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Chapter 28: Kidnapping III

A state of emergency was declared at the Imperial Police Agency.

No—not just the Agency, but the entire Empire.

Until the news of the children's escape was delivered, the situation hadn't seemed that serious. Raymond had frequently pulled off what were essentially runaways. So when they learned Janice and Raymond had disappeared toward Fifth Street, where the cavalry parade was being held, the Grand Duke's household had responded with the usual reaction: "Our little delinquent has caused trouble again!"

It was the Ducal residence that raised the alarm.

When Garren learned the children had disappeared toward Fifth Street, the site of the Bakers' house, he immediately rushed there. And there he discovered that Janice and Raymond had indeed stopped by the Bakers' house.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that when Garren arrived, the children were no longer there—yet the front door and windows were all wide open, and most alarmingly, remnants of a sedative gas were found on the floor.

The Janice Garren knew was a fairly meticulous and careful child. She wouldn't leave the front door open and wander off somewhere.

Moreover, she treasured the Bakers' house so much that she would never set off a sedative gas bomb inside it. Since sedative gas was a type of explosive, detonating it would damage the flooring.

Garren immediately raised the possibility of kidnapping. He contacted the Imperial Police Agency and the Ducal household to begin searching for the children.

"...The sedative gas was probably set off by Young Master Raymond. To harass the young lady. He also used it when they fled the carriage. It's common knowledge that their relationship is far from good."

Knowing Raymond's track record, the Police Agency investigators and nobles—even the Emperor himself—dismissed Garren's findings as trivial.

They regarded his actions as the overreaction of a first-time father. And their attitude continued even after the cavalry parade ended.

People expected Janice and Raymond to return once the parade was over. But the children didn't come back, and the investigation results reported through the investigators and the Ducal household gradually made them realize the situation was more serious than they'd thought.

―When the young master and young lady bought clothes, I saw some people watching them from outside. I assumed they were bodyguards.

―They wore black tops and bottoms, with dark navy hats on their heads.

―Ah! I remember seeing them. They parked a carriage nearby and stood there for a long time.

The mysterious men had apparently been following the children since they fled the carriage.

And the trails of both the men and the children ended at the Bakers' house.

This was clearly a kidnapping.

The Emperor immediately ordered the Police Agency to form a special investigative team to find the children. The situation was that grave.

On the surface, it was simply the heir of the Duke of Roman and the heir of the Grand Duke of Pride being kidnapped. But the problem was that Raymond's status went far beyond being the heir of the Grand Duke.

Since the Crown Prince was born, Raymond was no longer mentioned as a successor to the throne. Nevertheless, he was still third in the line of succession—and more importantly, his undisclosed connections mattered far more than his public ones.

The Empire's frontier had not yet officially ended its war, and that frontier was defended by Raymond's maternal grandfather, the Marquess of Verdo. Moreover, Raymond's father, the Grand Duke of Pride, was the highest authority on various foreign treaties, including the armistice agreement.

This meant that if an enemy nation or hostile faction were to use Raymond's life as a bargaining chip, it could compromise the Empire's security and defenses.

Neither the Marquess of Verdo nor the Grand Duke of Pride would betray the Empire out of blood ties—but if things went wrong and Raymond lost his life, no one could predict what might happen.

The Emperor deeply regretted not having ordered an immediate investigation team when Garren first reported the situation.

He granted the special investigative team extensive powers and approved a "shoot first, report later" policy—allowing them to kill or torture the culprits before reporting if the situation demanded it.

But despite that, the case only grew more tangled.

After the children vanished from the Bakers' house, the mysterious men's tracks were no longer reported. The carriage they were believed to have used was found abandoned by the river.

There was no trace on the carriage that could reveal their identities.

Furthermore, no one—the Imperial Palace, the Grand Duke's household, the Ducal residence, or the Police Agency—had received any contact from the kidnappers.

Who were the kidnappers, and what were they after? And would the children ever return?

In a situation where no one could see an inch ahead, not only political and social circles, but even the economic circles of the Empire were in turmoil.

---

Day two of the kidnapping.

Unlike the explosive atmosphere in the capital, Janice and Raymond's surroundings were relatively quiet.

To be precise, it was a suffocating, pre-storm stillness.

When they'd realized they'd been kidnapped, Janice and Raymond had expected the kidnappers to come and cut off their fingers or hair.

Whether the motive was money or their families, the most common method was to sever a body part from the kidnapped children and send it to their families.

So Janice and Raymond desperately searched their surroundings, hoping to escape before the kidnappers arrived.

They also discussed what to do if the kidnappers entered and discovered they'd untied their bindings.

That's why they'd deliberately wrapped the already-loosed ropes around their bodies and placed potential weapons—wooden crates, bottles, and the like—at a certain distance. They'd been prepared.

But despite their efforts, the kidnappers never came for an entire day.

Janice and Raymond thought the kidnappers might not even be near where they were held. So they shouted at the top of their lungs for help.

But unfortunately, there seemed to be no one around. Neither the kidnappers nor anyone else responded.

So they figured the place they were trapped in was probably some kind of warehouse. A remote, isolated place.

Having reached that conclusion, they grew bolder. They worked together to try to force the door open, and rummaged more actively through the boxes and clutter in the room.

The door wasn't just locked—something heavy seemed to be blocking it from the outside, making it impossible for just the two of them to open. But they did find something useful.

Janice and Raymond found a half-broken knife, a pen with a point sharp enough to stab someone, and a few coins—not much, but still something.

Raymond, a naive young master raised in a diamond cradle, sighed that a few coins wouldn't do much—but when Janice said she'd take them all, he quickly changed his mind and agreed to split them.

"Alright! Half for you, half for me. With eight copper coins, we can send a letter!"

They divided the coins, and split the pen and knife between them. They also planned to use their weapons to fight off the kidnappers if anyone came in.

As always, their plan was ambitious. In their imagination, they defeated the kidnappers and returned home. Their families welcomed them with tears, and they feasted on delicious food.

But when the daydream ended, they were back in the dark, cramped room.

Three days passed. Then four. Around then, the two energetic children began to lose their strength.

They were cold and hungry. Even drinking the rotten water dripping from the ceiling became exhausting. They drank because they were thirsty, but every sip made them gag and vomit.

The word "despair" began to creep into the minds of the two children who had always been so hopeful. That was when the kidnappers finally came for them.

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