any words in response. Everyone in the family had regrets. What ifs, I should have, and many kinds of thoughts had already crossed their minds. But no matter how much they think, no matter how much they imagine things would change, reality remains. He also couldn’t say he shouldn’t blame himself, for Eleden, in truth, felt the same.

“... I still remember when Estel first called me brother. She was so small and adorable.”

Eleden smiled. “Yeah, she called you that before me. Very unfair, I’m the oldest.”

The corners of Estevan’s lips lifted up as well as he recalled the pleasant memories. “I was young back then, but I still remember that moment so clearly.” He could still clearly see that moment in his mind. The way the little Estelia looked up at him and struggled to pronounce the word. Estevan lowered his head and rubbed the tears coming out of his eyes. “Seeing her gradually grow was the best thing I could ever see. She’s the most wonderful and adorable little sister I could ever ask for.”

“Indeed.”

“... I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is. I know she’ll come back home.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Estevan faintly nodded. “I think I’ll start resting now.”

“Okay.” Eleden began walking back to the door, but before opening it, he turned back. “Oh yeah, make sure to apologize to Father tomorrow.”

“... Okay.”

Eleden exited the room. Once he was outside, and the silence filled the dark air, he heaved out a long and tired sigh before continuing onward to the meeting room. He was thinking. Like Estevan, he missed his lost family members.

He missed his mother’s gentle voice and beautiful smile. The most caring mother of all. And it angered him so that she was caught up in all of this absurdity. It shouldn’t have happened. Of all people, it had to be her to die. Eleden thought it would have been better if it was him that lost his life, not his mother. The world needed a gentle person like her more than him.

And his little sister. She didn’t deserve to be the center of all this chaos, she was an innocent soul. She didn’t deserve to be treated so harshly by this world. He was worried about her, so worried that in the silence it could drive him insane just thinking about her safety and wherever she could be. But he had to keep his composure. Losing so would only contribute nothing.

A moment later, he arrived at the meeting room. Inside, waiting for him, were his father, Meril, and Vernon. The room was a spacious one, couches and a fancy table at the center. It was one of the reception rooms. Eleden made sure to lock the door.

“How is he?” Leodoule asked with a worried expression.

“I managed to convince him, so he’ll be fine from now on. At least, I hope so.”

“Good.” Leodoule heaved a long and tired sigh. “I understand him. We don’t know what is happening to Estelia… We don’t know what the ones that took her are doing to her right now… Even if she is still alive.” He leaned his back on the couch. “But I prefer not to think that.”

“I think we don’t have to worry much if she’s alive or not. She was taken for a reason. That could mean they need her alive,” Meril said.

Leodoule leaned a little to the side. “... At least until they get what they want.”

“Be that as it may, there’s no point in rushing when we are directionless.”

Leodoule nodded faintly.

“Princess Estelia is not to be underestimated…” Vernon added. “She is not weak. When it comes to it, I know she can handle herself in any situation.”

“All we have is faith, then.”

Vernon nodded at the king. “Yes. But I also know it for a fact.”

“... That is a relief to hear.”

Eleden felt the same as his father. Vernon had been working for Estelia for some time now. Perhaps he had seen something in her that made him feel confident that she would be alright.

“I guess my daughter is no pushover. I hope she gives the enemy a good pummeling.” Leodoule grinned.

There could be other things that could happen. There was bad and good. However, it would be better to be optimistic. Way better. Thinking negatively would only do no good for one’s mind and heart.

“Speaking of enemies,” said Meril. “Should we fully take it now that those winged creatures really took the princess? We have not found her in this region at all. If they are winged, they’ll be long gone by now.”

They spoke with the knights that said to have witnessed winged creatures flying the night sky. But given that it was night and everyone was fighting with their lives, no one had a clear picture of it. Some were not sure if they saw the princess or not, they seemed to have seen her but weren't sure. Thus, they didn’t fully take it that those unknown winged beings took the princess. They had to look from different angles and other possibilities.

