CH 3

Whip, whimper…

She buried her face in her lap and looked down at the crying child. The louder the child’s cry grew, the sharper his gaze toward her was. She let out a sigh and squeezed and opened and closed one of her fingers.

Her blood wasn’t flowing properly because it was tied so tightly that she couldn’t even move properly. When the knights invaded the house, she was taken helplessly without a chance to explain herself. What is the point of the knights attacking when the situation is perfect for misunderstandings?

“…Huh. Ellie is not a kidnapper. It’s not…”

It was only natural that the moment the child muttered that, the knights’ gazes toward her became even more ferocious.

‘Oh, he looks like he can kill people with just his eyes. If I hadn’t kept my mouth shut, I would have said something.’

She lifted her head up to avoid the knights’ eyes. She saw an ornate ceiling lined with cushions. Thanks to the child, she was being carried away in a luxury carriage, so it’s a relief but… Originally, she was to be trapped in a barred wagon coming from behind. That was, if the child hadn’t burst into tears while being dragged away by the knights. How long did she have to be tied up like that?

“Lord Delian, we have arrived.”

At the words of the knight, she realized that the carriage had stopped before she knew it.

“You must get off now.”

Despite the knight’s words, the child was still unmoved.

“Lord Delian.”

The child crouched down on her even more, holding tight to her collar.

“How on earth did you brainwash Lord Delian…!”

“I will never forgive you.”

It was impossible to listen to the nonsense of the knights who had no answers.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

The knight stretched out his hand to get the child away from me.

“Huh!”

The child started to cry as soon as the knight’s hand touched his shoulder. The knight hurriedly removed his hand.

“Huh!”

The child sobbed and wrapped his arms around her neck, clinging to her like a cicada. He winked at her with a face that the knights couldn’t see. Did he think it’s going to come down like this? She looked at the knights and got off the carriage. As soon as she got off, the knights surrounded her and pushed her.

“Walk as it is.”

She started walking in the direction the knights were pulling. Soon, she was surprised by the enormous size of the mansion in front of her. Was that the duke she had been hearing about? It was so overwhelmingly different in size that it was incomparable to the viscount’s mansion she had seen at the time she possessed that body.

Seeing the knights taking her into the mansion, it seemed that they were planning to face the duke first. One of the knights stopped walking and knocked on the door in front of them.

“Duke. I brought the kidnapper.”

[Come in.]

An unusual voice could be heard from inside.

As soon as she heard that voice, she was certain that the situation would never be resolved easily. The moment the door opened, she was stunned by the sight that unfolded. It was because the man’s appearance was so great that she forgot for a moment that the situation was dangerous.

The man had a perfect statue-like appearance with blue hair and dark red eyes. Above all, the cool atmosphere matched the man’s appearance very well.

“… you. One of those who kidnapped Delian.”

The man walked slowly towards her.

Dump.

Her body collapsed downward. The knights pressed her shoulders and made her kneel on the floor. She looked up at those little eyes, still looking ridiculous with a child hanging around her neck. Then those eyes narrowed slightly.

“Why is Delian hanging around this woman’s neck?”

“Because he seldom wants to get close this woman…”

The duke, who had been quietly listening to the knight’s words, narrowed his eyes. Then he untied the string around her mouth and brought his face closer.

“…yes. How was it that the family I was trying to take on my own was ruined?

The duke paused for a moment and twisted his mouth.

“You’ve picked the wrong person for a fight, Elia Lawton.”

In an instant, her heart skipped a beat. She felt like she was going to be imprisoned and tortured right at that instant. She even caught her breath for a moment.

As if waiting for her to say something, the duke gave her a persistent gaze.

“…It’s all a misunderstanding.”

“Don’t lie…”

“Of course you can’t believe it no matter what I say. but I have nothing to do with this.”

Even while she spoke the truth, her body trembled with anxiety. It may be because the man’s gaze was cold as frost.

“It was just that village where I managed to hide while running away from debt collectors. When I was barely able to find a house to live in, the man who kidnapped Lord Delian suddenly appeared in front of me.”

“A man suddenly appeared in front of you? Is that by accident?”

The duke let out a sneer.

“……Yes. I just saved Lord Delian from the kidnappers. Other than that, I really have nothing to do with this.”

Even though she had said everything, his eyes were dark instead of feeling refreshed. It was because she could not read a glimpse of life in the red eyes.

“Looks like that’s all excuses.”

“Duke, I…”

“You’d better keep your mouth shut. Cut it out, before you pay.”

A terrible scene flashed through her mind. At the moment when her eyes went dark, there was a loud sound.

Suddenly, the child raised his head and slapped the Duke on the lips with his palm.

“Don’t say such bad things! You naughty mouth!”

It was only natural that the atmosphere became even more chilly at the child’s words that followed.

“…Remove Delian. Hurry.”

At the Duke’s command the knight reached out to take his child from her but before he could reach it, the child started to cry.

