Chapter 68: A Debt of Gratitude

Time came to noon.

By this hour, the streets of the West District had grown lively. After all, it was the workers’ midday break. Restaurants and street stalls across the West District welcomed a steady stream of customers.

Amelia and Eileen also settled their lunch in the West District. However, Amelia had packed the food to go, and the two ate together back in the carriage.

Throughout this process, Eileen did an excellent job suppressing her curse. Despite their close quarters inside the carriage, she refrained from doing anything horrible to Amelia.

Even so, Amelia remained chilled to the bone under Eileen’s gaze. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Eileen looked at her like a starving wolf eyeing its prey.

‘I feel like if I don’t solve Eileen’s curse soon, she’s going to devour me one of these days.’

Amelia thought to herself, a shiver running down her spine.

The harder a spring is compressed, the higher it recoils. The longer desire is suppressed, the more terrifying it becomes once it finally erupts.

In a flash, various explicit scenes from certain unsavory media flickered through Amelia’s mind, making her more than a little uneasy.

After hurriedly finishing lunch, Amelia continued driving the carriage around the West District.

She had already found two abandoned factories that morning, but upon closer inspection, neither was her target. She could only keep searching for the remaining ones.

The clock hand moved to one in the afternoon.

Clatter, clatter, clatter…

The carriage wheels ground across the road, sending loose pebbles flying.

As Amelia observed her surroundings, a sudden flash of reflected light swept across her face, causing her to instinctively raise a hand to shield her eyes.

She looked up toward the source of the glare. There, further down the road, stood an abandoned factory. The reflection emanated from somewhere deep within.

“This is…”

Amelia mused, immediately urging the carriage to speed toward it.

The factory had possibly once produced paint. As one drew closer, a sharp, pungent chemical odor still hung in the air.

Because the paths within the factory grounds were too uneven, Amelia halted the carriage nearby. She then dismounted and headed toward the spot where the reflection originated.

Before long, Amelia drew near the source of the light. A voice called out from that very location.

“Here! Over here! Could you fetch the constables from the Security Office for us?”

It was a calm, level-headed voice.

As Amelia approached for a look, she could see what seemed to be a warehouse-like building before her. The structure was fairly sealed; only a small, high-set iron window was visible.

Behind that iron window, a girl’s face could be seen. However, because the other party was holding a mirror, the glare was far too intense, making it impossible for Amelia to see who exactly was speaking.

“Call the Security Office? Why? What happened here?” Amelia asked as she moved closer, feigning ignorance.

“We were all captured and brought here. We’ve probably run into human traffickers,” the speaker was, naturally, Verna.

“Captured… Ah, I read in today’s Luban Morning Post that many young girls have recently gone missing in Bild City. Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right. It’s us.”

“This is unbelievable—stumbling across something like this. I’ll get you out right now.”

“Don’t bother. The door is locked. Just go and bring the constables over.”

“Alright.”

Amelia agreed, then turned and walked away.

As she left, she couldn’t help but glance back at the iron window, curiosity getting the better of her. Who was that person speaking to her? How could someone remain so composed, even after being locked up?

By now, Verna was no longer using the mirror to reflect light. So when Amelia looked back, she saw a young girl with long, striking red hair.

Upon realizing someone had discovered their hiding spot, the rest of the imprisoned girls also erupted in joyful cheers. Their excited voices could be heard filtering out through the building’s walls.

Not long after, Amelia returned with officers from the Security Office.

The constables, clad in neat, standardized red uniforms, looked particularly gallant. Having gotten word of the situation, quite a number of them followed Amelia back to the abandoned factory.

With the Security Office’s arrival, rescuing Verna and the others became a simple matter. The iron door was quickly broken open.

As soon as the girls, who had been held captive for days, were brought out, most of them broke down in tears of joy. The constables had to spend time consoling them.

Furthermore, an even larger cluster of constables gathered around Verna, offering concerned words. As members of the Security Office, they naturally knew that one of the missing individuals was Her Highness the Princess. Finally locating her brought them immense relief.

Amelia’s gaze swept across the crowd before locking onto Vera.

“Vera, I finally found you. I’m so glad you’re alright,” Amelia walked straight over, putting on a perfect performance of delighted surprise.

Hearing the voice, Vera looked up at her.

“What are you doing here?” Vera asked, a little surprised to see Amelia.

“I’m the one who discovered this place and notified the Security Office,” Amelia pointedly emphasized, smiling as she looked at Vera.

“So it was you…”

At those words, Vera’s expression toward Amelia grew complex.

She had never thought highly of this distant relative. Vera had always assumed the other party just wanted to latch onto the Hicks Family name and use it for personal gain.

But never in her wildest dreams had Vera expected that the person she looked down upon would be the one to rescue her today.

If not for her, heaven knows how much longer they would have remained trapped inside that cramped room. Sooner or later, the basic necessities would have become a massive problem—possibly enough to drive a person to a mental breakdown.

At this thought, Vera pursed her lips and said, “Thank you, Lily… Aunt Lily.”

She still felt somewhat awkward using that form of address.

“You don’t really have to call me ‘Aunt.’ While the generational hierarchy does make me your aunt, we seem to be around the same age. So, you can just call me Lily,” Amelia replied with a warm smile.

“Alright, Lily,” Vera let out a relieved breath. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, “Lily, how is it that you just so happened to appear here?”

“It wasn’t ‘just so happening’ at all,” Amelia chuckled lightly. “I read about your disappearance in the morning paper, and I became rather worried. After all, we’re both members of the Hicks Family. So, I specifically traveled around Bild City to search. When I came near this area and a flash of light hit my face, that’s when I noticed you.”

“I see.” Vera suddenly understood, a great deal of goodwill toward Amelia welling up inside her.

This person had deliberately searched all over Bild City specifically for her… and what’s more, she actually found her.

Just then, a constable walked over. Seeing this, Amelia said, “You’ve only just been rescued; the Security Office should still have many questions for you. I’ll take my leave for now.”

“Goodbye, Lily.” Vera nodded.