Chapter 1
“…Please!”
“… look at me!”
Umm. Eve, I want to sleep a little longer. Wake me up after 5 more minutes.
Evangeline rolled her body. Her hands automatically traced where her blanket naturally would be. Weird. Why isn’t there a blanket?
“Young lady! Wake up, please!”
For a moment. The bed was also extremely cold. It’s too hard to be called a mattress. No way… Dirty floor?
Evangeline barely opened her eyes, and what came into her view was a young lady crying, holding on to her fallen body.
“… Who are you?”
“Oh my god! You’re awake! What a relief!”
Uh huh. An unknown young lady burst into tears.
“I thought you were dead… … Ugh… … .”
“Hey?”
Evangeline busily began to use her half-asleep mind to deal with this unexpected situation.
* * * *
“So to sum it up, you were kidnapped on the 6th Avenue street and were locked up here?”
“Yes!”
Marguerite answered, while she was squeezing Evangeline’s handkerchief.
“In the meantime, they kidnapped me and I was unconscious.”
Nod. Marguerite’s eyes became red as she remembered the fear of that time again.
“Okay.”
Evangeline answered calmly. Her hands were tied and she looked like a normal lady without any fear like anyone would never imagine a kidnapped girl to be.
Marguerite shouted.
“I’m getting married next month! I can’t die here!”
“Young lady. Just calm down first.”
“I’ve been trapped here all day today!”
Ugh… … Evangeline, who was lying on her side using her hair as a pillow, looked at Marguerite who was sobbing. Although she wanted to comfort her, it was difficult because her hands and feet were tied.
Evangeline put out her right foot with a noble gesture. Marguerite stared at the shoe that had been pushed out in front of her in bewilderment.
“What… is?”
“I’m sorry you’re in the midst of your grief, but I would like to ask you for a favor. If you look closely at the sole of my shoe, you will see a small knife. If you don’t mind, please take it out for me.”
“Your Royal Highness. Why are you hiding a knife under your shoe… … ?”
“Just call me Young lady. You never know what will happen in life.”
I can’t just sit here and suffer, so I have to prepare. Evangeline lifted her shoe tip civilly.
Marguerite found a thin dagger, which was the size of three fingers under her shoe. Evangeline cut the rope that bound her wrists with the knife she was given.
When the bonds were finally released, she stood up shakily. She turned around and started looking around.
Evangeline was rubbing her free wrist, Marguerite looked at her curiously. Unlike herself, who was frantic due to anxiety, Archduchess Knecht maintained her composure throughly.
Are you used to this kind of thing? A question that could have been rude to ask rose up to the top of her throat.
“Young lady, you are so calm….”
“There is no reason to be anxious. Do not worry. Someone will definitely come to save me.”
Her tone was firm, as if she was stating the obvious.
Evangeline took a walk around the warehouse. Inside this dirty, old warehouse, the only light was the sunlight coming through the palm-sized window.
I guess I should say that I am glad that I can at least know the approximate time.
Evangeline noticed the eyes looking at her and turned her head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was wondering how you were so sure… … .”
Marguerite von Saxony cried, still looking anxious. Evangeline began her speech, while handing her another handkerchief.
“Lady Saxony. Why do you think I was kidnapped?”
“Well… … ?”
“Isn’t it funny that the Grand Duchy, the only one with a private army to protect the border, is being bullied by such useless bastards? Plus, it’s ‘the Archduke Knecht’. You know the rumors about my brother, right?”
Marguerite answered honestly even though she was worried.
“That… … Your brother is incredibly cruel… … A bloodthirsty killer… … There are ugly scars all over his body… … .”
Evangeline chuckled at the rumors she heard about her brother through other people’s mouths. Even though she covered her mouth and suppressed her laughter, she couldn’t help but let it escape.
“Sorry! I heard it as a rumor, so I was just saying what I heard!”
“No. Well said.”
She didn’t deny it. Marguerite arbitrarily guessed what Evangeline meant.
“If such a strong person was able to endure and still be defeated, aren’t those who kidnapped us are also some tremendous villains and powerful then us?”
Evangeline appropriately interrupted Marguerite before her shoveling began again.
“No. That’s not it.”
“Are you sure?”
Evangeline continued speaking seriously.
Why was I kidnapped?
“They say my brother is the male lead.”
“Yes?”
Marguerite was speechless from the absurdity. This conversation. Where is it going?
***
“uh… … .”
While Marguerite was thinking about what to say, Evangeline, who had been lost in her own world, suddenly looked up.
“Wait. What did I say?”
Marguerite answered with a confused face.
“The Grand Duke, he was the male protagonist… … You said those words… … .”
“Ah. yes.”
Marguerite looked at Evangeline, hoping that she would finally explain the incomprehensible conversation.
“Actually, this is in a novel. Damien is the male protagonist, and I am the male protagonist’s younger sister.”
But her explanation only caused confusion. Evangeline raised her hand and pointed to herself. Marguerite sighed.
“Ah… … .”
The conversation gradually descended into a labyrinth.
It was not polite to criticize the other person’s words, but Marguerite decided to ask back despite the rudeness.
“I have no idea what this has to do with the kidnapping… … .”
Evangeline’s words continued one after another, without any regard for the other person.
“So what I mean is, my lady. Have you read romance novels?”
“A little bit… … .”
“For the male protagonist and female protagonist to connect, a little seasoning is needed. Something useful has to happen.”
Evangeline’s tone was completely serious. Marguerite managed to accept the main premise that ‘Damian = male protagonist’.
Sort of… … It must be a metaphorical expression. It must have some deep meaning.
“Yes… … .”
Evangeline did not continue speaking immediately but paused for a moment. With that, she started stacking old boxes on the wall where the window was.
Afterwards, wooden boards of similar thickness were brought in and more boxes were stacked. Marguerite, who was watching blankly, also hurriedly helped Evangeline.
When a roughly shaped staircase was created, Evangeline sat on it and continued talking.
“Think about it, Lady Saxony. When you are tired of just killing some monsters every day, you need to solve unique cases sometimes, right? For example, rescuing a kidnapped person.”
Marguerite, who was carrying a wooden plank, stuttered.
“Yes? Yes.”
“My brother staying in the capital and us being kidnapped are not coincidences. It’s a natural flow. Anyway, the male protagonist, my older brother, will come to rescue me soon.”
“Well, it’s true.”
Marguerite nodded hesitantly.
“Yes. It’s been a day now, so it won’t be long until they come to retrieve me, he might becoming soon I guess?”
“Ah yes.”
Are you saying that there is a series of invisible forces that cause kidnapping and rescue people, rather than the kidnapper doing the kidnapping?
Marguerite, who was confused, kept her mouth shut. This was because she didn’t know what to say anymore.
After struggling for about 10 minutes, a pile of flimsy boxes was piled up near the window.
Evangeline climbed onto the box and hung precariously on the window.
When she looked outside, the sun was slowly setting. On an unfamiliar street, only a few abandoned houses were left standing. She could see the city’s bell tower at a distance, but it was too far away.
‘If I scream for help, it will only provoke the criminal.’
Evangeline clearly gave up on her Plan A.
“Young lady?”
“Please speak.”
Meanwhile, Marguerite, who had managed to keep up with the flow of conversation, asked a question.
“But then, isn’t there another way? Is it really necessary to be the Archduke’s younger sister?”
“Well, if you look for it, you might be able to use other people, but I guess I’m the right one for that. The male protagonist’s younger sister is very useful in the development of the story.”
Things aren’t that simple. Evangeline began to seriously explain the ‘butterfly effect of his sister’s kidnapping’.
