15. The Trouble Continues

15. The Trouble Continues

“Mmm... Mmph? Mmmphmmphmmn?”

Translation: “Huh, what happened?! Wha—I’m tied up?!”

I also happened to be gagged.

After playing tag with the crown prince and finally managing to throw him to the ground, Princess Orangé had appeared out of nowhere and knocked me out with some sickeningly sweet-smelling stuff from a bottle.

So, where was I now? I couldn’t see much since it was pitch black, but I was lying somewhere, gagged with both my arms and legs bound. Since what I was laying on felt soft—both in texture and squishiness—I figured I was probably on a bed somewhere.

They must be planning to stow me away in here to keep me out of trouble so they could safely(???) kidnap Mr. Fisalis! Well, not on my watch!

I wiggled and wiggled.

I tossed and turned. I was like a huge worm wriggling in the darkness...or something like that. What I was actually doing was trying to loosen my bonds. I thought back on all of my training about getting out of various knots. My maids had a merry old time tying me up, but where the heck did they learn all of those rope techniques? Whatever the case, getting them all untied had been great practice.

But seriously, I never thought I’d ever need to actually use my escape skills... Although that shoulder throw back there was really good, if I do say so myself. It was super satisfying, but I also never thought I’d be doing that outside of practice, either.

As I pondered, I never stopped wiggling my hands.

Man, the person who tied me up didn’t do a very good job of it. My training back at the manor had always had me bound up super tight, and it kinda—no, it really hurt! A few times I was sure I was going to end up dislocating my shoulder. I remember one practice where I just tried to brute force my way out and got a few bruises in the process, and then Mr. Fisalis ended up seeing it. I’d been so worried it was from falling out of that tree.

The knot itself wasn’t that well tied either. Just wiggling it out bit by bit like our servants taught me was loosening it. Whoo, I was getting close!

As I fought with the knot, I thought back on how I’d ended up in my current situation. I could recall up to the point where Princess Orangé had dosed me with that super-sweet drug that was hidden in one of the gems on her necklace. But the next thing I knew I was in here, tied up on this bed.

Grr~ Damn that princess! What the heck was that?! I can still smell whatever that cloying stuff was! Gross!

But of course, my cursing stayed inside of my head☆ Can’t be making any loud noises here~ Quiet, quiet...

I had no idea where I was, since the room was so dark that having my eyes open or closed didn’t make much difference. It didn’t seem like anyone else was around, though. Had I just been shoved into some open room, or had I been taken out of the palace already? I didn’t know if there was anyone outside the room where I was, but I was glad I was alone. If I’d woken up to that prince’s face, I might’ve slammed him to the ground again... Er, I mean, that would’ve been a nasty thing to wake up to.

The bed I was lying on felt really different from my one at home, so I definitely wasn’t back at the manor. That meant I hadn’t been lucky enough to get rescued while I was unconscious.

How long had I been out, though? I wondered if Mr. Fisalis and my in-laws were worrying about my disappearance. I need to free myself and get back ASAP, I thought to myself as I sped up my efforts to loosen the knot.

This is all my fault for leaving the reception hall too. If only I’d been more courageous... The (probable) Royal Guard Captain had been right there behind the king, with Father Fisalis right beside him. All it would’ve taken was a tiny bit of bravery... Well, not just a tiny bit, actually. A massive ton of bravery. In my case, I’d probably need the same amount of bravery as I would in a real life-or-death situation. If I had just put a liiiiiiittle bit more effort in, I could’ve told Father Fisalis and everything would’ve been fine. Ahhhh~ Jeez, I’m such an idiot. I wasn’t thinking clearly at all!

But it was way too late for me to be regretting my actions. I needed to focus on getting myself out of the situation I was in now!

I mentioned this earlier, but the knot was super simple, so after some wiggling I managed to get it undone. The skin that had been under the rope was chafed a bit, but it didn’t look like they’d bruise. They’d probably stay red for a while, though.

Seriously, though—to think that my training from the manor would actually come in handy... Damn, palace life is scary. As I undid my gag, my opinion of the royal palace definitely went down.

Next, I focused on undoing the bonds around my legs. Since my hands were free, that was a piece of cake. I got out of that even easier than I had my hands.

Once I was free, I searched for a window first. If I could see outside, I might be able to figure out where exactly I was! Squinting and looking around the room, I spotted a tiny bit of light streaming into the room. Since tonight was, unfortunately, a new moon, it should’ve been pitch black outside. The fact that there was any light at all meant that there was a source nearby. I could still be in the palace, or perhaps it was a light from the city. Either way, I needed to check.

