Chapter 8 : The Show Begins

Schiller pressed his ear against the door, listening to the voices that carried through .

From the sound of it, there seemed to be more than one man.

“How is it?”

“Hmm, the woman has quieted down. As for the neither-male-nor-female one, we gave him a beating.”

“Hey, hey, leave the woman aside for a moment, but we were explicitly told not to lay a hand on the man!”

“Hmph, who cares about them? Anyway, when the time comes…”

The man’s voice faded into the distance, and Schiller silently counted to about five hundred in his mind, then pulled out a knife from a hidden pocket behind his pants and cut the ropes.

His gaze shifted to the corner. Sheryl was curled up there, her body trembling uncontrollably.

The once ice-cold noble daughter was now filled with nothing but terror and fragility. When Schiller approached, her body recoiled sharply, her eyes wide with fear.

Here, she was just an ordinary girl terrified by fear.

In any case, Schiller hadn’t originally intended for Sheryl to get hurt.

After all, he wasn’t scum.

His original intention was merely to stage a ‘heroic rescue’ scene, let the arrogant young lady suffer a bit, and then intervene at the right moment to improve their relationship.

But plans never keep up with changes… The actors he hired had either double-crossed him, or…

It seemed this heroic rescue drama was about to end before it even began.

Schiller approached Sheryl and gently placed his hand on the spot where she had been hit.

Perhaps she felt the pain, as Sheryl looked at him with a terrified expression.

“You, you were hit too?” she murmured, her voice hoarse and tearful.

She had clearly felt the blows Schiller had taken for her, this scoundrel… this lecher… why?

Her voice was almost a whimper, and she looked at Schiller with an almost pleading gaze.

“If… if this is your plan… stop! I… I forgive you! I promise!”

But unfortunately…

“Young lady, it seems we’ve been kidnapped. They’re going to sell us to some foreign lecherous old men.”

Although he felt sorry for the young lady, Schiller now needed to awaken the fear within her.

“You, you must be joking…” Her voice was filled with terror, and her face turned ashen.

It seemed she had some kind of psychological trauma related to the word “sold” or “trafficking.”

“Schiller! Do something…” Her instincts made her habitually command others, but her voice had long since lost its confidence.

Her body trembled, and her pupils dilated continuously.

It was extreme terror.

Seeing Sheryl like this, Schiller also felt pained.

Schiller changed his previously gentle demeanor, instead brandishing the small knife in his hand before Sheryl.

“I can escape by myself, but you, young lady, would only hold me back.”

“Who, who would…” Her defiant words caught in her throat mid-sentence.

Never mind, whether it was true or false, his actions wouldn’t change.

He patted his pockets; all he had on him were a few small items he had prepared beforehand.

First, he piled all the heavy objects inside the warehouse against the door. This would at least buy them time for their escape.

Then, he approached the window, where the setting sun shone through a few iron bars.

They had to escape before dark. In a city at night, with a terrified young lady, he had no confidence at all.

He took the small knife and sawed at the bars, but the bars were harder than he had imagined.

“It’s no good…”

“Damn it!” Schiller cursed under his breath. His gaze darted around, and he suddenly noticed that the soil at the base of one of the bars was unusually loose. He used the small knife to dig away the soil little by little, finally succeeding in removing the entire iron bar.

A gap, just large enough for a child to squeeze through, appeared.

“Young lady, I’m leaving now…”

Just then, men’s footsteps could be heard from outside the door.

“!” The young lady seemed to remember the pain from earlier, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“What’s going on? Is the lock broken?” Pounding sounds came from outside the door.

“Don’t, don’t go, take me with you…” Sheryl’s soft, pleading voice rang out.

However, Schiller had to make her submit; otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain.

“But, if you don’t listen to me, young lady, then you’re useless.”

“Hey, open the door now or I’ll cripple you both!”

The man’s shouting rang out again.

“I, I’ll do anything… Save me.”

She looked at Schiller urgently.

Even a young lady like her would find being sold off terrifying, wouldn’t she?

Schiller immediately bent down, leaning close to her ear.

“Can you promise to obey me?”

