IPBD CHAPTER 21
by Scarlet“Ugh—”
A pained groan escaped her lips.
Emilina wondered if she had done anything to warrant such hatred from those around her.
But no matter how hard she thought, nothing came to mind.
The only thing she could guess was that it might be the work of slavers from the slums.
‘Either way, this isn’t good.’
Emilina licked her lips and scanned her surroundings.
Her throat burned with thirst, but she forced herself to endure it.
The room she found herself in was completely empty, save for a single door.
The thick layer of pale dust was the only indication that this place hadn’t been used in a long time.
Since professional slavers wouldn’t use a place like this, Emilina felt a little relieved.
‘Wait—why am I relieved? This is even more dangerous!’
She snapped back to her senses and corrected her train of thought.
If her hands were free, she would’ve smacked herself on the cheek.
She didn’t know what her kidnapper’s motives were, but one thing was certain—
It definitely wasn’t for anything good.
The best course of action was to get out of here as soon as possible.
But there was something bothering her.
‘Strange. Why did they only tie my hands?’
For a kidnapping, the situation was suspiciously lax.
A doubt even crept into her mind—was it because her legs were free?
But that thought didn’t last long.
‘Still, staying put would be stupid.’
She had to at least try something. Emilina abruptly stood up.
The sudden movement made her vision spin, but she gritted her teeth and endured it for the sake of escape.
‘What the hell did they use to knock me out?’
All this suffering because of some faceless kidnapper.
She shook her head a couple of times to shake off the dizziness.
Then, she cautiously approached the door.
‘Please, let the kidnapper really be as careless as this seems.’
It was a slim hope.
But as if to mock her futile expectations, the door was firmly locked.
It didn’t even budge.
“Tch.”
Emilina clicked her tongue in frustration and, in a burst of anger, kicked the door.
THUD!
“Ugh…!”
Unfortunately, the only thing hurt was her own foot.
Barely suppressing a scream, she mourned her throbbing toes.
‘Ugh, I’m screwed.’
With a sinking feeling of defeat, she glared at the stubbornly shut door.
Annoyance flared up inside her.
This was the kind of thing that happened to protagonists—why was she the one stuck in this mess?
‘At least they have plot armor.’
She definitely didn’t.
Just as Emilina was lamenting her miserable reality—where even surviving was a struggle—she sensed movement outside the door.
Instinctively holding her breath, she pressed herself flat against the wall.
“The girl?”
“She’s inside.”
“She’ll be here soon.”
“We confirmed she left the mansion.”
“Good. Won’t take long then.”
“—Will he come?”
THWACK!
“Ghk!”
“Watch your mouth.”
“…My apologies, Master.”
A dull impact and a pained grunt echoed from beyond the door.
Emilina’s heart pounded as she eavesdropped.
‘Did they just say… Kyr’s name?’
Had she misheard?
But before she could dwell on it—
Click. Clack.
Footsteps approached.
They were coming toward her room.
Panicked, Emilina scrambled back to where she’d originally been lying.
Since she didn’t know the kidnapper’s intentions, she decided to play dead—or at least unconscious—and observe.
Creeeak—
Luckily, she managed to flop back down just as the door began to open.
Eyes shut, she focused on the sound of boots scuffing closer.
Her body tensed with every step.
Then—click—the footsteps stopped.
Pfft.
A derisive snort made her flinch.
Why was he laughing?
The answer came with his next words.
“Open your eyes. I know you’re awake. If you wanted to act, you shouldn’t have kicked the door.”
Emilina had no choice but to slowly open her eyes.
And there—looming right in front of her—was a rugged-faced man staring down.
“Hhk—”
The distance was so close she instinctively sucked in a sharp breath, scrambling backward before she even realized it.
The man didn’t react, just watched her with steady, unreadable eyes.
Struggling to steady her racing heart, Emilina forced out a question:
“You… who are you?”
Silence.
“Why did you… bring me here?”
She gulped audibly.
Her tone was calm, but the act was paper-thin. Fear prickled under her skin—what if he lashed out?
Yet, more than fear, she burned with curiosity.
What could he possibly gain from kidnapping her?
Nothing made sense.
‘Is it money?’
But she was no noble’s daughter, not even close. Her worn clothes screamed poor, not ransom-worthy. If this was about extortion, they’d grabbed the wrong person.
As Emilina spiraled through theories, the man finally spoke, slow and deliberate:
“You think I’d just tell you?”
“…”
Right. Of course he wouldn’t.
She studied his blank expression, irritation simmering beneath his gaze. Her fists clenched.
She was the victim here—didn’t she at least deserve an explanation?
The injustice must’ve shown on her face, because the man continued, utterly unfazed:
“Stay quiet if you don’t want trouble. You’ll be freed once this is over.”
“Pfft.”
The laugh slipped out before she remembered her place.
“You’ll free me?”
As if. Whatever their goal was, one thing was clear—they had no intention of letting her walk away alive.
She wasn’t naïve enough to believe that lie.
But oddly, the absurdity of his claim dulled her fear just enough to scoff:
“Bullshit. You’d really let me go?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he countered, tone flat.
“Would you believe that if you were me?”
“Believe what you want. Just don’t dig for answers you’ll regret.”
The quiet warning left Emilina gaping.
It was ridiculous—but something in his voice made her think he might actually mean it.
“How the hell am I supposed to take this?” She struggled to wrap her head around it.
And then there was another problem.
‘…Saying shit like that just makes me want to find out.’
Or worse—what if she already knew something without realizing?