“Her Highness wants to know who is behind this incident?”
“I don’t know that either. But I unconditionally respect Her Highness’s wishes. There must be a reason for everything, right?”
Mikhail smiled leisurely.
However, it was a smile that left her with an inscrutable inner meaning.
“...”
Selena’s eyes deepened.
“Her Highness... knows something? Or...”
There was a long silence in the middle of her sentence.
“Or is it just a little strange?”
It seemed like she changed her words in the middle.
Despite her gentle smile, Selena looked like her thoughts were complicated.
However, there was only one thing Mikhail could say.
“You see for yourself and judge for yourself.”
Selena snickered at his words.
“That’s right.”
Selena continued casually.
“I will accept this request.”
“Please take care of it "
Mikhail greeted him and passed him by. As Mikhail left, Hasten asked,
“I see you have another request.”
“Yes...”
However, Selena’s reaction was a little different than usual.
“What’s wrong? What’s the request?”
Selena waited until Hasten sat down.
“I received a request to investigate a case.”
Then, with a serious face, she explained the request.
“Ah...”
Hasten fell silent after hearing the request, unable to find words to say.
“This. Isn’t it similar to that time?”
“...!”
Hasten’s eyes widened slightly.
He didn’t know Selena would mention that.
“Hasten.”
Selena continued speaking in a flat voice.
“What if this incident is really the same as back then? If they are really behind this? What should I do?”
“...”
“If the Grand Duchess really finds out who is behind this incident? Then can I... have expectations?”
Selena’s eyes, looking at him, showed a hint of hope.
Despite this, Hasten couldn’t say anything.
Rather.
“No.”
A voice as cold as frost flowed out.
“...”
“Don’t expect anything. It’s over now.”
Hasten firmly cut off Selena’s hope.
“No matter what you do now, it’ll be useless.”
“But...”
“Don’t you know even after all that? All nobles are the same. Who would take off their shoes and step forward for commoners like us?”
“The Grand Duchess might be different.”
“No, it’s the same!”
Hasten raised his voice excitedly.
“They’ll turn their backs as soon as they find out the inside story. Nobles are a people who value their own safety the most!
“...”
“You’re a smart kid. Why do you keep having vain expectations? Why can’t you let go of your foolishness?”
“...”
Selena’s fingertips were trembling slightly.
“Let’s stop talking about this. Since you already received the request, just think of it as work. Don’t get personal.”
With that, Hasten got up from his seat and left again.
The sound of the door slamming shut was unusually loud.
“Yes. I guess so.”
Selena, who was left alone, muttered bitterly.
“Are you the Grand Duchess?”
“...!?”
Karina was taken aback by the sudden question. She always wore shabby clothes and a robe when she went out in the city, so she was wearing the same outfit today.
So unless Mikhail called her ‘Grand Duchess’ loudly, not many people recognized that she was the Grand Duchess.
But how could someone ask her if she was the Grand Duchess right away?
While Karina was unable to answer, the thin man standing next to her spoke.
“There’s no doubt! This woman is the Grand Duchess!”
However, the man with a fierce expression on his face looked incredulous at the thin man’s words.
“The Grand Duchess is walking around like this?”
“...”
“Without even a single knight escort?”
“...”
As the fierce man continued to speak, the surprise on Karina’s face disappeared.
Karina watched their conversation with an indifferent expression.
“Did you see her face properly?”
As the questioning continued, Karina became less and less certain of the thin man’s words.
“Uh... It’s definitely... It’s the face I saw briefly when I ran away last time...”
“In the same place? Is this kid joking?”
While listening to them bickering among themselves, the man’s words made her hear something jarring.
'It would be terrible if these guys found out that I'm the Grand Duchess.'
Karina's palms clenched with tension.
The escapees would think that the Grand Duchess was valuable as a hostage, so they would never let her go. They would try to use the Grand Duchess' life as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
Fortunately, the man with the fierce look who seemed to be the boss didn't seem to believe that she was the Grand Duchess.
'Can I hold out without being found out that I'm the Grand Duchess?'
Karina clenched her fists anxiously.
'If Mikhail was here right now...'
Karina shook her head.
There was no point in assuming what-ifs. She had to somehow overcome this situation and go to the Grand Duke's house to ask for support.
Karina glanced around to see how many escapees there were.
There were six in this place right now.
'There are too many, so it won't be easy to escape. What should I do?'
“Yes.”
Mikhail relayed Karina’s request to Selena.
He explained the current situation in detail to expedite the investigation.
