I Thought I Was Married, But I Was Left Alone, So I'll Live as I Please. So Please Don't Mind Me Anymore, My Lord of the Border - Chapter 23

The search progressed with knights and even residents joining in, but Ash’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Knights and residents ran through every street, with even children opening wooden boxes around their houses to peer inside. Yet no one had seen Ash.

Though my chest burned with impatience, my feet felt like they were spinning uselessly in place.

Ash was a capable alchemist who could use body enhancement to fight bare-handed. Having fought alongside him in the demon forest, I knew exactly how skilled he was.

Therefore, there was no way he could have been taken except by surprise. It must have been a carefully planned kidnapping.

Wanting to hear reports from the cooperating alchemists, I waited for developments at the alchemy association headquarters.

If I didn’t keep myself occupied, I felt like I might leap onto a horse and gallop off immediately.

This helpless waiting was unbearably frustrating.

With every fruitless report, it felt like another heavy stone was piling up deep in my stomach.

The anxious time continued until the morning of the second day since Ash’s disappearance.

“Lord Frontier Count!!”

“What is it?”

“This medicine found on this cloth! It’s a special substance only produced in Kreuz!”

“Ash has been kidnapped by the acting lord!”

Quinn, who had been examining items from where Ash was likely taken, rushed up to me as if forgetting our difference in status and continued his report.

The substance staining the cloth was a special chemical that induced nerve paralysis.

It couldn’t be produced anywhere else. Ash was the only one who knew the recipe. Currently, the only person in Kreuz territory with permission to use it was the acting lord.

At Quinn’s report, my fists clenched naturally.

Though there were other alchemists remaining there, they couldn’t defy the acting lord’s orders.

Their ability to operate within the territory depended entirely on noble protection. They knew this all too well.

Even if they knew it was dangerous medicine, if ordered to hand it over, they couldn’t possibly refuse.

I couldn’t stop the cold sensation crawling up my spine.

“Lord Oliver! Someone saw a suspicious carriage leaving town. They said they glimpsed a crest on the side panel for just a momen.”

Nia, who had burst through the door, brought new information.

My heart beat quietly, yet powerfully.

“This is it.”

The crest Nia had drawn based on witness accounts belonged to Kreuz territory.

“There’s no mistake about the crest we saw. We also obtained testimony from a carriage maker that those engravings and distinctive cabin features belong to the Kreuz lord’s family.”

The large storage box for transporting chemicals, installed only on Kreuz family carriages. Its distinctive features made it unmistakable.

My bad premonition turned to certainty.

I desperately suppressed the anger and fear rising in my throat.

Now we could track where Ash was taken.

Who stood to gain the most from kidnapping Ash now?

The acting lord of Baron Kreuz territory, Ash’s uncle. That was the only possibility remaining.

Recent rumors about Kreuz flashed through my mind one after another.

The disputes over selling inferior medicines at high prices.

The increasingly heavy taxes causing residents to flee.

I’d heard that almost none of the trust Ash’s father had built remained.

In such circumstances, it wasn’t hard to imagine why that man would desperately want Ash, a “genuine alchemist.”

If only the medicines were good, the people would return, and reputation could be restored.

I could easily picture that fool jumping at such shallow reasoning.

The image of him treating Ash as a tool made my back teeth grind.

The contract between Graphica and Kreuz had been dissolved along with the engagement.

With the engagement broken, the path to extracting money from Graphica had closed.

Moreover, if Ash returned to Kreuz, his own position would be endangered.

To that man, Ash had become an unbearable nuisance.

Even so, Ash was too valuable to simply kill.

There weren’t many alchemists of Ash’s caliber.

For Kreuz, whose medicine quality had drastically declined along with their reputation, he would be a talent they absolutely needed to acquire.

Using the Kreuz family carriage was meant to maintain the appearance of coming to collect his poor nephew whose engagement had been broken.

Something clicked in my mind.

“…!”

That’s right, that letter.

I pulled out the letter from the acting lord that I’d kept in my pocket.

That man who saw Ash as a nuisance and forced the engagement on him sending a message saying ‘come back’ was unnatural to the extreme.

It was a false invitation to justify the kidnapping.

A planned crime that accounted for everything, including that Ash would never comply willingly.

Thinking the delayed letter meant Ash was ignoring him, that man had put his plan into action.

If it had arrived within the normal timeframe, I could have informed Ash sooner and provided protection.

Strength flowed into my hand, crumpling the envelope with a crunch.

If there’s a god of fate, I’d grab him by the collar and throttle him.

…If only I hadn’t broken the engagement then. No matter how much he begged, I shouldn’t have agreed.

For what felt like the umpteenth time, regret tore at my chest.

But if I hadn’t agreed, Ash would have given up on me. That fact tightened around my heart.

Wanting to protect him while not wanting to sever our connection, I made a clingy proposal.

“Though our engagement is broken, I still want to protect you.”

I said that and tried to assign him guards. Because Ash was still my beloved and Graphica’s benefactor.

To me saying such things, Ash smiled ruefully.

“I want to stand on my own. If I relied on your help, I’m sure I’d become dependent again. Besides, I’m strong enough to manage!”

At that response, I caught my breath and forced my mouth open.

“…I understand. But promise me this. When you’re in danger, you’ll definitely rely on me. Don’t think of this as your former fiancé, but as the wish of Graphica’s Frontier Count.”

The image of Ash nodding slightly and smiling cracked with a sound deep in my chest.

No matter how much I regret, time won’t turn back.

Right now, I need to focus only on rescuing Ash.

I shifted my consciousness.

Even if that strong-willed person were threatened, I couldn’t imagine him making medicines for profit.

If they tried to make him produce medicines, they’d probably have to resort to brainwashing…

Reaching that thought, a chill ran down my spine.

Just imagining the light disappearing from those straightforward eyes made me nauseous.

While my chest boiled, my head remained cold.

This time, I will save the benefactor who saved Graphica.

“Our territory’s benefactor, the alchemist Ash, may have been kidnapped by the acting lord of Kreuz! Dispatch troops to Kreuz immediately!!”

Crossing into another territory. Friction between nobles would be unavoidable.

But who cares? Losing Ash would be far more terrifying.

I was aware that my voice trembled slightly. Whether that tremor was from anger or fear, even I couldn’t tell.

When I ordered preparations, Nia bowed and ran off.

Just when we were investigating so we could help when Ash eventually said he wanted to assist the territory.

I never thought he’d be foolish enough to resort to such methods.

I felt sick at my own naivety.

“We’re coming too!”

“I’m going as well!”

The young alchemists who had fought alongside us in the demon forest expedition, Quinn and Slay, raised their voices.

“We’ll be traveling by horse. Can you keep up?”

“Of course! Besides, we know the lord’s mansion well.”

“No problem for me either! I hung out there since I was little, so I know everything from the basement to the attic!”

“Your accompaniment is permitted.”

At my words, Quinn and Slay bowed and ran off.

Deep in my heart, the voice saying ‘This time, protect him’ wouldn’t stop.

That afternoon, a small squad of thirty knights and two alchemists departed for Kreuz.

They were the comrades who had survived the demon forest with me. But now, Ash wasn’t among them.

As I urged my horse forward, I desperately suppressed my impatience.

No matter what happens to me, I won’t stop until I see that smile again.

—I will definitely find you. I won’t let you go again.

So, Ash.

Please be safe.

I rode my horse while praying.