Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 88: Missing

The next morning began with chaos as noble families prepared to depart. Carriages lined up in the front courtyard, servants loaded luggage, and nobles made their final rounds of polite farewells.

Lady Vexmore found William first, approaching with Elara beside her.

"Master William, thank you for your hospitality during our extended stay," Lady Vexmore said formally. "I hope you’ll consider House Vexmore’s offer of support as you prepare for the competition."

"I appreciate your family’s interest. I’ll certainly keep House Vexmore in mind as opportunities develop."

"That’s all I ask." She smiled. "Elara, anything you’d like to add?"

"Just good luck at the competition," Elara said. "Try not to let the political pressure distract from training. The competition itself matters more than what people expect from it."

"I’ll remember that."

The Vexmores departed, their carriage pulling away smoothly. Lord Aldric’s family was next, with all three daughters making final attempts to secure William’s attention.

"We’ll be hosting another gathering in two months," the eldest daughter said. "I do hope you’ll attend, Master William. It would be lovely to continue our conversations."

"I’ll check my schedule," William replied diplomatically.

Lord Aldric shook his hand with casual firmness. "You’ve impressed many people this weekend, young Cross. That will serve you well in the years ahead. House Aldric values strong relationships with rising talents."

They departed with considerably more fanfare than the Vexmores, making sure everyone saw their elaborate carriage and well-dressed servants.

Lady Ashford approached last with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Master William, I’ll be direct since my time is short. My daughter Mira values you highly. Whether that’s as a teammate, friend, or something more, I’m not certain. But House Ashford takes care of those our family members value." She paused deliberately. "If you ever need support you need only ask. Consider it an open offer with no strings attached."

"That’s generous, Lady Ashford."

"It’s strategic. But also genuine." She glanced toward where Duchess Arabella was overseeing the departures. "Your mother is a remarkable woman. She has managed to position you quite effectively this weekend. I suspect we’ll all be hearing much more about William Cross in the coming years."

The Ashford carriage departed, and finally the courtyard began to empty. A few minor noble families William had barely interacted with made brief farewells, and by afternoon the estate was quiet again.

William found his mother in her study, reviewing correspondence that had arrived during the gathering.

"You handled yourself well," Duchess Arabella said without looking up. "Three major houses now view you as worth investing in, and you’ve made personal connections that will prove valuable regardless of how the family politics develop."

"It was exhausting."

"Politics always is. But necessary." She set down her papers. "I received word this morning that your father’s business in the capital will take longer than expected. He won’t return before you depart for the academy."

William wasn’t sure if that was good or bad news.

"I’m leaving tomorrow morning. The carriage is already arranged."

"Yes. Which gives us this afternoon and evening to discuss more practical matters." His mother stood and moved to a cabinet against the wall. "Come here."

William approached as she opened the cabinet to reveal the wooden case from before, the one containing his great-grandfather’s sword.

"This is yours, as I mentioned. The blade is calibrated for fire essence specifically, but someone with your multi-elemental control should be able to adapt it." She opened the case. "There’s also this."

She pulled out a smaller box containing what looked like a ring with a dark red stone.

"This is an essence storage artifact. It holds approximately ten percent of your total essence capacity and can be drawn on in emergencies. It takes time to refill so use it wisely." She handed him the ring. "Put it on."

William slipped the ring onto his finger. It felt warm, and he could sense the stored essence within it immediately.

"The sword and ring are family heirlooms and not academy-approved equipment. Keep them concealed until you actually need them." His mother’s expression was serious. "I’m giving you these because I believe the competition will be more dangerous than you’re anticipating. People are watching you now. Some want you to succeed, others want you to fail, and a few would prefer you didn’t survive at all."

"I see."

"I know that several noble families have made inquiries about you in the past month. Some were benign political intelligence gathering. Others felt more targeted." She closed the cabinet. "I don’t have proof of direct threats, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts about these matters. Be careful, William. Success makes you valuable, but it also makes you a target."

It was the most direct warning she had given him about the danger he was facing.

"I’ll be careful."

"Good. Now go spend some time with your sister. She’s been moping all morning about you leaving tomorrow."

William made his way through the manor looking for Seraphine. He checked her room first only to find it empty. Then the library was also empty. The training grounds, the gardens, the various parlors and sitting rooms.

No sign of her anywhere.

He asked a passing servant if they’d seen her.

"Lady Seraphine was in the library earlier this morning, Master William. She seemed upset about something and left quickly. I haven’t seen her since."

That had been several hours ago. Where would she have gone?

William checked more thoroughly—the stables, thinking she might have taken a horse. The kitchen, where she sometimes went for pastries. The conservatory his mother maintained. Empty, all of them.

He found his mother in the west drawing room.

"Have you seen Seraphine? I’ve been looking for her for the past hour and can’t find her anywhere."

"She’s probably sulking somewhere about you leaving. Check her room again, she likes to hide in the closet when she’s upset."

"I already checked. She’s not there."

His mother frowned slightly. "The music room? She sometimes practices piano when she needs to think."

William hadn’t checked that. He made his way to the rarely-used music room on the second floor and found it dark and empty.

Now he was genuinely concerned. The estate was large, but not so large that Seraphine could stay hidden for hours unless she was deliberately avoiding being found.

He activated his essence sense, expanding his awareness through the manor. He could feel servants moving through various rooms, his mother’s strong signature in the drawing room, guards stationed at their posts.

No sign of Seraphine’s essence signature anywhere in the main building.