After his explanation, Selena asked back.
“Even though the circumstantial evidence says that it’s all suicide? How can Her Highness be so sure that there’s another culprit?”
Mikhail relayed Karina’s request to Selena.
He explained the current situation in detail to expedite the investigation.
After his explanation, Selena asked back.
“Even though the circumstantial evidence says that it’s all suicide? How can Her Highness be so sure that there’s another culprit?”
“I don’t know that either. But I unconditionally respect Her Highness’s wishes. There must be a reason for everything, right?”
Mikhail smiled leisurely.
However, it was a smile that left her with an inscrutable inner meaning.
“...”
Selena’s eyes deepened.
“Her Highness... knows something? Or...”
There was a long silence in the middle of her sentence.
“Or is it just a little strange?”
It seemed like she changed her words in the middle.
Despite her gentle smile, Selena looked like her thoughts were complicated.
However, there was only one thing Mikhail could say.
“You see for yourself and judge for yourself.”
Selena snickered at his words.
“That’s right.”
Selena continued casually.
“I will accept this request.”
“Please take care of it "
Just as Mikhail was about to get up from his seat and leave, Hasten, who had gone out for a business investment, returned.
Mikhail greeted him and passed him by. As Mikhail left, Hasten asked,
“I see you have another request.”
“Yes...”
However, Selena’s reaction was a little different than usual.
“What’s wrong? What’s the request?”
Selena waited until Hasten sat down.
“I received a request to investigate a case.”
Then, with a serious face, she explained the request.
“Ah...”
Hasten fell silent after hearing the request, unable to find words to say.
“This. Isn’t it similar to that time?”
“...!”
Hasten’s eyes widened slightly.
He didn’t know Selena would mention that.
“Hasten.”
Selena continued speaking in a flat voice.
“What if this incident is really the same as back then? If they are really behind this? What should I do?”
“...”
“If the Grand Duchess really finds out who is behind this incident? Then can I... have expectations?”
Selena’s eyes, looking at him, showed a hint of hope.
Despite this, Hasten couldn’t say anything.
Rather.
“No.”
A voice as cold as frost flowed out.
“...”
“Don’t expect anything. It’s over now.”
Hasten firmly cut off Selena’s hope.
“No matter what you do now, it’ll be useless.”
“But...”
“Don’t you know even after all that? All nobles are the same. Who would take off their shoes and step forward for commoners like us?”
“The Grand Duchess might be different.”
“No, it’s the same!”
Hasten raised his voice excitedly.
“They’ll turn their backs as soon as they find out the inside story. Nobles are a people who value their own safety the most!
“...”
“You’re a smart kid. Why do you keep having vain expectations? Why can’t you let go of your foolishness?”
“...”
Selena’s fingertips were trembling slightly.
“Let’s stop talking about this. Since you already received the request, just think of it as work. Don’t get personal.”
With that, Hasten got up from his seat and left again.
The sound of the door slamming shut was unusually loud.
“Yes. I guess so.”
Selena, who was left alone, muttered bitterly.
***
“Are you the Grand Duchess?”
“...!?”
Karina was taken aback by the sudden question. She always wore shabby clothes and a robe when she went out in the city, so she was wearing the same outfit today.
So unless Mikhail called her ‘Grand Duchess’ loudly, not many people recognized that she was the Grand Duchess.
But how could someone ask her if she was the Grand Duchess right away?
While Karina was unable to answer, the thin man standing next to her spoke.
“There’s no doubt! This woman is the Grand Duchess!”
However, the man with a fierce expression on his face looked incredulous at the thin man’s words.
“The Grand Duchess is walking around like this?”
“...”
“Without even a single knight escort?”
“...”
As the fierce man continued to speak, the surprise on Karina’s face disappeared.
Karina watched their conversation with an indifferent expression.
“Did you see her face properly?”
As the questioning continued, Karina became less and less certain of the thin man’s words.
“Uh... It’s definitely... It’s the face I saw briefly when I ran away last time...”
“In the same place? Is this kid joking?”
While listening to them bickering among themselves, the man’s words made her hear something jarring.
“Run away?”
“...!”
“...!”
At Karina’s words, the men’s mood suddenly turned tense. A man with a fierce expression took out a black stone the size of a fist from his bosom and threw it into the air. Then the black stone emitted a black light and floated up to the ceiling.
'Magic?'
There was no time to wonder. As if that was a signal, they opened their eyes wide and approached Karina threateningly.
"...?"
