I said in this previous chapter that this would be the last one, but things changed, and now they will be two more chapters after this one before this story is complete.
It was well into the night when the carriages transporting the group of nobles and knights arrived at Coast Town.
"Looks like this is the place," declared Larna. She then addressed the other nobles. "We should begin searching for them once we stop."
"I agree," said Luigi. "Waiting until morning might tip off the kidnappers, and they could escape, so acting now will allow us to have the element of surprise."
Millidiana and Gerald nodded, fidgeting with the swords strapped to their sides, eager to run them through the scum that had kidnapped their loved ones.
They were suddenly jostled when the carriage abruptly stopped. Startled, Gerald asked the driver, "What is going on?"
"There seems to be some sort of commotion, your highness."
Confused, they all looked out the windows and saw several people gathered out in the street, many wearing their nightclothes.
"What could be happening?" wondered Millidiana.
"We should find out; it might be related to what we are here for."
Everyone agreed with the duke's suggestion and immediately exited the carriage, the knights following them as they approached the crowd.
"Excuse me, can you tell us what is going on here?" asked Larna.
The man being addressed turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw a group of nobles with several armed knights behind them. He stared for a moment but quickly recovered and answered Larna's question.
"The guards just arrested a gang of hoodlums. It seems like they were keeping a pair of kidnapped noble kids in one of the warehouses."
Everyone's widened as they realized who those nobles must be.
"How interesting," said Larna. "It just so happens that we are looking for a pair of kidnapped nobles ourselves. Who you mind telling us where they are?"
"Sure, the village's leader took them to his house while they figured out how to take them home."
They followed the man's directions to the leader's house, a modest building near the center of the village that was only slightly larger than the other houses. A plump and kind-looking middle-aged woman – the wife of the village's leader - opened the door and, after explaining who they were and why they were here, she welcomed them in. They were led to a small yet cozy living room where they saw -
"Katarina! Keith!"
"Mother? Father?"
The duke and duchess rushed in to pull their surprised children into a group hug that said children happily reciprocated. However, Katarina seemed a bit confused at being hugged by her mother, almost as if she was not used to it.
After several minutes of sweet, wholesome reunion, Luigi and Millidiana finally released their children, who noticed who else was there.
"Prince Gerald, you are here too?" asked Katarina, then squeaked and blushed when he suddenly hugged her.
"Katarina," Gerald whispered, relief evident in his voice as he tightly held her. "I'm so glad that you are alright."
Katarina hugged him back, happiness and another feeling, unfamiliar but pleasant, blooming in her chest.
The moment was interrupted when Keith pulled Katarina away from the prince's embrace.
"Of course Sister is alright," he scoffed. "As her brother, I would never allow her to come to harm, so there was no need for you to have come, your highness."
"On the contrary, coming to rescue Katarina is part of my duty as her fiancé," that last word was said smugly. Then, with a more sincere voice, "I am glad that you are also alright."
They were then introduced to Miss Larna Smith.
"I have heard a lot about you, Lady Claes," she had said. "Our mutual acquaintance, Raphael Walt, speaks of you often."
"Eh? You know Raphael?"
"Yes," Larna nodded. "I am the Head of the Magic Tools Department and Raphael's direct superior."
Oh, you're Raphael's boss!" Katarina exclaimed in recognition. "He talks a lot about you too!"
They were also introduced to Alexander and explained how the teddy bear had helped find them, though, for some reason, Katarina didn't seem to get along with it.
The village's leader had taken Larna and a pair of knights to the village's small jail so that she could interrogate the thugs about the kidnapping. His wife, meanwhile, was busying herself in the kitchen by preparing some tea for the others.
While they waited, Katarina and Keith recounted the events of their kidnapping and self-rescue to their parents and Gerald.
How they woke up in the warehouse, tied up, and with no memory of how they had gotten there.
"They must have taken us by surprise and used something to make us fall unconscious," Keith had speculated. "But I cannot recall what exactly happened."
Me neither," said Katarina.
They had been highly amused that Katarina had punched one of the thugs unconscious on instinct, but that amusement evaporated once they learned about the magic suppressor put on Keith. Millidiana had to be physically restrained from rushing off to murder the jailed thugs by her husband, who looked like he wanted to let her go and then join her.
