When Esmeralda opened her eyes—
The first thing she noticed...
Was the rope.
Tight around her wrists.
Rough. Unpleasant. Extremely inconvenient.
"...Ah," she murmured, blinking slowly at the dim ceiling above her. "This is new."
Her head throbbed faintly.
She shifted—just slightly—and confirmed two things immediately:
She had been kidnapped.Whoever did it was not very professional.
"...Honestly," she sighed, "I leave my room for one day..."
A few days earlier—
Esmeralda was, once again, dedicating herself to the noble art of doing absolutely nothing.
She lay beneath a tree in the garden, one arm draped over her eyes, looking like a painting titled "Wealth Without Effort."
"...I deserve this," she murmured.
A soft breeze passed.
Birds chirped.
Peace.
Tranquility.
Footsteps approached.
She ignored them.
If she didn't acknowledge reality—
Reality could not inconvenience her.
"...Lady Esmeralda?"
She opened one eye.
A man stood there.
Unfamiliar.
Suspicious.
Holding a cloth.
"...No," she said immediately, closing her eye again.
"...No?" he echoed.
"No," she repeated. "I decline whatever this is."
A pause.
Then—
"Well, that's unfortunate."
The cloth came down anyway.
Present—
"...Rude," Esmeralda muttered, testing the ropes again.
They were tight.
But not that tight.
"...Amateurs," she concluded.
At the Ducal Estate—
Rael's voice was dangerously calm.
The Duke stood rigid, his expression grim. "She was taken from the garden. No one saw the assailant clearly."
The Duchess did not know what to say and cried continuously by the Duke's side. The ducal family did not have many enemies and even if they did, there would be no reason for Esmeralda to be kidnapped. This was all too much for the Duchess to take in.
"...No one saw?"
A heavy silence followed.
"...We are investigating—"
"You should have already found them," Rael cut in sharply.
The air in the ducal hall was tense—
But it shifted entirely when Aziel stepped fully into the room.
Rael's gaze snapped toward him, sharp and immediate.
"...You."
Aziel met his eyes calmly. "Your Highness."
No bow this time.
Just acknowledgment.
A subtle defiance.
The Duke glanced between them, already sensing the brewing storm.
Rael took a slow step forward.
"You arrived quickly," he said.
"Concern tends to hasten one's steps," Aziel replied.
A beat.
"...Concern," Rael repeated, voice low. "How generous of you."
Aziel didn't react outwardly—but his gaze hardened just slightly.
"I could say the same," he said.
Silence.
Heavy.
Measured.
Then—
Rael smiled.
Not warmly.
"Be careful," he said. "You're speaking as if you have a right to be here."
"And you're speaking," Aziel replied evenly, "as if you own every place you step into."
The temperature in the room dropped.
The Duke exhaled slowly. "...This is neither the time nor—"
"It is exactly the time," Rael cut in.
His gaze never left Aziel.
"Lady Esmeralda has been taken," he said. "And yet you stand here... remarkably composed."
Aziel's expression didn't change.
"I am composed," he said, "because panic would waste time."
A pause.
Then—
"And unlike some," he added quietly, "I intend to find her."
The words landed.
Sharp.
Deliberate.
Rael's eyes narrowed.
"...Watch your tone."
"Then perhaps," Aziel replied, "you should watch your assumptions."
Another step forward.
Now they stood only a few feet apart.
Equal in height.
Opposite in presence.
Rael—controlled, commanding, dangerous.
Aziel—calm, steady, quietly unyielding.
"...You seem invested," Rael said.
"I am."
"That's unexpected."
"Is it?" Aziel tilted his head slightly. "Or have you simply never noticed what doesn't revolve around you?"
A flicker of irritation crossed Rael's expression.
Brief.
Gone.
"...Careful," he said softly. "You're starting to sound bold."
"And you," Aziel replied, "are starting to sound threatened."
Silence.
Tense.
Crackling.
For a moment—
It felt like either of them could push further.
Say something worse.
Do something reckless.
But then—
"...Enough."
The Duke's voice cut through the tension.
"This is my daughter we are discussing," he said firmly. "If either of you intends to argue instead of act, you may leave."
That—
Broke it.
Barely.
Rael exhaled slowly, stepping back first.
But his gaze lingered on Aziel.
Sharp.
Calculating.
"Anyway, if this were a targeted abduction, there would already be demands," he said. "But there are none."
"...So?"
"So she wasn't meant to be taken," Aziel continued. "Or the kidnappers don't understand her value."
Rael's eyes narrowed.
"...Amateurs."
Aziel nodded. "Which means they'll make mistakes."
A pause.
Then Rael turned sharply.
"Search the surrounding forest," he ordered. "They won't have gone far."
Aziel added, "Focus on concealment areas. Caves. Ruins. Anywhere temporary."
Their eyes met.
Briefly aligned.
"...Move," Rael commanded.
As they turned their attention to the map—
Neither of them relaxed.
Because beneath the urgency—
Beneath the shared goal—
Something else had taken root.
Not alliance.
Not trust.
But rivalry.
Quiet.
Unspoken.
And only just beginning.