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Iria spent the whole day outside the palace among the people. By doing this, she managed to form a bond with them and it was the same reason why the people accepted her in such a short time.

After all, she used to be the Commander of Jerivia who used to wield her sword against Qalagon in the past. Though many people admired her as a warrior, it wasn\'t easy for them to accept her as their Queen while her hands were stained with the blood of their loved ones.

While the Queen was on the Sira Province in the capital, she made her way inside the office of the Magistrate who greeted her.

"I\'m so glad that you came today, Your Majesty," Magistrate Byron said to the Queen. "I plan to come and meet His Majesty but I heard that he is out to patrol some provinces."

"What\'s the matter, Magistrate?" Iria promptly asked.

Magistrate Byron remained quiet for a while but it was obvious that he was thinking of something. Then he let out a breath. "During the past month, we have three missing cases in our province and yesterday, we have one more. All the victims are children younger than 8 years old."

The Queen raised a brow when she heard the unexpected news. "The number is already four. Why didn\'t you report this to the court sooner?" she asked.

"We often have missing cases but mostly, the children are found safely. That\'s why we believed that we would find them soon. But this time, that\'s not the case," the Magistrate explained. "It\'s been three weeks since we had the first case," he added.

"What about other provinces?" Iria quickly asked.

"I talked with the other Magistrates and they have a total of three cases in two provinces."

The Queen briefly glanced at Elian who was equally taken aback as her.

"That means we have seven confirmed cases inside the capital and there might be some unknown cases too," she muttered. "This is not good. What if it\'s the doing of some slave traders?"

"That\'s what I feared too, Your Majesty," the Magistrate replied.

Iria gave a quick thought and rose from her seat. The Magistrate instantly followed suit.

"I will return to the palace and find a way to deal with this," she said to the Magistrate. "I will send more soldiers to be on duty in the area. So, until that, tell the soldiers to be alert than ever."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Magistrate replied with his head bowed.

The Queen nodded and walked out of the office.

"Let\'s return to the palace," she said to Elian before she settled on the carriage. "Also send someone to inform the Prime Minister that I want to meet him."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

*

The ride back to the palace from the Sira Province took three hours and when the Queen finally reached the palace, it was already evening. Just as she ordered, someone rushed ahead with a horse and informed the Prime Minister. So, by the time she reached the palace, Prime Minister Casar was already waiting for her in the meeting room.

"I hope I don\'t delay your work, Prime Minister," the Queen said once she entered the room. "I know you\'re busy."

"Meeting you when you summoned me is also a part of my duty, Your Majesty. I know that you will have a good reason," the Prime Minister promptly said.

"Please be seated," Iria said and sat down opposite the Prime Minister who just did the same.

"I visit Magistrate Byron today," she promptly started. "In three weeks, there are 4 missing cases in the Sira Province and another three in two provinces. All the victims are children below 8 years of age and I don\'t think it\'s normal missing cases."

Seven cases in three weeks. The Prime Minister also understood right away that it was not normal. There\'s something suspicious.

"Do you suspect a slave-trading, Your Majesty?" he asked the Queen.

"That\'s what first crossed my mind too," the Queen said. "However, I do some thinking on my way back here." She made a deliberate paused and continued, "Children below 8 years are too young and weak to be sold as a slave. They won\'t worth much."

"You mean?"

"On the other hand, children the same age are easy to brainwash than other age groups. It\'s the perfect age to start learning skills and instilling beliefs."

"You suspect that someone kidnapped them to train them?" Prime Minister Casar asked as he raised a brow. He didn\'t think through that!

"That\'s just my assumption, Prime Minister," the Queen explained. "To be sure of this, we must check other provinces first and see if there is any similar case."

"If what you suspect is true, it can be a dangerous threat for us in the near future, Your Majesty," Casar Mareyi promptly said.

"A rebellion is not the only thing possible, Prime Minister," Iria stated. "We don\'t know where those children are. That means anything is possible. Who knows, they might already leave Qalagon."

External forces? Who?

As of now, they were surrounded by enemies and it\'s hard to pinpoint anyone!

"We should raise the security in each province," the Queen suggested. "We will also need someone to take this case. Someone intelligent."

"I understand what you say." Prime Minister Casar gave a quick thought and added, "I have someone capable in mind. If you\'re okay with it, I will send him to you, Your Majesty."

"That would be good."

"In case of security, with the King\'s absence, all the power including the command of the Royal Army is in your hands. We all know you\'re great at that. So, please do it as you see fit, Your Majesty. We can inform the officials in the court meeting tomorrow."

Iria thought about it and she knew right away that it was quite a challenging task. It won\'t be a problem if she was familiar with the Royal Army but... she refrained from involving in military affairs during the past months. She always helped Arin but she didn\'t want to do it herself.

The reason was simple. She was the former Masked Commander who used to fight against them.

It\'s not fair for the soldiers to be commanded by someone who used to be their enemy.

Arin said that the soldiers understood her and she knew that he was telling the truth. True soldiers always admired a capable warrior. However, she still refrained from getting involved too deep. But this time, it seemed like she didn\'t have any better choice.

Will she be able to keep her secret for long?

With winter just around the corner, she didn\'t want anyone to know that her right hand was now her weakness......