Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Count Leopold sighed loudly.

“Karina must be upset that we’re having a picnic on her birthday instead of a party. I should have picked another date,” Enphric said, voicing his concern with a frown. Two days before, he had asked for Karina’s understanding but it didn’t look like she was okay with it. He regretted not talking about it with her more.

But she did look a bit off. Karina—who was usually so agreeable—must have had a reason to show her anger. Enphric rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and told his family about his encounter with his sister. “She said it was okay but it must have gotten under her skin.”

Count Leopold clicked his tongue. “How could she act so childish?!” He glanced down at the piece of paper like it was the result of a tantrum of an immature child and laid it on the table. “How could she leave just a single note knowing we would worry about her?”

The countess held back her sigh. She would not have had a problem letting Karina go on a trip if only she would’ve asked. Instead, this sudden disappearance seemed like a way to lash out at the family.

“She shouldn’t be acting out like a teenager. How embarrassing for an adult lady to behave like this!” spat the count.

Feldon’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Has Karina gone on a trip alone?” He had always dreamt of going on a journey alone bringing just a sword—to be on an adventure. Karina is awesome. To go on a journey all by herself!

Feldon almost begged his parents to let him do the same, although Enphric had told him that he must be a fully grown man before he could go on a trip. He was so excited that he could barely sit still. He wanted to get out of his seat right away and join Karina on her adventure.

“First, have a few men look into where she is heading. She couldn’t have gotten far. She shouldn’t be in danger since the southern lands have few thieves,” said the count.

“If she didn’t like the picnic, she should have said so...” the countess added, her face showing her worry. She meant what she was saying, although Karina would’ve frowned disbelievingly at her words. She did not know how she would have reacted had her daughter objected to the picnic.

“How much money is missing?” the count asked.

“Um, I will confirm how much is missing, my lord.” The maid bowed her head and hurriedly left the dining hall. Count Leopold clicked his tongue again. What kind of mess is this?

“When is Karina coming back?” Abelia asked quietly.

Count Leopold answered with a sigh, taking another glance at the note Karina had left behind. “We don’t know.” He felt angry at Karina and thought that she was insolent because it was apparent that she wanted them to be worried sick. How could she use her parent’s love against them like this? The count tried to calm down.

“I’m worried, though,” said the countess. “Winter in the southern lands isn’t harsh but she has never traveled before.”

Hearing the concern in his mother’s voice, Enphric blurted out, “She couldn’t have gone far. I can chase her down, Father.” Enphric was trained as a knight, so if he rode without a break, he would easily be able to catch up to Karina, regardless of how she was traveling.

Count Leopold waved his hand in dismissal. “Having a few people look for her should suffice. You know as well as I do that the south is not that dangerous. Don’t go out of your way when you’ve barely been inducted into knighthood.”

“But…” tried Enphric.

“Does it make sense that she would run away from her home because of a birthday party? Nobody said we’d cancel it. I can’t believe how childish she is.”

If Karina had heard these words she would’ve been frustrated out of her mind by their judgment. But one mistake can ruin everything, that was what had happened here. Despite the long years of patience and loneliness, all they could say about her was that she was childish.

The dining hall doors opened again to reveal the head butler, who had heard about what happened from the maid. His clothes were messy as if he’d come in a hurry.

“Butler, have you looked into what I ordered you to?”

“Yes, my lord. The money missing from Lady Karina’s personal account is a little less than two gold coins.”

Count Leopold raised his chin arrogantly. His stiffened face relaxed a bit, showing relief that his guess was correct. “See, she couldn’t have gone far!”

“She would be out for a week or two at best. I will teach her a lesson when she comes back. Tsk. How can she torture her parents like this?”

“But dear, please send the men to look for her.”

Count Leopold nodded at the countess’s plea. He also didn’t want to be a heartless father. Though he was not pleased with his oldest daughter, it wasn’t like he could ignore what was happening.

“Hire somebody you can trust and find out where Karina is headed to. Tell them not to lend any help until she comes back home by herself.”

“What are you saying? We should bring her back if we find her!” exclaimed the countess.

“While she’s at it, she should learn how difficult it is to live outside the comfort of the home and understand how privileged she is. She couldn’t have gotten far. She must have taken a personal carriage, so it should be easy to locate her.” Count Leopold shook his head firmly.

Perhaps she can learn a lesson from this and act like an adult. Of course, he also thought she would give in and come back home in a week or two. She might last a month, at most. Moreover, it was not the family’s expectation that they would stop hearing about Karina’s whereabouts when she left the southern lands, and that she would not return in two months.

* * *

The first week after Karina’s departure went by quietly. Count Leopold went to the picnic as planned as if to prove that he was fine without her. As Karina didn’t talk much, her family wasn’t missing her banter. However, the countess would look anxiously at her seat, and Abelia and Feldon would sometimes talk about her. After two weeks, they were finally informed of her whereabouts.

“So you finally know where she is?”

“Yes, my lord… that is the case but…” the butler trailed off.

“I knew it. She couldn’t have gotten far, that child. What could a young lady do in the real world when she knows nothing about it? Even though she is a bright child!”

Count Leopold shook his head but his eyes looked relieved. After two weeks and no news, he had started worrying about her. Despite the count’s relieved response, the butler was anxiously waiting for him to finish speaking.

“Why do you look like that? Has something happened to Karina?”

The butler’s reply was almost a sigh. “It’s not that my lord… it’s...” He hesitated to speak for a second but eventually raised his head to deliver the news. “The tracker we hired said it is no longer possible to track her.”

There was a pause. “What do you mean by that?”

“It seems Lady Karina has left the southern territory.”

Count Leopold’s face crumpled. The butler bowed and handed over the written report to the count, who ripped it away from the butler’s hands. He skimmed through the letter.

The target has gotten on a carriage heading to the capital and has left the southern territory. We have stopped tracking her because our contract only entails tracking her within the southern borders.

If you wish us to track her further, please note that it will take triple the initial price.

It was rather short for how much it had cost.

“Karina Leopold!” At Count Leopold's roar, the butler held his breath. The count cried out as he crumpled the letter, “How could someone act so childish and thoughtlessly?!”

He thought that she must have left the southern territory because she was unaware of the dangers outside of it. The southern territories were under his jurisdiction, so it was easy to track her, but it was very difficult to do the same once she had moved on.

With these thoughts tormenting him, Count Leopold exclaimed, “How could she behave like this, even if she is upset?! Has she lost her mind or what?!”

Hearing the ruckus, the countess carefully stepped inside her husband’s office. “Darling, what’s wrong?”

Count Leopold replied morosely, “Karina has left the southern territory.”