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Chapter 182: You’ve Lost Your Husband

I’ve finally arrived.

A majestic carriage pulled by a Frostwing Horse was swiftly approaching the Ascarts’ manor. Seeing that her destination was finally in sight, Nora Xeclyde heaved a sigh of relief.

It had been more than a week since she received Alicia’s message at the eastern border, and ever since then, she spent almost all her time traveling on this carriage, hardly taking any breaks at all. Her efforts had paid off, and she managed to reach the Ascarts’ manor in the shortest time possible.

Looking at the familiar gateway, she couldn’t help but recall the first time she entered the manor a few years ago. Who could have imagined that she would meet a strange boy here who fully understood and accepted her eccentricities? Ever since then, they had spent much time together, braving numerous dangers and trials under each other’s support. At this point, it could be said that they were necessary to each other’s life.

Alright, fine. I admit that Roel is still having trouble coming to grips with my interests. But, as long as I continue enticing him, it’s only a matter of time before he willingly goes along with me.

Nora was confident because she had gone through experiences with Roel that no one else had. They had overcome crises that put their characters to the test, building up a deep level of trust that would have been impossible otherwise.

They were independent individuals who weren’t reliant on each other, but if either one were to meet with trouble, they could be assured that the other would rush over to their aid right away. This was what it meant to have two hearts linked together.

Thus, Nora was confident that Charlotte, someone who had nothing more than a mere title linking her to Roel, wouldn’t be able to do much even if she had overstayed her welcome at the Ascarts’ manor by half a month.

Had she and Roel fought together in the face of despair before? Did they have a bond of trust that transcended life and death? Did they have a pure love that was devoid of any implications from their standing and reputation?

Nora flung her hair aside as a haughty smile emerged on her lips. The answer was clear to her.

The experience she shared with Roel was unique. How could Charlotte possibly match up to what they had?

She’s just a pitiful girl who’s clutching onto her engagement contract desperately as her final wall of defense. Once the engagement contract is gone, she won’t be a threat at all.

With everything under control, Nora smiled confidently as she watched as her carriage approached the entrance of the Ascarts’ manor.

It was a familiar building in familiar surroundings. The Ascarts’ servants were extremely diligent in their duties; even when there was still a hundred meters left before the arrival of Nora’s carriage, they had already opened the doors wide to welcome her.

Nora already had a plan in mind—she was going to do an inappropriately intimate gesture as soon as she got off the carriage and met Roel.

Indeed, this was Nora’s opening shot. She would suppress Charlotte and directly kickoff the fight. Since she couldn’t stay for long, she needed to swiftly settle the problem and rush back to the eastern border. Only by ensuring that Charlotte was no longer a threat could she return to the battlefront with her mind at ease.

This was a prime example of the saying, ‘first the family, then the country’.

However, to Nora’s surprise, things weren’t proceeding according to her script. Someone from the Ascarts’ manor had indeed stepped out to welcome her, but the person was none other than Anna, Roel’s personal maid. Roel and Charlotte were nowhere to be seen.

Hm? What’s going on?

It would still be understandable if Charlotte, as a guest of the Ascarts’ manor herself, didn’t come out to welcome her, but what about Roel then?

Nora widened her sapphire eyes in bewilderment. Before she could wrap her head around this baffling situation, the carriage had already stopped at the entryway of the Ascarts’ manor.

Anna was already standing there, waiting for her. She was trying her best to maintain a professional smile, but the worry in her eyes was on the verge of seeping out.

Not too long ago, under the directives of the incumbent patriarch, Carter Ascart, Anna had to cooperate with Alicia and Nora on their secret operation. While things backfired in the end, as Roel’s personal maid, Anna couldn’t help but feel greatly conscience-stricken about what she had done.

Until Roel reached adulthood, which was 14 years old in this world, the patriarch of the Ascart House, Carter, would reserve the right to appoint a personal maid for him. In other words, Carter, instead of Roel, was Anna’s direct superior, so she was compelled to obey his orders or risk being punished for insubordination. In the worst case scenario, she could end up being stripped of her position and forcefully parted from Roel’s side.

This put Anna in a difficult position. Even though Roel didn’t say anything after the incident, her guilt continued to gnaw on her mind, leaving her feeling deeply worried.

Does the young master hate me now?

Whenever she thought about this, she would feel as upset as an older sister who was hated by her little brother. She hadn’t been sleeping well recently. She wasn’t aware that Roel actually bore no grudge against her, and that he was just too busy dealing with Charlotte and had no time for her.

It was due to her guilt that she didn’t raise any doubts when Roel headed out on the Sorofyas’ Diamond Rivière to go sightseeing with Charlotte three days ago. However, as time passed without their return, she soon realized that something was amiss.

The Sorofyas would still send envoys to the Ascarts’ manor every day to inform them of Roel and Charlotte’s schedule, but their schedule kept getting delayed again and again. They were heading further and further away from Ascart City, soon to arrive at the Worun Mountain Range, which formed the border between the Ascart Fiefdom and the Rosa Merchant Confederacy.

It was one thing if Roel was a lovestruck fool who had decided to abandon all of his duties for the sake of fulfilling his love, but Anna knew he wasn’t that type of person. Based on her observations, while Roel was indeed attracted to Charlotte, he didn’t seem to harbor any deep feelings for her. Under the circumstances, it was impossible for her usually wary young master to depart for so long without bringing his guards or sending a message back.

