One of them was a bespectacled youth. His hair had tinges of blue to it, as did his eyes. He was quite dashing. Unlike Jeord, who looked like a traditional, fairy-tale prince, this youth was different. He oozed charisma, and seemed a bit like a playboy — at least, that was how he looked.
This playboy-like youth was wearing something that looked familiar. In the Claes manor, the only person who wore anything quite like it was an older man in our service... ah! It was a butler’s uniform.
Honestly speaking, our butler back at the Claes manor also wore respectably fancy clothes as well. I secretly referred to him as “Sebastian” in my heart. That wasn’t his name, of course. This... bespectacled butler... ugh. My dear Sebastian... you have lost...
Behind this man that our dear Sebastian had unfortunately lost to in my internal “Perfect Butler Contest” was a much smaller figure who must have been standing behind him. I had been so entranced by the butler’s terribly handsome aura and had hardly noticed her at first.
I shifted my eyes to the figure. She was petite, with brown hair and large brown eyes. She looked kind of like a small, vulnerable animal. Just looking at her made you want to protect her.
I was quite forgetful and very bad with names, but even I remembered who this person was. After all, we had just met at the school festival! It was at the venue where they were showcasing the magical talents of the academy’s students. She was Prince Ian’s fiancée — Selena Berg. Why is she here...? Seriously, where is this place?
“I see you have awoken safely... Most reassuring.” Getting increasingly confused at Selena’s sudden appearance, I could only stare blankly at her face. I noticed that she had an expression of relief, much like Lana had just now. And then...
“Lady Katarina... I sincerely apologize for having to employ such uncouth means. However... as soon as the relevant affairs are settled, you will be allowed to go, unharmed... Please, do stay here until then,” Selena said, bowing her head deeply.
Eh? Uncouth means? What? Why am I in such a strange, unknown place...? I desperately sifted through my memories.
That student who offered to guide me to the ball... she ended up taking a wrong turn and bringing me somewhere else. And then...? And then someone grabbed me by the arm... and suddenly shoved a cloth in my face. Hmm.
Eh? Why does this feel like the plot of a manga I read in my previous life? Come to think of it, that particular development in that one manga I read was when the main character was...
“...Kidnapped...?” I said my thoughts aloud without thinking.
Selena almost jumped back like a startled prey animal, and with an increasingly apologetic expression, bowed her head once more. “I truly... truly apologize... I promise, absolutely, that no harm would ever come to you...”
“!” Really?! I, Katarina Claes, have really been kidnapped?! I’d thought that kidnapping and things like that only happened in manga... but now it was really happening! I was nothing more than a normal, unremarkable daughter of a salaryman back then. Now, however... I was the daughter of Duke Claes. The risk of being kidnapped was high.
But now that the events of Fortune Lover were over, and I had successfully dodged all the Catastrophic Bad Ends, the possibility of being kidnapped hadn’t even remotely cross my mind. I had been celebrating ever since I had escaped all those bad endings, and had been pretty careless ever since. I really let my guard down...
Ahh, looking back on it, I should have listened to Keith’s warnings a little more attentively. Anyway... just how much gold would have to be provided in exchange for my safety? I am, after all, the daughter of a duke. I suppose the ransom would be pretty high...
My father, who doted on me immensely, would certainly be willing to pay any amount of coin on short notice. What about Mother, though? If the ransom were too high... “I suppose there’s nothing we can do. We do still have Keith with us, after all... perhaps we should just give up on that foolish daughter of ours.”
That would be horrible! What if she said something like that? I couldn’t bear it! Such a cold thing for a mother to say. No, Mother! You can’t possibly leave me like this! I promise I won’t play catch with the servants indoors anymore! I promise I won’t break any more of your favorite vases, so please! I mentally pleaded with my mother. But anyway! I have to find out just how much ransom they want for me!
“...Um. Well then... how much would the ransom be...?” Please, please let it be a sum that Mother would be willing to pay!
