Chapter 69
After sitting across from Duke Calix, I immediately asked the question.
“The main point of the story earlier is that Dr. Scott’s younger sister has been captured by the cult leader, right?”
“Yes. Even if we wanted to act immediately for Dr. Scott, we have to keep her alive to catch a big fish like the cult leader.”
“But how do we get Dr. Scott’s sister back? We can’t just storm in blindly.”
Both Duke Calix and I fell into thought. This required a plan. Even if Dr. Scott could guide us to the cult, we had no idea what traps might be waiting or how many people were guarding the place.
“To talk about this, we’ll need the doctor himself, right?”
“Exactly. We need to know the details to make any sort of plan.”
“I’ll call him again.”
Duke Calix stood up, tugged the cord, and ordered his servant to bring Dr. Scott back.
A moment later, Dr. Scott re-entered the room. Duke Calix moved to sit beside me, while Dr. Scott took the seat across from us. It was awkward seeing him again, but there was no avoiding it.
Duke Calix, his smile gone, asked first.
“Do you know exactly where your sister is?”
“I don’t know the exact address, but I know the location where she stayed. Luckily, they didn’t blindfold her when taking her.”
“How many people are guarding that place?”
“At most four or five. When I last asked to see my sister, only the two who took me there were present. After sedating her, it didn’t seem like they were guarding her closely.”
“That seems surprisingly lax.”
“The path there is complicated…”
Dr. Scott trailed off, as if even he couldn’t explain it.
“Is it possible they moved your sister? They might have suspected you’d come back looking for her.”
“They don’t give someone like my sister, who isn’t mentally stable, a large space. Even if it’s not that place, she’s likely somewhere else I know of.”
Dr. Scott answered confidently. That much seemed to be the truth.
“What are the odds she isn’t at any of those locations?”
“Maybe around 20 percent.”
“Not a large chance, then.”
Dr. Scott’s voice shrank again when Duke Calix asked further questions. Seeing him fluctuate like this, instead of the normally stoic demeanor, felt strange. Had he really been such an emotional person?
“Since my sister Miliane isn’t fully conscious during the day, it would be impossible to rescue her then.”
“So we must go at night.”
“Yes. There aren’t many guarding her, and if we only take the sleeping Miliane, it won’t be too hard for skilled people…”
“Whether it’s easy or not, we won’t know until we try.”
Duke Calix cut Dr. Scott off. Indeed, it was not a simple task.
“Prepare immediately. The sooner, the better—so let’s raid tonight.”
“Tonight? It’s already getting dark. Can preparations really be done that quickly?”
I asked in surprise. This wasn’t a casual visit to a friend’s house—how could they gather people so fast?
“Gathering people is quick. Besides that, we only need a carriage and perhaps some emergency weapons, so it’s not unreasonable.”
“….”
“It’s fine. Michel will handle everything.”
“Ah…”
Michel—just how far do her abilities extend…? I silently prayed that Duke Calix would pay her well, very well.
When the servants went to bed, Michel came through the window into Duke Calix’s room.
“Elena, I’m here!”
“Welcome, Michel.”
“I’m so excited to be together again today.”
“Ahaha.”
I awkwardly smiled at Michel, who grabbed my hand and spoke cheerfully.
Duke Calix approached and asked,
“Ready?”
“All set. We can go immediately.”
“Then let’s go. Doctor, lead the way.”
“Yes.”
The four of us quietly left the castle and boarded the carriage Michel had prepared. Two mercenaries Michel brought sat at the driver’s spot and controlled the carriage.
“Isn’t our team too small?”
“Oh, Elena. Don’t worry. These people can handle more than a hundred. And, besides, I’m here.”
Michel winked at me. I appreciated her attention but found it a bit overwhelming. Why did she always wink at me? She was so different from the tough first impression she gave.
“Michel, stop it.”
“…Tch.”
With Duke Calix mediating, Michel finally stopped teasing me.
The carriage traveled until it stopped at a quiet alleyway.
“From here, follow quietly.”
Dr. Scott, expression determined, led the way. We followed silently behind him.
After a while, when even the sounds of insects faded, a building appeared.
“Stay low.”
Dr. Scott whispered, lowering himself. We crouched and entered the building, cautiously looking around.
Fortunately, as Dr. Scott said, no one was guarding the building. It was so unguarded it seemed almost abandoned.
Following Dr. Scott through various back doors and narrow paths, we reached another building, where two people appeared.
“Who’s there!”
One of them shouted.
Thud, thud!
Michel suddenly leaped out, knocking one unconscious, and then the other as well. Both guards fell without a sound.
“Michel is fast…”
Indeed, she could handle a hundred men alone. Every guard we encountered on the way was dealt with by Michel. It was so easy it almost felt unreal.
“Elena, how am I? Isn’t this cool?”
Even while incapacitating people, Michel winked at me. Duke Calix looked at her sternly.
“This is it. Miliane is in here.”
We had arrived at the room where Dr. Scott’s sister was supposed to be. The door was tightly closed. Dr. Scott pushed it open effortlessly.
“Huh?”
Inside, Dr. Scott frantically searched, but the room was empty.
“Where did she go? Miliane… Miliane!”
His despair echoed in the air.
“Let’s get out of here for now. We might get caught if we stay.”
We nodded at Duke Calix’s suggestion. Just as we turned to leave, Dr. Scott clung to him.
“Duke! There’s another place! Please, just once! Check there!”
“Is it far?”
“Yes, we have to go further in another direction.”
“If we can get there without being caught, let’s go. For now, she isn’t here, so let’s leave.”
Just then, a commotion came from upstairs. People began rushing down.
“Run! As fast as you can!”
“Intruders! Stop them!”
At Duke Calix’s signal, we ran. Michel and the two mercenaries dealt with hooded attackers along the way.
“We must reach the carriage! No time to stop!”
Michel shouted while running. We had no time to check the other location Dr. Scott mentioned and ran straight to the carriage, boarding it quickly.
“Miliane… Miliane…”
Dr. Scott kept searching for his sister as we escaped.
Duke Calix sighed, seeing Dr. Scott’s desperation.
“She isn’t here. That cult leader must have already moved your sister.”
“Surely they didn’t bring us here to trap us? Maybe there was some deal to release Miliane if they caught us.”
He had a lingering doubt that this might be a trap. But Dr. Scott jumped up.
“No, no! I clearly saw Miliane there! She was there, my sister Miliane!”
“Phew, now how do we find her? We haven’t even checked the other place. The guards will be stricter now.”
“Let’s go back and think. For now, we can only hope that your sister is alive.”
“Miliane…”
Dr. Scott bowed his head and muttered, a few drops of water falling onto his knees.
