Chapter 4. Wrath (7)
So she had forced herself to go into debt to buy a building in Ganen. The building where they had been living wouldn’t sell even when put up for sale, so she had to put it up as collateral. And at a very cheap price at that. To get it back, she would have to earn at least that much, but for now she tried not to think about it even consciously. If she did, she felt like she’d go crazy from how hopeless tomorrow seemed.
“Nelly? Where is Nelly?”
Lady Cornelia habitually looked for Nelly. She was sitting in a corner. Her drooping shoulders and sullen expression were obvious at a glance. Marilla sat beside her, comforting her. She acted as if she knew why Nelly was like this.
“Nelly. We have to leave on a long journey tomorrow, so why don’t you get some more sleep?”
Even at the lady’s words, Nelly didn’t respond. She spoke in a voice that was thoroughly irritated.
“Are you going to keep acting like this?”
“…Mom, I want to go out one last time before we leave.”
“What? What are you talking about? Don’t you know what situation we’re in…”
“I’ll just go right nearby for a moment. You said this area is still okay. You said the guards won’t come this far.”
“But if someone else sees you and you get dragged away…”
“Lady, I’ll stay by her side. Nelly is still young and has never served customers, so no one would suspect this child. We’ll just look around nearby and come back quickly, so couldn’t you please allow it?”
The lady wanted to absolutely refuse, but her heart softened because of Nelly, who was sniffling as if she would burst into tears at any moment. Either way, Nelly was her only daughter and her only blood relative.
She opened the window and looked outside. Perhaps because it was the time when guards were active, the surroundings were so quiet that not even a mouse could be seen. Though there seemed to be clusters of light flickering in the distance where people with torches were moving around, the distance was far enough that it seemed it would be okay.
Had she made some memories around here that she didn’t know about? She wasn’t particularly inclined to allow it, but it seemed like she could permit that much.
“Come back quickly. Dawn will break soon.”
At Lady Cornelia’s permission, Nelly’s expression brightened. Marilla also smiled brightly, grabbed Nelly’s hand, and quickly walked to the door. The two stepped into the dark street carrying a single lamp.
“But… who should we ask?”
“There’s someone called Lady Rowina who lives around here. Whenever we’re sick or think we might be pregnant, we go to her. She’s kind and generous, so she’ll probably grant Nelly’s request too.”
“I hope so…”
In Nelly’s hand was a neatly folded piece of paper. Written on it was the address of their new home, and if Lady Cornelia had known, she would have cursed her as crazy.
She hoped this note would quickly reach Osian. Nelly was even humming as she hurried her steps. Suddenly Marilla pulled Nelly’s hand that she was holding and began running toward a strange place. She was so surprised that she almost fell, so she put strength in her legs to resist and shouted.
“What is this all of a sudden…!”
Then Marilla firmly covered Nelly’s mouth and tried to drag her along. The problem was that it wasn’t easy because Nelly, who was no longer as small as before, was burdensome. Nelly struggled to remove the hand covering her mouth, and Marilla whispered in a strained voice.
“Nelly! We have to hide right now! This instant!”
At Marilla’s desperate words, Nelly’s resistance stopped. Taking advantage of this gap, Marilla dragged Nelly and hid in a dark alley. The lamp that had been illuminating the two was also hastily extinguished. When the surroundings became quiet, commotion that hadn’t been heard before reached where the two were. Nelly could understand what was happening behind her.
In the short time, the two had come quite far. Meanwhile, a big incident was happening at the building where the two had originally been. Guards had quietly emerged from the darkness without even carrying torches and raided the place.
Not only the girls but even Lady Cornelia were being dragged away without even being able to scream. The guards swiftly bound the girls’ bodies, gagged their mouths, and loaded them into carriages stationed at a distance. Nelly froze with wide-open eyes in shock, then belatedly grasped the situation and muttered.
“M-Mom?”
Just before boarding the carriage, Lady Cornelia glanced toward where Nelly was. It seemed their eyes met, but the lady quickly turned her head away, so it was missed.