Selena, however, simply looked even more troubled at my words. “Ran... som?”
“Yes. The amount of gold you want in exchange for my safety. How much would it be...?”
“...Ah, no. We do not have any intentions of asking for a... sum of gold,” Selena replied, seemingly panicked.
“Eh? It’s not gold you were after? Then why did you kidnap me?” Not... gold? Then whatever for? Unlike the beautiful and lovable Maria, I had the face of a villainess, my magical aptitude and capabilities were low, and I wasn’t all that smart. I had assumed that all they would want from me would be the gold of the Claes family. Well, I supposed I did have enough agricultural knowledge to become a farmhand of some kind, but would these people kidnap me just for that?
“...That is...” Selena seemed to hesitate momentarily at my question. Just as she was about to answer—
“Lady Selena. You have already ascertained Lady Katarina’s safety, have you not? Please, let us return to your quarters.”
The dashing butler, who had been silent up until now, suddenly started talking as if panicked at what Selena was about to say. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Rufus... yes. Yes, let’s. Well then, Lady Katarina... I shall return to my quarters...”
It would seem like the playboy-esque, seductive butler was called Rufus. Look at him, escorting Selena like that... this is bad. I can smell the pheromones in the air.
H-Hey! I still have things I want to ask! After all, it would feel pretty terrible to just sit here, not being able to make heads or tails of the situation. “Eh...? P-Please wait...” I tried calling out to her, but all Selena did was turn around with that same worried expression, before addressing somebody else altogether.
“I do apologize... Lana, please take care of her. Lady Katarina... if you are wanting for anything, anything at all... please inform Lana of your needs. We will aim to provide for you as best as we can.”
With that, Selena disappeared, escorted away from the room by Rufus the butler. I turned my gaze at Lana, who was still in the room, and all she did was silently shake her head.
And so it came to be that I, Katarina Claes, knowing nothing about my current situation, ended up spending a strange, incomprehensible time in an equally strange and foreign room.
★★★★★★★★★
I, Jeord Stuart, would like to think of myself as a fairly capable individual. I am able to perform most tasks with ease, and I also excel at reading the expressions of others. As such, I am able to go about most affairs without difficulty.
One of the few things I was unable to easily deal with... would be my fiancée, Katarina Claes. She first piqued my interest when we were both eight years old. Now, eight years later, I still found myself surprised by the intensity of my feelings for her. And yet, Katarina simply would not fall into my grasp. If anything, I could feel her slowly slipping further and further away, while I myself was only increasingly drawn to her the more time we spent together.
Today was no exception. I had spent eight years with her, and had thought myself to be well-acclimatized to her various tendencies and habits. I had thought that I could no longer be surprised in any way or form. The emergence of a Katarina I had never seen before on stage lit a fire in my heart. I fell for her all over again, in a whole different way.
Katarina Claes. Just how much of my heart must you take? Are you insatiable?
My increasing attraction to her felt one-sided at best. Words that would cause any other noble lady to blush har
dly had any effect on Katarina. She would just stand there, unfazed, her cheeks never changing in hue. In truth, this was vexing.
This was why I had wanted to hold her close, at the very least. I wanted to feel Katarina more closely than usual at the ball. I longed to experience the softness of her skin and yet, this dream of mine was soon shattered.
Katarina, of all people, had suddenly vanished. To make things worse, her location remained unknown as the days dragged on.
In the beginning, I had simply assumed that she had become lost somewhere in the darkened academy grounds. After all, it was no secret that she was restless, and was prone to wandering. However, it became apparent after some time that this was not the case.
To begin with... it seemed like no one had seen Katarina after she had entered the waiting room shortly after the production ended. How was that possible? In addition, there were many students who claimed to have only vague memories of that specific span of time.
I could feel dread spreading its tendrils deep into my mind as I remembered the events of last year. A forbidden, taboo magic — the Dark Arts — had been used on Katarina, and she could have very well lost her life.
