Mysterious Mother-in-law’s Shop

‘How strange…’

Back in my room, I wiped the sweat from my brow with a towel, pondering.

Ailena should have come to the Knights’ quarters after my training to brew me a relaxing cup of black tea as a reward.

But today, she didn’t show up.

‘…Oh, right, today was her day for errands.’

Then it wasn’t so strange after all.

Perhaps she had a lot of things to buy today, which caused the delay.

In the two years she had served me, Ailena occasionally had such situations.

The first time, I even got angry…

Ahem, now I am a considerate mistress, so I’ll magnanimously overlook this small lapse!

Ailena would surely be back before dinner to make me a delicious meal, so I would just wait a little longer.

Thinking this, I casually picked up a novel to read, passing the time.

However…

Even an hour past dinner time, I hadn’t seen Ailena, not even a shadow.

From initial anticipation, to anger, to anxiety, to unease.

More than hunger, I was now worried about Ailena.

I couldn’t stand it anymore and rushed out of my bedroom, even forgetting to close the door.

“Ailena? I don’t know.”

“I saw her this morning, but not since.”

“Isn’t today her shopping day? But she hasn’t come back, so we had to make dinner with the remaining ingredients.”

According to the testimonies of other servants, Ailena hadn’t returned since going out to shop this afternoon.

…Undoubtedly, something had happened to her!

I immediately ran to Young Master Claude’s room, and without a second thought, I pushed the door open.

“Brother! Something terrible has happened!”

“My dear Katarina, just saying, couldn’t you at least knock before you come looking for me?”

My brother looked at me, smiling helplessly.

“No time for such things! Brother! The situation is truly urgent!”

“Don’t rush, have some tea first to calm down.”

He handed me a cup of tea. I instinctively took it and took a sip, then slammed the teacup back onto the table.

“This is no time for leisurely tea!”

“I know you’re anxious, but don’t be, being this anxious you won’t explain what happened clearly, and might waste even more time, wouldn’t you agree?”

My brother took a slow sip of his tea, looking completely relaxed.

He wasn’t wrong. I could only follow his advice, downing the black tea to somewhat calm my mind.

“Well… I can probably guess that your urgency must be related to Ailena, right?”

“Yes! Ailena is missing!”

I explained the whole story to my brother.

He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“Speaking of which, there have been rumors recently about frequent kidnapping incidents in this area…”

Upon hearing this, my heart burned with anxiety.

“Could Ailena be…!”

“Don’t rush, it’s not certain it’s a kidnapping yet… we need to dispatch the Knights to investigate first.”

“That would take ages!”

I couldn’t wait a moment longer!

Who knew what Ailena might endure during the search!

“…I understand how you feel, but there’s no point in rushing. Without information, we can’t do anything.”

“…”

…There it was again.

That deep sense of powerlessness.

I thought I possessed great strength, but at critical moments, I was utterly helpless.

My mind was filled with regret.

“…Oh, right, I suddenly remembered a rumor I heard at the academy, it might be useful.”

“What rumor?”

“Well… just follow me.”

My brother quickly changed and prepared to leave.

I could only follow him, half-doubting, half-believing.

…Wait for me, Ailena!

I was truly careless.

Lying in the bumpy carriage, I reflected on myself.

Perhaps it was my previous experiences battling monsters and demon races, where my instincts could precisely predict their attacks, that made me so careless, to the point of being ambushed.

…But it can’t be entirely my fault, can it?

After all, the person who kidnapped me was Daniel, the hidden male lead among the game’s protagonists—the Assassin.

This guy was a genius in assassination, raised and trained by an evil organization since childhood, he could easily conceal his presence and approach his prey without a sound.

I hadn’t sensed his presence at all before he made his move… truly living up to his name as the strongest assassin.

Because of the stark contrast between his initial coldness and his endearing awkwardness when first falling in love, he was also a very popular male lead. It was just a pity that one had to complete the Prince’s route to unlock his personal route… and so I hadn’t been able to finish his route, only knowing him superficially.

However… if I remember correctly, in the game, didn’t he kidnap the Second Prince, who was on a secret inspection tour?

…Hmm, come to think of it, the reason Prince Edwin Wilhelm was on a secret inspection tour was because he usually lived under high pressure.

Being the child of a concubine, to maintain his mother’s status in the palace, he was forced to constantly improve his personal abilities, with no time for play.

So even as an adult, he had the heart of a child… this was also highly praised in the Prince’s fan base.

Did he not go on a secret inspection tour today because he had a good fight with the young lady before, releasing his inner emotions?

…This “great gift” of being kidnapped was conveniently passed on to me.

This was probably punishment for me changing the game’s plot.

Well, let’s put all that aside for now.

Let’s think about how to escape from here.

The Second Prince was, after all, a prince. He was noticed in time, and the entire nation’s efforts were mobilized to stop the kidnapping carriage.

But I am just an ordinary commoner. Even if the young lady and her family search for me, relying on the now greatly weakened Knights would be a pipe dream.

…What was the fate of those kidnapped in the game? I think they were sacrificed to an evil god by the evil organization?

Ugh… what a truly nasty ending.

I must immediately start thinking about how to escape right under the nose of this strongest assassin…

(Katarina’s perspective)

“It’s here.”

Led by my brother, we stopped in a very inconspicuous alley, where a small shop at the very end of the alley could be seen in the distance.

Just the gate with a hanging ram’s skull gave off an extremely unreliable impression.

“…Are you sure this place can really help find Ailena?”

Hearing my doubt, my brother merely shrugged.

“I only heard rumors. People say there are many strange items here, and you can fulfill your wishes by trading with the shopkeeper… whether it’s true or not, I don’t know.”

“…”

There was no other way; I had to try anything.

I walked up, and just as I was about to knock, the door opened by itself.

Behind the door stood an old man with a strange appearance, but vaguely recognizable as human… combined with everything I had seen so far, a sense of eeriness instantly arose.

“Heheheh! Welcome to Granny Mystic’s Little Shop!”