“Damn it!”

Augustus, who spat out the curse, firmly grabbed the reins. The horse that was galloping vigorously suddenly stopped, causing the carriage to shake greatly. Steam rose from the horse’s body.

“Are you trying to kill us!”

Inevitably, an irritated accusation burst out from inside the carriage.

Augustus threw down the whip and got off the coachman’s seat to open the carriage door.

He frowned at the sight of the unconscious Jane and Jeksi picking up the pearl beads that had fallen to the floor, seizing the opportunity.

“Get out.”

“What? Get off here? This is a mountain.”

Jeksi pointed beyond the door. The location wasn’t the only problem. The rain was pouring down, and it was even nighttime.

“No time to hesitate. Get out.”

Augustus grabbed Jane’s ankle. He hoisted Jane, who slid out smoothly, onto his shoulder like a sack.

He headed towards the forest without even glancing at Jeksi. In just a moment, Jane’s dress was soaked by the rain.

“With this rain, ugh, ooh, back to the carriage, phew.”

Jeksi moved involuntarily following Augustus while constantly voicing her complaints.

However, even that wasn’t easy. The pouring rain mercilessly lashed her face.

“If you’re not satisfied, stay behind alone!”

Augustus’s mood plummeted to the bottom as he left behind the horse and carriage he had rented for a hefty sum.

He diligently moved his feet towards the deep forest with an angry face.

“Hey! Without me you can’t do anything, ahoo!”

Jeksi, who had slipped and fallen, looked at her mud-soaked palms and shouted. Augustus glanced back briefly and went on his way.

“Urgh!”

Jeksi gritted her teeth, shook her head as if to shake off the rainwater, and vigorously rubbed her mud-scraped palms on the hem of her dress.

The place, weather, time, everything was against Jeksi.

Jeksi followed Augustus, floundering as if swimming.

Augustus walked through the bushes, ignoring the perfectly good path. As a result, Jeksi had to suffer the humiliation of falling and getting slapped in the face by large leaves several times.

Jeksi’s stamina was being whittled away moment by moment.

Augustus didn’t rest. Jeksi stuck out her tongue watching Augustus who was climbing the mountain without hesitation while even carrying Jane.

‘I thought he only looked like a wild boar, but his mountain climbing and stamina are really like a wild boar.’

“If you fall behind, I’ll leave you.”

Augustus finally turned back when he didn’t hear any grumbling from behind.

He clicked his tongue at the sight of Jeksi panting while clinging to a tree, then moved on without giving her time to catch her breath.

“Where, huff, where are we going? You should at least tell me that!”

“There’s a cave I used to use for work nearby.”

Originally, he had planned to cross the mountain. On the other side of the mountain lived a Rose Faction member who used to follow Augustus well. He had planned to spend a night at that house and arrange for a place to stay.

From there, he intended to calmly notify about Jane’s kidnapping and negotiate the ransom.

However, the sudden weather change disrupted the plan.

‘That meticulous duke probably already noticed the duchess has disappeared.’

He might even be tracking them through this rain. Augustus abandoning the carriage was also aimed at throwing off that pursuit.

‘It’s an opportunity I’ve managed to seize, I can’t let it go easily.’

Augustus gritted his teeth and headed for the cave. As time passed, Augustus grew more anxious.

That anxiety distracted Augustus’s attention. Thanks to that, Jane was able to consistently leave traces of herself.

* * *

After putting Jane down in the cave, Augustus went outside saying he would try to find firewood.

“Is he an idiot? How can he find firewood when it’s raining like this?”

Jeksi grumbled again while taking off her clothes and wringing out the water.

Jane narrowly opened her eyes and observed her surroundings. The shallow cave had traces of someone having lived there.

Judging by the bed roughly made with wooden planks, a blanket of unknown washing history, and dented pots and chipped cups hanging on the wall, it seemed at least two or three people had lived there.

“Ugh, I’m freezing to death.”

Jeksi, who had roughly hung her wet clothes on a protruding rock on the wall, wrapped the dirty blanket around her body.

Jeksi went around touching the things Jane had seen with her eyes. Then, as if losing interest, she approached Jane.

Jane quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious. Jeksi’s gaze lingered on Jane’s face.

“She won’t die, right? It would be troublesome if she dies.”

Jeksi, who had been muttering, found a blanket and covered Jane with it.

“Even if you die, die after letting me earn some money. Consider it helping a poor person.”

Jeksi looked at Jane’s blue lips and then cast her gaze away. For a very brief moment, she almost felt sympathy for her. But she quickly erased it.

It was an unnecessary emotion for those like her who lived at the bottom of society.

‘Who am I to sympathize with whom? I must be crazy.’

Jeksi sat down far away from Jane. Even though she was wrapped in a blanket, her body temperature that had once dropped showed no signs of rising.

“If he can’t find firewood, we’ll all die together. I wonder if it won’t be lonely since I’m not dying alone.”

She mumbled these gloomy imaginings in an infinitely light tone while looking outside the cave.

The pouring rain had already changed to a drizzle. Still, she had no desire to plunge back into that rain.

