When I Took Back My Beloved Child Who Had Been Taken From Me, My Husband's Obsessive Love Began. Why? - Episode 47

The next day.

Lucienne, while getting ready in the morning, was trying to hide her disappointment that Craig hadn’t visited last night by talking cheerfully with the maids.

I had heard he was busy, so it was to be expected, but I couldn’t help but internally chuckle at myself for feeling lonely just from not seeing Craig’s face for a day.

Until returning to the detached palace like this, we hadn’t seen each other for nearly two years, and even before the pregnancy, seeing each other once every few days was enough.

Now, just not seeing each other for a single day makes me feel this way—it’s nothing short of luxurious.

Since I always have breakfast with Leoldo, just as I was about to leave the room, a guard came in with an urgent matter.

Noticing that the guard was in charge of Leoldo’s room last night, he questions him first.

“Did something happen to Leoldo?!”

“Th-that is… the prince is not in his room…”

“Not in the room!? Leoldo!?”

There was a feeling of disbelief at such a ridiculous thing, and a desire to question it further, but my body moved before I could do anything else.

Lucienne burst out of the room, hiked up her skirt, and ran down the hallway.

Fortunately, Leo’s room is on the same floor as the Emperor and Empress’s room, so I can get there quickly.

Thanks to that, no one saw Lucienne in her flustered state.

“――Namia! Leoldo is…!?”

Lucienne, upon entering the room, called out to Namia who was aimlessly wandering around the room, but then dashed into the bedroom.

The bed was still unmade, and Lucienne immediately peered into the dressing room, the washroom, and under the sofa to search for Leoldo.

“Your Highness the Empress…”

I knew that perhaps Namia and the others had already searched, but I couldn’t help but check with my own eyes.

Because Leoldo is young yet wise, he doesn’t do anything that would cause unnecessary worry.

Even though I understood that, I still held onto a glimmer of hope.

“— Since when… since when has Leoldo been missing?”

“Th-that is, just a moment ago, I tried to wake you up… and that’s when I first realized that His Highness was not here, so I-I don’t know since when…”

“Ah――!”

Lucienne desperately suppressed her urge to scold Namia and the others for what they had been doing.

Now is not the time to take out my anger on them.

As soon as Lucienne returned to the living room, determined to find Leoldo as quickly as possible, Craig rushed into the room.

“Lucienne! Where’s Leoldo!?”

The moment Lucienne saw Craig’s face, she couldn’t hold back her tears.

I can’t help but think that if I had just stayed by Leoldo’s side and slept together, we could have avoided this kind of situation.

However, these tears were not only filled with self-reproach but also relief that Craig was there.

Being alone is scary.

The fear of not knowing Leonardo’s whereabouts was daunting, but Craig’s presence, standing by my side instead of alone, was reassuring.

Craig reached out to Lucienne and immediately headed towards the bedroom.

When Lucienne, who had hurriedly followed him, entered the bedroom, Craig closed the door.

Suddenly left alone together, Lucienne, bewildered, hears Craig whispering to her.

“This palace has a secret passage.”

“……Huh?”

“I was planning to inform you soon, but right now, it’s more about Leoldo’s whereabouts.”

Yes

“However, there is no door in this room that leads to a hidden passage. This means that either Leoldo left the room by himself or was taken away by someone. Considering the possibility that a hidden passage was used during that time, I have already sent someone who knows the secret to the exit. We might find a clue there, but… Anyway, I plan to enter the hidden passage just in case. The defensive magic surrounding the palace has been strengthened, so no one can leave the palace from

“……Understood.”

Lucienne also actually wanted to go search herself, but she bit her lip and nodded, thinking that if Craig was going to join the search, she couldn’t be running around as the empress herself.

As if to caress Lucienne’s lips, Craig traces them with his thumb.

Craig kissed Lucienne on the forehead as she looked up in surprise, then headed out of the room.

“There is no sign that any special magic has been used in this room.”

Saying that, Craig leaves.

The “special magic” that Craig is talking about is probably a different kind of magic from the purification magic and other types necessary for daily life.

While Lucienne was surprised that he could understand even that, Craig turned around once, smiled as if to say it was okay, and hurriedly left.

Lucienne suppressed her desire to search together and, after looking around the room again to see if there were any clues left, stepped out onto the balcony.

In Lucienne’s ears, a faint murmur can be heard.

It seems that the news of Leoldo’s disappearance is spreading, and the entire imperial palace has become agitated and noisy.

Perhaps being unable to leave the palace has also spurred it on.

“Lucienne-sama!”

Rite and Aman rush to the bedroom.

Lucienne gave instructions to the two people who had clouded expressions.

“Rite will be gathering information within the palace. Aman, please prepare for treatment just in case.”

“Understood.”

Rite, despite looking pale, quickly responds and starts moving as usual.

However, Aman took Lucienne’s hand and began to check for any disturbances in her magical energy.

“Aman, I’m fine.”

“If you are going to prepare for the treatment, first, Lady Lucienne must stabilize her magical power.”

“—Yes, that’s right. It was.”

If anything happened to Leoldo, Lucienne was prepared to offer all her magical power to help.

Then, as Aman said, Lucienne herself shouldn’t overexert herself right now.

Understanding that Aman was also worried about Leoldo, as well as Lucienne herself, Lucienne nodded obediently and returned to the living room.

However, unable to stay still, I went back into the bedroom and noticed the picture book on the chest next to the bed.

Although it was a picture book that Leoldo had recently liked, the one I read to him last night at bedtime was a different book.

Why is this…?

Did Leoldo get up in the middle of the night and deliberately take it out from the bookshelf?

Thinking that, I looked at the bookshelf and indeed, there was a book that had been taken out.

Leoldo had also become capable of using light magic, so he could light a small lamp. I wondered if he couldn’t sleep and was trying to read a picture book.

Lucienne had also read books at night as a child, hiding from her parents, and had just told this mischievous story to Leoldo.

Wondering if she had actually put it into practice, Lucienne turned pale in disbelief.

Lucienne hurriedly stepped out onto the balcony, leaned over the railing, and peered down.

“Lucienne-sama!?”

Not only Aman, but even Namia came out to the balcony from the living room to see Lucienne’s condition.

“Namia, of course, you searched here, right?”

“N-no, um, excuse me! I, um, still…”

“I searched for it!”

When Lucienne asked, Namia stammered a denial, but another maid raised her voice.

That maid was one whom Lucienne had chosen before, and she had just been called back a few days ago.

Next to him, Namia is trembling.

“You, no way…”

Lucienne, who had started to speak, leaned over the balcony once more to confirm the figure she had seen out of the corner of her eye.

Leoldo shouldn’t be able to use levitation magic yet.

Even a usually intelligent child who doesn’t seem like a typical two-year-old can still engage in unpredictable behaviors that adults can’t understand.

I really couldn’t believe it, but Lucienne burst out of the room.