-12-

Brawny yanked the necklace from my neck.

“An artifact? Were you planning to attack with this?”

Slimy Smiley laughed incredulously.

It’s over. I should’ve just shouted Fireball! right away.

“You were planning to use the artifact to attack and take the dwarf by force, weren’t you?”

That’s not it. I was planning to buy it fair and square.

Before their misunderstanding grew any bigger, I spoke up.

“I really lost the money. Just let me leave for now. I’ll come back with the money.”

It seemed like asking for credit was pointless, so I had no choice.

“That’s not happening. Why should we trust a suspicious person and let them leave?”

Slimy Smiley spoke dismissively.

It was clear that this wasn’t going to work. In this messed-up situation, it seemed like the only way to get out of here was to reveal my identity. I took a deep breath.

“I am a duchess.”

Silence fell in the room for a moment. Then, a few seconds later.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Brawny and Slimy Smiley burst into laughter as if they were going to split their sides. Those jerks.

Slimy Smiley chuckled and said, “A duchess? Seriously? A duchess wouldn’t come here like this, all alone.”

I really wanted to punch him. That saying about not spitting on a smiling face was total nonsense. I could definitely spit and add a punch right now.

“Seems like you came here cluelessly wanting a dwarf, but it’s not that easy here.”

Suddenly, Brawny grabbed my arm. He lifted me over his shoulder like a sack.

I was being carried off somewhere. I struggled on his shoulder.

“Put me down, you brute!”

Brawny’s body stiffened at my words. I was dangling over his shoulder, feeling more and more scared.

What if he throws me down? It seemed quite possible. Nervous, I spoke softly.

“P-Please put me down….”

Brawny tied me up tightly and threw me into a cell. The floor was hard and cold.

I landed on my rear, and it hurt. My hair was already a mess.

How did I end up like this? How am I going to get out of here? I couldn’t stay trapped here. Evening would come, and Roan would come looking for me. Although it was still daytime, there was no guarantee I’d be out by then.

Would Roan even come looking for me if he found out I was missing?

…I wasn’t sure. The uncertainty was painful. I felt like crying. Just then, I saw the dwarf being brought in. The dwarf was put in the cell right next to mine.

Seeing him up close, his condition was even more brutal than I’d realized. I carefully walked over to him, still tied up, and spoke softly.

“Mr. Dwarf.”

The dwarf, who had been lying down with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and looked at me.

“I promise I’ll get you out of here.”

“…A human who tried to buy me now promises to rescue me? Cough.”

“Actually, I was trying to buy you to free you.”

“Why would you…?”

“Well, I have a husband who’s incredibly strong. He needs a sword that can withstand his strength, or it’ll break during a fight, which could be disastrous. So, I was planning to rescue you and ask you to make a sword.”

“Cough, then you could’ve just bought me.”

“Buy you? I’m against slavery. I thought you wouldn’t want to be a slave either.”

The dwarf looked into my eyes. I met his gaze with sincerity.

“I mean it.”

He stared at me, then after a pause, he spoke.

“…I believe you.”

“But you’re also trapped. How do you plan to get out? Cough.”

“Good question. First, I need to get out of here.”

I twisted my body, trying to loosen the ropes binding me. Brawny had tied them so tightly that they wouldn’t budge.

“…In our forest is where my masterpieces are well kept .”

Suddenly, the dwarf spoke as if to himself.

“I may never create such a sword again. I left it with the Fairies, but if we manage to escape, I’ll give it to you.”

“Me, really? Thank you!”

I forgot about my situation and shouted out loud in joy.

At that moment, the burly man and the skinny man appeared again. The skinny man entered the prison cell where I was held. Did he find out my identity?

But that was just my wishful thinking. The skinny man looked at my face, now visible with the hood removed.

“You really didn’t have any guards or anything? How did you know the code?”

“…….”

I couldn’t say it was because I read a novel. I had nothing to say.

“Anyway, if you’re someone without any backing.”

He showed a sly smile.

“It doesn’t matter how we use you.”

The skinny man slapped my cheeks hard.

