Chapter 7 : The Kidnapping

Before he could digest this astonishing information, the shopkeeper had already turned, rummaging through the mountain of assorted boxes behind him.
“Found it!” The shopkeeper turned back excitedly, carefully cradling two slender-necked crystal vials in his hands. The vials were transparent, and a clear, crystalline liquid sloshed inside.

The boss lowered his voice, with the pride of sharing a secret, “This stuff is no different from water usually, but, if you drip blood into it… its true effect will literally turn a person into a ‘succubus’.”

Schiller marveled at the wonders of this other world while pondering.

‘The playability of another world… is it all in the variety of aphrodisiacs?’

‘One day, I’ll collect all the aphrodisiacs and become a Poké-drug master.’

He said no more, silently taking the two heavy vials and quickly tucking them into the inner pocket of his cloak. The cold glass pressed against his skin, yet it felt as scorching as a branding iron.

‘In the end, it’s just an insurance measure. I won’t use it unless it’s a critical moment.’

“I hope the day I have to use it never comes!” Schiller prayed with his hands clasped together.

He didn’t linger, turning to lift the leather curtain, his figure quickly disappearing into the dim light of the underground city.

Inside the shop, after confirming Schiller was far away, the figure wrapped in the black robe gently removed her hood.

A cascade of long hair, shimmering like molten gold, flowed down. She raised a hand, elegantly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a profile of otherworldly, exquisite beauty.

Her deep golden eyes, as if containing twinkling starlight, pierced through the murky air and thick stone walls, precisely “locking on” to the direction Schiller had left.

That gaze was not a physical stare, but a more profound “perception.”

“Schiller…” Her red lips parted slightly, and she gently clasped her hands together, standing silently as if in prayer, letting the moonlight pour over her.

A flicker of confusion shone in her golden eyes. “Your soul… why is it entangled with such a thick scent of blasphemy?”

“But, why do you pray to God… what are you praying to God for? Are you… a good person, or a bad person?”

She retracted her gaze, her fingertips unconsciously tracing a complex pattern on the dust-covered counter, her eyes becoming even deeper and more inscrutable.

“May God…” Her words gently faded into the wind.

Inside his room, Schiller was deeply trapped in the embrace of his bed, digesting the information he had just obtained while thinking about that.

Twelve golden roses encircling a cross—that was precisely what had been floating above the shopkeeper’s head.

Ophelia. It was undoubtedly her.

Why would the woman later known as the Saint be selling information in the black market?

And Celia’s unknown past, how did she know about it?

The more he thought, the deeper he sank into the fog.

“Forget it, I’ll stop thinking about it.”
Schiller dispelled the stray thoughts from his mind. The most important thing now was to perfect his plan and conserve his energy for tomorrow’s operation.

The next day.

When he woke up, he found himself in a filthy room. The evening sun shone in through a side window.

‘My body hurts so much. Wasn’t this supposed to be an act?!’

Although his hands were tied behind his back, Celia had given him a small knife beforehand, so that wasn’t a problem.

‘Alright, next up…’

‘It was a perfect plan.’

The contents of the plan were as follows:
‘First, ask the young lady to go to a clothing store.’
This wasn’t difficult. According to Celia, Sheryl had apparently only brought a single suitcase, so she would definitely be lacking some necessities.

And given the young lady’s level of disgust for Schiller, she would definitely sneak away midway.

‘Originally, Celia would be responsible for Sheryl’s protection, but she would be “accidentally” drawn away, allowing the young lady to slip away successfully.’

‘Next, I’ll follow behind her. Without the attention of others, the young lady certainly won’t mind my presence.’
And Schiller would nonchalantly lead the young lady into a deserted alley.

Being new here, the young lady would surely not notice anything unusual.

At that point, the kidnappers he hired would swarm them, easily knock them both out, and take them to another town to be locked up.

When Sheryl woke up, he would stage a grand hero-saves-the-damsel scene.

And the rescued young lady would surely have a huge spike in affection… that was the original plan.

Incidentally, the plan had currently progressed to the “just woke up” stage.

