Chapter 260: Side Story 6

Their faces hardened when they heard Elizabeth's relaxed words. 

“Do you not understand your current situation? You are…”

“I’m kidnapped.”

“... That's right. And if you knew who we are…”

“Aren’t you surviving Ghost members?”

Elizabeth’s nonchalant response left them dumbfounded.

“How can you be relaxed when you know that? You’re the daughter of an enemy who interrupted our great work and killed our master. Don’t you know what we’re going to do to you? We could kill you here, or we might even do things to you that would be terrible for you as a woman.”

Their threats were frightening. All the more so because it was a perfectly plausible situation that really could happen. However…

“You’re wrong.”

Elizabeth disagreed with a calm voice. Then, she continued speaking before they could respond.

“The Ghosts that I know… They’re the most elite forces in the Republic and close associates of Siegfried, my father Milton Forrest’s old rival, who caused him to fall into crisis multiple times. They’re the most elite out of all elite forces that would jump into the pit of hell and would even attack god as long as they were commanded.”

Elizabeth talked about the Ghosts. Most of what she said was close to praise. 

She looked them straight in the eye.

“The Ghosts I grew up hearing about since I was a child are not ignorant of honor. They may do whatever they need to do for their goal, but they’re not people who would harm others for things that are unrelated to their purpose. At least, that’s how my father judged you as his enemies.”

“Hm…”

The Ghosts had an odd look on their faces after hearing how Milton Forrest had assessed them. Milton was simultaneously their mortal enemy and the only worthy opponent that their master Siegfried had acknowledged. For someone like that to have evaluated them like that was in a sense, a compliment.

Then, Elizabeth spoke firmly.

“If I had been kidnapped by rough thugs, something terrible would have already happened to me. But, that’s not the case. That means… you don’t intend to harm me unless it would serve a purpose for you. Am I wrong?”

At her words, one of the five middle-aged men spoke.

“You’re just as smart as your mother. You’re right.”

“Thanks for the compliment… That was a compliment, right?”

Elizabeth had begun to wonder whether it really was a compliment to resemble her mother who was said to be a vixen or a demoness that might only be seen once every thousand years. But it was true that she was like her mother. Especially since she had protected herself with her clever tongue. 

While it was true that Milton thought of the Ghosts somewhat highly, it wasn’t as high as Elizabeth had said. But Elizabeth had highly praised the Ghosts and even dropped her father’s name while speaking. Because of that, she had created a scenario where the Ghosts wouldn’t harm her because they were elite soldiers who understood honor. 

Considering the hatred and resentments the Ghosts held towards Milton, it wouldn’t be strange for them to do something to her. They could have tortured her or dismembered a part of her to threaten Milton. They could have even done to her the worst thing that could be done to a woman. 

But Elizabeth had artlessly managed to avoid the worst crisis by saying, ‘There’s no way you would do something like that,’ and appealing to their sympathy. Although it was still dangerous, her safety was secured for this moment. She showed courage and cool-headedness that most people wouldn’t even be able to think of.

And once she secured her safety...

“Fine, now that you’ve kidnapped me… What’re you going to do now? What’s your purpose?”

She tried to go a step further and dig up more information. They may not tell her, but how would she know without trying? Thankfully, they had no intention of hiding their purpose from Elizabeth. 

“Of course, we only have one purpose.”

One of them looked at Elizabeth harshly as he spoke.

“Winning this war.”

“War… Are you saying you don’t consider the 3rd Ideological conflict to be finished?”

“Of course.”

There was zero hesitation in his response. And his comrades around him had a similar look on his face as they agreed with him. 

“Our war isn’t over yet. The Ghosts still survive and the will of Fuhrer Siegfried survives.”

“We will never give up. We can never give up as long as our ideal utopia can be reached one day.”

Elizabeth looked calm as she listened to them, but on the inside...

‘Crazy bastards…’

The war was over. 

The former Republican territories had already been incorporated into the Lester Empire and the people living on those lands had gotten used to it. But more than anything else, most of the voices of the ardent supporters of republicanism had died out once the numerous atrocities done by the Republic during the war were revealed. 

The powerful charisma Siegfried had held was working in reverse. The disappointment was too great when people found out that someone they had considered perfect actually wasn’t. And in such a situation, the Ghosts still thought the war wasn’t over?

From what Elizabeth could see, they weren’t in their right mind and she realized exactly what kind of situation she was in.

She spoke carefully.

“So… How are you going to use me to win this war?

Now that they’ve captured Elizabeth, there were a lot of things they could demand from the Lester Empire. 

They responded to her question.

“First, we want the Grand Duke Milton Forrest’s head.”

“What?”

Elizabeth was speechless.

The Grand Duke Milton Forrest’s head? Even if they’ve captured Elizabeth, how could they ask for Milton’s head, the head of one of the two greatest leaders of the Lester Empire? And it was only the first of their demands?

“And then, we want to reclaim all the territories that were the Republic’s in the past.”

