As I was clearing away some rocks in the field, Alexei-oniisan came over, looking pale.
Anyway, it must be the Magic Railway again.
Char is sleeping as she is still molting, so I’m working in the fields alone. I’m busy, so I really want him to understand that I will not change my conditions for building the railway.
However, to my surprise, the reason why he came here was a completely different matter.
“Is Claire here?”
“Huh? No. I haven’t seen her in a while, is she running away from home again?”
“No, I think she’s been kidnapped.”
“What!? But how?”
Alexei-oniisan handed me a sealed letter.
| Earl Alexei Dantes I have taken Miss Claire as hostage. If you wish for her to return safely, prepare 300 million crown coins as a ransom. I will contact you later with the details on the delivery. Don’t try to find out my real identity. If you do anything wrong, you won’t be able to save Miss Claire’s life. |
The sender’s name is blank…….
“This letter was dropped at the gate of the mansion this afternoon.”
“Do you have any idea who the culprit is?”
“At first, I thought it was you.”
We do have a lot of grievance, but come on Brother! Really!?
If I’m going to get revenge, I’ll think of a different way. If I kidnapped Claire, it would just cause a lot of trouble for me.
“I’m not going to kidnap my own niece.”
“Well, I thought so too.”
In Alexei-oniisan’s case, he has made enemies all over the place, so it’s probably hard to identify the culprit.
A ransom of 300 million crown coins huh….
It’s not an amount that Earl Dantes can’t afford. In a way, you could say it’s just right.
“What were Claire’s guards doing?”
Even when she came to Gandalcia incognito, an escort force of five men had been keeping a close watch on her. They are all skilled as well. I don’t think they were defeated just like that by some random kidnapper.
“The guards haven’t seen anything. Claire suddenly disappeared from the mansion.”
“How about her maid, Rochelle?”
“That maid disappeared with her.”
Could it be that the kidnappers made it into the mansion?
Or, did Claire try to get out secretly and happened to run into the kidnapper?
“Damn it! Just where did that stupid girl go!?”
“Calm down for a moment, I’ll look around as well.”
“Please do that. I’ll go back to the mansion for now.”
Alexei-oniisan hurriedly left.
Even though she’s not a cute niece, I can’t really sit back when she’s kidnapped. I decided to explore the area around Gandalcia first and then go to the Belucca mansion afterwards.
When I got back to the cottage, I heard Char’s weak voice coming from the bed.
“Father, are you going out?”
“Mm. I’m going to the Belucca mansion. Char, stay here and rest. I’ll arrange for Mary to come here.”
“Char wants to go to too……”
“We’ll do that after you’re done molting, okay? We’ll travel around. First, we’ll head to Sambabano in Lebon.”
“Yes, I got it. Char is a good girl and I’ll be waiting for you here.”
I then left Char and went to Upa.
Because of the circumstances, I decided to ask for an escort this time.
“At last….…”
Upa is in tears.
“What’s wrong?”
“Cedie finally counted on me.”
“I’ve always counted on you, you know.”
“You’re talking about me being the manager, isn’t it? I want to be useful as an escort as well. I’m worried about Cedie.”
“You have such a worrywart attitude, how did you become a general anyway?”
“Oh, I am worried about my subordinates too, so I always fought on the front lines.”
As a general, what’s going on with that? Well, that must have boosted the morale of his troops, I guess.
I felt like I could see Upa’s back as he ran at the front of the whole army.
＊＊＊
Let’s go back a little in time.
Claire was excitedly timing the right moment to sneak out of the mansion. She’s still wearing a disguise today, but it is not the usual eccentric look. She was wearing Rochelle’s everyday clothes, which could be seen around.
“Do you think I can fool the servants with this disguise?”
“It’s a lot less noticeable than usual……”
“Really? Well, that’s good. Rochelle, are you ready?”
“Yes. I’ve already hired people to act as kidnappers. They will send the letter of the kidnapping later.”
“That’s pretty full-scale huh. How about the carriage?”
“It’s in an inconspicuous vacant lot at the end of St. Richard Street.”
“Not bad. Let’s go.”
