The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 136

Chapter 136: Kidnapped Charlotte

“Then, Grandfather. I’ll be off.”

Charlotte had Douglas drop her off at the carriage depot in the capital.

“Yes, have a good time.”

It was the weekend, and Charlotte was finally going out to play with Klaus and the others.

The spot was a lodging facility in a nearby mountain, and it welcomed familiars too, so they planned to spend the time having fun together.

Maybe because it was an outing with people her own age, Charlotte seemed more excited than usual.

Klaus had arranged the carriage, and Douglas had brought her to the specified pickup spot, but…

“Oh?”

She suddenly spotted a familiar figure sneaking into a warehouse while glancing around warily.

That was a warehouse for loading cargo straight onto carriages, not a place regular passengers would go. And for someone from a noble family, it felt downright odd.

Charlotte sensed something shady and approached to check on him.

The warehouse was dimly lit, with piles of cargo everywhere that made it easy to hide. She held her breath and watched his movements.

“I’ve brought the supplies that the Tamer Guild handles, just as instructed.”

She heard Negrei’s voice. Someone stood in front of him.

“Good work.”

“This should settle it! I took a huge risk this time. The country’s officials could come after me any moment! Get me out of here quick! People are bound to catch on soon!”

(Could Lord Negrei really be a spy?)

From the conversation, it was clear Negrei was leaking things to another country.

Charlotte covered her mouth to stifle her voice.

Her mind flashed to the recent attacks on the Tamer Guild and Klaus’s mansion.

Douglas and Klaus had explained that someone must have helped the attackers, but Negrei could have leaked Klaus’s schedule, the tamers’ locations, and details about the familiars.

(I have to tell Grandfather.)

He might still be nearby. With that thought, Charlotte turned to leave, but…

“Eavesdropping? That’s not very admirable, missy.”

When she looked back, several men in adventurer gear stood there.

They wore the kind of armor regular adventurers used, but their aura was off. It was obvious they had trained for combat, with no openings at all.

“What the—?!”

Negrei let out a panicked shout.

“Wha—?! Lady Charlotte!”

He looked shocked the moment he saw her face.

“Why did you betray the Tamer Guild… the country, Lord Negrei?”

Negrei’s family had been nobles who supported the first Rint when he founded the Tamer Guild. They had backed the Boyle Count family all this time, so Charlotte demanded to know why he had turned traitor.

“Our house has supported Rint since the founder’s days! And yet our position never improved… no, it’s gotten worse over time!”

Since the Tamer Guild was founded, tamer training had boomed, and the staff had filled out.

In that environment, Negrei—who could not become a tamer—had only held onto his executive role thanks to his family’s prestige. Some people even mocked him for it.

“That’s why! I—”

“Enough talk. We don’t know who might get suspicious if we keep yapping here. Time to move.”

The man cut off Negrei and Charlotte’s exchange.

“How despicable. You wormed your way into his heart, didn’t you?”

Charlotte felt that Negrei had been cleverly deceived, so she glared at the man in front of her.

“Call it what you want. Too late to figure it out now anyway.”

“Urgh!”

The man’s fist sank into Charlotte’s stomach. That one blow knocked her out.