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nHe caught Theor and dragged him away.

n“No!”

nTheor shouted.

nAnother man said,

n“Handle that kid carefully.”

nThen the man covered Theor’s mouth with a cloth.

nSuddenly he could smell a strange smell.

nBut his memory ended there.

nAs he recalled the memories of last night, Theor bit his lip to keep from crying.

nJudging from the situation, it seems that he has been caught by these people.

nHe must have been kidnapped.

nI know what kidnapping is.

nI’ve seen it in children’s books or plays.

nBad people were kidnapping children or ladies.

nI know up to that point, but I don’t know what happens after that.

nIn fairy tales, someone comes to rescue the kidnapped person, but he understood to some extent that reality and fairy tales are different.

n‘But where am I going now?’

nThe carriage was still going fast.

nI wondered where I was going, but the men in front of me didn’t seem willing to tell me.

n‘Where is my Grandpa?’

nI realized that I hadn’t seen my grandfather since I went into the closet last night.

nThe violent noise from outside the closet also came back to my memory.

n‘Did my Grandpa get hurt?’

nRather than the fact that he was kidnapped, he was afraid to think that his grandfather was injured.

n“Sob……”

nTheor began to cry as he sniffled.

nSeeing Theor crying, the man on the other side got angry.

n“Do not be noisy. A crying child is disgusting,” said the man who talked to Theor from the very beginning.

nTheor was forced to hold back his tears.

nAnother man, who was sitting still, said,

n“Don’t be rude. He is a precious young master.”

nHe opened the carriage drawer and took out a small paper box.

nInside the box was a bite-sized biscuit.

nIt smelled like butter.

n“I’ll give you this, so don’t cry.”

nTheor looked at the biscuit box with tears in his eyes.

nHe wasn’t in a situation where he wanted to eat something like a biscuit, but he was taught not to turn down a gift from an adult.

nTheor barely stopped crying and took the biscuit the man gave him.

nAnd he politely bowed his head.

n“Thank you.”

n“There’s no need to say thank you like that.”

nAt his blunt answer, Theor raised his head and looked at the man.

nUpon closer inspection, he looked older than the man beside him.

nHe had eyes that looked nicer than the man beside him who kept talking.

nThe moment their eyes met, the man’s eyes widened in shock.

n“You……”

n“Yes?”

nThe man grabbed Theor’s shoulders and pulled him closer.

nThen he looked into Theor’s eyes with a surprised expression.

nHis eyes were trembling in shock.

nTheor didn’t understand why he was surprised.

nTheor, who just blinked his eyes, realized it then.

nThat he had not dripped eye color changing medicine since last night.

n***

nThe study door swung open.

nThe Duke of Reston, who was sitting in his study, frowned at his son, who entered the room without knocking.

n“What’s going on?”

n“Seriously? Are you asking because you don’t know what’s going on?”

nFritz looked at his father with a contemptuous look.

n“You were the one who attacked my grandfather and kidnapped Theor, right?”

nThe Duke looked up at his son with a puzzled look.

nThe people sent to pick up the child had not yet returned to the capital.

nHow did Fritz, who was only in the capital, find out about it?

n‘Was he trying to bring the child too?’

nFritz seemed to have planned on taking the child to protect him.

n‘Seeing you get angry, you must have been one step late.’

nThe duke pretended not to know and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

nAlthough he expected it, he was angrier when his father blatantly denied it.

n“I know you’re behind it all.”

nAs he leaned leisurely on the back of the chair, the Duke asked,

n“Do you have any evidence?”

n“My grandfather said he saw your men.”

nAstelle asked Fritz to protect Theor and the Marquis.

nAfter that, Fritz immediately sent his men to the East.

nHe ordered his men to find Theor and the Marquis, escort them home, and report to him once they got home safely.

nHowever, it seemed that his men were one step behind the Duke’s.

nBy the time they found the inn, Theor had been kidnapped.

nHis maternal grandfather was found lying in the inn room after being attacked and injured.

nFortunately, his maternal grandfather was not seriously injured.

nAfter his maternal grandfather confirmed that they were Fritz’s men, he told them who had attacked him.

nAlthough their faces were covered in masks, they were clearly the Duke’s men.

n“He must have seen it wrong.”

nThe duke denied his son’s words with a smile.

n“Your maternal grandfather hasn’t been here for a long time, so how could he recognize my people?”

n“After my subordinates investigated, they said that there are your people near the inn.”

n“My people are free to go anywhere. Just because they were near the inn, can that be used as evidence?”

n“Father, I didn’t come here to play pun,” said Fritz, holding back his anger.

nHe continued, “My grandfather was injured and Theor was missing. Where did you hide him?”

nFritz felt ashamed of himself.

n‘Astelle asked me for help, but……’

nThe fact that Astelle was Theor’s biological mother was revealed at the ball.

nAfter the ball, Astelle was locked up in the mansion and couldn’t come out without the Emperor’s permission.

nNow Astelle is a princess who gave birth to an illegitimate child, and is the hot topic of gossip at the moment.

nFortunately, Theor and the Marquis had left first.

nPoor Astelle called Fritz and asked him to help them get home safely.

nThis was the first time Astelle had asked for help directly from him.

nHe definitely wanted to help.

n‘But I can’t even help her.’

nHe was pathetic.

nHe couldn’t even listen to his only sister’s earnest request.

nHe was a really pathetic brother.

nEven his maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Carlenberg, was injured because he was late.

nFritz, who had been blaming himself, decided to find Theor and bring him to Astelle no matter what.

n“Father, tell me where Theor is.”

nThe Duke still pretended not to know.

n“Well, no matter how many times you ask, I don’t know where her illegitimate child is.”

nFritz couldn’t stand his father’s attitude, so he brought up Kaizen’s name.

n“Can you say that to His Majesty?”

n“Kaizen?”

n“His Majesty had also sent knights to the East to find Theor.”

nAccording to reports of his men, the knights sent by the Emperor had arrived just before they left.

nAfter hearing that the Emperor had sent the knights, the Duke’s brazen smile slowly disappeared.

n“Why did the emperor look for him?”

n“How would I know that?”

nThe Duke pondered for a moment.

nHe seemed to be contemplating what the Emperor’s intentions were.

nHowever, his worries did not last long. The Duke smiled calmly again and said,

n“No matter what the Emperor asks, my answer remains the same. I don’t know where the child is.”

nFritz gave up talking to his father.

nThere’s no point in talking to him.

n“All right.”

nHe gave the Duke a look of contempt and made a cold declaration,

n“I will find him myself.”

nFritz has already searched every nook and cranny of the mansion and his father’s villas.

nBut Theor was nowhere to be found.

n‘He probably hasn’t arrived in the capital yet.’

nFather will surely bring Theor to the capital.

nTheor was the key to blackmailing Astelle.

nFather will try to keep him close by.

nFritz thought that if he kept an eye on his father, he would be able to find Theor’s whereabouts.

nFritz walked out the door without saying goodbye to his father.

nHe returned to the west mansion where he lived and gave orders to his men,

n“Keep an eye on this mansion and my father, and whoever he meets.”

n***

nThe smile disappeared from the Duke of Reston’s face as soon as Fritz closed the door.

nThe duke in the study realized what his son was thinking and clicked his tongue.

n‘He’s going to spy on me.’

nFritz was his biological son and heir to the family.

nOf course, he knows all the villas in the capital.

nHe must have thoroughly grasped the radius of his father’s actions.

n‘Do you think you can beat me?’

nThe Duke suddenly remembered his son’s words.

n‘But Kaizen was also looking for him……’

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