It felt like waking up after being submerged in seawater. Aidel slowly regained consciousness, feeling a splitting headache and nausea.

The voice of the man who kidnapped her before she collapsed from inhaling the anesthetic began to faintly register. As her mind cleared, his voice became more distinct.

“…We need to leave the capital quickly. The Grand Duke has likely already begun the search.”

Though Aidel was conscious, she deliberately kept her eyes closed and focused on the man’s voice. She needed to assess her current situation as much as possible.

“If the Grand Duchess’s disappearance becomes official, checkpoints in each city may be strengthened.”

The person speaking with the kidnapper had a low voice that was difficult to distinguish as male or female. That androgynous voice held a hint of nervousness.

“That’s why we’re going to Maris. The darkest place is under the candlestick. The Grand Duke would never imagine the missing Grand Duchess is in the Grand Duchy.”

Her eyes moved beneath her closed lids. The kidnappers were heading to the port city within the Grand Duchy that she had visited for her honeymoon.

As the kidnapper said, even if an official search for her began, checkpoints in the Grand Duchy would likely be more lax than elsewhere.

Based on the sound of horse hooves on the ground and the vibrations she felt, this seemed to be inside a carriage heading to Maris.

“Since we can’t take the train, we should arrive in about two days. Once in Maris, we’ll immediately board the ship prepared at the port. Sea routes are free from checkpoints, making travel easier.”

The reason for going to Maris was to board a ship at the port. As Aidel recalled the beautiful port city she had visited on her honeymoon, her chest tightened.

“Where do you plan to go by ship?”

“Someone you know well. We’ll go straight to Marquis Chalet’s domain by ship to meet him.”

Marquis Chalet…! That nightmarish name was mentioned again. At the unexpected mention, Aidel’s closed eyelashes trembled.

“Once we sell the Grand Duchess to him, the deal is done.”

Aidel barely swallowed her quickening breaths as she heard the kidnapper’s plan. The idea of being sold to Marquis Chalet for money was far more shocking than going to Maris.

“It’s not the first time that foul-tempered Marquis has bought slaves… but to think of making the Grand Duchess a concubine!”

Concubine…! Just hearing the word made her sick. Her churning stomach turned over and nausea rose.

“It works out very well for us. We get to dispose of the kidnapped Grand Duchess without consequences while pocketing a huge sum.”

The kidnapper chuckled as if finding it very amusing and enjoyable, then continued in an eerie voice.

“It’s a shame the Grand Duke doesn’t know about this. He’d be even more desperate if he knew his beloved Grand Duchess was being sold to another man.”

Just from the kidnapper’s voice, she could sense his deep grudge against the Grand Duke. She recalled the man’s burning eyes before she lost consciousness. The underlying reason for her kidnapping seemed to be a cruel desire for revenge against the Grand Duke.

“Now the Grand Duke will understand… the miserable feeling of losing what’s his…!”

While kidnapping high nobility was typically done for ransom, this man’s motives were different. His main goal was to inflict psychological damage on the Grand Duke, who was known to cherish the Grand Duchess dearly.

Add to that the deal with Marquis Chalet… The kidnapper was meticulously executing his plan for revenge against the Grand Duke. Hearing his flawless scheme, Aidel found it difficult to breathe, feeling as if her airways were blocked.

“It would be good to return the broken Grand Duchess to the Grand Duke after she’s been thoroughly used as Marquis Chalet’s plaything… Of course, that’s assuming the Grand Duchess is still alive by then.”

Hearing the kidnapper’s cruel words piercing her ears, she bit the inside of her lip hard to stifle an escaping moan. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

“Plus, that greedy man said he wants to buy other slaves too.”

“Other slaves?”

“Yes. Dillon, when we arrive in Maris, find and bring suitable girls. Make sure they’re not over 20 years old.”

“Yes, understood.”

Hearing their conversation about planning more kidnappings besides herself, Aidel clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.

Learning that the kidnapping targets were young girls not yet of age filled her with such rage that her mind went blank.

As Aidel’s body involuntarily trembled, overcome with despair, the kidnapper’s associate called Dillon spoke up.

“Lord Douglas, it seems the Grand Duchess is about to wake up.”

“It is about time for her to wake. Use the anesthetic again – it’ll be troublesome if she wakes before we reach Maris.”

“Yes, understood.”

The kidnapper’s name was Douglas. Based on their conversation and actions, this Dillon seemed to be his subordinate.

Footsteps approached, likely Douglas’s subordinate Dillon. Soon after, she felt a cloth touch her face and the pungent, acrid smell of anesthetic entered her respiratory system.

