Chapter 441: Soon
"We are going home."
Mira pursed her lips as she considered the situation for a moment. There was clearly no way out of this one.
Other than the attendants near the distant inn, the street was far too empty for her to even consider shouting for help, and even if she did, what would that accomplish?
Passersby were oftentimes nothing more than spectators who were unwilling to get their hands dirty, even if it involved defending a defenseless young woman from being attacked by a large group of fifteen.
And Mira knew she stood no chance trying to fight against such a large group. In fact, she could not hope to defeat even one of them in a one-on-one fight.
Her father had come well prepared this time.
Gale was not the sort of man who would appear before her without ensuring that every possible route of escape had already been accounted for.
Considering his embarrassing retreat last time when Esme was around, it was a surprise that he waited all this time in Grimholt just to make good on his promise to collect whatever debt he thought she owed him.
However, despite all that, Mira did not dignify her father’s call to come home with an answer. She had already said everything that needed to be said the last time they met.
"Mira," he said again, his voice calm. "Do not make this more difficult than it needs to be."
Mira’s expression did not change. Her fingers curled slightly beneath her cloak, but she kept her posture straight.
"If you wished for this to be simple, Father," she said quietly, "you should not have brought fifteen people to collect me." She looked at the large group accompanying her father, and a few of them flinched at her disgusted gaze.
Gale’s gaze sought, "I brought fifteen people because my daughter has proven herself difficult to reason with."
"Even now you still call me daughter..." Mira scoffed.
"No," she said. "You brought fifteen people because you already knew I would not come willingly, we have been through this already, and you already disowned me. What more do you want?"
"I said what I said in the throes of anger, but after I had enough time to think and speak with your mother, I realised that perhaps I was too... hard on you." Gale took one slow step forward.
"You are young," he said. "You are emotional. You believe this feeling you have for that boy is worth throwing everything away for."
Mira’s eyes narrowed, "Do not speak of him as though you understand anything."
"I understand enough."
"No, Father. You do not!" Mira snapped, "You understand business, you understand the importance of a reputation. You understand profit, loss, risk, and advantage, but you do not understand him!"
Gale looked at her for a long moment with a startled look on his face. He sighed, "That is precisely the problem. You speak as though understanding him changes anything," Gale continued.
"Whether he is kind to you or not, whether he makes you smile or not, whether he has filled your head with foolish promises or not, none of that changes the fact that being near him is dangerous."
Mira’s lips pressed together, "And you think forcing me home will make me safe?"
"It will make you safer than wandering the streets alone while wearing a hood like a criminal."
Mira glanced briefly toward the waiting guards, "And yet I am not the one who looks like a criminal here."
One of the men behind Gale frowned and stepped forward. Gale lifted a hand slightly, stopping him before he could speak.
His eyes remained on Mira, "You have become bold."
"I have always been bold," Mira said. "You simply preferred me obedient."
"Mira," he said in a low voice, tapping his cane on the ground. "You will come with me."
Mira did not move, "No."
Gale stared at her, clearly not surprised by her refusal.
Mira’s heart was beating painfully fast in her chest, but she refused to let it show on her face.
She knew she could not win. She knew that if her father gave the order, they would take her by force, but if that was what he wanted, then he would have to do it.
She would not walk willingly into the cage he had prepared for her.
Gale’s eyes darkened, "You leave me no choice."
Mira’s body tensed up, but she still lifted her chin proudly, "Then stop pretending this is for my sake."
"Bring her."
Two of the men stepped forward, and Mira took one step back despite knowing there was nowhere to run. Her gaze flickered toward the lavish inn in the distance.
So close, and yet so far. Mira swallowed the bitter feeling rising in her throat.
’Elion,’ she thought quietly. She knew it was foolish.
He was not here, and he could not appear every time something went wrong, and yet, at that moment, she missed him so fiercely that it almost hurt to breathe.
The first guard reached for her arm. Mira did not scream, and neither did she beg. She simply looked at her father with cold eyes.
And when the man’s hand closed around her wrist, she spoke one last time, "You will regret this."
Gale’s expression did not change. "I doubt it."
Mira could resist if she wanted to, but it would simply change nothing.
She could waste a bit of time and hope that someone sees her struggle, or that Elion magically appears at the right place and at the right time, but she would rather not get hurt while doing so.
She had her dignity, and she was also confident that if Elion didn’t come for her now, then he would do so in the near future. All she had to do was wait for him.
After all, he had promised that he would be back, she could only hope that it would be soon. Mira glared at her father, but she held her tongue. From now on, she would not say a word.
She had already spoken more than she had meant to.
Two more guards moved in beside her, one at her left and one at her right, while the others spread out around the street.
It was funny how they looked like a unit transporting a valuable object that would also try to escape from their little encampment.
Mira almost laughed; perhaps that was exactly what she had become in her father’s eyes. A troublesome asset or a runaway investment.
Gale turned without another word, and the group began moving with him.