Kidnapping and Confinement
"Nice to see you, Sir Rix. It's been a while."
"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Robbins… ah, I should say Duchess Robbins now. Forgive my slip of the tongue."
I bowed lightly, and Silvia smiled with quiet satisfaction.
It had been a long time since I'd sat across from Silvia and talked like this. The last time I'd seen her, she'd still been a young lady. Now she was a full-fledged Duchess.
Though Silvia herself doesn't seem to care much about it.
"Sir Rix, please speak comfortably. You don't need to use such formal titles."
Even after becoming a Duchess, Silvia still carried herself the way she had as a young lady. Seeing that made me want to tease her a little.
"Haha. How could I possibly do that with Your Grace the Duchess?"
I deliberately kept my distance with polite formality.
"Ufufu."
Silvia laughed lightly. But her eyes weren't smiling at all. It was an incredibly chilling expression.
"Speak. Comfortably."
She emphasized each word slowly. A cold chill ran down my spine.
"Understood. Then…"
I dragged it out a little. The teasing wasn't over yet.
"Silvia. May I call you that?"
"Th-that form of address is still too soon!"
Silvia flustered and pouted lightly. It was a cute little tantrum that didn't quite suit the title of villainess.
"Then I'll call you Duchess Robbins."
"…I don't like that."
"Pardon?"
"Please call me Lady Robbins. Like before."
"Ah, understood."
I hadn't expected her to say that. Well, it wasn't any real effort on my part, so I could call her whatever she wanted.
"Lady Robbins. Congratulations on becoming a Duchess."
It was a somewhat contradictory thing to say, but I offered my congratulations with sincerity. Contrary to my expectations, though, Silvia didn't look particularly happy. She avoided my gaze with a strange expression.
"…It's all thanks to you, Sir Rix. I didn't accomplish anything myself."
Hmm. Not very villainess-like. She'd inherited a ducal title and still looked this dejected. I hated seeing people look so downcast.
"Lady Robbins. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. I don't know what happened, but you were able to achieve this because you took action."
"Hehe… Thank you, Sir Rix. You're still so kind."
Had that cheered her up? Her expression was much better than a moment ago. Silvia straightened her posture and cleared her throat.
"Ahem, ahem. Let me tell you what happened while you were gone, Sir Rix. You've earned the right to know."
"I was curious, as it happens. I'm all ears."
I can't stand not knowing things. I could find out by calling on Yongwang-shin, of course — but if I summoned a god just to satisfy personal curiosity, I might get thoroughly scolded. Yongwang-shin was generous when it came to helping others, but strict about anything involving me.
There's an old saying that a shaman can't perform their own rituals. It's nearly impossible for a shaman to see their own future, and even if it were possible, it's treated as an absolute taboo.
If I could see my own future, I never would have been isekai'd into a romance fantasy novel in the first place.
Shamans can't see their own futures. That's just how it is. I decided to quietly listen to Silvia's story.
"Bardo Robbins was executed in the public square."
Silvia began her story quietly.
"Normally, when someone is executed for such a disgraceful crime, their noble title should be stripped. But I was lucky. The evidence of his crimes just so happened to fall into my hands."
Because Silvia had submitted the evidence of his crimes, Bardo's misdeeds were proven to be personal acts with no connection to the family. And so they avoided having the ducal title revoked.
"Of course, there was some backroom dealing as well. The Robbins family made a vow — a contract — that we would aid the Imperial Family in times of crisis."
"You mean you've joined the Imperial faction?"
"Yes. You could put it that way."
The conflict between the Imperial faction and the Noble faction. The rivalry between those two powers boasted a long and storied history.
"We've taken the Imperial Family's side, but it's nothing to worry about much. Things are peaceful right now."
Silvia said it casually, as if it were no big deal. Indeed, the current Noble faction knew how to stay in line. They annoyed the Imperial Family like bothersome flies, but stopped at just the right point. They never crossed the line.
The Imperial Family took the same approach. The Imperial faction didn't carelessly touch the nobles either, and a delicate balance was maintained. The Imperial Family wanted a reliable ally, so they didn't strip the Robbins family of their ducal title. And Silvia inherited the position.
