I finally finished this chapter!
Katarina began to hyperventilate once the thug had left, her breathing becoming heavy as a look of panicked horror overcame her face. Although Keith could feel his panic rising as well, he forced it down because his sister needed him right now.
"Sister, what's wrong?" Keith asked, but Katarina didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, indicating that her mind was elsewhere, and in between her heavy pants, he could hear her muttering.
"… don't remember an event like this… was not expecting this doom flag …"
Keith frowned in confusion at the nonsense sprouting from his sister's mouth; what was she going on about?
"…at least Keith will be alright. Mother and Father will pay any amount to get him back-"
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Keith in shock. His yell snapped Katarina back to reality, though she still looked panicked. "What do you mean Mother and Father are going to pay to get me back?" he demanded to know.
Katarina looked at Keith in confusion. "Well, it's obvious that they are going to choose you." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Keith gaped at her in disbelief. His sister didn't actually think that, right?
"I mean, it makes sense for you to be the better choice. You're the heir, you're smart and have strong magic, you're not a d-disappointment-" her eyes welled up with tears.
"Sister..." whispered Keith.
Seemingly unaware of her brother's growing horror, Katarina rambled on. "-a-and I'm just an ill-mannered idiot with weak magic," The tears rolled down her cheeks as her voice became shakier. "So, I understand if Mother and Father don't want me back. Well, Father might, but he always listens to Mother, so he would leave me here to make her happy a-and-and-" Katarina finally started to cry.
Despite his bound state, Keith managed to drag himself closer to his sister and leaned against her in comfort even though he could not hug her properly. Though Katarina understood the gesture, leaning into Keith as well and burying her face into his shoulder.
"It's alright," Keith tried to reassure her. "Mother and Father would never abandon you," he chuckled and added. "Even though you are a bit odd." Though she didn't lift her head from his shoulder, Keith noted that Katarina's sobs subsided a little at his words. He smiled at this but then sighed and whispered. "They'll most likely choose you, anyway."
Despite how softly the words were said, Katarina stills heard them. She lifted her head from Keith's shoulder and stared at her brother in confusion, her face wet and a little snotty from crying. "W-What do you mean?"
Keith gave her a bittersweet smile. "You are their biological daughter; I was only adopted because they needed an heir." The Duke and Duchess might have treated Keith as their son, but a part of him (that he buried deep, deep down and refused to acknowledge) was aware that it was only because of the powerful earth magic he possessed that the duke had chosen to adopt him. Without it, Keith would still be living with his old "family."
"That's not true!" Katarina denied vehemently. "Mother and Father love you, Keith." It was now her turn to reassure Keith. "So, maybe it is true that that was their initial reason for adopting you, but they grew to love you as a member of our family." She gave him a bright smile. "And so did I."
Keith's eyes widened at Katarina's words, then returned her smile. His sister always knew what to say to banish the demons that haunted him. "Thank you, Sister."
"Lord Keith and Lady Katarina are missing!"
At David Graham's statement, the others rushed over in a clatter of chairs and falling papers.
"Lady Katarina is missing?!" Mary screamed, shoving Gerald aside.
"Master Keith as well?" asked Maria worriedly.
Everyone stared at Mr. Graham with disconcerted expressions, as if they were hoping that his words were somehow false. Gerald noticed how nervous the driver looked, likely due to being under the attention of so many young nobles.
"That's enough," he commanded. "Let him explain what happened." He nodded at Mr. Graham. "Please tell us what happened."
Mr. Graham explained how Katarina and Keith had failed to meet him at the designated time and place. "I thought that they might have been delayed for some reason, so I waited, but they never arrived."
After hearing Mr. Graham's explanation, the group was dismayed and concerned about what could have happened to their friends. But despite his own worry, Prince Gerald quickly took charge.
"We must go to the Magic Ministry at once," he declared. "If anyone has the resources to find missing people, it is them." He then told Mr. Graham. "Please let the other Claes servants know of what happened."
With a nod, Mr. Graham hurried towards the dorms, and Gerald didn't envy the man at being the one who had to break the news that their young masters had disappeared to the other servants. He knew that they would all be distraught, especially Anne.
Gerald then turned to the others. "Let's inform the headmaster of what's happening, then hurry to the Ministry."
After informing the headmaster about the Claes siblings' disappearance, the group hastened to the Magic Ministry. Within minutes, the building came into view, and as they approached it, they were surprised to see a carriage with the Claes crest emblazoned on the side in front of the gates.
"Duke and Duchess Claes are here?" asked Sophia, her eyes wide in shock.
"Do you think it's because of Lady Katarina and Master Keith?" wondered Maria as she and Mary exchanged glances.
"Huh? How could they have known?" exclaimed Alan. "We just found out ourselves!"
"Well, we are not going to find out by standing here," said Gerald as he entered through the gates, the others quickly following behind.
The guards at the entrance were swift to confirm their identities and allowed them entry. Once inside, they quickly found the duke and duchess in conversation with Raphael and Larna Smith, the Director of the Magic Tools Laboratory. Gerald immediately noticed that Duke Luigi had an unusually severe expression on his face and that Duchess Millidiana had been crying, despite currently looking composed.
