CHAPTER 110- KIDNAPPED

Maybe Shane would attack the Duchess's residence like in the original story, but since the Duchess and Lizzy weren't kidnapped, my head will be saved from being cut off. I was relieved by myself while everyone was nervous and anxious. We were escorted by the knights, quickly identified ourselves, and climbed into the carriage. I was more relieved when the knight we sent to the mansion during the identification process confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the mansion. 

'Then. . . . What will happen in the future?' 

The worst was over, but there was still no voice saying that the level 3 exception conditions were met. That meant I wasn't sure if I could save my life yet. 

"Edith. Don't worry too much. Everything will be fine." 

The Duchess seemed anxious because of my expression, so she comforted me. I smiled awkwardly and nodded. The carriage we rode ran quickly through the dark night. Since we were from a Duke family, we were able to get out of the banquet hall faster than others. However, the way back to the mansion was so quiet. The duchess told me not to worry, but she couldn't stop worrying and looked so nervous, and Lizzy bit her lips and trembled with anxiety. The atmosphere outside carriage was so quiet that only the sound of the wheels rolling could be heard. 

'For some reason, it was so quiet that i feel the situation are weird. . . . '

It would be nice if I could get rid of my thoughts. I knew that if I thought about something, there would be an episode that would follow, so why did I think that?

"W-who!" 

The carriage swayed violently. Outside the carriages, we could hear the effort Knight screams and the long neighing horses. 

"Aaaaaah!"

"W-what's going on!" 

Lizzy and the Duchess scream and hug each other. I was sitting across from them, and i leaned against the carriage wall and looked out the window, trying not to fall. The sharp sound of swords clashing reached my ears, and it became clear that something bad had happened. 

'No way. . . . !'

I put my arm around the Duchess and Lizzy as they hugged each other. Then, the carriage door opened.

"It's been a long time, Edith."

"Damn it. . . ." 

All kinds of swear words mixed in my head. The person who greeted me was, of course, he was Shane Riegelhoff. Even though he was wearing a mask, there's no way i can't recognize his insidious eyes and his unpleasant voice. 

'No matter how hard I try, if I don't meet the level 3 exception conditions, the important episode will happen like the original. . . . ' 

It was hopeless. In the meantime, Shane grabbed Lizzy's arm, not anyone else. 

"Come here!" 

"Ahhhhhh!"

Then the carriage door next to Shane opened, and the masked man dragged Duchess and I out. 

"Lizzy! Lizzy!" 

The Duchess tries to reach Lizzy as she is dragged away by Shane, but since she's already old, she didn't have the strength to overcome the strength of trained mercenaries. 

"Put that hand away from my mother, Mother!" 

I shouted at the duchess, who was being dragged away by the mercenaries.

"Let go of Lizzy! Lizzy! Lizzy!" 

However, the Duchess only looked for Lizzy, not me. It's seems that all she could see was Lizzy. No, she might have thought I couldn't get hurt because she noticed that the person who attacked the carriage was Shane. 

'Please, don't think I'm in complicity with Shane!' 

I screamed, resisting the mercenary who held me.

"Aren't you afraid of what will happen next if you drag the Duchess away? Let go of those hands!" 

At that time, I saw Lizzy collapse. It's does seem like Shane hit her. She might probably fainted while trembling with fear. 

"What are you doing! Lizzy has nothing to do with it! Let go of Lizzy!" 

"Follow me quietly!" 

When the duchess struggled so hard with her strength, the mercenary who dragged her away hit the back of her head so hard, and the Duchess collapsed helplessly. 

"Mother!" 

However, the screams didn't reach her. Beside, she only made Shane angry at her, who was dragging Lizzy away. 

"Mother? Haha! Have you forgotten who your mother is? This ungrateful bitch!" 

My head turned with a 'beep' sound. My ears become deaf and there seemed to be lightning in front of my eyes. As I stumbled, Shane's mercenary gang tried to put us in the wagon they had hidden. At that time, I saw a group of knights running from far away.

"Stop there!" 

It was definitely the knights of the Duke Ludwig.

"Help! Let go of this, you damn bastards!" 

I tried with all my strength to buy a little more time. There was only one mercenary holding me, but he was suprise by my sudden struggle and he let go of my arm. But instead of running away, I pulled the Duchess, who was almost dragged up by the carriage. 

"This bitch, until the end. . . . !" 

I could see Shane's eyes burning with anger even in the dark. He pushed Lizzy into the carriage, ran towards me, and hit my face with his fist. 

"Arck!"