Every time he touches my cheek, my head turns involuntarily.

“You have quite a beautiful face. Today is really my lucky day. Such a good prize falling right into my lap.”

With that, he walked out of the cell. The burly man handcuffed me.

I felt a bit dazed. As long as they didn’t know my true identity, I had no chance of getting back today.

The dwarf looked at me with concern. I smiled to reassure him and fell into deep thought.

What would happen if Roan found out I was missing? Would he not care? Or would he think it was better this way? If he didn’t look for me… could I really be sold as a slave?

No, that can’t happen. I need to be by Roan’s side. I must save him from his future.

‘Roan.’

Maybe the reason I came to this world was to save the pitiful second male lead. But now, Roan was more than just a novel character to me.

I vaguely thought that even if he hated me, if I kept showing him my sincerity, he would eventually open his heart. I feared I might never get that chance now. The slightly lowered sun shone through the window.

“Roan.”

I murmured his name in a small voice.

***

“I’ll definitely be back before dinner. Please, don’t look for me until then. I need some time alone.

Delis.”

The note Delis left turned the Bannister mansion upside down. Mary, reading the note again, turned pale.

Delis was not in her room, only that note and a rope hanging from the window were left.

“Where on earth did the lady go?”

Could she not have gone out completely yet? The servants searched every corner of the mansion, but they couldn’t find a trace of Delis. Instead, they saw a slightly dug-out hole in the fence.

“She must have gone towards the bustling part of the capital.”

“There are too many people there to find her easily.”

The butler and the head maid ordered the servants to search outside the mansion for Delis. But no one could bring her back. They stomped their feet in frustration.

As time passed, the servants’ anxiety grew. What if something happened to the lady? They were worried about Delis.

She used to be incredibly wicked.

But after losing her memory, she became noticeably kinder. She forgave mistakes generously, and there were more compliments and smiles. Maybe this was her true personality. Their hearts, once closed, were gradually opening to this new Delis.

The sun was already setting. The servants of the mansion gathered in small groups, anxiously waiting for Delis.

“Why isn’t she coming back?”

“What if something happened to her?”

“Don’t say such ominous things!”

“Hmph. Wouldn’t it be good if she disappeared?”

One maid grumbled.

“No, but she has been good to us since she lost her memory.”

“What are you talking about? If something happens to her, we’ll be the ones in trouble.”

“Didn’t she forgive Emily’s mistake recently?”

At that moment, someone spoke in a cautious voice.

“Or… did she just leave?”

“What?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw that some of the lady’s jewelry was missing earlier.”

“What? Really?”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier!”

“Is that true?”

It was the voice of the head maid, Ellen.

“Yes. While I was looking around the lady’s room earlier, I noticed some jewelry was gone.”

Ellen’s expression turned serious. If this was true, it was a big problem.

“Come to think of it, she has been acting a bit strange since this morning.”

“The sun is already setting!”

“She didn’t eat much breakfast either….”

“Did she really leave?”

Some maids spoke with trembling voices.

“No, she’ll come back. She said she’d be back by dinner.”

“But….”

“Her Grace has lost her memory. But she suddenly decided to leave?”

The sky was already colored with the hues of sunset.

“What will happen if the Duke finds out?”

“She must come back before then….”

They fervently hoped. They desperately wished for the Duchess to return. At that moment, they heard a shout from a servant.

“The, the Duke has arrived!”

The person they hoped would come was not the Duke.

The servants panicked. They didn’t want to face the dark future that loomed over them.

Roan entered the mansion. Until yesterday, the Duchess used to greet him outside. They felt they knew what Roan was going to say.

“Where is the Duchess?”

“Th, that is….”

They all stuttered and hesitated. Roan’s expression hardened slightly at their reaction. He asked the butler.

“Victor. Where is the Duchess?”

Victor, as if steeling himself, spoke.

“I’m sorry. It is our fault.”

As Roan listened to his explanation, his expression grew colder. The servants around him could feel the temperature drop noticeably. When the butler finished speaking, they realized that the Duke exuded an atmosphere they had never seen before.