Hostage 2

Drrrrr-shnoooore! Drrrrr-shnoooore!

Ogre like snoring echoed through the ruined Alminas Bank’s underground vault, forming a constant backdrop.

There, as Amelia watched Aynar, she let out a long sigh. It wasn’t a sigh of disappointment.

Did they use drugs…?

After all, they had been talking right beside her for quite some time, yet she hadn’t shown even the slightest sign of waking up.

The only explanation was that she had been forcibly put to sleep with some kind of drug.

“Kh—khk…”

Suddenly, Aynar let out a strained breath in her sleep. Amelia rushed to her side, deciding she would have to help if Aynar could not steady her breathing. In the end, her concern proved unnecessary.

Aynar scratched her stomach with one hand, then rolled onto her side as if her shoulder were stiff.

And then—

Rrrrrrrgh—!!

An even more violent snore filled the space.

Watching this, Amelia briefly wondered if Einar hadn’t been drugged at all and was just… actually sleeping. But…

‘That can’t be…!’

No matter how much of a barbarian she was, this was still a life-or-death situation. There was no way she’d be that lacking in a sense of danger—

“Um, shouldn’t we wake her up?”

“How? Aynar Pheneline is currently asleep due to the influence of drugs.”

“…Ah, I see.” Auyen nodded as if he had finally understood.

Even as the historically unfilial child, Tercelion, muttered, “Drugs…? Was there a report about that…?”, Amelia simply pretended not to hear.

Being drugged was, after all, far less embarrassing.

Besides, it wasn’t like the situation was so urgent that they had to wake her and leave immediately.

“Um… may I continue speaking?”

When Eltora spoke up cautiously, Amelia—who had been momentarily distracted by Aynar—focused again.

“Where were we?”

Amelia’s voice was icy, and her eyes brimmed with deep suspicion.

Naturally so. Eltora Tercerion was trying to abandon his father and join their side. After a long talk, she had accepted that he wasn’t ‘brainwashed,’ but whether she actually believed Eltora was a different story entirely.

“I was explaining how beneficial it would be for the palace and the Anabada Clan if you accepted my proposal.”

“Ah, right… but that’s fine. You can skip it.”

Amelia showed no interest in the “benefits.” Or rather, she didn’t see the need to hear him anymore.

Her reasoning went like this. Using the marquiss’s son as a spy made sense, but there was no point wasting time spelling out the strategic advantage it offered. Instead, she chose to focus on something more important.

“Why betray your father?”

Motive. The trigger that drives a person to act.

“…As I said before, the biggest reason is survival.”

“So you judged that the royal family would win the war?”

“Of course. Rebelling against the royal family in the first place was insanity.”

On the surface, it sounded like a rational judgment.

But Amelia knew better. Everyone harbored desire, and even the smallest trace of it could push someone to absurd extremes.

“But if you succeed, you could live like a prince.”

It was human nature to fixate on the single reason for success rather than the many reasons for failure.

So how had the marquis’s son made such a decision?

Judging by the timing, he seemed to have made up his mind almost immediately after the marquis collapsed.

How was that possible?

The answer was surprisingly simple.

“…Impossible. Even if the rebellion succeeded, I doubt I’d have survived. My father—no, Marquis Ageni Roten Tercerion—wanted me gone as soon as possible.”

“I don’t understand. Why would he treat his only eldest son that way?”

“At first, I didn’t understand either. I learned the reason much later.The Marquis treated me that way because he knew my true identity.”

“…What you truly were?” Amelia asked

Eltora gave a bitter smile. He wasn’t a Barbarian, but this time, long words weren’t necessary.

“…I am an Evil Spirit.”

In a way, it was a confession he was making for the first time in his life.

“Hah, that was easier than I thought.”

His heart pounded violently, yet at the same time, he felt an inexplicable thrill and sense of release.

Of course, those feelings were Eltora’s alone.

Auyen Rocklov, the navigator who had earned the achievement of injuring the Marquis, stood frozen with his mouth agape in shock.

“…Oh?”

Even Amelia Rainwales, an assassin from Noark and an expert at hiding her emotions, showed a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

It began to make sense. If what he said was true, then Eltora Tercerion’s betrayal was neither strange nor unexpected. The cause and effect were perfectly clear. However…

“At this point, I’ve practically handed you my leash myself. Can you trust me now?”

Even so, Amelia didn’t nod. She wasn’t someone who trusted people easily, so that hesitation was part of her nature.

Testimony was just testimony. It wasn’t proof. What if his claim of being an “Evil Spirit” was a lie?

Fortunately, she had a way to verify it.

“A steel object that flies through the sky.”

“An airplane.”

“A princess eats a poisoned apple given by a dwarf and dies. What is the princess’s name?”

“…Are you referring to Snow White?”

“Square pants.”

“Sponge…no—how do you even know that?”

“I believe you. You are indeed an Evil Spirit.”

