Clashing with the Empress 3

Madelein was feeling vexed. The slave driver had once again left outside to play and she was stuck doing all the work in the office.

"I didn't sign up for this.", she muttered while stamping a document.

While Madelein was going through the documents on her desk, a soft knock came from the door and a servant entered with a stack of papers nearly as tall as he was. Seeing the stack of papers, Madelein's eyes slightly flickered, but it was too quick for the servant to notice. He simply put the papers down and gave Madelein a small nod before he left.

Looking at the stacks of documents in front of her, Madelein felt unresigned. How come her boss could go out to play and she had to suffer all by herself?

Hours went by and Madelein had barely looked through a fourth of the documents on her desk.

'Am I the only one keeping this Empire afloat?' she brooded. She simply couldn't fathom how there could be so much work to do.

Right then she heard hurried footsteps coming her way, and the door was slammed open. In the doorway, a girl of seventeen and two middle ages men were standing, slightly panting.

"Have you seen my brother?", the girl asked in a frantic tone.

"No, wasn't he supposed to visit the Barca mansion where you are staying at?", Madelein responded. While she had never seen Elise before, she could instantly recognize the resemblance she bore with Enki.

"He should have arrived a few hours ago, but he never showed up. We sent word to the palace, and they said that after the morning no one has seen him and you were the last person to talk with him before he left.", Elise retorted.

'Did the slave driver get into some trouble?' Madelein thought.

"He left with four guards this morning and I haven't heard from him ever since.", she told Elise.

Elise grew more and more worried. It wasn't possible for the crown prince to simply disappear. Someone was definitely behind this, and that someone certainly had no good intentions towards her brother.

"If you hear anything, please send word to the Supreme Commander's mansion immediately. And keep this incident to yourself. I don't want the word about my brother's disappearance to spread.", Elise ordered Madelein while turning around and quickly leaving. She had to mobilize the Barca family's troops. She didn't trust the Imperial guards.

Looking at the figure of the retreating princess, Madelein silently shook her head. She had no intention of getting involved in this mess. It wasn't part of her mission and she didn't think it would be worth it to risk her cover being blown.

'I just need to quietly keep working and steer myself clear of all troubles.' she hummed while getting back to her piles of paper. Serves that slave driver right to meet some trouble, she happily mused.

"Wait!", Madelein suddenly cried out as she jolted up.

"Doesn't that mean that until the bastard returns I need to do all the work by myself?!!", she yelled, horrified at the thought.

'WHICH BASTARD IS TRYING TO INCREASE MY WORKLOAD!? THEY NEED TO PAY FOR THIS!' she screamed in her mind and cursed the person behind Enki's kidnapping all the way to the seventh circle of hell.

'All right, all right. First things first. In order to lessen my workload, I need to get the bastard back. After that, I can make the person behind this pay. I will make them regret messing with me!' Madelein declared with a murderous look in her eyes.

Within her chambers, the locked-up Empress suddenly felt a chill go down her spine.

'Is there a draft coming from somewhere?' she wondered.

Meanwhile, Madelein started to go through a list of underground organizations that would most likely take this kind of job and had a high chance of success. When her eyes landed on the name 'Bob's Souvenirs' her eyes stopped.

Ignoring the ridiculous name of the company that worked as a front, the group behind it were highly skilled professionals. She remembered her teacher saying that if someone paid them enough, they might even attempt and succeed in kidnapping the Emperor himself.

'I'll start with them' Madelein decided. She had a feeling that if anyone was brazen enough to kidnap the crown prince, it was likely Bob's.

Madelein would make her move when night fell. Until then, she had to stay within the office to keep up appearances.

Time went slowly by, documents were reviewed and stamped, frustrated screams were muffled, and finally, night fell upon the capital.

While Madelein was working, the Barcas had launched a full-scale manhunt, all of the house's forces within the capital had been deployed and they were turning the capital upside down. This caused fear among the commoners and nobility alike. No one knew who had poked at the slumbering beast, but they were all equally terrified. One does not simply mess with the Barcas. While the commoners hailed the ancient military family as heroes of the Empire, they also feared this house that managed to bring up one monster after another.