Claire walked down the hallway carrying a pile of sheets. The sheets conveniently blocked Claire’s face from the sight of the people she passed by. No one could have imagined that Claire would carry such a thing, so she was able to make it to the laundry room without being noticed.
Walking out of the mansion through the gate used by the servants, she and Rochelle ran to St. Richard Street.
It’s the beginning of an exciting adventure for Claire.
This time, I can be alone with Cedie. Now it’s time to tell Cedie that I like him.
“My lady, it’s that carriage.”
Claire shouted as she climbed into the carriage parked in the vacant lot.
“Let’s go!”
Two strangers nod at her silently.
“Who are these people?”
“T-they are our escorts. The regular escorts are gone, so….…”
“Alright. Work hard, I’ll give your reward later.”
The two men just nodded silently.
“What’s about the hiding place for tonight?”
“It’s ready.”
“It’s a proper place, right?”
“That….…”
“I don’t want to sleep in a dirty place. By the way, make me some fish for dinner. Sauté the white fish with almond butter sauce. Serve it with carrots and brussels sprouts.”
Claire will stay at the hiding place tonight and send a letter of kidnapping to the Mansion. People will look for her desperately then. Next, Rochelle pretends to have escaped and goes to Gandalcia to ask Cedie for help. When Cedie arrives, the bad guys run away. Then she confesses her love to Cedie. The two of them will be united forever.
—That was Claire’s perfect, hole-riddled plan.
The carriage drove along the highway towards Gandalcia. So far, everything is going well.
The island of Gandalcia came into view in the distance, and Claire’s excitement rose at once. Eventually, the carriage deviates from the highway and enters a side path. Then the narrow road came to a dead end where a shabby hut stood in place.
“My lady, we have arrived. This is the hiding place.”
“…..This?”
The hut in front of Claire is crumbling, and the roof is covered with moss. It is obvious that it has not been inhabited for a long time.
“Are you going to let me stay in such a place?”
Claire tried to glare at Rochelle, but it didn’t work. The two men accompanying them quickly tied Claire with ropes.
“You guys are being hasty. We can leave the rope just before Sadie gets here! This is why lowly people like you….…”
The men drag Claire into the hut as she grumbles.
Waiting for her inside was a thin, middle-aged man.
“Oh, your face look familiar. I can’t remember your name though.”
“Fufufu…… I’m Avon Shylock, and until recently, I was doing business in Belucca. I’ve met Miss Claire a few times.”
“Is that so?”
Claire sat down in a chair that was close at hand.
“So you’re one of the people hired for my plan?”
“No, no. That’s not the case.”
Shylock grinned. This further emphasized his innate evilness and gave it a bizarre eerie feel.
“This is my plan, Miss Claire.”
“What do you mean?”
“I took advantage of your foolish scheme. In other words, you were really kidnapped by me.”
“What!? But I planned this….”
Claire can’t keep up with her understanding.
“Fufu. You should have taken better care of your servants. You see, I was trying to find out what was going on inside the Dantes household when Rochelle told me about your plan.”
“What!?”
Claire looked around, but Rochelle was already gone.
“Kukuku, poor young lady, you were sold for only three gold coins.”
Shylock shook his shoulders in amusement and laughed.
“You bastard! Untie this rope! I’ll chop you up to pieces with my wind cutter!”
“Oh, how scary. You are truly the daughter of Earl Dantes. You are very strong-willed.”
Shylock approached Claire and grabbed her slender chin.
“Hiii……”
“I have a grudge against Earl Dantes, and I will use Miss Claire to clear my grudge.”
“Keep your filthy face away! Your breath stinks!”
Shylock’s back hand hit Claire’s cheek, and a dry sound echoed through the room.
“Ouch!”
“Know your current situation, you idiot! I’ll let you stay alone for a while.”
Shylock walked out with his men in tow.
At this point, Claire finally realizes her situation.
The small windows are covered with iron bars, making it impossible to escape.
At the very least, it would have been nice if she could use wind magic, but since her hands were tied with ropes, she is not able to activate magic.
She felt that the darkness in the room had become even thicker.
It’s getting dark outside, and the stars are starting to shine brightly in the eastern sky.
Her right cheek ached as she was hit.
“Help me, Cedie……”
Tears rolled down Claire’s cheeks.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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