Another sunrise meant another busy day for the marketplace in the Starian Capital City. The voices of various store owners can be heard shouting throughout the marketplace as they tried to sell their merchandise.
"Fresh fruits! Get your fresh fruits here!" a fruit seller shouted. "We got them all and it's very cheap! One copper for each fruit!"
"Did your old rope snap and need a new one? Then you just found the right place!" a rope-maker shouted. "Our ropes are the most durable ropes you can find in the Capital!"
While these store owners tried to sell their merchandise, a hooded figure walked past them all and approached a cotton candy cart. The cart owner was currently getting ready to start his day.
"Good morning, young lady," the cart owner said after noticing the hooded figure approaching him. "Would you like to buy a bag of cotton candy?"
"Yes, I'll take 5," said the hooded woman.
"Alright, I'll make it right away," said the cart owner. "Just give me a minute."
After waiting for several minutes, the cart owner proceeded to prepare 5 paper bags full of cotton candy.
"There you go, lady," said the cart owner as he handed over the bags. "That'll be 2 silver and 5 copper."
The hooded woman stretched out her left arm as a small dark hole appeared out of thin air. She then put the bags into the hole and took out a single gold coin.
"!" (Cart Owner)
The cart owner's eyes opened wide in surprise.
"What just happened?" the cart owner wondered. "Did she just use magic?"
"Here you go," said the woman as she gave the owner a gold coin. "You can keep the change."
The cart owner stared at the coin and sighed.
"I should probably just mind my own business..." the owner thought. "Judging by the coin, she's likely some noble's daughter in disguise. No need to cause unnecessary."
The cart owner simply smiled at the woman as he put the coin in his pocket.
"Thank you very much. Please enjoy," said the cart owner.
"I certainly will," said the woman.
Just as she was about to leave, the cart owner stopped her.
"Just a minute, young lady!" said the owner.
"Hm?"
Just as the woman turned around, the cart owner took a deep breath and gave her a warning.
"Young lady, you should be more careful when you use your money and magic," said the owner. "You might end up getting targeted by some evil folks due to your money and magic abilities. There are some evil people out here lately."
The woman stared at the cart owner for a second before grinning.
"Thank you for the warning. I'll keep that in mind," said the woman.
She then happily walked away.
"I feel like just bringing candy is not going to be enough..." the woman thought. "What else should I bring?"
As she walked, she paused in front of a toy store.
"Hmm... Perhaps I'll get some toys as well," the woman thought.
Before she could enter the store, she heard the voice of a man shouting in pain.
"Hm?"
She looked to her right and saw two young children being harassed by three large men near an alleyway. The woman managed to see one of the children biting one of the men in the hand before running towards the busy marketplace.
"Shit! Get them!" the bitten man shouted.
The two children quickly ran past the hooded woman as she took a quick look at them.
"!" (Hooded Woman)
The woman looked surprised as she looked at the fleeing children.
"Wait... Are they...?"
🔸🔸🔸
[The Royal Castle]
Although it was still early in the morning, the queen had already started to work. She was currently looking over and signing various documents which were mostly related to the upcoming celebration festival.
"Ha... There's no end to this..." Seo-Yeon sighed.
After looking over several documents, Seo-Yeon lowered her quill pen and rose from her chair. She then looked out the window and saw the gardeners working.
"I think it's been a while since I took Dunha out on a walk..." she thought. "Maybe I should take her outside today..."
She then turned around and saw the large pile of unread documents on her desk which caused her to sigh once more.
*Knock* *Knock*
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"You may enter," said Seo-Yeon as she sat down.
As soon as she spoke, the commander of the Royal Guards, Charles Furtivo, entered the room.
"Your Highness," said Charles as he bowed his head. "I've brought yesterday's report from the city guards."
"Did you look over them?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"No, I did not. Your Highness has to look over all of them one by one," said Charles.
"?"
Just as Seo-Yeon looked at him with a puzzled expression, Charles grinned.
