It felt as if she had fallen into seawater and regained consciousness. Idel Fleur slowly came to her senses, feeling a headache that seemed ready to split her skull and nausea.

Before she collapsed from inhaling an anesthetic, she started to faintly hear the voice of the man who had kidnapped her. As her mind cleared, his voice also became clearer.

“……We need to leave the capital quickly. The Duke has probably already started the search.”

Idel was awake but deliberately kept her eyes closed, focusing on the man’s voice. She needed to fully understand her current situation.

“If the Duchess’s disappearance becomes official, security checks in each city may intensify.”

The voice talking with the kidnapper was androgynous, low, and hard to identify as male or female. That neutral voice contained a hint of nervousness.

“So, we’re going to Maris. The closest place can often be the farthest. The Duke would never imagine that the missing Duchess is in the duchy itself.”

Her eyes quivered beneath her closed eyelids. The kidnapper was headed to a port city within the duchy she had visited on her honeymoon.

As the kidnapper had said, even if a fullscale search for her began, security in the duchy was relatively lax compared to other places.

From the sound of rolling hooves and the felt vibrations, it seemed they were inside a carriage heading to Maris.

“We can’t take the train, so we’ll probably arrive the day after tomorrow. Once we get to Maris, we’ll board a ship immediately. The sea route is inspectionfree, so we’ll have more freedom.”

The kidnapper was going to Maris to board a ship. As the beautiful port city she had visited on her honeymoon came to mind, Idel felt choked up.

“Where are you planning to go by ship?”

“You know him well. We’ll take a ship directly to the Marquis of Shale.”

Shale Marquis…! That name was a nightmare, repeated yet again. Her eyelashes trembled at the unexpected mention of the name.

“Once we sell the Duchess to him, the deal is done.”

Hearing the kidnapper’s plan, Idel swallowed her quickening breaths. The idea of being sold to Shale Marquis was more shocking than heading to Maris.

“Buying a slave isn’t new for that repulsive Marquis, but to think he’d consider making the Duchess his concubine!”

Concubine…! The word was revolting just to hear. Her stomach flipped, and nausea surged.

“It’s a winwin for us. We’ll dispose of the kidnapped Duchess without repercussions and make a great deal of money.”

The kidnapper cackled as if greatly amused, then suddenly continued in a chilling voice.

“It’s a pity the Duke won’t know about this. He would despair even more if he knew his cherished Duchess was being sold to another man.”

The kidnapper’s voice alone made it clear he harbored deep hatred for the Duke. The burning eyes of the man who had abducted her flashed before her. His underlying motive seemed to be a cruel vendetta against the Duke.

“The Duke will finally realize how miserable it feels to lose something of his own…!”

Although highranking nobles were often kidnapped for ransom, this man’s kidnapping had a different purpose. His main goal was to inflict mental harm on the Duke, who was widely known for cherishing his Duchess.

Adding to that, the deal with the Marquis of Shale… The kidnapper had meticulously planned his revenge against the Duke. As Idel listened to his foolproof plan, she found it difficult to breathe.

“After making full use of the Duchess as the Marquis’s plaything… it would be nice to return a ruined Duchess back to the Duke. Of course, that’s assuming she’s still alive by then.”

Hearing the kidnapper’s cruel words, she bit the inside of her lip hard to stifle the moan trying to escape. The taste of iron spread inside her mouth.

“Moreover, that greedy man plans to buy more slaves.”

“More slaves?”
“Alright. Dylan, once you arrive in Maris, scout out some appropriate young women and bring them. Make sure they’re not over twenty.”

“Yes, understood.”

Listening to their conversation about another kidnapping plot, Idel clenched her teeth and tightened her already closed eyes.

Her anger surged at the notion that the targets were young girls who had not yet reached adulthood.

Shaking uncontrollably due to her distressed emotions, a man called Dylan, the kidnapper’s accomplice, spoke up.

“Douglas, it seems the Duchess is waking up.”

“It’s about time she did. Use the anesthetic again if she wakes up before we get to Maris.”

“Yes, understood.”

The kidnapper’s name was Douglas. Based on their exchanged conversation and actions, Dylan appeared to be his subordinate.

Idel heard footsteps approaching. Soon after, a piece of cloth touched her face, followed by the pungent and foul smell of anesthesia entering her respiratory system.

‘Douglas… judging by his tone and speech, he’s of noble origin from the East… human trafficking… a man who’s lost everything and harbors resentment towards the Duke…’