Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Lei’s Gone! (Otou-sama’s P . O . V)
“Have you not left yet?!” I yelled at the Captain of the guard even though I knew it was hopeless .
“I have narrowed it down to three suspicious dragons that departed from town last night, but it’s unclear which one carried Leilsama . It’s pointless to split the guards into all three directions right now . Please wait a little longer . ”
He was right . I knew this . Leila was gone, and so was Hannah . We didn’t realise that they had been kidnapped until late morning . It was Hannah’s job to wake Leila up in the morning, and it was also her job to bring food to Leila’s room . The people in the kitchen noticed that Hannah hadn’t come to get Leila’s food when things had finally calmed down .
And now, it is already the afternoon .
I was working at the castle, but I immediately called the guards when I got word from the mansion and instructed them to investigate this matter .
This surrounding area was just called Kingdom . The guards were an elite force in the Kingdom Army, who protected nobles and held power to maintain the barrier .
I don’t know what they usually do, but I held the right to command the whole guard in matters involving nobles .
They were capable guards for us nobles, and they also monitored any dangerous people .
Then, a messenger suddenly rushed in and whispered into the Captain’s ears . The Captain nodded and immediately walked to where I was . He said, “It appears that Leilsama has been taken to Lazuli in the south . The purpose of the kidnappers are still unclear, but they’ll probably continue south towards Frontier . I will send pursuers their way,” and turned away from me .
Sponsored Content
“Wait!” The Captain turned around looking somewhat annoyed when I stopped him .
“I’ll go too . ”
“I’m sorry, but this is a race against time . You will only drag us down if you don’t have the right training . ”
“I’m sure you know that I’m quite capable of riding a dragon . ”
I rode the Rug Dragon as a hobby, and the army didn’t suit me . The Captain and I eyed each other for a while .
“Relatives are motivated by personal feelings . If you can’t follow commands, then you’re out . Is that clear?”
“Okay . I’ll be ready shortly . ”
“Then, we’ll wait for you in front of the castle . We’ll leave if you don’t make it on time . ”
This time, the Captain turned around and left . Rug Dragons were robust so I could get them to carry a considerable amount of weight, but I had to be as light as possible . It took three days to get to Frontier at the fastest speed, and I considered that we would be changing dragons and replenishing our supplies half-way, so I quickly packed for one person .
Sponsored Content
“Otou-sama!”
“Luke, I’ll definitely bring Lei back . As the eldest son of the Albans House, protect it while I’m gone . ”
“I will!”
I tightly hugged my son, who I had no interest in six months ago . I will bring back Lei, who taught us the meaning of family and happiness .
I jumped onto the Rug Dragon that had been prepared in front of the mansion and headed towards the castle .
“Hmm, so you made it on time…” The Captain said regretfully . I nodded silently . There were about 10 guards gathered here .
“This may seem few to you, but we don’t have evidence that this is an organised crime . It seems like this was done by a small group . Even if their numbers exceed what we expect, my elite group of guards can handle them . And, I wanted to prioritise mobility above all else . ”
I nodded silently again .
“They have a girl and baby with them . It’s possible to catch up with them even if we ride a Rug Dragon . Now then, let’s go!” Upon the Captain’s shout, all the Rug Dragons simultaneously began to run .
Sponsored Content
We went at a fixed speed without taking any breaks until we reached Lazuli . The place that we had arrived at was the garrisons . We descended from the dragons and took a break while we let them rest . In the meantime, the Captain confirmed the information he had gotten from the members who went into town to gather information . It was frustrating, but the Captain was quite competent .
I controlled myself from wanting to stand up straight away when the Captain came to report, “It appears that a party fitting our descriptions came to the dragon shop early this morning . Apparently, they told everyone that they were going to visit the man’s sick parents, but his wife is young, and she looked exhausted and frightened . For human trafficking, this Kingdom has no laws for it in Frontier . They’re probably taking the shortest route to Frontier . ”
“Human trafficking……”
It was just a prediction, but I heard those words clearly and flinched .
“Leilsama has the same appearance as Milord . You might think that the colour of your House is very prominent, but it’s easy to hide and nurture someone, especially if they’re women . She could be bought by someone at Frontier, or by someone in Kingdom . ”
I stood up in anger and drew closer to the Captain .
“That’s why we’re resting here . ”
“What did you say?”
I froze because of the Captain’s unexpected words .
“We won’t last if we don’t rest for a few hours . Of course, I have already sent a small number of us ahead . ”
I sat down after a few moments of silence .
“We’ll rest for three hours and leave in four . ”
Anyway, I had no choice but to obey this man for now .
We stopped at each garrison to swap our dragons and replenish our supplies . We were confident that we were drawing closer to the scum who had kidnapped Lei .
I was exhausted from travelling for a long time, and on the third day, we were just hours away from the border .
“We won’t rest here so we can catch up to them at once . We’ll leave you behind if you lag . ”
This Captain was always calm . Thanks to him I was able to remain calm .
“Okay . Let’s go,” I said and quietly got onto the dragon . The guards and I had ran this far with the last of our strength . We will finally catch up to them in half a day . If we don’t catch up to them, then I wouldn’t be able to get my beloved Lei back . It was a race against time .