However, that incident had already ended. The perpetrator, Raphael, had lost his dark powers. Then... then! What was it this time? What could it be? Why Katarina, why was it always her...? My feeling of anticipation vanished almost immediately, replaced by irritation and fear. We searched as hard as we could, but there were no developments. I could feel the frustration build in my mind, and then—
“...Excuse me, Prince Jeord... a letter. For you,” one of my servants said, notably keeping their distance and sounding unusually reverent. I supposed even the servants were affected by how different I was from my usual self. Even I had noticed this, of course, but for some reason, I just could not bring myself to smile like I always did.
Who could it be, sending letters at this time? For the sake of my terrified servant, I made a conscious effort to soften my agitated expression. “...Who is it from?” I inquired.
The servant answered with a troubled expression. “Yes, Prince Jeord... there appears to be... no declared sender.”
“...You mean to say that the letter was sent anonymously?” It was common sense to include one’s name on the missive, especially if it was being sent to royalty. What is this all about? Is it some foolish noble who wishes to mock me? Or perhaps just rattle off a supposedly hurtful list of insults? As those questions flooded my mind, I calmly retrieved the letter from my servant.
“I have not read the letter, Prince Jeord, but we have confirmed that there were no dangerous substances in the documentation...”
I accepted my capable servant’s word and opened it, withdrawing a plain letter of sorts. What was written on the parchment, however, was... unimaginable.
“What... is this?”
I, Jeord Stuart, found myself at a loss for words.
★★★★★★★★★
So apparently I had been kidnapped, brought to some unknown place, and on top of that, the kidnapper’s goal wasn’t a ransom? I’m so confused! How am I supposed to handle a situation like this?
However... when I was hungry, snacks would be brought to me. When I was bored and wished to read, they provided books, too. If I complained that my dresses were too stuffy or tight, I was brought some comfortable, relatively loose-fitting indoor clothing. If I were at the academy, I’d be taking lessons and working hard at practical sessions. But now, while those events were happening, I was instead able to roll around and relax to my heart’s content in this room.
If it were Claes manor, Mother would surely scold me while squinting those angled eyes of hers. “How long do you intend to laze about, Katarina? You should be learning more about social etiquette and improving your manners!” she’d say.
But here, no one would reproach me like that. I was free to enjoy all the books I could read, lie around in bed, and eat all the snacks I wanted. It had only been a little over half a day since I’d ended up in this strange place, but I, Katarina Claes, had already found myself settling into a position of utmost comfort.
Lana seemed to find this strange. She stared at me with a doubtful expression. “Perhaps it would be strange, coming from someone in my position, Lady Katarina... but, if I may... are you not worried in the least?”
“Worried?”
“Well, yes... For instance, ‘Where is this place?’ ‘Why was I taken?’ All these remain unknowns...”
“!” Th-That’s right! I’ve been... kidnapped! I had been enjoying myself a little too much, to the point where I had forgotten all about this fact. “R-Right... kidnapped...” I suddenly recalled my predicament at Lana’s words, sputtering out a disjointed response as I did so.
“...Had you perhaps forgotten, Lady Katarina...?” Lana’s blue eyes opened wide with shock. She seemed severely taken aback, actually... completely dumbstruck.
“I... I apologize.”
At my apology, Lana looked firmly downwards, not saying a word. Perhaps she was thinking about what a relaxed and silly fool of a girl I was. But like... really. I was in such a comfortable space, I really had no choice in the matter, you see.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Lana’s shoulders shivering — violently, at that. Eh?! W-what’s wrong? Is she ill? “L-Lana? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked, worried.
“...N-No. No, it is nothing, Lady Katarina. Please do excuse me,” she said, her voice somewhat unsteady.
“Are you... really all right?”
