‘I guess they were outmatched after all.’

Even the elite knights assigned as escorts were no match for the swarming enemies. The man with the menacing appearance threw a handful of blindfolds at us.

“Put them on now.”

“……”

Hilde and I exchanged glances and put blindfolds on the children. It broke my heart to see Elodie freeze up, but there was nothing we could do.

‘If we don’t do what they say, who knows what harm they might inflict.’

The possibility of escaping with three young children was extremely slim. Until an opportunity arose, our only option was to stay alive by not antagonizing them.

‘Is this a kidnapping for ransom?’

If so, that would be somewhat fortunate. The Baniche Duke family not only had the wealth to pay an enormous ransom without difficulty, but also possessed the ability to track down and eliminate bandits like these if they set their minds to it. But if that wasn’t the case…

I swallowed dryly as I put on the last remaining blindfold. The fact that it was designed to be tightly secured showed that these people were experienced kidnappers.

“Elodie.”

I carefully held Elodie’s small hand.

“Just hold my hand. Understand?”

“…Yes.”

Elodie answered in a small voice and gripped my hand with all her strength. I carefully walked behind Hilde and the children who had exited the carriage first. But after just a few steps, a thunderbolt of a command struck us.

“Separate them all.”

“The children, too, sir?”

“Especially the children.”

With those words, Elodie’s hand was torn from mine. It was definitely not Elodie letting go voluntarily, but by force. The child’s desperate screams pierced my ears like shards of glass.

“Aria! Aria!”

“Please let us stay together!”

I cried out sharply, but of course it had no effect. Instead, I was silenced with a cloth shoved into my mouth.

“Mmph, mmph…!”

“Aria! Aria!”

“Mom!”

It seemed Hilde and her children were receiving the same treatment.

‘Endure it.’

I squeezed my eyes shut. Even though I was wearing a blindfold so it made no difference whether my eyes were open or closed, at least it might keep me from crying.

Shortly after, the place I was forcibly dragged to after being separated from Elodie was, as expected, a space with a musty smell. Judging from the straw-covered floor and the clanging sound of an iron door closing, it was clearly a prison cell.

‘The blindfold… I need to remove the blindfold first.’

I was trying to untie the blindfold with trembling hands when—

“Let me do it.”

A voice that wasn’t familiar but wasn’t entirely strange either. Fearing that the voice might approach me, I quickly removed the blindfold and threw it aside, blinking my eyes.

“…!”

Marquis George Carbodin. Looking like he had been in a fight, his elaborate and expensive clothes were in tatters and his hair appeared to have been pulled. He was staring at me intently.

“Well, this is surprising. I never expected Miss Aria to be brought here too.”

“……”

“You’re dressed for an outing… Was the young lady with you well?”

“……”

“Have you lost your tongue, perhaps?”

“No.”

At my stiff response, Marquis Carbodin let out an exaggerated sigh.

“That’s a relief. Your voice is sweet as a lark’s song, after all.”

“……”

I ignored him for a moment and examined the prison. It seemed to be about ten pyeong in size. Looking at the dense iron bars and heavy locks, it was impossible to escape from here on our own. The only hope was Duke Baniche.

‘If the Duke comes, he can defeat these mere bandits.’

But I didn’t know when word would reach the Duke, and he might not even be at the Baniche mansion.

“…How did you end up being captured, Your Lordship? I doubt you did something foolish, traveling to a secluded lake we did.”

“Ah, my situation was similar.”

The Marquis waved his hand.

“The only difference in my case was that I was on my way to the capital.”

“You must have had knights escorting you?”

“Numbers can overwhelm. I fought quite well myself, but it wasn’t enough.”

“……”

“Actually, to tell the truth, I was traveling alone. It was a matter I wanted to keep secret from my family.”

“I see.”

I answered dryly. My mind was busy working, so I had no energy to respond politely and kindly. Whatever the reason, the Marquis and I were in the same boat. If we could just work together to find a way out of this situation…

‘But is it even possible?’

Seeing that even the Marquis had been captured, the bandits’ goal was likely ransom. Perhaps it would be better to simply wait quietly for the ransom to be paid and be released.

‘If only I could see Elodie, I’d feel a bit better.’

My mouth felt parched. Who was Elodie with now? Surely she wasn’t locked up with an unfamiliar adult, trembling in fear…

“Miss Aria, don’t worry too much. My capable vassals should be making contact and handling the situation properly by now.”

“…What I’m worried about is Elodie.”

“Of course you are.”

The Marquis nodded.

“But just worrying won’t solve anything right now. What’s important is getting out of here quickly and safely.”

“Isn’t that precisely the problem we can’t do anything about? We have to wait for someone to rescue us from outside.”

“That’s true, but couldn’t we wait with a more comfortable mindset?”

I glared at the Marquis.

“My Lord, you might not understand because you don’t have a child to protect, but I need to protect Elodie!”

The Marquis’s eyes narrowed.

“…Why wouldn’t I understand?”

His voice was tinged with bitterness.

“I, too, had family I needed to protect.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. There was something unsettling in the Marquis’s expression.

“You might see me as nothing but a heartless monster, Miss Aria…”

“I never said that.”

“But you’re already thinking it, aren’t you? It’s written all over your face.”

Having nothing to say, I quietly closed my mouth. Yes, we were stuck here together until someone came. Fighting with the Marquis would only make the atmosphere worse. Besides…

‘The Marquis also had a time when he protected a precious family.’

It wasn’t difficult to read between the lines of the Marquis’s words. In the end, the Marquis had failed to protect that family. Or perhaps that family had left him.

“…Could it be that the person you needed to protect was the Marquis’s daughter?”

“Precisely.”

The corner of the Marquis’s mouth turned up, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“So, it would be good for you to know this too, Miss Aria. The time when the young lady blindly loves and follows you is only now.”

Is that true? I closed my eyes. I wanted to say it couldn’t be, but in reality, I knew all too well. In just a few years, Elodie would no longer need me. I already had many substitutes: Lady Salamander, Hilde, and Sonya. But…

“If we’re only talking about blind love, Your Lordship might be right.”

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the Marquis.

“But that’s not the only kind of love I’m hoping for. Whatever choices Elodie makes in the future, whatever life she leads, I will love her…”

I took a breath. I could almost hear Elodie’s voice crying out my name just moments ago.

“And unless I do something terribly wrong, Elodie will love me a little too. That’s enough for me.”

Silence fell. The Marquis’s golden eyes widened in surprise, then quickly hardened. I met his gaze without flinching. Just I was thinking, ‘Go ahead and argue if you want to,’ the Marquis smiled.

“Indeed, I find you quite charming, Miss Aria. Are you really not interested in formally courting me?”

“…Pardon?”

“If your relationship with the Duke’s family is the issue, I’m willing to humble myself.”

I frowned. Although I wasn’t swayed by his words, which I couldn’t tell were jest or serious, I was certainly confused by the Marquis’s intentions.

‘Why is he acting this way toward me?’

Just as I was about to open my mouth to politely decline, there was a commotion outside. High-pitched screams and harsh shouts mingled, making it impossible to understand what was being said, but it sounded like a major fight was breaking out.

‘Please…!’

My heart pounded. Had people from the Duke’s family come to rescue us? Or…

“My Lord!”

“Dicky!”