Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 11 Part 4

A guard stationed at the city entrance shouted a weak command. The atmosphere was as tense as if a war had just broken out. A cloud of dust rose as an unfamiliar group rapidly approached their position. A soldier, who had identified the cavalry with a portable telescope, blew an emergency horn.

“Stop them!” The guard captain’s voice trembled as he shouted.

As the soldiers scrambled in response to the horn, the cavalry had already reached their doorstep. If this had been an actual battle, their heads would have rolled to the ground long ago.

Duke Ernst of Mecklen, who was leading the cavalry, frowned deeply at the pitiful state of the defense.

“Identify yourself!” The guard captain lowered his stance, ready to draw his sword at any moment. Though they boldly blocked the gate, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered. Fear gripped the soldiers’ eyes as they stiffened, realizing that armed invaders had breached their peaceful city.

At that moment, cutting through the tension, someone stepped forward. Unlike the armored knights behind him, this person wore simple attire, a cloak draped over his chest bearing the imperial lion emblem.

“Could it be…?”

“It’s His Majesty the Emperor. Show respect,” Ernst announced before the Emperor could speak.

Instantly, the guards stiffened and saluted sharply. “We greet Your Majesty! May Baden’s future be etern—”

“Enough with the formalities. Open the gate at once,” the Emperor commanded.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

There was no time to wonder why the Emperor had suddenly appeared in the dead of night. The only thing that mattered was that he wished to enter the city. The guards hastily threw open the gates, bypassing any complicated procedures. Ernst’s expression darkened once again at their lack of protocol.

“There’s much to be corrected here,” Ernst commented as they entered the city.

Lennoch responded indifferently, “I’ll leave their training to you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Ernst replied, keenly aware that the Emperor’s mood was different from usual. He had sensed it since they departed from the palace. While attending to his duties as usual, Ernst had received an urgent summons. By the time he arrived, the Emperor was already preparing to leave the palace.

The news of the Duchess’s disappearance was conveyed in a single, terse sentence, yet it was loaded with emotion. Among those emotions, one stood out the most: fear.

Ernst, who had known the Emperor since childhood, could not fail to recognize it. The last time he had seen the Emperor like this was long ago, after his failed attempt to run away, before he had to face the Empress Dowager. At first, Ernst had thought the young Emperor was merely afraid of being scolded, but he later realized that the Emperor had been grappling with something entirely different: the complete loss of his last shred of freedom.

Back then, the young Emperor, who had seemed fearless, had confided in him, admitting that losing something was what he feared most.

‘But why now…?’

Why here?

The missing individuals were Eleanor, Lady Liege, and two knights. Raul, one of the knights, was an exceptionally talented man, and his death would be a significant loss to the order. Yet, this was not the kind of “loss” that the Emperor feared. It was something deeper, more intimate—something he couldn’t even share with his closest friend, Ernst.

Ernst wanted to ask what was wrong but found himself unable to act normally. He, too, felt that something was off. Something was unsettling about all of this, and he was sure the Emperor was aware of the strange tension simmering between them.

***

The cavalry crossed the main road and reached Hadum in no time. Gran, who had been waiting after receiving the urgent message, met them at the entrance. Lennoch ordered the cavalry to halt.

“Your Majesty!” Gran exclaimed.

“Let’s talk inside,” Lennox said, cutting him off.

Gran led the Emperor and Duke Mecklen inside. The meeting place was originally a distribution center for food rations for the poor. Oil lamps hung on the walls, illuminating the interior as brightly as daylight. Lennoch sat at the center of the table, with Ernst beside him. Gran stood awkwardly on the opposite side, looking nervous.

“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty,” Gran said, bowing deeply.

The past week had been one shock after another. Nothing had gone smoothly, from food distribution to the investigation, and now this. That the Emperor and Duke Mecklen had come in person only underscored the gravity of the situation.

Trembling with fear, Gran cautiously asked, “Where should I begin?”

“A brief summary of what has transpired would be best,” Lennoch replied.

The report could have filled dozens of pages, and even a brief account would cover no light topics. There were many issues to address: the Hartmann refugee crisis, the emergence of a criminal organization in the slums, the resistance from Mayor Umar, and the illegal trade of relief food supplies. One issue led to another in a never-ending chain.

When Gran finished his explanation, Ernst spoke seriously, “First, we need to locate the organization based in the slums.”

“El Gino, was it?” Lennoch asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Gran confirmed.

“Send out a search party at dawn,” Lennoch ordered.

Of the Duchess’s party, only Sir Sergei had returned to the palace. Realizing that they couldn’t protect the Duchess on their own, he had risked his life to break through the encirclement.

“It’s an ambush!”

