The one who appeared to be their leader expressed his anger by stomping on the ground.

And one was expressing his anger with his whole body, kicking the surrounding boxes with his feet, while the man with black hair and skin so pale it was cold, who was standing next to the leader, bit his lip as if thinking about something while looking at the loops and black cloths I had untied.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he grabbed the shoulder of the leader next to him.

“Something’s strange, Captain Gelean.”

“Strange? Ah, Terit over there, be quiet for a bit.”

“No, when we arrived, the door was definitely locked.”

Hearing those words, the man called Gelean and the man called Terit who had been venting on the boxes looked at the black-haired man.

“No, think about it. When we arrived, the warehouse door was tightly closed with a lock.”

“That’s right. But what’s strange about that, Telmua?”

“Well, who would lock the warehouse door so tightly if they were escaping?”

Gelean nodded as if agreeing with his words.

“And there’s only one window here, and there’s no way a girl who’s been through a debutante ball could pass through such a small window.”

The eyes of Gelean and Terit sparkled at those words.

“So, you’re saying she’s still in this warehouse?”

After hearing Telmua’s words, Gelean ordered him in a lowered voice,

“Go and close the warehouse door right now.”

Creak—

With that, the rusty door closed with a loud thud.

Then the men began to overturn the closed boxes and hay piles, dividing the area among themselves.

“Come out! I said come out!”

The rough voice grew closer, and then the board covering my head slowly began to open.

At that moment, thousands of thoughts flashed through my mind.

If I just sit here quietly, I’ll be caught.

As I was contemplating whether to desperately escape from here or just stand up and dance like a crazy woman, it happened.

“Boss, the jewel you gave earlier is glowing.”

Hearing those words, Gelean put down the wooden board he was lifting and quickly ran to another place.

So I continued to watch the situation through a small hole in the box, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Ah, yes. This is Gelean.”

Gelean put his finger to his lips, signaling the other two to be quiet.

What Gelean was holding was a communication stone, and it seemed like a call from someone important.

For example, the person who ordered my kidnapping.

I reached into my voluminous hair ornament and took out a shining jewel.

When I pressed the jewel firmly, it seemed to turn blue, then began to emit a color just like an emerald.

Mafi, you clever boy.

This jewel is actually not a jewel but a miniature version of the recorder used at the ball last time.

As a thank-you for naming his invention “recorder,” Mafi had gifted me an ultra-small bead recorder that could be attached to decorations that wouldn’t look strange for a noble lady to wear.

The recording time was limited to 20 minutes.

I needed to extract enough information from these people within that time.

“Yes, yes, ah, of course she’s alive and well. Of course.”

The man continued the conversation while repeatedly bowing as if the person he was talking to through the communication stone was right in front of him.

“Ah, that seal… we had a bit of a situation, so we haven’t received it yet.”

As soon as the man finished speaking, it seemed like the person on the other end shouted loudly, as Gelean grimaced and moved the communication stone away from his ear.

“No, that… yes, it’s nothing serious. We just had a small internal issue… Of course, we’ll take responsibility and get it. Yes. Goodbye.”

After ending the conversation, Gelean irritably handed the communication stone to Terit, almost throwing it.

Then he messed up his hair with his hands, showing all kinds of irritation.

“Damn it, we need to find that girl quickly and get the seal!”

And after hearing Gelean’s conversation with the mysterious man, I no longer had reason to fear them.

“Yes, of course she’s alive and well.”

Gelean clearly said this.

That means the kidnapper’s request included a condition to keep me alive.

…Although it’s not certain, so it might be dangerous to rely on that and cause a disturbance here.

But if I just kept sitting in this box, I would only be discovered by them.

So I held my breath in the box, waiting for them to move as far away from the exit door as possible.

And at the moment when the distance between them and the exit door was at its maximum, I jumped up from the box and began sprinting toward the exit door with all my might.

“Th… there she is!”

“Don’t just point, go catch her!”

But they couldn’t do anything about my subsequent actions.

As I expected, my prediction was correct.

I was holding a metal skewer against my neck.

I felt blood flowing from my neck where the skewer had slightly scratched it.

