CH 11

She wondered if the scene she was seeing was real, so she slapped my cheek hard.

Slap!

Surprised, the Duke stared at her in shock. In a moment when the gaze came and went… The Duke threw off his apron and ran out of the kitchen with an angry face.

Quaang!

She heard the door slam shut, but she didn’t even have time to look back. The first priority was to look at the place where the Duke was standing.

“This is cookie dough, right?”

She pointed to the dough that had stuck to the floor and asked the cook and the cook nodded slowly.

“Did the Duke ask you to learn how to make cookies?”

At her words, the cook hesitated and could hardly answer.

“The knights will probably all go and be fine. Tell me, am I right?”

“…Actually, the Duke suddenly came to this place and he asked me to teach him how to make cookies.”

“…!”

Uncontrollable laughter echoed through the kitchen. She knew she was laughing like crazy, but she just couldn’t stop it. Oh, she was really going crazy. She laughed so hard that her stomach was full. It was only when the tears began to leak out that the laughter finally stopped.

Well, she wondered if she could help the duke reconcile with the child.

She smiled as she looked at the dough stuck to the floor with a more generous heart.

* * *

She looked down at the sleeping child lying on the bed. In the evening, after making and feeding Deliam something he would like, they had just passed the time and put the child to bed. As she expected, the duke did not show up at dinner either.

Okay. Of course he should be ashamed.

She giggled and laughed alone, then lay down next to the child. As if he had waited, she embraced the child who was burrowing into her arms, she heard a knock on the door from outside. Who was it at this late hour?

[Excuse me for being late. The Duke told me to bring Miss Elia to the study.]

This voice was her handmaid, Anne.

“Is it so? Wait a minute.”

There’s no way the Duke would call her today because of that incident… She was a little puzzled, but she decided to go out after hearing that he was calling.

When she opened the door, Anne was standing in front of it.

“Then follow me.”

She tilted her head around her vacant emptiness as she tried to follow her. Why was no one there? Originally, the knights and other attendants who were supposed to be guarding the door were nowhere to be seen. As she stood still without following, Anne looked behind her.

“Why is that?”

“I can’t see the knights, where have they gone?”

“It’s shift time, so they’ll be away for a while.”

“What about the other attendants?”

“Because they’re on shift too.”

She glanced behind her in response to an awkward answer. If she left too, the child would be left alone in that room. Suddenly, a recent kidnapping case came to mind.

“The Duke is waiting for you. You have to go.”

Anne urged with a somewhat unnatural face. But she, pretending to be slightly cold, wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

“It’s a bit chilly, but can I bring a coat? I’ll bring it out quickly.”

Seeing Anne nod her head, she went straight into the room and shut the door. She walked over to her bed and quickly shook his body.

“Ugh, El…”

She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers over the boy’s lips.

Shh.

At her action, the child blinked his eyes with a sleepy face. She moved her mouth loudly without making a sound for her child to notice.

‘You have to hide right now.’

The child, nodding his head, pointed under the bed. She shook her head. Although visibility was low, it was not difficult to find. He pretended not to be a child and crawled under the bed. The child who had been groping on the floor hesitated and tapped the underside several times. Soon, a small space inside was revealed with a subtle click.

‘Come in.’

The child seldom entered and hesitated. His face was full of tears. Apparently, he was worried.

[Are you there yet?]

“No. Give me a moment. Hang on.”

Anne’s voice from the outside said, “Come on.” She did and hurried towards the child. After a moment of hesitation, the child entered the space and she closed the door. As soon as she checked it, she put a pillow inside the duvet and quickly shaped it. Then, taking a robe from the closet and putting it on, she looked around.

She didn’t think there’s anything useful as a weapon. In the blink of an eye, a blunt yet solid small stone statue decoration caught her eye. She quickly hid it under her robe and came out.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting. Shall we go now?”

“Yes. Then follow me.”

Anne started walking ahead of her. She followed Anne, paying her attention as much as she could. She deliberately spoke to Anne while looking around her to see if she could detect any sign of anything else.

“Is your ankle okay? Looking at it then, it looks like it was bruised.”

“I’m fine with treatment.”

“You wrapped it up with bandages, so anyone would think you were seriously injured.”

Ann stopped walking and looked back at her.

“Why is that?”

“…no. It’s nothing.”

She laughed awkwardly, shook her head, and started walking again. It was when she walked a little further like that. She spoke to Anne again.

“But there is.”

“Yes. Please tell me.”

“The medicine you gave me.”

After saying that, she paused, and Anne slightly turned her head.

“Is it true that the doctor made it?”

“That’s right. Why do you do that?”

“No. I think the medicine works really well. I applied it consistently and it healed quickly.”

“Then I’m glad.”

Anne smiled softly and turned her head in front of her. She persistently looked down at Anne’s left ankle, and the bandage wrapped around her. It seemed that the only way to make a definitive judgment was to check the inside of her bandages. She deliberately let out a pained moan and sat down on the floor.

“Ugh!”

“What happens?”

Ann, who turned her body around, asked in a slightly embarrassed voice.

“I don’t know. Suddenly, I feel hungry…!”

She pretended to be in great pain, twisting her body, and the maid came very close to her. She looked at Anne, who was examining her closely, and stretched out her arm abruptly. She deliberately grabbed the knot of her ankle bandage as if she was holding on to something in pain and pulled it straight.

Slip.

