I woke up in a dimly lit space with a feeling of nausea.
My senses gradually returned, and the pain in my head reminded me that this was what it felt like to be hit. My lips were cracked, and something seemed to be stuck in my throat, preventing me from making a sound.
My head was pressed tightly against the dusty ground; the contrast was too stark for me, especially considering I had woken up in a luxurious and comfortable bed that morning.
My hands and feet were tightly bound by strong ropes, and I could only wriggle around like a worm at most. Although my vision was still very blurry, I still tried to move my head to observe my surroundings and try to grasp the situation.
"He's awake."
That voice belonged to Volth, a voice I knew all too well, the voice of the young butler who had taken care of me for three years.
The first thing I saw was two pairs of feet; judging from their thickness and the shoes, it was easy to tell that it was a man and a woman. I struggled to turn over, still clinging to a sliver of hope. I wouldn't believe that the person who had subjected me to this treatment was Volth until I saw their true face.
"Finally awake! I've been waiting so impatiently."
I don't recognize the woman's voice. No, maybe I've heard it before, but I can't remember.
"Volth... what's going on?"
I strained my voice from my hoarse throat to question Volth, for I had no other thought than to get to the bottom of this.
"Young Master Robert, it's normal for you to feel confused right now. Let me get straight to the point: you've been kidnapped by us."
"Kidnapping...why?"
"Why? Just because you're the young master of the Anglus family, and kidnapping you can bring in a lot of money? Can't you accept that reason?"
Indeed, this is the motive behind most kidnappings in the world. However, I cannot accept it. I have always considered Volth a friend and have never done anything to bully him. Why would Walls do this to me?
"Have you been lying to me all this time...?"
"Deception? You could say that. All these years of working diligently at Anglus's place, perhaps, were all for this day."
I have absolutely no idea what Volth is thinking. I simply thought he was someone who was dedicated to his work.
"Wols, what kind of childish game are you playing with him? Let me teach this young master of the marquis a lesson."
"Carol…"
The woman who was with Volth walked up to me.
Oh no, alarm bells went off in my head. The way this woman looked at me made me realize that I might die at her hands; it was filled with such malice.
What did I do to her?
"You probably don't remember me, young master Robert. After all, I'm just one of the many maids in the Anglus family, and I haven't spoken to you much. Let's just pretend this is our first meeting. My name is Carol, a very common name. It's okay if you don't remember it."
Carol? I don't really remember her; I don't have the habit of memorizing all the servants' names.
"Young Master Robert must be wondering why I kidnapped you. Although that's what Worth said, that's only one of the reasons. I'll tell you the rest of the reasons in detail, through my actions... Hmph!"
"Cough!!"
Before I could react, I was suddenly kicked hard in the stomach.
Despite possessing a physique almost twice that of an adult, I felt an intense pain which instantly snapped my previously dazed mind back to reality. Even though my body tried to make a protective movement, I could only respond with a grotesque expression and incoherent screams because I was bound.
"Haha! Haha! Hahahahahahahaha! This feels so good! This feeling is so good! No wonder nobles like to do this kind of thing! It's so addictive! Especially if the other person is a noble, the pleasure is increased tenfold!"
Then came the second kick, the third kick, the fourth kick... I couldn't resist and could only let myself be slaughtered.
My internal organs... were churning, the pain... was persistent, and my brain was warning me... that I would die if this continued.
"Stop...stop...help...help me..."
"Shout a few more times! Shout louder! You stinking aristocrat!"
"Carol! That's enough! He'll die!"
After being persuaded by Walls, the woman named Carole finally stopped her violent behavior.
It seems that no matter what, they won't kill me outright, otherwise there would be no point in kidnapping me. Carol's goal is probably just to torture me as much as possible.
"Cough cough cough... Haa haa haa haa! Cough cough... cough cough..."
I finally got a chance to catch my breath. My face was already covered in tears and snot, making me look like a complete mess. I had seen Lucis suffer before, but I never imagined it would happen to me in an even more tragic way.
What did I do wrong?
Even I was forced to question my existence, unable to accept the fact that I was being treated this way.
"Why did we kidnap you? Now you know. The root cause is our hatred for the nobility."
Is that so? Is the root cause the irreconcilable contradictions between classes? Is that all there is to it?
"Hahaha! You still look like you can't accept it. Actually, the main problem is that you're too stupid! The target of the kidnapping didn't necessarily have to be you. Your brother Lucis, your sister Aisha, your sister Lia, we could have kidnapped anyone."
"it's just that we never found the opportunity with them. But only you, only you were foolish enough to be tricked out by Volth, and the plan went so smoothly that I can hardly believe it! You only have yourself to blame!"
Is that so? I was so gullible, trusting Volth completely. I had no doubt that Volth might harm me. If I had been more vigilant, this wouldn't have happened.
No, I was too arrogant. I thought I possessed magic and could solve any crisis. That's right, my magic! I have magic! Why not just burn the rope with my magic and escape this crisis?
"Ah~ No need to waste your energy anymore, you can't use magic now. Because we put a magic-sealing collar on you, which is very expensive on the black market, but it's essential to deal with nobles like you, so we gritted our teeth and bought it."
A demon-sealing collar? Does such a thing even exist in this world? I have absolutely no idea.
It was as if they had seen right through my thoughts, and the only possibility of turning the tide had been blocked. This was to be expected; I knew very well how capable Walls was, and if he were to carry out a kidnapping plan, he would certainly do it flawlessly.
I fell into despair.
Am I going to die here? Is my life in another world really going to end so stupidly? This is such a terrible ending, worse than any other isekai light novel.
"What...what are you going to do with me? Are you going to kill me?"
I was terrified, but I had to ask; it was the only thing I couldn't ignore.
"Hahaha! Our young master Robert is trembling with fear, how pitiful. He's still quite afraid of death, isn't he? But unfortunately, we haven't decided yet. Guess if we'll kill you? Maybe we'll let you go in a little while."
This woman is making fun of me!
"Wasn't one of the purposes of kidnapping me to get a ransom? If you kill me, you won't get it."
"That's not necessarily true. The initiative is in our hands. We only claim that we'll release them after paying the ransom. In reality, whether we release you after the Anglus family pays the ransom is up to us."
"Of course, if they don't believe we'll release you, I don't care if I kill you. That way, the busiest streets of the city the next day will be filled with the freshly made corpses of Anglus family young masters. That outcome wouldn't be bad for me either."
Damn it, is their hatred for the Anglus family more important to them than their enormous wealth? Why would they go to such lengths?
Now, my only chance of survival is that after the Anglus family pays the ransom, Volth and Carol will keep their promise and release me, but that hope is extremely slim.
Wait, I suddenly noticed something.