The emergency stairs had more steps than she expected. Avril’s dress gave her trouble going down the stairs, and although she was wearing an everyday dress, it was clearly unsuitable for walking down these stairs.

Avril asked the girl while being extremely careful not to slip.

“Uhm, may I know your name?”

“It’s Lynn. What about you, Sister?”

“I’m—”

If possible, she didn’t want to lie to that girl. However, thinking about why she was on that ship, she couldn’t afford to give her real name.

Feeling guilty, she answered, “I’m Barbara.” It was the name she and Dylan had agreed on. The girl named Lynn tilted her head.

“I see. Barbara sure is a nice person.”

“…”

After descending the emergency stairs, they arrived at the second-class cabin area. Lynn opened the door and looked around the corridor.

“That’s weird. Where is…?”

“Was someone supposed to be here?”

Avril asked, but Lynn didn’t answer.

Avril had no choice but to look around. The atmosphere was completely different from the first-class passenger area where she had been. The corridor was half the width and there was no carpet on the floor, just bare wood. Naturally, there were no furnishings, giving it a bleak appearance.

The suite that Lord Dylan and Prince Lawrence had prepared for us was also nice, but I like this one more because it’s more relaxed.

As she reminisced about her life at the Earl of Allingham house and was immersed in her memories—

“—Oh, there you are!”

Looking in the direction of Lynn’s voice, a young and brawny man appeared. He had a scar on his face. There were impressive tattoos on his shoulders and arms, which were visible through his tank top.

“Shitty brat, what are you doing here?”

“Why are you mad? I haven’t done anything wrong. I just brought someone to replace Clarissa.”

“I don’t get what you’re saying at all, seriously. Go back, now. …You over there, come too.”

At first glance, his toned body and short bob haircut made him look like a man, but judging from the pitch of his voice, the “young man” turned out to be a she.

The woman picked up Lynn by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up with ease. Then she grabbed Avril’s hand.

Ah, this isn’t good…

“Ouch!”

“Shut up, shitty brat.”

“Uh, you’re hurting her. Please release Lynn.”

When Avril interjected, the woman snorted.

“Did this foreign brat say something to you? Poor thing, you’ll never see your home again.”

At the same time, the cabin door behind her opened and several young people appeared. They all had a menacing aura about them, on top of looking obviously strong. However, it was important to note that they were all women. They dragged Lynn and Avril into the room and tied their hands behind their backs.

Oh, this is…!

Avril, who used to be obsessed with escaping from ropes, had a bad feeling about this. How nostalgic, didn’t she go through a similar nightmare with Carol?

I can’t help but want to tug on the rope and untie it, but now isn’t the time for that…!

If it was just Avril, she could’ve just untied herself and run away, but what about Lynn? As such, Avril and Lynn were taken away by the burly women.

The narrow cabin that looked like nothing more than a storage room seemed to have a hidden passage at the back. When they pushed the movable bookshelf, an iron door just wide enough for one person to pass through appeared.

Could this be a door leading to a place that wasn’t on the ship’s map?

The ship’s map that Avril had checked before the party started didn’t have any third-class cabins. Instead, the second-class cabin area was larger, and each room seemed to be spacious, but Avril still felt something was amiss.

Now, she found out why. Avril nodded to herself while being led to the other side of the door.

The women who had forced Avril and Lynn through the door seemed to be one of the guards. They didn’t enter with them to the hidden area but remained outside.

There was a clang, and the iron door was closed shut. Lynn was half-tossed towards Avril by the woman that held her, causing her to collapse to the floor. Lynn pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.

“That hurts. Be gentler, please.”

“Lynn, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Avril casually untied the rope and extended her hand to Lynn who was still lying flat on the floor. Lynn asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“…Aren’t you angry? What just happened? The rope has fallen to the floor… Is it a trick? You seem so calm.”

“Well, don’t worry about the rope. But why do you think I’d be angry?”

“Because I brought Barbara here on purpose. For my own purpose.”

“Hehehe. I came with you knowing what would happen, so there’s nothing to be angry about. Whatever happens from now on, it’s all on me.”

“…”

She smiled at Lynn, who was taken aback. The girl’s gaze wandered as she bit her lips.

---

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***T/N: Let’s get kidnapped on purpose you guys!!!!

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