Karina hesitated and stepped back in surprise.
"Kyaaaaah!"
A scream erupted from behind Karina. The large men who had come in earlier were each pulling out weapons such as wooden clubs, swords, and axes from their bosoms. Some were already threatening people by thrusting sharp blades.
"...!"
"What are you doing!"
The father of the children shouted while protecting the children and his wife. Then the man with the wooden club began to beat the father with all his might.
Bang! Bang!
"Ugh!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
The people who were surprised at the sight screamed.
"Hwaaaaah!"
The startled children burst into tears, and the situation quickly became chaotic.
“Be quiet! Can’t you be quiet before I kill you?”
The mother quickly hugged her children at the man with the knife’s warning.
“Why are there so many annoying kids? Take care of them all.”
The fierce man frowned.
“Oh, wait a minute!”
The thin man next to him stopped him.
“You can take advantage of this situation and use it to your advantage!”
Of course, his intentions were not good.
“With the kids here, the threats will work better. The hostages won’t be able to escape easily.”
The people were trembling in fear and panic at their incomprehensible conversation. Karina, who had been frozen in surprise at the sudden situation, suddenly realized.
'Hostages? These guys, no way.'
Karina looked at their behavior. Upon closer inspection, the clothes they were wearing all looked like they had stolen someone else’s. It was strange that they had weapons like axes and knives in their arms from the beginning, but instead of demanding money, they were looking for the Grand Duke.
'Escapees!'
A lightning-like realization struck Karina's mind. Karina recalled the story of the escapees that she had been searching for.
'They said they hadn't caught them yet! Here they are!'
Karina bit her lower lip.
'Could it be that they were trying to take me, the Grand duchess', hostage?'
But it didn't seem like they knew her face for sure.
'Except for that skinny guy.'
"..."
At that moment, one of the squinty escapees drew a knife and threatened them.
"Now, you are being held hostage. If you want to betray me, try to betray me. I will slit your throats right there as an example."
After speaking, the escapee made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand. The others also snickered and murmured.
"Please spare me!"
"I will do anything you want."
"I will give you any money I can. Please spare me!"
Several people shouted desperately.
"Shut up. Why are we doing this for a few bucks?”
The one-eyed escapee growled. Karina was almost out of her mind at the worst possible situation she had ever been in.
'It would be terrible if these guys found out that I'm the Grand Duchess.'
Karina's palms clenched with tension.
The escapees would think that the Grand Duchess was valuable as a hostage, so they would never let her go. They would try to use the Grand Duchess' life as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
Fortunately, the man with the fierce look who seemed to be the boss didn't seem to believe that she was the Grand Duchess.
'Can I hold out without being found out that I'm the Grand Duchess?'
Karina clenched her fists anxiously.
'If Mikhail was here right now...'
Karina shook her head.
There was no point in assuming what-ifs. She had to somehow overcome this situation and go to the Grand Duke's house to ask for support.
Karina glanced around to see how many escapees there were.
There were six in this place right now.
'There are too many, so it won't be easy to escape. What should I do?'
Karina couldn't decide what would be the best course of action.
“Did you send anyone to the Grand Duke’s house?”
A deep voice pierced Karina’s ear as she pondered.
“Ah, we’ll send them now. I think this guy is the one to send to the Grand Duke’s house.”
One of the escapees answered, pointing to the father of the children who had collapsed.
“The children and wife are here, so he can’t run away, and if he does something stupid, we can just kill them first.”
The mother’s expression turned grave at those words.
“Oh, please spare the children. Please.”
The mother begged with a trembling voice.
“Just do as your husband tells you. It won’t be hard.”
The escapee, who had been giggling, lifted the fallen father up and slapped him in the face.
Crack!
“Hey, wake up. If you don’t wake up, your family will die.”
“Ugh...!”
The father staggered at the vicious threat but tried to come to his senses.
The escapee took out a letter from his bosom.
“Make sure to give this to the Grand Duke’s house. It’s urgent.”
The escaped prisoner, who had stuffed the letter into the father’s front pocket, continued,
“Run quickly and give it to him. Every hour that passes, we’re going to kill one of the hostages here, so you better hurry.”
“...!”
“Huh...!”
At those words, not only Karina but all the hostages gasped in surprise.
“First in line... It’s probably one of those three.”
The escaped prisoner gestured toward the children and the mother who was holding them.
“...!”
The mother sobbed, holding back her voice.
“Please... Please spare me. I’ll stay, but my family...”
