This bracelet was undoubtedly the one the Princess had tried on earlier.
Jade stood up, his hand trembling as he clutched the jade bracelet.
His heart pounded wildly.
'Your Highness… where are you…?'
He gripped the bracelet tightly.
He suddenly recalled what Chi-yon had said when they parted yesterday.
"Ah, there's been a lot of kidnappings of young women in this city lately. Be careful. Though I'm sure you'll be fine, Jade."
Chi-yon had said it while waving his hand.
'No… it can't be…!'
Ignoring the pain emerging from his injured leg, Jade sprinted down a secluded alley.
Sallan shouted as she watched Jade run off somewhere.
"Jade! Where are you going?!"
Jade, running like a madman, had only one thought in his mind—Princess Genie.
'Your Highness…! Princess Genie!!!'
----------
Meanwhile, Genie lay unconscious in a pitch-dark barn, her hands and feet tightly bound.
Sunlight streamed through a tiny hole in the barn wall, slowly opening Genie's eyes.
'Where… am I?'
She felt the scratchy straw brushing against the tops of her feet as she tried to sit up.
But she quickly collapsed again.
Both her hands and feet were tightly tied to a pillar with thick rope.
'What is this situation…?'
With a faint mind, she scanned the surroundings.
It was a barn filled with piles of straw.
As she tried to speak, she felt a handkerchief gag tied around her mouth.
"Mmph…"
She winced at the pressure of the cloth muffling her lips.
Only then did the earlier events come flooding back.
'Some men had covered my mouth and carried me away. I must've been kidnapped and brought here…'
Genie let out a deep sigh.
Even sighing properly was difficult with the cloth gag.
Just then, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching the barn.
Genie quickly closed her eyes again.
The barn door opened, and two men entered.
Peeking through narrowed eyes, she could see their silhouettes.
She couldn't see clearly, but one was tall in tattered clothes, and the other was short in tattered clothes.
She shut her eyes again.
'They must be the ones who kidnapped me.'
The tall man said, "I checked earlier. She didn't have a single coin on her. What should we do with her? Just let her go?"
The short man snapped. "What nonsense is that? She looks like she's from a wealthy family. What if she remembers our faces later? Let's just sell her."
"Sell her?!"
"Yes! Sell her. You know how many people are making big money these days by kidnapping and selling women. Every time they sell one, they make a fortune. Let's stop petty theft and do something big for once. The ones who kidnapped the women said they will sell the women at the harbor tomorrow morning. Let's sell her off together then."
The short man strode toward Genie.
Panicking, the tall man rushed to block his path.
"Hey, this is too far! Isn't this crossing the line?"
The short man glared at him.
"Get a grip! Don't you think about your starving wife and kids at home? If we sell this woman overseas, we can feed everyone for months!"
The tall man looked like he was about to cry.
"Still, I mean…"
"Get back to your senses! Now is not the time to get soft!"
The tall man slowly nodded, his face pale.
"Move!"
The short man pushed past him and walked up to Genie.
He checked the ropes binding Genie's both hands and feet to the pillar.
"They're still tight. Even if she wakes up, there's no way she can run. Once the ship arrives tomorrow morning, we'll sell her."
The short man turned and walked toward the barn door.
"Are we… really doing this…?" The tall man followed, his voice trembling.
"We have no choice if we want to survive."
With those words, the barn door closed again.
Genie opened her eyes.
'They're going to sell me…?'
She lifted her head.
A single beam of light shone from a small window near the ceiling, barely illuminating the dark space.
She couldn't believe this was real.
It was easier to believe it was a nightmare.
'How could something like this happen…'
Tears welled up in Genie's eyes.
'Lord… please save me.'
The face of Jade, smiling gently, appeared in her mind.
'Where are you now, Jade…?'
She prayed desperately to God to guide Jade to her.
----------
Meanwhile, Jade was running frantically through the market streets, searching for Princess Genie.
"Your Highness!!! Your Highness!!!"
At this point, it didn't matter if someone overheard him calling her "Your Highness."
He had to find her—no matter what.
He threw open every shop door he saw along the alleys.
The shopkeepers jumped in surprise each time.
"Sorry!"
"I'm sorry!"
He rushed from shop to shop, desperately searching.
But after running for what felt like forever, there was still no trace of her.
'Your Highness…!'
His heart raced more than ever as he kept running.
'I'm sorry, Your Highness…! I should've never gone into that shop and left you alone…'
With a heart burning with regret, Jade frantically searched through desolate backstreets.
Then suddenly, his feet came to a halt.
'This shoe is…?'
A luxurious, sky-blue shoe was lying on the ground.
