The moment Margaret realized Laina was nowhere to be seen, she felt her heart sink. Her gut feeling told her it had something to do with Marius. He must have lured her away from the ballroom on Dante’s orders.

But by the time she turned back to look for Marius, he had already disappeared without a trace. She searched high and low for any sign of them. She searched for any signs of Laina. But there was none.

At first, Margaret hoped that the crown princess was just having a merry evening with some of the other royals at the Ball. But when the princess did not return at any point in the night, she grew increasingly worried.

“Dang it Dante, you can’t just whisk her away like this,” she muttered to herself as she bit her nail.

She slammed her fists down on the table. Margaret stood up from the round table and walked over to the balcony of the mansion. Her hands were clammy with sweat as she tried to find a way to trace them.

The first thing she did this morning was to get the hotel general manager to meet her.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Margaret said as she straightened her dress.

The door opened and in walked a middle-aged man dressed neatly in a suit with white gloves on both of his hands.

“Lady Margaret, it is a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Albert, I am the general manager here at the Golden Gate hotel. I was informed that you require some assistance?” the general manager of the hotel introduced himself.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you as well. I will cut to the chase, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Please speak your mind, milady. I will help where I can.”

Margaret nodded. She proceeded to give her request, “Has King Dante checked out of the hotel?”

The general manager was a little taken aback by Margaret’s question. But he had a job to do. He could not give out the details of the other guests just like that. It was a breach of privacy. He cleared his throat and formulated a suitable reply.

“My sincere apologies, milady, but I cannot-”

Margaret sighed as she raised her hand, stopping the general manager from continuing to speak.

“Look, Albert, I know it’s a lot to ask. And there are rules that have been put in place that stop you from giving me the information. But I just need this favor, alright?” she replied.

“I’m sorry, Lady Margaret, but my hands are tied. I can’t…”

Margaret did not bother to listen to Albert’s explanation. This was her one and only lead. Without this crucial piece of information, how was she going to find Laina? Seeing Margaret’s expression, Albert knew something was amiss.

He had his assumptions on why Margaret was asking for this information. He also noticed the absence of the Crown Princess of Kinshearth. This reminded him of a certain rumor he had heard through the grapevines of gossip.

It had been circulating amongst the hotel staff since late last night.

“Milady, if I may,”

“Speak your mind, Albert.”

He cleared his throat, “While I cannot give you the information you seek. There was a certain rumor that has been passed around the hotel staff. It was regarding King Dante. I myself don’t delve much into the gossip but-”

“Just spit it out,” Margaret said in an annoyed tone. She would prefer him to go straight to the point if he had something to say.

“Right. One of the maids said they saw King Dante and his right-hand man Marius, leave the hotel late last night. Apparently, the King was holding an unconscious woman in his arms.”

Margaret glared at him with widened eyes. Albert felt a shudder down his spine. He gulped as he took a few steps back from her. She had this death glare in her eyes. Margaret gripped her fists tightly. She cursed beneath her breath.

“Did this maid see what color dress the woman was wearing?” she asked.

“Apparently it was too dark to see. It was as if the color of the dress camouflaged with the dimly lit surroundings.”

Hearing Albert’s words, it took everything in Margaret to remain calm. She thanked the general manager for his help. After sending him out, she walked out into the balcony and banged her fists against the railings. The metal railings reverberated from the force of her hands.

“Damn it, Dante,” she cursed, “What have you done?”

Margaret spent the next half of the day pacing around the room. She was biting her nails and tapping her foot on the ground as she tried to formulate a plan in her mind. If she guessed correctly, Dante brought Laina back to the Dracona Kingdom.

If she went through the portal to go there directly, it would raise too many questions. People will gossip and soon enough, everyone would know what had happened to the Crown Princess of Kinshearth.

If word gets back to Kinshearth, it would be a lot worse for everyone involved. Margaret leaned on the railing of the balcony, tapping her finger on her forearm as she tried to formulate a suitable plan.

There was something she could try. But she could only keep everything under wraps for so long. Eventually, things would unravel. If Albert was intuitive enough, he would have noticed that the Crown Princess was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” she sighed as she massaged her temples with her right hand.

Margaret muttered to herself as she walked back into the room. She rubbed her palms together and chanted a spell. A magic spell circle began to form on the carpeted ground before her. As finished reciting the spell, Margaret took out a dagger she had kept on her belt and sliced her palm.

She did not wince at the pain from the cut. A few drops of blood dripped onto and absorbed by the spell circle. Moments later, the cut on her hand healed on its own. Blinding light enveloped the room as Margaret faced her open palms towards the spell circle.

Moments later, the light dissipated.

A doppelganger of Laina stood right before her, eyes closed.