Number 7

She did not struggle anymore.

Such a thing would have been pointless.

She was outnumbered and overpowered, and gagged so that she could not scream. Nobody would be able to hear her even if she tried, and she was taken away without further incident.

"Hurry up. Get her in the trunk."

"Alright."

The ride was bumpy.

Every time the car passed a speed bump, she felt as if she were on a rollercoaster without a safety bar, bobbing up and down to the point where she wanted to throw up.

Her head was banged around and the fear only increased in the darkness of that trunk, and the girl wondered just what would become of her.

Would she be killed?

No. She was relatively certain that would not happen.

If these people merely wanted to kill someone, any child would suffice.

Would she be sent to some sort of labor camp, or made into a slave?

Again, unlikely. If they had kidnapped her because they wanted to put her to work, any other child would have been better. The males would have been more sturdy for physical labor, and there were likely other girls who were prettier than her - those who could be kidnapped with less risk due to their poverty.

She was kidnapped for a single reason - because she was the heir to this estate and its lands.

'Which means... they'll contact my father.'

Suddenly, a shiver went down the spine of the girl.

For at that moment, she came to a realization.

The chance that she would be saved was ZERO.

----

"Alright, open it up. She's tied up, but be careful here. I don't want any accidents or mistakes. Do you hear me? If she somehow gets up and tries to run, or attacks you, or something funny happens, I want you to be ready for it."

Kristina could overhear the muffled voices through the trunk moments before it was opened, and the light of the day shined upon her.

It had been hours since she had been taken away.

She didn't know quite how long she was driving for, but she knew that it was somewhere far away.

Without question, she was no longer in the domain that her father ruled over.

She might not even be in the Forgestarian Empire anymore.

"Don't try to resist or run. You'll only end up hurting yourself even more."

One man told this to Kristina with a firm tone, as if to say 'I won't be warning you twice.'

The girl nodded quietly, at which one man picked her up. She had been bound at her hands and feet, so she had to be carried.

"Looks like the noble was raised pretty well. At least she has manners and knows how to behave. Heh...", one man joked.

"I said don't let your guard down."

With a slap to the head, one man reminded the other of his duty.

"Alright, alright. I get it. Sheesh."

As Kristina was picked up by one of the men, she bore witness to her surroundings.

'A farm?'

She was clearly somewhere in the country, away from civilization. There was a large farmhouse in front of her, and fields surrounded her as far as the eye could see.

'So... there's no way of knowing where I am.'

Suddenly, the girl felt something slightly different from the fear that seemed to have overwhelmed her.

Loneliness.

"Let's go."

As she was brought up a front stairway and into the house, the girl was brought to the second floor and led into a bedroom.

'I... am completely isolated.'

'Nobody cares about me.'

'Nobody wants to save me.'

'And nobody will be forced to save me.'

As she was brought into the room - a dirty bunker with a bed that appeared to be decades old, the girl was placed on the filthy mattress.

"Stay here."

She was told this by the man, who closed the door and locked it quickly.

There were no windows, and the walls and floor were made from wooden boards - something that she could not destroy so easily even if she tried.

'If nobody is forced to save me... then will anyone even bother to try?'

No.

The answer was a resounding no.

Her father would likely be filled with a disappointment so immense that he would disown her on the spot upon hearing that she had been foolish enough to be kidnapped.

The people whom she had considered to be her friends had run away without hesitation, leaving her as the only victim of this incident.

And what would happen then?

She would become worthless as a hostage.

No, worthless didn't even describe it.

She would become baggage.

She would be a nuisance, whose existence would burden the men who had kidnapped her.

Feeding her and taking care of her would soon outweigh any worth she might hold to them, and they wouldn't be allowed to let her go free - for she would become a liability to them if that were to happen.

There was the risk that she would be able to testify against them. Therefore, allowing her to escape from this place scott free would not be an option - even if she was worthless.

'Help...'