He bent down and picked it up.
'This is the shoe the Princess wore since she was in Arabia…!'
His heart pounded like it would explode.
He looked up and saw a steep, narrow path leading to an old wooden gate.
Without hesitation, Jade dashed up the alley.
The wooden gate was slightly ajar.
"Your Highness!!!"
He burst through the gate.
With a creak, it swung open to reveal an empty yard and two shabby houses.
They looked like they hadn't been lived in for ages.
"Your Highness!!!"
Genie's eyes widened in the barn.
'Jade…!'
"Jade…!" Genie tried to scream his name, but the gag muffled her voice.
She flailed her bound hands and feet.
The ropes cut deeper into her wrists and ankles, making them sting.
"Your Highness!!! Your Highness!!!"
Jade rushed into the house on the left.
It was filled with rusty furniture—clearly abandoned.
As Jade was about to turn and run to the house on the right, that's when someone entered the yard and shouted, "What do you think you're doing?! Who are you to barge into someone else's home?!"
Jade turned back.
A short man, who seemed to be in 40s , stood there.
Behind him was a tall man carrying a large bundle.
Jade instantly sensed something was off.
"I'm sorry, I'm looking for someone."
Before he could finish, the tall man's eyes widened in shock.
His hands trembled as he held the bundle.
Jade watched the man closely.
'It's them…'
He was sure of it.
The short man barked, "I don't care who you're looking for, you've got the wrong place! Get out of our house right now!"
Jade gave them a calm stare.
'I need to pretend to leave… for now.'
"Apologies for the intrusion."
He slowly walked past them through the yard.
As he passed by the two men standing by the gate, he glanced at the white bundle the tall man carried.
Inside, he saw black cloth tied in knots.
'Black cloth…!'
Having lived in the Ash Kingdom, Jade knew that in this land, slaves were dressed in black cloth when being bought and sold.
Pretending not to notice, he walked out the gate.
The two men nervously watched him leave.
Once out of sight, Jade doubled back through a narrow side alley.
The men finally shut the gate.
"He's gone, right?" asked the tall man, still anxious.
"I'm sure he's gone. Let's finish the job," the short one said firmly, striding across the yard.
Back in the barn, Genie could no longer hear Jade's voice.
'Did he think I wasn't here… and leave?'
Despair swallowed her.
'No… please don't leave…'
Just as her tears welled up again—
"What do you think you're doing…?"
Thud, thud!
BANG!!!
"Agh!!!"
Loud crashes echoed outside.
Men's screams and the sound of bodies hitting the ground followed.
Thud!!!
"Agh!!! Why are you doing this?! AAAAAHHHH!!!"
She recognized the wailing voice of the tall man from earlier.
"How dare you cause trouble in someone else's—AAACK!!!"
The short man's scream rang out, followed by another heavy fall.
"Where is the Princess?! Tell me now!!!"
She heard Jade's voice roaring, full of fury.
Genie's eyes widened.
'Jade…!'
"Jade…!"
She tried to yell, but the gag still muffled her voice.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she thrashed violently against the ropes.
"The… the Princess?! Agh!!! Spare me!!! She's—she's in the barn! Open the shed behind the house on the right, and you'll see it!"
The tall man's terrified voice rang out.
Moments later, the barn door slammed open.
"Your Highness!"
Jade rushed in.
"Mmph…!"
Genie called for him through the gag.
He immediately ran to her and untied the cloth from her mouth.
She gasped for breath at last.
"Jade…"
Tears streamed down her face.
"Your Highness… are you alright…?"
She nodded slowly, holding back her sobs.
Jade quickly untied the ropes from her hands and feet.
As he feared, one foot was bare—her shoe missing.
Her wrists and ankles were scraped and bleeding from the ropes.
Jade's heart ached.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness…"
Genie wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"No… Thank you for coming… even now…"
"Please wait here for a moment. I'll go finish things with those men."
Jade turned and sprinted out of the barn.
Back in the yard, he grabbed the short man, who was crawling away.
"You bastard… where do you think you're going?!"
He flung the man back to the ground.
The tall man was also crawling toward the gate.
Jade calmly walked over, kicked the gate shut.
"No one's going anywhere."
He grabbed the tall man by the collar and punched him straight in the face.
The short man tried to rise and attack Jade—but Jade turned just in time and landed another punch.
He collapsed again.
Jade couldn't forget the blood on Genie's wrists and ankles.
Consumed by rage, he grabbed the short man's collar again.
"How dare you lay a hand on the Princess…!"
Just as he was about to throw another punch—
"Jade!!! Stop!!!"