"Fufu... It was just a jest," he chuckled. "I looked over all of them before I arrived here."
"I see... Well, that's good to know," said Seo-Yeon as she looked at him with a confused expression. "I can also see that your sense of humor hasn't improved at all over the years... That was just... awful."
"Haha, I can't argue with that," said Charles.
"Practice more," said Seo-Yeon. "Anyways, is there anything in the report that caught your attention?"
"No, your Highness," said Charles. "There were several arrests yesterday but it was mostly for minor crimes. I believe the city guards can deal with it themselves. Other than that, there's nothing else to report."
"Alright, just put the books over there. I'll look at it later," said Seo-Yeon as she pointed at a nearby table. "Also, you don't have to talk like that when it's only the two of us here."
"Alright," said Charles.
As he placed the books on the table, he noticed a large stack of documents on the queen's desk which caused his eyes to open wide in shock.
"Queen Seo-Yeon, what is all of this?!" Charles shouted in belief.
"What does it look like? They're documents that need to be looked over before the festival begins," Seo-Yeon explained. "Did you not notice this when you entered the room?"
"No, I did not. This is not acceptable. Please forgive my impudence but I must ask you to stop," said Charles. "If you work too long, the stress will be harmful to the child."
"You are forgiven and I'll also ask you this. If I stopped working right now, then who's going to look over all of these documents? Are you going to help me?" Seo-Yeon asked.
Charles walked towards the queen's desk and picked up one of the large piles of documents.
"Please allow me to finish them for you, Queen Seo-Yeon," said Charles. "Me and my more intelligent subordinates will finish them all."
"Fine by me," said Seo-Yeon.
The queen's quick answer caught Charles off guard.
"That was quick," said Charles with a surprised expression. "I thought you were going to disagree."
Seo-Yeon began to grin as she got up from her seat.
"You are a loyal and trustworthy member of the Royal Court. I have no reason to doubt your ability," said Seo-Yeon. "Good luck and I hope that you finish looking over all of them before sundown."
"Of course?" said Charles. "It seems like she already knew that I would say this..." he thought.
"By the way, what is my darling doing right now?" Seo-Yeon.
"His Majesty is currently in his study and is working at the moment," said Charles.
"My darling seems to be busy at the moment..." Seo-Yeon thought. "I see... Well then, Charles... I wish you luck."
"Thank you," said Charles.
He then bowed his head and left the room with the documents with a complicated expression.
"Thanks to Charles, I can now go see my adorable little muffin~!" Seo-Yeon thought.
After calming herself down before she got too excited, Seo-Yeon took a deep breath and happily exited the room.
🔸🔸🔸
[20 Minutes Later]
Seo-Yeon was happily walking down the hallway with a cake box while a servant carried the plates and utensils.
"My little girl wasn't in the library nor the garden... She must be playing with Lily in her room then~" she thought.
Before Seo-Yeon thought about going to Dunha's room, she visited the library and the garden to look for Dunha. However, she could not find her anywhere and was now heading to Dunha's room.
"Hm~ Hmm~ Hm~ I wonder how she'll react when I appear with her favorite cake?" Seo-Yeon asked while humming.
"I believe that the princess will be overjoyed, your Highness," said the servant.
The thought of Dunha happily running towards her and jumping into her arms made Seo-Yeon smile.
"Perhaps once my darling finishes his work, the three of us could spend some time together~," she thought. "I'm going to make her the happiest child in the world~"
Once Seo-Yeon reached her daughter's room, she noticed that something was not right.
"Shouldn't there be guards standing in front of the doors?" said Seo-Yeon.
"Yes, Your Highness. If the princess is in her room then there should be at least 2 guards standing in front of the doors," said one of the guards.
"Your Highness, please wait here," said another guard. "We shall quickly inspect the room."
The guards then cautiously approached the room and knocked at it two times.
*Knock* *Knock*
There was no answer.
"Princess, may we enter? Her Highness has arrived to greet you," said one of the guards. "Her Highness has also brought cake," he added.
