The Villainess Doesn't Want Love - Chapter 48

“The Grand Duchess wants to know who is behind this incident?”

“Yes.”

Mikhail conveyed Karina’s request to Selena.

For a quicker investigation, he explained the current situation in full.

After his explanation, Selena asked back.

“Even though all the circumstantial evidence points to suicide? How can you be sure there’s another culprit behind this?”

“I don’t know that either. But I unconditionally respect the Grand Duchess’s wishes. There must be a good reason for it, right?”

Mikhail smiled leisurely.

But it was a smile that seemed to hide something.

“……”

Selena’s gaze deepened.

“Does the Grand Duchess… know something? Or……”

There was quite a long silence in the middle of her sentence.

“Or is she just a bit peculiar?”

It seemed like she changed what she wanted to say midway.

Unlike her gently smiling expression, Selena looked conflicted in thought.

But there was only one thing Mikhail could say.

“See for yourself and make your own judgment.”

Hearing his words, Selena chuckled.

“That’s right.”

Selena continued casually.

“I’ll accept this request.”

“I’ll be counting on you.”

Just as Mikhail was about to get up and leave, Heistine, who had gone out for business investment, returned.

Mikhail nodded in greeting as he passed by him on his way out.

After Mikhail left, Heistine asked.

“Looks like another new request came in.”

“Yeah……”

But Selena’s reaction was a bit different from usual.

“What’s wrong? What kind of request is it?”

Selena waited until Heistine sat down.

“I received a request to investigate a case.”

And with a serious face, she explained the contents of the request.

“Ah……”

Heistine, after hearing the request details, fell silent, unable to find words.

“This. Isn’t it similar to that incident back then?”

“……!”

Heistine’s eyes widened slightly.

He didn’t expect Selena to mention that incident.

“Heistine.”

Selena continued in a monotone voice.

“If this case really is exactly the same as back then. If they really are behind this incident. Then what should we do?”

“……”

“If, just if, the Grand Duchess uncovers who’s behind this case. Then can I… have hope?”

A glimmer of hope was visible in Selena’s eyes as she faced him.

Nevertheless, Heistine couldn’t say anything.

Rather.

“No.”

An icy cold voice flowed out.

“……”

“Don’t hope. That matter is over now.”

Heistine firmly cut off Selena’s hope.

“No matter what anyone does now, it won’t make any difference.”

“But……”

“Don’t you understand even after suffering like that? All nobles are the same. Who would stick their neck out for commoners like us in such a dangerous situation?”

“The Grand Duchess might be different.”

“No, she’s the same!”

Heistine raised his voice in excitement.

“Once you know the inside story, they’ll turn their backs right away. Nobles are a breed that cares most about their own safety! They’re people who don’t care who dies as long as it benefits them!”

“……”

“You’re a smart girl. Why do you keep clinging to false hopes? Why can’t you let go of your lingering attachment?”

“……”

Selena’s fingertips were trembling slightly.

“Let’s stop talking about this. Since you’ve already accepted the request, just think of it as work. Don’t mix in personal emotions.”

With those final words, Heistine got up and left again.

The sound of the door slamming shut seemed unusually loud.

“Right. That’s what I should do.”

Left alone, Selena muttered bitterly.

“Are you the Grand Duchess?”

“……!?”

Karina was startled by the sudden question.

Usually when going out to the city, she always wore shabby clothes and a robe, so today she was dressed the same way.

So unless Mikhail loudly called her ‘Grand Duchess’, not many people recognized that she was the Grand Duchess.

But for someone to ask if she was the Grand Duchess right upon seeing her like this.

While Karina was unable to answer, the skinny man standing next to her said,

“It’s definitely her! This woman is the Grand Duchess!”

But despite the skinny man’s words, the rough-looking man didn’t seem to believe it.

“The Grand Duchess is walking around looking like this?”

“……”

“Without even a single knight escort?”

“……”

As the rough-looking man continued speaking, the surprise disappeared from Karina’s face.

Karina watched their conversation with an expressionless face.

“Are you sure you saw her face properly?”

As the constant questioning continued, the skinny man’s words became less certain.

“Uh… I’m pretty sure… it’s the face I glimpsed when she was running away last time……”

“Pretty sure? Are you playing games with me now?”

While listening to them bickering among themselves.

‘Running away?’

Something about the man’s words bothered her.

“What do you mean by running away?”

“……!”

With just one sentence from Karina, the atmosphere among the men suddenly became tense.

The rough-looking man took out a fist-sized black stone from inside his clothes and threw it into the air.

Then the black stone emitted a black light and floated up, sticking to the ceiling.

‘Magic?’

There was no time to wonder.

As if it were a signal, they approached Karina threateningly with their eyes wide open.

“……?”

Startled, Karina stumbled backwards.

“Kyaaaa!”

A scream erupted from behind Karina.

The big men who had entered earlier were each pulling out weapons like wooden clubs, knives, and axes from inside their clothes.

Some were already threatening people by pointing sharp blades at them.

“……!”

“What are you doing!”

A father who had a child sitting on his lap shouted while shielding his children and wife.

Then the man holding a wooden club started beating the child’s father hard.

Thwack! Thud!

“Arghh!”

“Kyaaaa!”

People screamed in shock at the sight.

“Waaaahhhh!”

The startled children burst into tears, and the situation quickly turned into chaos.

“Shut up! Can’t you be quiet before we kill you?”

At the man with the knife’s threats, the children’s mother quickly embraced the children.

“Why are there so many annoying brats? Get rid of them all.”

The rough-looking man frowned.

“Ah, wait a moment!”