The girl reached her bound hands upwards, towards that ceiling as she made this plea to nobody in particular.

'Please... help me...'

And as she thought these things, tears came to her eyes.

'I... don't want to die.'

'I don't want to be killed.'

Alas, her cries would not be heard by anyone.

And even if someone heard them, they would have no reason to care.

----

A day passed.

Every once in a while, one of the men would come in to feed the girl.

They wouldn't unleash her hands or feet, only her gag. She was only provided with bread and water, and she was only able to eat during the prescribed times that seemed to have been scheduled.

"Even if you scream, nobody will hear you out here. You could try to bite me if you were tenacious enough, but you won't dare to do that. If you do, then we'll stop feeding you at all."

These were the words that one of the men had told her the first time she had been brought food, and Kristina had no intention of resisting.

She had already tried resisting - using her authority in order to get out of the situation - and where had that landed her?

Right here.

She wasn't going to do anything pointless to try and go out with a bang. She would remain idle and obedient, in the slim hope that someone might come and save her from this mess.

'I need to come up with a plan.'

With this thought, the girl had begun to think about whether she could do anything to escape, and what she would do if she did end up escaping.

She was in the middle of a rural area, and there wasn't any form of civilization for miles. Even if she was able to free herself of her bindings, she would have to travel quite a ways without being caught in order to truly escape.

Even then, she would be lost in the middle of nowhere.

If she found a town, she might be able to go to the police and take care of the situation, but how long would it be until she found something like that? Would she even have a way to get home?

Would her father even be willing to come out to this place if he were told that she was here?

'He's too busy.'

Of course, he would send a servant. She would be brought home quickly, and that would be that.

'So I guess... escape is my only option.'

As the girl decided upon this, the door opened.

"Hey. Sit up."

A young man walked into the room. He seemed to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, and he looked at the girl with a disturbing grin as he took a seat next to the bed.

"I'm going to call your daddy. Of course, he won't be able to track the call, but I'm going to tell him a few things. If he can send us some money, then I'll let you go."

Unwrapping the gag of the girl, the man allowed her to speak as he pulled out a phone and began to dial a number.

"I want him to hear your voice so that he knows I'm not lying, so cry as much as you want. Make him as worried as possible if you can."

"How much will I cost?"

"Huh?"

The man looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow, wondering why the young girl would ask such a question.

Blinking his eyes a few times, the man wanted to confirm if he had heard her correctly.

"What did you just say?"

"How much will I cost?"

The girl repeated herself, at which the man let out a grand laugh.

"Hah... hahaha! Hey, do you even understand the position you're in!?"

Suddenly, the man's eyes thinned as his expression became filled with bloodlust.

"You don't have the right to be asking such questions."

"If it's too much, he won't pay."

The girl quivered as she whispered these words, to which the man grabbed her hair.

"HAH!? What the hell are you talking about, girl? What kind of parent wouldn't be willing to give their entire fortune for their precious daughter? I've dealt with a lot of people in my life, and over my years, I've learned one thing about people."

With a snarky smirk, the man stood up as he looked down upon the girl.

"No matter how stuck up a person is, the moment you take away the thing that is the most precious to them, they'll crumble and give anything to get it back."

Dialing the number, the phone began to buzz before the line was eventually answered.

"This is the Engel household. Can I please have your name, number, and the reason for your call?"

One of the servants answered the phone - of course, the Duke himself answering would be impossible.

"My name doesn't matter, my number is private, and the reason for my call is that I have the Duke's daughter in my house - and if you don't transfer me over to the Duke right now then I can't guarantee her safety."

"That's quite troublesome, Sir. The Duke doesn't take calls without knowing the name and number of the caller. I'm afraid you'll have to call back later when you're more willing to share that information."

"WHA!? Hey. Did you even hear what I just said? Ahh... I see. You don't believe me. Well what if I let you hear her voice? Girl. Say something."