I fell on the floor and some noice come oh of my mouth. Shane kicked my stomach as if he were really going to kill me here, and I felt a terrible pain and lost my mind. Before I lost my mind, I felt like I heard someone calling out 'Miss!' in the distance. 

***

I slowly opened my eyes because I felt very uncomfortable and stuffy somewhere. As soon as I came to my senses, I felt pain all over my body.

"uh. . . .ugh. . . . " 

It hurt so much that I moaned without realizing it. But I immediately stopped the noise come out of my mouth. It's because I felt someone presence next to me. 

"You finally woke up. I was thinking of throwing some water on you." 

My vision was blurred, but I could see the person who was next to me. There's no way I could forget that voice? 

"Sop. . . . Hia. . . ."

"Did you remember me? I thought you completely forgot about me because you completely betrayed your family." 

"It's too. . . . impressive for me to forget. . . ."

"Ahhahahaha!"

Sophia laughed even more happier than before. No, actually this is the first time I've seen Sophia show her emotions like that. I had never heard her laugh like that before. Since I could see clearly what her emotions is, it gave me goosebumps. 

"Please wait a little bit. I'll personally serve you with all my heart when we done cleaning up the surroundings." 

I really didn't want to accept the 'treat' that Sophia said she would give her. Now I can't longer avoid her treats, before she only hit me in a place covered by clothes so the wound wasn't visible outside. But this time I think she will beat her completely until everything breaks and bleeds all over her body.

'Please, I hope it takes a long time to clean up the surroundings?' 

I only fixed my gaze around the place. The surroundings are very dark, but that doesn't mean the objects around her cannot be seen clearly. Also there's a small window in this room, so I can clearly see the dawn sky. 

"Did you stay up all night. . . . ? Where is this place?"

It had high ceilings and was made of stone on all sides, it's look like a prison. Of course, it wasn't a place inside the Count Riegelhoff residence. It was like a prison inside the castle, or perhaps this castle belonging to the archduke Langston family who have an estate in the capital for them to live in.

'If not, it's probably a building rented for the purpose of this kidnapping. . . . Well, Cliff will find this place anyway.' 

If the episode where Lizzy and the Duchess were kidnapped, the end of this episode will go like in the original story. Ciff will come to rescue them. So Lizzy and Duchess weren't too worried. 

'It's me who's worried.'

It felt like a chill seeped into my bones. The shoulder that hit the floor didn't hurt, it was just because of the coldness of the floor. The Duchess and Lizzy not yet come to their senses and Both my hands were tied together. However, perhaps because of their value as hostages, they were lying on old blankets rather than on the bare floor.

'One, two, three. . . six including Sophia. . . .' 

However, the group assassin that attacked the carriage was definitely more than six people. The rest might have been guarding outside the building. 

"Hmmm. . . ." 

I make a noise even when I move my body a little. A white breath bloomed in the dark air and faded away. I wriggled to get into a comfortable position, but no matter how I turned, it hurt. And then, the door was open and Shane appeared.

"Isn't Lizzy awake?" 

His insidious gaze turned to Lizzy. 

"The Duchess and Miss Lizzy have not yet woken up, but our young Miss has woken up." 

As Sophia informed Shane about my condition, she seemed to warn me, and Shane turned and looked at me. 

"Sophia. Be careful what you say How can she be you 'young miss'? She a traitor!" 

"I made a big mistake my master. I'm sorry." 

"In our house, she deserves more humiliating treatment than the laundry maid. I trust you will take care of this woman, And her education, as always, I believe you will do well on your own." 

"Leave it to me. Oh, by the way. . . .which limit I'm allowed to do?" 

"It doesn't matter if she die or not. But let her regret it before she die." 

Damn it. I'm finished. Originally, torture is a worse punishment than killing at once.

'Cliff! Cliff, when will you coming!' 

I don't think I've ever been so desperate for Cliff to save me since I was possessed by Edith. But not for now because the situation is very desperate. Until now, something happened whenever I thought about it, but now why is it quiet? Is it because it's not time yet? As I writhed on the floor like an earthworm, Shane knelt in front of Lizzy, he grabbed Lizzy chin and lifted her slightly. There was a sigh of satisfaction.

"You're finally in my hands." 

The way he caressed Lizzy's cheek didn't feel like he was dealing with a hostage. 

'W-what? Does this guy in love with Lizzy?' 

That fact alone is enough to make Shane look like a terrible murder. Shane has a good looking, but he always has a bad expression, so I never thought him as a handsome guy, but for the first time, he smiled so happily.

'Hmmm. But he don't look very handsome even he smile like that, right?'

Even a smiling face depends on the face. It's a disgusting smile that looks like you're going to do something bad soon. At that time, there was a sound of someone approaching from outside.