There was still no answer.
"We're coming in," said the guard.
The guards then slowly opened the doors with their maces readied in their hands.
"..." (The guards)
The room was empty.
"Your Highness, the princess is not in her room," said the guard.
"Hold this," said Seo-Yeon as she gave the cake box to one of the servants behind her.
She then rushed into the room with an unease expression and looked around. There was no one which caused her to slowly panic.
"She wasn't outside nor in the library. If she's not in her room as well then where is she?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"W-We are not sure either, your Highness... Please forgive us..." said the guard. "We shall ask the other guards if they have seen the princess."
"Coming to think of it, I haven't seen Clover nor Lily as well," said Seo-Yeon. "Where are they?"
"Over here," said Clover.
When Seo-Yeon and the guards turned their heads to the left, they saw Clover approaching them while waving.
"Clover, where are the kids?" Seo-Yeon asked in a serious tone.
"They went out," said Clover. "I heard that they snook out through a hole in the wall."
This was an unbelievable answer for Seo-Yeon which caused her to freeze for a few seconds. Once she snapped back into reality, she asked Clover the same question again.
"Pardon?" said Seo-Yeon. "Can you repeat that? I think I misheard you."
"They sneaked out through a hole. They're most likely going to the Gemstone Plaza," said Clover. "Although the festival has not officially started yet, many of the booths are currently opened there."
"What?!" Seo-Yeon shouted.
She then glared at Clover. However, unlike the time when she glared at the assassin in the library, she did not release her terrifying aura at Clover.
"How did the guards not notice them leaving?!" she shouted.
As Seo-Yeon began to get angrier, the servants attempted to calm her down.
"Your Highness, please calm down," said one of the servants. "The stress may harm the baby!"
"Do not worry, I sent out one of my familiars to go find them," said Clover.
"What about her guards? Where are they?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"As soon as they realized Dunha and Lily left the castle through the hole, they rushed out towards the plaza while one of them informed me first before running off," Clover explained. "Don't worry. I informed Blue and Henry as well. Blue immediately rushed out of the castle as well while Henry is currently alerting the entire city guards to find them."
"Why did you only tell them and not me?!" Seo-Yeon shouted.
"I was going to. That's why I came here. I just came back from informing them," said Clover.
Before Seo-Yeon got too angry, she took a deep breath and regained her composure.
"Fu... Did you talk to Charles and the others as well?" she asked.
"Not yet," said Clover.
"Alright, go tell them about this situation and prepare to leave," said Seo-Yeon. "We are going out to look for them."
"Are you sure about this?" Clover asked.
The guards and servants were suddenly concerned about Seo-Yeon's decision and wanted to argue. However, when they saw how serious the queen was, they all wisely kept their mouths shut.
"Of course!" Seo-Yeon shouted. "They're by themselves out there!"
She then began to shake which surprised Clover while causing the guards and servants to panic. However, their concerns were all for nothing.
"You, me, and my darling should be out there and having a fun time together with them!" said Seo-Yeon.
"Eh?" (Everyone)
This caught everyone off guard.
"This is the perfect opportunity to have a great day together and make them remember this day from time to time! I'll also miss the chance to see my little cinnamon bun smiling and having fun!" said Seo-Yeon.
She then quickly walked away with excitement and left Clover speechless.
"I can't believe my little Dunha would leave to have fun without her poor mama and papa..." Seo-Yeon murmured as she walked away.
"...?" (Clover)
Clover was unable to process what just happened.
"What just happened right now? Is this one of her mood swings that Henry mentioned earlier?" she wondered. "Hm?"
Suddenly, a voice appeared in her mind.
"Master, I've found the children. They were at the plaza and just left. They are fleeing towards the marketplace right now," the voice spoke.
"What? They're fleeing? From what?" Clover asked.
"I believe they're kidnappers..."
"...What?"
The voice's answer shocked Clover.
(To Be Continued... )
2021/05/13