‘Douglas… Based on his accent and way of speaking, he’s from the eastern nobility… Slave trade… A man who lost everything and holds a grudge against the Grand Duke…’

As Aidel struggled not to lose her fading consciousness again, she recalled the information she had deduced about the kidnapper.

Suddenly, a newspaper article about a noble’s trial that had recently caused a stir in the empire came to mind.

⌜Baron Douglas, wealth amassed through slave trade as well as territory and title confiscated! The miserable end of a tycoon who lost everything⌟

The presiding judge for this noble trial that made headlines was none other than Grand Duke Ellios.

‘The tycoon Baron Douglas, who owned vast plantations and lands in the eastern region…!’

There was no doubt he was the one who kidnapped her. Just as Aidel realized the kidnapper’s identity, the consciousness she had been barely holding onto faded to black.

“The news you’ve been waiting for has arrived.”

An attendant approached and whispered the just-received news into Katrina’s ear. As soon as she heard it, the corners of Katrina’s mouth turned upwards.

“Well done. Handle it as planned.”

“Yes, understood.”

As the attendant who received the order left, Katrina picked up the wine bottle on the table and filled her glass.

“Is it good news?”

Seeing the satisfied expression spread across Katrina’s face, Roselyn, who was having dinner with her across the table, asked expectantly. Her fidgeting showed how anxious she had been.

“Douglas, that man has finally succeeded.”

“Is that true?”

Roselyn’s voice was filled with delight as she asked again. She looked as if she might scream with joy.

“To think he succeeded in kidnapping the Grand Duchess… His resourcefulness and scheming are more impressive than expected. No wonder he became wealthy through secret slave trading for over a decade.”

Katrina smiled contentedly as she held the stem of the clear wine glass and swirled it around. Watching the red whirlpool created in the glass, she imagined the Grand Duchess now trapped in a deep quagmire.

‘I was right to use Douglas.’

At a recent trial where the Grand Duke participated as Chief Justice, Douglas, who was originally a baron, had his title, lands, and vast accumulated wealth confiscated. It was the result of operating plantations through illegal slave trade within his territory.

The course and outcome of that trial were the talk of the nobility. Seeing Douglas stripped of everything but his personal freedom and reduced to a commoner, the nobles clicked their tongues while shuddering at the Grand Duke’s merciless actions.

Though Douglas, who mainly operated in the eastern region rather than the capital, wasn’t a noble closely associated with Katrina, she took note of his downfall due to the Grand Duke’s ruling.

It was easy to use Douglas, who had lost everything he had built up and was burning with desire for revenge against the Grand Duke, like a chess piece.

Douglas easily fell for the persuasion that since he couldn’t directly touch the Grand Duke, why not target the Grand Duchess whom the Grand Duke cherished so much?

Of course, Katrina used a proxy in devising all these plans. She had even ordered that proxy to be disposed of once the plan succeeded, so even if Douglas’s actions were discovered, there was no way it could be traced back to her.

She felt relieved at the thought of finally being able to remove the bothersome Grand Duchess from her sight. Losing the Grand Duchess he had poured affection on would surely be a great blow to the Grand Duke as well.

‘It feels similar to back then.’

Feeling similar to when she heard the news of Empress Dowager Meriel’s collapse, Katrina curled her lips, as red as the wine in her glass.

“So where is she going now?”

“You ask even though you know. It was you, Roselyn, who personally recommended the Grand Duchess’s destination to that slave trader Douglas.”

“Well… It’s because Marquis Chalet still hasn’t forgotten about her.”

Roselyn answered in an innocent voice, blinking her eyelashes. Katrina laughed coldly at the detestable sight of the young fox pretending to be naive.

“By the way… It’s such a pity for her. If only she had quietly married Marquis Chalet from the beginning.”

As if watching Aidel’s misfortune from the best seat, Roselyn spoke in a seemingly regretful voice along with an expertly crafted expression.

“Then she would have gained the proper position of a Marchioness, rather than becoming Marquis Chalet’s concubine.”

“Let’s pray for the noble fate of the unfortunate Grand Duchess.”

Katrina and Roselyn raised their wine glasses in a toast. Along with the vibration of the glasses clinking together, an exhilarating thrill spread throughout their bodies. Roselyn shuddered at that ecstatic feeling.

‘A flower should behave like a flower.’

You should have lived as if you were dead. Isn’t that right, sister?

Now the missing Grand Duchess would disappear without a trace and gradually fade from people’s memories.

Moreover, from what she had heard, there was a secret prison inside the Marquis’s mansion located in Marquis Chalet’s domain. It was where the slaves secretly purchased by Marquis Chalet were kept.

Imagining Aidel trapped as a plaything for life in that prison where no one could know or rescue her… ultimately crumbling away, Roselyn shuddered once again at the rising thrill.