VDBO 29

Chapter 29

“She’s sleeping comfortably, lucky thing.”

A voice sounded as if it were scolding me. Yet beneath it was a faint warmth, like gentle spring sunlight.

I forced my heavy eyelids open. My head felt thick and sluggish. In my blurred vision, a familiar figure appeared. As my sight slowly cleared, my mother stood before me.

With the window shut, arms crossed, she gazed out at the scenery beyond. She looked like a painting. And yet, somehow, she felt as though no matter how far I reached, I would never be able to touch her.

Even though she was so close.

I stared blankly at her before turning my gaze around the room. For some reason, everything felt familiar. To my surprise, the place where I lay was my old room from when I used to live in the capital. The very house where I once wore expensive dresses in the morning only to burn them by evening.

When did I come back here?

“Mother…?”

“Get up. What are you doing there, staring like an idiot?”

My mother’s gaze snapped toward me. Her vividly red eyes pressed down on me.

“Ah.”

“Get up, now.”

Still dazed, I forced my body up from the cold bed.

“Yes. I must have dozed off for a moment.”

“You’re my daughter. Carvella. Don’t ever forget that.”

I didn’t understand what she meant. If I wasn’t her daughter, then what was I? Even if I had been adopted, I was undoubtedly her daughter.

“I know. Of course—”

Riiiiing—

Suddenly, a violent ringing filled my ears. It felt as though my head was being torn apart. I clutched my head with both hands and curled in on myself.

“Hhk…!”

My breath came up to my throat. The words my mother had spoken moments ago mixed with the ringing, echoing chaotically inside my head.

My head hurts. This is irritating.

I squeezed my eyes shut in discomfort. Then, out of nowhere, I felt something damp against my cheek. But it wasn’t just my imagination.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on a bed that was nearly soaked. It seemed cold sweat had been pouring out of me nonstop even while I was unconscious. The unpleasant moisture that had seeped from my body clung heavily to the bed.

“……”

I forced my uncooperative body upright. What was going on? I looked toward where my mother should have been just moments ago—only to find a bare wall with no window at all.

Now that I was conscious, I should have realized it was a dream. Yet I was still confused. It felt less like a dream and more like foreign thoughts being forcibly pushed into my mind. That was why it had felt so real—like something I was truly seeing and feeling.

But everything before my eyes was unfamiliar, so even that must have been a misunderstanding. The room that had resembled my old bedroom from my subconscious was, in reality, a strange place I had never seen before.

I had clearly been kidnapped, yet I wasn’t tied up anywhere. When I lowered my hand below my waist, the dagger I always carried was still there.

I got out of bed and began checking my surroundings. The fever was still tormenting me. And strangely, my head felt dull, as though wrapped in fog. Even my vision felt hazy. I didn’t know whether this was just the aftermath of being sick or if they had done something to me.

Either way, there was no time to complain. I had to figure things out before someone came in.

A bed, a bedside table, two chairs, and a table. Simple, yet luxurious.

After staring at them for a moment, I turned my attention to the door. I deliberately didn’t touch the doorknob. If someone was guarding outside, they’d know I was awake.

I quietly sliced the hem of my dress with my dagger, careful not to make a sound. After cutting away enough, I sheathed the blade. My legs were now clearly exposed up to my knees.

I let out a bitter smile and hurriedly tied the torn strips of fabric together, making a long rope. Then I stacked the two chairs crosswise on top of the table opposite the door.

I tied the dress-rope to the chair placed on the table and tested the length. It wasn’t as sturdy as I’d like, but combined with the underdress, it was long enough. It easily reached all the way to the door.

Once everything was ready, I piled the portable lamp from the bedside table and anything else that could make noise on top of the highest chair.

Since no one had come in yet, either there was no guard, the guard was lazy, or I had woken up faster than they expected.

