Chapter 78

Fortunately or unfortunately, the restaurant was quite crowded. They probably wouldn’t try to kidnap people and turn them into slaves in a place with so many watching eyes.

For now, waiting for Heishar seemed like the best option.

Michael fidgeted, glancing toward the window. I pushed a plate toward him as he grew anxious.

In a situation with just the two of us, drawing attention was dangerous.

“Michael. Just eat for now.”

“…What if something happens and he doesn’t return?”

“There might be accomplices in the restaurant. We need to act natural.”

Showing anxiety wouldn’t do us any good. Understanding what I meant, he nodded.

“I’ll try.”

Michael ate carefully, making sure his hood didn’t slip. He seemed determined to follow my instruction to remain inconspicuous.

I also ate a little of the food that had been served.

‘Will Heishar be alright on his own?’

Though he was an adult male and likely in less danger, I was still worried. The best option would be to call the guards.

As I pierced a piece of meat with my fork, Michael whispered quietly to me.

“You’re right that I shouldn’t have thrown away the magical tools. I acted foolishly.”

I looked up at him and shook my head. I had been equally negligent of the dangers.

Just because I’d become a child didn’t mean I should make decisions so easily swayed by emotions.

“I was overconfident, too.”

“Since I planned to bring you along, I should have been more careful. I thought we’d be safe with so many people around.”

“I wasn’t prepared either.”

“If Heishar returns safely, I’ll apologize to him personally.”

Despite being the Crown Prince, Michael had no aversion to apologizing. He was quick to acknowledge his mistakes and devise countermeasures.

It felt like seeing with my own eyes the person I had read about in the original story.

‘That makes me a bit happy.’

I vaguely remembered cheering for him as the male lead when I was once a reader of the novel. Back then, I never imagined I would be born into the story.

Michael couldn’t hide his concern as he asked me.

“Is this Heishar person strong enough to resolve this situation?”

“Probably… not.”

He did have a balanced physique like someone who trained regularly.

‘No calluses.’

His palms were clean, not like someone who wielded a sword, and from what I had confirmed before, his magical power wasn’t at a meaningful level.

Michael pinpointed exactly what I was worried about.

“Aren’t we in a dangerous situation?”

“Yes. Quite dangerous.”

“From your attitude, do you have another means to overcome this situation?”

“…If it comes to the worst.”

I had a dagger-shaped magical tool given to me by the Grand Duke.

‘It would summon the Grand Duke.’

If I gave up dealing with the aftermath and turned the handle on my necklace, we could avoid the dangerous situation. That fact provided more comfort than I expected.

I wanted to avoid personally exposing the secret that Heishar had promised to keep. If possible, I hoped the situation would be resolved at Heishar’s level.

“If it seems like Heishar is in danger, then at that time…”

“At that time?”

I widened my eyes as a sudden drowsiness came over me. It felt different from being sleepy due to tension.

My body went limp, and my head felt slightly dizzy.

“Michael, doesn’t something feel strange?”

Michael’s face appeared split in two as he answered.

‘My body won’t listen to me.’

Just then, I felt someone watching us intently from the counter. My unresponsive body, the suspicious people who appeared as if to lure us, and the surroundings that had grown quiet at some point.

“Micha… run.”

“Liat? I can’t hear you clearly. Speak louder.”

Run away, Michael.

Among slave trader groups, there were occasionally those who operated stores as a front. I tried to turn the handle on my necklace before it was too late.

However, my upper body, already collapsed on the table, wouldn’t respond.

“Quickly… escape.”

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? I’ll call someone.”

“They’re… all in it together, Michael.”

For someone who ate the same food, Michael seemed fine. It must be due to his constitution being trained against poison.

‘Heishar drank water too.’

If they had drugged the water, Heishar might be in danger, too. A faint killing intent appeared on Michael’s face as he checked my pulse and condition.

‘He’s noticed it’s poison.’

With my consciousness growing increasingly blurry, I desperately tried to speak.

‘The dagger, turn the dagger handle.’

My words, unable to form sounds, scattered with a metallic noise.

What if everyone in the restaurant were a slave trader? I tried somehow to get him to leave.

But Michael didn’t move, holding me in his arms.

“I’ll protect you until Heishar returns, so don’t worry.”

Thinking the time had come, people who had been pretending to be customers walked toward Michael. They no longer hid their intentions.

“Little one, you can sleep if you’re drowsy. No need to force yourself to stay awake.”

“That’s right. We’re not bad people; we’re trying to help.”

“It will be over quickly if you sleep.”

Michael grabbed a knife from the table and pointed it at them.

I felt devastated at the clearly foreseeable future. Michael’s swordsmanship wasn’t comparable to that of Lucas, who was a genius.

