The knight’s heavy footsteps echoed through the dark forest as he desperately searched for Duchess Bernice Balliol Agnes. Sweat dripped down his face, and his heart raced with worry. The forest seed to close in around him, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing sinister lurked in the shadows.
"Did you find Duchess?" he asked his fellow knight, his voice filled with urgency.
"No, I have searched every corner of the palace, but she is still nowhere to be found as if she has vanished. There’s no sign left too. What if the thing about the monster is true?" the knight replied, his voice tinged with fear.
"Stop idolizing your stupid thoughts and find the duchess. She is our master, and she needs to be found safe," the first knight urged, determination in his eyes.
With renewed determination, the knight entered the dark and foreboding forest. The sunlight had faded, casting an eerie gloom over the ancient trees.
"Duchess, are you here? If you are here, please answer !" he shouted into the darkness, but there was no response.
"Duchess, answer if you are inside! The Duke is here to find you," he called out again, but the only reply was the haunting sounds of creatures in the night.
"Duchess!" he called once more, desperation creeping into his voice.
He continued his frantic search, but his efforts seed fruitless. The forest remained silent, except for the unsettling noises of the wilderness.
As he moved deeper into the forest, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from another direction. The sound of soone walking towards him grew louder, and he hoped that it might be Duchess Bernice.
"Duchess, is it you? Duchess! Respond to !" he said, running towards the source of the noise. He dismounted from his horse and ran, determined to find her.
"Hey, wait!" he shouted, extending his hand to catch the person ahead. However, the pace of the figure increased, and suddenly, the person sprinted away, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.
"Hey! Stay right there! If you get caught, the consequences won’t be any good!" he shouted, getting back up and giving chase. The pursuit was long and grueling, but finally, he caught up with the fleeing figure.
He pulled back the curtain that hid the woman’s face, expecting to find Duchess Bernice. However, to his surprise, he found soone else.
"You are not the duchess?" he questioned, baffled.
"When did I say I’m the duchess?" the lady replied, her tone insolent.
"What do you an, when did you say you are the duchess? Why were you running when I called you then? Is this fun for you?" he shouted at her, his frustration evident.
"Why can’t I run? This is my wish. Why would I care who is missing?" she replied arrogantly, provoking him further. In anger, he tightened his grip on her throat, pinning her to a tree.
"One more ti you say this, and I will pluck that tongue of yours," he threatened, his anger boiling over. She trembled, unable to speak, until he finally released his hold on her throat.
He walked away from her, leaving her coughing uncontrollably. The man who had been watching approached her, handing her a pouch of silver coins.
"Good job, Sylvia! I knew you could do it," he congratulated her.
"This is what you wanted to feel? If I had known I would be dead taking this job, I would have never taken it," Sylvia exclaid, still recovering from the choking.
"Don’t forget your place! You are assigned to only do as His Majesty says. Do you think you have the space to bargain with the emperor? You are only a plaything to him, so do as he says without asking any questions," the man warned her while holding her mouth tightly, causing her cheek to bleed as she struggled.
"I understand," Sylvia replied obediently and left the forest. The man malevolently chuckled as he watched her go, his dark intentions clear.
anwhile, Duke Alexavier Agnes had arrived in the town, desperately searching for his missing wife, Duchess Bernice. He discreetly covered himself with a dark hoodie to conceal his identity. As he walked through the town, he couldn’t help but stare at every person he passed, hoping to catch a glimpse of his beloved wife.
A little girl approached him, offering a bunch of flowers with a sweet smile.
"My lord, do you want flowers? They’re fresh. I plucked them from the plants this morning," she offered.
"No! You can ask forward," Alexavier replied, walking past her without considering the flowers.
"If you don’t want them, you can take them for your wife. They are pretty yellow, like the sun," the girl suggested innocently.
Alexavier stopped in his tracks, his heart aching at the ntion of his wife. He turned back to the girl and bought all the flowers she offered, clutching them tightly in his hands. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the vibrant yellow petals.
"Wife, where are you?" he mumbled, his voice trembling with emotion. He seed to be lost in his thoughts, envisioning Bernice’s smiling face. Suddenly, he seed to imrse himself in his thoughts, as if he was seeing Bernice in front of him, moving around him, wearing a yellow dress and smiling crazily, calling, "Alex, why are you standing there? Co forward! Dance with ! It’s fun!"
"Wife!" he exclaid, a mixture of longing and sadness in his voice.
With the flowers in his hands, he continued to search the town, questioning the townspeople about his wife’s appearance. However, no one could provide any helpful information. They claid to have never seen such a woman before.
He moved forward, asking the people of the town to describe how she looked. But no one could provide a helpful answer.
"Please! Think! Think properly! What if you saw her a day or two days before, but you might not rember? So think!" Alex urged the shopkeeper, but he couldn’t provide an answer.
"No, my lord! I have never encountered such a lady in my life. And if it is about a day or two days before, then the entire town was locked up because of the curfew imposed by the emperor for so reason, so no one was out. We have already provided necessary things to survive for two days," the shopkeeper explained.
"Curfew?" Alex mumbled.
"Yes, it was a sudden occurrence mandated by His Highness," he said, while Alex moved forward.
"A sudden occurrence? Why? There haven’t been any monster attacks on the empire, nor have there been any attacks. So why, when this is not sothing that always happens?" he muttered, heading back to the palace to confront the emperor once more.
Frustrated and anxious, Duke Alexavier confronted the emperor, determined to get answers about his wife’s disappearance.
"Did you co back, Alexavier? Good, I was waiting for you. The war situation is going out of control, so—" the emperor began, but Alexavier interrupted him.
"Your Majesty, I’m not here to discuss the war but my wife. Tell , what have you done about my wife’s disappearance?" he demanded, his eyes filled with desperation.
"Alex, as I said, she must be out sightseeing," the emperor replied casually, seemingly unconcerned.
"She isn’t. Or are you forgetting that you ordered a curfew for two days without any reason?" Alexavier questioned, causing a stir among those present.
"There was a curfew?" people began to murmur.
"I had no idea," the emperor feigned ignorance.
"The emperor didn’t discuss it with us either," the ministers chid in.
"Duke, are you questioning ?" the emperor’s voice rose.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am questioning you because whatever you have done, you didn’t provide any proper explanation. So we, as the people of the empire, deserve an explanation from the emperor himself. Please clarify the reason for the curfew on the day when my wife went missing," Alexavier declared, his anger palpable.
"There is no connection between the curfew and the duchess’s disappearance. It was a random decision. The curfew was implented for the sake of peace. That is it," the emperor asserted.
"Then why did you suggest that the duchess might have gone sightseeing in the town when you had ordered a curfew? Are you trying to confuse us, Your Majesty?" Alexavier questioned, his frustration boiling over.
"If it was done by the high priest, it is still the emperor’s fault because I had already requested a restriction on the priest that might harm my wife, but my wish was brutally neglected. Who should I bla then? My wife, who is missing, or the emperor who disregarded my pleas?" Duke Alexavier’s voice was filled with anger as he confronted the emperor, his hand on his sword hilt, his brows furrowed. The tension in the room was palpable, and all eyes were on the two powerful figures locked in a heated exchange.
"Answer ! Who should be responsible for this?" he shouted.
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