As the bandage came off, her ankle revealed a messy black pattern. It was the same pattern she saw on the back of the wizard’s neck. So her prediction was right. That woman was in league with the wizard who kidnapped the child.

“Are you very sick?”

Ann didn’t even notice that her bandages had come undone, and she seemed preoccupied with examining her. At that time, she felt a strange presence not far away.

“If you go all the way over there, I’ll call the doctor. It’s too dark in here.”

The words she had just spoken were decisive. She quietly twisted her lips up. Anne seemed unaware that she had made a mistake. She didn’t dare take her to the front and then call a doctor. Still crouching down, she secretly grabbed the stone statue she had in her arms.

“…Could you help me out? It’s very difficult to move, so…”

It was her moment alone as Anne grabbed her shoulder at her request.

Puck!

She took out the stone statue and hit Anne on the head with one blow.

Dump.

After confirming that the lady-in-waiting had fallen to the floor, she lowered her arm holding the statue. Then, without delay, she jumped off. It was because the presence she had felt earlier had become even closer. Even without looking back, it was clear that he was following her. Her breath was already full to the tip of her chin because of her frail body. She ran down the aisle, thinking that it would be nice if anyone could find it.

“…Huh, huh.”

She didn’t know how far she ran. The mansion itself was so large that it took a lot of time to run down the hallway. Anyway, why was no one coming? She was deliberately making a fuss while running. She wondered about the strangely quiet mansion. She didn’t know who instigated it, but I couldn’t get rid of the thought that something was done inside the mansion. Otherwise, it makes no sense that no one was coming.

It was at the moment when she was running with great effort on her legs that seemed to come loose at any moment. The faint sound of horses hooves echoed in her ears. Just in case, she casted her gaze toward the window. In the distance, she saw several figures on horseback running toward the mansion. However, due to the distance, the faces could not be identified properly. Maybe one of those guys was the Duke…

Apparently, the Duke was trying to do something while he was away from the mansion for a while. If that’s the case, all she had to do was hold out until the Duke arrived at the mansion. She hoped that the child would not be found out by whoever was there. 

It was the moment when she turned the corner urgently.

“Ahh!”

She tripped on something and almost fell. She looked down at her back as she barely straightened her body. A man who appeared to be a knight was lying on the floor. He did not appear to be injured and seemed unconscious.

The moment she was about to run again, she was very surprised by the face of the person standing in front of her.

“This is where you run away. You bitch.”

This nasty voice, this vulgar way of speaking. Yes, the man standing in front of her was none other than the abductor from that time.

“You dare push me off a cliff.”

“Uh? So what.”

“What?”

“Did you do that, because I pushed you off a cliff?”

Even if it was just her, she shed an exaggerated sneer to provoke the man.

“…Has this bitch lost her head?”

“Then you must be the head of a goldfish? You seem to have forgotten where you are.”

“Fuck, can’t you shut up?!”

She took a closer look at the screaming man. His wrists were chained and handcuffed, and there were signs of torture all over his body. He seemed to have just gotten out of prison. Would they be able to survive without being caught until the Duke comes? She cupped her trembling fingertips.

A man who was a wizard stood in front, and a group of men and a group of people stood behind them. She glanced through the window without them noticing. The appearance of the horses was clearly visible than before. It’s enough to tell who’s riding on it at first glance.

“Where did you hide Deliam? Tell me right away!” .

“I don’t know what you mean. Why do you ask that?”

“You bitch hide him! Who do you know is an idiot!”

Fortunately, it seemed that they had not yet found the child hidden in the room. So he must have followed her. Having almost finished grasping the situation, she sneered at the wizard.

“What are you going to do with that kid? Are you going to take him away like that?”

“Shut up and tell me where he is, tell me!”

As she continued to look at the resentful man, she couldn’t help but question. The man in front of her was none other than a wizard. If it were her, she would have already used magic while wrestling like this. There was no way that he wouldn’t know that that side was much more efficient so she opened her mouth to be sure.

“I heard you’re a wizard. Then you can use magic, right?”

“Can’t you shut up?!”

The man shouted, even more angry than before. That’s right, he couldn’t use magic. She didn’t know why, but it was certain that the man couldn’t use magic. If that’s the case, it seemed that only the person in the back had to solve it somehow. 

Then, the man glanced at something behind her. At the same time, she could feel the presence behind her getting closer.

At this point, he would get caught.

The moment the red flag reverberated loudly in her head, the loud sound of horses hooves came from a distance. Looking down through the window, she saw a group of air knights passing through the main gate.

“What, what. Why did he come here? They said he would definitely come tomorrow morning… Damn it!”

The man started to wander around with a confused face.

She took advantage of the gap and moved her legs little by little. In the back, the man in front of the mall had a lot of spots. It was time to gradually close the distance with the man in front of her.

“What are you doing! Catch that bitch first!”

Hearing the man’s cry, she felt a presence from behind her. She looked for a gap and bounced forward, but it turned out to be a failure. She looked around hurriedly and noticed that a nearby window was wide open. But this was on the second floor. It would be fine if it was a normal floor height, but the problem with this mansion was that each floor had high ceilings.

If she jumped there, she should think about what to wear from the least serious injury. Still, wouldn’t it be better than being caught there at least?

“Even if I die, people like you won’t catch me, you wretch.”

“This bitch…!”

The moment the man’s hand was about to touch her shoulder, she threw herself toward the open window. And somehow she ended up failing with him. As they got closer, they quickly crashed and rushed. When she felt that the ground was getting closer, she closed her eyes tightly.