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Chapter 36: Encounter!

"...What?"

"..."

"What?"

"..."

"I didn't do anything. At all!"

Raymond averted his gaze and insisted on his innocence. But Janice found his evasive eyes—and, more than that, the very fact that he felt the need to insist—deeply unsettling.

"Instead of that, how about you just come clean?"

Janice pressed him, asking what kind of mischief he was planning that had his head swimming somewhere in the Senpofo River of the capital. "Doggy-paddling, he says!" "If not doggy-paddling, then cat-paddling?"

Their recent odd closeness, born of shared captivity and mutual guilt, didn't change the fact that they were famously sworn enemies. After a long while, they growled at each other again, and the kidnappers glanced over, looking puzzled. So Janice and Raymond closed the door and started bickering. Normally, the kidnappers would have rushed over the moment the door closed, suspecting some trick, but they were making such a racket that this time, they seemed to leave them alone.

Certain the kidnappers wouldn't come in, Janice moved closer to Raymond and grilled him. Raymond tried to dodge with a few excuses, but eventually gave in.

"Come here!"

Raymond led Janice to the window where he'd hung the necklace. He pointed to part of it hooked on the window hinge. The lower part of the necklace must have been dangling below the window.

"...!"

Janice's eyes went wide. Raymond raised his right index finger to his lips. He then glanced toward the door and deliberately made a fuss.

"Ugh, I told you I didn't do anything! Why are you so suspicious?"

"Wh-what do you mean, suspicious? It's because you keep avoiding my eyes. You did the same thing when you stole my cookies before. This time too, right? What did you steal this time? Was it the candy the Elder gave me earlier? Did you eat that?"

After a brief pause, Janice played along with Raymond's act. To make it seem like she was searching for something, she deliberately made clattering noises. At the same time, she silently asked Raymond a question.

"What was that just now?"

"A signal that we're here."

"What if we get caught?"

Janice asked, startled. Raymond gave an awkward shrug and replied.

"I know, but we can't stay trapped here forever."

Their treatment had improved considerably over the past few days, thanks to Janice's ability to translate Laphan. But Raymond didn't expect it to last. Once they found the "ruins," Janice's preferential treatment would end—and even without considering her case, Raymond's own life was precarious at best. The only reason they kept him alive was to use him as leverage to control Janice. If they found another way to manipulate her, he'd be disposed of.

He couldn't remember who'd told him, but he'd heard that kidnapping cases were a race against time—the longer it dragged on, the harder it was to rescue the victims. The Empire's investigators were competent. Even though they hadn't been rescued yet, Raymond believed the searchers must have at least a rough idea of their location. He'd hung the necklace hoping to give them a bit more help.

We're here. So please come save us!

If the kidnappers discovered what he'd done, it would be a disaster of epic proportions—but he'd rather do something and die than sit around waiting to die.

Sensing his resolve, Janice stared at his face for a moment, then suddenly went out. "You can deny it all you want, but I know you ate my candy!" She deliberately made a scene to fool the kidnappers and brought her bag into Raymond's room. Then she pulled out a necklace and handed it to him.

"Hang this too."

"What is it?"

"My necklace."

It was a gift from Garren, with the family crest engraved on it—quite a rare piece. Janice told him that the deed was already done, and hanging one necklace or two made little difference. "If Daddy thinks you're here alone, what then? I need to tell him I'm here too." And even if the kidnappers found out, there was a difference between Raymond acting alone and both of them acting together. As long as Janice could read Laphan, they probably wouldn't kill her. For risk-sharing, she asked him to hang hers too. After a moment's hesitation, seeing her determination, Raymond agreed. Whether he hung one or two, there wasn't much difference—and more than anything, Janice's wish to signal Garren through her necklace made sense. He'd already attached her hairpin to his necklace, but a necklace Garren had given her, bearing the Roman crest, might help someone identify the wearer more quickly.

In the end, Raymond cracked the window open again to hang Janice's necklace. He planned to open and close it quickly, before the kidnappers noticed. But just as he opened the window, Janice and Raymond saw something they never expected.

---

The hideout in Sector AP3—where the children were believed to be held—was in an isolated location. It was the only building for miles, surrounded by open fields, making approach exceptionally difficult. So the investigators and soldiers participating in the rescue operation covered themselves with grass and branches, hugging the ground as they crept closer. Cautiously, carefully, and swiftly. A complete takedown of the kidnappers would be ideal, but the top priority was Janice and Raymond's safety. So the special rescue operatives, separate from the main team's operation, had already reached the hideout and were looking for a way into the room where the necklaces hung. They threw grappling hooks onto the building and began climbing the wall. That was when the window opened.

"Ah—!"

"Mmph—!"

The operatives were trying to enter the children's room. Garren and Peron were covering them from below. Janice and Raymond, seeing Garren and Peron's faces the moment they opened the door, were so startled they almost called out their names. They quickly covered their mouths, realizing their mistake, but the sounds had already escaped.

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