"Er... hello... it's me, Kristina."

"Hello Kristina. It looks like you've gotten into quite some trouble, haven't you? I suppose I'll inform the Duke about your circumstance, but I highly doubt that he will take the call. Please hold on."

The calmness with which the man spoke baffled the kidnapper, at which he began to shout.

"HEY!!! I just let you hear the damn voice of the girl - the princess who lives there - and you're going to put me on HOLD!?!? Who the hell-"

"Sir, we don't deal with people who yell at us over the phone. That isn't a part of my job title, after all."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Suddenly, the phone transitioned to the beeping of a hold as the line was cut off.

"Wha..."

The kidnapper grabbed his hair with frustration, whispering to himself.

"What the hell is wrong with these people..."

"So um... how much money are you going to ask for? If it's more than 3,000 Sin, he probably isn't going to consider me to be worth it."

While the phone was on hold, Kristina took advantage of the time to ask a question.

"3,000 SIN!?!? What the hell is wrong with you!? To a man that rich, 3,000 is NOTHING! LESS THAN NOTHING!!!"

The man was now visibly very irritated as he shouted out in anger before calming himself down.

"No... I shouldn't get too irritated by the words of a child. You don't know anything about money anyways... so even if you think that your father is cheap, you don't understand his value of money."

Nodding to himself, the man sat down once more as the phone continued to beep.

They waited and waited, the phone remaining on hold for minute after minute.

"What's taking so long?", the man grumbled.

'What's taking so long?', Kristina thought. 'I told you already, didn't I?'

'It's true that 3,000 Sin is nothing to that man.'

'But to him, I'm worth less than nothing.'

----

"I don't usually pick up a call without knowing who is on the other end."

After 10 minutes had passed, the phone was finally picked up, at which the kidnapper perked up to respond.

"Well it's also not very usual for your daughter to be kidnapped, is it now?"

"If you've called to present me with some cheap sarcasm, then I don't have time to be wasting on you. Hurry up and get to the point.."

"Are you sure you should be talking to me like that? Your precious little girl is right here next to me. Say hi, Kristina!"

"Um... hi..."

"Give her the phone please."

Suddenly, the tone of the man shifted, at which the kidnapper grinned victoriously.

'So the little girl is important to daddy after all?'

"Alright. I'll let her talk to you for a bit. IF you hear me out."

"Give her the phone. NOW."

Suddenly, the man barked out an order with authority, at which even the kidnapper was shaken.

"Al-alright... here."

Handing the phone to the daughter, the girl looked at it with wonder.

"You knew that I told you not to play with those peasants, didn't you?"

"Y-yes..."

"And you still did so, even while I told you not to do so?"

"Yes..."

"Then find a way out of this yourself. Hand the phone back to the kidnapper."

At the cold words of her father, the girl opened her mouth to say something, however she choked up before she could do so.

A few moments passed, but even then the girl couldn't get any words out.

"You're an elite, after all. Or were you nothing more than a fraud?"

And as the man spoke these words, the final shot was taken.

Her hand quivering, the girl handed the phone back to the man, who snatched it up from her.

"Prepare me 3 million Sin if you want to see her alive again. As for the place-"

"No."

"Tch... so 3 million really is too much for you? This is your precious daughter, you know. Do you really think you can afford to bluff at a time like this?"

"Bluff?"

As soon as the man on the other end heard this word, he laughed.

"Hah... hahaha... ah... I see. You think I'm bluffing to try and haggle down the price."

With a snicker, the tone of the man lowered as he spoke to the kidnapper with confidence.

"How unfortunate for you. You expected to get quite the reward from this, didn't you? You thought that snatching the child of a Duke would get you out of your wretched place in this world, making you enough money to become some sort of big shot. Isn't that right?"

With these cold words, the kidnapper opened his mouth to respond however he was cut off before he could even say anything.

"Sorry kid. But I have to break it to you."

