Angela 35

A loud neighing of a horse was heard from outside, and then the carriage came to a stop.
Did something happen? Just as Angela was about to place her hand on the window—

“Do not come out!”

Jamie’s urgent shout rattled the window. Angela quickly pulled her hand away.
At that moment, clang!—a metallic crash rang out from outside. She could tell what was happening.
The carriage was under attack.

“Gurk!”

A sinister sound came from the front of the carriage. The coachman must’ve been hit.
The sound of clashing weapons drew closer. It was clear that Jamie couldn’t handle it alone.
Angela opened the carriage door in the next moment. Jamie shouted in dismay, struggling to push back an oncoming sword.

“Get back inside, my lady!”

But Angela had already decided to take a gamble.
Just by looking at Jamie’s condition, it was obvious that sitting inside the carriage wouldn’t change anything.
There were at least five or six armed men. Possibly more. Jamie was bleeding from multiple places.
Continuing to clash swords would only lead to one outcome. It was a pointless fight.
Blood should only be spilled when there’s something to gain.

“There’s nothing of value in this carriage except for me.”

At Angela’s shout, one of the men stepped forward. He appeared to be the leader of the group.

“Well, that’s fortunate. You’re exactly who we want—Lady Angela Bilton.”

The man spoke with a glint in his narrow eyes.
If they were after money, she had been planning to offer herself as a hostage. But this was an unexpected turn.
They had come specifically to kidnap Angela Bilton… Not that it changed anything.

“I don’t know who hired you, but if they didn’t ask for my head, I’ll come quietly.
However, you’ll release this knight. That’s the condition.”

“What nonsense are you speaking?!”

Angela pointed her chin toward Jamie, who had rushed over to shield her, and he protested furiously.

“Looks like our lady isn’t as wicked as the rumors say. But you’re hardly in a position to make demands.”

“Even if you accept the terms, I don’t need your permission. Ptooey!”

Jamie spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and gripped his sword again.
He took a fighting stance, which caused the enemy to respond.

However, before Jamie could make a move, Angela grabbed his arm tightly.

“Don’t be reckless. Sir Jamie, can you fight them all and get me out of here safely?”

Jamie couldn’t answer. His eyes were burning with rage, but he already sensed his own defeat.
Even so, he continued fighting only to avoid the shame of surrender.
It was his pride as a knight, to stand firm even in the face of death.

But it was a foolish notion.

“Honor as a knight only matters while you’re alive. If you die, I end up in their hands anyway.
If the outcome’s the same, the one who can survive should survive. Get a grip.”

Angela spoke firmly. Then she turned back to the man.

“Since you’re not killing me right away, it means you weren’t told to take my head.
If you don’t let this knight go, I’ll bite off my tongue right here.
Go show the corpse to the one who hired you and see if you can strike a bargain.”

Wrinkles formed on the man’s forehead. That meant the situation was turning in Angela’s favor.
Angela stared him down, not wanting to miss even the slightest shift.

After a moment, the man signaled his men to stand down with a hand gesture.
Angela, watching the armed men slowly retreat, snatched the sword from Jamie’s hand.
She swiftly held it to her own throat and gave Jamie an order.

“If you don’t want to see my head fall, don’t look back. Run as far as you can.”

Jamie ground his teeth. It was from frustration and anger.
But even he understood that emotions wouldn’t solve anything.

“You must stay safe. I will find you. Until then, please stay safe.”

“Don’t say useless things—just go.”

Angela snapped at him curtly.
She drew the sword a bit closer to her neck, afraid the enemies might move the moment Jamie did.
A thin cut formed, and blood began to seep out.
Seeing the blood, Jamie turned around with a tormented look.
If he delayed, all of this would’ve been for nothing.

Angela stood holding the sword, staying alert until Jamie’s footsteps could no longer be heard.
Whether it was from tension or sheer force, blood now soaked the front of her dress.
It was the very spot Kalian had touched just yesterday.
Angela thought to herself how wasteful it was to let it be ruined like this, and glared at the enemies.

“Now!”

The voice of the man at the center rang out loudly.

“As agreed, come quietly.”

With those words, the man gestured again.
His subordinates moved swiftly. They took the sword from Angela, pulled a black hood over her head, cutting off her sight.
Her arms were tied tightly behind her back.

In that moment, only one thought passed through Angela’s mind:

Please, don’t let the flower bracelet Kalian tied be ruined by these filthy hands.

Was it the blood loss, or the suffocating hood?
Angela collapsed after only a few steps under their dragging grip.
Even though she tried to stay conscious, her eyes closed.
Her mind dimmed. The chaotic world was silenced in an instant.

—

The group of hunters who had captured her returned to their hideout and threw Angela carelessly into a basement room.
Even while unconscious, she let out a faint groan.

“Treat her gently, idiot. She’s our precious ticket to cash.”

At Hunter’s remark, the man who had all but thrown Angela to the ground replied flippantly, “Yeah, yeah,” with a smirk. It was clear he didn’t mean it.

