Chapter 91
“Can I really leave?”
The girl asked with a vacant look, seemingly unable to fully grasp Leroy’s confident prediction.
Leroy nodded with determination.
“Yes. And after that, live splendidly so no one can talk down to you ever again. Make a good name for yourself, choose your own birthday, and as you said, marry the person you love.”
“That sounds difficult…”
“No, you can do anything you want.”
Leroy stated with emphasis in his voice.
Perhaps it was the sincerity that she felt, even if she couldn’t agree with him, that made her show a soft smile for the first time.
Leroy watched her, momentarily spellbound by the transformation.
The girl, who had borne every sort of unhappy tale, reverted to an ordinary girl with just the lift of a smile - something Leroy had never seen before because she had never had reason to smile.
Had she grown up ordinarily, like others, she would have lived with such a bright expression, but such occasions had been non-existent until now.
Leroy suddenly pictured the girl living an ordinary life.
No more rummaging through trash cans for food, no hesitation when someone asked her name, no dread of being dragged back to that place she hated,
Why couldn’t this girl have such a normal, carefree life?
‘There’s absolutely no reason she couldn’t,’ he thought.
Once they got out safely, Leroy resolved to find a place for her to live.
It seemed she had a talent for physical activity, so perhaps talking to his parents about getting her training as an attendant would work.
Since they were trapped together, his parents would likely be willing to help the girl.
Fortunately, none of this was too difficult for Leroy, so he could confidently promise the girl, time and again, that everything would turn out fine.
***
“You Stupid brat.”
The ashtray flew past Heuser’s head with the curse.
Heuser, who had been standing with his arms behind his back and eyes closed, inwardly thanked his lucky stars. He knew all too well that the object’s near miss was not because of the other’s mercy.
Swallowing hard, Heuser apologized again with a subdued voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“You shouldn’t have done something to apologize for in the first place. How could you mess things up to this point, unable to watch over a mere ten-year-old girl?”
Count Modrov pointed an angry finger at Heuser.
While he had avoided direct contact with Heuser as much as possible, even he could not just issue orders from afar in a situation like today’s.
He could, with a stretch of understanding, overlook the fact that his daughter had gone missing a hundred times over.
Hayden, not wanting to expose the existence of his hidden daughter to the outside world, had not employed many to care for her.
The only person currently watching over the child close by was a teacher assigned to teach her fencing skills.
In such circumstances, even Hayden felt a twinge of guilt for rebuking Heuser for negligence; it was impossible for one person to monitor another without any gap whatsoever.
But if in trying to rectify an already occurred incident, one caused an even greater mishap, that was unforgivable.
“And of all people, you get entangled with the child of a duke? So busy swinging a sword that you’ve neglected to put anything of use in your head? Does this situation make any sense to you?”
Hayden, who had been fuming, touched his throbbing head and slumped down into a chair.
Why on earth did his daughter have to encounter the duke’s son when she left the house, and why on earth did that duke’s son meddle excessively enough to follow his daughter?
When Hayden heard that the son of a high noble had ended up in the secret house arranged to confine his daughter, he doubted his own ears.
Hayden harbored the desire to single out that rascal and return him to where he originally belonged, but even that proved to be a challenging task.
It was said that the duke’s son had rushed into danger without a second thought to save his daughter.
Knowing his character, even if he managed to escape to safety, he would undoubtedly meddle again, probably spouting nonsense about having to save a child trapped with him.
“What should we do?”
It wasn’t only Hayden feeling the pressure; Heuser asked, sweating coldly.
Hayden snapped back with a sharp tone.
“Why ask me to clean up the mess you made? Are you going to obediently follow through if I tell you to deliver the child to the duke’s family and then take your own life?”
“...I apologize once again. It would have been cleaner if I had dealt with it myself, but in my haste, I unfortunately had to rely on others.”
“...Others’ hands.”
Hayden quietly repeated those words. Then, he threw an inscrutable question at Heuser.
“The duke’s son hasn’t seen your face yet, has he?”
“Ah? Yes... When I found him, he was already fast asleep from the drug. I had hidden the children immediately and came straight here, so there was no chance for him to have seen me.”
“What about the colleague who was supposed to ‘take care’ of things?”
“It’s basic to conceal one’s face, but he’s sustained injuries during the job. He’s not so severely wounded that he wouldn’t be found if a search party was sent out.”
If it had been a simple case of abducting a commoner, Heuser wouldn’t have been so pessimistic in his forecast.
The guard wouldn’t exhaust all efforts to search for a couple of missing orphans.
But what they had tangled with was the child of a high noble. There was no way they could make such a move on a busy street, in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of the public, and expect no repercussions.
Heuser wet his dry lips with his tongue and asked.
“...Shall we quickly clean this up and flee?”
“What do you mean by clean up? Kill the duke’s precious offspring and bury him in some remote mountain?”
“If you wish to keep the secret, that might be better.”
“No, acting in such a manner would only make it more likely that we get caught. That won’t do.”
Hayden shook his head decisively. He had no intention of acquiring an unbearable grudge by attempting to resolve the situation.
If it somehow became known that they had killed the duke’s only son, then indeed, the very existence of his house would be at stake.
Even now, with the son merely missing, the duke and the duchess were intimidating the guards with terrifying force, tightening the investigative net.
Hayden knew he had to resolve this accident as quickly as possible, before they became aware of his presence. Otherwise, the secrets he had hidden all this time would be laid bare for the whole world to see.
After much contemplation, Hayden spoke.
“Do this. Tell that associate of yours to start a negotiation for a ransom.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, dress it up like it was a kidnapping for money. That’s much more believable. What other reason would there be to kidnap a nameless and rankless young girl? They meant to sell her. The duke’s son was just an unexpected catch in the process.”
Heuser nodded, convinced.
Although it would complicate matters further, it was indeed a more rational choice.
Hayden poured whiskey into his glass with a pensive look and continued explaining.
“If we get a message from the duke’s house, keep inflating the price. We’ll wait for them to become impatient and strike at your group.”
“If they strike us…”
“Ah, I mean your colleague who helped with the job, and his men, of course.”
Hayden answered nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink.
“You notice the assault and try to flee, just find the right moment to sneak the child out too. Leave the duke’s son behind, as if in fear.”
“And after we successfully extract your daughter...”
“Kill all those who were involved in the operation and bury them. Those are the ones who can’t talk back even if their mouths are shut.”
Hayden’s face was the epitome of calm as he spoke.
Heuser reflexively began to reply with a “Yes,” but he hesitated, his words halting as he belatedly grasped the full weight of Hayden’s words.
Imagining the face of the colleague who would be waiting for his return, Heuser felt a cold dampness creeping up the nape of his neck.
Hayden gave Heuser one final piece of advice.
“Don’t forget to start a fire when you flee.”
“Excuse me?”
“Burn that rat-hole to the ground, so no one should know what it was ever used for.”
That was the end of the discussion. Having finished speaking, Hayden waved his hand dismissively, signaling that the meeting was over, and turned his back fully on Heuser.
Heuser blankly stared at Hayden’s retreating figure, then quickly exited into the hallway before the silence grew too oppressive.
Crossing the corridor, Heuser felt an eerie detachment, as if he were walking through thin air.
It wasn’t until he had completely left the building that he suddenly came back to his senses.
With a twisted face, Heuser spat on the floor in a gesture of defiance and muttered to himself.
“Dirty noble b*stards.”
Yet, he knew despite everything, he would inevitably follow Hayden’s orders.
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