Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

- - -

​​

"Does father know that I'm safe?", I asked Marius, and he nodded in response.

I knew that these kobolds will be interrogated, so they were not my concern.

Marius told me that there is one hour until the party is over. "Master wants to know if you will join him at the event, or if you will meet at home."

"I will join him."

Aldus was at the party, pretending that he was not aware I'm missing, and based on how it goes on my side, there were two scenarios for him to act on.

One is that I return to the party so that Aldus and I head home together, like nothing unusual happened. In this case, people behind kidnapping would be confused by all the conflicting information and maybe start doubting their sources.

The second option is for Aldus to raise a fuss and accuse Egoth of poor security and potentially plotting against the Mezzanotte family because I'm missing. This would stir up waves and give Aldus a reason to openly be hostile toward Egoth which would, unfortunately, give an advantage to Omniel and his supporters.

Luckily, I had enough time to tidy up my appearance and head back to the party.

Calista brought me a matching gown and shoes to change. I barely had any makeup on, so that was not a problem, and Calista helped me tidy up the hair.

In ten minutes, I was looking fresh and ready for the party (again).

"This way, Miss…", Marius gestured, and I heard Calista asking, "Where are you going?"

I turned to see her glare at Zeiroi.

The poor guy was looking at me expectantly.

Oh, right. I was just leaving without saying anything.

I paused and decided to say my goodbye. "It was nice meeting you, Zeiroi. Maybe our paths cross again. You are free to go wherever you want."

"I have nowhere to go.", Zeiroi responded, and his complex expression confirmed he was saying the truth.

I was conflicted. Can I just leave him behind?

Sure, he was skinny and young, but he was definitely a grown man. I remembered Zeiroi telling me that he spent a long time imprisoned. Does he really have no family and nowhere to go?

Ah! I felt bad leaving him.

Calista rolled her eyes. "Aldi warned me about this."

I didn't get it. "About what?"

"About you adopting people."

"Who said that I want to adopt anyone?"

"It's all over your face. You are thinking about taking him with you."

I was? "I can't take him. I'm going to the party." I smiled at Calista. "You, on the other hand…"

"No. No. No!"

Calista didn't want to hear about it but I didn't have time to argue because the clock was ticking, and I needed to return to the party where my father waited for me so that we can finish our little play.

"Cali, come on. Let him stay with you and bring him to the villa. You are going there anyway. I will take it from there after the party…" Calista stared at me in disbelief, and I turned to Zeiroi. "That will work, right? You can follow Calista for a bit. She has a temper but won't harm you. Calista will bring you to my home, and we will figure out things from there. OK?"

Zeiroi nodded enthusiastically and I dashed after Marius while ignoring Calista's shouts for me to come back.

- - -

Author's note: this is from Aldus's point of view

- - -

'We are back, Master', Krob's mental message removed a heavy weight from my mind.

There was only one more thing I wanted to know.

'What is Serina's condition?'

'Miss is unharmed. She is on her way to the Grand Hall.'

"You are absentminded again. That's not like you, Aldus.", Elena said.

"It happens. Maybe I'm getting old.", I responded.

Serina entered the hall, and just as we planned, she made short conversations with several people while making her way toward me.

The goal was for everyone to see that Serina is present.

In this way, whoever is behind the kidnapping will wonder what happened because their people reported success.

"I didn't see you for some time.", I said when Serina joined us.

"I apologize for worrying you, father. I was observing the paintings and lost track of time."

"Are you an art lover?", Elena asked Serina.

"Oh, more than just a lover.", I said proudly. "My daughter is an exquisite artist. She makes things come alive with a paintbrush."

Serina beamed. "Thank you, father."

We didn't stay long. The event was almost over, and I didn't want to be among the last ones present.

"You are leaving already?", Elena asked while clutching the edge of my jacket.

"Is there anything else, councilwoman Elena?", I addressed her officially and she got the message.

"Have a nice evening, Aldus."

"You too.", I responded curtly.

Serina hooked her arm around mine as we walked out of the Grand Hall.

"I thought you like her.", Serina said in a half-whisper.

I frowned. Where did she get that? Ah, I knew that allowing Elena to stick to me all evening will make us look like a couple.

"Now that you are in love, you think that everyone is into romancing?"

Serina pouted in protest at my words but didn't say anything else.

The drive to the airport passed in silence, as we didn't want to talk about sensitive topics with a driver that was arranged by Egoth.

I couldn't wait for us to reach the airport.

"Tell me what happened.", I said to Serina when we boarded our plane.

Her expression turned solemn. "I think they knew we were setting up a trap for them."

I was surprised by this response. "Reason?"

"I didn't realize at what point they took me out, and I woke up in a cell with my vision and hearing blocked. If they wanted to kill me or imprison me in a heavily guarded place, they could have done that easily. However, they chose to put me in a den guarded by kobolds. I saw their faces, those kobolds had no idea what they got themselves into and I'm confident that they were just pawns. I will be surprised if you get any useful information from them. Whoever is behind this is careful and smart. This was no kidnapping. It was just a message that no place is safe."

I was pleased with her analysis of the situation. So far, she spoke like we will do this stunt, capture whoever was behind this, and continue our life without worries. It seems that she finally understood that immortals have the luxury of time to carefully pick their moves and to wait for the other side to make a mistake.

"I agree."

Serina's face lit up at my words, but it lasted only for a moment before she turned serious again and asked, "What's our next step?"

"We wait and observe." She was visibly displeased by my response, so I explained. "Tonight, they showed us that no place is safe, but we also showed them that we are not pushovers."

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