My Maid is Cute Chapter 87 : Abduction (Patreon)

*Abduction*

Hearing the word "missing" fly from Christopher's mouth, Rebecca's body moved before she could think. Without knocking, she threw open the door and burst into the study.

"W-Wait, Rebecca—"

Carrie raised a panicked voice, but she couldn't stop her. Inside the study, Christopher and Reed looked at the suddenly intruding Rebecca in surprise.

"What do you mean by missing!?"

"R-Rebecca, calm down—"

"What does this mean!? Didn't Milady return to school!?"

Carrie flusteredly tried to stop Rebecca, but Rebecca completely ignored her and practically screamed her question.

Reed glanced at Christopher. Christopher hesitated for a moment, but...

"Explain it, Reed."

Saying that, he nodded lightly.

Reed, his face pale, opened his mouth in front of the three of them.

"—We received contact just now. Today, Lady Wendy arrived in the Royal Capital in the evening, and apparently met with a friend at a café in town instead of returning to the academy dormitory, but..."

Reed's voice was trembling slightly. Unusually, he was even sweating cold sweat.

"After leaving that café, it seems she went to a bookstore at her own request. After entering the bookstore alone... her whereabouts became unknown."

"U-Unknown...?"

"Before anyone knew it, she had disappeared, and was nowhere to be found inside the store."

Rebecca was dumbfounded by Reed's words. Christopher yelled, his eyebrows raised high.

"What happened to my sister!? What were the guards and maid doing!?"

"Well, it seems her personal maid returned to the dormitory ahead of her immediately upon arriving in the Royal Capital under Milady's orders to prepare the room, so she was not at the scene. Guards were accompanying her, but... Milady apparently said she wanted to browse the bookstore alone... Since this is a common occurrence, the guards were apparently waiting outside the bookstore."

Reed continued, wiping his cold sweat with a handkerchief.

"Milady said she would return immediately, but she didn't come out of the bookstore no matter how much time passed. Finding it suspicious, the guards entered the store, but Milady was nowhere to be found. They hurriedly searched the bookstore and the vicinity, but she couldn't be found..."

"Couldn't be found... No way..."

Rebecca lost her words and covered her mouth with her hand. Christopher spoke again with an angry face.

"Do the bookstore employees know anything?"

"When the guards checked, the employees remembered Milady entering the store. Since Milady stands out... Apparently, she wandered around the store looking for a book for a while after entering, but since she was gone before they knew it, they assumed she had left without purchasing anything. It seems it happened to be a time with few customers, so there were no other witnesses."

When Reed closed his mouth, Carrie, who had been flustered, raised her voice.

"Um... is it possible that Milady gave her guards the slip and secretly left the bookstore to go somewhere on her own...?"

To that question, Christopher shook his head while holding his head.

"I don't think so. There's probably nowhere she'd want to go badly enough to slip past her guards... Besides, Wendy usually avoids being alone when walking in the Royal Capital. Inside a shop is one thing, but in a crowded city, men often call out to her. Saying that's annoying, she tries to take guards or a maid with her as much as possible. It's hard to imagine her slipping past her guards to go somewhere alone."

At Christopher's words, Rebecca gasped and spoke while trembling.

"No way... Um, then, does that mean Milady might have been kidnapped by someone?"

There was no one to answer Rebecca's question. A terrifying silence fell.

With his face still pale, Christopher spoke to Reed.

"Anyway, let's search. I'm heading to the Royal Capital too. Prepare immediately."

"Understood."

Reed answered and left the room. Rebecca clung to Christopher.

"Lord Christopher, I will go too!!"

"Rebecca..."

"Please...! Take me with you too!"

Christopher crouched down on the spot and met Rebecca's gaze directly.

"You wait here. It will be alright."

"But...!"

"Rebecca."

Christopher grabbed Rebecca's shoulders and spoke as if to soothe her.

"Trust me. I will definitely find Wendy. So, wait here, Rebecca."

"I also—"

Carrie stopped Rebecca, who still tried to say something.

"Rebecca, calm down."

"...!"

"Let's leave it to Lord Christopher. Okay?"

Rebecca looked down, on the verge of tears. Christopher patted Rebecca's shoulder lightly to reassure her.

"It's okay, Rebecca. We'll find her soon."

Saying that, he stood up and briskly left the room.

Left behind, Rebecca sank to the floor. Her legs shook uncontrollably on their own.

She held her head with tears welling in her eyes.

"What should I do... Milady is—"

Carrie hugged Rebecca and spoke gently.

"Rebecca, it's okay, it's okay..."

"Why... who would do this to Milady...!?"

"Lord Christopher and Reed will definitely find her. Let us wait."