Ten thousand Warriors were combing through the capital while the entire city looked on, in fear and anticipation. While they feared what might happen, they were also eager to see what had riled up this mighty family so badly.

Looking at the chaos the Barca family's troops were creating within the capital, Madelein was secretly happy. This would make her job easier since the whole city was in uproar and no one would pay any attention to her.

Madelein blended within the shadows of the night and made her way to Bob's shop that was located in a remote alley within the Common Quarter of Valopolis. She could see several men with tattoos on their arms guarding the alleyway.

Madelein easily snuck past the men. The men could only feel a faint breeze going through the alley as Madelein went past them.

Melding with the shadows, Madelein passed by the closed door of the shop and found herself faced with a shabby and rundown interior. Within the shop, a small candle was lit, giving a small shimmer and casting shadows along the shelves that were stacked up with cheap junk.

At the far end of the shop, a small desk was located and at the desk, there was a clerk scribbling down something on a piece of paper.

Madelein made her way over, not bothering to conceal herself anymore. She was donned in black leather gear and had a hood that concealed most of her face, only showing her jaw and cherry red lips.

Right before she reached the table, the clerk looked up and his eyes widened with shock. He hadn't noticed anyone entering.

"What can I do for you, miss?", the clerk asked while carefully scrutinizing Madelein. The woman gave him a dangerous feeling.

"I'm looking for someone, and I think you know where to find him.", Madelein replied with a sweet smile blossoming on her face.

"I'm sorry, miss. We only sell souvenirs so I'm afraid I can't be of any help.", said the clerk with an apologetic tone while shaking his head helplessly.

"Really now? I wonder if the people downstairs would agree with that sentiment?", Madelein pondered while playfully tapping her lips. She started to emanating pressure. Madelein was a Sage rank mage, so the pressure was too much for the clerk to handle, and he went as white as a sheet and nearly fainted.

Madelein released the pressure, and the clerk looked at her, shock clear on his face. He didn't expect such a young woman to be so powerful, and he started to get nervous. Their operation had always remained hidden. No one before her had noticed the concealed hatch and noticed the masked presence of the men below.

The dangerous feeling this woman gave the clerk intensified. It wasn't that she was just powerful, she clearly had a thorough understanding of their operations.

"Are you certain you can't help me? Because if so, I don't think I have further use for you.", Madelein continued while unsheathing her dagger and giving it a slight twirl.

"Just give me a second to check up on that, miss. Now who were you looking for?", the clerk quickly uttered. He valued his life and had no intention of losing it. The people below should have clearly felt that pressure, but the fact that none of them had appeared meant that they were no match for this woman, choosing to remain hidden and preserving their lives.

"The crown prince.", Madelein answered.

'Ah, shit. We have truly bitten off more than we can chew this time. I never imagined that the Imperial forces would track us done this easily.' the clerk regretted.

"We might have some information about his whereabouts." the clerk responded carefully while looking at Madelein for any reaction.

"How delightful! I knew I could count on you guys. Now I just need an address and I will be on my way.", Madelein rejoiced with a playful smile still on her lips.

The clerk couldn't see through the woman at all. He had no idea what was going on behind that smile. The woman's expression never wavered for even a second.

"Here you go. The prince was handed over to the employer an hour ago and is most likely still in this location for now.", the clerk said while giving Madelein a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Pleasure doing business with you.", Madelein said and thanked the clerk, and turned around to leave.

Just before exiting, Madelein turned her head and gave a malicious smirk, and said; "You do know what happens if you lied to me, right? Be under no delusions that you can escape from me."

Feeling chills going down his spine and cold beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the clerk nodded repeatedly.

"Good.", Madelein sneered and left. The man had no backbone at all. She had wished that they would give her an excuse to trash the whole place.

Looking at the address on the piece of paper, Madelein's brows shot up.

'Out of all the places they brought him there?' she thought while feeling baffled.

The address written on the note was located on the same street as the Barca mansion. In fact, it was right opposite of it.

'I have heard that the best place to hide is right under your enemy's nose, but isn't this taking it a bit too far?', Madelein thought while feeling amused. She could imagine what kind of face the Barca Elders would make if they knew the prince they were searching for throughout the city was right under their noses.