Esme found herself being dropped onto the hard stone floor, her arms still bound by rough rope that felt like it was eating at her wrists and forearms, fortunately, her legs were free.
The room looked barren save for a single couch where a round portly man sat before him was a coffee table that separated her from his reach
She was already shaken from being suddenly kidnapped however looking at him now, he felt different, when she saw him before although she feared him he had a friendly air around him.
The type of air that air that told you as long as you don't do anything stupid, he'll continue to be friendly. However now, his entire presence felt dangerous, he felt bigger and far more threatening than before. His cold blue eyes carried a predatory edge that set Esme's heart on a drum-like beating spree.
This man was going to kill her, she was going to die today.
Her clothes became drenched with sweat almost immediately, and the realisation that she was going to be killed crippled her thoughts to the point that her free legs felt tense and stiff like she couldn't run even if she wanted to.
Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, it was as if she had been splashed with water before arriving here. She felt unreasonably hot, like she was inside a blacksmith's forge.
Her mouth was as dry as a sponge that had sat out in the sun all day, her whole body was dripping with sweat yet internally she felt unreasonably parched.
She needed to shout for help but nobody would come even if she did, she was a useless princess who brought no value to anyone. No one would risk their lives for her, if only—
Her thoughts paused, screeching to a halt as she came to realisation that she was married now, surely her husband would do as a husband is supposed to do…
He was also an Explorer, an individual blessed with power most people dream of, as such he would come to her rescue, she just had to ensure he found her.
"Good Morning Mrs Bright–"
"ARTHUR!!!"
Esme cut the man off before he could finish his sentence. Screaming her husband's name as loud as her voice could allow.
"Don't Bother w–"
"ARTHUR!!"
She continued, this time putting everything she had into the scream and more.
"It's pointless, he wo–"
"ARTHUR!!"
Annoyance flared over his face and he swiftly pulled out the pistol he kept in his coat and pointed it at her head.
"Go ahead!! Scream again!! Do it!!"
Esme clamped her mouth shut, barely letting out a squeak as she choked back her scream. She felt her body clam up at the sight of the firearm.
With a pleased sigh, he returned the firearm to its hiding place in his coat.
"As I was going to say, it's pointless to scream, we're nowhere near where your husband, even if we were your voice wouldn't go beyond these walls"
His words came out calm and measured, conveying a level of certainty as if he was not worried that his enemy was an Explorer. That level of confidence only served to increase her worries and fear.
"Now Mrs. Bright, despite how this may look, I will not hurt you as long as you follow my instructions"
He waited for her to respond however she remained tight-lipped, obviously she could not trust his words, however she also began to think.
The last time she saw Arthur, he was halfway into a wall, he probably did not see her when she got taken, and has no idea where she was taken.
Not only that but Bulat stated that they were nowhere near where Arthur would probably be right now. This meant Arthur was probably struggling to find where this place was located meaning he won't be able to come to her aid anytime soon.
Esme took a sharp inhale, held it, and let out a long exhale, she did this twice, calming her nerves before she repositioned herself from lying on her side to sitting on the floor like a toddler.
"What are your instructions?"
She chose to play along, however internally she quickly took stock of all the items Arthur had given her.
From what she remembers, he gave her a necklace that would allow her to run without getting tired for a full five minutes. A ring to protect against bladed and blunt weapon attacks as well as a ring that gave her double the strength of her opponent.
All were great items for at least getting away from an assailant, the strength ring allows you to fend off and overpower your foe, the necklace allows you to run for as long as you need or long enough to find a place to hide and the shield against attacks protects against weapons her opponent may be carrying.
Esme figured Arthur gave her those items for these kinds of situations. If he's looking for her that means she simply needed to make a commotion to get his notice.
However, the issue came with the fact that she did not know where she was, not only that but she didn't know how many people were outside this room. She was also not confident about being able to get out of the room before getting shot.
Moreover…
'Do bullets count as bladed or blunt weapons'
That was the question and unfortunately, she could not come a definitive answer to that question. Esme did not have the mettle to test that out, she couldn't risk her life like that.
"Hm? I was expecting some resistance, maybe some bravado that your husband will come to your rescue?"
That was the expectation after all, women who married powerful men tended to have an ego, he would expect no less from a woman whose husband was the most physically powerful man in the kingdom.
"I prefer to be a bit more realistic, even if he's coming, he certainly won't get here instantly"
"Hah. You're much smarter than I would expect from a woman."
Bulat slapped his knee amused, he expected she would behave more like a noblewoman who expects the world to bow to her.
Esme rolled her eyes, the crown prince often said that to her as well.
"Anyway my instructions, there are only two, first, tell me everything you know about your husband, the nobles he's come to contact with, and the level of influence he may have in the court."
Esme found herself a bit surprised, what gave him the idea that Arthur was in contact with any noble?
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. My husband has no connection to any nobles"
Even if he did have such connections, she wouldn't know since they haven't been married for that long, of course Bulat doesn't need to know that.
As far as she knew, Arthur's contact with Nobles was during his arrival at the Palace and her being married to him, but she knew that was not what Bulat meant.
"Don't lie to me, woman! Your husband has noble connections, otherwise, why else would no one be willing to divulge any information about him"
Esme didn't know about it but it was easy to guess there was a gag order in place to keep Arthur's presence in the kingdom a secret.
Thinking about how things were with Eastonia, Wessonia, and the Empire, if they knew Arthur was here, the Empire would probably send agents to kill him as he already refused their recruitment.
If the Empire wanted Explorers and Arthur refused, then it made sense to her that they would send someone to get rid of Arthur, rather than let him become an asset to the enemy.
Esme also figured that once news of Arthur being in the Lionheart, the other two kingdoms would force King Harold to send him to the battlefield.
King Harold probably wanted to keep Arthur a secret in order to monopolise him and because he knew that the moment he left for the war right now, the Lionheart kingdom wouldn't get the best benefits.
So far, the Lionheart kingdom has only contributed things like food and weapons to the war and no formal request for reinforcements has been made.
Esme figured, her father wanted to wait for things to get dire, then send Arthur and have the Lionheart kingdom be credited for whatever achievement Arthur is able to get in the war.
"I have no clue about that, but from the time I've been with him, we visited no nobles and we've had no noble visitors either"
Her words were truthful, in the week plus some days she's known him, they have known no nobles.
Bulat once again pulled out the gun from his coat and pointed it at her.
"I don't appreciate liars, If you don't want to suffer, tell me what I need to know"
Esme felt her body tense up once again, and she bit her lip. She had nothing to tell him, she wasn't that much of a good liar to begin with, at best she could just not tell as long as he didn't ask but in this case, he was asking and she couldn't come up with a satisfactory lie.
'Arthur…'