Chapter 10
“Huh…?”
“Don’t worry, Verdette. Of course I trust our little goat. Of course I do. Our little goat. This oppa will take you to the underground interrogation room.”
“…”
“You were really firm and cool back there, Verdette. Just a few days ago, you were crying your eyes out, scared of older guys like us, saying you hated the age gap… But now, you looked so calm and composed. You know that, right?”
…What the hell. Even as I furrowed my brow, Saldir kept talking without a care.
“When you looked straight into my eyes and said, ‘If you’re going to doubt me, argue with everything I say, and try to suppress me just because I’m young, then just step aside,’ my heart really trembled. It felt like being inside a church bell while it was ringing. Like my body was about to burst from the vibrations.”
“…What?”
I scrunched my face at the bizarre metaphor. Was this guy crazy? My disbelief dried up any tears I might have had. I just stared at him, but Saldir, looking like he’d made a firm decision, nodded solemnly.
“Let’s go, our little goat. This oppa was wrong.”
“…”
“We kept our distance from you just because of the age gap, because you’re our first little sister. I’m nine years older than you, but our Albrecht-hyung is thirteen years older. We figured we had to treat you like a stranger, to not get too close. To not smother you with affection.”
“…”
What? There was that kind of backstory? I frowned, but at least now I learned that Albrecht was the name of the eldest brother, not their father or mother. That’s when he continued.
“But the moment I heard you were kidnapped, I completely broke down. I begged and begged. That I was wrong. That I shouldn’t act all high and mighty to our cute little goat. That I shouldn’t pretend to be the adult and scold you. I should’ve just rubbed my cheek on yours from the start.”
Saldir’s tone turned far more serious than before. There was no way to doubt that he meant every word.
“…And I made a vow. If our little goat ever sets the world on fire, I’ll be the first to pour oil on it. I’ll make sure everything in your way is dried out and ready to burn cleanly.”
“…What the hell do you eat to come up with these metaphors?”
I asked, my expression sour. I had been moved—almost—but the mood was ruined. Seriously, where was he learning this kind of nonsense? Ignoring my baffled look, Saldir clenched one fist like he was making some noble vow, eyes shining with excitement.
“Let’s go, Verdette. To the basement. Oppa will take you.”
He declared this solemnly.
“A lady shouldn’t have to carry heavy burdens. Come on, my cute little goat. Woot woot. Just follow this oppa.”
“…”
I guess it was nice how light the mood had gotten… but I glared uneasily at Saldir’s back as he walked ahead of me. Somehow, he had been stuffing “oppa” into every single sentence. It wasn’t just in my head.
At that moment, he turned and cheerfully shouted:
“Hurry up, goat! Are you tired? Should I carry you too?”
“…I—I’m coming!”
Screw it. I dashed after him.
All noble houses of a certain size with a private military force reportedly had underground interrogation chambers for punishment or questioning. Pickpockets and thieves from the backstreets who had been dragged into such places used to gossip about them all the time.
They claimed they were sharing info, but in truth, they were bragging—telling tall tales about how they escaped, how they outwitted guards, how amazing they were. Growing up in the backstreets, I heard stories about dozens of noble families.
But there was one noble house that no one ever spoke about.
That house was Sailkar.
I was always curious. Was it because no one had ever been to the Sailkar underground chambers? Or was it because no one had ever come back alive, as the rumors suggested?
Saldir opened the door to the basement while holding me tightly. The door itself looked ordinary, but beyond it, a cold stone staircase and a heavy iron door led downward. A faint, metallic stench wafted up.
“Alright, we’re going in now.”
Standing in front of the iron door, Saldir gave a kind of warning. Then, still holding me, he kicked the door hard several times.
Bang, bang bang, bang bang.
It had rhythm. Some sort of knock code to distinguish friend from foe, probably. Then, the iron door creaked open, and someone asked from inside:
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Saldir Sailkar.”
“I greet the great Flame.”
The door opened. What lay beyond made my blood run cold. On both sides of the corridor were prison cells, each with bars as thick as my torso. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any prisoners inside, but that only made it easier to see the brown stains—dried blood, most likely—splattered behind the bars.
Hebe was imprisoned here? In a place that looked this brutal?
Without realizing it, I gripped Saldir’s collar tightly. Just then, Saldir took my hand and smiled broadly.
“Our little goat, stay next to oppa. It’s okay. Want to hold hands?”
“…You’re already holding mine.”
“Aww, our little goat. Your hands are so chubby and cute. Like a chunk of cheese. Put it on some bread and someone might mistake it for—”
“Please. Oppa.”
I yanked on his hand, and Saldir immediately straightened up. A knight dressed in the Sailkar family crest stood at attention, clearly flustered, glancing between Saldir and me.
His expression practically screamed, “Why are these kids even here?” His eyes in particular locked onto me in Saldir’s arms. It was as if he didn’t want to even look at Saldir—or more specifically, didn’t want to get involved with the personal physician draped over Saldir’s back.
“Th-The youngest lady… has come here?”
“Yes. Our little goat said she wanted to find someone. Her nanny.”
“Oh. The woman you personally brought in yesterday and declared as the ‘culprit’…”
“What? Are you gonna spout nonsense like that in front of our little goat?”
“Uh… no… I mean, yes, you personally brought her in and locked her up…”
“Big brother’s inside, right?”
He cut the knight off casually, but I had already heard enough. This bastard had brought Hebe here himself. And now he was acting like it wasn’t his doing and guiding me here?
I scowled at Saldir, but the knight sighed and replied after glancing between the two of us.
“Yes. He said the interrogation will begin shortly.”
“Interrogation? Damn. We came at a bad time. My brother gets pretty terrifying during those.”
So it was you who put Hebe in here! I was just about to demand answers when Saldir suddenly let go of my hand. As soon as his grip loosened, he gave me a big smile.
“Hurry, goat. Try to charm big brother with your cutest face—before he does something horrible to your nanny!”
“Wait—Saldir! She’s just a child! It’s dangerous!”
I don’t know what the knight meant exactly, but as it turned out, Saldir’s judgment was spot on. The moment he released my hand, I quickly started walking toward the back.
“No, young lady, stop!”
The knight shouted, but I bolted toward the cells and yelled with all my strength.
“HEBE! WHERE ARE YOU?!”
And just as I darted deep inside—
