NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53: A Cooperation
"Clay family servant?" Lisa was startled and quickly dropped her guard. Bowing her head slightly, she said, "I apologize for my rudeness. I hope I haven't offended you."
Since the city of Droswen was under the Clay family's control, she had to treat them with respect.
Moreover, James was very strong—likely a little stronger than her—so she didn't want to create any conflict.
"It's fine," James replied, waving his hand. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he continued, "So, what about my offer? Can I ask for your help in finding my young master as well? He hasn't returned since earlier, and I suspect he's been kidnapped. Maybe your young lady's case is the same as my young master's."
Lisa's expression instantly grew serious. Earlier, her Young Lady had asked to walk around the city for a while. Of course, she refused, but her young lady had been too stubborn.
After remembering all the hardships she had endured over the years, Lisa finally gave in.
Still, she stationed soldiers in the shadows to keep an eye on her. But to her shock, the young lady suddenly disappeared. The soldiers lost track of her, which left Lisa furious even now.
'Maybe searching together would be better and faster,' she muttered under her breath.
The Clay family was the local lord. With their help, finding her young lady would be much easier.
After a moment's thought, she gave a small nod. "Alright, I agree. Let's search together."
James smiled faintly. With the help of Lisa's soldiers, finding his young master would be much easier.
With that, they reached a mutually beneficial agreement.
...
The carriage carrying Merlin, Margaret, and the other children finally stopped in a dim, quiet forest. Only trees surrounded them, and the faint howling of wolves echoed in the distance.
"Get the children out," the burly man ordered.
The thin man gave a small nod and opened the door of the second carriage. At once, the unconscious children came into view. He lifted one of them and carried the child toward an old house about fifty meters away.
"Did you guys get the good stuff?"
Five sinister-looking men emerged from the house and approached the burly man.
"Yeah, we got some really good stuff," the burly man replied proudly.
The man in the middle, with a dragon tattoo inked on the right side of his bald head, nodded in satisfaction.
His eyes lingered on the unconscious children as a faint smile crossed his face.
"Take good care of them. I'm sure someone will come looking for them. When that happens, we'll demand a hefty ransom," he said casually, folding his arms across his chest. "Judging by their clothes, they must be from wealthy families—especially the girl with the mask."
At that, the other men exchanged glances, grinning.
"Then help bring in the rest. We should secure them before they wake up," the man with the dragon tattoo ordered.
The others nodded and quickly carried the unconscious children into the house.
Merlin felt his body being lifted, and his muscles stiffened slightly. Still, he suppressed his panic and forced himself to stay calm.
He cracked his eyes open just a little and saw that he was being taken into an old house.
The house was quite large, but the building was decrepit and covered in moss.
'Is this the forest near the outskirts?' he wondered silently.
Relief washed over him. At first, he thought he and Margaret had been taken far away to another city—but apparently not.
He wasn't worried for himself at all. What really troubled him was that today was Catrine's birthday. If he didn't return by evening, the girl would definitely be sad.
Worse, his plan would fall apart, and he couldn't allow that.
Still being carried, Merlin quietly observed the house's interior, sketching its floor plan in his mind.
After a while, he sensed the man carrying him going down the stairs, which could only mean they were heading to an underground chamber.
Sure enough, he and the other children were taken to a cramped, dark space. A few torches flickered weakly, and a small air vent sat high at the top of the wall.
The men laid Merlin and the other children on the floor, then turned and walked away, leaving them behind.
Once they were gone, Merlin slowly opened his eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
"System, do you have a navigation function or something similar?" he asked as he pushed himself up and brushed the dust from his cloak.
"[Sorry, Master, I don't have such a function. However, you can check the system shop. What you're looking for should be there,]" the system replied with some difficulty.
"Alright, that's fine," Merlin said in a calm tone. "I'll check later. For now, the most important thing is figuring out how to get out of here."
His eyes carefully scanned the chamber. It was fairly large, but iron bars blocked the exit.
The only way out was by climbing the stairs at the end of the room—and of course, the risk was enormous.
"Ugh..." A faint groan came from beside him. Merlin turned his head and saw Margaret.
'Oh? Did she finally wake up?' He smiled faintly. 'Time to start the plan.'
"Where am I?" Margaret mumbled in confusion, rubbing her aching head.
She looked around and realized she was in a strange, dark, and quiet place. The stench was so foul she almost vomited.
"Don't vomit here. Otherwise, I'll kick you out."
A cold voice came from beside her, making her flinch. She turned her head and saw a boy, about seven or eight years old, sitting against the wall with one leg folded and the other stretched out.
Margaret instinctively grew wary and pulled her body back.
"Who are you?" she asked flatly.
Merlin only gave her a brief glance before closing his eyes again, completely ignoring her.
Seeing that, Margaret was stunned. In her entire life, no one had ever treated her like this. Even if people spoke ill of her behind her back, they still showed her some respect.
Yet now, this boy of unknown origin dared to ignore her so boldly, and it made her chest tighten.
'What is this feeling?' she muttered absentmindedly, pressing a hand to her chest. 'Is it anger? But… why am I angry?'
She had never experienced this emotion before, leaving her confused and unsettled.
Meanwhile, as Merlin kept his eyes shut, a familiar system notification suddenly rang in his mind.
"[Ding! Congratulations to Master for increasing the heroine Margaret's affection by 5 points! Affection is now at 5!]"