Chapter 22

If someone were suddenly kidnapped by strangers, anyone would naturally feel unbearable fear. Anxiety would overwhelm them, enough to make them want to cry.

When I awoke, I found myself in an unfamiliar room. But rather than a prison cell, it was a room furnished with furniture far finer than anything in my own home, and the women who appeared to be servants treated me politely. My confusion was stronger than my urge to cry, though frightening things were still frightening.

(Who in the world… and for what purpose…?)

Had I somehow done something somewhere and been captured by a noble? But if that were the case, perhaps the ring would make them release me. Hector and Ky had both said that once people knew I already belonged to someone, they wouldn’t lay hands on me.

I checked for the ring I always wore around my neck through my clothes. It was definitely there, so surely things would be alright.

(…What time is it now?)

Because I had been knocked out with drugs, my internal clock was unreliable. Thick curtains covered the windows, so I couldn’t tell the position of the sun, and whenever I tried to approach them, the servants stopped me. 「What are you trying to do? It’s dangerous, please sit over here,」 they said, guiding me onto a soft sofa while serving expensive-looking tea and sweets. Though they treated me courteously, I felt suffocated by being unable to move freely.

(Hector-san is probably… worried about me.)

I had been kidnapped on the morning of Forest Day. There was a high chance Hector had come afterward. If he arrived at the apothecary as usual only to find the door unlocked and me missing… he must have been shocked and worried. I had to return quickly.

(I wonder if Jean-san has been told too… ah, he must be terribly worried.)

If Hector noticed, he would likely go to Jean first to confirm things. And once they realized I was missing, they would surely report it to the knights. I felt sorry for causing everyone trouble. …Well, no, the kidnappers were the ones at fault, not me.

Still, I couldn’t understand their purpose. Why was I being confined to a single room while simultaneously being treated with such care? I had no idea what the people who abducted me wanted from me.

At any rate, I needed information. There were four servants in this room. Couldn’t I learn something from them?

「Um, why was I brought here?」

「We do not know. We were merely instructed by our master to entertain you here, milady.」

「…Then, could I perhaps speak with this ‘master’?」

「We apologize, but our master is a very busy man. Please wait until he arrives.」

I see. They truly wouldn’t let me do anything. This was troublesome.

Since I had nothing else to do, I tried gathering information anyway. But no matter what I asked, where this place was, what kind of person the master was, what would happen to me, the only replies I received were 「We cannot answer」 or 「We do not know.」 Information was being deliberately withheld. I wouldn’t be able to learn anything from them.

The only other information available to me was the emotions of the four servants in the room, but those weren’t very helpful either. What I could see were moss-colored fatigue, crimson anger… and perhaps ultramarine pity.

「…Will I be able to return home?」

Servants were not always loyal to their masters. Some apparently condemned their master’s actions. Among the four servants constantly stationed in the room, there was a young woman who seemed to sympathize with me, carrying that ultramarine color. Looking directly at her, I asked that question, hoping to appeal to her sympathy. Perhaps she might let me go home… or help me escape.

For a moment, she furrowed her brows with deep sadness, but then gracefully lowered her head, hiding her expression.

「I cannot answer that.」

I see. So this master truly had no intention of letting me go home. At the very least, I understood now that nothing would move forward unless I met him in person and showed him the ring.

――――In the end, an entire week passed without me ever leaving the room. Apparently the master had not returned to the mansion, so meeting him never happened. Even bathing and using the restroom were fully accommodated within the room itself, so I truly could not leave at all.

The medicines requiring magical preservation were probably ruined by now, and I was worried about the state of the shop left with its back door open. Maybe it was because I had nothing to do and too much time to think, but Hector’s face kept surfacing in my mind over and over. Somehow, even I found it strange.

(I keep thinking… that he’ll come save me.)

I found myself believing that he would appear with that same usual smile, as though nothing were wrong, and rescue me.

And besides, we had a promise. We had promised to spend Moon-Star Night together, which was only two days away now. …He was someone who kept his promises. So perhaps he would come before then. Was it really so strange for me to hope for that?

「Milady, the master is calling for you.」

「…Understood.」

Apparently the master of this mansion, who had kidnapped me only to leave me confined for an entire week, had finally returned. At last, I would see his face. I pulled the ring from beneath my clothes and hung it visibly around my neck before going to meet him.

It was my first time outside the room, and the mansion seemed enormous. My apothecary could probably fit inside several times over. Considering there had always been four servants assigned solely to me, even accounting for them doubling as guards, the owner must be extraordinarily wealthy.

Now then, what kind of noble would I be dealing with? Thinking that, I entered the room I had been guided to and was slightly surprised by the face waiting there.

「It’s been a while. Thank you for the other day.」

「…So it was you.」

It was the man who had come to the apothecary wearing unusually luxurious clothes and asked for a fortune regarding his business negotiations. Reclining comfortably in a leather chair, he watched me standing frozen by the doorway. …He shouldn’t have been a noble. Even if he was wealthy, I never imagined a man without status would abduct someone.

