IPDE 22

Chapter : 22

Even as an Extra, I Refuse the Death Route (22)

“Thank you!”
Even though I hadn’t gone very far, I felt strangely relieved.
I had only gone out to buy some ingredients, after all.
Yet, I felt a small sense of enjoying freedom.

Normally, I would have spent my day off catching up on sleep, but today, sleep wouldn’t come.
I wondered what I should do, and something suddenly caught my eye.

“Would they like it if I gave this as a thank-you for the scarf?”
I thought about what I could give in return for the scarf Iart had given me.
What came to mind was honey lemon.
I couldn’t remember exactly where I had seen it, but its appearance had left a good impression.
Of course, I was most confident in desserts, but I made those all the time anyway.
Honey lemon seemed like a good choice to give as a small gift.

After buying all the ingredients I needed, I wandered around a bit, as if taking a leisurely stroll.
“Ah, the weather’s nice.”
The cool breeze felt refreshing, and the warm sunlight was pleasant.

“Huh?”
After walking for a while, I spotted a small cat at the entrance of a narrow alley.
I had always loved animals, but whenever I reached out to touch one, they would reject me.
I usually had to be content just watching from afar.

But for some reason, when the cat met my gaze, it rolled on the ground and let out a lazy sound.
“Eek…! It’s so cute!”
I couldn’t resist getting closer.
I quietly approached, trying to keep my footsteps soft in case it got startled.

“Meow—”
The cat I touched for the first time in my life was very small and soft.

“Oh my, kitty. Why are you so skinny?”
Up close, I could see that it was indeed thin and had small wounds here and there.

“What’s this?”
I now noticed a very thin necklace around its neck.
Judging by that, it didn’t seem like a stray cat.

Feeling sorry for it, I wanted to give it something, but all I had were lemon and honey.
“Lemon might be too much, and honey… probably not either.”

While I was pondering, the cat suddenly darted into the alley.
“Where are you going!”
“Meow—”
It stopped near the bend of the alley and meowed as if signaling me to follow.

Naturally, I followed it into the narrow alley, picking up my pace.
We repeated stopping and running a few times until we finally arrived at a place.

“Oh, this looks better than I expected.”
I knew not to judge a book by its cover, but
anyone could tell just by looking at the two men standing there that they were “bad news.”

“Meow—”
The cat rubbed against one man’s leg like it was familiar with him.
Then, the man scowled and kicked the cat with full force.

“Eek—”
The cat flew through the air, unable to even cry out, and landed limply, letting out a pained sound.

“Eat whatever you find on the ground. What a filthy place to rub against.”
“What are you doing… ugh!”
I sharply shouted and tried to run toward the cat, but my body was instantly thrown to the ground.

“Seems like you don’t understand the situation. Now isn’t the time to worry about a cat.”
“Let’s see…”
The shock was so great that my vision blurred for a moment.
Just as I tried to pull myself together and get up, a rough hand grabbed my chin.

“With this, it should cover a few months’ living expenses, at least.”
“Ugh… let go…!”
I struggled, but the pain all over my body made movement impossible.

“Let’s save our energy and go quietly.”
The man holding my chin lifted me roughly as if I were a sack of goods.

“Ugh…!”
My breath was cut off as I was placed on his hard shoulder.
My mind couldn’t process the sudden situation.
Could this be the death route in this episode?

“No, someone help me…”
I wanted to scream, but I didn’t even have the strength to struggle.

Then, it happened.
“Argh!”
“What the hell are you guys!”
Knights suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slammed the man who was carrying me to the ground.
As he staggered back,
“Ugh!”
“Whoa, are you okay… huh?”
He fell to the side after being kicked, and someone lightly caught my falling body.

“Miss Ireinea, right?”
Arjen, who slowly laid me on the ground, asked.
Why was he here?

“Ugh…”
Moving my body caused sharp pain.
“You don’t look to be in good shape,” murmured Arjen worriedly, and he shouted to the knights.
“Keep these two men detained. For now, retreat.”
“Yes, Marquis.”

The knights immediately followed his orders.
What on earth was happening?
In any case, it seemed I had survived again.

“Let’s head back to the Marquis’ residence for now.”
Arjen carefully helped me to my feet.
Since I couldn’t move on my own, I had no choice but to follow his lead.

“Wait, just a moment…”
As we moved a few steps, I suddenly remembered the cat and stopped.

“There’s a cat over there. It got kicked by those men earlier…”
I pointed weakly toward the cat.

Arjen let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
“Worrying about others at a time like this… Don’t worry, we’ll have the knights check on it. Focus on yourself first.”

“Huh…”
When I slowly opened my eyes, the unfamiliar room came into full view.

“Oh, you’re awake.”
I turned to the voice and saw Arjen smiling at me.
Right, I had been injured.

After being helped into a carriage by Arjen, we had arrived at the Marquis’ residence.
I must have taken some painkillers, lay down for a bit, and fallen asleep.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like I had slept long, as it was still bright outside.

“How does your body feel?”
Arjen asked softly as I slowly sat up.
Unlike earlier, I could move my body without major discomfort.
Just a little soreness remained.

“I think I’m okay. Thank you so much.”
“If there’s nothing serious, you can rest a bit more before heading back.”
“I’m really sorry for causing trouble again.”

Not once, but twice.
I never expected to owe my life to Arjen.
Strangely, he always seemed to appear in these dangerous situations.
Was it just coincidence?

“Oh, right.”
Arjen approached me as I was lost in thought.

“The cat is safe. It will need some treatment, but its life is not in danger.”
“Really? That’s a relief…”
I let out a sigh of relief, and Arjen chuckled lightly.

“You seem happier about that than about your own safety.”
“Ahaha…”
Embarrassed, I let out an awkward laugh.

“It seems the necklace had a magic stone that attracts animals.”
“Oh, that makes sense now.”
Judging from the way the men kicked the cat, it wasn’t the first time. No wonder the cat kept following it.
Those wicked people…

“There have been many disappearances in the area recently. Luckily, we were investigating, or it could have ended badly.”
“Those people are…?”
“Slave traders. They use cats to lure people into alleys and abduct them to sell.”

The thought that it could have been worse than death sent a chill down my spine.
“This kind of danger isn’t limited to nighttime, so always stay alert.”
“Yes, I understand.”

“You seem a bit insensitive to danger,” he added.
“…Ah.”
He was probably referring to the time I jumped into the drain.
I felt scolded and slumped a bit.

“I’m not scolding. I just want you to be careful because I worry.”
“Yes, thank you so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay this debt…”

Honestly, a small part of me felt uneasy.
It felt like a clichéd scene had just played out.
But aside from that, I couldn’t fail to express gratitude to someone who had saved my life twice.

“The debt? It’s fine.”
“I feel uneasy about it. Is there anything you need?”

“Hmm.”
Arjen paused, then smiled and said,
“Then, could you make a dessert for me?”

“A dessert?”
“I can’t forget the taste of the dessert you made at your birthday banquet. I’d like to taste Miss Ireinea’s dessert once more.”

“That’s easy enough, but… is that enough?”
“That’s fine. I look forward to it, Miss Ireinea.”

So he’s the male lead, huh.
Well, it was fortunate if a dessert could serve as my thanks.

“Oh, and this. These are yours, right?”
Arjen handed me the ingredients I had bought.

“They were scattered nearby, so I picked them up.”
“Yes, they’re mine. Thank you.”

Luckily, most of the ingredients were still fine.
Growl.
“….”
“….”
Relieved that everything was settled, my stomach suddenly growled.
I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since morning.

“I’ll have a meal prepared. Let’s eat together.”
“Oh, no! I can eat later at home!”
“I want to eat with you, so please don’t refuse.”
“…Alright.”

At this point, I couldn’t refuse. My stomach was growling so badly my hands were shaking.

When we went down to the dining room, a lavish meal was prepared, far beyond what I usually ate.

“Please, make yourself comfortable.”
“Yes.”
I sat across from Arjen and started eating.
I was hungrier than I felt awkward, so my appetite came first.

After feeling a bit full, I came back to my senses.
“I feel like I’m in your debt for even being served a meal.”
“Nonsense. Our families aren’t particularly close, but our ties are enough for this to be proper hospitality.”

Hearing him say that, I realized I didn’t even know his family name.
Then my name must be Ireinea Petryon.
It felt strangely mismatched.

“Though the situation isn’t great, I’m glad to have this conversation with you, Miss Ireinea.”
As expected, the male lead’s every word was charming, even if it wasn’t my type.

I could feel the awkwardness between us growing.
“Ahaha, really?”
“I actually wanted to ask you something…”