The prince frowned when he heard this answer. Indeed, the latch of the box was hidden. If one was not familiar with the box, they could not find it. It would take half a day of careful observation for soone to locate the latch and open it. Besides, if these two n were traitors, they would not have presented the box.
"Call the princess’s maid," Prince Edward instructed Walter.
Walter stepped outside and was surprised to see that Rosa was still standing there.
"His Highness asks for you," Walter said.
Rosa took a deep breath and followed him in. She was indeed worried about Anastasia. There had been no news for more than half a month, and all they had found was the box.
"Your Highness," Rosa bowed as soon as she stepped into the chamber.
The few days of training after Anastasia had married into the royal family had taught her the basic etiquette of a royal maid.
"You recognize this box as the one your mistress received from my mother?" Prince Edward asked. He had many guesses running through his mind. He wondered if the two items had already fallen into the hands of Gube spies and what they planned to do with them.
"Your Highness, if there are not two of these boxes, then it should be the very one," Rosa answered.
Prince Edward closed his eyes when he heard this. Of course, there would not be another such box outside the royal palace at this ti.
The prince asked the soldiers a few more questions. Seeing that the prince was only concerned about the box, Rosa grew anxious.
"Your Highness, if I may," Rosa said. Although she was afraid of overstepping, she was too worried about the princess to stay silent.
"Speak," Prince Edward said. He was angry, but he knew that perhaps a maid close to the princess might have sothing useful to say if she spoke up.
"Her Highness, the princess, took care of this box herself. She did not allow to carry it for even a mont. When we were attacked at the shore, everything was chaotic, but when I realized the box was missing, I felt certain the princess must have taken it with her. She said that this was the first thing the queen trusted her with, and she would guard it with her life," Rosa paused.
"What are you trying to say?" the prince asked, irritated.
"I am almost certain that the princess should not be far from where this box was found. Since she took care of it herself, only she can tell what happened to its contents," Rosa said. Since the prince was anxious about the content, then she must tie her lady and the princess together.
Prince Edward sighed when he heard this, but he felt it made sense.
"Was there a caravan of slaves there?" Prince Edward asked. After thinking for a while, he felt that perhaps the kidnappers were hiding Anastasia among slaves. The location, Lowe, shared a boundary with Gube. If they wanted to smuggle the princess out of Nixel, this would definitely be the route they would follow.
"No, there were only two caravans, and they were both carrying goods," the deputy captain said.
The prince nodded. He was about to ask another question when a soldier by the side spoke up.
"Although the caravans did not carry any slaves, one was indeed from Wiwell. We did not pay attention to the servants of the caravan. Besides this box, we also found clothes... Perhaps the princess might be among them," the soldier said.
Prince Edward’s gaze flashed when he heard this.
Although everything was still speculation, he did not dare take any chances. It had already been so ti since the box was found.
Judging from the situation, there were a few possibilities:
Either the troublemakers had wanted to help their people escape and caused chaos, allowing Anastasia to flee, and she was currently hiding with the two items;
Or Anastasia was still being held hostage by the kidnappers, and the items were in their possession.
This box might even be their statent to the prince.
Either way, this box was the key. As the princess’ maid had said, to recover the items, the princess had to be found.
"Send a ssage to the soldiers who brought the supplies. They will set out in one hour to search the area and look for the princess," Prince Edward ordered.
He decided to use the supply team, as they had been the ones to rest the most. There was still a war to fight in a few days and a city to guard; he could not afford to pull out elite bsoldiers.
When Rosa heard that they would be going out to search, she was relieved. She hurried away and returned to her tent, imdiately kneeling to pray.
"Dear Lord, protect my lady. Let her be found in good health. Nothing must happen to her," Rosa cried in a deep voice.
At this ti, Dorothy had just returned to the tent, looking for Rosa, who had not shown up at the dical camp for a long while. Hearing her cry and pray for the princess, Dorothy could not help but feel curious.
"Has the princess been found?" she asked in a concerned voice.
Since the princess had gone missing, Rosa had acted as if nothing had happened; eating and sleeping as usual. Dorothy had not found this strange; after all, most servants were not treated well by their mistresses. Now, seeing Rosa praying with tears, she could not help but wonder if she was putting on an act.
"Not yet. But there are so clues. The prince is taking a few soldiers to find her," Rosa said. She had seen Dorothy and the prince speaking privately on two occasions since arriving at the camp. Moreover, back at the royal palace, she had heard rumors about Dorothy being the prince’s mistress. So she deliberately answered like this, to remind Dorothy that no matter how much the prince favored her, he could only appear openly with the princess.
"Oh, I will join you in praying for her safety," Dorothy said, swallowing the bitterness in her throat.
Although she did not wish anything bad upon the princess, she still hoped that she would remain missing for a few days longer.
"You do not have to force yourself to pray," Rosa said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.
She had suffered oppression in the Duke’s residence and could read people’s faces clearly. This Dorothy did not truly care for her lady. Rosa felt a chill thinking about it. She wondered why Anastasia had dared to make this person her personal physician.
What was the difference between that and using a snake as a pillow?
Dorothy was taken aback by Rosa’s reply. She thought she had hidden her thoughts well.
"What nonsense are you saying? I was assigned to be the princess’s personal physician. Of course, I am worried for her," Dorothy said.
Rosa turned away and closed her eyes. She felt that if she allowed Dorothy to anger her and she sinned, God might be unwilling to answer her prayers.
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