***
After meeting Lestia, Mathias had somehow developed the desire to be the best big brother of the four Verchesters.
So he was going to take this money and go back to the downtown area and feed her some very good food, look for things in the accessory store, and even buy some clothes that would match the accessories he bought today.
Then, Lestia would say that playing with brother Mathias was the most fun she had ever had.
Mathias was the only person in Verchester who could teach her how to have this kind of fun.
The thought of it made Mathias feel so flattered that the corners of his mouth lifted up involuntarily.
But Lestia was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that remained by her seat was the cotton candy drink that hadn’t been properly emptied.
“Huh? Liti? Lestia!”
Mathias called out to her, but there was no answer.
“……Liti!”
It was clear that something was wrong in the short time he was away.
He felt a twinge in his heart. The death of his childhood pet was incomparable to this feeling.
Mathias threw down his cash bag and started looking for Lestia.
* * *
It was that time.
Lestia was thrown like a piece of luggage onto the back of the wagon, with her hands and feet tied tightly with thick ropes.
“Are you sure it’s this girl…”
“Certainly. I heard the third Duke of Verchester called her sister.”
Lestia lifted her head to look at the men who had kidnapped her. They were wearing masks, so she couldn’t make out their faces.
“Ah…ah.”
‘Why are you …… me?’
She wanted to ask them who the hell they were and why they were taking her like this, but she couldn’t. It was because they had shoved a thick cloth into Lestia’s mouth. It made it difficult for her to speak and breathe.
“Be quiet.”
The thugs took Lestia to the end of the wagon and began to load iron cages in layers in front of her.
Inside the cages were birds with colorful fur as big as Lestia.
They were large birds that were raised by the nobility to decorate their gardens. Their twittering was sometimes described as high spirited and pure, but there was no particular sound as several of them were gathered together.
“Caw…caw…”
The group of birds looked excited and were squealing and shouting. Lestia’s ears started to tingle because of it.
But the kidnappers didn’t pay the least bit of attention to Lestia and closed the wagon door.
The pitch-black darkness engulfed Lestia, and the wagon rattled nonstop as it moved.
Lestia’s small body shook helplessly as the wagon jumped up. Each time it did, the birds screamed in strange voices.
Now, where were they going?
Lestia was scared. But more than that, she was worried that Mathias might be wandering around looking for her.
He told her to stay there and wait for him. But she couldn’t wait at all.
‘What should I do ……?’
Lestia couldn’t help but think of Lysian, Joel and Mathias’ faces.
In the meantime, had she really come to think of them as family? she didn’t want to leave them. At least not in this way.
If one day it became clear that she wasn’t a Verchester, she would leave then.
She wanted to say thank you.
That she had learned a lot in the short time she was there, that she enjoyed it, and that she was happy.
‘No. I don’t want to leave them like this.’
Lestia tried once again to put deadly force into her arms and legs.
But she didn’t think that the rope that the grown man had tied so tightly would come undone in the slightest.
She was so helpless that tears welled up on its own. She didn’t want to cry.
But….
– You have to make a choice.
For some reason, the words Lysian said to her when they first met came to her mind.
At that time, Lestia chose to go to Verchester mansion. Thanks to that, she got a chance to experience many things that she had never known in her entire life.
Then.
‘Yes, give up or not, it’s my choice.’
Lestia didn’t want to give up like this after all. Even if she couldn’t do anything and got caught and could never see them again, she wanted to try until the end. She didn’t want to leave any regrets.
Lestia tried with all her might and managed to sit up.
Then she felt a tingling sensation behind her.
“What is it?”
When she groped with her hands, which were tied behind her back, she could feel the round head of a small nail sticking out.
It was a nail that had been used to secure the tent of the wagon, but it was rusty and had a rough surface.
She tried to cut the rope with the rusty nail.
But the thick rope only slid down as soon as it touched the nail.
She tried again and again, but to no avail.
That was it.
She couldn’t think of any more ways to escape.
“Caw! Caw!”
The chirping of the birds was becoming more and more frightening.
That was when it happened.
Neighhhhhhh!
The horse that was driving the carriage screamed and the carriage came to a sudden stop.
The group of birds were startled and began to squawk, screeching even more terribly.
“What the hell are you doing?”
A loud shout.
Lestia quickly realized that something was happening to the men who were driving the carriage. So she put her ear close to the wagon, trying to listen.