Running towards that little bit of light, I very quietly opened the curtains. Outside the window was a dark garden. I shouldn’t have been able to see anything because of the new moon, but there were little bonfires scattered around. And I recognized the shape of the braziers—they were the same ones that were in the palace gardens!

Seeing that, I knew for sure I was still in the palace—and in a room looking over the gardens, at that. Judging from the height of the room, I was probably on the second floor.

Was it just my imagination, or did the garden outside that window look super similar to the one right outside of the reception hall? Looking closer, I saw a spot of even brighter light a little distance away. Was that the hall itself?

I thought I’d run a fair distance around the palace, but apparently I didn’t actually get very far. Thank goodness!

Even better, I saw little shadows moving around in the light of what I thought was probably the hall. If the party wasn’t over yet, I must not have been out for very long.

Whatever. Let’s get over there!

I would’ve loved to just jump out the window, but I realized that’d be impossible. Instead, I mapped out where the hall should be in my head and quietly moved towards the door.

I tried putting my ear up to the door to see if anyone was there, but I didn’t hear anything at all. Lucky me! I can sneak out now! Suppressing my excitement, I softly tried the door, but...

Of course, it was locked.

It didn’t move an inch. I should have known. There was no way they’d just shove someone who could ruin all their plans in an unlocked room.

“Guess I’ve got no choice...” I muttered to myself, pulling out one of the pins holding my hair up before shoving it into the keyhole.

Heh heh heh, I’ve actually been doing tons of lockpicking in my spare time, so I’m getting pretty good~ Thank goodness my playtime was also practice! Although just as you’d expect from a lock in the royal palace, it wasn’t an easy one. As silly as it sounds, I was pretty impressed with it.

After a bit, I heard a click and felt a reaction. See, I got it in no time! I’m a prodigy!

...Okay Viola, now’s not the time to sing your own praises.

I slowly opened the door to check outside, and...

“So you’re already awake.”

Unlike the pitch dark room I’d just been in, the hallway was dimly lit thanks to the lights set up here and there. And standing right in front of me was the person I least wanted to see.

Oh, if it isn’t the crown prince! ...Hah.

“I shouldn’t have underestimated you, should I? Not only did you free yourself, but you unlocked the door, too.”

“Just like a little thief!”

The prince was standing there with this nasty smile on his face, while Princess Orangé peeked out from behind him. Well, I didn’t want to see you either. Had they been standing outside the door, holding their breath to keep quiet? Gross!

I’d wanted to sneak off without being seen, but now that they’d found me, that was no longer an option.

Moving fully into the hall, I closed the door behind me. “Oh my! Was it you two that tied me up and left me in there?! And here I’d thought some ruffians must have snuck into the palace and kidnapped me! Ah, but I did suspect something was up after the princess wafted that strange-smelling whatever-it-was at me and I fainted dead away. I never would have expected that the two of you were working together!” I said, giving my best impression of someone truly shocked. I’m such a good actress☆

But no, I knew you two were the villains from the start, and I’m gonna tell it like it is!

The Aurantian royal siblings’ expressions turned scary at my barefaced jab, so I poured more salt on the wound.

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t think kidnapping me will do you much good. Mr. Fisalis wouldn’t care at all if I was gone, you know? I’m useless as a bargaining chip. Almost anyone could replace me. I’m just a contract wife. Using me for bait to try to lure him out won’t work at all.”

I told them exactly how little I was worth... And yeah, I did exaggerate a bit. Sorry, Mr. Fisalis! He’d be so angry if he heard me say that. Well... actually, he might just start crying. But he’ll forgive my bluff, right? It’s okay, I don’t think that way anymore!

I gave my best bluff while internally apologizing to Mr. Fisalis, but the prince’s response went in a completely unexpected direction.

“I’m not sure why you think we’re targeting Duke Fisalis. I don’t care about him. I just want to have you,” he said, giving a biiiiig smile.

Huh? What did he just say?!

“Oh, Brother! It’s rude to say you don’t care about the duke! Madam, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll comfort the grief-stricken duke as your replacement—after you disappear,” Princess Orangé snapped at her brother before turning to me with the same biiiig smile.

What is she saying?!

And really? You’re doing all this in a foreign country, all for your own purposes?! You took a shine to me, so you decided to kidnap me home with you (because I’m married already)? And you’re aiming to marry Mr. Fisalis after I’ve disappeared (because he’s married to me)?

Do they really think that, as the losers in a war, they could seriously get away with this in the winning country? In our own royal palace, no less! There should be a limit on how stupid some people could be!

But... huh? Wait just a minute here. So they weren’t talking about kidnapping Mr. Fisalis? I’d thought he was in trouble, but it was actually me the whole time?! He’s gonna lose it when he finds out. Aurantia’s gonna get razed to the ground!