“Yes, I will obey.”

‘This appearance of hers is far different from when she attacked me the other day…’

“If you go back on your word, I will abandon you,” Schiller said coldly.

As if to engrave fear onto her, the sounds from outside the door grew louder and louder. It seemed they were preparing to kick the door open.

Sheryl’s face was ashen, and she could only muster the strength to nod.

Schiller cut the ropes binding her hands, then forcefully lifted her onto the windowsill. They both clumsily scrambled out the window.

After escaping the room, they moved through the city under the lingering light of the setting sun.

In the original plan, the kidnappers would have taken them to a secluded corner of the city, which would make their escape easier.

However, this was undeniably an unfamiliar city.

‘It seems they truly intended to sell us,’ Schiller mused inwardly.

“Shh.” Schiller shielded Sheryl in the shadows, watching the men who were pursuing them outside.

There were actually three of them.

“You little brats! Where did you run off to!” The man furiously kicked away nearby objects. The young lady timidly shrank her shoulders, but unexpectedly seemed to be obeying his command.

“Search over there!” They then left the area.

Good, now as long as they avoided their route, they should be fine.

“Wh-what should we do?” Sheryl tugged on his sleeve, unwilling to let go.

He knew Sheryl’s strength; if she were calm, she might have been able to deal with these few men. But now, immense panic seemed to have completely sealed away her power.

She was currently very “scared,” and because she was scared, she couldn’t do anything.

‘Presumably, she hasn’t yet awoken from her panic.’

‘Using her weakness makes me such a scoundrel…’ Schiller apologized to Sheryl in his mind.

But to survive, this was something that had to be done… He would definitely compensate Sheryl.

So, time for the next step.

He took out three Golden Roses from his sleeve. If he had known this would happen, he would have given fewer yesterday.

Golden Roses were priceless; one was enough for an ordinary family’s expenses for several years.

But at this moment, taking it out was like lighting a fire in the dark – too conspicuous. However, there was no other choice now.

“Follow me.” Schiller made his voice as cold and expressionless as possible.

Sheryl looked at Schiller, clutching his sleeve even tighter, as if clinging to her only lifeline.

According to Schiller’s memories, there were many ways to travel between cities, but the most common was by carriage.

At the carriage station, Schiller led a bowed-head Sheryl, moving through a place filled with the smell of horses.

His gaze swept over the faded route map and price list on the wall. Then, he spoke softly to Sheryl:

“Young lady, we have a problem. This is Aden. It’s two large cities away from our Cernost.” Schiller whispered to Sheryl.

“Really? How do you know?” Her eyes held pure bewilderment and dependence.

“It’s written there…”

‘How could that be? Could it be…’

A bold guess emerged in Schiller’s mind.

“You mean…” His words were cut off halfway by Sheryl’s voice.

“I, I can’t read.” Her face was slightly red, and her voice was almost inaudible.

Schiller was too shocked by the revelation to speak.

In just two days, Sheryl’s image had collapsed like a character from a third-rate writer’s novel.

If this were his previous life, he would definitely call some number to report consumer fraud.

‘Refund! This doesn’t match the promotional material.’

Schiller stopped in a secluded spot and handed one Golden Rose to a coachman who looked rather shrewd.

“Don’t ask questions. Leave for Cernost now,” Schiller said in a firm tone.

The coachman looked at the two of them with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Nobles from which family? If you want me to keep quiet, I’m afraid…” The implication in his words was very clear.

“Hmph.” Schiller pulled out another one from his pocket and tossed it to him.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside.

“Search carefully! Don’t miss a single corner! They can’t have gone far!”

Sheryl’s body noticeably trembled.

“Quick, hide!”

He shoved Sheryl into the carriage, then quickly squeezed in himself, pulling the heavy curtain shut behind them.

But those men actually pulled open every curtain and searched meticulously.

‘They’re too dedicated! Can’t they just search casually?!’

Listening to the approaching footsteps and rude shouts, Schiller’s palms were slick with cold sweat.

Subconsciously, he reached into his pocket—besides the last Golden Rose, there was also another “little trinket” Celia had slipped to him that morning.