035 – Stockholm Syndrome
Thanks to the traffickers hiding the warehouse deep, deep underground…
Even after fifteen minutes of ceaseless forward movement, the exit hadn’t appeared.
“We have to go left.”
Fortunately…
By using the Detection skill to continuously observe the traffickers returning to their quarters after their shift…
“What…what do we do with this…?”
“This is the last one. If you pull this, the door will open.”
…we were able to escape this complicated maze without getting stuck.
*Creak… Grrrrrrr…*
“Haa…”
Finally, free from that stifling place.
However, the warehouse where Ms. Ella and I had been confined… was located quite far from the restaurant where we had eaten.
The fact that we had to move diligently remained unchanged.
“Let’s go this way.”
Therefore, we first started walking in the opposite direction from where the kidnappers had headed towards their lodgings.
“…Do you even know where we are?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know that far.”
“No. It’s not… not your fault, Mr… Hunter?”
“Ahaha…”
Quiet night.
Empty streets.
As Ella-ssi needed to reach a noble family that could offer assistance, we had no choice but to keep walking.
We started walking aimlessly in one direction, wrapped in an awkward silence.
“…”
“…”
After walking that way for a while…
We spotted a mansion that, while not quite as grand as the Eloise family estate, appeared remarkably wealthy.
…
“The Eloise family will never forget this kindness.”
Ella-ssi, with an elegant posture, offered her greetings to Baron Cooper.
Fortunately, the Cooper family was one of the noble houses under the Marquis Eloise.
She and I simply had to wait safely here, at the Cooper family’s mansion, until support arrived from the Eloise family.
“Haa…”
I collapsed onto the guest sofa, overwhelmed with relief that the most difficult moments were finally over.
“You’ve endured so much, Ella-ssi.”
“Endured? You did it all, Mihaen…-nim.”
Each time she spoke my name, a hesitation lingered in her voice.
“…”
Frankly, it was frightening.
I had painstakingly built up goodwill, but now the time had come to introduce myself with a flourish: ‘Ta-da! I’m actually that heinous kidnapper, Mikhail!’
However, the time to face reality had arrived.
“Ella-ssi… shall we… talk?”
Cautiously, I decided to bring up the story I had kept hidden until now.
“I am truly sorry for having unintentionally kept this hidden until now.”
“Ah…”
“As you may have already suspected, my name is not Mihaen.”
Ella-ssi gazed at me with enigmatic eyes.
What could she be thinking right now?
“However, first, I want to clarify that there is a misunderstanding.”
“Pardon?”
“I am Mikhail, but I am not the kidnapper Mikhail pursued by the Imperial family.”
I didn’t know what she was thinking.
But when I tried to assert my innocence first and foremost…
Thud, thud…
The woman walked towards me without hesitation…
And buried herself in my chest, embracing me tightly.
Then… she revealed,
“You truly are an atrocious kidnapper.”
“That…”
“That you would kidnap even my heart without permission.”
The fact that she was still on my side.
*
Time unwound, back to when a muscular succubus forced a choice upon Mihen-nim.
“Alright~ you two will now choose one of these dishes to eat.”
Mihen-nim can only speak the truth.
That, he says, will reveal the truth.
I was not one to fall for childish provocations, nor one to succumb to such a juvenile scheme.
“The choice is yours, slave mine. What is your name?”
“Mikhail, I am.”
The words that followed from Mihen-nim shattered the composure I struggled to maintain.
‘…Mikhail?’
Mihen-nim, who should only speak the truth…
Just now, he clearly stated his name was… ‘Mikhail.’
‘…Could it be?’
In the past, on the day I first invited Mihen-nim to the manor.
Inside the carriage, we had discussed a man named ‘Mikhail.’
“When you hear the name Mikhail… what comes to mind?”
“Mikhail, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, I have heard of him. Are you speaking of that kidnapper, Mikhail?”
So… that’s why he asked…
All this time I thought he was Mihen-nim, but it was Mikhail-nim.
‘Did he not trust me enough…?’
