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She was the kind of person who always prepared something in case of the worst-case scenario.
At least, that's how Ayla had been as far as he had seen.
And according to Peony, she seemed to be the only witness who had last seen Ayla.
Neither the Dean nor the Head of the dormitory would have directly witnessed Ayla's so-called parents meeting with her.
They wouldn't care what happened to Ayla, who was now a commoner.
So, the kidnapping must have happened here.
'Any small trace is fine... please.'
It was then.
As if in response to Felix's earnest wish, a familiar blue color caught his eye in the crack in the floor.
Felix immediately recognized what it was.
It was a turquoise bead that had been on the bracelet he had given Ayla as a gift.
Picking it up, Felix gritted his teeth.
He was relieved to have found a clue, but his heart ached at the feeling of her desperation.
"I found it."
Felix said, turning to Peony.
"What? What did you find?"
"It's a turquoise bead that looks exactly like the bracelet I gave Ayla."
At Felix's words, Peony narrowed her eyes and looked at the object he held out.
As he said, it was a turquoise bead similar in size to the bracelet Ayla had been wearing on her arm recently.
"Let's follow it quickly."
Felix and Peony began to move, following the small stones.
The stones were scattered at regular intervals. It seemed that Ayla had adjusted the spacing to conserve the number of stones.
It took quite a long time to move while finding those small stones.
Eventually, when they left the dormitory and arrived at an outdoor area overgrown with lush grass, Felix stopped walking.
"This is the last turquoise bead."
There were no more traces left by Ayla. He scanned the surroundings thoroughly with Mana, but it was the same.
"It seems that all the turquoise beads were used up around here."
Felix hardened his face and frantically looked around.
'I don't see any place where Ayla could be.'
There was no other way. From now on, he had no choice but to search this entire area thoroughly.
There was a forest nearby, so maybe she was dragged into it.
As he showed signs of trying to search the area recklessly, Peony shook her head.
"Wait a moment."
"Senior Peony?"
"I have an idea."
Peony slowly walked through the grass, looking around.
Ayla usually carried various Magical potions with her.
When asked why she carried so many, she would just smile and change the subject.
But now he could understand why. She must have always been preparing for situations like this.
But so far, there was no trace of her using any Magical potions.
'Maybe it's because the opponent was a Mage strong enough to render those things useless.'
And Peony, being royalty, had an excellent ability to sense Mana.
'If the person who kidnapped Ayla used Magic in the middle, there should still be traces left.'
Peony closed her eyes and focused on the subtle sensations.
Unlike Mana that was dissolved in nature, Mana bound by magical formulas tended to have a much more foreign energy.
It might be difficult to detect if the place where Magic was used was too far away.
But seeing that the turquoise beads stopped around here, Ayla must have disappeared near here.
Peony anxiously searched the surroundings meticulously.
After moving quietly for a long time, Peony finally opened her eyes wide.
"This way. I can feel a foreign energy here."
"Yes?"
"Follow me."
This time, Peony took the lead.
Walking without hesitation, she soon arrived at a place where old warehouses were gathered.
Felix looked around and muttered in a bewildered voice.
"There were warehouses gathered in a place like this?"
"I guess so, it seems to be a place where the supplies for the old building were stored. If we had tried to find it without any clues, it would have taken us much longer to discover."
She soon stopped in front of an old warehouse on the verge of collapse.
"Then, I'll open it now."
Peony tightly gripped the dusty old doorknob with trembling hands.
Ayla was lying on the cold, dusty floor.
The air inside the warehouse, thick with mustiness, pressed down on her lungs every time she breathed. She felt heavier with each breath she took.
In that dark space, various thoughts came and went in her mind.
After recalling the contents of the novel, she believed that she could handle all of this on her own.
But now she was trapped.
To think that she was in a situation where she could only wait for someone to come and find her.
She let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
'I left traces, but it will probably be impossible to find me today.'
At the time, she thought it was the only way, but looking back now, it seemed difficult to find the place where she was trapped with those small traces.
The worst-case scenarios kept popping up in her mind.
The image of her being expelled from the academy for not being able to make Magical potions or take the exam.
Even the image of herself being ridiculed by Rosia after becoming destitute.
"...No."
Ayla shook her head as if scolding herself.
'Stop imagining bad things. It doesn't help solve the problem at all.'
Just because she was trapped didn't mean everything was over.
She still had a lot of information about this world.
Knowledge that the enemies didn't know, knowledge that only she could use.
Although it would be more difficult and exhausting if she couldn't get out in time, she could somehow find another way.
'Yes, everything will be solved as long as I'm alive. It's okay, I haven't ruined everything. I just need to be more careful and do better in the future.'
Even as she thought that, her fingertips trembled.
She was disgusted by Rosia's wickedness in preventing her from taking the exam.
And she felt pathetic that she was still powerless against her Magic because she didn't have much power yet.
If Rosia changed her mind and decided to get rid of her, Ayla's life could be in danger.
'I did hide a few Magical potions in preparation for that time, but...'
Would that be enough to face Rosia?
She couldn't be sure.
Ayla decided to admit her mistake at this point.
Even though she knew about Rosia's Emotion Manipulation Magic, she never thought she would use it on her.
Using that Magic was a big burden for Rosia as well.
Because of that, there was a risk that the suggestion she had given to other family members would be undone.
But the fact that she went ahead and did it meant that she recognized her as a more threatening presence than in the original story.
'I won't be fooled twice, Rosia.'
Even if she was kicked out of the academy, there were plenty of ways to resist.
There was no place more suitable for making people helpless than a dark warehouse where not a single ray of light could enter.
But Ayla wasn't weak enough to collapse in the darkness.
Just like she had never been sad even after learning about her terrible end.
And now she had much more than she did then.
The knowledge of the original story, trusted colleagues to work with, and even the magical abilities that she would soon acquire.
But even with all of that, the hardest thing was that she was completely alone in this fight.
'I was always unlucky in the original story.'
She was often falsely accused and cried alone without anyone believing in her.
No matter what happened, the male leads in the novel were of no help.
As if it was her job to handle all of this.
That's why Ayla wasn't expecting much this time either.
Of course, Felix and Peony would be working hard to find her.
But how quickly could they find her in this vast academy?
'I'll be lucky if I don't starve to death before they find me.'
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