Chapter 5.3

After having dinner together and ending their date, Ellie returned home.

While changing clothes with Roni’s help, Roni handed her a letter.

“A letter arrived earlier, Miss.”

“…A letter?”

Could it be from Rozelia?

Ellie took the letter and checked the sender.

But it wasn’t Rozelia’s name—it was Diena’s.

‘Diena… She’s Rozelia’s close friend, isn’t she?’

The first time Ellie had met Rozelia was at Diena’s tea party.

Wondering if it was a tea party invitation, she opened the envelope and checked the content.

But it wasn’t an invitation—Diena was asking to meet her alone tomorrow.

Diena said she hadn’t heard from Rozelia for weeks, and since Ellie was the last person to see her, she wanted to ask if Rozelia had seemed strange.

At the end, Diena repeatedly asked her to visit tomorrow, anytime.

“Hm…….”

Rozelia was out of contact?

Something felt suspicious.

Ellie shook the envelope, but nothing else fell out.

From the content, it seemed Diena was genuinely worried about Rozelia and, as a last resort, had contacted Ellie.

Indeed, it was odd that Rozelia had been so quiet.

Ellie figured she should also ask Diena if Rozelia had changed recently or said anything strange.

After finishing her preparations, Ellie contacted Feroza.

-Yes, Ellie.

“I’ve finished washing up and I’m lying down.”

-Good job. How are you feeling?

“I’m alright. Also, I’m planning to meet Lady Rokcheta tomorrow.”

-Lady Rokcheta? Diena Rokcheta?

“Yes.”

Ellie explained the letter to Feroza.

“It seems Lady Azenne hasn’t contacted anyone since that day.”

-Hmm… Is that so?

“Yes. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

-Be careful, Ellie.

“Alright.”

They weren’t meeting anywhere remote, just at the Rokcheta mansion, so there shouldn’t be any danger.

Maybe Diena would tell her something important.

“I’ll let you know how it went after I get back.”

-Okay.

“Stop working and go to sleep, it’s late.”

-You caught me.

Feroza laughed softly.

There was a rustling sound, and Ellie yawned quietly.

Soon, his voice came again.

-I’m lying down too, so you should go to sleep now, Ellie.

“Alright. Goodnight, Feroza.”

She sent him a goodnight kiss and ended the call.

She closed her eyes to sleep, but sleep didn’t come easily.

Her body was tired, but her mind was wide awake.

In the end, she only managed to fall asleep long after lying down.

Unfortunately, perhaps because she kept thinking about meeting Diena, she woke up after only a few hours of sleep.

“So tired…….”

Ellie mumbled as she sluggishly got up.

She ate a quick breakfast and got ready to visit Diena right away.

She considered going in the afternoon, but wanting to get it over with, she left before lunch.

Thinking she’d contact Feroza on the way back, she packed her communication stone as well.

“Have a safe trip, Miss.”

“Thanks, I’ll be back.”

Ellie greeted Roni and boarded the carriage to the Rokcheta mansion.

While riding, she took out her communication stone and pressed it.

-Yes, Ellie.

Within seconds, Feroza’s voice came through.

“I’m on my way to see Lady Rokcheta now.”

-Nothing happened, right?

“Of course.”

-I wondered if you were calling because something happened.

“No, nothing like that… Just reporting in.”

She heard Feroza’s soft laughter through the stone.

As they chatted about this and that, Ellie felt the carriage slowing down.

Peeking outside, she saw the mansion through the window.

“Feroza, I’ve just arrived.”

-Be careful.

“I will. I’ll contact you as soon as I finish talking.”

She ended the conversation and tucked the communication stone deep into her pocket.

When she got out of the carriage, to her surprise, Diena was waiting outside.

As soon as Diena saw her, she hurried over.

“Lady Rokcheta?”

“Thank you so much for coming.”

“I didn’t even send a letter saying I’d come, so how…?”

“Oh, I told the staff to let me know if you arrived.”

Diena’s expression looked somewhat anxious.

She kept glancing around nervously, and her forced smile looked very unnatural.

“Um, Lady.”

“Yes, yes?”

When Ellie stopped Diena, who was trying to lead her inside, Diena flinched in surprise.

Her reaction was overly sensitive, and Ellie tilted her head.

“Are you alright? You don’t look well…”

“I-I’m fine. I just stayed up all night worrying about Rozel, so I’m a little tired.”

Diena insisted she was fine and quickly urged Ellie inside, grabbing her hand and leading her into the mansion.

Something felt off.

Ellie felt she shouldn’t follow Diena, so she planted her feet and stopped.

When she suddenly stopped, Diena turned and looked at her.