“But is this really okay? I mean, she’s the Duke of Bilton’s daughter…”

One of the men standing at a distance with his arms crossed couldn’t hide his unease and finally spoke up. Though kidnapping and abduction were routine for them, targeting someone this high-profile felt unsettling.

“That’s exactly why it’s good.”

Hunter, who had received a hefty sum as a down payment, grinned slyly. The more dangerous the job, the more it paid. How fortunate the request came to them. If some other thug had gotten that kind of money, he’d have been sick with envy.

“Should we make the call then?”

Another man gestured vaguely into the air, indicating the client, but Hunter shook his head and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“If they know how smoothly things went, you think they’ll still cough up a fortune? We need to milk it, make it sound like we struggled.”

Hunter smacked his lips, already thinking of the bigger payout. Just then, a man limped down into the basement.

“Food’s ready.”

He was someone one of the group had brought in a few days ago. With his unusual hair color and pretty face, they’d decided to keep him around a while before selling him off to some twisted noble with peculiar tastes. Seeing another potential cash cow, a nasty smile crept onto Hunter’s face.

—

It was unclear how much time had passed. Angela regained consciousness, lying on the cold floor, realizing her hands and feet were no longer bound. The hood that had covered her face had been removed—her breathing wasn’t constricted anymore, which proved that much.

But she kept her eyes tightly shut, worried that if she showed any movement, they’d notice she was awake. That left her unable to tell whether it was day or night, let alone where she was.

Still, Angela didn’t move. She relied on her hearing to assess the situation.

There were no sounds—whether it meant no one was nearby or someone was quietly watching her, she couldn’t tell.

Eventually, after what felt like ages, she heard a door creak open.

It was the sound of a poorly fitted door being opened and closed. Footsteps limping across the floor. Then a faint sigh.

Angela picked up each detail, piecing together the surroundings as delicately as she could.

“You still out?”

The voice came from nearby, younger than the man who had spoken to her earlier. Just as she thought that, the man began shaking her as if determined to wake her.

“Come on, get up. You’ve lost a lot of blood, you need to eat something. Eat and go back to sleep, alright?”

His voice was unusually gentle for a kidnapper. Angela flinched instinctively. The man didn’t miss that tiny reaction and said brightly, “Ah, you’re awake?”

Angela had no choice but to slowly open her eyes. Having grown used to the darkness, even the faint light felt blinding and made her frown.

“Wow.”

A gasp came from in front of her. Angela glanced at him with a distorted look—his demeanor didn’t match the situation at all. She hadn’t seen him among the armed men earlier.

She didn’t remember each face precisely, but she was certain there hadn’t been anyone this distinctive. Pink hair? That color was just as uncommon in Paelon as her own pale blonde.

Yet the man, odd as he looked, seemed far more surprised by Angela. He couldn’t take his eyes off her face, studying every detail as if he could draw her features from memory.

“You’re seriously beautiful.”

It was the conclusion to his lingering gaze. He smiled affably, his softly drooping eyes curving warmly.

“I’d heard the Lady of Bilton was a beauty, but I guess the rumors were true.”

As he spoke, he held something wrapped in paper out to her. A savory smell wafted up—it was clearly food meant for her.

Angela took it without protest, prompting a slight lift of his eyebrows in surprise.

“So the rumor that you’re picky and difficult was just gossip too, huh.”

Ignoring his commentary, Angela unwrapped the crumpled paper. She could’ve picked at the food out of spite, but she hated being forced to starve more than anything.

Besides, as the man had said, she’d lost a lot of blood and needed to regain her strength if she hoped to escape.

Inside was a piece of cold bread. Angela took a small bite, and the man set a cup of water beside her.

“Right, right. Eat up and get strong.”

He spoke as if reading her mind. Then he casually sat down in front of her.

His gaze wasn’t that of someone guarding a prisoner—it was almost proud, like he was pleased she was eating well. Angela couldn’t make sense of his intentions. It felt like he saw right through her, yet he was impossible to read himself. She chewed the bread, thinking he was one strange guy.

As she sat there eating, a sudden thought struck her: happiness and she really were polar opposites. How could something slip through her fingers so quickly, just when she thought she had it? Even sand would stay longer in her grip than this.

“Huh? Why the sad face all of a sudden?”

The man tilted his head, wearing the same gloomy look, as if mirroring her mood.

“Is it… because you think you won’t be able to get out of here?”

At his question, Angela shot him a sharp look.

“What else? You think I can get out?”

“Whoa. Even your voice is gorgeous.”

His reply was ridiculous. Angela realized she wouldn’t be getting any useful information from this fool. She returned her focus to eating the bread.

—

The nearest village from where they were attacked was quite a distance away. Jamie, bleeding steadily, barely managed to reach it.

There, he borrowed a horse and began pursuing Kalian in earnest. A merchant, shocked by his condition, tried to make him stay for treatment, but there was no time to lose. He had no idea how far Angela had already been taken.

Jamie’s grip on the reins was tight—his nails nearly pierced his palms.

But what pain could compare to the humiliation of being saved by a noblewoman?

He had failed to protect Angela, even though Kalian had warned him repeatedly.

Gripped by the urge to die, Jamie urged the horse faster.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───

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