“Listen, don’t let a single mouse through! We’re going to seal this place completely and force Rachel to give up!”
On Prince Elliott’s orders, knights were posted around the building that housed the dungeon. They went in shifts, a few at a time, and hid in the shadows to catch Rachel in the act of contacting the outside.
“No matter how you look at it,” Sykes informed the knights, “Rachel must be opening her cell to bring in fresh supplies. Nothing else can explain the new furniture. We’re going to catch whoever’s sneaking stuff in and make Rachel feel like she’s under siege.” Sykes deliberately said this so that Rachel could hear him too.
The plan was for the knights to hide in the bushes, where they could see either the entrance or the window, and catch unawares whoever came to meet Rachel. Seeing your lifeline vanish before your very eyes would have an impact on anyone, even Rachel.
“Honestly, they say there’s still no sign of action from the ducal house. What’s going on there?” Elliott grumbled irritably. Not only had the ducal house made no attempt to save Rachel, but the duke and duchess had left on vacation.
“Do they have any grasp of the situation?! Their daughter is in jail for a crime! Normally, you’d at least come to visit and bring her a snack!”
“Your Highness, it sounds like you want them to resupply my sister?” George pointed out. “Didn’t you want them to not intervene?”
“Obviously, I don’t want them delivering supplies to her,” Elliott replied, sounding annoyed, “but as her parents, they should want to bring her a cake, or something. What is the duke doing?!”
“Would you like me to have something delivered in my father’s name?”
“Yes, and then I’ll gobble it up as she watches.”
“Ah, so you were thinking of a way to harass her...” George muttered.
It wasn’t clear if Rachel had heard all the intentional ruckus they’d been making outside. She was under the covers, wearing her sleeping mask, and breathing softly as she slept the day away again.
Today was another busy day, and Sofia poked her head in to check on the butler as he took care of his master’s work as well as his own. She was wearing an outdoor coat and a hood, looking like she was headed out somewhere.
“I will be going to see the young mistress, Jonathan.”
“Oh, you will? Do tell her that all of the servants are concerned for her.”
Jonathan looked up from the pile of documents he was signing and nodded, but Sofia’s next words made him freeze.
“We will also be leaving on a two- or three-day business trip, so Meia and I will not be returning for that time.”
What are the maids doing, leaving on a business trip when the master is out of the house?
Jonathan thought about it a moment, then resumed his work.
“Understood. Do take care.”
No good would come of him worrying about the details where the young mistress was concerned.
Instead of heading to the castle first, Sofia went to a business in a nearby district. She was stopping by the office to get a report from the trading firm’s representative. The business was a front, of course. They managed communications with far-off lands, prepared supplies for their young mistress, and fulfilled any special requests of hers. Yes, the Black Cat Company, located not all that far from the mansion, was a base for Sofia and the other members of the Black Cats of the Dark Night.
Sofia entered by the side entrance, and after she’d confirmed nothing was amiss, she called for the wagon at once. The luggage cart had already been prepared for her arrival, so she had only to get in the back with her escorts. When the wagon left through the wooden door in the back garden, the shop looked no different from how it usually did.
Being a palace gate guard was a fairly busy job, but it was only really hectic up until around noon. Once everyone arriving for the day got inside the gate, they had business to attend to, so visitors rarely showed up later in the day. At some point in the afternoon, practically no visitors or wagons sought admittance to the castle.
Be that as it may, this afternoon, a small, nondescript wagon was approaching the palace gate.
“Halt! Erm, what department are you delivering to?” hailed an elderly guard.
The old man sitting in the driver’s seat lifted up the brim of his hat and smiled. “This is a cat food delivery.”
“Understood! Go on through!”
The guard gave a signal as he handed the driver an entry pass, and the other guards removed the barricade. The driver nodded and began moving the wagon toward the palace. It seemed the guard had passed a message to the other gates, because the guards there allowed the wagon through without stopping it.
The wagon turned and drove to the building housing the dungeon, stopping with its door to the rear. Sofia stepped down, then the driver and the escorts opened the cover and immediately began unloading.
That’s when the knights charged out of the bushes. They stopped in front of Sofia and saluted.
In a perfectly calm voice, Sofia asked, “And the ‘dogs’?”
“At this time of day, they’re all gathered around the ‘cat.’ The others are watching the surrounding area. The prison guard’s patrol is at three o’clock today.”
A number of other low-ranking palace bureaucrats were helping unload as well. Sofia left the task to them and headed down to the dungeon.
When Rachel noticed what was going on up top, she undid the padlock and took off the chains. As for the lock on the door, she currently had her hands through the bars and was skillfully picking it from the other side.
“Young mistress, when you want to open the door, please use your key,” Sofia complained, but Rachel was unconcerned.
“I have to put my techniques to use once in a while or I’ll get rusty.”
“If you leave scratches, they will figure out how we do this. What would you do if they filled the keyhole with metal?”
“Wouldn’t it be neat if the bars themselves could retract into the wall?”
“Save that for next time, would you?”
“I’m going to be put in here again?”