After a few moments of standing in the same place, Randolph suddenly scanned the interior.

He quickly scanned everything in the room, and the last thing his eyes settled on was the wardrobe.

‘Could he have noticed it?’

Randolph showed no reaction, but Aneta felt a chill run down her spine.

Even though he wasn’t facing her directly, the gaze from beyond the old wooden door seemed to grip her senses.

“Captain?”

In the meantime, one of the mercenaries caught his attention. It was the subordinate who had been by his side since they first met.

The subordinate, waiting for Randolph to step aside so he could lift Serce, expressed his curiosity at Randolph’s lack of movement.

“What’s the matter? Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing. Go ahead and lift him.”

Denying his subordinate’s question, Randolph finally took his eyes off the wardrobe and stepped aside.

As he approached her, Aneta opened her mouth to distract him.

“Tell me. Where are you taking us?”

“To the client that Her Ladyship was so curious about.”

That was the end of his answer. Aneta wanted to ask more, but seeing the dagger approaching her body instinctively made her tense.

As the cold blade touched her ankle, a chilling sensation ran up her spine.

Snap.

As the rope binding her legs was cut and they were freed, her legs tingled painfully.

Before she could fully regain sensation, a forceful hand yanked her up. Randolph roughly supported her swaying body and spoke.
“I’ll handle this one. You guys take care of the other two.”

“Yes, sir.”

Serce, with a heavily distorted expression, was immediately surrounded by the mercenaries.

The strange thing was that no one even attempted to wake Chris.

Randolph’s subordinate lifted Chris onto his shoulder like a sack of grain.

“Let’s go.”

For some reason, Randolph led Aneta out of the room last. Throughout the process, she walked with her eyes firmly forward, avoiding any glance at the wardrobe to keep her intentions hidden.

However, Aneta soon realized her efforts were in vain.

“It seems you’ve done something quite interesting.”

Aneta, who had been subtly observing the hallway’s structure for an easier escape, halted at the whispered words. She almost showed her surprise openly.

‘So he did notice it.’

Aneta bit the inside of her cheek. Despite the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, she maintained a composed expression and slowly turned around.

“The wardrobe in the room was just the right size to hide a person. It would be difficult for the Viscount to fit in that narrow, old place… so it must be Her Ladyship hiding there?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Playing dumb is useless. I noticed the absence of your doppelganger. If you feel wronged, speak up. We can either conduct a body search or return to the room to check.”

Randolph was confident in his deduction and showed it. He was ready to head back to the room at the slightest denial.

Aneta couldn’t hide the frown on her face, realizing she had no room to retreat.

Erez had unwavering faith in his abilities, so he had no reason to doubt Aneta and Serce. However, the mercenaries were a different story. Unaware that Erez was hiding his true power, they likely believed Aneta and Serce could freely use the power of Glory.
In such a situation, there was no way she could continue to deny it. She couldn’t reveal the truth about Erez either, making the situation even more daunting.

“Why didn’t you act even though you knew everything?” she asked.

“I was curious to see how Her Ladyship would respond this time. So, I decided to wait and watch. After all, there’s only one exit here, and we’re deep in the mountains, far from any houses,” Randolph replied.

Even if they were lucky enough to slip past the guards at the door, by the time they reached someone to ask for help after descending the mountain, everything would already be over. Watching Randolph add this, Aneta felt a strange sensation.

It was as if he was subtly hinting at the surrounding information.

“So does that mean you’ll pretend not to know about the existence of the doppelganger?”

“Unless something unusual happens, with the doppelganger, there’s no risk of the client noticing Her Ladyship’s absence, and we’ve completed our mission of kidnapping you. Now, we just need to get our money and leave,” Randolph said.

Unaware of the limits of Erez’s powers, Randolph seemed to believe Aneta was naturally planning to escape with her real body.

Aneta didn’t bother to correct his assumption. Instead, she pointed out his seemingly illogical actions.

“For something driven by mere curiosity, it seems like you’re taking on a significant risk.”

If Aneta managed to escape, both he and his subordinates would be as good as dead. It seemed unbelievable that he would take such a risk out of mere curiosity.

Aneta suspected he had another motive. Sure enough, Randolph responded as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Of course, there are conditions,” he said.

“Conditions?”

Aneta recalled Randolph rejecting her offer. If he had made a demand back then, like he is now, things might not have worsened to this extent. Her gaze, full of distrust, was fixed on him.

“If you succeed in calling for help thanks to the opportunity I give you, then you must also give me an opportunity that fits the situation.”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t trust me?”

