Chapter 55. The Search Begins
When Escallion first heard the story, he thought Belladonna had simply left the castle on her own, unable to endure the last month.
He figured, “Since her secret was exposed, she must have wanted to go back to Astanya as soon as possible.”
But an uneasy feeling kept echoing in his mind, making Escallion anxious.
“Since when?”
“I definitely saw my lady go to bed last night, but she hasn’t been seen anywhere since this morning. Not in any part of the castle.”
“And the carriages?”
“None are missing. No horses are missing either,” Wolf answered with a trembling voice.
Escallion clenched his jaw.
“C-could she have been kidnapped or gotten into an accident…?”
“Don’t just make wild guesses. Give me a real reason. Why do you think that?”
“There’s no sign that she took any clothes, food, or even shoes. In fact, the bed looks like she left in a hurry,” Wolf replied.
Escallion turned immediately.
It was terribly cold outside.
If she left without proper clothes, her delicate body wouldn’t last long.
Why would she do something so foolish…?
He had no idea why she disappeared, or what her goal was.
He thought he knew his wife, but in reality, he knew nothing.
“Where have you searched so far?”
Wolf, who was sitting on the ground, quickly stood and followed him.
“We searched every inch of the castle, even places my lady never went before.”
“And outside the castle?”
“The knights are getting ready to search, but they can’t move without your permission…”
“Start searching the nearby villages and forest right now.”
“Yes, sir! Hey, you! Report to Sir Graham immediately!”
Wolf shouted, and the nearby servants nodded and ran in all directions.
They seemed to be rushing to the knights scattered around the castle.
“Bring my wife’s maid here.”
A little later, Cindy showed up, her face covered in tears.
“L-lord…”
“When did you last see my wife?”
“Last night… I washed her and helped her into bed before leaving.”
“Did she seem strange?”
“Her expression was a bit dark, but I just thought it was because you weren’t there, my lord. I should have checked on her more. I’m so sorry…”
Cindy bowed deeply and sobbed.
Escallion, looking down at her, swept his hair off his forehead and sighed.
Could it be… did she really run away? He never thought Belladonna would do something so foolish.
“L-lord! Amy is missing too!”
Just then, someone shouted from far away.
A servant ran up to Escallion, catching his breath.
“Who’s that?”
“She’s a maid who’s worked at Griblata Castle for a long time. It’s not her day off, but she hasn’t been seen since this morning. I just checked, and all her things are gone!”
“What does a missing maid have to do with anything right now?” Escallion said irritably.
Cindy, listening to the conversation, quickly spoke up.
“Jewelry…! I didn’t think it was important, so I didn’t mention it, but I noticed some of my lady’s jewelry was missing this morning.”
“What?”
“A lot of the jewels my lady brought with her are gone,” Cindy said.
Escallion’s face grew more and more serious as he listened.
A servant standing nearby said with a confused face,
“What? Did Amy steal it? No way, was she involved in the kidnapping…?”
The servant and Cindy exchanged uneasy glances.
Escallion walked quickly toward his horse.
“Follow the missing maid’s trail.”
“My lady…!”
“My lady! Where are you?”
The search for Belladonna continued all night.
After sending the tired servants back, Escallion took only the elite Griblata knights and started up the mountain forest, cutting through the branches that blocked his way.
“The fugitive’s tracks go into the forest.”
Based on footprints and other signs, there was clearly at least one accomplice.
There were also marks as if something heavy had been dragged along the ground—he just hoped it wasn’t Belladonna, unconscious.
“Snow has covered the tracks, so it’s hard to find them!”
“It’s also hard to see clearly…!”
The knights shouted from all directions.
They were sure the fugitives had come into this forest, but following their trail was difficult.
Escallion regretted leaving for that distant hill just to clear his mind. If only he’d stayed near the castle.
Then, Graham and Hazel came close and suggested,
“Escallion, it’s too dark now. Why not restart the search at dawn?”