“If you come any closer, I’ll kill myself right here.”

Terit and Telmua looked at Gelean after hearing my words.

“Boss, didn’t you say keeping her alive was part of the contract?”

“…Should we let her go like this? Or should we take the risk and capture her?”

Gelean frowned as if the situation had become troublesome as he listened to the two.

Then he assumed an arrogant posture and looked down at me.

“Do you think a noble lady raised in comfort would be capable of stabbing her own neck?”

Terit and Telmua made expressions as if they had just realized something upon hearing those words.

Then they too seemed to regain their composure and smiled.

“Go ahead and stab yourself if you’re going to.”

At the moment they took one step after another toward me, I used the metal skewer I was holding to cut my arm.

As my dress and skin tore, blood began to drip.

Seeing my action, the three began to panic and stopped approaching me.

“B-Boss, what should we do?”

“…Judging by her determination, she really seems like she’ll do it.”

At those words, Gelean snorted and hit Terit on the head.

“Why do you keep asking me that!”

Terit and Telmua looked at Gelean as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

Their expressions seemed to say, ‘You’re the boss, who else should we ask…’

In front of them, I put the skewer back to my neck and shouted.

“Where is that contract you mentioned?”

When none of the three opened their mouths, fidgeting nervously at my words, I raised the skewer high as if I was about to stab it into my neck.

“Ah, a… alright!”

Gelean stopped my action with a terrified look.

Then he took out a folded document from his possession.

“Here. This is the contract that person requested.”

Gelean held the document in one hand and slowly approached me.

“Stop.”

But I stopped his action.

“Unfold it and read it.”

At my command, Gelean frowned as if he was displeased, but soon let out a sigh and began to read the contents of the contract.

“…So that’s the contract your client asked you to get my seal on, right?”

“That’s right.”

I felt I had obtained all the necessary information.

As the recorder I had placed inside my collar lost its color after Gelean’s last words, there was no reason for me to stay here any longer.

“Don’t move from that spot until you can’t see me anymore.”

The three stamped their feet as if they were getting impatient. Yet they didn’t dare to move rashly.

“Boss, are we just going to let her escape like this?”

Terit asked Gelean, but he didn’t answer, and eventually, he began to rush toward me.

“Wait, Terit!”

“Can’t I subdue one girl like her?”

But contrary to his expectation, it wasn’t me who was subdued, but him.

The moment he approached me, I used the sword skills I had been honing all this time to strike the flat side of the skewer against his neck and then twisted his arm so he couldn’t move, restraining him.

“I told you not to come closer.”

I hit his head with whatever I could grab, and with a groan, he passed out.

I then opened the warehouse door and started running blindly.

After running for some time, when I was certain they weren’t following me, I sat down and caught my breath.

“Ah… where am I?”

I turned my head earnestly to check my surroundings and figure out where I was, but all I could see were trees.

…I’m doomed.

With a feeling of resignation, I plopped down and leaned against a tree.

That’s when it happened.

— You look terrible.

I frowned momentarily at the voice suddenly echoing in my head.

— You don’t even know where you are.

I quietly closed my eyes at that voice.

That’s how I was able to face Wilty.

— Oh, your training has paid off? Seeing how you found me right away.

As Wilty suddenly inflated his body, I felt my whole body cool down, and I could feel my heartbeat, which had been racing as if I was about to die, and the fever that had risen due to fear, all returning to normal.

‘Ah, thank you. I really feel alive now.’

— The wound on your arm is quite deep. I can help prevent it from widening, but make sure you get it treated.

‘I will. But what should I do now?’

When I asked, Wilty looked at me as if I was pathetic.

‘Why are you looking at me like that! Do you know how hard it was for me to escape from there?’

— Well, couldn’t you have asked them about the location before escaping?

At Wilty’s words, I closed my mouth tightly, having nothing to say.

He’s right, I could have done that.

As I was blaming myself, that’s when it happened.

— I’ll help you, wait a bit.

With those words, something began to sparkle from Wilty’s body.

— What, you’re the one contacting me?

And then, a voice I had never heard before filled my head.

…Is this a new fairy?