“It’s a contingency plan. Both your success and my trust are equally uncertain. Moreover, the trust I’ve heard about you is at rock bottom, while the trust in the client I saw earlier is rolling around in the underground basement.”

Realizing that the client was not a trustworthy person, Randolph saw no reason not to take a chance with the lesser of two evils.

Naturally, Aneta didn’t completely believe what he was saying.

But relying on Randolph’s words, despite his unpredictable nature, was an unavoidable reality.

“Alright.”

Aneta finally accepted Randolph’s proposal. Whatever he might demand, it would be based on her success in calling for help anyway.

He was her assailant, and she wasn’t foolish enough to give in to his every demand just because she’d made a promise to him.

As long as she could escape this crisis, she wouldn’t let them go unpunished. While sharpening her resolve inwardly, Aneta showed no signs of it outwardly.

“You can’t say anything else later.”

“Likewise.”

A deal was struck in which there was no trace of mutual trust to be found, even if one searched with the utmost care. Unaware of the transaction that had taken place behind their backs, the group walking ahead reached the door of a room.

Knock, knock.

The one who knocked on the door was a subordinate leading the mercenaries in place of Randolph, with Chris slung over his shoulder. As soon as the loud sound echoed, a familiar voice came from inside.

“Why are you so late? Bring them in already!”

At the sharp voice hitting her ears, Aneta’s gaze instinctively turned to Serce, who was surrounded by mercenaries. Their eyes met at that exact moment, and his expression was no different from Aneta’s.
‘Is it him?’

‘It is.’

While the two exchanged glances, the mercenaries, following their client’s orders, opened the door. Aneta was led inside after Serce discovered a figure standing among old items.

“Now that she is here, that’s not needed anymore. Get rid of it.”

As Aneta entered, the man gestured dismissively at the mercenary, who had been squatting and cleaning a chair, as if shooing away a fly.

Glancing at Randolph’s expression, Aneta noticed his clenched jaw, which hinted at the reason for his resentment towards Erez.

“It feels different seeing you like this, doesn’t it?”

“Erez Bauter.”

The way she pronounced his name was filled with sheer disdain.

Unlike the stern-faced Aneta, Erez wore a triumphant smile. Despite having kidnapped three people, he seemed to have dressed up grandly for the occasion, appearing splendidly adorned.

Aneta, on the other hand, was dressed in a simple nightgown, and the fact that she was rumpled and bound with ropes made Erez’s face full of scorn as he looked her over.

“You were so full of yourself, but look at you now. Among all the versions of you I’ve seen, this one suits you the best.”

Since throwing a teacup at the Marquis’s mansion, it seemed Erez had given up all pretense as he spoke down to Aneta, mocking her predicament.

Striding forward with arms crossed, he looked arrogantly unafraid of anything in the world.

“What’s the use of seeking glory? It’s useless in a situation like this.”

Not only that, Erez carelessly revealed that he had hidden his abilities as if to allow Aneta to be silenced by death. Amused by his thoughtless actions and blind faith in his powers, Aneta let out a hollow laugh.

That laugh was enough to ignite the short fuse in Erez’s temper.

Irritated, Erez instantly slapped Aneta across the face.
Her head turned sharply with a screeching sound. For a moment, her cheek burned hot, followed by a stinging pain.

What was more unbearable than the pain was the humiliation. Aneta bit her lip and suppressed her emotions. Getting upset here would be of no help. She calmed herself down, taking a deep breath.

“It seems you still don’t grasp the situation. The one who should be laughing is not you, but me. Finally, the moment has come where I can deal with the person who ruined my future. You should have listened when I spoke nicely. At least then, you might have saved your life. Fool.”

As Aneta straightened her head, Erez spat out his words with malice. Even though Serce, restrained by the mercenaries behind him, ground his teeth menacingly, Erez paid no attention.

“Do you think you’ll get away with this?”

“Of course. I’m the most special person in this world. I’m on a completely different level than insignificant beings like you.”

Watching him lift his chin with confidence, Aneta was at a loss for words. He was beyond childish, living in delusion. It was exasperating to think she had fallen into a trap set by someone like him.

“It’s absurd that someone like you would aim for such a position. I will personally ensure your death. Once you’re gone, everything will return to its rightful place.”

Erez Bauter still couldn’t let go of his obsession with the disrupted original story. To Aneta, it appeared as more than just a desire—it was an obsession. Seeing him living in a grand illusion, she even began to feel a twinge of pity.

“But you’re the only one I want dead. So how about we make a bet, with the condition that you save the other two people? ”

Meanwhile, Erez proposed a bet with a sly look on his face. Aneta stepped aside and looked in the direction he was pointing.

What Erez’s fingertips were pointing at were two glasses.