The skinny man next to him stopped him.

“Since it’s come to this, let’s use everything we can use!”

Of course, it wasn’t with good intentions.

“With children here, threats will be more effective. The hostages won’t even think about trying to escape either.”

People trembled in fear at their incomprehensible conversation, confused.

Karina, who had been frozen in shock at the sudden situation, suddenly realized.

‘Hostages? Don’t tell me these guys…’

Karina examined their appearance.

Looking closely, all the clothes they were wearing looked as if they had been stolen from others.

And it was strange that they had weapons like axes and knives in their possession from the start, but were looking for the Grand Duchess instead of demanding money.

‘Prison escapees!’

The realization struck Karina’s mind like lightning.

Karina recalled the story of the escaped prisoners who were said to still be under search.

‘They said they hadn’t caught them yet! They’re right here!’

Karina bit her lower lip.

‘Don’t tell me they were trying to take me, the Grand Duchess, as a hostage?’

But they didn’t seem to know her face for certain.

‘Except for that skinny man.’

“……”

At that moment, one of the escapees with one eye pulled out a knife and threatened them.

“Now, you are all in a hostage situation. Try to act up if you want. I’ll slit your throat right there as an example.”

The escapee who finished speaking made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand.

The other guys snickered and sneered.

“Please spare us!”

“We’ll do anything you want.”

“If it’s money, we’ll give you everything. Please save us!”

A few people cried out desperately.

“Shut up. Do you think we’re doing this for a few pennies?”

The one-eyed escapee swaggered and yelled.

Karina was on the verge of losing her mind in this worst-case scenario she found herself in.

‘If these guys find out I’m the Grand Duchess, it would be truly terrible.’

Karina’s palms became sweaty with tension.

The escapees would think the Grand Duchess had high value as a hostage, so they definitely wouldn’t let her go easily.

They would try to use the Grand Duchess’s life as a favorable card in negotiations.

Fortunately, the rough-looking man who seemed to be the leader didn’t seem to believe she was the Grand Duchess.

‘Can I hold out without revealing that I’m the Grand Duchess?’

Karina clenched her fists anxiously.

‘If only Mikhail were here right now……’

Karina shook her head.

There was no point in assuming what-ifs.

She had to somehow overcome this situation and go request support from the Grand Ducal family.

Karina slightly turned her eyes to assess the number of escapees.

There were 6 escapees just in this place alone.

‘With so many, it won’t be easy to escape either. What should I do?’

Karina couldn’t decide what would be the best course of action for her to take.

“Have you sent someone to the Grand Ducal residence?”

A gruff voice pierced Karina’s ear as she pondered.

“Ah, we’re about to send someone now. This guy would be good to send to the Grand Ducal residence.”

One of the escapees answered, pointing at the fallen father of the children.

“His wife and kids are here so he won’t be able to run away, and if he tries anything funny, we can kill them first.”

At those words, the children’s mother’s face turned pale.

“P-please spare the children. I beg you.”

The children’s mother pleaded in a trembling voice.

“Your husband just needs to do as he’s told. It’s not difficult.”

Giggling as he spoke, the escapee lifted up the fallen father and slapped his cheek.

Smack!

“Hey, wake up. If you don’t get up, your family dies.”

“Huh……!”

Despite staggering, the children’s father tried to regain his senses at the brutal threat.

The escapee took out a letter from his pocket.

“Make sure you deliver this to the Grand Ducal residence. Tell them it’s urgent.”

The escapee stuffed the letter into the front pocket of the children’s father’s clothes and continued speaking.

“Run quickly and deliver it. From now on, we’ll kill one hostage every hour that passes, so you’d better hurry.”

“……!”

“Hup……”

At those words, not only Karina but all the hostages gasped in surprise.

“The first in line will probably be… one of those three.”

The escapee gestured with his chin towards the children and their mother holding them.

“……!”

The children’s mother suppressed her voice and sobbed.

“P-please spare us. I’ll stay instead, so my family……”

The children’s father pleaded desperately.

“Tsk tsk, you still haven’t come to your senses. At times like this you should be beaten more, but we don’t like wasting time either.”

The escapee dragged the children’s father outside.

“If you want to save your family, run like your feet are on fire. That’s the only way you might save even one of them.”

With those final words, the escapee shoved the children’s father out of the building and closed the door.

There were sounds of crying and banging on the door a few times, but soon the children’s father’s presence quickly faded away.

‘He must have gone to the Grand Ducal residence. The knights will come, so I just need to hold out until then at least.’

Just as she was starting to feel relieved, other problems came to mind one after another.

‘But the fact that the escapees took hostages and sent a letter to the Grand Ducal residence means they have demands, right?’

Karina’s mind became complicated.

The Empire had almost no precedent of negotiating with criminals.

Rather, negotiating or dealing with them was considered taboo.

This was due to the opinion that if their demands were met once, the probability of the same thing happening again in the future would increase, as well as the opposition from high-ranking nobles that the very attempt to negotiate with criminals tarnished the Empire’s lofty status.

‘Haa.’

Karina let out a deep sigh inwardly.

‘There’s no way Jeremiah would negotiate with escaped prisoners.’

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how desperate the current situation was.

‘But they won’t just stand by and let innocent hostages die. Surely… they wouldn’t, right?’

Knowing Jeremiah’s nature of strictly adhering to principles, she couldn’t be certain.

“Well then.”

The escapee who returned to where the hostages were gathered checked the time.

“While we wait, shall we decide on the order?”

Even without saying what order it was, the gathered people trembled in fear, knowing what he meant.

The escapee’s smile deepened.