“No. It’s probably just an indicator letting you know it’s in a connectable state. Since it’s made with magic stones, I heard it can sometimes react or malfunction if you go to an area with strong mana or meet someone with magical power.”
“I-I see.”
Then was it reacting to my ability?
The word “witch” crept into my mind, but the moment it surfaced, I carefully folded it up and tossed it far away.
‘I decided not to think about that word.’
Rastan had even said he wouldn’t care if I were a demon.
Just thinking of him made one corner of my heart warm.
Ifrit continued the conversation in his pleasant, low-mid tone.
“Yes. Don’t worry about it. That aside, you must be tired today.”
“Yes. Packing and moving, Ris did all the work, but I don’t know why I’m tired too.”
Talking about it made my eyes sting for no reason, and I rubbed the corner of my eye with one hand.
“Changing where you live is always exhausting. So go to sleep already.”
“No. Talking with you woke me up a bit.”
“Still, go to sleep. It’s already late.”
For some reason, it felt like he was treating me like a child, and a small laugh slipped out.
“Haha, alright. You go to sleep soon too.”
“I’ll sleep after I see you fall asleep.”
“What? Does this thing have a face-display function too?”
Wondering if this communication tool had a camera, I hurriedly turned it this way and that. As I did, a gentle laugh came through from the other side.
“No. I can only hear your voice.”
“What?!”
Giving someone a regular phone and then pretending it can do video calls just to tease them.
When I snorted in protest, Ifrit laughed again with a clear, bright sound.
“Haha. Don’t get worked up, and close your eyes right now.”
Ifrit kept urging me to go to sleep quickly. He seemed worried that I must be extremely tired.
Even though he couldn’t see me anyway, I closed my eyes just as he said.
Then it felt as if my body were sinking, and sleep came crashing down all at once. It seemed I hadn’t even realized how tired I was after moving around all day.
Half-asleep in an instant, I mumbled,
“Mmm… good night…”
It sounded like he replied with something about sleeping well too, but as I slipped rapidly into sleep, I couldn’t hear it clearly.
How much time had passed?
Sleeping soundly, I jolted awake at a rough touch.
Still half-asleep and disoriented, I realized that someone had forcefully hauled my upper body up from the bed and clamped a hand over my mouth.
For a split second, I wondered if Ris was urgently waking me, but no matter how rushed things were, she would never treat me this roughly.
When I looked down at the hand covering my mouth, it was a thick, rough man’s hand.
There was no one I knew who had hands like this.
Not Ris, who was a woman, nor Rastan, a high-ranking noble, nor Ifrit, nor even my father or older brother.
That meant this man was definitely a stranger. What was more, there were masked figures beside me and in front of me as well.
“Mmph…!”
I tried to scream, but with my mouth blocked, no proper sound could come out.
Taking advantage of the moment my body stiffened in shock, the assailants moved skillfully, forcing a gag into my mouth and binding both my hands behind my back.
No matter how I looked at it, this was clearly not a situation favorable to me.
‘What are they trying to do?’
Instinctive fear turned my mind completely blank.
‘No, this is exactly when I need to keep my head clear!’
Forcing myself to stay calm, I quickly rolled my eyes.
Relying on the moonlight and focusing my vision, I saw that there were no fewer than four large men inside the room. There might even be more accomplices outside.
Needless to say, if it came down to brute force, I stood no chance at all. But I couldn’t just let myself be dragged away by people I didn’t even know.
I resisted them with everything I had. If nothing else, I hoped someone nearby might hear the commotion and report it to the guard station.
I pretended to stumble and deliberately slammed my body hard against the wall, and stomped loudly on the wooden floor.
‘Please, anyone, hear me…!’
At that moment, someone flung my bedroom door open, as if responding to that desperate plea.
But the person who rushed in was the one I least wanted to see.
“My Lady! What is going on— ah?!”
‘Ris!’
Of course, her skills were impressive, but the assailants also looked properly trained, and there were four burly men.
She could have been seriously hurt if she rushed in alone for nothing.
“Mmph!”
I wanted to tell her not to, to run away, but no proper sound came out of my blocked mouth.
But contrary to my wish, she let out a lion’s roar and charged in without hesitation.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
She had come running straight from sleep and was empty-handed, but she immediately snatched the weapon from the opponent who rushed at her.
I knew she was skilled, but I couldn’t help admiring her all over again.
‘She said she met Rastan during the war. Did she really undergo special training too?’
Just when it seemed like Ris might subdue them, someone leapt in from outside the window and entered the room.
I had feared it, and sure enough, there were more assailants waiting outside.
As if that were a signal, the man who had been holding me from behind all this time dragged me toward the window.
When Ris looked over, he deliberately pressed a knife against my neck. It was obvious he intended to use me as a hostage to restrain her.
As expected, her movements, which had been almost like a blade dance against the burly men, froze completely.
Then another assailant facing her seized the opening and subdued her, binding her hands behind her back.
Ris was forced down onto the floor, bound without being able to resist.
“…!”
Worried they might harm her, I struggled desperately to move toward her, when suddenly my body lifted into the air.
The assailant holding me leapt straight out the window.
Only after feeling him land lightly while carrying me did I realize their objective.
‘They’re trying to kidnap me.’
Whoever had ordered it, it was clear they had been instructed to bring me back without injuring me.
‘Just who could be behind this?’
The first person who came to mind was my father.
‘No way… did he get into debt again? Are creditors trying to recover the money by selling me off somewhere?’
It was more than plausible.
Or perhaps it wasn’t creditors at all, but my father or Huan themselves who had sold me off to another noble.
That was, if they had quickly gotten hold of the information that I had left House Lansval.
I quickly rolled my eyes and looked around. There were two more masked assailants standing nearby.
For abducting just one woman, their numbers were excessive. Had they come knowing how capable Ris was?
‘How can I free my bound hands? I need to make them lower their guard and escape.’
My heart was pounding like mad, but I forced myself to stay as calm as possible, trying to think through any viable option.
Just then, the front door of the house opened. I turned toward the sound, my eyes widening in shock.
Two assailants were dragging Ris out.
Seeing her being hauled out with a face that showed she’d taken several blows, I realized it.
‘They’re planning to use Ris and me as hostages against each other.’
With Ris captured like that, I wouldn’t be able to resist them or try to escape on my own.
And with me taken, the same would be true for her.
A sense of despair spread through my mind in an instant, as if black ink had been poured over it.
‘…What am I supposed to do now?’
My head went numb, as if I’d been struck on the back of it with a blunt object, and a ringing filled my ears.
I couldn’t even bring myself to think that I had to find a way out.
That was when it happened.
“Ugh…”
The assailant holding me suddenly let out a low, strange sound and released his grip.
There was no time to wonder why. The moment I felt his body pull away from mine, I twisted sharply and staggered backward.
It was an instinctive move, made in that split second to put some distance between us.
Then, from behind, someone tall suddenly pulled me into an embrace. As my body was dragged around, my face slammed straight into his chest.
‘Just when I thought I’d finally gotten free of that guy, who is it this time?!’
He was probably wearing a mask as well, but I still lifted my head, trying to at least see which assailant it was.