William moved outside and expanded his sense further, scanning the grounds. Nothing.

That was wrong. Even if she was hiding, he should be able to sense her essence somewhere on the property.

He found the head of house staff who was an older woman who’d been managing the manor for decades.

"Have you seen Lady Seraphine in the past few hours?"

"Not since mid-morning, Master William. She was in the library reading when I last saw her."

"Has anyone seen her leave the manor? Take a horse or a carriage?"

"Not that I’m aware of, sir. Though I can ask the stable hands and gate guards."

"Do that. Quickly."

William’s concern was shifting to alarm. Seraphine knew the estate well enough to hide effectively, but she wouldn’t stay hidden this long knowing people would worry. Something was wrong.

The head of staff returned ten minutes later looking concerned.

"The gate guards report that Lady Seraphine hasn’t left through the main entrance. The stable hands confirm all horses are accounted for. No carriages have departed since the noble families left this morning."

"She’s on the estate somewhere then. Organize a search. Check every room, every storage building, the gardens, everything."

"Of course, Master William."

The servants mobilized quickly, spreading out through the manor and grounds in a coordinated search pattern. William returned to his mother and explained the situation.

Duchess Arabella’s expression shifted from mild concern to sharp attention.

"Seraphine knows better than to hide for this long. She’s aware it would cause worry." She stood immediately. "Something’s wrong. Organize a more thorough search. Question every servant about the last time they saw her and where she was going."

The next hour was increasingly frantic. Servants searched every corner of the estate. Guards checked the perimeter walls. The stable hands confirmed again that no horses were missing.

Seraphine was simply gone.

William found himself back in his sister’s room, looking for any clue about where she might have gone or why. Her things were all there, clothes, books, personal items. Nothing looked like she planned to leave.

Then he noticed something on her desk. A piece of paper, folded once.

He opened it and felt his blood run cold.

[William,]

[I overheard Mother talking with Lady Vexmore about arranging your marriage to Elara. They were discussing how to formalize the arrangement after the competition. I know you said this is how noble families work, but I can’t watch you get engaged to someone else.]

[I need time to think. Don’t look for me. I’ll come back when I’m ready.]

[Seraphine]

William stared at the note with his mind racing. She had run away. His thirteen-year-old sister had run away from the estate because she’d overheard marriage discussions and couldn’t handle it.

He needed to find her. Now.

William rushed back downstairs and nearly collided with his mother in the hallway.

"I found a note in her room," he said, handing it over.

Duchess Arabella read it quickly, her expression darkening.

"She’s run away. Emotional, impulsive, and completely irresponsible." She called for the head of house staff immediately. "Send riders to check the nearby villages. Question everyone about whether they’ve seen a young girl matching Seraphine’s description. Send word to—"

"Your Grace!" A guard rushed in from outside, breathing hard. "The section of east wall near the woods, we found disturbances in the ivy. It seems like someone climbed over recently."

The same section Seraphine had used when they had snuck out to town, why didn’t he think of that

William was already moving toward the door. "I’m going after her."

"William, wait—"

"She knows those woods. If she’s been gone for hours, she could be anywhere by now." He grabbed his coat. "I’m the only one who knows the route she took into town that night. I can track her."

His mother looked like she wanted to argue, but she just nodded sharply. "Take two guards with you. And William please find your sister. Quickly."

William sprinted toward the east wall, his mind churning with possibilities of where Seraphine might have gone and what could happen to a thirteen-year-old girl alone in the countryside.

He reached the wall and saw the disturbed ivy the guard had mentioned. Someone had definitely climbed over recently.

William scaled the wall and dropped down on the other side, activating his essence sense to search for any trace of his sister’s signature.

It was faint but definitely hers. The trail led into the woods toward town.

He started running, following the essence trace while his mind raced with increasingly dark possibilities.

A servant appeared as William was questioning the guards about timing.

"Master William, the Duchess needs you in her study immediately."

William rushed back inside and found his mother with the head of house staff, both looking grim.

"What is it?"

"We’ve confirmed Lady Seraphine hasn’t been seen on the estate for approximately four hours," the head of house staff said. "No one saw her leave, but given her... previous excursion with you into town, she knows how to avoid being noticed."

Four hours. She could be anywhere within a several-mile radius by now.

"We need to organize search parties immediately," William said.

"Already done. I’ve sent servants to check the nearby villages and the town market." His mother’s voice was controlled but William could hear the tension underneath. "But William, there’s something else. One of the guards reported seeing a suspicious figure near the east section of the estate wall around mid-morning. They thought nothing of it at the time, but given Seraphine’s disappearance..."

William felt ice in his stomach. "You think someone took her?"

"I think we can’t rule it out." Duchess Arabella moved to her desk and pulled out a sealed letter. "This arrived an hour ago by unmarked courier. I thought it was more noble family correspondence but—"

She handed it to William. The seal was unfamiliar, and when he opened it, the message was brief and chilling.

[The youngest Cross daughter makes excellent leverage. If you want to see her again, William Cross will withdraw from the Inter-Academy competition. Further instructions will follow.]

[Do not involve authorities. Do not attempt to find her. Any deviation from our instructions will result in consequences.]

William read the letter twice, his hands shaking slightly.

Someone had kidnapped his sister. And they were using her to force him out of the competition.

"What do you mean you can’t find Seraphine?" William questioned, his voice barely controlled as he stared at his mother.

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Final verdict, Golden Castle= Mass Release (it will he build popularity and more fan base, it has been long since I’ve gotten a feature 🥹]