Chapter 42

42

"Y-Your Highness, Duke."

"You are Shrina's maid, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes. The thing is, Miss Shrina has disappeared. Have you perhaps seen her?"

Bera, with a pale face, bowed deeply. Her blue-tinged lips revealed her anxiety.

Desar Clowen's face hardened.

"What do you mean? You didn't neglect the child's supervision again, did you!"

"W-When it was time to wake her, I went to her room, but she was gone, and only this note was left behind."

Bera's face was a mess, as if she didn't know what to do, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Seeing her expression, Desar Clowen couldn't yell.

"What is it, Father?"

Sharent Clowen, who seemed to have just come out of the dining room, descended the stairs with Kaishan.

"The child has disappeared."

"…Again?"

Sharent Clowen's brows furrowed.

Given Shrina's history of disappearing several times, he was quite displeased. He had already warned her several times, and it irked him that she had ignored his warnings.

"Your Highness, this time it seems different. What if something has happened to Miss Shrina?"

Seeing Bera's distressed face, Sharent Clowen sighed deeply.

"Usually, she comes back before nightfall. What's different this time?"

"She left a note."

"Note? But she hasn't learned to write…"

Sharent Clowen's brows furrowed.

How could she have written a note when she hadn't been taught to write?

With a puzzled expression, he looked at Bera, who then handed him the five sheets of paper she had been holding.

"Here…"

Sharent Clowen looked down at the scribbled paper.

Though it was poorly written due to a lack of strength in her grip, the words were legible upon closer inspection.

"Leaving, goodbye."

Sharent Clowen read the words in a monotone, then looked up slowly after staring at them for a while.

"Is this what she left behind?"

"Yes, it seems so."

"Was the magic stone she always collected there?"

"Oh! I didn't check. I was in a hurry. I'll go check now."

"Check and then come to my study."

"Yes."

Bera bowed hurriedly and almost ran up to the second floor.

Sharent Clowen closed his eyes, understanding the urgency of the situation.

"Did the child really write and leave this?"

"…It seems so. You there."

Sharent Clowen stopped a passing maid. She bowed slightly and waited for his command, unfazed by being singled out.

"Tell Kant to come to my study."

"Yes, understood."

"Father, will you go to my study as well?"

"…Yes. Let's go."

Desar Clowen, who had been in shock, finally nodded at Sharent Clowen's suggestion.

The two walked to the study in silence.

Once they sat on the sofa, Desar Clowen finally lifted his gaze and spoke.

"Shrina has left the house?"

"Given that she's not an ordinary child, it's possible."

"What do you think the probability is?"

Sharent Clowen, holding the paper, looked at it again.

The crayon marks were smudged, but the writing was clear.

"If the magic stone is missing, I think it's certain."

"What if it's there?"

"I would expect her to return by night. If she doesn't, it might mean someone else is involved."

Sharent Clowen's expression was not bright.

His usual relaxed smile was nowhere to be seen.

"…Do you think she left because of something she heard?"

Desar Clowen asked in a heavy voice.

It didn't seem like a question that needed an answer.

Without much thought, it was clear that a child who had been fine suddenly leaving the house with such a note could only mean one thing.

Sharent Clowen didn't answer.

The moment Bera, even paler than before, opened the study door, both men realized that the child wouldn't return on her own.

"Was it missing?"

"…Yes."

Bera, with a red, tear-streaked face, bowed deeply and answered in a wet voice.

Desar Clowen gestured for her to leave.

"You can take some time off until further notice."

Bera nodded, tears streaming down her face.

She turned and hurried out of the reception room, her expression full of questions but overwhelmed by emotion.

"Kant, did anyone see the child last night?"

Kant, who had just entered after Bera left, slowly shook his head.

"No, they didn't."

"Any other unusual events?"

"A few days ago, I heard that Miss Shrina was looking at orphanage records from all over the empire in the library."

Kant, with his hands clasped behind his back, added.

"Was she reading books?"

"She was flipping through them playfully, so the librarian didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just a child's play."

Sharent Clowen, who had been smoothing the paper, frowned.

"…Send someone to the orphanages."

"I'll send Simula right away."

"Find her as discreetly and quietly as possible. The orphanages are limited, and the child has silver eyes, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find her."

No matter how smart and clever the child was, she was still a child.

Still, it was unpleasant.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Sharent Clowen crumpled the paper in his hand.

"Don't worry, Father. I'll find her soon."

Sharent Clowen's words didn't elicit any response from Desar Clowen.

He seemed lost in deep thought, remaining silent for a long time.

* * *

"Alright, children. Line up here in a row."

"Yes, Director!"

At the director's command, the children lined up quickly, almost as if they had been trained.

The situation was a bit odd; the children seemed both frightened and full of anticipation.

The director, who had lined the children up like soldiers, patted their heads in praise and gave each one a candy.

'Ah, it's about giving candies.'

I subtly joined the line at the back.

The director gestured to me.

"Ah, you're fine, Lira. You can go play over there."

"Huh?"

"You need to go to a better place."

Go? Where?

'Am I not getting a candy?'

Just a few days without eating pudding or cream made me feel deprived of sugar.

I felt depressed watching the candies fly by.

'Anyway, I've only been here for three days, and I'm going somewhere else?'

Nodding with a dubious expression, I watched the director lead the children away.

A few children, including me, were left in the playroom. Most of those excluded were older children.

"You…"

One of the children, who had been watching me from a distance, approached me.

He seemed a bit older, not a snot-nosed kid, unlike the others who were actually sniffling, which made me reluctant to get close.

"Me?"

"You're the director's next target."

Next target? What kind of target? As I sat on the floor and looked up, the other children, who had been watching, also came closer.

"Don't trust the director. When pretty kids like you come, they all disappear within a month."

"…Disappear?"

"Yes, they disappear. I don't know where they go. They just… one day, the director takes them out, saying they'll buy them pretty clothes, and they never come back."

That's a really creepy story.

From his grim expression, it didn't seem like he was lying. I thought it was a decent orphanage, but it seems I was wrong.

'Just my luck…'

My head was pounding.

"Where are they going?"

"They're being adopted, I think, but I'm not sure. The same person always comes."

"The same person comes every three months or six months. Do they keep adopting them?"

The gathered children whispered.

The children were fidgeting with their toys, probably to make it look like they were playing with me.

The two girls and two boys looked to be between seven and twelve years old.

"Being our age is a relief. Now, we won't be called."

Are older children not needed?

Or are they kept to show that the orphanage is running well?

The "better place" means they're being sold for more money.

I've heard stories.

Orphanages that pretend to be something else and do terrible things.

I never thought I'd end up at a human trafficking site like this.