#43. Save Elisabeth
One of the other kidnappers snapped in irritation.
“Didn’t I tell you not to listen to that woman?”
“She said thirty million gold, didn’t she?”
“You idiot! Who’d believe that?”
“It’s no harm to ask — what if we get nothing, at least we tried?”
They were thick-headed and couldn’t cooperate.
Looks like the goddess of luck decided to side with me this time.
“How sad. You still don’t realize you’ve been fooled.” I said with a hint of a sigh.
The kidnappers, who’d been bickering among themselves, bristled.
“What do you mean we were fooled?”
“If you knew who I really am, you wouldn’t be satisfied with a paltry ten million gold.”
“P—paltry?”
“I’d like to go yell at the broker. The price was set all wrong.”
A moment of silence followed.
They kept their mouths shut, but they were clearly rattled.
A kidnapped woman who neither cried nor begged for her life — that alone was strange, and now they were grumbling that the ransom was too low.
They must be dying to know my identity.
Fine — I’ll teach them, you idiots.
“You’re wondering who a woman so calm in this situation could be, aren’t you?” I asked.
“…!”
“I am Elisabeth Emster. Yes — the sole heiress of the Emster trading house. The first commoner ever to become the Crown Prince’s tutor. Feeling a little clearer now?”
“Don’t lie!”
“Have you ever seen someone risk their life on a lie that’ll be discovered soon?”
“……”
“Go check it out quickly. Maybe you can at least up the ransom.”
The kidnappers muttered to each other in low voices.
While they hurried off to verify the claim, I dozed off for a bit.
I was surprised I could sleep with my hands and feet bound and my face covered.
I must be getting used to this chaotic fate more than I thought.
“They’re saying she really is Elisabeth Emster! Soldiers are all over looking for this woman!”
“Damn it! They didn’t even tell us she was the Emster heiress! We were totally duped, right?!”
“It’s not about the money. She’s the Emperor’s favorite! The Emperor himself sent knights to hunt them down!”
The atmosphere started to heat up.
The kidnappers cursed their client and the broker, hurling swears in every direction.
I needed to act before their anger landed on me.
“Have you realized how serious this is now?” I asked.
“Shut up!”
“If I shut up, you’ll all be dead.”
“We’ll just kill you and be done with it.”
“Huh. Brave words. Give up on the money and your lives too, huh?”
“?”
“Right now His Majesty and the Imperial Guard are probably hunting you down. If you kill me, not only will you be punished, but your families, friends, and comrades will be executed as well.”
“That can’t be. You’re not even the Empress.”
The kidnapper muttered uncertainly.
“You guys are complete amateurs. You don’t even know who you kidnapped or why the client wanted that person abducted.”
“……”
“A woman who isn’t even the Empress has become the object of His Majesty’s favor — and that’s why you’ve landed in this mess, right?”
“What’s your relationship with the Emperor?” someone demanded.
“It’s complicated and sticky in ways words can’t describe,” I answered.
There were tangled stories involving contracts, the game, and the original plot, but that answer was enough.
“Let’s hand her over quickly and run!” one of them said.
“She’s the Emster heiress! Ten million gold is way too cheap!”
“If we stall, we might not get a single coin and end up dead!”
“There’s nowhere to run. We’re boxed in!”
They panicked without a plan.
I sighed inwardly.
‘The client who hired such cheap amateurs can’t be particularly clever. Probably someone trying to check on Marquis Brenden or a threat to shut her up…’
Because of these cowardly fools I had to wear a filthy sack over my head and roll in the back of a carriage.
My waist ached, and my limbs went numb.
How could I make them pay for this? At least a hundredfold.
For now, I decided to play these clumsy kidnappers.
“I’ll tell you how you can survive,” I offered.
“……”
“Hurry. Before I change my mind.”
Maybe because of my change in tone, the hesitant kidnappers removed the sack from my head.
A blast of bright light stung my eyes.
Fresh air felt like a blessing.
“Phew. That’s better,” I said.
“If you try to trick us, we’ll kill you!” one snarled.
“Listen, amateurs — I’m the only one who’s told you the truth so far. Think about it; I’m the only one you can trust now.”
“This woman’s all mouth!”
“Untie her. If I find a scratch on her, His Majesty will have your hands and feet cut off. Maybe even your neck.” I said, folding my brow and smiling coldly.
They trembled as if they’d met Death itself and loosened the ropes.
Their touch was more careful than a maid’s tending to clothes, which made me smile wryly.
I flipped my tone back.
“Take me to the client quietly. I’ll give you a hundred million gold as a finders’ fee for identifying the client.”
“A hundred million gold?!” they cried.
“It’s a bit short for ransom, but consider it a gesture.”
“Is this a trap?”
“You have three choices. First: hand me over to the client who tricked you. You’ll get paid trash and be chased to your death.”
“Damn it! That’s not a choice!”
“Second: kill me and run. You lose the money and earn the Emperor’s wrath; you’ll die eventually. Let’s see how long you last without funds.”
