He was unceremoniously kicked in the stomach and sent flying a short distance, where he landed with a thud.
The assassin then squatted in front of the cowering Iris who put both of her hands on top of her head. This way, he could be at eye level with her. “Little lady, you’ll be coming with us, m’okay?”
My entire existence was enveloped in unadulterated fear due to the senses I shared with the young Iris. The poor girl was trembling so vehemently… I’ve felt fear numerous times before, but my heart never pumped like this. So this was true, extremely pure fear…
“N-n-no! Please, don’t hurt my Bruwder!” She shouted, or at least tried to, but it was just a muted yelp amid her heavy sobbing.
The assassin chuckled cruelly. He was clearly relishing the emotional distress he was causing in the mind of a two-year-old girl.
How disgusting.
“Little lady, it’s you we are taking, not him.”
“Enough chatting already.” Another growled from behind him.
“Oops! My fetishes flared suddenly, how unprofessional of me.” With that, he reached under Iris’ arms and hoisted her up.
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“Wait!” Damian shouted all of a sudden. Iris’ head snapped in the direction of his voice and saw that he was painfully clutching his hands at the spot where he was kicked previously. However, his features were determined more than ever. I’ve never seen such a brave face on a three-year-old kid. “Take me instead. My sister deserves better. Please.”
“Hoh?” The cruel man voiced amusedly.
Iris meanwhile began weeping even harder. Her previous confusion was replaced by sheer terror. “Bruwder!!!”
It seems that the man who stopped the disgusting assassin from speaking with Iris further was also impressed by Damian’s bravery. “Alright. The bosses only said that we had to take one of the kids. We decided to go with the girl because it would be easier and fathers dote on their daughters more often, but I respect this kid. Come to us, boy.”
“Do you promise to let her go if I do?”
“I promise.”
Damian eyed the man for a second before nodding.
What a horrible situation. If they weren’t impoverished nobles the kids would’ve been protected by stronger bodyguards and even if they were killed, another patrol should’ve heard this commotion and came running. Alas, as it stood, only a few guards were stationed around the mansion, and they were either lazing off or they’d already gotten themselves murdered.
“Let her down.” The shot-caller ordered, and after a disapproving growl, the man did as instructed.
“Sister, I love you.” Damian decreed resolutely, which gotten the hysterical girl to shriek “Bruwder!” amid her tears.
“Listen here, little girl. Tell your father that if he wants to see his son returned alive, he is to repay the debt we are owed, okay? Tell me if you understand.”
Naturally, Iris was in no state to understand such a command. My heart was shattering into a million pieces due to the agonizing trauma the two of us were going through together. This was truly the ‘Gauntlet of Suffering’… and it was only just beginning.
Damian understood that his life depended on his sister relaying this to their father, though, so he calmed her and got her to memorize the words.
“Bruwder back if father pay!” She cried the info she was meant to know amid her teary sobs.
“Yes. Good girl! I’ll see you soon, so don’t cry so much. I’m only going away for a little while.”
His attempts at calming her were very unsuccessful. The men quickly lost patience and after a minute or so grabbed onto him. Within a few blinks they were already out of Iris’ range of sight.
She cried for a few more minutes before I could feel a drastic shift in her mental state. She steeled her resolve, and with the fastest steps she’d ever taken she rushed back to the mansion.
“Young lady?!” Sarah, the old headmaid shouted when she saw the little girl barreling down towards the mansion’s entrance. She kneeled in front of the girl and began inspecting her body for any injuries. There were none, though her clothes did get muddy, and her eyes were deep red from all the crying.
“Bruwder taken! Father pay money, get him back!” She was incredibly resolute, so much so that her mental strength even made me believe that Damian could easily be saved. After all, a noble should have numerous assets he could liquidate at a moment’s notice, right? Paintings, sculptures, artifacts, arms, and armor just to name a few.
“What?! Guards! Help!” The old woman had a good head on her shoulders, she quickly understood that something was terribly wrong.
However, it was Vernice who arrived the swiftest. “Iris! My love, what happened?!”
“Bruwder taken! Father pay money, get him back!” The young girl relayed the information once again. She knew that her brother’s well-being depended on her right now. She didn’t understand what death was exactly, but she knew that the maid and two guards were hurt badly. If she didn’t inform her family, then Gilbert wouldn’t pay back the money, and his brother would be similarly hurt. She couldn’t have that, so she bravely relayed all the information she could about how they were ambushed.
The blood quickly left Vernice’s features as she went pale and fainted on the spot. She was a good mother, but not at all ready to face such situations.
The next few hours were very hectic. Gilbert organized a search party for the remaining personnel and they combed through their property but found no-one.
Night came but Iris couldn’t get an ounce of sleep. She turned and thrashed around in her bed to no avail. Her mind refused to be turned off.
The young child decided to go to her mother because she didn’t want to be left alone.
As she reached the doors to the master bedroom, loud shouts could be heard. Normally, her parents should’ve been long asleep, but today was anything but normal.
Vernice’s desperate voice echoed through the doors. “Still nothing… He’s gone! Taken! My baby boy… We have to go to the duke! His count is blackmailing us with kidnapping our children!”
Gilbert’s tone was hushed, almost as if he was embarrassed. “It wasn’t the count…”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I took out a second loan…”
“You what?! Who was the lender?!”
“A criminal organization.”