Rezette bypassed the corridor and doubled back into the bedroom. Confirming Elise’s absence again, he descended the stairs, the same ones yesterday’s frantic entry had marred.
“Your Highness?” Rebecca Petisson’s surprise was evident as Rezette burst into the study, his usual afternoon repose forgotten. The room was in the midst of being tidied by Petisson and a young maid. “Is there a problem? Should I fetch Ivetsa?”
Rezette’s voice was clipped. “Where is the Princess?”
“Pardon, Your Highness?” Petisson’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Surely Her Highness would be in her chambers. Isn’t that where she usually relaxes until the afternoon, door ajar?”
“…You haven’t seen her?” His voice was flat.
Petisson hesitated. “We haven’t… Perhaps Her Highness is not in her room?”
The first tendrils of concern snaked through Petisson’s demeanor. Rezette spoke a single, clipped word.
“Search.”
Chaos erupted within the castle walls as the news of Princess Elise’s disappearance spread like wildfire. Servants scurried about, akin to a swarm of ants, scouring every corner in search of their missing charge. Despite their exhaustive efforts, every nook and cranny yielded no sign of the princess.
“There’s no evidence of forced entry!” one servant reported frantically.
“The only visitor this morning was the milk delivery man, as usual. The gatekeeper swears he saw no one else entering the castle,” another added, their voice tinged with frustration.
An hour passed in a blur of frantic activity. Alfredo burst into the study breathless, his urgency palpable. “Perhaps she went for a morning stroll. Her Highness sometimes enjoys a brief walk around the castle perimeter while you’re away, sir. She instructed the attendants to ensure her comfort.”
Yet, the situation remained perplexing. The day had begun in the dim twilight before dawn, and while there were no maids on the top floor, it seemed implausible that the princess could have slipped out unnoticed.
Rezette’s temple throbbed with mounting tension as he pondered the unsettling turn of events. Though his mind raced with fears of wyvern attacks, a thorough sweep of the castle revealed no trace of unfamiliar magic in the air.
Elise had vanished without a trace, leaving behind a palpable sense of anxiety and impatience that had simmered beneath the surface overnight, now unleashed in full force.
“Where exactly did she go for her stroll?” Rezette’s voice carried a tinge of urgency, his brow furrowed in concern.
“It’s always… she always went accompanied by Ivetsa…” Rebecca hesitated, her tone reflecting the weight of the situation. “However, she never spent more than an hour. Was there perhaps a note left by Her Highness?”
Rebecca maintained her composure, though a chill ran down her spine as she met Rezette’s gaze. The man stood motionless in the center of the study, his deep blue eyes betraying a flicker of emotion. As the intensity of his stare grew, Rebecca felt a tempest brewing within those irises, until finally, his focus seemed to drift into the abyss of his pupils.
Though it had become a distant memory, Rebecca vividly recalled the aftermath when the thread of reason, diligently honed by this master, snapped.
She needed to tread carefully. Acting impatiently would only exacerbate the situation.
“The princess is not one to leave silently at such an early hour. She must have left something in the bedroom or the study so as not to disturb His Highness’s sleep. Please search again,” Rebecca suggested calmly, hoping to ease the tension.
But her attempt at defusing the situation proved futile.
As Rebecca had surmised, a bundle of papers lay neatly pressed on the living room table. Rezette drew a deep breath, his hand reaching for the papers as if grasping for a lifeline in the midst of uncertainty.
A fleeting sense of relief washed over Rezette as he laid eyes on the papers, only to be swiftly replaced by a ruthless contortion of his features as he recognized their contents. It was something he hadn’t seen in a long time, not since it was first drafted.
It was a marriage contract—crafted by Elise and signed by him six months prior in Opel’s palace.
“Why would this be here…?” Rezette murmured, his mind racing to comprehend the implications.
Nestled beneath the contract was a small note, bearing Elise’s distinctive handwriting.
[Do you remember, Rezette?
You said I could run away anytime after six months had passed.]
As he absorbed the words, a bitter laugh escaped him. They say that when faced with incomprehensible confusion, one often retreats into denial, and in that moment, Rezette found himself teetering on the brink of disbelief.
“This is too much of a joke, Elizabeth,” he muttered, the words tinged with a mix of incredulity and frustration.
But was Elise truly the type to jest with him in such a manner? The smirk faded from Rezette’s lips as he pondered the gravity of the situation. While he was known for his gruff demeanor and occasional teasing, it was Elise who approached life with a steadfast seriousness and sensitivity.
It didn’t take long for Rezette to grasp the gravity of the situation, the weight of reality settling upon him like a heavy cloak.