“Haa…”

“And finally, the Lester Empire must acknowledge their defeat and formally announce it to the entire continent. And as a defeated nation, you must pay war compensation for the next 30 years.”

Having listened till now, Elizabeth was convinced these bastards were truly insane. 

Even if Elizabeth was an Imperial princess, the demands these bastards gave her weren’t easily weighed when placed on a scale. None of the three demands given were worth less than Elizabeth’s life. In fact, even if they captured Empress Leila, the Empress of the Empire, their current demands would’ve been difficult to accept.

‘There’s nothing more dangerous than a fanatically insane man.’

Their demands were most likely unacceptable. And once their demands weren’t met, they would most likely use Elizabeth to their advantage from that moment. Such as cutting off an ear or gouging out an eye and sending it to the Imperial Palace as an intimidation tactic.

‘Is there nothing I can do but to hope for reinforcement to come before then? Or should I try to escape on my own…’

Just as Elizabeth was trying to figure things out, one of them spoke.

“I’m telling you this now, but don’t even think about escaping. This is where we bring hostages so we can make money. It’ll be impossible for you to escape.”

‘So, it’s not a place they just built yesterday?’

Whether you were a soldier or a terrorist, organizations needed money in order to function. Perhaps these fools had been taking people as hostages in order to raise money. Then, it was most likely that they were well prepared for people escaping.

“We’re only treating you with respect because you are cooperating with us and acknowledge our honor.”

“Thank you for that.”

“The moment you stop cooperating with us, we will use harsh measures. Keep that in mind.”

“......”

The Ghosts disappeared after threatening her.

Elizabeth, who was left alone behind the bars again, thought to herself.

‘I must escape. But, I have to be very careful…’

She was looking for a way to escape. 

***

Although shabby, the prison Elizabeth was imprisoned in was made out of sturdy bars. The door was only opened twice a day when they gave her meals. There was no way for her to escape with her strength.

That’s right. With her strength.

‘When those bastards bring in food, they bring two servings. That means that there’s someone else in this prison besides me.’

She didn’t know who it was, but the enemy’s enemy was her ally. In a situation like this, it would be great even if it was one other person, so it would be great if she could get someone to cooperate with her. 

The problem was, how…?

Elizabeth gave a deep sigh as she spoke out loud.

“There’s no helping it. Guess, I should do something pathetic?

***

That evening.

“Hey, can you give me a comb and a mirror?”

That was what Elizabeth said to the Ghost member who brought her her meal.

At first, he thought he misheard her. So far, Elizabeth had remained brave, composed, calm, and dignified. Even though she was the daughter of their enemy Milton, they still thought she was worthy of respect. That was why what Elizabeth just said right now was so unexpected.

“What did you say? A comb? A mirror?”

“I can’t help it. Do you know how many days I’ve been like this? Even if I can’t wash, I should still take care of myself. At this rate, I’m going to go crazy from the stress.”

“Haa…”

“And my muscles are all knotted that I’m drained. Can you also bring me someone to give me a massage?”

“Do you really think I’ll do that?”

“Maybe it’s different for an ordinary hostage, but I am the Imperial Princess of Lester. I don’t think this is proper treatment of a prisoner like me?”

“Give up. We can’t afford that.”

“Then give me someone to talk with. What are you going to do if I really go crazy? Don’t you have to keep me sane and whole in order to achieve whatever goal you’re aiming for?”

“......”

At those words, he frowned and thought about it a bit. And then...

“Wait a bit. I’ll come back after talking it over with my comrades.”

“Do it as quickly as you can. And I’m not asking for a bath, but could you bring me some hot water and a clean towel? I need to wash up. And things for skincare and make-up, ah! If possible, things that are perfumed…”

He left before Elizabeth could make any more unreasonable demands.

***

“Is she out of her mind?”

When the Ghosts heard Elizabeth’s requests, they were dumbfounded. 

“Since she’s a lady raised carefully in the palace, I’m sure she’s unhappy with her current circumstances.”

“But how could… We’ll just ignore her.”

At that moment, another carefully spoke up.

“No, we can’t do that forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no way we can listen to all her ridiculous requests, but… if we leave it as it is, she may lose her mind from the stress…”

“Well, that’s…”

They knew very well that a person who experienced extreme stress from the kidnapping may lose their mind first. In fact, it had happened to a couple of the people they had kidnapped before. They had to collect the money and return the hostage, but the hostage had already committed suicide in their despair.

It wouldn’t matter for other hostages, but the Ghosts would be in trouble if Imperial Princess Elizabeth committed suicide. It wouldn’t help their cause, and instead, it would only bring Milton Forrest’s ire upon them.

“For the purpose of negotiations, the Imperial Princess must stay sane.” 

“That’s true.”

“We can’t accept all her complaints, but I think it’ll be best if we at least tried to keep her stable.”

And so, the Ghosts decided that Imperial Princess Elizabeth couldn’t be left unattended. As a result…

“From today, this young man will be attending to you.”

A man was placed inside Elizabeth’s prison cell. He had black hair and slightly darker skin.

“Someone from the Southern Continent?”