Volume 1 Chapter 31 Lydia Rest Kidnapping Incident, Again
With beautiful silver hair and sharp golden eyes, wearing silver-framed glasses, Sir Roxas stared at me, tangled up with an octopus, with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
Stared, or rather, glared.
(I'm pretty sure there was a closed sign on the door...)
Sir Roxas is someone I know, but he's an intruder.
It's strange for an intruder to glare at me, isn't it?
Even though I'm the landlord.
Well, it's a rented place, but still.
More importantly──
"Sir Roxas, help...! The octopus won't come off..."
I really need him to do something about the octopus wrapped around me.
If he has time to glare, he should quickly deal with the octopus.
Ah, but if he gets rid of it, that would be a problem...!
Because it's an important ingredient, and I can't waste food.
"But, but, but, please be gentle when you catch the octopus, as I will use it for cooking...!"
"Y-you're asking for a lot...!"
"Ugh, I'm sorry! It's food...! Sir Roxas, it's slippery... I can't get it off..."
I've been struggling to get the octopus tentacles off my body, but they just keep wrapping around me.
The octopus doesn't seem to want to eat me, but why is it wrapping around me?
Is it angry, maybe?
That makes sense.
It's about to be cooked, after all.
It's fighting for its life.
But I'm sorry. The octopus is food, so I'll make sure to eat it deliciously...!
"I have no choice... Freeze!"
When Sir Roxas raised his hand, the octopus froze beautifully, making the same crackling sound as before.
"Ugh, it's cold... so cold..."
My wet clothes were also slightly frozen.
If it were Sir Ciel, this wouldn't have happened.
He would have frozen just the octopus, saved me safely, and cleaned both my clothes and body with purification magic.
"It's so cold..."
The octopus, which had been clinging to my body, fell to the floor with a thud.
I looked down at the octopus and started to cry.
I wished Sir Ciel was here.
"I wish Sir Ciel was here..."
Because I really didn't want to see Sir Roxas.
It was much worse to have Francois's former fiancé visit me than to be tangled up with an octopus. It felt too ominous.
"You're quite the complainer...! Sorry I'm not Ciel."
"Sir Roxas... thank you for helping me."
I accidentally let my thoughts slip out loud.
I really wanted Sir Ciel.
We had been through a lot, but we were friends. However, Mr. Leavis said Sir Ciel was busy moving, so it couldn't be helped.
I politely bowed my head to Sir Roxas, who was crossing his arms with irritation.
I wanted to take a bath and change. I had to do something about the octopus before the magic wore off.
"I thought you had some special hobby, but I guess not."
"Special hobby...?"
I definitely didn't have a hobby of being happy while tangled up with an octopus.
Just like how I didn't feel anything for Hyomon, no matter how manly he was. It's an octopus, after all.
"Sir Roxas... what is a special hobby...?"
And while I appreciate the help, I can't help but wonder why he came here.
I can't ask that, though.
I have a bad feeling about this.
I won't ask anything, so if possible, could you just leave quietly?
"...No. More importantly, Lydia."
Sir Roxas clearly avoided the topic of his special hobby.
He brought it up himself, so he could have just told me.
"D-Don't come any closer, please... Ugh, I'm so scared... Did you come to take revenge, Sir Roxas...? Are you here to blame me for the broken engagement...?"
When Sir Roxas took a step closer to me, I ran away.
Even though he helped me with the octopus, now I'm alone with a suspicious man.
Plus, there's a chance that Sir Roxas is angry with me. I'm scared.
If this continues, something really bad might happen to me.
I don't know exactly what that could be, but it feels that way.
Also, I might get sold off in anger or something.
I don't even know what that would mean.
"Revenge? What do you have to be angry about?"
"Well, your engagement with Francois is gone... Sir Roxas, you were supposed to marry Francois..."
"I'm actually relieved that I won't have to marry that nasty woman with the poodle-like name."
