The Revenge Kidnapping Drama's Transmigrated Female Lead - Chapter 64
About seven steps apart, the young heads of Mathes and Arje stared at each other as if to bore holes through one another. The first to break the silence was the leader of Mathes, Zephyros Rosebel.
He had his arm firmly wrapped around Ruon’s neck from behind, using him as a shield. Though Ruon was gagged and unable to speak, from his desperate pleading eyes, it seemed he had something he urgently wanted to say.
In contrast, Rezus Anocton, the head of Arje, showed no emotional fluctuation despite seeing his only family member, his brother, for the first time in about a month. However, he couldn’t take his eyes off Ruon for even a moment. As if suppressing rising anger, Rezus slowly closed and opened his eyes before answering in a gloomy tone.
“I swear on Fredier’s name, if you release Ruon now, we will release Psyche in return.”
Finding those words absurd, Zephyros let out a small laugh. Perhaps because of his strong image of being gentle and noble, even that laugh appeared gentle and noble.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“You don’t trust us even though we swore on Fredier’s name?”
“You didn’t even bring Psyche here. Yet you say you’ll release her after we release Ruon first… Why don’t you tell me to believe in Gretica―the god of lies―instead?”
Zephyros added while lazily massaging the back of his neck with a bored expression.
“Most decisively, I don’t think bastards like you would honor Fredier’s name. We know the weight of that name, but you don’t.”
“This fucking bastard, I’ve had enough of hearing…”
At that moment, Serdin stepped forward in front of Rezus. Pure white flames flared up around his body. Just as Rezus moved to stop Serdin, sharp blade-like objects flew toward them with a ping. Zephyros had attacked using the wind.
As Rezus and Serdin easily dodged those, fixing Zephyros with cold stares, that’s when―
“I’m politely asking, would you not cross the line?”
Zephyros pointed at their feet with a troubled smile. Due to Serdin stepping forward just now, their distance had become one step closer than before.
Serdin backed away while muttering savage curses.
Mathes and Arje always maintained a proper distance on Bermus Bridge. This was one of their implicit rules established after the deaths of former Mathes leader Ariadne Rosebel and former Arje leader Primrose Anocton on Bermus Bridge five years ago.
Even when members of Mathes and Arje died in masses on the bridge, the leaders of each faction had always survived. But for the leaders to die on the same day at the same time? That day’s tragedy shocked many people, and even the emperor, who normally wouldn’t bat an eye no matter how many from Mathes and Arje died, couldn’t hide his astonishment at the incident.
After that, the former heads of each faction and their spouses were consumed in a fight of killing one another. 3 years. It took merely 3 years until they all lost their lives. Because of this, the current heads had to lose their parents at a young age and become leaders. If the Emperor hadn’t issued the command “Do not involve children in the adults’ wars,” they too would have been annihilated.
A heavy silence flowed for a moment, as if reminiscing about that time. The first to penetrate the precarious atmosphere, which seemed like it would shatter at the slightest touch of a fingernail, was Rezus’s voice.
“I thought you desperately wanted a hostage exchange, but I suppose not. How disappointing.”
Rezus muttered softly and signaled to the other heads. As it appeared he was about to leave, Zephyros opened his eyes wide as if surprised. It was an obviously exaggerated expression.
“Are you really leaving like this?”
“Is there something you want?”
“Hmm…”
The expression disappeared from Zephyros’s face. Zephyros, who had been quietly staring at Rezus as if measuring something, spoke in a rarely humorless voice.
“Prove it.”
Rezus and Zephyros’s eyes met.
“Prove that what you said is true – that you’ll release Psyche immediately if we return Ruon like this. Then I’ll believe you.”
A sneer appeared on Rezus’s lips.
“Haven’t I already done so? Just like you did, I staked Fredier’s name.”
“No, it’s different.”
Zephyros pressed the back of his neck, making an ambiguous expression that was hard to tell whether he was grimacing or smiling.
“The order has changed. I clearly said I would release Ruon on the condition that you return Psyche first. But you didn’t bring Psyche here, and you cleverly changed your words to say you’ll only release Psyche after I return Ruon first. Yet you tell me to believe you because you staked Fredier’s name…”
He narrowed his brow and tilted his chin askew.
“Before demanding our trust, shouldn’t you show some sincerity in proving those words are true?”
