Chapter 601 - Same Past and Present (2)

I stepped onto the first destination, accepting Luke's hand as part of formal etiquette. If I made a basic mistake here, I would become a goner if my escape today wasn't successful. Alex followed behind us, making many people chatter from the scene. Although Delia mentioned it was unusual, I didn't think it would attract this much attention. I started to listen to all the gossip as I walked further into the neutral fraction leader's mansion.

"Look at the accessories she's wearing, it's stamped by the Monete family crest," a person whispered.

"But the dress is stamped by the Roselia family crest," another person studied me.

"I wonder what political stance they are announcing," a person added.

"The Roselia and Monete families were always close, but this had to be intentional," she analyzed the situation.

"The girl is from the Roselia family. You can tell by her features. I heard from the rumors that she appears to be extremely young, but she looks so pure and innocent," another person joined.

It wasn't like this the previous years. However, Luke seemed to be successful, showing off the dėsɨrėd Roselia family image from my appearance. The concept of purity and innocence radiated into everyone's eyes, making me appear more childlike. I searched for Sienna and Delia once I entered the mansion, separating from Luke and Alex. I needed them to message me when Luke and Alex seemed to be busy.

It was getting close to the arranged time where I would initiate the fake kidnapping. I smiled when I noticed both Luke and Alex instantly surrounded by people as I escaped from their line of sight. Learning from their mistakes from the previous year, the garden was decorated to welcome potential guests. Fortunately, it was near the mansion gates, the reason why we attracted more attention.

I ran towards Sienna when I noticed she was standing near the mansion walls inside the garden. It was a sign for people not to bother her, taking small sips from a wine glass to keep her busy. After grabbing a beverage from a server, I joined her, not wanting to talk to anyone. Sienna's face brightened as if she was waiting for me, "you're finally here. Delia is busy with the other guests."

"I have a plan so we can go travelling during the weekends," I whispered into her ear.

"At the ȧssigned meeting place?" Sienna tried to recall.

"I think I can run away today. I have a fake kidnapper coming soon," I was telling her she needed to keep an eye on Luke and Alex for me.

Sienna's eyes went large, almost dropping her glass, lowering her voice, "fake kidnapper?"

"An actual criminal who I have power over," I explained.

"You're going to attract attention with your appearance," Delia joined us, noticing something was going on.

"Should I remove my accessories?" I wondered.

"It won't matter. People are trying to hide that they've been looking at you ever since your arrival," Delia warned me.

I began to whisper into Delia's ear about my entire plan. Delia had the same reaction as Sienna, staggering a few steps back towards the end. I needed all the help I could get. I was planning to stay inside the apartment I received from Shelly during the time I waited for them. Delia quickly recovered, knowing my intentions, "you want us to make sure they don't come near the gates."

"They're coming in a few minutes," I sent a message to my subordinates.

Separating from Sienna and Delia to conduct my plan, I stood in front of the gates, pretending to admire the scenery. Most guests didn't stray from the crowd this far, making me the only outlier. Hearing the sounds of a hover car coming down, my marble vibrated to show it were my fake kidnappers. I stiffened when I found them struggling to infiltrate the barrier, waiting for them for more than half an hour to create a hole.

I began to create some hand signals, indicating I was the leader of the plan. Thankfully, the team noticed, focusing on my direction. However, these criminals were disappointing, my high expectations from seeing them work with the complicated machines in the organization ruined. Checking the time on my marble, close to an hour had passed, but they were making no progress with the barrier. Someone would definitely start to get suspicious soon.

"Why are you so slow?" I mouthed.

"We're almost there, ten more minutes," the team leader mouthed back.

"One of you should at least get the blindfold and piece of cloth out so you would already be prepared once you break in," I noticed they were clumsy.

"It's inside our pockets," one of them gestured.

I was going to have to re-educate these criminals later. I sighed as they managed to slip through the barrier twenty minutes later. Slipping into my role, I made my body go limp as the team leader took a minute to cover my mouth with a cloth and place a blindfold over my eyes. Thankfully, I could see through the blindfold while those on the other side wouldn't be able to notice. Maybe I chose the wrong person to contact for the role, he was struggling to drag me with him. My shoes were creating a trail on the grass, making it perfect to trace.

"She's here. We saw some criminals grab her!" A person led Alex closer to where I was.

"Don't come closer or else her neck will be gone," the team leader quivered, placing a dagger around my neck.