Chapter 95
“Damn it…! Where did you take them?!”
At the sound of the man’s yelling as he entered the room, I shivered, as if I had just woken up.
“Where… am I?”
Of course, I was trying to buy some time.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“I definitely ran into some men in the alley…”
I looked at the man with a confused expression.
The man glaring at me beyond the iron bars wasn’t the one who kidnapped me, but his face seemed familiar.
‘Where have I seen him before?’
As I thought about it, it suddenly hit me.
He was there when Eloise got into an argument with some thugs in front of the boutique.
Unlike the people in the territory who just stared at Eloise with pale faces, this man was looking around cautiously, watching the situation. I definitely remembered him.
‘Were these guys all working together?’
They started a conflict on purpose in the streets, getting people’s attention, and then took the kids while everyone was distracted.
These guys didn’t look like amateurs at all.
I couldn’t let them continue chasing after the kids.
Suddenly, BANG!
The man’s scabbard hit the iron bars in front of me.
“Where did the little ones go? Are you not going to answer me properly?!”
“What kids are you talking about?”
I yelled back with a frustrated look.
Seeing the man’s face redden with anger reminded me of someone from my past.
My father, Marquis Aymond.
“Why did you have Lania’s belongings in your room?”
“I really don’t know anything about it…”
“You’re still denying it, huh?”
He used to lock me in my room whenever Lania played pranks and would punish me in the name of discipline.
‘Anyone who raised their voice made me scared…’
But this time, I wasn’t as afraid.
Because—
I had Konig, who promised to stay with me forever, and Ferdinand, who wanted me to call him ‘grandfather.’
I also had Eloise, who warmly embraced me when I uncovered a secret.
I wasn’t the helpless Marquis’s daughter who swallowed her tears anymore.
And no matter where I was, Konig would definitely find me.
‘So… I’m not scared at all.’
I clenched my fists and stared fiercely at the man beyond the bars. Then, I asked him.
“Why are you taking it out on me? I’m already captured and have no idea what’s going on…”
I made sure to sound confused, pretending to be still in a state of disarray.
‘Should I give him a little push, too…?’
It seemed like the man was starting to get confused.
“Do you mean to say those little ones escaped by themselves? Damn it, do you know how hard it is to get carnivorous experiment subjects?!”
‘Experiment subjects?’
What is he talking about?
I furrowed my brow as I stared at the man, but couldn’t continue thinking about it.
Bang, bang, bang—!
The kidnapper started hitting the bars furiously, venting his frustration.
While Cheddar and the kids had bought us some time, things weren’t looking good for me.
“Tch, no choice.”
The man, panting heavily, finally looked at me.
“We’ll just have to sell whatever’s left.”
Left… was that me?
I took a hesitant step backward, but ended up bumping into the cold wall.
I was trapped.
‘If I transform into a squirrel, I might be able to escape somehow.’
Unfortunately, there was no sign of me being able to change back to my squirrel form.
Normally, I would transform once I exhausted my mana.
‘How do I use mana again?’
I still hadn’t figured it out, since I had always used it in miraculous moments without thinking.
At that moment, one of the man’s subordinates, who had been quietly watching behind him, tilted his head and spoke up.
“Boss, doesn’t she look familiar?”
Things were taking a turn for the worse.
‘No way… Could it be that they recognize me as Muriel Aymond?’
Cold sweat started trickling down my neck without realizing it.
The man frowned at his subordinate’s words.
“What do you mean? Explain it clearly.”
“A few days ago, we got a request. Remember?”
“A request from Calt?”
Calt was a small town at the western edge of the Kreutz territory.
What kind of request did they get from there?
“Yeah, a request from Kreutz to capture a squirrel beastman. The description mentioned something about a humanized appearance, and she looks similar.”
The subordinate spoke, and the man tilted his head. He then pulled something from his chest pocket.
It was a rolled-up paper with a few sheets of parchment.
It didn’t have the Duke’s seal, so it looked like an illegal guild request.
The good news was—
‘It seems like they don’t know about the albino squirrel the royal family is looking for.’
It had been three years and three seasons, so it must have been forgotten by most people.
But if it wasn’t the royal family, then who was looking for me?
And why through an illegal black market?
Just as I was feeling unsettled, the man spoke again.
“You know, you’re not required to die just yet…”
The man’s twisted smile made my heart drop.
“I’m not a squirrel beastman, you know? I’m…”
I swallowed nervously and yelled at the men.
“I’m an ermine beastman!”
I glared with as much force as I could, making the fiercest face I could muster.
But the men only chuckled at each other.
To them, it didn’t matter whether I was a squirrel or an ermine.
They just said:
“Whatever. We’ll just deliver the goods and take our money.”
They smiled at the thought of the money they would make.
“You’re quite a pricey one. Better be careful coming out.”
Creeeak—
The sound of the locked iron door opening echoed in the basement.
***
Meanwhile, in the underground sewer, only the sound of droplets falling from the ceiling could be heard.
“Ugh, uuuuugh…”
I tried to speak, but all that came out was a muffled sound due to the tape they had placed over my mouth.
Not only that, but they had tied my arms with rope and dragged me like a dog through the underground tunnels for a long time.
Since Cheddar and the kids had escaped, they must have thought our hideout was already exposed.
So, they chose this dark, lightless underground tunnel.
“Ugh…”
Unlike me, who kept tripping over the rocks, they seemed to know the way in the pitch-black darkness.
‘They must be squirrel beastmen too.’
It made sense now why they laughed when I said I wasn’t a squirrel beastman but an ermine beastman.
We finally arrived at a shabby warehouse on the outskirts of the territory.
They seemed to have prepared a small carriage, ready for any escape.
“Boss, I’ve sent the letter. The client will be here soon. I’ll check the surroundings while you wait.”
“Okay, when you meet the others, tell them to withdraw. We’ll leave tonight.”
After the conversation, the men finally tied my feet and loaded me onto the carriage.
“It’s better if you stay quiet. Otherwise…”
When the man’s gaze fell on my neck, I understood and nodded quickly.
Afterward, I found myself in a cramped, coffin-like space.
The air smelled foul from beyond the thin wooden panels.
It was a scene I knew all too well.
‘This is exactly like the dream I had.’
I looked at my wrist, where the crystal bracelet K0nig gave me rested, along with the bracelets Ferdinand and Eloise had filled with care.
‘If this goes on…’
I might die at their hands, just like in my dream.
I couldn’t meet such a pointless end without ever seeing the town square.
No way!
I started moving in the narrow wooden box, feeling something fall with a light thud.
‘Got it!’
It was a sharp stone I had secretly kept when I tripped in the sewer earlier.
I balanced the stone with my feet and began rubbing the rope around my arms.
It wasn’t easy, but I had been a semi-wild squirrel for three years.
‘Just like a natural-born survivor.’
Even in my squirrel form, I had done this before, so I wasn’t going to fail just because my limbs were bound.
Creak.
When I quickly cut through the rope, I heard hurried footsteps approaching.
“Hey, boss!”
The man greeted the newcomer with a smile but didn’t stop moving.
“We need to leave now!”
“Where are we going? We have a big deal left. Just wait a little longer. The buyer will be here soon.”
“Just get in the carriage already!”
It was the familiar scene I knew all too well.
The man who came in quickly drove the carriage, and there was some commotion in the front seat.
“Damn it, there are knights everywhere! The crazy guys are blocking the gates and searching every carriage!”
“Why are you so nervous about that?”
The men raised their voices, arguing with each other.
Then the ground shook.
The carriage tilted with a deep rumble.
