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Chapter 73
A moment later, the kidnapper who had dragged Maybel by the back of her neck flung her to the ground.
“Wah!”
Fortunately, there was a pile of straw underneath, so she wasn’t seriously hurt.
“Hey, hey! Handle her carefully! What if she gets injured like that?!”
A man who appeared to be his companion protested nervously.
But the man who had brought Maybel only snorted.
“So what? As long as she stays alive, that’s all that matters.”
When he said “that,” he was referring to Maybel.
“By the way, where’s the white lion?”
“I don’t know. I thought it was with the kid.”
The men frowned and glanced at the place where they had captured Maybel.
“Tsk, did we let it slip?”
“Let’s search again, I guess.”
As one of them muttered and picked up a lamp—
“Wait a moment.”
The man who had dragged Maybel stopped him and looked at her.
“That kid… doesn’t her stomach look a bit rounded compared to her limbs?”
His gaze fell on the spot where Maybel had hidden the cat.
She had to tense her entire body to keep from flinching.
“Huh? Isn’t it normal for a kid’s stomach to stick out a little?”
“No. When I kidnapped her at the sponsor’s place, it wasn’t like that.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. This is suspicious.”
The man strode toward her, certain she was hiding something.
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
Maybel jumped up from her crouch and backed away, but it was useless.
Soon, she was blocked by the wall.
“I said don’t come any closer!”
She desperately looked for a way out, but the men had already surrounded her.
The man reached a large hand toward the frightened Maybel.
“If you behave, I won’t do anything bad…”
The filthy glint in his eyes made her stomach turn.
Just as his hand grabbed her skirt—
“Kyahh!”
The cat hiding inside Maybel’s top leapt out and bit his hand hard.
“Aaah!”
The man screamed, thrashing his arm, as the sharp fangs sank in.
The cat quickly released him and landed on the ground, but its injured leg caused it to stumble.
“You little—!”
The man who had been bitten ran forward and kicked the cat.
Thwack!
“Meowk!”
The cat flew into the wall, gray fur stained with dark red blood beginning to pool beneath it.
“Damn it!”
The man grabbed his bleeding hand, muttering curses in frustration.
“Hey! Hurry, get a bandage!”
“Half its flesh is torn off!”
The men surrounding Maybel panicked.
Seizing the moment, Maybel slipped past them and ran to the cat.
“Cat!”
The cat slowly opened its eyes at her voice, but couldn’t make a sound.
If things continued like this, they would both be in serious danger.
Maybel scooped up the cat immediately.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing not catching the kid?!”
The men noticed the cat’s severe injuries and shouted in alarm.
‘Damn it…!’
Maybel ran deeper into the cave, dodging the men.
“Damn it, the other way again!”
“Take the narrow path! Move fast!”
The men pursued her closely, ropes and lamps in hand.
What should I do?
How could she… escape?
Her breath came in ragged gasps, her sides aching as if they were tearing.
Bending to pass through the narrow path slowed her legs even more.
Then—
Whish!
“Ah!”
A rope flew and wrapped around her ankle, sending her tumbling.
“Got her! Pull her!”
Maybel frantically tried to free her ankle, but her hands kept slipping.
The rope’s pull was so strong that her whole body was scraped and stung with pain.
‘We’re both going to die like this!’
Even as she was dragged, she reached out and pushed the cat further into the cave.
“Go further in… I’ll come back for you later…!”
The cat, collapsed on the ground, gasped for breath.
“Go… quickly!”
Maybel gripped the jagged floor and held on with all her strength, buying the cat some time to escape.
The cat struggled but finally got back on its feet.
“Yeah, go! Hurry!”
Thankfully, it could still stand.
Just as a faint smile appeared on Maybel’s face, one of her fingernails snapped.
“Ugh!”
The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. Tears sprang to her eyes as her strength faltered.
She was dragged downward…
…Lick.
The cat had already approached and licked Maybel’s finger.
At that moment—
Flash!
The dark cave, indistinguishable front from back, was suddenly flooded with light.
“Ugh!”
The light was so intense that Maybel forgot to brace herself and covered her face.
Was it because of the light?
The rope pulling her ankle seemed to loosen slightly.
“Ah!”
But it might have been a trick of the eyes—she was still dragged backward.
Yet this time, she didn’t scrape herself all over.
A soft, watery cushion seemed to wrap her body, protecting her from the jagged floor.
Soon, Maybel found herself cradled in someone’s arms.
Her eyes still stung from the brightness, but she could make out who held her.
Amid the kidnappers’ screams and thrashing, a calm, slightly reproachful voice spoke.
“You’ve really gotten used to running away, haven’t you?”
It was Zigmunt.
When Maybel, held by Zigmunt, emerged from the cave, Kellic immediately ran up.
“Maybel!!! Are you okay?!”
“Brother…!”
Maybel reached out, and Kellic grasped her hand, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Waaah! I should have been the one kidnapped! I’m so sorry!”
“What? What do you mean?”
Startled, Maybel asked, but Kellic was too busy crying to answer.
Zigmunt spoke in his place.
“Just as Kellic said, he was meant to play the role of the kidnap victim today.”
“Wh-what…?”
A kidnap victim?
Maybel looked up, stunned.
Zigmunt explained as they headed toward the carriage.
“Remember how we dealt with the beastman poachers in the capital?”
“Yes…”
Of course she remembered—she had gone to the capital ahead of Zigmunt and overheard some unpleasant talk at the cafeteria.
“I recently captured the leader of the largest poacher gang. We received intel that the remaining members planned to take a hostage to demand the leader’s release.”
This was the perfect chance to eliminate the remaining gang members as well.
Kellic volunteered as bait.
Being a red fox, Kellic was agile and could see in the dark, so escaping the cave would be manageable.
Of course, he brought plenty of artifacts for safety.
A deliberate gap was left in the Grand Duke’s defenses.
Ella’s warnings to Maybel about knight rotations were because of this, not Sophia’s visit.
“I didn’t expect they’d attempt a kidnapping today.”
“I’m sorry! Huhhh! Sorry, Maybel!”
“I didn’t expect them to go after you instead of Kellic. Ah, my apologies.”
Zigmunt, helping Maybel into the carriage, pressed his forehead in apology.
“My fault. I should have shared the intel with you. I just didn’t want to worry you further after the Sophia incident.”
“Let’s take a closer look.”
Once in the carriage, Zigmunt checked Maybel.
“From the outside, there don’t seem to be any major injuries…”
Considering she had been kidnapped and trapped deep in a cave, Maybel was remarkably unharmed.
At first, blood on her dress from the hand she had bandaged startled her.
But once she removed the dress folds, her hands were perfectly fine.
Even the scratch from the cat and the broken fingernail marks were gone.
What was even stranger…
“You really didn’t see it? That… the cave lit up so suddenly!”
“Hmm… the cave had been dark the whole time.”
No one had seen the intense light that had blinded her when the cat licked her wounds.
“Maybe the lamp inside the cave broke?”
Zigmunt suggested a plausible explanation, but Maybel remained silent.
That light wasn’t from a lamp.
‘It was a beautiful, pale bluish light…’
Yes, the same color as the cat’s eyes.
Now, she wondered… where was the cat?