They managed to talk the duchess down from going to kill the thugs – as they still needed them for interrogation – though she and the duke still looked murderous.
"Common criminals should not have been able to get their hands on a magic suppressor by themselves!" Luigi snarled. "Whoever orchestrated this must have given it to them!"
He was right. Magic suppressors were very rare, and their use was highly monitored and restricted, so only someone with high connections would be able to acquire one.
The mood improved when Katarina got to the part where she and Keith had to fight the other two thugs. Everyone was impressed that Katarina had been able to match blows with a man stronger than herself and that Keith could hold his own with his magic blocked and forced to use a weapon with which he was not familiar.
"Have you ever considered learning to use a spear?" had asked Luigi.
"No, but it sounds like a good idea after this ordeal," was Keith's answer.
The tale ended with Katarina punching that thug again, which was witnessed by a pair of fishermen who took them to the village's leader, where they explained that they had been kidnapped. The town guards had quickly arrested the thugs.
They had been trying to figure out how to send Keith and Katarina home when the group arrived.
Once the siblings finished their story, their parents and the prince told them what had happened on their side.
Gerald told them that Mr. David Graham had informed the Student Council that Keith and Katarina were missing and how they ran into the duke and duchess at the Ministry.
Luigi then explained how they had gone to the Ministry after receiving a ransom letter that demanded that they choose between their children.
Millidiana's anger returned as she recalled the words in that letter.
"How dare that bastard demand that we pick between our children!" she ranted. "As if we would ever do such a thing!"
"So… so, you never considered choosing?"
Luigi and Millidiana were taken aback by Katarina's question, and they stared at their daughter in shock.
"Of course we did not consider it, Katarina!" exclaimed Millidiana, aghast.
"D-Did you really believe that we would do it?" Luigi asked, praying that it was not true.
To his and his wife's dismay, Katarina did not answer; instead, she looked away with a guilty expression. Keith also was unable to look his parents in the eyes.
Luigi, Millidiana, and Gerald were horrified by what Katarina and Keith had inadvertently revealed. But before they could question them further, Miss Larna returned.
They decided to hold off any further questions. Still, Luigi and Millidiana knew that they would need to have a serious discussion with their children soon.
Everyone sat down in the living room – except for the village's leader and his wife; both had left to give them privacy – to hear what Miss Larna had discovered.
"It was not too difficult getting them to talk. I just had to explain that it would be in their best interest to do so." She had a look of smug amusement as she said this.
It was true; kidnapping the beloved children of a powerful duke – one who was also the beloved fiancée of one of the princes – had severe consequences for the perpetrators. Revealing who had orchestrated everyone would make things easier for them (well, not much, but it would be better!).
"So, who was it that hired them?" Luigi wanted to know who had to be destroyed for subjecting his family to this suffering.
Larna's amused expression became grim.
"It was Marquis Jacques Alarie."
"Him?" Luigi snarled as his wife and the three teenagers made various sounds of dismay and outrage. "I should have known!"
Marquis Jacques Alarie was an ambitious noble who desired to increase his power. Although the Alaries are subordinates of House Claes, it was no secret that the marquis hates Luigi Claes and is jealous of the ducal family's prestige.
"Wasn't Marquis Alarie's daughter one of the girls who accused Sister of bullying Miss Maria? Keith asked Gerald.
"She was," the prince confirmed. "Along with the daughters of Marquis Lambert and Count Delisle."
"Oh, I remember her!" exclaimed Katarina. "She and her friends don't like me very much."
Lady Isabelle Alarie had been a candidate for the third prince's fiancée before Gerald chose Katarina. Like many ladies, she disliked Katarina and was jealous of her position as a prince's fiancée but had done nothing more than glare at her due to the difference in status.
The only time Lady Alarie had attacked Katarina directly was when Raphael used his dark magic to amplify her and her followers' dislike of Katarina. None of them were punished since it was proven that they had not been in their right minds when they made the accusations.
After the incident, Lady Alarie and her followers took care to stay as far away from Katarina as possible.
"Wait, you don't think this is because I am Gerald's fiancée?"
"No," Gerald said immediately. "Otherwise, they would have just taken you and not have this whole 'choose which one you want back' nonsense."