‘This idiot, I told him to run away!’

Before closing my eyes, I saw Michael’s back as he charged at the man. Then I heard the sound of Michael’s small body falling to the floor.

I fell into a deep sleep, praying for Michael’s safety.

***

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a dark warehouse.

They hadn’t tied my hands and feet, perhaps underestimating me as a child. While holding my head due to a throbbing headache, I heard Michael’s groan from a corner.

“…Ugh.”

“Michael!”

Michael was sprawled among the discarded materials in the warehouse.

When I turned over his lying body, I saw his face, pale and lifeless. His entire body was covered in bruises, as if he had resisted fiercely.

“Michael, open your eyes. Please?”

“Li…at.”

His eyelids, which had briefly lifted, soon closed again. He was breathing heavily, seemingly without strength.

‘He’s not in good condition.’

Michael’s forehead, which I touched with my palm, was burning hot like a fireball. A vague fear came over me that he might not open his eyes again.

“You mustn’t lose consciousness. I’ll find a way.”

As I tried to wake him, I held my breath at the sound of voices from outside. I could hear the conversation of those who appeared to be our captors.

“I heard the two kids we caught this time have incredible looks?”

“One of them even has blonde hair! They’ll fetch an enormous price as merchandise.”

“I had my eye on them since they were sitting by the fountain.”

So that’s when we became targets.

I felt around my neck where my necklace should have been. They must have confiscated our possessions, as I had nothing but the clothes I was wearing and my bracelet.

But if they had checked my money pouch filled with gold coins or my attire, they should have judged us to be nobles.

Kidnapping nobles as slaves carried considerable risk.

Sure enough, the voice outside touched on the point I had anticipated.

“Those kids look like nobles. Won’t there be trouble later?”

“They’re probably children of wealthy merchants. What noble children would come to a festival without knight escorts?”

“That’s true.”

“Even if they are nobles, they’re probably children abandoned by their families.”

Indeed, that was more realistic than assuming noble children had secretly left their families. If so, persuading those men to release us would be impossible.

‘What happened to Heishar?’

Only Michael and I were locked in the warehouse.

“I need to do something.”

Even if we escaped the warehouse, could we handle the people outside?

‘Magic won’t work either.’

Even if I tried to move Michael using magic, I didn’t know our location. Above all, if we encountered other threats while my body was damaged from using magic, I wouldn’t be able to protect Michael.

Seeing Michael with his eyes closed, a memory from the past flashed by.

“It’s okay. I’m just too sleepy to get up for a moment.”

“You have a fever.”

“This level of fever is nothing; I’ll be up and about in no time.”

Lies. It wasn’t okay.

I felt the same helplessness as when I lost Juno so emptily. Juno, who said she would soon get up, never opened her eyes again.

And Michael was even younger than Juno was then.

“You promised to stay by my side.”

Who was lying collapsed before my eyes became unclear. Engulfed in vague fear, I desperately searched for a way to change the situation. A way to alert others of our location while getting the kidnappers to open the warehouse door.

It was at that moment that I recalled the fire that had once engulfed a warehouse.

‘…Fire.’

I stood up, staggering like someone possessed.

“I can do this. Michael will absolutely not die.”

I took off Michael’s robe and tied our bodies together. When the warehouse door opened, I needed to use magic to get far away from here.

Outside, I could still feel the presence of many people.

‘They will certainly react.’

They would probably try to get Michael and me out of the warehouse by any means necessary. People who buy and sell others for money wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to secure their investment.

With a resolute face, I swallowed and used magic to start a fire.

Whoosh.

A small flame that ran along my fingers spread to the warehouse.

“Michael, just hold on a little longer.”

With him on my back, I hid right behind the warehouse door.

The flame, spreading along the walls and burning the warehouse, filled the air with acrid smoke. I lowered my body to minimize Michael’s inhalation of smoke.

“Doesn’t anyone smell something?”

“Oh, come on.”

“No, really! There’s an acrid smell!”

As the fire grew more substantial, smoke began to leak outside. I held my breath as much as possible and stood close to the door.

So they would think we had passed out.

“Can’t you all see that smoke? There really is a fire!”

“What about the kids inside?”

“What are you waiting for? Open this door now! Can you take responsibility if the merchandise is damaged?”

“I don’t have the key!”

Amid the commotion outside, hurried footsteps could be heard. Feeling increasingly suffocated, I covered my nose and mouth with both hands.

It was difficult to avoid breathing in smoke completely in such a confined space.

“Hm… cough.”

I couldn’t use magic in preparation for our escape. After a few minutes that felt like hours, the warehouse door opened.

The acrid smoke obscured the vision of those outside.