Utilizing the otherworldly knowledge she had heard from Lee Han-su, she finally came to a decision. Eltora Tercerion was indeed an Evil Spirit.

Though he stammered at the question of “Snow White?”, it was within the margin of error. Even if they were from the same world, there would still be gaps in common knowledge. Eltora likely simply lacked access to that information.

Thinking of her own days in Noark, when she couldn’t study even if she wanted to, Amelia felt a sense of kinship with Eltora, though she kept it to herself.

“…What’s with that look?”

“Nothing.”

“Then you trust everything I’ve said now?”

“Yes. All doubts are gone.”

At her words, Eltora felt a surge of indescribable joy.

After presenting every possible piece of evidence, he had finally convinced the nonbeliever of his sincerity.

But—

“Then, will you take me in?”

However, the question he asked out of lingering unease was answered with shocking and grim news.

“That… unfortunately, isn’t up to me.”

“Not up to you…? What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. The leader of the Anabada Clan is Jandel, and the vice-leader is another woman.”

“What kind of nonsense is—?!”

Eltora felt more injustice than when he’d been cast out by his father without explanation.

And with his life on the line, his anger exploded.

“How does that make any sense?! I know your group inside and out!”

“No, even if you say that…”

“Aren’t you Jandel’s woman?!”

“I’ve heard he trusts and relies on you the most. That he discusses everything with you and follows your advice! And yet, you say you have no authority?”

“Well… I mean, that’s not entirely—”

“You’re practically inseparable from Jandel.”

…Huh?”

“So if you’re going to reject me, just be honest about it! Everyone already knows that when Baron Jandel marries, you’ll be his legal wife!”

“…Legal wife?!”

“Then who else is there? The Blood Spirit Queen who lost herself to bloodlust during the war? Karlstein, who has nothing going for him except being there from the beginning? Raven, who already sided with the royal family? Or that walking pile of muscles over there?!”

“…I, I never thought of—”

“Don’t say you have no authority!! I know perfectly well how much Jandel values and depends on you…!”

Was it the immense stress of betraying his father with his life on the line?

For the first time in a long while, Eltora lost himself to his emotions and poured out his grievances.

And then—

He got what he wanted.

****

With her eyes still closed, Aynar Pheneline had a thought.

…Is it okay to wake up now?

In truth, she hadn’t just woken up from her deep sleep. She had regained consciousness a while ago, but she continued to pretend to sleep.

The reason was simple.

[Ah, right… but forget about that.]

As soon as she woke up, she heard Amelia’s voice. This meant that her allies had come to save her, just as she had believed they would. Naturally, Aynar was overjoyed.

But…

[Aynar Pheneline is currently unconscious due to the drugs.]

After being instructed on this in the past, Aynar understood those words as an order not to wake up.

So she simply closed her eyes tightly. It didn’t seem like a particularly urgent situation to begin with.

She didn’t have a specific reason for that judgment, but she didn’t doubt it. For a Barbarian, discerning whether a place was safe to lie down was as easy as eating a well-grilled piece of meat.

In any case, that was that.

But then—

[Where were we again?]

[I was explaining the benefits the royal family and the Anabada Clan would gain if you accepted my proposal.]

Amelia was having a serious conversation with an unknown man. As Aynar listened in, she realized the man was the Marquis’s son.

Ugh… my head…

A dull headache crept in, and Aynar decided to keep pretending to sleep a little longer.

And that led to the present moment.

“……”
“……”

Silence fell as the conversation ended.

…Guess I’ll wake up now.

Sensing that the timing was right, Aynar casually stretched and yawned as she sat up.

And then—

“Ah—don’t be alarmed! I’m on the same side as you now!”

The man hurriedly tried to explain himself the moment their eyes met, worried about a misunderstanding—

Thud!

She put everything she had into it and landed a solid punch.

“…Enough. He’s on our side now.”

As expected, Emily stepped in to stop her, and only then did Aynar calm down.

“Oh, really? Sorry! I didn’t know!”

In truth, she did know.

She had already understood from the earlier conversation that he was on their side. Even so, she could not quite understand why she had punched him.

[“Furthermore, I heard that out of all the women, Jandel relies on and trusts you the most!”]

After waking, Aynar thought deeply for the first time in a long while, and having been told since childhood that she was bright, she soon arrived at an answer.

She did not mind that false information had been spread. Humans were a corrupt race who could not live without lies.

[Everyone already knows that if Baron Jandel marries, you’ll be his legal wife!]

In the same way, it was understandable that he would assume the great warrior’s legal wife would be a human.

[Or what about that walking pile of muscles over there?]

Normally, that would have been a compliment. However, even though she was strangely wounded by those words, that wasn’t the answer.

The answer was simply—

“BETELAAAAAA!!”

“…All of a sudden?”

“I just felt like doing it!!”

That was the conclusion Aynar reached after her deep thinking.

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