DGCBYH 53

Chapter 53. Kidnapping

Soon, the maid spoke with a dissatisfied voice.

“Hey. Because of you, I betrayed the master I served for so long. You have to take responsibility for me now.”

“Heh… If I don’t take care of you, who will? Pack your things and get up. The broker who’ll take us to the border will be here soon.”

“Okay.”

After their conversation, Belladonna heard the maid and man stand and begin packing.

Wait! What about me…?

Belladonna flinched.

“Wait, what should we do with the lady?”

“Just leave her here. How long can she last in this cold? She’ll freeze to death soon enough. People will think she got lost and died.”

No, no…! If they left her here, she really would freeze to death in an unknown place.

“Wait, we should untie her first.”

“No, what if she escapes down the mountain? Just leave her. By the time anyone finds this place, she’ll be a corpse.”

Hearing that, Belladonna looked up in shock.

A corpse…?

“But I feel uneasy. The lord cares a lot about her… What if he finds her dead and comes after us for revenge?”

“How many times do I have to say it? To me, the imperial knights or the lord are all the same. If you’re scared, just go back to the castle!”

“What? Go back now?”

The man and the maid started arguing.

Their movements grew more agitated, and a stone on the cave floor rolled and hit Belladonna’s body.

Belladonna, focused on their voices, flinched in surprise.

“Huh, what? She woke up!”

The maid shouted.

Oh no, they noticed…!

“Let’s just go!” The maid pulled the man to leave.

But the man didn’t move. He tilted his head and grinned.

“Wait. Hold on.”

“What are you doing?”

He approached Belladonna, who was lying on the ground, and cut the cloth over her mouth with his small knife.

Ah…!

As the gag was cut, the knife brushed her face, causing a sharp pain.

“Ah, I made a scar on her face by mistake.”

The man spoke with a laugh.

The maid, looking anxious, scolded him.

“What are you doing…? Why did you untie that?”

“She can’t talk anyway. At least let her breathe easily.”

The man lifted the knife toward the cloth covering Belladonna’s eyes.

“Are you going to take off her blindfold too? Why? Let’s just leave her here!”

“You know, after doing this work for a long time… you have to remove all possible risks.”

“What does that mean?”

“She can’t talk anyway. But if I take out her eyes, she won’t see or speak.”

What…? Belladonna froze.

The maid, now scared, asked in a low voice, “Do we have to go that far?”

“That way, she can’t say anything or see anything.”

The man cut the blindfold with force.

Suddenly, light flooded Belladonna’s eyes. She squinted and saw the maid from before and a large, threatening man crouching beside her.

She looked around quickly. It was an abandoned cave deep in the forest, far from the castle. Snow and cold wind blew in from the entrance, and drops of cold water fell from above. The other side was just darkness.

Where am I…?

The man stared into Belladonna’s blue eyes, his pupils widening.

“Wow… She’s really a beautiful woman, huh?”

“Let’s just go. This feels wrong.”

“Do you see these eyes? I really love this look.”

“What look?”

“The look of fear. Like a herbivore in front of a predator.”

Belladonna trembled in fear. The man’s dark eyes glinted. He was completely crazy.

‘…How did things end up like this?’

She thought about her day. In the morning, she’d enjoyed time with Scarlett and Escallion. In the afternoon, the Pope’s letter shattered her heart. Now, she was facing two killers threatening to take her eyes.

Plop.

Tears fell to the cave floor.

What did I do wrong…? She felt a sudden wave of sadness.

I wish I had just died from the fever! It wasn’t enough to be reborn as a saint and oppressed by the Pope, and now, just when I found happiness with my husband, this happens!

“Even her crying is pretty,” the man said, smiling coldly.

He pointed his sharp knife toward her eyes.

“It’s a shame you won’t see with those pretty eyes anymore. Please, forget you ever saw us, my lady.”

Belladonna shut her eyes tightly in fear. The man forced her eyelids open with his fingers.

She thought,

‘If there’s a god, why are you doing this to me? If you were going to do this, you should have just let me die then.’

Blood and tears kept flowing from her wounded cheek. But her whole body was so cold she could barely feel it.

Behind her sadness, Escallion came to mind.

Thinking she might lose her eyes, she wished she could see him one last time.

<Bella.>

She remembered his gentle voice calling her name.

She missed that deep voice so much.

If I die now, the misunderstanding with Escallion will never be resolved. That made her even sadder.

“Wait…” the maid said, turning toward the dark back of the cave and grabbing the man’s arm.

“What’s wrong? Let go. I have to do this quickly, so it’s less painful for her.”

“No, wait… Didn’t you hear something strange?”

“It’s just the wind. The longer you wait, the more scared she gets.”

The man shook off the maid’s hand.

Uwooong.

“No! Didn’t you hear it? There was a weird sound! Didn’t you hear it? Let’s just go!”

The man turned to look.

“Come on… What is it now?”

“Isn’t that… a bear sound?”

“This is a bear cave, but bears hibernate in winter, you idiot.”

“What…? Hey, look! Ahhh!”

The maid, panicked, backed away and fell.

“What is it?”

She pointed to the back of the cave, legs kicking desperately.

“Be… bear…”

“Oh, what now…? Oh sh—! What is that?!”

The man shouted. At the back of the cave, a huge bear, drooling and angry, was crawling toward them.

Its bloodshot eyes were sharp, and steam rose from its body.

The bear paused, then opened its huge mouth wide at the man and maid.

“Uwoooong!”

“Run!” The man grabbed his knife and dashed for the exit.

The maid came to her senses and followed him.

“Take me too, you coward!”

Belladonna tried to get up, but her legs were still weak from the drug.

Oh no, what do I do? She rubbed her tied hands against the sharp cave wall, trying to free herself.

But the ropes only dug deeper, cutting her hands.

The bear’s heavy steps slowly came closer. It fixed its sharp gaze on her.

“So… this is how I die, eaten by a bear.”

Belladonna whispered.

Her body was weak from the drug, her face hurt and bled, her wrists were raw, and everything felt hopeless.

Is this really my end?

She looked at the bear’s sharp teeth and wished that, at least, it wouldn’t hurt too much.

Her vision faded. She thought, I’d rather just faint.

“Uwoooong!”

As the bear roared again, Belladonna’s eyes closed, and she lost consciousness.

‘But… that bear looked strangely familiar…’