Chapter 95
“Damn it…! Where the hell did they all run off to?!”
The shout of the man who burst through the door made my body jolt, as if I were only just waking up.
“Wh-where am I…?”
Of course, I was trying to buy even a little time.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“I clearly ran into some men in an alley, and then…”
I stared blankly at him with a confused expression.
The man scowling at me from beyond the iron bars wasn’t the one who had kidnapped me.
Still… his face felt strangely familiar.
Where have I seen him before…?
As I searched my memory, it came back to me.
When Yellowis had gotten into a scuffle with some thugs in front of the boutique, this man had been there too.
Unlike the local residents who watched Yellowis with pale faces, this man had been scanning his surroundings, carefully observing the situation. That was why I remembered him so clearly.
So they were all in on it together?
They deliberately picked fights in the street to stir up trouble, then kidnapped children while everyone’s attention was drawn elsewhere.
Judging by this, it definitely wasn’t their first time doing this.
Just as I was thinking I absolutely couldn’t let them keep chasing after the kids—
Bang!
The man slammed his scabbard against the iron bars in front of me.
“Where did those little brats go?! Answer me properly, or else!”
“W-what kids are you even talking about…?!”
I shouted back, looking even more flustered.
As I watched the man turn red all the way up to his neck in rage, someone from my past flashed through my mind.
My father, Marquis Aymond.
“Explain yourself properly. Why were Lania’s things found in your room?”
“I-I really don’t know anything about it…”
“So you’re going to deny it to the end.”
Whenever Lania played her tricks, he would lock me in my room and beat me under the guise of ‘discipline.’
Back then, I was terrified if anyone so much as raised their voice…
But now, I wasn’t as scared as I had been then.
Because—
I had Kenih, who said he would stay by my side for the rest of his life.
I had Lord Ferdinand, who asked me to call him my grandfather.
And I had Yellowis, who silently embraced me warmly whenever my secret was discovered.
I was no longer the half-forgotten child of the marquisate, swallowing my tears alone.
And—
No matter where I was, Kenih would definitely find me.
So… I’m not scared at all.
Clenching my fists tightly, I opened my eyes with a sharp glare and questioned the man beyond the bars.
“Why are you taking it out on me for what you lost? I was dragged here without knowing anything in the first place…”
I trailed off slightly, not forgetting to act confused.
Let’s shake him up a little more…
Perhaps because of that, even the man himself seemed to grow uncertain.
“You’re saying those kids ran off on their own? Damn it, do you know how hard it is to get carnivorous test subjects…?!”
Test subjects?
What was he talking about?
I frowned at him, but my thoughts were cut short.
Bang, bang, craaash—!
The kidnapper started smashing the iron bars wildly to vent his anger.
Cheddar and the kids might have bought time, but for me, the situation was far from good.
“Tch, can’t be helped.”
The man, who had been panting roughly, turned his gaze to me.
“If nothing else, we’ll just sell what’s left.”
What’s left… meaning me?
I staggered backward until my back hit the cold wall.
I was completely cornered.
If I could turn into a squirrel, I might be able to escape somehow…
Unfortunately, there was no sign of me returning to my original form.
Usually, once I used up all my mana, I’d revert to a squirrel—but this time was different.
And how am I even supposed to use mana, anyway?
Every time it had happened, it was in moments so close to a miracle that I’d used it without realizing it. I still hadn’t learned how to do it deliberately.
Just then—
A subordinate who had been silently watching me from behind the man tilted his head and spoke.
“Boss, doesn’t that look kind of familiar? I feel like I’ve seen that appearance somewhere before.”
The situation was spiraling toward disaster.
Don’t tell me by ‘familiar’ he means Muriel Aymond…?
Cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
The man only frowned briefly at his subordinate’s words.
“What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand.”
“You remember that job we took a few days ago.”
“Oh, the one from Kalt?”
Kalt was a small town on the western edge of the Croitz territory.
What kind of job could have come from a place like that?
“Yes. The one asking us to capture a squirrel beastkin from Croitz territory. The description mentioned a human-like appearance, and it seems similar.”
At that, the man tilted his head, then pulled something out of the inside pocket of his coat.