Carrie continued to stroke Rebecca's back to comfort her. Still, the trembling of her whole body wouldn't stop. She felt a sensation like heavy anxiety was accumulating in her chest. Wendy might be going through something terrible. Just imagining such a thing made her feel like she might faint right there.

—What should I do? What is the right thing to do? Just waiting here like this?

Rebecca bit her lip hard. Then, she stood up vigorously.

"Ah, Rebecca!?"

Carrie raised a surprised voice, but paying it no mind, Rebecca dashed out of the room.

***

Faintly, she could hear a voice that sounded like someone shouting. Reacting to that voice, Wendy slowly awoke.

The first thing that entered her vision was an unfamiliar scene. It seemed to be a small room. Wendy strained her eyes and looked around the cramped, dim interior. Around her, many potted plants and thick books were placed haphazardly. In the center was a large table, and she could see many bottles of various sizes containing some kind of liquid on top of it. A little distance away was a door, with light leaking slightly from underneath. No matter how she looked at it, it was an unknown place she had never been to before.

Where was this place? She tried to move her body, but couldn't. It was only then that she realized her hands and feet were bound with rope.

"...?"

While confused, she worked her mind to grasp the current situation. Her very last memory was meeting her friend Nicholas at a café in the evening, and afterwards heading to a bookstore in town to purchase a book she wanted. She remembered having her guards wait outside and entering the bookstore. She intended to leave the bookstore quickly once she purchased the book she was looking for. Walking between the shelves to find the book—

"Ah."

Finally remembering, Wendy let out a small voice.

Right, when she was looking over the bookshelves searching for the book, she suddenly felt someone's presence from behind. The next moment, as she tried to turn around, she was attacked by sudden drowsiness.

She had no memory from that point on.

However, she could grasp that she had apparently been kidnapped. Who, and for what purpose, had kidnapped her? Was it for ransom, or was Wendy herself the objective?

Wendy clicked her tongue and squirmed. She tried to untie the ropes somehow, but they seemed to be tied quite tightly, and she couldn't loosen them at all.

Giving up on untying the ropes, Wendy looked around again. Since there were no windows, she couldn't tell the situation outside at all. Furthermore, there was no clock, so she didn't know what time it was. Where on earth was this, and how much time had passed since she was knocked out?

Just as she was thinking that, she sensed someone's presence from beyond the door. Wendy started and turned her gaze toward the door. Immediately, there was a clack, and the door opened.

And seeing the person beyond the door, Wendy opened her eyes wide.

"You are..."

It was a person she knew. A freckled young man with short, light brown hair. Although they had never exchanged conversation, he was a classmate—

"Brooks Armand..."

When Wendy spoke his name, Brooks bowed his head with a pale face.

"I apologize... for bringing you here in such a manner..."

Wendy glared sharply at Brooks, who spoke in a feeble voice.

"Where is this place?"

Brooks looked up timidly and answered in a whisper.

"This is a personal laboratory my father used previously... It isn't used now and has become almost like a storage room... I am truly sorry. This was the only place that wouldn't attract attention..."

Come to think of it, Wendy recalled the fact that Brooks's father, Baron Armand, was renowned as a pharmacist and scientist.

"Did you bring me here?"

When Wendy asked, Brooks looked down with a pale face.

"...I put you to sleep with magic at the bookstore... and brought you here with teleportation magic. I apologize..."

While staring at Brooks who answered mumblingly, Wendy furrowed her brows.

Brooks Armand was an academy classmate, but she had never interacted with him until now. She knew Brooks was a student with high magical power and excellent grades. Since he served as the treasurer in the student council, there were many opportunities to see him. But he shouldn't have had any direct involvement with Wendy. For such a person to kidnap her, what could be his goal?

"What is your objective?"

When she asked that, Brooks slowly approached Wendy.

"I have no intention of harming you. I just want you to listen to my request."

Brooks knelt in front of Wendy and continued in a small voice.

"Please, do not resist... Please obey quietly. Otherwise, I cannot let you out of here."

"...Tell me quickly. What is your goal? What do you intend to make me do?"

Wendy glared at Brooks. A beautiful, yet searing glare.

"...!"

At that beauty, which shone strongly even in the darkness, Brooks gasped as if frightened.

After making a hesitant face, Brooks opened his mouth to say something. At that moment, the door opened again.

"Step back, Brooks."

A beautiful voice was heard. Seeing the person who entered the room from beyond the open door, Wendy opened her eyes wide.

"Why are you—"

Paying no mind to the surprised Wendy, that person continued speaking.

"You won't do. I will speak with her."

Estelle Lambert said so, spread her gorgeous fan, and smiled elegantly.