The father begged desperately.
“Oh, he hasn’t come to his senses yet. He deserves to be beaten more, and we don’t like wasting time.”
The escaped prisoner dragged the father outside.
“If you want to save your family, run until your feet are on fire. That way, you can save at least one person.”
With those words, the escaped prisoner threw the child’s father out of the building and closed the door.
There were several knocks on the door along with a cry of refusal, and soon the child’s father’s presence quickly disappeared.
‘He must have gone to the Grand Duke’s house. The Knights will come, so at least we have to hold out until then.’
Despite her relief, other problems came to mind one after another.
‘But if the escaped prisoner took hostages and sent a letter to the Grand Duke’s house, does that mean they have demands?’
Karina’s mind became complicated.
The Empire rarely negotiated with criminals.
Rather, it was taboo to negotiate or trade with them.
Along with the opinion that accepting their demands once would increase the likelihood of the same thing happening again, the high-ranking nobles opposed the attempt to negotiate with criminals, believing that it would tarnish the Empire’s high status.
‘Ha.’
Karina let out a deep sigh.
‘Jeremiah would never negotiate with the escaped prisoner.’
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how desperate the current situation was.
'Still, they won't just let the innocent hostages die. Surely... they won't?'
Knowing Jeremiah's tendency to stick to principles thoroughly, she wasn't sure.
"Yes, then."
The escaped prisoner returned to where the hostages were gathered and checked the time.
"While we wait, should we decide on an order?"
The people gathered trembled in fear because they knew what the order would be without even being told.
The prisoner's smile deepened.
“Did you send anyone to the Grand Duke’s house?”
A deep voice pierced Karina’s ear as she pondered.
“Ah, we’ll send them now. I think this guy is the one to send to the Grand Duke’s house.”
One of the escapees answered, pointing to the father of the children who had collapsed.
“The children and wife are here, so he can’t run away, and if he does something stupid, we can just kill them first.”
The mother’s expression turned grave at those words.
“Oh, please spare the children. Please.”
The mother begged with a trembling voice.
“Just do as your husband tells you. It won’t be hard.”
The escapee, who had been giggling, lifted the fallen father up and slapped him in the face.
Crack!
“Hey, wake up. If you don’t wake up, your family will die.”
“Ugh...!”
The father staggered at the vicious threat but tried to come to his senses.
The escapee took out a letter from his bosom.
“Make sure to give this to the Grand Duke’s house. It’s urgent.”
The escaped prisoner, who had stuffed the letter into the father’s front pocket, continued,
“Run quickly and give it to him. Every hour that passes, we’re going to kill one of the hostages here, so you better hurry.”
“...!”
“Huh...!”
At those words, not only Karina but all the hostages gasped in surprise.
“First in line... It’s probably one of those three.”
The escaped prisoner gestured toward the children and the mother who was holding them.
“...!”
The mother sobbed, holding back her voice.
“Please... Please spare me. I’ll stay, but my family...”
The father begged desperately.
“Oh, he hasn’t come to his senses yet. He deserves to be beaten more, and we don’t like wasting time.”
The escaped prisoner dragged the father outside.
“If you want to save your family, run until your feet are on fire. That way, you can save at least one person.”
With those words, the escaped prisoner threw the child’s father out of the building and closed the door.
There were several knocks on the door along with a cry of refusal, and soon the child’s father’s presence quickly disappeared.
‘He must have gone to the Grand Duke’s house. The Knights will come, so at least we have to hold out until then.’
Despite her relief, other problems came to mind one after another.
‘But if the escaped prisoner took hostages and sent a letter to the Grand Duke’s house, does that mean they have demands?’
Karina’s mind became complicated.
The Empire rarely negotiated with criminals.
Rather, it was taboo to negotiate or trade with them.
Along with the opinion that accepting their demands once would increase the likelihood of the same thing happening again, the high-ranking nobles opposed the attempt to negotiate with criminals, believing that it would tarnish the Empire’s high status.
‘Ha.’
Karina let out a deep sigh.
‘Jeremiah would never negotiate with the escaped prisoner.’
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how desperate the current situation was.
'Still, they won't just let the innocent hostages die. Surely... they won't?'
Knowing Jeremiah's tendency to stick to principles thoroughly, she wasn't sure.
"Yes, then."
The escaped prisoner returned to where the hostages were gathered and checked the time.
"While we wait, should we decide on an order?"
The people gathered trembled in fear because they knew what the order would be without even being told.
The prisoner's smile deepened.
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