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Itogami Island - The Keystone Gate - Police Department HQ.
Knock, knock—
"Come in."
The voice was authoritative, yet oddly youthful.
The door opened, and a government official hurried inside. He stopped in front of the desk and reported to the small figure seated in the chair, "Director Minamiya, urgent intelligence. We've just lost contact with His Majesty's special aircraft."
At that, Natsuki Minamiya, who had been sipping black tea, lifted her head, a trace of surprise flashing across her face.
"You're sure the signal is gone?"
"Yes. We've confirmed it multiple times. The signal has completely disappeared," the staffer replied tensely.
"I see…" Natsuki narrowed her eyes. "Get in touch with Avrora. Tell her to be ready."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The official left at once, quietly closing the door behind him.
Natsuki set down her teacup. Her fingers tapped lightly against the desk as she muttered to herself.
"Why so fast?"
"I only leaked that information on Itogami Island's black market yesterday. How did they lock onto Ryo's movements this quickly?"
"Did something go wrong on Aldegyr's side, or are there rats hiding here on Itogami Island?"
She jumped down from her chair and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. Below her, the city glowed in a haze of lights, lively and prosperous. A cold smile curved her lips.
"Looks like it's time..."
Before the words had fully faded, her figure vanished into thin air.
---
The Kingdom of Aldegyr — Royal Palace
Inside a spacious conference room sat Lucas Rihavein, second in line to the throne, the Crown Princess Polifonia Rihavein, and their daughter, La Folia Rihavein, who looked like a snow-white angel.
Bang!
A massive hand slammed down on the conference table.
Built like a bear, the Knight who had married into the royal family, Lucas, roared in fury. "What the hell is the intelligence division doing? How could they lose the Fourth Primogenitor's aircraft signal at a time like this? Are they completely useless?"
"We are deeply sorry!" The head of Aldegyr's Intelligence Department bowed deeply, his face full of shame.
With the king growing old and the queen gradually relinquishing power, Lucas and Polifonia were the true rulers of Aldegyr, and its future king and queen.
That was why the Intelligence Department chief looked so miserable under the crown prince's wrath.
"This isn't something you can brush off with an apology!" Lucas barked, pounding the table again and again.
"The Fourth Primogenitor has gone missing. No matter how it happened, the Dawn Empire will inevitably hold it against us."
"Whether this was their own little performance or a real attack, we're stuck in a diplomatic nightmare either way."
"Damn it!"
"What was that damn Primogenitor even thinking? A sudden visit, then suddenly gone. Does he really want to start a full-scale war with Aldegyr?"
"Calm down, Lucas. Now isn't the time to speculate about the Fourth Primogenitor's intentions."
Polifonia's words were like a splash of cold water, forcing Lucas to rein himself in.
He sat back down in silence. Polifonia turned her gaze to the intelligence chief.
"Can you determine the location where the aircraft lost contact?"
"Yes, without a problem," the man answered quickly.
"Then send out rescue teams immediately. After that, contact Itogami City. I'll explain the situation personally. Give me an update on the rescue operation every fifteen minutes."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The intelligence chief withdrew in haste.
The conference room fell quiet, leaving only the family of three seated around the long table.
After a minute or two, Polifonia sighed and turned slightly toward the beautiful girl resting her chin on one hand.
"La Folia, what do you think about all this?"
"Hm?" La Folia looked up, her clear blue eyes wide. "Mother, you want my opinion?"
"Yes." Polifonia nodded with a gentle smile. "You're the future crown princess; you need to learn how to handle matters like this."
Although Aldegyr had a king, real authority lay with the queen.
That was partly because Aldegyr's magitech depended heavily on the Rihavein women's medium abilities, and partly because many of the kingdom's most important magic artifacts could only be wielded by women of the Rihavein bloodline.
For generations, Aldegyr's beautiful princesses and queens had combined immense power with compassion and competence. The people had long accepted Rihavein rule as natural, even taking pride in becoming knights of the royal family.
And for La Folia, who was destined to become queen one day, nurturing her abilities was Polifonia's responsibility.
This diplomatic crisis made a fine starting point.
La Folia smiled sweetly at her mother. "Then I'll speak frankly."
Polifonia smiled back and nodded. "Go ahead. As a Rihavein, you must learn to voice your thoughts boldly."
La Folia paused in thought, then spoke seriously. "Personally, I don't think we need to concern ourselves too much with the Fourth Primogenitor's disappearance."
"Huh?" Lucas turned sharply, staring at his daughter in surprise.
La Folia continued, smiling calmly. "That man is the strongest Primogenitor. He's the very embodiment of power, an existence that can't be defeated."
"I don't believe anyone could trap him, let alone kill him. In fact, the idea that he's gone missing at all is what feels unnatural. It's suspicious in itself."
Polifonia was silent for a moment before sighing, "I didn't expect you to rate the Fourth Primogenitor so highly."
In the eyes of the world, the title of 'strongest' always belonged to the First Primogenitor, Ki Juranbarada, who had single-handedly driven the creation of the Holy Ground Treaty Organization.
Yet La Folia had used those words for the elusive Fourth Primogenitor, a figure known only through intelligence reports, appearing and vanishing without a trace.
There was clearly something here Polifonia didn't know, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.
After all, La Folia should never have met the Fourth Primogenitor in person.
"I think that kind of praise might actually be underselling him," La Folia said with a perfect, elegant smile.
"Is that so?" Polifonia chuckled, then asked, "So you believe this was all staged by the Fourth Primogenitor himself?"
"Half and half," La Folia replied lightly. "Maybe it really is his own doing, a way to justify declaring war on Aldegyr. Or maybe he's just using this to draw out enemies who refuse to submit to him."
"You're saying…?" Lucas asked, puzzled.
"I think it's enough to conduct a standard search. Once His Majesty finishes dealing with his enemies, he'll likely reappear and resume a perfectly normal, friendly visit."
"Friendly?" Lucas snorted, but when he saw the serious look on his wife's face, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
"A revelation through spiritual sight?" Polifonia narrowed her eyes at her daughter, guessing.
La Folia stiffened for a split second, then smiled again. "You guessed correctly. About a year and a half ago, during a spiritual vision, I met His Majesty once."
"So that's it!" Polifonia said in realization, then teased, "In that case, that Fourth Primogenitor might not be all that friendly after all."
The unspoken implication was obvious. The Fourth Primogenitor had likely taken notice of La Folia's rare talent, marking her as his future wife.
"Mother!" La Folia grabbed her mother's wrist, protesting shyly.
Clearly, her own thoughts weren't far from Polifonia's.
"All right, all right." Polifonia laughed, patting her daughter's hand. "Let's wait for the intelligence updates and see how things develop."
"Yes~" La Folia replied, a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice.
---
Onrai Island
Heavily armed security personnel surrounded the aircraft that had just made a forced landing.
Inside the cabin, Ryo looked out through the window toward Onrai Island and curled his lips into a scornful smile.
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