“Aaah!!”

Not too long after Ann’s position was locked by the intruder, another one swiftly and stealthily entered, locking Faye next.

“Chirp chirpppp!!” Birdie noisily chirped as she flew away from Ann, then Faye next, as they were subsequently seized.

“Kill that bird, it’s too noisy, we’ll get caught at this rate!” The chilly maid that seized Ann seemed to be in the lead as she commanded her ally who was closer to Birdie.

“…!! Chiiirrr~~p!!” Birdie seemed to understand what they intended to do, as she quickly flew away to the window that was slightly open and escaped through the small gap that her body was barely able to slip through.

 

Everything happened very quickly that Ann’s mind blanked for a moment.

It was unthinkable for Ann that the rebels could manage to infiltrate the Schwartzen family’s residence. Allen had always been strict with the security as well as the people working here… Which only left a possibility. There was a mole among the people that worked in this residence. The mole made it possible for the rebels to intrude.

I have to tell Allen later!

Though she was initially panicking, Ann quickly regained her composure and that was the first thing that she thought of.

She could regain her composure so quickly because she was confident in her ability, namely the cheat of modern knowledge combined with her body’s Pure Water magic.

 

In no time, Ann focused her mind on channeling her water magic to disable the intruders…

Huh? It doesn’t work? I did everything as usual and it has worked, but why…?

Ann opened her eyes, now with horror filling them as she realized that there was a slightly cold sensation around her wrists.

Whether it was coincidence or intentional, it was at this perfect timing that Ann’s eyes met with the chilly intruder’s.

“What? You can’t use your magic, huh? How does it feel to be powerless?”

Her words confirmed Ann’s greatest fear. Without her magic, she was nothing. She had never learned martial arts nor was she strong enough to struggle from this intruder’s arms.

“You… What did you…?”

“You think we’re stupid enough not to notice that you can use your magic quite well to fight? Just in case, we came prepared with this magic inhibitor. And sure enough, you intended to use your magic to fight against us… Just why? We aren’t your enemy. We are supposed to stand in the same side.”

“I…,” Ann was about to respond when the other party didn’t even give her the leeway to speak.

“If you are this powerful, you’d better use this power for our cause! We’d definitely be able to overturn the situation in no time!”

Ann felt that the arms that were holding her had their power increased, causing her to start feeling afraid.  

 

“Four, let’s just hurry and move it. We can’t risk failing here when we’ve gotten this far,” the accomplice said.

“You’re right. Ten, use the item that Duncan gave.”

“Alright.”

 

Seeing that the two intruders were busy talking to each other and not focusing on them, Ann and Faye used their saved up energy to struggle.

“…! Four, they’re resisting!”

“Tch, be obedient!”

Ann just managed to regain the freedom to talk and was just about to shout for help when her mouth and nose were quickly covered with a cloth that gave off a foul smell. Before she could think, her consciousness had already drifted off…

At the same time, the loyal Faye was so loyal that she was also in the same condition as Ann…

 

***

 

“@#@*&$(@”

“—)@(#)!!”

“…?”

When Ann finally regained her consciousness, the first thing that she felt was that her body felt so sluggish and she couldn’t really grasp her surroundings nor situation very well. Her vision was also unfocused, similar to a drunkard’s vision.

As she dazedly stared straight in front of her, she could only discern that it was dark and cramped. Then, out of a sudden, there seemed to be a small tree lying down with its lush green leaves facing her…

For some reason, this little tree was so small and reminded her of…

 

“…!!”

FAYE!!

Ann sobered up in an instant, after she realized that the ‘small tree’ lying helplessly in front of her was Faye, who was still unconscious!

Then, the current bad situation clicked in her head.

They are kidnapped!!

 

Questions popped into her head.

How long did I get knocked off?

Where are we going?

What are they planning to do with me?

And most importantly… Why are they bringing Faye along?

 

On top of her body feeling so weak as if she had no power at all—perhaps because of the drug’s effect, she also found out that her body and Faye’s body were bound by a rope.

