I Transmigrated into the Nameverse, and My Name Came with a Time Limit - Chapter 3

But the man’s hand didn’t budge, as if it were made of steel.

Just then, the man in the hat suddenly whispered quietly.

“Wouldn’t it be better not to make a corpse? It doesn’t seem necessary to give them a reason to be on alert for no reason.”

Because he was so close and the surroundings were so still, even the man’s low whisper came through clearly.

‘Them? What the hell are you scheming, you bastards…!’

Her heart dropped with a loud thud. Her mind started spinning like crazy. The moment these strange men truly believed she was an enemy spy, her life would vanish here without a trace, for sure. Whoever that enemy was, Mina realized her life really was hanging by a thread right now.

Eyes wide, she started shaking her head violently again, trying to plead her innocence.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

The man covering Mina’s mouth watched her flail like a fish dragged onto land, as if he were thinking something over for a moment. Soon, a heavy voice flowed out again through the black slit.

“I’m going to take my hand off, so cut it out with any tricks like trying to scream. If you do, your neck will be twisted in an instant, and it’ll be dangling on top of your shoulders. Do you understand me?”

Mina nodded frantically. Judging by the brutal hand gripping her delicate nape, those words were very likely to become reality. Catching the subtle nuance that suggested she might survive, she willingly clung to that thin, threadlike hope.

“Good.”

A hand as big as a pot lid slowly lifted away from her face. Mina stood there awkwardly, clutching both hands tight. Her whole body started trembling on its own, like a shaking aspen tree.

“Name.”

When Mina’s stunned face turned toward the helmeted man, that cave-like, humming voice leaked out again from inside the armor.

“Don’t make me say it twice. Name.”

“M-M-Mina.”

The moment she managed to answer through her shaking, the man snapped back right away.

“Family.”

Only then did Mina manage to remember which family the woman she’d possessed belonged to.

“W-Wittgen… Wilhelmina Wittgen.”

The man’s fingers, which had been impatiently tapping the armor on the back of his hand, paused for an instant. But then his terrifying voice rang out in her ears again.

“Good. The moment you let what you heard earlier slip out of your mouth, your pathetic little life disappears in an instant. Do you understand?”

Mina nodded urgently. She couldn’t even remember what she’d overheard in passing, but now, even if she did remember, she’d have to delete it from her mind no matter what.

Still, maybe her desperate nodding didn’t seem enough, because the man pressed her again in a dry voice.

“Answer.”

“Yes! I-I swear!”

Mina forced out the words, squeezing her tightening throat, and barely managed to respond. Her legs wobbled like they were about to give out at any moment.

“Now that I know who you are, keep in mind that I can take your trivial life whenever I want.”

After driving the point in one more time, the man flicked one hand.

Understanding that it meant she could go, Mina quickly turned around. She hurried her steps, anxious he might grab her shoulder again at any moment.

Only after she finally made it inside the building did Mina let out a relieved breath. It felt like she’d come back alive from hell.

‘Damn it, what the hell is going on? Twice in a row…’

All she’d done was run away from Leopold’s attempted kiss, and by sheer accident she’d ended up eavesdropping on a conversation, yet it turned into this absurd situation where her life was on the line! It was like dodging a fox only to run into a bear.

‘Seriously, my luck is cursed…!’

Mina grumbled and looked around.

Just then, the door beside her flew open, and a woman who looked like a palace maid came out into the hall. The woman seemed startled when she saw Mina standing there blankly in the corridor. But after she swept her gaze over Mina from head to toe, she deeply furrowed her brow.

Watching the attendant disappear after giving her a sidelong look like she was some bizarre animal, Mina narrowed her eyes. Still muttering, she glanced at the small mirror hanging on the wall, and she startled. Her face was drenched in sweat, and from wrestling while being grabbed by two men, her hair was a mess, too.

There was no way she could go back to the ballroom looking like this.