Her body reacted faster than her head. Nelly acted as if she would run out immediately. If Marilla hadn’t hurriedly embraced her, she might have left the alley and caught the guards’ attention.
“Ah, ah, Sister! Mom! M-Mom!”
“No! Nelly, no. If you go now, you’ll be dragged away too!”
“B-but…! Sister!”
When Nelly’s voice got louder, Marilla tightly embraced her from behind and covered her mouth. Though Nelly’s struggling was fierce, she endured steadfastly. Both of their bodies were soaked with sweat.
Nelly because of her mother being captured, Marilla with the thought that she had to protect at least Nelly – both were out of their minds. So they didn’t notice that someone was watching them.
“…Did they know in advance and spirit her away? Or was it just luck?”
There was a carriage stationed not far from the alley. The one muttering quietly from there was none other than Grand Duke Canis.
He was cutting off loose ends. Lady Cornelia was by far the most suspicious and most likely candidate, so he had someone submit an accusation. It seemed his additional instruction to move as quietly and swiftly as possible because she was cautious and might move soon had been accurately conveyed.
Since she had already found a place to move and it was in Ganen, she probably lacked money. Given Cornelia’s nature, she would have more than enough reason to report Ronen for her own sake.
Of course, he hadn’t expected at all that one of the girls working under the lady and her daughter would be spirited away.
What should he do? The Grand Duke, who had been pondering while tapping the chair with his fingers, got out of the carriage. A servant followed behind him.
When the two approached the alley, Nelly and Marilla, who had been breathing heavily as if exhausted, turned their gazes toward him. They were terrified, wondering if he might be a guard. If they had any strength left, they would have run away immediately.
“Your… Your Grace?”
Marilla, who recognized the Grand Duke first, quickly wiped her tear-soaked face and knelt down. It didn’t matter why he was here. She pleaded in a desperate voice.
“Your Grace… Please. I know this is an unreasonable request, but couldn’t you please take at least this child with you?”
Marilla pulled Nelly who was beside her. Nelly too was hiccupping from crying so much.
“Sis, hic, Sister, what, sob, are you saying…”
“This child has never served customers yet… If the guards catch her, she’ll inevitably be executed. Please… Didn’t you have a close relationship with Lady Cornelia…? Anywhere is fine, just help her escape far from here.”
The question of why he should do that rose to his throat, but the Grand Duke ended it by raising his eyebrows crookedly. Though his relationship with Lady Cornelia wasn’t particularly close, nor were his feelings toward her favorable, he could offer a bit of sympathy.
It was the Grand Duke who had created this situation, and because of that, her daughter was in danger. If he left her like this, she would be chased by guards, and if caught, she would meet the unjust fate of being executed with a pure body that had never served customers.
The Grand Duke, who had been indifferently looking down at Cornelia’s daughter who was shedding tears, opened his mouth.
“You just want to get away from this place, is that it?”
“Please… I beg you like this.”
“Fine.”
The Grand Duke gestured to the servant who had followed him. Understanding his meaning, the servant lifted Nelly like some piece of luggage. The Grand Duke turned without hesitation and headed for the carriage. When the servant also followed behind the Grand Duke, Nelly cried out in a terrified voice.
“What about Sister? Sister too…”
“Is all that screaming because you want to be chased by guards?”
At the Grand Duke’s cold words, Nelly hastily shut her mouth and then spoke in a slightly smaller voice.
“Sister, sob, Sister too… please take her…”
“Why should I do that?”
“B-but…”
Nelly looked at Marilla. Marilla, who was still sitting on the ground, managed a difficult smile.
“I’m fine, Nelly.”
“No, Sister. Come with me too. Don’t leave me alone.”
“I can’t do that. I’m definitely on the list too. If they know I’m missing, they’ll come looking for me again. Because of me, you’ll become someone being chased too.”
“They seem to have already noticed.”
At the Grand Duke’s words, Marilla and Nelly’s gazes turned to one place. Guards who had gotten out of the carriage were searching the surroundings. Blazing torches were getting closer and closer. It wouldn’t take long for them to realize people were here.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