“Lady?”

“Um… I just remembered something urgent I need to do. I’ll come back after I take care of it.”

“What? All of a sudden?”

“I’m sorry, Lady.”

Ellie tried her best to smile naturally.

She tried to twist her hand free, but Diena suddenly gripped her hand tightly.

“Wait……!”

The grip was so strong that Ellie couldn’t pull away no matter how hard she tried.

“We agreed to talk, didn’t we, Lady? Let’s talk in the parlor.”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

Why is she so strong!

Ellie looked around for help, but not a single servant was in sight.

It was only then she realized Diena had trapped her, but it was too late.

She was helplessly dragged all the way to the parlor.

Diena opened the parlor door and pushed her inside.

“Ah!”

Ellie’s foot caught, and she fell forward.

The carpet was soft, so her palms and knees weren’t injured, but the shock was considerable.

There was a loud bang as the door slammed shut behind her.

Ellie quickly got up and tried to open the parlor door, but it rattled and wouldn’t budge.

“Lady Rokcheta! Lady! Diena!”

She pounded on the door, calling Diena’s name, but there was no response.

“Sigh…….”

Her hand ached from knocking so much.

Then, a voice came from behind her.

“It’s no use. I told everyone not to come near the parlor.”

Startled, Ellie spun around.

She’d been so distracted, she hadn’t realized anyone else was in the room.

Now she saw Rozelia, sitting leisurely on the sofa, sipping tea.

“Rozelia…….”

“It’s been a while.”

Rozelia set down her teacup and smiled sweetly at Ellie.

“I asked Diena to bring you here.”

“You asked her to bring me? Isn’t that a bit too forceful?”

“Is it? But if you took my place, you should pay the price.”

“I never took your place.”

Ellie frowned and glared at Rozelia.

Rozelia slowly stood up and spoke.

“If you just disappear, the story will return to normal.”

“…….”

“And then I’ll be happy.”

Rozelia’s eyes sparkled.

But there was a glint of madness, not innocence, that sent chills down Ellie’s spine.

Rozelia turned her body and walked toward the window.

While Rozelia had her back turned, Ellie quickly pulled out the communication stone she had hidden in her pocket and pressed it tightly.

Then she moved her hand behind her back to hide it.

She knew she’d be discovered soon, but she had to let Feroza know what kind of situation she was in.

The faint vibration stopped.

That meant he had received the call.

Before Feroza could say anything, Ellie raised her voice first.

“So! What is it you want from me?”

Luckily, the communication stone remained quiet.

Rozelia wasn’t looking at her yet, so Ellie glanced at it to check if the connection was still active.

Seeing it blinking, she was relieved inside.

At that moment, Rozelia suddenly spun around, and Ellie hurriedly hid the communication stone behind her back again.

“What do I want? Obviously, I want you to disappear.”

“…What?”

“You’re a virus that spreads disease, Ellie. You know you have to use a vaccine to get rid of a virus, right? Once the virus disappears, everything returns to normal.”

Her heart pounded and her breath quickened.

Ellie didn’t know what Rozelia was planning, but she could tell the end of that plan was her death.

“…If I go missing from here, people will investigate this place first. This was my last known destination.”

Rozelia just smiled serenely in response.

That composure meant she’d already finished all her preparations.

Just as Ellie was about to ask what Rozelia would do with her, the parlor door suddenly burst open.

Ellie whirled around in surprise.

Several burly men barged into the parlor.

Just by looking, it was obvious they weren’t nobles, but ruffians from the streets.

The door was open, but she didn’t have the courage to push through them.

“You won’t die, Ellie. But your existence will be erased from this empire.”

Rozelia shrugged her shoulders.

Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t noticed the communication stone in Ellie’s hand.

The man at the front looked Ellie up and down and spoke.

“A top-quality item.”

The way they appraised her like an object made Ellie realize these men were slave traders.

‘This can’t happen.’

She couldn’t let herself be dragged away without even trying.

Ellie watched for an opening and suddenly dashed toward the door.

But she couldn’t escape the parlor.

Her wrist was immediately grabbed, and she was thrown to the floor.

“Ugh…!”

The communication stone she was holding dropped to the floor, and another man stepped on it.

He didn’t even think about what it was—he just crushed it.

The communication stone broke far too easily, and Ellie bit her lip hard.

‘At least Feroza must have figured out what’s happening now.’

If he was as quick-witted as she hoped, he might already be on his way.

The man who had called her “top-quality” approached the collapsed Ellie and grinned slyly.

“Have a little nap.”

“Wait—!”

Before she could say anything more, a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck, and she lost consciousness.