CHAPTER 258: MISSING DISTRACTION

"Leilani’s missing?"

Owen hesitated, then corrected.

"Not just Leilani, Princess. Her brother, Leif, as well. They disappeared during the Spring Festival in the Capital. Miss Kendall wrote that they vanished in the crowd and haven’t been seen since."

Of course Aristia knew all that based on the letter’s content.

It... just seemed a bit hard to fathom that Leilani... that Leilani that she knew, was missing.

Even Millie turned away from the window sill where she stood looking out of the window and towards her.

[It happened on the day of the Spring festival. That’s a week from now. The longer someone’s gone, the harder it is to find them.] Her heart sunk.

The distance between the Capital and the east was fairly moderate.

In a medieval kingdom with carriages, horses, and occasional rest stops, travel depended on roads and weather.

During the summer with clear roads, it would take bout four to five days by carriage.

During Winter or early spring with factors like mud, melting snow and a slower pace, it would take up to five days to a week.

If they ride with escort changes like royals often did, with prepared rest houses, it could be cut shorter—maybe three to four days minimum.

So if a letter about Leilani reached Aristia in Orrivale, that meant Dahlia, who was in the Capital sent it at least four to six days ago.

By the time Aristia read it, Leilani and Leif had already been missing for about a week.

Owen continued, "Miss Dahlia said that they’ve searched the market, the streets, everywhere. But nothing. There’s no trace of them."

Aristia’s eyes hardened.

[There’s no way Leila and Leif will go off without telling anyone. Leif isn’t irresponsible. That could only mean... they’ve been kidnapped.]

She looked back at Owen.

"Prepare a reply. Tell Miss Kendall I’ll look into this personally."

Owen’s brows furrowed. "Princess... you’re in Orrivale. The Capital is far."

"I know." Aristia tapped the letter against the table. "But distance doesn’t matter. If someone dares to touch my people, they’ll learn what it means to provoke me."

Owen bowed his head slightly. He’d seen that look in her eyes before. The look that didn’t belong to a child at all.

Aristia leaned back on her seat, considering her options.

She was physically seven. She couldn’t exactly rush off alone to search. It would be suspicious and impractical.

Leilani and Leif had already been missing a week.

If she leaves Orrivale now, by the time she gets back to the Capital, that would take another three to four days. She had no leads and no trail. That was dangerous.

Also, her parents were with her. They were the ones who really decided whether they stay or go. She could push, but her parents’ authority mattered.

But resources also mattered.

She didn’t have connections, but the royal family did. Her father should too. If she informed Wilson, things could move faster.

So the smartest move for her wasn’t to rush back immediately but to tell her parents and ask for Wilson’s involvement, since she knew he had connections. It was to be expected of a person as powerful as he was.

In that way, she could gather information from afar. Because even if she goes back, she’s not the one who can lead a search. What she can do is mobilize adults and powerful people.

The only problem was; she didn’t know if Wilson would be really to mobilize his connections because of a mere commoner.

It was only then that she realized the importance of having her own connections in this world.

[It’s not only about money. Power, influence and connections also matter.]

She had been relaxed because Wilson had great power and he was a doting father to her, so if she had a request, she didn’t think he’d refuse.

But she hadn’t considered that he might not agree if her request involved another person, much less a commoner.

She released a small sigh. [Regardless. I still have to try.]

She got up with the letter and left the room. Millie perched on her shoulder in bird form.

Owen followed her in confusion. "Princess Tia, where are you going?" He hoped she wasn’t going to enter a carriage to he’d to the East.

But he soon shook his head. The princess wasn’t like that. She was very sensible and responsible. He was sure she had already considered a lot of things.

Just as he thought, Aristia replied.

"I’m going to see papa."

Owen let out a soft sound of relief.

Aristia turned to him with a raised brows. "What? Were you expecting me to take a carriage back to the Capital? That’ll take three days."

Owen looked away with a sheepish smile. "Then I’ll go write the letter to Miss Dahlia."

He turned and left, his eyes pausing briefly on the corner.

Aristia drew in a deep breath. "You can come out."

A soft sound sounded before someone came out of the corner.

Alaric smiled sheepishly, before going to stand beside her.

Aristia continued walking.

"Why are you even hiding?" She asked him. She had felt him lurking around even before she left her room.

Since Owen hadn’t closed the door after entering, it seemed Alaric was eavesdropping.

Instead of answering, Alaric asked a question. "Leilani’s missing?" He asked, looking at her face.

Aristia nodded. "Yeah. Her older brother is too."

"Oh..." Alaric turned to look in front of him.

He had followed Owen after seeing him reading a letter with a stunned face. He then followed him to see if he was trying to give his sister work again secretly only to hear that Leilani was missing.

It wasn’t any of his concern, but he wondered why that distraction and her brother would suddenly go missing.

They finally stopped in front of Wilson’s study. It was one of the places Adeline had shown Aristia during their tour around the mansion.

Aristia drew in a deep breath and raised her hand. [Time to see Papa.]