And with these words, the Duke laid down a statement that made the jaw of the kidnapper drop.

"I'm not the loving father you believe me to be."

"You... you keep on saying things like that... if you keep on bluffing, I really will harm her! We'll play around with her, do whatever we want! We'll scar her for life, all because you weren't willing to fork over 3 million Sin! I'm not going to lower the amount a dime, so you had better prepare it-"

"It isn't about the amount."

Even as the threats continued, the Duke didn't bow down for a second.

"Whether it's 3 Sin or 3 Million, I'm not giving someone like you a single Gree."

"Even if it means your daughter will die?"

"If that girl was foolish enough to get herself kidnapped after my numerous warnings, then I have no daughter to speak of. If you'll excuse me, you've caused me quite a setback. I have to begin procreating to obtain another heir."

At that moment, the phone shut off.

"He... hung up."

The kidnapper merely stared at the phone, shocked at the conversation as he glared with a dead expression.

"He really hung up..."

Dropping the phone, the man stood up, completely baffled.

"They never hang up. I'm always the one who hangs up on them. They always want to hear their child speak. They never lecture them... they only make promises. 'You're going to be alright.' 'I'm going to save you for sure.' 'Just hang in there.' Yet... yet..."

"He wasn't who you expected him to be."

Finishing the sentence of the man, the red haired girl closed her eyes with a bitterness in her expression.

"No... he'll call back. He must've found a way to trace the call. Or maybe he'll wait for me to call again."

With a laugh, the man began to speak in a delusional manner.

"He's messing with me. He thinks that I won't really go through with anything. He thinks that I'll compromise if he pretends to have absolutely no interest at all... heh... no wonder that man was able to rise to the rank of Duke."

Glaring to the girl, the man suddenly grinned as a horrifying expression overcame him.

"Unfortunately for him... I'm angry. And I don't feel like letting his precious little girl go without destroying her mind for the rest of her life."

----

"Get undressed."

With this sudden order, the kidnapper spoke in forceful manner - his demeanor shifted as he became deadly serious.

"W... what?"

Backing up into the corner of the bed, the girl was constricted to the point where she couldn't even move.

She looked up at the man, terror in her voice, and as she met his eyes she realized it.

This man was being serious.

"Your father is delusional. He needs a bit of a wake up call to get him to buckle down and realize the situation he's in.", the man stated as he approached the girl, grabbing her wrists as he began to untie the bindings.

"He thinks that if he doesn't give in, maybe he can do something. He's probably calling every police in his domain to get them on the case, but he has no idea that we're far outside of his jurisdiction. Though if I were him, I would have at least tried to figure out where I wanted him to put the money."

Even if they had not met in person for the exchange, a general location would have bettered the Duke's position under the assumption that he indeed was using legal means to search for his daughter following the refusal of any sort of trade.

"I told you... you're wrong."

However, the girl continued to assert this.

"He isn't looking for me. He isn't calling anyone."

"You may be so certain of that, but I've never met a parent in my life who wouldn't give their life for their child. He may have treated you coldly all your life, but that's just another one of his tactics. I can see right through him."

As he finished untying the wrists of the girl, the man moved onto her feet.

"Going and making another heir? Hah! He's got some bad taste to say something like that. But it's only because he can say something like that that I know for certain. He was bluffing."

As he finished untying the girl, the man pressed forward as he looked at her with a lecherous smile.

"But I'm not. I'm not going to let this go so easily. And if I know rich people... there's one way I can ruin them easier than anything."

Grabbing the hair of the girl, the man grinned as he looked down upon her as a predator glaring at his prey.

"Whether he throws you aside and disowns you or actually cares about you, It would really hurt his name if his grandchild were to be the bastard child of a criminal, now wouldn't it?"

As the man said these words, Kristina realized something.

She needed to fight back.

"So I'm going to have you bear my child... and whether you like it or not, I'll become a part of your royal little family."

----