The Golden Eyes
“Really? When are they coming?”
“I don’t know, but it seems like our group or the security forces are nearby.”
Time was hard to gauge, but it didn’t feel like Undine had been gone long. Ten minutes at most, maybe fifteen.
“I see. But……”
My eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, so Iruse’s silhouette was clear. I could even make out her head tilting in confusion. A sliver of light came from under the door.
“Come to think of it, where are we?”
“……You were that calm without even knowing that?”
“I’m calm because I don’t know.”
“We’ve been kidnapped!”
“Oh, this is my first time being kidnapped! My brothers have been through it before.”
Iruse really was something else. Her mind operated on a level I couldn’t follow.
“So they kidnapped us for ransom?”
“Probably not. They just grabbed us off the road. How would they know you’re from the Peyru family?”
“Huh? Then why?”
“To sell us, obviously……”
“Sell us where?”
“Exactly. Where are they planning to sell us?”
I’d thought they were both ridiculously carefree, but it was obvious neither of them had a single thought in their heads. They were like flowers raised in a greenhouse, completely unable to grasp the gravity of the situation. Especially Ash—he didn’t even seem to understand what slavery meant. The way his eyes darted around was painfully innocent.
“You two are really naïve. There are people in this world…… who like children in a very twisted way.”
“Eeeeh?”
“B-but I’m a boy?”
“There are perverts who like young boys too.”
“W-wait, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Now he was trembling like a leaf.
“What were you going to do if I wasn’t here?”
“……We’d have been sold to a pervert?”
“Would you have given them your father’s name?”
The two clueless puppies just blinked at me. I found myself sighing more than usual today.
“Forget it. Ash, come here and untie my wrists.”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah……”
I’d asked Ash because Iruse’s hands were still bound, but his weren’t. Watching him obediently follow instructions only strengthened my suspicion that he couldn’t possibly be a prince. He had far too much of a lackey’s temperament for that.
“Um, Jeanie, was it?”
“Jeanie Crowell.”
“Thanks, Jeanie. If we get out of here, it’ll all be thanks to you.”
Yeah, whatever. Call me Jeanie or Jinny, do what you want.
“Mother always said people should know how to be grateful.”
“……She sounds like a good person.”
“Yeah.”
The room was so dark that Ash struggled to find the knot, his fingers fumbling over mine instead. Under different circumstances, the touch might have been embarrassing. I felt his hair brush against my chin as I muttered,
“Ash, when we get out of here, go home.”
“I will…… to the forest.”
“Where exactly is this forest house of yours? There are plenty of forests around.”
“No. I can find it!”
“It looks like you left without any plan. That was pretty stupid.”
Ash didn’t answer, just kept working at my wrists. He was only touching me to untie the rope, after all.
“You said your mother passed away. What are you going to do alone in the forest? There’s nothing left there now.”
“There is……! The memories with Mother are still there……”
“Maybe what she wanted was for you to live with your father without going hungry. To get a good education and not be alone.”
Just then, the rope came loose. My wrists were free. I rotated my tingling hands and kept talking.
“She brought you to that wealthy-looking father even though she knew it would be hard for you because she didn’t want to leave you alone. More than anything, she must have believed you could endure it. Don’t you think?”
“Maybe?”
“That’s what I think.”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t know your mother’s heart either, but…… isn’t that what parents want? For their children to grow stronger. To live a better life.”
In my past life, the reason I’d studied so desperately, even though it all ended up feeling hollow, was the same. That was the best my parents could give me. Even if I didn’t want it, even if I hated it, they believed that enduring those moments would become strength later on. If I’d known I’d end up this far from that time, I might have rebelled a little less.
“I know too. The more unreachable a place is, the more you miss it.”
“……Yeah.”
“But right now is right now. That house in the forest can’t be undone.”
“Still, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do at Father’s house.”
I shrugged as I untied Iruse’s wrists.
“You said you have a lot of siblings? Watch how the most spoiled one acts, then do better than that. If your goal is to get your father’s attention, that is.”
“Will Father look at me then?”
“He will. The fact that he took you in at all means there’s hope, doesn’t it?”
“……If I go back, I’ll probably get scolded. I ran away, and now I’ve been kidnapped too……”
This kid was a total coward.
I kneaded Ash’s sullen shoulders and taught him the obvious.
“Think about it. If someone hits you, who’s at fault?”
“The person who hit me……?”
“If you get kidnapped?”
“The kidnappers.”
“Exactly! The bad guys are the ones doing bad things! It’s that simple!”
“But Jeanie, I left home on my own two feet.”
That part I couldn’t help with. Even I, master of mental victories, had limits.
Bang!
“Get out here, you noisy brats!”
A heavy boot slammed against the iron door. Then a massive man pushed it open and stepped into the cell. He was so large the room felt cramped. We froze in shock. Light poured through the open doorway, and for the first time I could clearly see Ash’s face.
No wonder his hair color had been hard to make out—it was pitch black. His eyes, the color of sunlight, were a brilliant gold. That rare combination told me exactly why he’d been taken. It was an extremely uncommon color in this world. Even for me, it was the first time I’d seen black hair here.
And black hair was the symbol of the Elan imperial family.
‘Don’t tell me this kid is actually……’
The slave traders had probably grabbed him just because his coloring was unusual. If they’d known he was a prince, they wouldn’t have dared touch him.
“What, not coming out?”
The man tried to intimidate us, but none of us moved. We didn’t know where we’d be taken if we left. All I could do was pray desperately in that moment.
Undine, please come back quickly!
“It’d be better if you came out on your own.”
“N-no!”
The one who shouted was Ash. I hadn’t expected that from the coward.
“Hey, drag them out.”
The first man, clearly the leader, stayed put and gave orders. Two more rough-looking brutes followed him into the cell. With three of them inside, the space was completely filled, and the three of us were backed into a corner.
“Stay back! Don’t touch us!”
Ash, retreating step by step, was obviously terrified. I grabbed his collar and pulled him back. It was safer to pretend to cooperate and buy time than to provoke them further.
“Ash!”
“It’s fine. I-I’ll protect you.”
“……Just stay still!”
What was this kid doing, shaking like that? That wasn’t what I meant at all! Who asked to be protected? I was genuinely flustered.
“Oh-ho! You think we’ll just leave if you tell us not to come?”
“Pfft, acting all manly.”
“Forget him. Grab the girls.”
“The pink-haired one? Or the blonde?”
“Both.”
In that instant, Iruse clung tightly to me—clearly out of sheer terror.