“I’d like to see inside the carriage.”
A calm but refined voice. The voice she heard outside the wagon was definitely Joel’s.
‘Brother Joel!’
She felt as if the hope she had given up was born again.
“Liti! Liti! God damn it! Are you in there?”
It was Mathias who was calling for Lestia with an imminent voice. Every time he shouted Lestia’s name, the ground shook and the wagon shook.
‘Brother Mathias, I am here!’
Lestia wanted to shout that she was in this carriage.
But her mouth was gagged and no voice came out. The only sound that came out was her low grunts.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
And so the low grunting was muffled by the loud cries of the birds.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Lestia gritted her teeth.
She had to let them know that she was here somehow. Lestia raised herself up and hit the carriage as hard as she could.
But the carriage did not budge. It only made the birds go wild.
Meanwhile, the Verchester brothers were confronting the kidnappers disguised as a horseman and a porter.
“I just need to take a look inside the carriage.”
Joel tried to negotiate. The horseman then thrust a nameplate with the imperial crest on it at the Verchester brothers.
“This carriage is carrying pet birds to the imperial garden. Even if you are noblemen, it is treason to meddle with imperial property without permission!”
It was a black eagle wearing a red crown. It was a definite imperial crest. However, Mathias shouted as if he was about to overthrow the wagon.
“Don’t be ridiculous! This was the only wagon out of the casino. We need to check inside!”
Joel narrowed his brows and spoke.
“Mathias, stop. You know it’s not good if there is a problem with the Imperial family.”
“…”
Lysian watched the situation in silence, apparently displeased with the long robe covering his face.
Joel and Lysian went to the casino as soon as they were sure that Mathias had gone there.
This was because it was obvious that’s where Mathias would go after Joel took all his money away.
And as expected, Mathias was there. He was tearing down the building, calling out Lestia’s name.
“Sister! Where is my sister! Liti!”
Joel and Lysian were surprised that Lestia had disappeared, but they first calmed Mathias down and released the search party.
Fortunately, there was only one suspicious carriage that moved in and out the vicinity of the casino, so they were able to find the suspect easily.
However, that carriage belonged to the imperial family of all people. It was obvious that touching it would be tiring.
“If we can’t see it, you’ll have to see it for us. It is possible that my sister is in the carriage.”
Joel tried to negotiate again. But the horseman just laughed as if it was funny.
“Hahahaha! What kind of nonsense is this? The only thing in there are birds. Don’t you hear them?”
“Caw! Caw!”
The only sound inside the carriage was the constant shrieking of the pet birds.
“Would you please step aside? I have to take these birds to the Imperial Palace as soon as possible.”
The horseman grumbled and turned away from them. Mathias shouted urgently.
“Liti! Liti! If you’re in there, answer me! Liti!”
But there was no reply. The horseman shrugged his shoulders and got back on the wagon.
The stationary wagon began to move slowly.
Instinctively, Lestia knew that it was now or never.
‘Please, please.’
She wished she could tell her brothers a word.
“Ugh!”
Lestia screamed through her clenched teeth. But the low voice was buried each time by the screams of the pet birds that filled the wagon.
To let you know that she was here……… She had to say something more wordy. To do so, she had to spit out the chunk of cloth inside her mouth.
‘This……!’
Lestia measured the position of the nail she had just touched with her fingertips.Then, without hesitation, she brought her face close to it.
Even if she couldn’t break the rope, she might be able to break at least the outer cloth covering her mouth.
But it was harder than she thought.
Her forehead started to sweat.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The attempts continued.
Each time she failed, the rusty nail head left a sharp scratch on Lestia’s pale, white cheek.
It bled, stung, and hurt. But time was running out.
And finally.
The outer cloth caught on the nail.
“Ha!”
Lestia turned her head, hoping that somehow she would make a gap.
*Tearing sound.*
The outer cloth that had been covering her mouth tore, creating a small gap.
Lestia quickly moved her tongue and spat out a chunk of the cloth stuck in her mouth through the gap.
The deep lump of cloth stuck out on her lower lip, and Lestia was finally able to speak.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, come on…. I’m….here!”
But she couldn’t speak properly because her throat was hoarse and her mouth was burning.
But it had to be done.
The more she was distracted, the more vividly the thought came to her.
Lestia cried out like a howl.
“Oh, brothers! I’m here!”
“Please, please.”
She hoped they could hear her outside the carriage.