Mihen-nim, no… Mikhail-nim?…
Whatever name he went by, the thought that I hadn’t earned the trust to even know the real name of the man I loved pierced my heart, but in that moment.
“Alright, Mikhail. Choose. If you choose one, Ella Eloise will eat the other~.”
I could hear it.
“I will eat the kimchi.”
“…I’m asking because I don’t know what kimchi is, but do you perhaps… call this pasta kimchi?”
“Not that. The rice and fermented cabbage, that one.”
In any instance.
The voice of a man sacrificing himself for me, and me alone.
…
I stared blankly ahead.
At the man across from me, observing the human trafficking ring.
I stared blankly ahead.
At the face I would no longer see after tomorrow…
‘I’m sorry… because of me…’
The reason Mihail and I were trapped here… it was entirely my fault.
I, the eldest daughter of the Border Count, the next head of the Eloise family… I had done the insane thing of wandering outside the academy without guards.
Because I didn’t want the servants at the manor to find out Mihail and I were secretly dating…
‘…’
I wanted to kneel and beg right now.
If you want, I will make all your desires come true, so…
Just that man…
Just let the one man I love get out of here safely.
Please save that foolish man who is trying to sacrifice himself for me even in this situation…
“…”
But… I feared that hulking succubus would notice my negative emotions from somewhere.
Just as I was suppressing the surging feelings in my heart once more.
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
“…?”
Six members of the organization, monitoring this place from inside, began to fall.
At the same time…
“Miss Ella, don’t be alarmed.”
“…Yes?”
Just like the day he first saved me…
“!!!”
Before I knew it, my body was already out of the iron bars.
…
He had instantly put to sleep the six kidnappers who were inside the warehouse.
And if he wished, he could summon the kidnappers before him.
“This… what should I do with this?..”
“This is the last one. If you pull this, the door will open.”
Even though it was definitely the first time he’d been here, he didn’t hesitate for a moment as he navigated the maze.
‘Mihail… it’s him.’
I could be sure from that sight.
That this man… was the kidnapper Mihail.
Just by looking at the magic he used, they were the most perfect magic for kidnapping someone.
Furthermore…
‘He said kidnap, didn’t he?’
The first day, our first meeting.
In the first moment with Mihail, when everything was new.
He had shouted the word ‘kidnap’ as he summoned me.
‘I was thinking foolishly.’
Even though all the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place.
My heart remained unchanged.
Even if he were the world’s most cruel kidnapper.
Even if the man before me was the very kidnapper the imperial family had issued a warrant for…
To me, this man was…
‘I love you. Even if the whole world turns against you… I will remain on your side.’
Because he was the man who had always sacrificed himself for me in my most perilous moments.
*
“I love you.”
I gently stroked Ella’s hair as she confessed her love, nestled in my embrace.
Was this that Stockholm syndrome?
Falling in love with one’s kidnapper…
‘Although, I never actually kidnapped her…’
Come to think of it, it was rather absurd, considering I’d never actually kidnapped Ella.
Stroke… Stroke…
I gently stroked Ella’s hair, letting her know that I, too, felt something similar.
“I’m sorry… For putting you through such a difficult ordeal because of me…”
“I’m sorry too. I had my reasons, but I wasn’t able to tell you the truth, Ella.”
There was much for each of us to apologize for.
“There’s still quite a bit I haven’t told you…”
From my perspective, there were many things I needed to explain to Ella.
“It just so happens it’s Saturday today. I can listen to you talk all day, Mihaen… Mihail? Hmm… What would you prefer I call you?”
“Just call me Mihaen.”
“Alright. Since it’s Saturday… I can listen to you in your room all day, Mihaen.”
We had plenty of time ahead of us.
“Even after being kidnapped like that, you’re willing to be kidnapped again?”
“Heh…”
We were about to share the stories we hadn’t been able to tell each other all night…
Nod, nod.
I met the eyes of the cat in the corner, who seemed to be nodding with satisfaction.
—
Isabella Lilith (■■■)
[Kidnap] – Activated
[Espionage] – Berian
[Sleep] – Activated
—
“…”
That cat…
Since when had it been watching us?