Chapter 87
***
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***
But if he expressed such an opinion now, the arrow would go straight to Ferdinand.
And Ferdinand was clearly Caius’s man. It was hard for him to understand, but if Ferdinand had stolen Louise, it was because of the marriage of convenience to strengthen Caius’s imperial power.
He knew how important the name of the imperial family was to his lord after twenty years.
With that in mind, it was easy for Michael to envision Ferdinand persuading Louise to write a letter and leave.
But his lord couldn’t quite picture it.
The reason he couldn’t make that easy assumption was because Caius had pinned his hopes on her. It was because he gave her his heart.
He was terrified that the one he trusted would abandon him, that the old wounds would be repeated under the same name.
In the end, Michael dared not advise his lord to realize that, for he was bred to be a hound, not a counselor.
So until his lord asked for his opinion, he would keep his mouth shut.
***
"Ferdinand."
The next day, Caius summoned Ferdinand again.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"..................I must find the woman."
"Ermoli's daughter? Hmm, may I ask why?"
Caius's answer was dour.
"Because she still has something...... to give me."
But it was not the right time ask what it was, so Ferdinand kept his head bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will write to Burg and have Martin take charge of it. It was only a matter of days before I found the full-time tutor she requested, so I'm sure I'll find her as well."
"That may not be easy if she keeps herself hidden. If she had taken nothing, it's even harder if she’s hiding her nobility."
"I will order them to do their best."
After Ferdinand returned, he called in a new chief priest and postponed the coronation.
When the crown prince was crowned emperor, the crown princess was naturally elevated to empress, so the coronation would not take place until after they had found Louise.
Even with the twenty years of not finding a single hair of the Ermoli's hanging like a thorn in his neck, Caius remained confident.
He was now the master of this land, and it would not be difficult to retrieve his lawful wife, who had cowardly fled.
***
Caius I thaws the frozen hearts of the workers with youthful enthusiasm!
On the tenth day of the power change, the new emperor's name was plastered across the imperial newspapers.
He had successfully met with the protesters and the Senate had unanimously passed a motion to elect commoners to the Senate.
This encouraging development restarted long-dormant factories and created an industrial zone with smoke rising from chimneys.
The faces of the factory owners blossomed, and the marketplace near the industrial zone was once again crowded with workers.
The new emperor, who hadn't even been crowned yet, was off to an excellent start, as nobles and commoners alike were eager to make their fortunes and join the imperial line.
Externally, at least.
-click
Cigar smoke filled the Emperor's office, and a startled Michael hurried to open the window.
The young Emperor the empire adored, sat there, his face as dark as dawn, smoking a strong cigar. He knew he shouldn't smoke, but he hadn't stopped since morning.
Michael couldn't help but ask.
"You can't sleep at all ...............?"
Caius pretended he hadn't heard the question.
"Why ........did she leave the check behind? If she traded it for the precious memento of her mother's, she should value it."
A shredded piece of paper lay on his desk. What had once been a great piece of paper, a check for 5300 crowns, had apparently met a miserable end.
Michael swallowed hard.
“It hasn’t even been a week yet, Your Majesty. It takes time for people to get to Burg, and Martin has only just begun to look for the Madame…”
"Ermolies are good at hide-and-seek."
He spoke quietly, almost mumbling.
"I wonder how long it will take this time. I still have something to get from her........... if I'm too late this time......."
"They’ll find her. If you don't mind, I'll join the search....."
Caius said as if he'd been waiting.
"Search Melk."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Have the Melk parish chapel, and the Gotha parish cemetery, too...... watched at all times. Don't let it be empty for a moment."
"Yes, I will."
Caius added with a frown.
"...And check in with the Melk lords, the minor lords, and any neighbors she may have known."
"Shall I tell them it's a imperial order?"
Caius hesitated before answering, but eventually nodded.
"..................Yes. Tell them that it will not end well for them if they dare to hide what belongs to the Emperor."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A moment of silence passed between them.
Michael found his lord's silence even more uncomfortable than usual, so he reluctantly said the one thing the new chancellor had requested.
"I.................. know it's a bit presumptuous, but I was wondering if you would like to be crowned first. You can have a private ceremony to crown the Empress when she returns................."
Caius' golden eyes looked up at him, a strange madness in them.
“You want me to hold the coronation ceremony alone? Then, should I wear the pearl around my neck?”
Michael had to shut his mouth. No matter what he said, the Lord would not back down.
The pearl was just an excuse.
When he first lured her to Burg, when he made that ridiculous deal with her over a pearl he could have just bought.
Only the lord did not know that it might have been like that from then on.
The fact that what he really wanted was no longer the pearl.
***
A week ago.
Louise barely opened her eyes from the dull thud of impact.
"Uh............... ugh."
Everything was black.
The last thing she saw was the smug face of Ferdinand, the Margrave of Burg.
"Now, what does the one who has learned the secret have to say? Don't worry, I've been thinking about it, and I think you have a better path than I. Isn't that a good Ermoli?"
Then a wet handkerchief was clamped over her mouth, and she lost her consciousness.
She felt the rattling vibration again. Then she heard the sound of hooves approaching.
They must have been traveling somewhere in a carriage. The road was rough and the carriage rattled.
"Ugh, ugh................"
Then she heard a faint voice overhead.
{This is the way, the road is like this.................. if you do it wrong.................., you'll break it.}
It wasn't Imperial language. Louise strained her ears to hear the Domus language.
{I thought you said she’d sleep till morning, the frail woman, and if she wakes up, she’ll struggle a little}.
They probably thought Louise was asleep and that even if she woke up, she wouldn’t be able to understand them.
Their careless conversation was clear in her ears.
She groaned and struggled at the same time. It would be worse if they realized she was awake.
Of course, the men were right, she couldn't move her whole body.
As she tried to wiggle her limbs, she realized that her wrists were tied behind her back, that her feet were also bound, and that her clothes had been removed. She could feel the bare skin of her arms being scratched roughly by something.
Fear overwhelmed her, but she didn't have time to shed a tear of fear.
As soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she scanned her body.
She was wearing only a thin petticoat, as if the dress that could reveal her identity had been taken off, and fortunately, there seemed to be no injuries.
This was not the time to be thinking about shameful attire.
She quickly looked around.
The carriage was loaded with other things besides her. Louise barely managed to crawl to her feet when she spotted a chest with angled corners.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a luxury item with bronze decorations. Sitting with her back to it, she rubbed the rope around her wrists repeatedly against the small nails that held it in place.
But after a while, it was no use. The rope was too thick to break by friction.
She switched gears and decided to remove the gag first. She rubbed her chin to get the rag from her mouth to catch the corner of the wooden box.
Her delicate flesh was scratched here and there, and her lips were torn and tasted of blood, but she couldn't afford to stop.
After what seemed like an eternity, she finally succeeded in removing the gag.
Then she pulled at the knots in the rope with her front teeth and began to untie her ankles. Her bent back screamed in pain, and her throat, which hadn't swallowed a sip of water in a long time, tasted like iron.
****
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Write a comment
LC (Friday, 13 December 2024 10:50)
Thank you Virginie!!! And thank you Dora! The story is so interesting right now. I wonder if she will be able to rescue herself or if Caius will
Virginie (Saturday, 14 December 2024 07:35)
Hopefully she will be able to get out of this kidnapping, and meet Caius or Michael afterwards !