I climbed onto another bedside table placed right next to the door—the spot where a vase had been earlier. Holding the tied fabric rope taut, I gripped my sheathed dagger tightly in my other hand.

“One… two…”

Three.

Crash—!

The vase shattered, and with a deafening racket, everything piled on the table came tumbling down. At the same time, the door flew open.

“What the—!”

In that split second, I had only one chance.

Before he could register what was happening and turn around, I leapt down and slammed the hilt of my dagger into the back of his neck with all my strength. Hitting the vital point precisely, the man collapsed to the floor with a dull thud, unable to even cry out.

I had expected at least two guards, so I immediately unsheathed my dagger—but fortunately, there was only one man.

He must have thought a single man would be enough to handle one frail woman. He probably didn’t consider that I’d been through more than enough hell in my life. Or maybe his information was simply lacking.

Driven by the conviction that failure meant death, I had struck with everything I had. Now my arm throbbed from the tension. I pushed my sweat-soaked hair back with that aching arm, feeling a little clearer. Gasping for breath, I looked down at the man sprawled pitifully on the floor.

“…That was nothing.”

My hands were trembling. I stepped over the fallen man and exited the room. Unfortunately, getting out of the room wasn’t the end.

Outside was a corridor—not very wide, but shaped like a maze. Hallways stretched out in every direction, front and back, and beyond each corridor was yet another corridor.

Someone familiar with the place could probably move through it easily, but not me. The only consolation was that the Bay’s corridors were like this too. Of course, those were wider, more luxurious, and far more numerous. Enough that anyone visiting for the first time was guaranteed to get lost.

And the door I’d exited wasn’t the only one. There were more than ten doors lining the corridor. Why were there so many? For a moment, an absurd thought crossed my mind—were there others imprisoned here like me?

I shook my head quickly.

Given my situation, that wasn’t something I could worry about.

The damned fever showed no sign of breaking. One moment I was so hot I wanted to strip naked, the next I was shivering cold.

I had to hold out until Mr. Schwalt came to rescue me. To keep myself focused, I bit down on my lip until it bled. Even that wasn’t enough, so I unsheathed my dagger.

“Ah, I really hate this.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped the sharp edge with force. Pulling the blade slightly toward me, a strange sensation and sharp pain struck at once. Drops of blood seeped from my palm and splattered onto the carpeted floor.

That was when—

“A beautiful lady, and yet you’re so impatient.”

“……”

I stopped and looked up at the sly voice.

A tall, lean man. Raw-looking, sharp gray eyes. Long crimson hair. A mischievous curve to his lips. Smooth, slightly tanned skin.

“Really, why did you steal my boys’ keys? Especially someone as precious as a noble young lady.”

He spoke while leaning crookedly against the wall with his arms crossed.

I stared at him for a long moment, then let out a deep sigh.

“…Damn. I was wondering who it was.”

Only now did he show himself? And kidnapping me over this? He could’ve just sent someone to talk. The man looked at me with a baffled expression.

“Aren’t you scared?”

He asked with a short laugh.

I walked straight toward him, unafraid. Sure, I knew I looked like a mess right now, but I didn’t need to look good for him.

“You could’ve just brought me politely.”

“And you’re speaking informally…?”

“We’re the same age.”

“What?”

Ignoring his reaction, I looked down at myself while talking. Even a beggar would look better than this. I brushed at my ragged clothes.

“You and I are the same age. So speak casually too.”

The man stared at me as if stunned, then suddenly burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. After laughing until tears formed, he wiped the corners of his eyes and asked,

“What are you?”

“First of all, sorry for stealing the key. I didn’t have any connection to you, so I had no idea how to reach you otherwise.”

I admitted it honestly. Seemingly intrigued, he looked at me strangely.

“So you stole the key just to see me?”

“Yeah. And sorry, but—”

“What?”

“Do you have any clothes I can wear? I’ll pay.”

It’s a little hard to have a conversation like this.

At that, the man burst into laughter once again.