The reluctance she had felt when told they would spend the night in the cave had largely faded once she sat down.

“Is the duchess still sleeping?”

Augustus came in while they were in a daze. His hands were full of luggage.

“What’s that?”

Jeksi ran over, beaming. Augustus pushed Jeksi away with his shoulder and put down the luggage.

As if he had performed some magic, dry firewood tumbled out. There were also canned goods among the items he spilled.

“Where did you get this from? You’re quite skilled.”

Since it wasn’t a question asked out of a desire for an answer, Jeksi ignored whatever Augustus said and picked up a can first.

Augustus looked at her as if she was pathetic, then approached Jane.

“Hmm, she’s sleeping for too long.”

His suspicious gaze traveled over Jane’s body covered with the blanket. Jane, tense, unknowingly clenched her fist.

Thanks to Jeksi covering her with the blanket, it was a gesture that would have given away that she was awake if not for that.

“She might not be able to come to her senses due to shock. Women are naturally delicate and sensitive creatures, you know.”

Augustus frowned at Jeksi’s words, which felt not just tough but even vicious.

“Say something believable.”

Just as Augustus was about to wake Jane, Jeksi threw a branch at his back.

“Start the fire! Are you trying to freeze us all to death?”

Augustus turned his head sharply and glared at Jeksi.

“What? Why are you glaring? What are you going to do?”

Jeksi raised her chin and barked. Augustus raised his fist.

This insignificant thing kept grating on his nerves.

Would she quiet down if he gave her one good punch?

‘Let’s be patient for a few days.’

Augustus clicked his tongue and lowered his fisted hand.

It wouldn’t take long to get rid of that woman.

Augustus drew up patience from the bottom and lit the fire.

Soon, acrid smoke rose between the wood.

“Where did you get all this stuff from?”

It was firewood and food that the Rose Faction had hidden in preparation for when they would stage a revolution. Similar supplies were hidden in various places near the capital.

All of it had been prepared by Augustus. To think he was using it to kidnap the duchess now, Augustus’s mouth tasted bitter.

“Mind your own business.”

Augustus answered curtly for no reason and continued what he was doing.

Perhaps due to the humidity, it took a long time to light the fire. However, fortunately, once it caught, it blazed up.

Outside the cave, it had become so dark that one couldn’t see an inch ahead.

Jeksi crawled towards the fire. Then she started to doze off.

“Sleep comfortably. No one will come up here.”

Augustus assured. No matter how capable Cain was, it would be difficult for him to find them.

Not only because of the location, but also because there would be no traces due to the rain, and the moon was hidden by clouds, making it impossible to search.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Jeksi lay on her side on the roughly dry dirt floor. Augustus looked back at Jane.

Augustus wasn’t worried about anyone chasing them, but he was concerned that Jane might try to escape.

“I told you to mind your own business.”

Jeksi immediately closed her eyes. Augustus, after confirming she was asleep, approached Jane.

Although he didn’t tell Jeksi, Augustus’s body felt heavy too. He would try not to fall asleep, but decided to stay near Jane in case of any unexpected situations.

So that he could wake up immediately if she moved even a little.

Augustus sat down on one side of the blanket covering Jane.

“Don’t think about escaping.”

Augustus warned as if he knew Jane was awake.

“It’s a treacherous mountain path, so if you foolishly go out, you might end up crippled. Let’s go about this comfortably. If you stay quiet, I’ll send you home nicely.”

After treating her like luggage and leaving her soaked in the rain, he expects her to believe he’ll send her home nicely?

Who does he think is a fool?

Jane inwardly criticized Augustus to her heart’s content.

She waited for Augustus to fall asleep. As he had worried, Jane planned to sneak out of the cave once Augustus fell asleep.

Rather than being dragged around by these people and dying after suffering terribly, it would be better to become food for wild animals.

‘No, both options are terrible. I have to survive somehow. I have things to do. I also have things to ask Cain.’

As her body started to feel heavy, Jane deliberately recalled her conversation with Cedric. Sometimes anger can be the driving force that draws up strength.

Hadn’t Jane survived seven years ago when she hit rock bottom by resenting the world?

As she replayed her conversation with Cedric, time passed well.

Augustus’s hand, which had been propping up his chin, fell to the floor, hitting Jane’s calf.

Jane quickly broke away from her reminiscence and glanced down at Augustus. He had fallen asleep with his mouth wide open.

She carefully slipped out from under the blanket. Because Augustus was crumpling the blanket, it took superhuman concentration to move even a fingernail’s width.

As a result, Jane’s movements were very slow, but she was able to get out of the bed without being detected by Augustus.

Just as Jane had stealthily moved her steps and reached the entrance of the cave…

“I knew this would happen.”

A chilling voice was heard from behind.

“Is it because you’ve lived comfortably, that when someone speaks nicely to you, you can’t understand what they’re saying?”

As Jane whirled her head around, Augustus, who had somehow approached closely, raised his large hand high. Jane tightly shut her eyes.

It was then.

“Put that hand down!”

Cain leapt into the cave.