Chapter 31: Lucy Worried
Lucy grew increasingly anxious as she stared at Izumi standing calmly before her. Her fingers trembled as she bit her nails—a nervous habit she thought she'd long since abandoned.
Where could Akashi have gone? she wondered, panic clouding her thoughts. Worry gnawed at her heart, relentless and heavy.
The Song Kingdom had already agreed to offer their support—something that should have been a victory. And yet, even with their allegiance secured, Lucy's thoughts kept circling back to Akashi's sudden and mysterious disappearance.
Izumi smiled then—a dazzling, mesmerizing smile. But behind that smile lurked something... off. Something Lucy failed to notice, too distracted by the weight on her shoulders.
She rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the dull ache in her head. Ever since Akashi vanished, she hadn't seen him, heard from him, or sensed him. Not even once. It was as though he had been swallowed whole by the world, never to return.
She recalled his expression the last time they met—tense, eyes shadowed with fear, urgency etched into every movement. He had been rushing off, refusing to explain, barely sparing her a goodbye. That memory only deepened her unease.
In desperation, she had dispatched an entire fleet—knights, mages, and even a few elite beast tamers—to track his whereabouts. At first, they found hints: footprints, disturbed foliage, faint traces of mana. But then... nothing. As though Akashi had vanished into thin air.
She had stayed in the Song Kingdom far longer than planned. Her carefully laid strategies, her diplomatic missions, her training—all abruptly thrown into chaos. She could barely sleep, her mind haunted by worry and questions that had no answers. Her eyes, once radiant and full of fire, had dulled. Dark circles hung beneath them, telling tales of sleepless nights and anxious days.
Izumi finally spoke, snapping Lucy from her spiral of thoughts.
"Maybe he was kidnapped?" she suggested, her tone strangely sincere—and even more strangely, a little too casual.
Lucy blinked. Kidnapped? She tried to recall anyone who might've held a grudge against Akashi, anyone capable of abducting someone so powerful... but her mind came up blank. No enemies that she knew of. No one who would dare.