From his prediction lines, it was obvious he held no good feelings toward me. Distrust, caution, anger, disgust, those colors filled him. So why had he brought me here? Was he planning to hurt me?

「Why did you bring me here?」

「The negotiation that day ended in failure. Exactly as your fortune predicted.」

That day, he had proposed a major business deal to a certain individual. The other man was rumored to be timid, so he thought applying pressure would settle things easily. But the man had not yielded and instead said regretfully, 「Had you approached this differently, the result might also have changed.」

「When I heard that, I realized your advice had referred to this. Your power is genuine. I make it a point to visit a fortune teller before every business negotiation… but with you here, my business should prosper even more.」

I didn’t think my power was something so convenient. This time, my prediction had simply happened to be accurate. At best, I could only see about a day into the future.

More importantly, I had been brought here by force. Did he really think I would obey someone like that?

「Kidnapping is a crime.」

「I merely invited you here as a guest. The servants treated you properly, didn’t they?」

It was true that I had been treated lavishly. They helped me change clothes, served my meals, even assisted with bathing. Everything given to me was luxurious, and the dress I currently wore was an extravagantly decorated one-piece fit for some noble lady. But regardless of how well they treated me, drugging me, bringing me here, and preventing me from leaving still made this kidnapping.

「Please let me return home. I’ve already promised to serve another person, so, 」

「No. You will not return home. Because you have become quite fond of the elegant life in this house and have no desire to leave.」

「…I see. So that’s the story you intend to create.」

So he intended to pretend that I willingly desired this life and chose not to leave. Did he truly think such a story would hold up?

「However, the person I promised myself to is someone of great status. If this continues, you won’t escape unscathed either.」

If a commoner laid hands on something belonging to a noble, they would not get away with it. Ky was an unusually kind noble and likely wouldn’t trample a commoner without reason. But once matters became public, surely he wouldn’t protect someone to the point of concealing a commoner’s defiance.

The man rose sluggishly and walked silently toward me. Then he grabbed the ring hanging from my neck and yanked it closer.

「Ah…!」

「Hm, this is… Hah! This is amusing!」

The cord bit painfully into my skin. I glared at him for being so rough, but the man ignored my cry and peered at the ring without restraint before suddenly bursting into laughter. Above his head, dark brown contempt stretched outward.

「Girl, you’ve been deceived.」

「Deceived…?」

「The crest carved into the stone belongs to royalty. Why would royalty desire some insignificant girl from a tiny apothecary?」

My blood ran cold instantly. Not because I realized I had been deceived, but because I learned Ky was royalty. Only now did I understand just how terrifying it had been to spend time alone with him underground. Rather than trembling from memory, it felt more like retrospective horror crashing over me.

Seeing my reaction, the man before me formed a cruelly amused smile. From his expression and delighted colors, I understood he had misunderstood something.

「You have no escape. Behave yourself in this mansion and tell fortunes whenever I have business negotiations. I’ll guarantee your livelihood.」

「Please wait. If this truly is a royal crest, then you’re the one in danger.」

「Hmph. You simply don’t wish to believe it, but give up already. Enough. Return this girl to her room. I have work to attend to.」

「Please, listen to me…!!」

The man refused to hear anything further. The servants restrained me, escorted me outside, and returned me to my room.

I tried appealing to the servants too, insisting that if things continued like this, this mansion would face terrible consequences. But none of them listened. To them, I probably looked like a desperate girl clinging to a ring given to her as a prank, trying to escape her captivity.

In the end, another two days passed without my escape.

On the day of the Moon-Star Festival, even that merchant man could not work, so he apparently remained inside the mansion. The sound of servants moving busily outside the room made things slightly noisier than usual.

From that night onward, everyone was supposed to rest, yet the number of people watching me did not decrease. Two women attended to my needs, while two men stood guard by the window and door.

Even on this holiday, when they should have been allowed to rest, they were forced to watch over a kidnapped girl. In a sense, they too were victims like me.

That night’s meal was extravagant. I wondered who that man was spending the evening with. I had no way of knowing since I was never allowed outside this room, but perhaps somewhere else in the mansion, his family was gathered together spending Moon-Star Night with him.

…Meanwhile, I was eating alone under the watchful eyes of servants.

(I promised Hector-san.)

I wouldn’t have been able to prepare a whole roasted bird, thick steaks, or expensive wine for him. But even so, I surely wouldn’t have felt this hollow. If we had spent the evening together, I know it would have been enjoyable.

Faced with a feast that should have delighted me, I had no appetite whatsoever. Just as I lowered my fork onto the plate, commotion suddenly erupted outside.

「It’s the knights! The knights have stormed the mansion! We’ve been ordered to hide the girl!」

At the servant’s frantic cry as he burst into the room, I lifted my face.　Hector came for me.　For some reason, I was certain of it. The instant I knew, I kicked my chair aside as I stood and immediately began to run.