How To End This Marriage-Chapter 78: The Duchess’s Disappearance

The palace corridors echoed with hushed conversations among the knights, their faces etched with concern. They gathered in a tight group, their armor clinking softly, as they discussed the inexplicable disappearance of the Duchess, Bernice Balliol Agnes.

"Duchess still hasn’t returned! What should we do? It’s been more than twenty-four hours since she disappeared, but we haven’t found her! I think it’s time to inform the duke regarding this matter," the senior knight said, his voice laced with anxiety. The flickering torchlight in the corridor cast eerie shadows on their faces, intensifying the tension in the air.

Suddenly, a hand fell heavily on the senior knight’s shoulder, startling the group. They turned to see Duke Alexavier Agnes himself, his presence commanding attention and leaving the knights visibly panicked.

"D-Duke, what are you doing here?" the senior knight stammered, his composure shattered by the unexpected encounter.

"I came to see if everything is going well or not. But I don’t think everything is going well. Tell me what the matter is, and I will solve it. Also, tell me where the duchess is; I want to meet her," Alex demanded, his voice firm and unyielding as he pierced them with a gaze that brooked no delay.

"D-Duke, the thing is..." the senior knight began, struggling to find the right words under the intense scrutiny of his lord.

"Didn’t I say I would solve all the matters? Just name it," Alex urged, his impatience growing palpable.

"Lord, actually, there are a lot of things going on here," the knight finally admitted, his voice trembling.

"What do you mean? Didn’t I say I don’t like twisted conversations? Come straight to the point, as I instructed," Alex pressed, his eyes never leaving the knight.

"Lord, while we were on our way to the palace, we took a rest at a place. That night, the duchess went missing. We searched for her everywhere but couldn’t find her. In the morning, we heard her voice from the middle of the forest. Her dress was half-ripped, she had blood all over her body, and scratches. When we found her, she claimed she had seen a monster chasing her the entire night, from inside the restroom to outside," the senior knight explained, his words laden with disbelief.

"But we didn’t see anything. We didn’t even see the duchess coming out of her room, so how is it possible for her to have seen a monster when we would have seen it too?" another knight added, his voice filled with confusion and skepticism.

"I don’t think that’s the whole story," Alex remarked, his brow furrowing in thought.

"Yes, Duke, the story isn’t complete because of the way she was behaving; it was quite strange. So we thought she went crazy," the senior knight continued, his voice fraught with uncertainty.

"But then, on the day we arrived at the palace, we overheard a conversation between the emperor and the duchess. The emperor asked her to stay at the palace to rest, but the duchess went missing again, just like the previous incident," he said, his words painting a disturbing picture.

"We were panicked and wanted to inform you, but one of the royal knights suggested they had seen a carriage heading toward the town. They thought maybe she went sightseeing, so we decided to wait for twenty-four hours. Now, it’s been more than that, and the duchess is nowhere to be found. We were about to inform you of her disappearance," the senior knight concluded, his voice filled with fear and frustration.

"All of this happened, and you’re informing me now? Do you think it’s a small matter? She is the duchess; she is the master of Ablia. Is this how you treat your master? Is this why I sent you to guard her?" Alex’s voice thundered, his anger finally breaking through the surface.

Alex, his expression stormy and eyes blazing with rage, turned and stormed toward the audience hall, where an important discussion was taking place.

"Your Majesty, I have something to discuss with you," he declared, his entrance interrupting the ongoing conversation.

"You can wait, Alexavier. I’m having something important," the emperor responded dismissively, his gaze fixed on the ministers gathered around him.

"No! What I’m trying to say is equally important, and you need to hear it now," Alex insisted, his tone unwavering.

"Okay, Alexavier, speak your mind," the emperor relented, shifting his attention to the imposing figure of the Duke of Ablia.

"Your Majesty, the duchess is missing!" Alex declared boldly, causing a murmur of surprise to ripple through those present.

"Duchess is missing? I haven’t received any news about this," the emperor remarked with an air of indifference that left Alex seething with frustration.

"That’s precisely what I’m saying, Your Majesty. The duchess is missing, and you weren’t even aware of her disappearance. She was your guest, Your Majesty, and is this how a guest is treated? How could you not be aware that the duchess is missing when one of your royal knights knew about it and discussed it with my knight? Are you trying to say that you’re not aware, or did you send her to the temple without her consent?" Alex accused before the entire assembly, his words cutting through the air like a sharpened blade.

"Duke, please calm down! You’re not in the right frame of mind," the ministers urged, their attempts at diplomacy falling on deaf ears.

"I am in my right mind, which is why my sword is still sheathed and not in my hand. That’s why my sword hasn’t drawn blood, or else it would be swinging right now, cutting off someone’s head. Do you understand, Marquis Williamson?" Alex said, locking eyes with the minister who dared to question his composure.

"So, tell me, Your Majesty, what do you have to say about this incident?" he demanded once more, his voice echoing with a potent mix of anger and concern.

"Alexavier, now that I’m aware of her disappearance, I will send people to find her. You don’t need to worry. You have an important battle ahead of you. You need to stay calm and use your strategies," the emperor stated, his tone attempting to placate Alex’s mounting fury, but failing miserably.

"Your Majesty! My. Wife. Is. Missing. Can you comprehend that? My. Wife. Is. Missing," Alex repeated each word deliberately, his voice low and chilling.

"Do you expect me to remain calm when my wife has gone missing? Do you expect me to keep a clear head while my wife is nowhere to be found? This is cruel, Your Majesty, as if you don’t want me to find my wife at all," he accused, his eyes never leaving the emperor’s face.

"It’s not like that," the emperor stammered, his composure finally crumbling in the face of Alex’s unyielding anger.

"Then what is it, Your Majesty? I demand immediate action. If you don’t find my wife, I don’t know what I might do," Alex said and walked out of the audience hall, leaving people whispering behind him and the emperor glaring, unable to say anything.

Alex proceeded until he saw his knights standing at the entrance, waiting for him. "Check every corner of the palace. Don’t miss a single place where you might have doubts. Find her!" he ordered, his voice resonating with determination. With that, he turned and made his way to the town, as Lucius had suggested, to search for Bernice. His furrowed brows and clenched teeth showed his inability to contain his anger or let it out.

"Stay safe," he muttered under his breath and rode his horse toward the town at high speed. His eyes darted around, but none of the faces he saw belonged to Bernice, only random individuals who vaguely resembled her in some way.

"Where are you, wife? Where can I find you?" he muttered repeatedly while urging his tired horse onward. The horse, weary from the long journey from Ablia to the palace, gradually slowed down its pace.

"What’s wrong? Why are you slowing down? We still have a long road ahead," Alex asked, but the horse didn’t respond and instead veered toward a grassy field to graze, leaving Alex in a dilemma.

"What should I do? The horse is at its limit, but the town is still far away. They said she’s been missing for more than thirty-six hours. That’s a long time for something dangerous to happen," he said, rubbing his temples in worry, unable to find a solution.

He walked back and forth, then noticed a woman wearing a dress similar to Bernice’s. He approached her, calling out, "Wife, where were you? Do you know how hard I’ve been trying to find you?" However, as the woman turned, it wasn’t Bernice, causing his momentary relief to vanish, replaced by gloom.

"My apologies; I thought you were my wife," he said and returned to his tired horse, which was still too fatigued to move more than an inch, leaving him feeling restless.