“……Third?”
“Third: take a hundred million gold and tell me who the client is. Then you can skip to another country and live like wealthy men.”
“!”
“If you want, I’ll arrange passage on an Emster merchant ship. You could stow away to anywhere on the continent.”
There was no need to ask which they preferred.
Just as I was ready to use my powers if they didn’t understand, the kidnappers saved me the trouble.
“Where should we take her?”
Even if gold coins rot, there was no way I’d give money to criminals — especially not negotiate with these kidnappers.
The moment my safety was assured, I planned to strike them from behind.
I led them to the Emster trading house’s main branch.
It housed Emster’s proud, gigantic vault and a VIP chamber.
Naturally, guards were as numerous as stars.
“To withdraw a hundred million gold, I have to go myself,” I said.
“Are you asking us to let you go?” one asked.
“Do you have another plan?”
“What if you betray us?”
“You said you’d tell us the client’s identity after you get the money, right? I want to know who instructed your abduction.”
“……I can’t trust you. I’ll go with you.”
One of the kidnappers removed his mask.
He left a faint, ordinary impression — forgettable on the street.
A man who hadn’t talked with his fellows, who quietly observed the situation, had thin lips and narrow eyes.
“You’re the sort of face I could pass off as my secretary. Come with me.”
A creeping unease rose inside me.
I kept my composure and walked ahead, but cold sweat broke out on my limbs.
“Don’t do anything foolish. Next time I won’t be so lenient,” the man who was close behind me warned.
A hot, burning pain flared, as if scalded.
Had he stabbed me?
Dizziness, then rising anger.
‘If he’s right behind me, I can’t use my powers. What do I do?’ My lips dried.
What if the man behind me was a lunatic killer who wouldn’t yield to any charm?
The situation was taking an unexpected turn.
“Do you know it’ll be worse if you hurt me?” I asked calmly, trying to hide my fear.
“What else is there but death?” he said.
“Your friends might disagree…”
“They do. That’s why I wanted you dead from the start. While you wag your clever tongue.”
A sinister murderous aura emanated from behind.
My heart pounded.
If he was a kidnapper, why hadn’t he kept his face hidden? Wouldn’t that create a witness?
Was he really planning to kill me from the beginning?
“There are lots of guards at the main branch.”
“So what? There’s a mighty heiress, what of it?”
“……”
“Bring all the money from the vault. If you don’t, I’ll cut off your fingers one by one.” He chuckled as if making a joke.
‘I have to look him in the face even if it’s dangerous. A wink, a blown kiss — that’ll do it, right?’
Just as I tried to turn my head, he gripped my arm hard as a warning.
“Ugh!”
The blade pressed closer against my back.
“You’d better walk and shut up.”
“You… you bastard.”
“I like seeing people in pain. I like watching them die even more.”
I bit the inside of my cheek hard.
Even if a hole opened in my back, I wouldn’t give him the sight he enjoyed.
“Want to know your fate? As soon as we get the money, we’ll drag you to a remote valley. We’ll have some fun there, and then…” He deliberately drew out his words.
His damp, filthy breath brushed my ear.
Even a thousand crawling caterpillars wouldn’t feel as creepy.
Had I been too confident? Had I thought I could control a knife-wielding criminal?
My knees trembled and felt like they might give out.
At that moment, a gust of wind swept through.
“AAAH!” a shattering metallic scream pierced my eardrums.
The man who had stabbed at me collapsed forward, clutching a neck gushing blood.
The man who had flailed like a crushed bug soon lay limp.
Stepping in with the wind was Nikolai.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m sorry, Elisabeth.”
His pleasant mid-low voice thawed my frozen limbs.
Even his pale, guilt-wrenched face looked beautiful.
His deeply furrowed brows and trembling pupils were like a painting.
“Your Majesty…”
It had been less than half a day since we parted.
Yet Nikolai’s cheeks were ashen and dark circles shadowed beneath his eyes.
‘He must have been terrified. He must have worried so much…’ I thought.
Nikolai had probably chased the kidnappers half out of his mind, riding himself and swinging his sword.
Hot droplets of blood dripped from Nikolai’s blade.
Were they all dead?
I curled inward from the cold.
Nikolai flung aside the Emperor’s sacred sword and wrapped his arms around me.
“Elisabeth…”
He handled me as if catching a glass doll falling from the sky, with delicate care.
I buried my face in his chest.
The familiar scent tickled my nose.
Thanks to it, I slowly returned to reality.
Fear fell away, anxiety ebbed.
I even forgot the stab wound’s pain.
After suffering kidnapping, threats, and near death, a faint smile tugged at my lips.
It was a miracle only Nikolai could make.
“Thank you for saving me, Your Majesty.”
“I’m too late.”
“You arrived at the right moment.”
“Are you badly hurt?”
“Just a few scratches.”
“Scratches? Where?!” Nikolai’s voice snapped.
Had I been foolish to mention it? He didn’t look like the type to spare those who harmed me.