“Yes. Please do not worry,” Lana replied, her voice now more normal than it had been. She then looked up, turning to face me. “You really are as the rumors say, Lady Katarina...” Her expression was now full of smiles.
“Rumors?” I wondered what these rumors were.
Lana, however, simply laughed softly, bewitchingly to herself, deflecting my question. That laughter... that smile. It was almost as if I had seen it somewhere before... but I was probably just overthinking things. After all, this was the first time I had met her.
Finally recalling my predicament, I attempted to obtain some information from Lana, but she was unable to answer, as expected. She was a maid, after all — if she’d been prohibited from speaking about certain things by her masters, then it wouldn’t be easy to get information from her. Then again... even if I told Anne to keep quiet about certain things, she never did. Like when I sneakily took snacks from the kitchen, or when I broke vases and statues while romping around, and all that. These incidents were swiftly reported to Mother as soon as they happened.
And so, I continued living in that small room, relaxing and enjoying myself as much as I wanted. I also spoke a great deal with Lana, who remained with me this whole time. I told her about the fields I’d tilled and the crops I’d planted, and the trees I’d climbed and fish I’d caught. She seemed entranced by my stories. She requested more tales with sparkling eyes, and we soon became steadfast friends.
This is bad... I could really, really get used to this new life of mine.
Lana brought me breakfast, and I convinced her to stay and eat with me by complaining that eating alone was boring. Tonight’s dinner, however, was a different affair altogether.
I was taken to a ridiculously long table where an elaborate spread of cutlery was laid out. I assumed that dinner would be served on this absurd table. A servant in the room indicated a spot that had been prepared for me, and I was soon seated there. There was another set of cutlery across from me, which made it seem like there would be another person joining me at the table.
Just as I became aware of this, Selena walked into the room, closely followed by that playboy butler. Upon seeing that I had sat myself obediently in my assigned chair, she called out to me. “Lady Katarina, are you feeling all right...?”
“Ah, yes. Sure! Thanks to your hospitality.” It was a casual and even somewhat happy response — as if I had forgotten about my kidnapping all over again.
Selena seemed confused at my tone and mannerisms. “I sincerely apologize... I was unable to make the appropriate preparations for breakfast, and I feel poorly for you, having breakfast in that tiny room...” She bowed her head deeply.
It was worth noting that the nobles of this kingdom mostly had their meals in rooms like this dining room unless they were sick, bedridden or ill. I supposed that was why Selena said what she did... but that room was not tiny to me by any means, and I didn’t really need a huge variety of food for breakfast. In fact, I had a tendency to attempt to eat everything that was presented to me, and I would get stomach aches due to this habit. The breakfast this morning had been just the right amount of food, and I had eaten while having a lively discussion with Lana, so there was no need for Selena to apologize.
“Oh, no, please don’t worry. I am absolutely fine!” I answered. I really was fine.
“...I sincerely apologize for these trying circumstances...” Selena, however, interpreted my declaration very differently. She bowed her head with a sorrowful expression, staring downward at her hands. Looking at her made me feel guilty!
On the surface, Selena looked like a sheltered, pampered noble lady... but she was surely a delicate and gentle person. At this point, I simply wanted to announce that, “Oh, but I’m having quite a comfortable time indeed!” but surely this would be misconstrued as yet another gesture of forced politeness.
Apparently Selena thinks I’m a delicate noble lady myself! But... no. Of course I’m nothing like that. Not delicate, for sure, though maybe a little sheltered. Though hey, I could be delicate at times if I tried. For example, I’d be upset if something I was planning to eat was taken by someone else first. Or when my crops, ripe for harvest, ended up eaten by birds and other pests, my delicate heart would suffer.
But that was not the case now. After all, I could eat everything I wanted, read whatever I felt like, roll around in bed all day and not have anyone yell at me... If this wasn’t comfort, what was? In fact, I found myself wanting to live my elegant, fulfilling life in this place a little while longer.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 3 Page 11
