The villainess will survive!

Part 21: Human traffickers

I could feel my feet being dragged across the shiny floor. 

There was reported human trafficking in this town. Was it these people?

"Here you go. Payment for this young lady here." I heard a husky voice say, followed by clinking sounds. 

"Yes, yes. Thank you." 

The second voice sounded almost guilty. Well, I wouldn't expect that they didn't have an person working inside. 

The problem was that this voice belonged to the shop owner. 

Was the drought so bad that she was drived to the extent of doing illegal things? 

Come to think of it, I could feel glares behind my back when walking through the town. They were probably somewhat jealous, but knew they couldn't attack me. 

And hey, wasn't I trying to help? 

Looks like the people in this town didn't trust me. 

Thump. 

I was thrown on a hard surface, which was probably wood. 

I scanned the area. 

One person in front, managing the horses. 

Another carriage behind the one I was in. Exactly 4 people riding it. 

And in mine, there was another person. 

She was lying down and not moving, so I assumed she was kidnapped as well. 

This was a great time to practice my telepathy magic. 

—Hey. Wake up. 

—.....................Hgn? Where....where am I? 

-—In a carriage, kidnapped. 

—...............How are you so calm?

—I don't know either. Anyways, I think the knights I came with have already noticed my absence. They'll be coming soon, so don't panick. 

—Alright. I'm Lottie. You?

So she was the girl we met at the river, picking flowers.

—I'm Roselyn Villinie, the one you met at the river. 

—Ah. The noble girl. Who almost scolded me for picking flowers. 

I suddenly remembered that commoners don't have much magic, and that I'm the one who's controlling the telepathy, meaning I could hear all her thoughts. Whether I wanted to or not. 

—So are you sure you really don't like those flowers? I mean, they are really beautiful. As a noble, I have never seen something like those flowers. 

—You're like the others. Everybody in the town secretly adores them. Am I the only one?

—I wonder why you don't like them as we do. 

It really did pique my interest. Why was Lottie not fazed by those flowers?

No, no. I should be thinking of the drought right now. 

The drought. The pink flowers. Lottie being indifferent towards them. 

Could they be related?

Christiana said that those flowers grew back immediately after she plucked them. But they couldn't have done that without a lot of mana. 

The worker being scolded for not filling up the vase containing the flowers. 

The place we investigated had the most drought out of all the other sections of the river. 

These all seem related. But I needed to confirm 2 things with Lottie first. 

—Lottie, can I ask you somethings?

—Sure. As long as it doesn't evade my privacy. 

—Why were you picking flowers in the middle of the river? You could've just picked some at the beginning, and saved a few steps. 

—That's because the middle sections has the most. 

As I predicted. 

—Is there anybody else with glasses other than you in the village?

—I don't think so. It's genetic. My father had glasses. 

I smiled. 

There were barely anybody in this world who had glasses. Even though we had similar things to electronics like Earth, they were made so it wouldn't affect our eyes. Even reading in the dark with small light wouldn't affect your eyes much. 

So people with glasses usually had parents with bad eyesight. 

—Thanks, Lottie. I think I've figure out what caused the drought.

I scanned the area again. 

Where were they?! Why hadn't they come yet?!

I gritted my teeth. 

'Whatever. I'll just do it myself.'

That day, they said that you could hear screams in the forest. 

The carriages overturned, along with the horses. 

"Wha— AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The person driving the carriage screamed. 

I made me and Lottie float in the air while the upside-down floating carriages spit out men involved in the kidnapping. 

"Why are we flying?" Lottie said in a small, timid voice. 

"It's alright. I'm at the top of my class in magic!" I crossed my arms pridefully.

"O-okay." Lottie said in a (kinda) trustful voice. 

Suddenly, a few people came running through the trees. The were carrying swords on their belts, so they were probably the knights I were waiting for. 

They looked around, but found nothing but tossed carriages, horses, and random men laying on the ground. 

I was amused by how worried they were and looking like little squabbling ducklings searching for their mother. The ducklings only survived with their mother, they didn't really care for her. 

It was the same in this situation. 

The knights didn't really care for me, they cared for their job and themselves. 

Should I make me and Lottie invisible? 

I decided to not make more trouble and landed on the ground. 

"Lady Villinie!!! We're sorry for our incompetence!" A knight knelt down, followed by the others. 

They had grave expressions plastered all over their face. 

I wanted to yell at them for being weaker than their master, but wasn't having a good reputation one of my goals?

"It's alright. Please, stand up. Please train more, my knights." I gave them an angelic smile. 

I looked behind me, where the human traffickers should be laying down.

They were tied in a circle, with Cristiana standing behind them. 

I was surprised that she arrived before I could order the knights to tie them up. 

"Took a shortcut." Christiana explained when she saw my baffled expression. 

I turned back to the knights, suddenly remembering the drought.

"When we get back, we're going to do an experiment." I snapped my fingers. 

The knights immediately stood up and grabbed the kidnappers from behind. 

I decided to transport Lottie back first, and walk back with the knights. 

"Have you thought of a solution to the drought?" Christiana asked.

                                                    "I suppose so."