When I froze, my body stiffening from the shock, Heinz, who was standing behind me, gave my back a light shove.
It was a sign to stop chatting and start moving.
To make sure I understood, he partially drew the sword at his waist, revealing a cold, sharp blade.
It was a decent sword, but it couldn’t even be compared to my Levatein.
“…….”
He seemed to know it too, as his gaze flickered toward my waist.
‘I really shouldn’t poke his eyes out right here.’
Part of me wanted to jab my fingers right into those eyes.
For a mere kidnapper, he certainly had a lot of nerve coveting my belongings.
I suppressed the rising urge and carefully moved my feet.
I let my body stagger and brushed my hand against my forehead, acting as if I still hadn’t recovered from the shock, just as they expected.
First, I had to figure out their objective.
If their goal was to buy time in a situation like this, they were obviously Rodney’s accomplices.
Since I hadn’t found any clues yet, their actions were actually a golden opportunity to get a lead.
“It would have been better if you had cooperated from the start.”
Heather moved her hand lightly to dispel the magic and walked ahead.
It’s hilarious that they believe they can restrict my movements with nothing more than the hilt of a sword poking my back.
Have they forgotten who I am?
I am the child of Haven Caldrich, one of the two heroes of this kingdom.
I’ve been evaluated as strong despite being fragile, and I am the master of Levatein, the symbol of the hunting competition winner.
To think they’re threatening me with a sword that isn’t even drawn.
“Pfft.”
I gritted my teeth, but a leak of laughter escaped anyway.
Startled, I quickly covered my mouth, but I couldn’t stop my shoulders from trembling.
“Tsk.”
At that moment, I heard a click of the tongue from behind me.
The sound, unhidden and ringing out quite loud, struck my ears with clear intent.
It seemed he wanted to scratch at my pride.
The pressure of the sword poking my back loosened just a tiny bit.
‘No, that’s not why I’m doing this.’
The words “I’m not scared, I’m amused” climbed up to my throat.
The direction Heather was headed was indeed the castle wall.
She skillfully pulled out several bricks from the solid wall.
Suddenly, a small hole appeared in the sturdy wall where not a single crack had been visible before.
Thanks to the shadow of the tree standing in front and the cleverly stacked bricks, it seemed even the passing soldiers hadn’t noticed it.
“Get in.”
She entered first, and I, shoved from behind, stumbled into the gap.
After passing through a space so narrow I had to hunch over deeply to fit, Heather pulled back some bushes not far away, revealing an underground passage.
The bushes had been so perfectly blended with the surroundings that I was startled when they were lifted.
‘They were surprisingly well-prepared, weren’t they?’
Below, a musty smell—hard to describe in words—vibrated through the air.
Roughly finished passages, with wooden beams supporting the earth, stretched out precariously.
It was so low that my head would touch the ceiling if I straightened my back, and so narrow I couldn’t fully extend my arms.
Walking by the reliance of a single small light, forks in the road appeared occasionally.
Heather herself had to stop at the forks to check her surroundings; it was a complex place where it was impossible to tell directions.
This place, cutting across the underside of the city, was truly like a passage for rats.
“What is the purpose of this kidnapping? Negotiation with Caldrich won’t work.”
Unable to endure the silence in that narrow space, I decided to subtly probe them.
“Ah~ Caldrich? That family is famous among us. Long ago, there was someone kidnapped just like you. But the response was that an individual who couldn’t escape on their own isn’t a Caldrich, so the one kidnapped must be a fake.”
“What?”
“But what about you, who are exceptionally weak?”
“They might negotiate immediately.”
My subtle probe brought back an old story of our family that I had never heard before.
I didn’t know if it was true, but it sounded plausible.
If it were reported that one of my siblings had been kidnapped—not a vassal or someone from another family—I wouldn’t believe it either.
The two of them chuckled low, as if testing my reaction.
In reality, they had no intention of demanding a negotiation from the Caldrich side anyway.
“……It won’t work.”
What would happen if they tried to negotiate for my life?
Naturally, Father wouldn’t respond.
He’d probably say that this time for sure it’s an impostor and tell them to do whatever they wanted, kill me or not.
He might even tell them to try killing me right in front of him.
Heather, walking ahead with the floating light, looked back.
“…….”
She looked like she was about to argue against my mumbling but kept her mouth shut and stopped walking.
Realizing how difficult it was to stand still in this space where not a single breath of fresh air reached, she turned and continued down the path.
“By the way, you’re really handsome.”
‘Suddenly?’
“Is it because I’m seeing you in this dark space? Didn’t a light just radiate from behind you?”
“Isn’t that just the reflection of the light you made?”
“Still, no light was coming from you.”
“Look again.”
The two of them bickered with me in the middle.
It seemed my face was to Heather’s liking.
If I used that, I might be able to wrap this up somewhat peacefully.
I might even get information easily.
“…….”
But I immediately rejected the fleeting thought.
I had a bad feeling that if Klen found out, things would take a very wrong turn.
Didn’t using such a method on Madeline only result in making her angry?
“You are handsome, though.”
A voice of agreement came from the grumbling Heinz, ending their brief, light argument.
“Don’t you sometimes feel like making a person like this cry?”
“What?!”
“Don’t do anything useless. We haven’t even left the city yet.”
“Cough, cough, cough.”
I was so surprised I choked.
I must have swallowed wrong because a burst of coughing came out that made my chest hurt.
Heinz’s words were that shocking to me.
Wanting to make me cry?
I don’t think I have that kind of image.
“It’s because you said something useless.”
“It’s a shame that such a handsome man is so weak.”
A moment ago, he was pretending to worry that I might cry.
As expected, his true feelings were completely different.
Did he learn nothing from the East Tower, which generally had a gentle atmosphere, even if it smelled strongly?
“Just bear with it a bit more, young master. It’s still a long way before you can breathe fresh air.”
“Cough, cough.”
I dropped my head as if dejected and engraved this conversation into my mind.
Right.
Who will be the one crying in the end?