Sergei had reported, describing the suspicious figures in black masks and explaining the El Gino organization. As soon as the Emperor learned that Eleanor was in danger, he and Duke Mecklen assembled the cavalry and set out immediately. When they arrived at the scene Sergei had described, they found only an empty carriage.

A portion of the cavalry had been dispatched to search the surrounding area, and any significant findings would be reported. However, both Lennoch and Ernst suspected that Hadum was deeply involved in this matter.

“Did El Gino kidnap the Duchess?” Gran asked, listening to the Emperor and Duke’s conversation.

Lennoch turned slightly to look at Gran. “We don’t have concrete evidence yet. But they’re the most likely suspects. After all, one of their members who was in the carriage disappeared as well.”

Given the circumstances, El Gino was the prime suspect. However, Gran had his doubts.

“But there’s something strange,” Gran said hesitantly. “If their goal was to rescue one of their own, wouldn’t it have been better not to kidnap the Duchess?”

“You’re not wrong,” Lennoch replied.

He had also considered this possibility. Eleanor and Brianna’s identities should have been somewhat obvious after their prolonged stay in Hadum. It was difficult even for ordinary nobles to openly antagonize the Mecklen family, one of the Empire’s most powerful aristocratic houses. How much more so for a mere criminal organization? Either they were reckless or had another plan in mind.

“We’ll find out once we catch them,” Ernst added, joining the conversation.

The three of them then discussed the specifics of the investigation, studying a map to plan their next steps.

***

“Damn it, why did you let things get this bad?” someone in the El Gino group shouted in a low voice.

A child eating potatoes nearby flinched and shrank back in fear. It was Lennoch, the boy who had encountered Eleanor not long ago. The voices shouting above the frightened child’s head grew louder.

“I told you not to kidnap them! It would have been better to kill them!”

“But what would we do with all the bodies? Do you want to make enemies of the nobility and the Imperial Family? Besides, the knights were strong.”

One knight had escaped, and though they had fought the remaining two, the knights were formidable opponents. If they hadn’t overwhelmed them with sheer numbers, they would have been the ones to fall.

“Even if we kidnapped them, the result would be the same. Have you forgotten that Saruka ordered us to kill them all?”

At the mention of Saruka’s name, the man turned pale. The memory of Saruka’s yellow, gleaming eyes flashed through his mind, freezing him in place. Cold sweat ran down his back, a reflex born of repeated exposure to violence.

“The soldiers are everywhere now. The Emperor himself has sent out search parties. Damn it, we’re done for.”

“We’re still alive, brother. Should we try to make a deal with the Duchess? We could ask her to negotiate with the Emperor to spare us.”

The two were brothers in name, though not by blood. They had grown up together in Hadum since childhood, and their bond was as close as any real siblings. The older brother erupted in anger at the younger’s foolish suggestion.

“Are you an idiot? Who negotiates with the criminals who kidnapped them? And the Emperor will rescue her anyway, so why would she help us?”

“Then what do we do?”

“We should have done things right from the start.”

“But I was only thinking of the organization… Ah, if only Milo were here, things might have been different,” the younger brother lamented.

At the mention of Milo’s name, the older brother’s face twisted in anger. “Why bring up that traitor?”

The brothers had once hoped to build El Gino into a successful organization alongside Milo. But now, Milo was nothing but a traitor in their eyes. The older brother waved off the mention of Milo, clearly not wanting to hear any more about him.

“The problem is you. What do you think Saruka will do when he finds out? Not only will the nobles be after us, but we’re all as good as dead.”

The younger brother fell silent, the weight of his mistake pressing down on him. He had plenty to say, but guilt gnawed at him, making him feel responsible for the mess they were in.

“Should we… kill them now?” the younger brother asked hesitantly.

Lennoch, who had been cowering in the corner, perked up at the mention of killing the Duchess.

“Should we kill them now and hide quietly?”

“Maybe we should. But I’m not sure if we can pull it off,” the older brother replied, rubbing his temples in frustration. “The place is surrounded by soldiers. If we send out an armed member, they’ll be caught immediately.”

***

“This is strange,” Eleanor remarked.

“What is?” Brianna asked weakly, lifting her head from where it rested on her knees.

She had long given up trying to understand the Duchess’s odd behavior and asked in a tired voice, “Did you hear a rat squeaking or something?”

She had intended it as a joke, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a chill run down her spine. The thought of actually seeing a rat made her shudder, and she frowned deeply. Fortunately, Eleanor took her joke seriously.

“I don’t think anyone is guarding us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Even if we’re locked in a prison, shouldn’t there be at least one or two guards posted outside?”

“That’s true…” Brianna tilted her head in confusion.

“But I don’t hear a sound. From the moment I woke up here, I haven’t sensed anyone nearby.”