"Though I am loath to say this, I agree with him," said Keith, surprising Gerald. "I think this is more about Marquis Alarie hurting Father than about giving his daughter a chance of becoming a prince's fiancée."
"It could be a scheme to weaken the Claes' power," Larna suggested. It made sense; either they rescue their adopted son, that will carry the family name, or they save their biological daughter, that is engaged to royalty. The Claes would still lose one of their heirs, and their power would weaken whatever the choice.
"Ha!" Millidiana laughed bitterly. "That man doesn't need any complicated motivations to do something like this. I wouldn't be surprised if all this is because of all the praise that Luigi received at the last ball we attended."
"I do not care why Alarie did this." Even though Luigi appeared to have calmed down, the two women could still hear the burning anger that coated his words and blazed in his eyes. "He still plotted against our family. His burning eyes narrowed. "There will be consequences for that."
"Wait, what will happen with Marquis Alarie's children?" Katarina asked worriedly.
Luigi's angry expression softened. Of course his kind-hearted daughter would be more concerned about others first, even if those people didn't like her.
"That will depend on whether they are willing accomplices of their father or if they were unaware of what he was planning," the duke gently explained. "If all of them are involved, they'll be arrested or kicked out of nobility, and their lands will be seized as they are a Claes family holding.
"But if the Alarie's children are innocent, they'll be able to keep their titles and inheritances, though their reputations will be hurt due to association." He would not tell Katarina that he, as the higher-ranked noble and the Alarie's superior, could still take their lands and titles even if Jacques was the only one involved in this.
Katarina was not happy that Lady and Master Alarie would still be hurt even if they were innocent. Still, she was aware that's how noble society was, and it was still a better fate for them than losing their home and having no means to support themselves.
"But that will be something we will deal with in the morning," said Millidiana. She was correct; it was very late, and everyone was tired, Katarina and Keith from their escape and the others from the long carriage ride.
Because the village was so small and rarely had visitors, it did not have an inn, so alternative sleeping arrangements had to be made. After some discussion, they decided that the Claes would stay in the village's leader's house - they didn't want to be separated from each other - while Prince Gerald, Miss Larna, and the knights would stay elsewhere. (The village's leader had offered for Prince Gerald to also stay at his house along with his fiancée's family, but Millidiana shut that idea down immediately).
The following day, the sun shone brightly as the village gathered to bid them farewell.
"We once again thank you for your kindness and hospitality," said Luigi, his gratefulness echoed by his family.
"Oh, there's no need to thank us, it was an honor to have you here," the village's leader - a chubby and jolly middle-aged man - said modestly as he stood beside his wife.
Larna and Gerald walked over. "Everything is ready for us to go," said the woman. "Those thugs are all loaded up in the prison wagon, ready for their trial."
Before she had gone to bed, Larna had used a wind magic communication tool to request a prison carriage so they could transport the three bruised criminals back to the Academy's town jail. The Claes family would travel together in their carriage while Prince Gerald, Larna, and the knights would travel in the other one.
"Good," Luigi nodded, "Then we should get ready to leave."
"Before we do that," said Gerald, and the prince took Katarina's hand and brought it to his lips. "I'll see you again at the Academy, my princess," he said, smiling as he stared into Katarina's blue eyes with his own. Katarina squeaked and blushed crimson while Keith made a sound like a tea kettle as he pulled his sister away from the smirking prince and into the carriage.
The others looked at the interaction in amusement - well, Millidiana felt a mix of annoyance and amusement. While she disapproved of the engagement, it had been such a cute moment, and her daughter's and son's expressions were so funny.
They all got into their respective carriages, and the horse-drawn vehicles quickly set off home.
Inside the Claes carriage, surrounded by all his family, at last, Luigi gave one last look at the rapidly shirking village.
'I should place an order and recommend their goods as a way to thank them,' thought Luigi. 'The fish they served was delicious, after all.'
Isabelle Alarie is a minor/background OC. As said above, she was one of the girls who accused Katarina of bullying Maria (the one with long, brown hair who got into Katarina's). Marquis Jacques Alarie is one of my OCs, and I got the idea to make his family subordinates of the Claes from LOGO_Comics.