“We should. Could they be part of the Empire’s army?” Leodoule placed a hand under his chin.

Vernon shook his head. “I doubt they’re completely part of them. They might be from the inhumans… the mystic race. However, they want the princess dead. So why would they take her away?”

They could have executed the princess during the fight and not kidnap her.

“Does this race of mystic even have winged creatures with them?” Eleden asked.

“They have men that can turn into beasts,” said Meril. “It won’t be surprising if they have someone that can turn to birds or anything.”

“But then again, they wanted my daughter dead from the very start. Why take her now? It’s unlikely they changed their mind.”

“The fog monsters… Could it be them? The Cursed Children.”

During one of their prior r briefings, the king told them about those monstrous creatures. And the king said he first heard about them from the High Bishop Xenous.

“They didn’t appear to have wings,” Leodoule answered Vernon. “What other creatures we know here even have wings and are in groups?”

“Based on the ones we encountered before, I can only think that the mystic race is more plausible,” Eleden said.

“Any smart monsters we know of?” Meril asked.

Everyone pondered silently for a moment.

“What about demons?” Vernon suggested.

Everyone looked at him, a bit taken aback by that suggestion.

Leodoule shook his head. “There’s no way. Demons have not been here on the continent for centuries. Or rather, have not made a mess or anything. Besides, why would they come here? Why would they even take Estelia? Demons were never involved in this matter.”

It was just so unlikely for demons to be involved with Estelia. They just couldn’t think of any reason why now, of all times, they would just suddenly insert themselves.

“Do demons have wings?” Eleden asked.

“From what I know, there are some of them,” Vernon answered. “But I’m not too knowledgeable about this topic.”

“In any case, we can’t just send men to anywhere, even more so to the south, to find Estelia because of this guess. Which is also unlikely. We have to have proof,” Leodoule said.

“It could be demons, though.” Meril shrugged. “But there is no way we can be sure. There are other possibilities. As mentioned earlier, the mystic race could have some wings with them. It would be nice if we had someone to ask. But alas, we captured no elf.”

After the fight, they had also been searching hard for any signs of elves. However, they found no trace of them at all. The imperial knights they captured were also no help, they knew nothing of the elves. All they knew was that they helped them teleport to the capital city.

“We should try asking the Cursed Children, they might know,” Vernon suggested.

“We have not met them again ever since that night, right?” Eleden replied. “And how do we even find them?”

“We have to be certain of what we surmised,” said the king. “I will consult with Xenous about demons. As for the Cursed Children… we’ll think about how to find and ask one.”

Everyone agreed.

“By the way, Father. Now that we are at war… About Mother’s funeral…”

“It will all proceed as it should be. I don’t want to rush.”

Eleden nodded with a satisfied smile. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Leodoule turned towards Vernon. “Vernon, first thing in the morning, send a request for the High Bishop to come here. I want him here before noon.”

“Understood.”

The king nodded. “Alright, rest up, everyone. But Vernon, stay for the meantime. We still have something to talk about.”

Vernon was puzzled as to what the one-on-one talk would be for. Eleden was also a bit curious, but left it be, and both him, and Meril left the room. Once the door was closed, the king spoke to Vernon.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this… During the assault on the palace, I saw Estelia was geared, fully equipped.”

“Fully equipped? What do you mean?”

“She had several daggers strapped all over her, hidden underneath her cloak.”

Vernon’s eyes widened a little.

The king continued. “It confuses me how she obtained those dangerous weapons. Do you know anything about it?”

“She did learn how to use daggers with Sir Elson, but I didn’t know she had possession of many daggers. I didn’t see her grab several.”

“They didn’t look to be from the knights.”

“Is that so…? I, I do not know anything about it.”

The king seemed to be disappointed. “I see… I was hoping you would know. You might have noticed how she got them.”

“...”

“It would seem my precious daughter is hiding something from me... From all of us.”