To convince Sheryl of his innocence, he had even planned a scene where he himself was beaten up.

‘I hope everything goes smoothly…’ Schiller’s palms were covered in sweat.

However, this place felt different from what he had imagined.

Looking closely, it was beyond just filthy; dead rats and the corpses of unknown insects were everywhere.

To avoid Sheryl having a breakdown, he had specifically requested a cleaner room.

After all, given the young lady’s pampered upbringing, it was hard to imagine she could tolerate such an environment.

‘Oh well, this also fits the kidnapping plot, I guess.’

“Mmm, ngh, mm…?”
She opened her eyes, first looking at me, tied up, then, as if suddenly noticing her surroundings, she struggled violently.

But because her hands were bound, she ended up toppling to the ground.

“! What’s going on!” She looked at me with a hint of panic.

“Schiller! You did this, didn’t you!”
“Young Lady, I’m tied up too.”
Schiller immediately put on an innocent look, then, with tears in his eyes, made a deeply hurt expression.

“I, I clearly suffered this misfortune to save the Young Lady, yet the Young Lady slanders me so…” He put on a long face, as if he had been terribly misunderstood.

“Hmph, who knows if this isn’t one of your ‘insidious’ plots… ah, don’t cry!”
Although Sheryl’s words were still unforgiving, her voice was much softer.

Schiller stopped his crying and secretly sized up Sheryl.

She was much calmer than Schiller had predicted. She didn’t scream or shout; instead, she calmly assessed her situation.

‘As expected of the main heroine,’ he thought, secretly admiring her while also breaking into a cold sweat. ‘Her first thought was that I set this up… this girl’s intuition is too sharp.’

‘I can’t make any mistakes from here on out.’

Just then, a man burst rudely into the room.

He wore shabby clothes, and his whole body exuded a “I’m a bad guy” aura.

‘If not now, when?’

“Let us…” Schiller was about to step forward and say the code word, but Sheryl had already spoken first.

“Hey, do you know who this young lady is? Hurry up and kneel down and untie me!” She looked at the man with a haughty expression.

‘Okay, the young lady isn’t calm at all, she just hasn’t grasped the situation.’

In reality, a duke’s power in the empire was nearly limitless. Sheryl had probably never bowed her head to anyone in her life.

“Huh? What’re you being so arrogant for? I know you two are relatives of a viscount, but I don’t care what b*tch raised you. Once you’re here, you’re just merchandise!”
The man clenched his fist and mercilessly punched Sheryl in the face.

“Scream! I love hearing you useless nobles scream!”
Sheryl’s eyes widened, as if she had never expected to be treated like this.

‘This, isn’t this going a bit too far?’

Not satisfied after one punch, the man seemed ready to deliver a second.

And Sheryl was still frozen from the sheer violence.

Schiller frantically threw himself on top of her, taking the punch for her.

Underneath Schiller’s body, Sheryl was trembling slightly.

“Huh? A hero saving the damsel? I’ll just beat you up first!”
A rain of fists and kicks exploded on Schiller’s back.

The weak lashing out at the weaker—that’s what violence is.

“Ngh!!”
“Hmph, you don’t even scream when I hit you. How boring.” The man seemed to have lost interest and stopped his assault.

“Let, let us go.” Schiller tried to say the pre-arranged code word.

Upon hearing this code word, the kidnappers were supposed to act as if they were defeated.

“Huh? Let you go? What a joke. Do you know how much a noblewoman is worth? As for you… you’ve also been reserved by a certain noble. You’ll probably become his male pet.”
A chill ran down Schiller’s spine.

‘Male pet! What a joke! Even if they killed him, even if he had to jump from the twentieth floor, he could not lose his manly dignity!’

After speaking, the man seemed finally satisfied and left the room.

‘No, this is bad!’ His face changed drastically.

‘This is more than just a kidnapping; there’s not even a chance for a ransom note!’

‘If this continues, I’ll become someone’s plaything!’

‘My, my plan!’ Schiller screamed internally. His plan had inexplicably come true, and in the way he least wanted.