A knight paused for a moment, then took his hand and looked at the Duke.

“Huh!”

“Ha…”

The duke glared at her with a murderous intent, so she averted her gaze. She didn’t do anything, but that man…

“Take it off.”

The duke gave the order once more. The knight took a breath for a moment and then he forcibly removed the child from her.

“Take him out.”

The knight took the crying child and hurried out. In the room, where the cries of the child had disappeared, an atmosphere of incomparable silence flowed.

“What the hell did you do to Delian?”

“…I don’t know either.”

“You seem calm about not knowing.”

No matter what she said, the Duke only accepted it crookedly. As expected, the Duke seemed to have completely concluded that she was the kidnapper of his son.

‘Let’s pour out everything we have to say. Wouldn’t that be less embarrassing?’

Whether she was going to be put in jail or whatever.

“Does the Duke think I’m one of the people who kidnapped Delian?”

“What excuse are you going to make again?”

The Duke let out a sneer.

“Isn’t this an induction, because there is no physical evidence that it was me and that’s why I was brought to this place and not a prison?”

His eyebrows twitched slightly.

“There is no evidence, so you brought me here to dig it up.”

It was a guess, but she thought it would be almost tasteless. As described in the original book, the Duke tended to wait a little longer for uncertain situations. That’s why he brought her to himself, not to prison.

“…Contrary to rumors, it seems that your head isn’t bad at all.”

The Duke stared at her with narrowed eyes before giving an order to the knights.

“For now, put her in jail.”

The flight attendants got up and dragged her outside.

* * *

Growl…

She let out a sigh at the loudly ringing stomach.

“…I’m starving to death…”

It must have been half a day since she was trapped there. She couldn’t check the outside, so it was difficult to count the exact time. It’s fortunate that the conditions in the prison weren’t very bad. It was a flaw that her arms and legs were still tied, but it seems like she escaped the worst for now, but that was the problem. She didn’t know how the Duke would draw conclusions in an unconventional way. She couldn’t even guess.

“…Sigh.”

Leaning against the wall, she stared into space. As she tried to remain tied up, her mind kept going blank. Was the child still crying? Earlier, when the knight forcibly took him off, he was screaming and crying.

Why did she possess such a character in that book? Why did she have an accident before possessing it? Why was the peacock Duke so handsome?

“Crazy. Crazy.”

Even in that situation, why was she thinking about the Duke’s appearance? It was absurd even when she thought about it.

She shook her head.

“What if he is handsome? He is a human who doesn’t hesitate to do crazy things to the female lead.”

Duke Kayden Nathan was praised for his outstanding abilities in all fields. Study if study, swordsmanship if swordsmanship. He was, indeed, gifted in many ways, drawing too much attention from those around him. After he inherited the title of Duke, he followed even the coy check of the emperor. And the premise has become severe enough to show on the outside. Because of none other than the heroine, ‘Diana Blond’.

‘Ivan Recardo’, the emperor of the Rotancia Empire, was the main male lead in the book. In other words, the emperor was a person who was practically connected to the female lead. Unlike the Duke, who was the sub-male lead. Perhaps because of his position as a sub-male lead, the Duke couldn’t win the heart of the female lead at all.

Obsession was the basics, and there was no way that good feelings would arise from humans who go further and commit crimes without hesitation.

“…It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”

Recalling the countless acts the Duke had committed to obtain the female lead, she felt her tongue click. Of course, the Duke didn’t always do crazy things, because he tried his best to be nice to his son, ‘Delian Nathan’.

Yes, Delian Nathan…

It was also the name of the child, a person related to the reason why she was put there in prison. In practical terms, the child was not the Duke’s real son. Delian Nathan was the son of the Duke’s sister, ‘Berca Nathan’, and the Viscount, ‘Liam Germann’, so the reason Delian Nathan became the Duke’s successor was because of a disturbing accident.

His parents, Berca Nathan and Liam German, lost their lives in a fall while out in a carriage. After that, the one who took Delian Nathan, who was left alone, was, of course, the Duke. Because the only thing that was precious to the Duke was his sister, Berca Nathan. There was no way the Duke would not have spared the child, who was the blood of his sister. In fact, if you put all the contents described in the book together, the quality was so high that it was extreme.

And in the mind of such a character, she was one of the culprits who kidnapped Delian.

As she let out a sigh, her limp body came into view.

“But why is my body like this?”

She didn’t know it before, but her body was strangely heavy. It seemed like a sign right before one got sick, did she have a fever? It seemed a little hot, so she let go of her breath.

“…Whoa.”

She had been tied up and dragged around for a while, and she hadn’t eaten properly, so that’s understandable. She thought she might be a bit sleepy there.

She blinked her eyes slowly. It’s still bad news, so it’s okay to sleep a little bit. She thought she would fall asleep like that.

Trudge.

She barely lifted her heavy eyelids at the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere.