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Chapter 56
“Is this because of food?”
Idorian raised his hands as if giving up resisting and asked.
Renier gave a vague nod, then ordered the people of Letern, who had gathered from somewhere, to go check the kitchen situation.
“If that’s the problem, then you can take everything in the storage. Just put Uben down.”
Uben’s face was flushed red as he kicked and struggled.
He had been excused from work all this time because of a supposed shoulder injury, but seeing him lift a child so easily, clearly that had been a lie.
“That’s not possible. How am I supposed to trust your promise in the first place?”
Renier firmly shook his head.
“You all should’ve just taken the drug and fallen asleep together from the start. Then I wouldn’t be forced to take a hostage and make threats like this.”
He too seemed to grow tense as things weren’t going as planned, slowly stepping backward.
Even while holding Uben hostage, he still seemed worried that Iidorian or Heresthen might counterattack.
“At the very least, we need one hostage if we want to get out of here safely, don’t you think?”
He shrugged, as though he had no choice.
If that’s the case…
“I’ll do it.”
I raised my hand, and Renier’s eyes narrowed.
“If that’s the case, I’ll be the hostage instead of the child.”
“What?”
Before Renier could react, Iidorian grabbed my hand in shock and forced it down.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
He shook his head, clearly telling me not to.
“Penelope.”
The raiders from Letern territory.
There were two things I wanted to protect from them.
First, food.
Second, Lilia.
As for food, I had already hidden some away whenever I found the chance, making sure no one noticed.
So even if they took everything they could see, Iidorian and Heresthen wouldn’t have to risk going outside the fortress to find more.
I didn’t spend every dawn guarding the kitchen for nothing.
And once we ran out of hidden food, we could eat the corn growing in the fields.
The real problem was Uben, who had been caught.
If, as in the novel, they intended to take him outside the fortress…
Would Iidorian or Heresthen chase after him?
“…Uben is still so young.”
Uben wasn’t going to die in Renier’s hands. At least, not inside the fortress. They needed him for now.
But he could still be hurt.
His blood could spill on that blade.
And that would be a huge problem for me. If I reacted to the smell of blood in this situation, where could I run?
“But you!”
Iidorian protested, and I simply shrugged.
A little blood on me wouldn’t cause problems.
“Don’t do this, Penelope. Uben… I’ll do something. I’ll protect him somehow.”
Recently I had learned that my recovery speed increased drastically when I entered an awakened state.
So getting a little cut was far better than being in a situation where blood scent might trigger my instincts uncontrollably.
“So listen to me. Please?”
But Iidorian clearly didn’t think me taking Uben’s place was a good idea.
“Haha, if the lady volunteer to be our hostage instead, that’s even better for us.”
Renier dropped Uben to the ground with a thud.
“Cough! Cough!”
He still had a tight grip on the boy’s neck, so Uben couldn’t get away.
“Lady, just tell me once you’ve decided.”
Uben, face red, coughed desperately as though relieved to breathe again.
“So—”
“No, I have to do it.”
I pushed away Iidorian’s hand as he tried to persuade me.
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
I lightly patted his tense hand and whispered softly.
“I even hid some food in case something like this happened.”
“What?”
“So don’t worry too much.”
At that, Iidorian’s eyebrows twisted, narrowing his eyes.
“I also have a reason for replacing Uben.”
I pushed his hand away firmly.
He grabbed mine immediately—
—but let go shortly after.
As I approached Renier, he yanked Uben’s neck again, forcing the child to lift his head.
Uben’s big eyes brimmed with tears.
Whether because he was suffocating or terrified, I wasn’t sure.
But as our eyes met, tears streamed down his cheeks.
“Let him go now.”
I pulled at the hand holding the knife, trying to free Uben.
“Fine. As long as we have the lady, that’s more than enough.”
Renier shook off my hand and released Uben’s neck.
“…My lady…”
“Go to His Highness.”
Renier answered in Uben’s place, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“Your Highness, take the child and wait in that room.”
Satisfied with securing me as the hostage, he pushed me forward, walking toward the hall again.
“Please hurry along.”
And then—
“Ghh!”
Idorian suddenly tackled an outsider who had been standing nearby and disarmed him instantly.
…That’s not good.
“Your Highness! What are—”
“If you wish to kill him, you may.”
Renier didn’t even blink.
The others reacted similarly.
Although startled, none of them seemed inclined to rescue the captured man.
“We work together out of necessity, not affection.”
More than that, they seemed afraid they might be attacked next, and quickly backed away from Iidorian.
“But if you kill him, I won’t stay still either.”
“Aagh!”
The blade pressed into my neck. The deeper it dug, the sharper the pain became.
“Your Highness! Let him go! It hurts!”
I cried out urgently to stop Iidorian.
Why was I the hostage now?
If he killed someone, then there was no reason for Renier to keep holding me.
Even though I felt something warm running down my neck, I couldn’t look away from the man pinned under Iidorian.
“Your Highness!”
Clang—
Iidorian finally threw the knife aside and rose from the man whose arm he had twisted.
Even though Iidorian had moved away, the man remained on the ground, unable to get up, only groaning.
“If you’re done, go inside.”
Renier gestured toward the room again.
“We don’t have much time.”
“Your Highness, take Lumi too.”
I said it so they wouldn’t grab someone else and put another blade to their neck.
Renier chuckled, as if in disbelief.
“Don’t worry. One hostage is more than enough. She alone is excessive.”
As Renier said that, Iidorian inhaled deeply.
His tightly clenched fist trembled faintly.
He finally lifted Lumi carefully and headed toward the parlor.
Uben clung to his leg, gripping his clothes desperately, repeatedly glancing back at me.
The child’s face was still soaked with tears he hadn’t had the strength to wipe away.
“Renier.”
Standing in front of the parlor door, Iidorian suddenly turned around.
His eyes were on me.
“I’ll do everything you say, so don’t hurt her.”
In that moment, his face looked utterly devastated.
His tightly shut lips trembled, as if from the helplessness of being unable to do anything.
“…Please.”
A please.
A word that didn’t suit Iidorian Pidentre at all.