It was a rolled-up stack of papers—a scroll.
Judging by the lack of an official seal, it looked like a request from an illegal guild.
The good news was—
They don’t seem to realize it’s the same job as the one looking for the albino squirrel wanted by the imperial family.
More than three years and several seasons had passed; it was probably long forgotten by ordinary people.
But if it wasn’t the imperial family, then who was looking for me?
And through an illegal black market, no less.
I pressed my lips together uneasily.
“So I don’t absolutely have to kill you, huh…”
The man’s mouth, which had been twisted in irritation, curved dangerously.
“I-I’m not a squirrel beastkin, okay?! I’m—!”
Swallowing hard, I shouted at them.
“I’m a white marten beastkin!”
I fixed them with the fiercest glare I could manage.
But the men just snorted at each other.
From the madness in their faces, it was clear that whether I was a squirrel or a marten didn’t matter to them at all.
They only cared about one thing.
“Whatever. We just need to deliver the goods and get paid.”
He raised the corner of his mouth, imagining the pile of money I’d fetch.
“You’re valuable, so behave yourself.”
Creeeak—
The sound of the iron-bar door opening echoed through the underground cell.
Drip… drop—
In the underground waterway, where only the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling could be heard—
“Mmph, mmph…!”
I could give you more money than the Croitz ducal house!
I moved my lips desperately, but all that came out were muffled sounds.
They’d taped my mouth shut, saying I was too noisy.
That wasn’t all. Afraid I might escape, they tied my arms tightly with rope and dragged me along like a dog through the underground waterway for a long time.
Since Cheddar and the other kids had escaped, they must have assumed their hideout had been exposed.
That was why they chose the pitch-dark underground canal.
“Mmph…!”
I stumbled again and again over rocks, while they navigated the darkness without hesitation.
These guys… they’re probably rat beastkin.
That would explain why they scoffed when I said I wasn’t a squirrel but a white marten.
Our destination was a shabby warehouse on the outskirts of the territory.
As if prepared to flee at any moment, they even had a small wagon ready.
“Boss, I sent the messenger bird. The client should arrive soon. I’ll keep watch around the area in the meantime.”
“Good. If you run into the others, tell them all to pull out. We’re leaving here tonight.”
After finishing their discussion, they finally tied my legs as well and loaded me onto the back of the wagon.
“You’d better behave. Otherwise…”
The man’s gaze slid toward my neck. I quickly nodded, signaling that I understood.
After that, I was confined in a space as narrow as a coffin.
From beyond the thin wooden boards, a nose-stinging fishy stench seeped in.
It was all far too familiar.
Just like in the dream.
I glanced at my partially exposed wrist.
On top of the crystal bracelet Kenih had given me, the bracelets Yellowis and Lord Ferdinand had added—almost competing with each other—stood out vividly.
If this continues…
Just like in the dream, I might die at their hands.
I couldn’t meet such a futile end without ever walking through the plaza streets.
Never!
As I rolled my body around inside the cramped wooden box, something dropped with a soft clink.
Got it!
It was the jagged stone I’d secretly picked up earlier when I fell in the waterway.
Bracing the stone with my feet, I relentlessly rubbed it against the rope binding my arms.
It wasn’t easy—but I was a semi-wild squirrel, three years into mountain life.
Basically a natural survivalist.
If I could do it in a squirrel’s body, there was no way I couldn’t do it now just because my limbs were bound.
Scrape, scrape, scrape—
The rope finally snapped.
“B-boss!”
From afar, I heard someone running toward us in a panic.
“Oh, you’re already here?”
The man greeted him cheerfully, but the newcomer didn’t even pause to catch his breath before climbing onto the wagon.
“We have to leave right now!”
“Leave where? We’ve still got an important deal. Just wait a bit—the client will be here soon.”
“Just get on the wagon already!”
What followed was a scene I knew all too well.
As the latecomer hurriedly whipped the wagon into motion, an uproar broke out in the front seat.
“Damn it, knights are everywhere! Those lunatics have blocked the gates and are searching every wagon one by one!”
“What are you panicking over something like that for?!”
As their voices rose in argument—
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
A massive vibration shook the ground, and the wagon lurched violently to one side.