The swaying of her surrounding and the occasional bumps she felt, together with the surrounding that she could see—convinced her that they were currently in a carriage that was used to transport items.

Unable to do anything, the residual effect of the drug was still working, and coupled with the swaying and rocking of the carriage, Ann eventually fell back to sleep…

 

The next moment she regained her consciousness was when the carriage actually stopped. It was a reflex that she had developed from the modern world. She could doze off to sleep in travel, like in the car or train, and when she had arrived, she’d automatically wake up.

This time, she could feel her mind sobering up more than before and her body didn’t feel as sluggish as before. However, she was still feeling weak and her body was bound by a rope. And the cold sensation of the magic inhibitor that was put around her wrists was still there.

Ann tried to use her magic again, but to no avail as expected.

 

“They aren’t awake yet?”

The familiar voice of a man entered her ears—it was ‘Ten’.

“They have probably woken up several times during the journey, but the drug’s quite strong, so they are probably still feeling weak.”

Followed by the voice of ‘Four’.

Then, the carriage’s back door was opened.

Ann reflexively closed her eyes.

 

“Hmm… They’re still out of it. But are you sure they’re still alive and well…? It won’t be good if something were to happen to her! She’s the princess!!!” Ten’s voice was heard.

Four didn’t answer, but Ann felt that someone—presumably Four—approached her. Ann’s heart thumped repeatedly and she desperately tried to calm herself down. She wasn’t ready for the enemy to find out that she was already awake. She wasn’t ready to face them yet. She wanted to find out more about them before that.

Thankfully, the odds worked in Ann’s favor as Four moved away from her and shook her head.

“Who cares, she’s still a traitor. If she isn’t the princess, I’d not spare her.”

“Watch your words, Four! She is our king’s one and only…!”

“As long as she is still a traitor, I don’t care. I am knocking some senses to her. It’d be great if she can come back to our side. All will be solved. As long as she does that and becomes a great ally to us, I will give her respect. Until then…”

The chilly voice stopped for a while before a sigh could be heard.

“Furthermore, she has that body of a furnace… It makes me wonder if she truly could fight using her Pure Water magic… She’s just the perfect tool for the succession of the royal’s great bloodline anyway.”

“It makes me wonder, too.”

 

Ann was baffled hearing the two’s discussions.

It seemed that her body’s status as the previous king’s one and only surviving child wasn’t a guarantee for a good treatment from the rebels…

Perhaps her special status gained the rebels’ respect at first and perhaps the original villainess was treated really well by them.

But once this someone with special status due to their birthright betrayed their expectation and even switched side… It’d bound to incite deep hatred.

 

It was also the first time she heard contempt directed at her for possessing compatibility with the Pure Water magic.

Ten, who scolded Four for being insolent towards her for calling her a traitor and that Four wouldn’t spare her if she wasn’t a princess… actually didn’t attempt to scold nor correct Four’s remark of Ann’s Pure Water magic that meant she was just a perfect incubator to give birth…

Chill ran down her spine.

It seemed that she couldn’t afford being careless and believed they wouldn’t do anything to her simply because of her identity…!

As long as she was still alive and could give birth to the next descendant, it appeared that they wouldn’t care about other stuff!

 

“But what are we going to do with the child that’s with her?”

“Hmm, right. I only told you to take her with us because I’m afraid if we were to leave her back there, she could somehow reveal some information that would help them find us… Oh well, let’s think about it later. Anyhow, if push comes to shove, we can just off her.”

“…!”

Hearing their sinister plan, Ann couldn’t help but be surprised and reflexively opened her eyes.

 

“Oh, awake at last, our princess?”

Four was the first one to notice that Ann had woken up. She looked down at Ann with her cold eyes as she said with a mocking tone.

Ann was surprised that Four noticed her the moment she opened her eyes in reflex… Had she not been spotted, Ann would close her eyes again in an instant to pretend that she was still asleep…

But now, she couldn’t do that and was forced to face against her kidnapper who seemed to not like her…