Chapter 161

Genevieve was indeed strong.

‘How could such strength come from those slender shoulders?’

Even in a world where the laws of physics were ignored, this was a bit terrifying.

“It’s simple. People usually can’t use all their muscle strength because their bodies instinctively avoid injury. But I’m different. I can heal as soon as my muscles tear, which lets me use even more strength.”

“…Don’t explain something like that with such a cheerful smile…”

…Scary.

The rope that had been hanging on the wall was thicker than the arm of an average adult, but Genevieve swung it around lightly, as if it were mere thread. She then tied it around Adeline’s waist and hoisted her up onto her shoulders with ease.

Adeline’s perspective suddenly shifted higher, but her body didn’t sway at all. Genevieve had her securely.

All Adeline had to do was fumble around the ceiling until she found the exit and push the handle to open the hatch. When she couldn’t open the stubbornly closed door, Genevieve even stood on tiptoe to help give Adeline more leverage.

‘If I had been the one lifting Genevieve, she probably could have just broken the door down…’

Adeline made a firm decision not to act so arrogantly anymore.

She listened carefully before opening the door, but there were no signs of anyone nearby. Cautiously, she pushed the ceiling hatch open, revealing a small room connected to another door. It looked like a simple passageway used for storage, judging by the clutter inside.

Holding onto the handle, Adeline climbed through. It seemed that this handle was meant for attaching a ladder.

The rope was heavy, but Genevieve held it steady from below, allowing Adeline to pull herself up. However, she couldn’t find a good place to anchor the rope. Sensing her hesitation, Genevieve called up from below.

“Lady Adeline, just hold on to something. I’ll be up in a moment.”

“Huh, what?”

Feeling herself being tugged downward, Adeline instinctively crouched, gripping the rope tied around her waist. She almost let out a shout but managed to hold it in. As she clung to whatever she could, Genevieve quickly climbed up after her.

‘Genevieve is stronger, but… I’m heavier…’

It was a somewhat sad truth proven by the outcome.

‘Well, I am taller! And anyone could see I’m heavier!’

What was most unnerving, though, was that Genevieve’s slim limbs weren’t packed with dense muscle. She was really tearing and healing her muscles in real-time, just as she had explained.

“No guards around, luckily.”

“They must not have expected we could escape from this storage room.”

“If it was Harrison, that makes sense.”

Genevieve hadn’t pretended to be weak in front of him, but appearances matter. There wasn’t any need to show off her strength to her husband, so she let him assume whatever he liked.

Of course, that was the Harrison Genevieve knew—the imperial knight.

The Harrison who stabbed Lloyd and kidnapped the two of them was a stranger to her.

“I hope there’s only one kidnapper…”

“But if we’re on a ship, wouldn’t it be wiser to wait for rescue? Even if we escape, we’re still stuck at sea.”

“True, but it’s better to stall for as much time as possible.”

When Adeline realized they were on a ship, she had initially judged escape as impossible.

Just as Genevieve said, they were at sea, and it was winter.

The waters near Delmuz were shallow and calm, but finding someone who had fallen into the sea at night would be incredibly difficult, and waiting for rescue could mean death from hypothermia.

Genevieve could heal them, but divine power wasn’t an infinite resource. If she collapsed, they would be doomed.

“That bastard didn’t seem like the type to hesitate. He probably kidnapped us because he plans to use us as bargaining chips, but if things don’t go his way, he might cut off our limbs. He might think having just one of us alive is enough.”

“…”

“Lloyd was just a kid. If his goal was to kidnap us, there were other ways he could’ve done it.”

Adeline paused for a moment before grimacing and adding,

“Maybe he had to deal a fatal blow because Lloyd wasn’t easy to handle.”

“That makes sense. Even when a large man was pressing him, Lloyd didn’t shrink back. He acted like he was swatting away an annoying fly.”

“Yeah, Lloyd’s like that. He’s super smug, even with Shane. So arrogant.”

No one could be as smug as Lloyd. Lucian found it endearing, but Shane hated it whenever Adeline mentioned Lloyd’s name.

Shane tried not to show it, but it was obvious.

Now, those two had even worked together. In a way, it was touching to see them cooperating, even if their collaboration involved imprisoning her.

“Do you find him cute because he’s so arrogant?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it cute when kittens act all feisty? It’s like that.”

“I’m pretty sure Lloyd would hate hearing that…”

“He hates it a lot.”

Adeline shrugged and grinned, scrunching her nose.

“But that makes him even cuter.”

“…Lady Adeline, you sound a bit like an old man…”

“Shane says that too…”

What was it about her that crossed the lines of both age and gender?

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