CH 142

After receiving the report, I was so shocked that I could say I lost my mind.

The ruins were in the basement of the mansion. It is said that there was a magic transfer circle there that stopped working.

There was no trace of the girls anywhere, and given the circumstances, it was concluded that they were transported to a remote location.

Of course, we sent a team of experts to find out where they went.

But all they discovered was that the magic circle sent them to random places.

The more I knew, the more desperate the situation became.

The research done by the magicians was not perfect. But many things was useful information that he did not know, to the point of how to create a magic circle.

The amount of magic power used is enormous, and the magic circle itself is made up of many layers of plates, composed of ancient characters so tiny that they can only be seen with a microscope.

In this case, it doesn't matter whether it is reproducible or not.  The problem is that we have no clues.

My dear friends have disappeared.  And so is the mansion where I live. If I hadn't invited them, none of this would have happened. I feel guilty.

"My lady, please cheer up."

"Um, yes..."

Urara approached me. I'm grateful to her for being here, even though she just had her baby.

If it wasn't for her, I would have gone crazy.

I wish Toru-Sama and Kaede-San were here....

"My lady, why doesn't Toru-Sama try to send you a message? He hasn't notified her of this situation yet."

"That's right, the message!"

I had Urara prepare a scroll. We kept about five message scrolls at our house, just in case.

Luckily, I asked Alusha-san for five more and she gave them to me.

I will send a message to Toru-Sama first.

《Notice: the message is out of valid range.》

EH?

Valid range?

Is there such a thing?

As long as it has not made connection with the target. The scroll will not be consumed.

So I tried to send a message to the girls.

《Notice: the message is out of range.》

I was shocked at the situation. I don't even know if they are still alive or dead.

"I can't reach anyone."

"My lady..."

I can't believe something like this has a range limitation... What kind of nonsense is that? Who came up with something like that...?

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Does that mean they're too far away to receive the message? The only place far I can think of is where Toru-Sama is.

Messages could get through even if that person is dead. So there is no possibility that they are here, let alone dead.

In other words, they are not on the Island.

That's right! They are all on the other continent with Toru-Sama!

Now that I've come to this conclusion, I can't just sit idly by.

I have to go there myself.

"Urara, inform my father that I will cross the open sea. I will board the archaeological ship as soon as I return."

"But my Lady!"

"It will do no good to stop me. I have no time to cower when my dear friends are in danger. I was to blame for everything that happened, so as Toru-Sama's wife that I am, and a member of the Manyu Brigade, I have to act, even if there is little chance."

This place will be fine without me.

My father and the King of Greyfield are already mobilizing to resolve this situation. I am sure that sooner or later there will be a full-scale search involving all nations.

So I will do everything I can to help.

I left Urara behind and arrived in Lastoria on my own.

I have already been granted an audience with His Majesty the King of Lastoria.

In a room of the palace, I was greeted by His Majesty sitting on his throne.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, King. I am Marianne, daughter of Count Roane."

"I appreciate your greetings, young lady, but instead of continuing with the flattery, let's get to the point we are both interested in, according to the letter you sent, you wanted to find a group of people who were transported by a transfer circle... And you say they were taken to another continent?"

"Yes, I have no problem with that, but I know there is a possibility that this is so. There are so many ruins and magic circles here, it's hard to imagine any of them being connected to other lands beyond the open sea."

His Majesty stroked his chin.

There was an air of hesitation about letting me get on the boat.

"I see, however, I cannot send the daughter of an Earl who lives in another country on a dangerous voyage..."

A man who appears to be a vassal enters the room.

"Your Majesty, King Armand has sent you a sealed envelope."

"Give it to me."

The King smiled as he read the letter.

King Armand and the King of Lastoria are good friends.

I was aware of that, so I asked for His Majesty the King's support beforehand.

Of course it was not a simple thing, I had to talk about certain things in order to convince him.

[Toru-Sama is a very slow person, and we will lose a powerful ally if we don't take care of him, so I plan to go to where he is and I can be pregnant with him. This way we can keep Toru-Sama in Armand without the risk of Lastoria taking him away].

Those words made the King of Armand want to help me.

If I were to bear Toru-Sama's child, he would automatically become a citizen of Armand.

That is what His Majesty has decided.

Of course, I am sure it was a decision based on his knowledge of my situation.

Without me having a good reason, His Majesty would not have helped me.

And I also need a reason to convince my father. Since I ran away from the mansion without getting his permission.

The King of Lastoria looks at the letterhead and lets out a sigh.

"Alright, you have the permission to board the ship."

"Thank you for your generous heart."

The moment I tried to leave the room, I heard His Majesty's voice.

"I see that the King of Armand came up with the same thing I did, I hope Luvue complied well... I wish you luck in still having your chance with him, Marianne."

I knew there would be a catch.

The King of Lastoria is a wise man who takes what he can get.

I pretended I hadn't heard anything and left the room.

A few days later, the ship of ruins returned to port.

The city was in an uproar because it had made its first voyage on the open sea.

The nobles who gathered in front of the ship were shouting for joy with the objects they had brought from the different continents.

I, on the other hand, watched the scene with calm eyes from the ship.

"Are you sure you want to do this? It's a much more dangerous place than one imagines."

"I don't mind, when I think about the fact that beyond this island there are strange lands where there are more people inhabiting it, my existence becomes trivial."

"I have heard from His Majesty about the situation. I will do my best to cooperate, if only a little."

The captain takes off his hat and bows.

Suddenly, I saw a man who looked like a nobleman boarding the ship.

He came over and bowed to me.

"You must be Miss Marianne. I am Keios Eiban, Toru's uncle."

"Eh? You are Toru-Sama's uncle?! I am Marianne, Count Roane's daughter, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"I heard you were going to follow Toru to the other continent, so I thought I'd give this to you."

He put what looked like a key in my hand.

It's a strange object with several split ends. Something barely recognizable as a key because of its shape.

Its color was like gold, but it shines with a faint iridescence, indicating that it is not gold.

"I told Toru that his mother had nothing on him when he came here. But I was wrong, she had this, a key, I had forgotten it until recently, and he was in a big hurry."

"Are you sure you want to leave such an important object in my hands?"

"Perhaps there will come a time when he will come to need it. And you have in mind to seduce Toru, don't you? With this, he won't doubt your trust."

"He is right, but there is something he is wrong about. I am his betrothed, and I will marry him. Toru-Sama trusts me very much."

Keios-Sama bows to him as he says; "I apologize."

I didn't think Toru-Sama had blood of the Nobility. I don't know why I didn't notice when I heard his name was Eiban.

Perhaps I was so captivated by Toru-Sama's presence that I didn't even care about his name, or his status.

I finally understand Kaede-San's words, it's because Toru-Sama is Toru-Sama.

"I'll make sure he gets it."

"Please. Tell Toru that Bill and I are fine."

I nodded my head.

"It's time to go."

The captain puts on his hat and gets on the boat.

I took the key and said goodbye to Keios-Sama one more time.

I will go to the other continent, and bring everyone back with me.