"Was there any opposition within the family?"
"None. My older brother hates dealing with bothersome things. He said as long as he had money, he didn't need a title, and gladly yielded it to me."
In this romance fantasy world, men and women held equal inheritance rights. A rather gender-equal worldview. Silvia was the second child, so if the firstborn refused, she naturally became the heir.
But…
"What about the Duchess?"
Duchess Leonore Robbins. From Silvia's perspective, she was a stepmother — and the person who had tried to have Silvia assassinated through Bardo. She was still around. There was no way someone like that would have quietly watched Silvia inherit the title.
"She's dead."
"…Pardon?"
"Poisoning. She took the same poison my father had and ended her own life."
"Ah, I see."
For a moment I thought Silvia had killed her. Apparently she wasn't that merciless a villainess.
"Leonore must have been terrified watching Father die. The fear that she might be executed the same way. She clearly took her own life under that terrible dread."
Silvia smiled quietly.
"Ufufu. Serves her right."
She covered her mouth with one hand as she laughed, but she couldn't fully hide the wicked smile. Yep. Definitely a villainess.
"That's the end of my story. Now it's your turn, Sir Rix."
"My turn?"
Silvia met my eyes. Her golden eyes caught the light and sparkled brilliantly.
"Now that I'm a Duchess, even if you return to your main house, there's no one left who can reprimand you, Sir Rix."
The reason I'd been exiled to the Eastern Village. Silvia was referring to the incident where I'd caused a scene at the engagement announcement banquet. Silvia, the other party involved, had already forgiven me long ago. She simply hadn't been able to cancel my punishment because of how it would look to others.
But unlike the old days when she'd been a mere young lady, she was now a proper Duchess. If Silvia wished it, no one could object to lifting my punishment.
"Come back with me, Sir Rix."
The dignity and confidence of a Duchess. There wasn't a shred of hesitation in that invitation.
However.
"I won't be going back."
"Wh-why not? If anyone blames you, Sir Rix, I'll punish them all. You can rest easy!"
"That's not what I'm worried about."
"Sir Rix! Do you really think I'd believe a lie like that?!"
Silvia seemed to have decided that of course I'd want to return to my main house.
"If you're unable to return home because of what others might think, then I'll take you there myself."
"…Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"I'll kidnap you, Sir Rix, and hold you hostage. Then the Valentier family will come to get you back."
Declaring she'd kidnap someone right to their face. As if to prove she was a villainess, her methods were certainly unconventional.
"When the Valentier family comes to reclaim you, I'll release you then. You'll return to your family, and no one will be able to say a word about it."
Certainly, that way no one would blame me. Nobody criticizes a victim who was kidnapped and then released. Of course, the plan was for Silvia to take all the criticism that would have been directed at me.
I had no intention of allowing it.
The plan is full of holes to begin with.
Silvia was clearly panicking and saying whatever came to mind.
"Lady Robbins. What will you do if my family doesn't come looking for me?"
If the Valentier family had no intention of reclaiming me, I'd just be a kidnapped young man. Of course, knowing Father's personality, he would definitely come to rescue me. But for now, I stayed quiet to stop this absurd kidnapping plan.
"Then."
Silvia stared straight through me. There wasn't a single flicker of hesitation in those eyes.
"I'll keep you locked up, Sir Rix. Until the Valentier family comes for you. They'll come eventually."
"No, what kind of—"
"It's fine. The Robbins family estate is large. I'll give you a nice room."
If this conversation kept going, she was actually going to do it. I needed to stop her before Silvia evolved into a kidnapping-and-imprisonment girl.
"Come now, Sir Rix. All you have to do is quietly let me kidnap you. You can return to your main house without any repercussions."
Silvia's golden eyes were clouded with madness. She was clearly not in her right mind.
"You'll stay at my estate and keep using your abilities for me. From now on, forever — protect me from assassination threats."
I must have raised a tiger cub. I needed to escape this kidnapping-and-imprisonment scheme disguised as goodwill.