“He’s right, my lord. We’re just wasting the knights’ strength now. Someone could get hurt.”
Escallion stared at the dark forest in silence.
A bitter, freezing wind blew through the trees.
If she was only wearing her velvet pajamas from last night…
After a while, he finally spoke.
“Take the knights and head back.”
“My lord…”
“I’ll look a little longer.”
He walked away again.
Graham and Hazel exchanged troubled looks and started moving as well.
“We’ll search a few more hours!”
“Just a little more! Hang in there!”
Leaving their voices behind, Escallion ran alone up the dark forest path.
He hadn’t slept at all for a day, but his body moved lightly and quickly.
The fugitives wouldn’t last long in this cold either. There must be a cave or hollow tree nearby to hide in.
“There’s a cave ahead!”
A little later, they found a cave not far from where they were searching.
Graham, standing on a big rock, shouted,
“Hurry and check inside!”
“Yes!”
Escallion quickly followed the knights into the cave.
“Ugh…!”
“What’s that smell…?”
As soon as they went inside, a horrible stench filled the air.
Escallion covered his face with his arm and walked forward.
The knights’ torches lit up a spot where someone had made a fire not long ago.
“Someone was here!”
“Uh, but…”
The knights stopped, staring.
Next to the fire, there were fresh drops of blood.
Everyone was silent for a moment, then looked around carefully.
“There are… bear tracks here, too. It looks like something was dragged away in its mouth…”
“What? Bears should be hibernating now!”
“I don’t know what happened…”
“Did someone wake a bear up? This is insane…”
Escallion, standing quietly, pushed past the knights.
Next to the cold ashes, blood dripped on the ground.
There were scraps of cloth, torn as if someone had broken free.
On the cave floor, beast footprints and tracks showed something had been dragged away. The blood trail faded into the snow outside…
Escallion clenched his trembling fist.
“Escallion…”
Graham put a hand on his shoulder.
Anyone could see that the chance of finding Belladonna alive was slim.
The terrible cold, the kidnappers, the wild animals—she was surrounded by danger.
So she was probably…
Escallion’s breathing grew heavier as he stared at the signs.
Graham turned and called to the knights,
“Check the area a little more, then let’s pull back for tonight! We’ll start again at sunrise!”
“Yes, sir!”
“If we can, let’s at least bring back the body,” he meant.
Suddenly, Escallion, breathing heavily, dashed out of the cave.
He pulled his sword and started slashing wildly through the brush.
“Escallion! Calm down!”
“Sir! Please!”
Graham and Hazel tried to stop him.
“Let go.”
Escallion, gritting his teeth, spoke in a low voice.
He tried to hold back his anger.
“Escallion! Look at this situation! There’s almost no chance your wife is alive!! You know it better than anyone!”
“Sir, please calm down…! You’ll get hurt! We need to think clearly!”
“I said let go!!”
He threw off the two men holding him.
“If it was going to be like this…”
Belladonna’s faint laugh echoed in his ears.
“Damn it, if it was going to be like this, why did you follow me to Griblata!!”
He shouted, his voice cracking, and swung his sword again.
Branches fell onto the snow.
He couldn’t believe it.
Just days ago, that small body had snuggled into his arms in bed, and now… he might never see her again.
Like his parents long ago, he’d lost someone without being able to do anything.
Breathing hard, Escallion walked, looking around nervously.
The blood and faint tracks led this way.
Rustle.
Suddenly, he heard a movement in the distance.
He reacted faster than anyone, running toward the sound.
He cut away the branches and saw a round bear’s backside disappearing down the slope.
“…!”
He almost chased after it, but something caught his eye below.
He took a deep breath and slowly looked down.
He was scared to see what was there, but he couldn’t stop.
…
Escallion’s golden eyes finally landed on the ground.
A small body lay curled on the white snow.
Belladonna was lying on her side, as if dead, in the snow.