Duke Claes! Madame Claes!" Gerald called out to them, getting their attention.
"Prince Gerald," greeted Luigi, surprised to see the group as they approached. "What brings you here?"
"Mr. David Graham informed us that Keith and Katarina failed to meet up with him after a shopping trip," Gerald explained. "I suppose that you are already aware of their disappearance, considering that you are here."
Luigi's face hardened, and Millidiana's grip on his arm tightened. "Oh, we are more than aware," he growled. "My son and daughter have been kidnapped."
The teens gasped with Mary letting out a little "Oh Gods, no!", expressions of horror appearing in all their faces, including Nicol's.
Luigi gravely nodded, "Whoever is behind this sent a ransom note to us, letting us know what had happened to them. We decided to come here instead of meeting their demands," he motioned to Larna. "Lady Larna has agreed to investigate this personally and search for Katarina and Keith."
"I have several Magic Tools that can help us locate them," Larna said confidently. "They won't give us an exact location, but they should be able to point us in the right direction.
"I'll gladly give you whatever resources you need to find my fiancée and her brother as soon as possible," offered Gerald.
"Me too!" exclaimed Mary. "I'll do whatever is necessary to help find Lady Katarina! Oh, and Keith as well."
"If Gerald is offering to help, then I'll do the same!" spoke Alan.
"I also wish to help in any way that I can," declared Maria.
"Brother and I will help as well!" Sophia motioned to herself and Nicol, who nodded in agreement with his sister.
"I might just take you in those offers," said Larna with a smirk. She then turned and motioned to the group to follow her to her office. Once they arrived, she addressed them again. "I need to get a few things ready, but it should take long," with that said, she left.
Raphael turned to them. "Lady Larna is an intelligent and resourceful woman. If anyone can find them, it's her," he reassured with a smile. "Now, if you would excuse me, I have work that I need to get back to," he grimaced as he thought of the piles of paperwork still on his desk. "Lots of work."
Once Raphael had left, Millidiana sat on the sofa, still retaining her composed mask; however, her unfocused eyes made it evident that her mind was elsewhere. Exchanging glances, the girls came to a silent agreement, and all three of them sat beside the duchess to offer whatever comfort they could give. Alan began pacing as he had done in the Student Council Room, too anxious to stay still for long.
Gerald and Nicol, meanwhile, questioned Luigi about what he knew so far. Both young men were shocked and outraged when the duke told them about the impossible choice the kidnappers gave the Claes.
"That is not a typical demand when asking for ransom." The Third Prince had a displeased expression, lips twisted into a deep frown, and blue eyes narrowed in anger.
Nicol's eyes were also narrowed. "I believe this is more about hurting the Claes than asking for money," he stated. "Is likely that whoever is behind this has a grudge against you and thought that they could get revenge by using Katarina and Keith."
Duke Luigi sighed, "I figured that was the case and already told Lady Larna." He slumped a bit, "the problem is that I have no idea who it could be as there are many people who would have a grudge against me or just House Claes in general."
It was an undeniable and cruel fact of nobility: the higher your status and influence were, the more enemies you acquired. House Claes possesses a great deal of power and influence and, therefore, had a lot of enemies.
Figuring out which of them had orchestrated the kidnapping would not be easy.
Despite the best efforts of the girls to comfort her, Millidiana was still as unresponsive as she had been since they entered the office, her gaze distant as she thought about her children.
Keith was such a sweet and polite young man, and he looked so much like her beloved husband. And, while Katarina was eccentric and the furthest thing from of proper lady, she nevertheless was a kind and empathetic young woman who had saved Millidiana's marriage. She loved both equally and unconditionally, and there was no way that she would choose one over the other.
But then she thought, 'do other people see it that way?'
Whenever she gathered with other noblewomen, Millidiana bragged about how Keith was a wonderful son. Whether it was how he was such a gentleman, how strong and skilled he was with his magic, how he was part of the Student Council, the duchess had no end of praise for Keith's accomplishments.
But Millidiana never once praised Katarina the same way.
The other nobles usually were the ones who displayed admiration towards her daughter, while Millidiana couldn't feel anything but embarrassment when they talked about Katarina's antics.
From an outside point of view, it would look like Millidiana favored Keith over Katarina.
Then another thought came to her head, 'did Katarina know that her mother loved her?'
Millidiana wanted to scoff at such a ridiculous notion. Why wouldn't her daughter know that her mother loved her?
But then she thought about her relationship with Katarina.
They had once been close, but that had changed after Katarina hit her head and stopped behaving like a proper lady. Now, there wasn't a day where Millidiana wasn't admonishing her daughter for doing things like climbing trees, farming, or stating how Katarina would mess something up with one of her crazy ideas. She couldn't recall the last time she had spent a significant amount of time with Katarina (that didn't involve scolding her) or told her daughter that she loved her and was proud of her.
To the concern of everyone in the office, Millidiana burst into tears, and they rushed over to comfort her. As she wept, Millidiana silently made a vow to herself.
'If- no, when my children are brought back safely, I'll let Katarina know how much I love her!'
Next time, we will finally get some action!
Hopefully, chapter 3 won't take as long to write as this one.
Once again, I thank my friend Cornerverse for giving me advice on writing the chapter better.
