Chapter 96
We hurried to the place the children had indicated, but even in the basement connected to the abandoned building, there was no trace of Cherry.
“Those bastards… they erased all the mana and ran off.”
Yeloise, Ferdinand, and Kenich wiped the rain from their faces.
Now, where should we head next?
Cursing under our breath, lost and unsure of the way, a small tremor shook from the castle walls, and something shot up into the sky.
Bang, pop—!
Through the drizzle, faint sparks lit up the night sky.
“Fireworks…?”
“Fireworks!”
Gerard tilted his head in confusion, but Yeloise and Ferdinand exchanged a glance.
Then, suddenly—
“Cherry!”
They reached a quick conclusion.
Before heading to the boutique, Cherry had hesitated for a moment, gently holding Yeloise’s collar.
“Cherry Cherry, do you have something to say?”
“Well… I need something, but I don’t have any money on me. Could I borrow a little… um, sister…?”
Cherry looked up with clear eyes and made a request that wasn’t exactly a request.
Where her gaze landed was none other than a firework set being sold at a street stall for the festival season.
During the hunting festival, the villagers would play with fireworks in the town square.
It was quite a sight—fireworks spreading across the night sky and reflecting in the calm river below the bridge.
Yeloise simply patted Cherry’s head.
“Hm, the Rose Guild’s interest is quite high, are you okay with that?”
“Ah…! Then it might take a little time, but I’ll definitely pay it back!”
“Ha ha, I was joking, Cherry Cherry. I couldn’t possibly take money from such a cute little sister.”
Handing her some pocket money, Cherry had a serious expression as she negotiated with the stall owner.
Mostly about the fireworks’ effects: how big and brilliant they would be, how loud the explosion sounded, and so on.
She ended up buying a variety of fireworks: three rocket-type fireworks and fountain-type fireworks that erupted for a minute a few seconds after being thrown to the ground.
At the time, Yeloise thought Cherry was simply excited to go to the square.
But now—
‘Maybe…’
I had a feeling Cherry might have anticipated this situation.
It was absurd to come to such a conclusion based on a single firework, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the thought.
One thing was certain: Cherry was the one who had launched those fireworks.
“Kenich…!”
I called my younger sibling, but it seemed I was already a step too late.
Where Kenich had been, only clear footprints remained, as if he had leapt forward.
Bang, pop—!
I smashed the carriage wall with my foot and launched rocket fireworks without pause.
‘I was worried they wouldn’t ignite because of the rain.’
Thanks to quantity over quality, there was no difficulty in marking my location.
It was worth hiding the fireworks in my belt at the boutique.
Small, but reliable ones!
The problem was—
“You crazy—!”
The men who had kidnapped me also heard the fireworks.
Realizing I was signaling my location in real-time, they immediately stopped the carriage.
They quickly snatched my fireworks and threw them away.
‘No, I still had one left…!’
I looked sadly at the fireworks discarded on the floor, but that wasn’t the main issue.
Bang!
The kidnapper swung a fist at my side.
“Damn it! When did you untie yourself?!”
Swallowing a curse, he dragged me out of the carriage as if throwing me.
“I tried to be generous because we’re of the same kind, but you had to go and cause trouble?!”
“Sir, now is not the time. We need to go quickly!”
Despite his subordinate’s protest, the man, flushed red, raised his foot toward me.
‘Right…’
I instinctively curled my body, protecting my head with my arms.
It was better to take the hits on my back or shoulders than my head.
‘One minute. Just one minute.’
Kicking is exhausting, so it wouldn’t last long. Like the marquis, the kidnapper wouldn’t go over a minute.
Biting my lip, I steadied myself.
Thud!
Something fell from above.
“Gah!”
“How dare you…”
A small voice slipped through clenched teeth, but I instantly knew who it was.
“Kenich…!”
It was Kenich, the one I had called in my heart countless times.
Without realizing it, I lifted my head.
But even before that, Kenich’s jacket had landed over my head.
“Cherry, wait a moment.”
A voice, cold but restraining anger.
“Y-yes…”
I slowly nodded, clutching only Kenich’s jacket.
It seemed he was very angry.
His demeanor was colder than when he had suspected me of being a spy.
‘It makes sense… I moved on my own and caused all this.’
Just then—
“Don’t let anyone touch you with those filthy hands.”
“Ugh… aah!”
A crushing sound echoed, followed by screams filling the area.
“Oh, come to think of it, it wasn’t this hand after all.”
“No…! Spare me! I’ll tell you everything about who ordered this if you let me live!”
The man begged, but Kenich only exhaled coldly.
“Brief speech.”
“What? P-please spare me! I’ll tell you anything I know…”
“You’ll tell me?”
“Yes, yes!”
The kidnapper nodded desperately, his voice trembling.
However—
“Too bad.”
“…Huh?”
“I can find out what you know myself.”
“Ugh… aah!”
A scream of pain followed, cracking through the air.
Kenich then turned his steps elsewhere—to the kidnapper’s subordinate.
“I-I… tried to stop him, but…”
Terrified footsteps approached, but he too could not escape Kenich’s wrath.
Thunk.
A clumsy collapse echoed.
Only then did the jacket over my head disappear.
“Cherry, are you hurt anywhere?”
Contrary to my expectation that he’d be angry, Kenich carefully checked me.
“I’m fine…”
“Ha, good.”
He exhaled in relief and pulled me into his arms.
While I began to regain my composure, Kenich’s heart pounded as if it would burst.
Instinctively, I knew:
This wasn’t anger—it was concern.
I grasped his sleeve tightly, feeling a tingling sensation.
“I thought you were mad at me… for disappearing without a word…”
“I heard everything the kids said. You were trying to save them. And Cherry, why would I be mad at you?”
He sometimes glared fiercely, but then—
The fireworks I launched had attracted not only Kenich but also those behind my kidnapping.
Men in robes surrounded us without a single gap.
To conceal their identities, they wore strange masks, but I was certain:
“It’s them…”
Among the masked men, a man with piercing blue eyes stared at me.
He was the one who had assaulted me three years ago at the Aymond Marquis estate and pushed me to the cliff.
‘The man behind Pavel Astrahan.’
Was Pavel Astrahan also behind my kidnapping?
“They?”
Even as Kenich spoke, I could only tremble and cling to his arm.
The enemies surrounding us numbered at least thirty.
Right now, there was no one to help Kenich.
‘What should I do? What do I do?’
I saw someone’s face overlapping with Kenich’s—the one who had become bait for me: my mother.
“Cherry.”
Knowing I was scared, Kenich called my name softly.
“Sometimes, you tend to underestimate me. You know that?”
“….”
I knew he was strong, but that didn’t stop me from being worried.
I was scared. The people I loved always left me behind.
I feared Kenich might do the same.
I panicked at the thought that someone else would have to sacrifice themselves for me again.
Tears welled up involuntarily.
Plop. Something soft touched my forehead.
“…!”
Through my blurred vision, I saw only Kenich’s lips curled in a teasing smile.
He used to do this when he was a squirrel. Now, in human form, it was the first time.
“Cherry, can you hear me now?”
I nodded slowly instead of answering.
“Count ten seconds.”
“Ten seconds?”
“Too long? Then three.”
The already short time had been cut to a third.
Once again, the jacket covered my head, but I shook my head free.
I couldn’t just wait idly while Kenich worried.
Kenich’s black mana instantly covered the surrounding area.