"S-Sir Roxas, you'll be scolded by Ms. Francois all over the country...!"
Poodle refers to a toy dog.
I mean, there are plenty of people who name their poodles Lydia.
Francois is not the only name for a poodle. It's a very biased assumption.
"But, Lydia. The engagement with Francois was broken off──yes, it was broken. Just like you. After you ran away instead of returning to the priest's family."
"Um, I'm sorry to hear that..."
"That's fine. But, there's a problem. Lydia, I have a request."
"A request...?"
A request.
It's the same as when Sir Ciel asked me.
Is it another request for me to cook?
"I don't have time to waste talking here. That octopus and the things in the basket are ingredients. I'll buy all of them. And I'll buy your afternoon time too."
"Uh, um...?"
"Bring all the ingredients and come to the Duke's house. I want you to cook. To heal my brother's illness."
"That's, impossible... Um, I can cook, but just regular food, and... I can't heal illnesses..."
"You helped the people of Saintwise, right? Lately, the palace has been buzzing about that. If the curse can be broken, then you should be able to heal my brother's illness too."
"That was just a coincidence..."
Back then, Sir Ciel made me cook a lot.
And he confirmed the effect of the curse-breaking by eating the food himself.
I really don't understand.
Even if there is a special effect in the food, I wouldn't know which dish has what effect.
"Lydia. I bought you. I will pay. Come."
Sir Roxas picked up the frozen octopus and stuffed it into his carrying basket.
The octopus was so big that its frozen legs stuck out of the basket.
He slung the basket over his shoulder, then grabbed my waist and easily tucked me under his arm.
Even though he's slim, Sir Roxas is really strong.
I turned pale.
This is, well...
Definitely, that.
"Put me down, please! This is kidnapping, kidnapping...!"
"This is not kidnapping. I told you I bought you. Anyway, we need to go, Lydia. There's no time."
What a scoundrel.
A human trafficker.
Sir Roxas, the second son of a noble Duke family, is a scoundrel. A kidnapper.
He's a cold-blooded person who has no hesitation about buying people. It's scary.
"Nooo, put me down, please!"
I'm still soaking wet from my clothes!
I want to take a bath. At least let me change my clothes.
"Oh... Lyd-Lyd. It's happening again... Good luck...!"
As Sir Roxas carried me away, Ms. Margaret waved a white handkerchief at me.
"Mx. Margaret, this is kidnapping! Help me, I'm going to be sold, I'm going to be sold...!"
"Lyd-Lyd, it's okay! You're cute, so I'm sure you'll be treated well...!"
By whom? Sir Roxas?
I don't want that. I'm scared. Just a moment ago, I was thinking about making some sweets.
I was pushed into a fancy carriage that was parked in front of the restaurant by Sir Roxas.
Sir Roxas set down the basket with octopus inside the carriage and held me tightly to stop me from escaping.
It might look like I was sitting on Sir Roxas's lap and being hugged, but that wasn't the case.
"Why is everyone trying to kidnap me...?"
"I don't know. This is the first time I've kidnapped you. If you just obeyed, I wouldn't have to be rough."
"Ugh... Sir Roxas, please don't be mean..."
"I told you, I just want you to cook for me...!"
The carriage, with me crying softly, rushed through the streets of the holy city.
We passed by a crowd of people.
I saw Mr. Lucian and the Leonsroar members protecting someone from the crowd.
"Mr. Lucian, help me, I'm being kidnapped...!"
"Hey, Lydia. It's not a kidnapping. Well, it is a kidnapping, but if you cook for me, I'll take you home, so just behave."
As I called out to Mr. Lucian, banging on the window, Sir Roxas held me tightly.
I never knew being held so tightly could feel so bad.
The person I locked eyes with, seeking help, wasn't Mr. Lucian, but Sir Stefan, who looked shocked as he stared at us.
I thought I saw Francois next to him, but the carriage quickly passed by the crowd, so I couldn't tell for sure.
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