Anna harbored great doubts about this matter, but she wasn’t certain whether she should make a move or not. For one, she had no way of directly contacting the Sorofyas. On top of that, Charlotte was officially Roel’s fiancée, which made it hard for her to find a justification to follow-up on the situation.

“It has been a while, Anna. Where’s Roel?”

Nora posed the question as soon as she alighted from her carriage, causing Anna’s smile to freeze up. She began to panic a little.

Should I help hide it for the young master, or should I report it truthfully?

After a moment of hesitation, Anna still felt that she should prioritize Roel’s safety, so she reported the truth and her feelings of unease to Nora.

As for Nora’s reaction... she stood there stunned! She had already planned things out carefully, yet Roel and Charlotte turned out to be missing. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they had already been gone for three days now!

That’s three whole days! Just what kind of dinner are they eating to be out for three whole days?

Nora clenched her fists tightly as rage fumed in her chest. However, after calming down a little and thinking through it once more, she couldn’t help but notice that there was something very incongruous about the situation.

“Wait a moment, did he bring Ascendwing with him?”

“He didn’t. They were initially planning just to have dinner together, so he didn’t bring anything with him. He hasn’t returned to the manor since then.”

“!”

Upon hearing that Roel didn’t even bring Ascendwing with him, Nora widened her eyes in astonishment. The incongruity was growing even stronger.

Ascendwing was a must-have to Roel whenever he was heading out. The first ability of the holy weapon, The Unruly, was his only movement spell, and he valued it greatly. As long as he was walking out the doors of the Ascarts’ manor, regardless of whether he was heading to the relatively safer towns or the dangerous forests, he would ensure that he brought it along with him.

“This isn’t right. Something must have happened. There’s no way Roel would head out just like that...” Nora muttered solemnly under her breath.

Another doubt quickly surfaced in her mind. Assuming that Roel hadn’t left voluntarily, what could the Sorofyas be planning then? What could they possibly get out of targeting Roel?

From a national perspective, Rosa and Saint Mesit were on friendly terms with one another, so this was unlikely to be an attempt to destabilize the Theocracy. From a house-level perspective, the Sorofyas and Ascarts were neighbors that bore goodwill toward each other. They were even planning to collaborate on a major development project. From these two perspectives, it didn’t make sense for the Sorofyas to lay their hands on Roel at all.

This left just one possibility—personal reasons.

“Is she planning to kidnap Roel to Rosa?”

Nora was momentarily stunned by this possibility before bursting into laughter.

How could that be possible? It’s Charlotte we’re talking about here; she’s the toughest nut of all to crack within the conservative Sorofya House. Roel barely has any ‘offensive power’ at all, so how could he possibly crack open her thick shell?

Besides, Charlotte is well known for her sharpness in weighing the pros and cons of every single venture she embarks on. Without a doubt, kidnapping Roel carries great risks. She would have to be deeply in love with him to be willing to go that far. However, how could the two of them possibly build such a tight bond within such a short period of time?

Nora laughed at the sheer ludicrousness of the thought, only for a new horrifying possibility to suddenly spring up in her mind. Gradually, her smile began to fade.

Wait a moment. If I recall correctly, the request Charlotte made of Roel was to investigate Charlotte’s ancestors. This... Can it possibly be... This is really bad!

Nora had some understanding of Roel’s bloodline ability, and it was with this knowledge that she finally realized that there was a blind spot in her thoughts that she had inadvertently neglected all this while. Her face turned increasingly grim, and she immediately relayed her orders.

“In view of the suspicious actions conducted by the Sorofya House over the last few days, I, Nora Xeclyde, suspect that they are attempting to abduct and illegally detain the proxy fief lord of the Ascart House, Roel Ascart. In my capacity as Roel Ascart’s protector, I hereby request a complete lockdown of the Ascart Fiefdom’s borders!”

Having her most precious possession snatched away from her left Nora feeling deeply agitated, so she unhesitatingly resorted to extreme measures. Anna was shocked by her words, but in view of Roel’s safety, she decided to heed Nora’s orders and relay the commands accordingly.

Nora quickly gave a few commands to settle the logistical issues regarding the border lockdown before double-checking on Roel’s pathway. Then, she quickly leaped onto a Frostwing Horse and rushed off with a group of guards in hot pursuit.

...

While the princess on a white horse was rushing to save her prince, a sleeping beauty act was occurring over in the Diamond Rivière.

Charlotte stared at the sleeping black-haired boy as her brilliant smile gradually faded. She grabbed his hands tightly as her expression gradually grew heavy.

It had been three days since they had returned from the Witness State, but Roel’s condition had hardly improved at all. He would only spend at most six hours awake per day, and he would frequently suffer chills in the night as well.

On the other hand, Charlotte had been barely getting any sleep over the past three days. She had been staying by Roel’s side, even during sleeptime, which led to her often being jolted awake by the sheer coldness of Roel’s chilling aura. This was intended so that she could treat him as soon as his chills struck.

Having yet to get a single night of good rest over the past three days, Charlotte was exhausted. But at the same time, she felt deeply satisfied too. As long as she could remain by her lover’s side, no matter how tough things became, she was confident that she would be able to hold on. In fact, just taking care of Roel gave her a feeling of fulfillment.

However, times of happiness are always fleeting. While Charlotte was gazing upon the sleeping Roel, Grace was already slowly approaching her from behind.

“Young miss, we just received news from the border. It looks like we have been found out.”

“Is that so? I knew things wouldn’t be so easy.”

Charlotte gave a deep sigh as she gazed out the window.

“I won’t let go. Definitely not.”