Chapter 227: Family?!
“Guh... ugh...”
Grey Dove, who had just been fired up by the "ketchup challenge," was now completely burned out after finishing all eight packets of tomato ketchup. Aside from the red stain at the corner of her mouth, the rest of her face had gone pale and gray, looking absolutely pitiful. A beam of sunlight shone through the window, landing right on her like divine pity from above.
And the “culprit” behind all this? Evelia was over in the kitchen. Not really a kitchen, more like a small cooking area in the living room. The house was big, but clearly not built with cooking in mind. There was a stove, firewood, a few basic seasonings, and a wooden box for storing food.
Since this place was a small hideout used by Grey Dove, it had enough food for daily use. But Grey Dove wasn’t good at cooking, the Cyan Hawk would eat anything, and the White Dove was full just from drinking coffee.
None of them really needed full meals, so the food was mostly prepared for Blue Sparrow, who was like the “big sister” of the group. She always made sure everyone ate nutritiously.
Unfortunately, Blue Sparrow was a nun, or at least pretending to be, so she mostly ate vegetarian food. Even though the “nun” role was fake and breaking the rules wouldn’t get her punished by any god (not that she believed in one), she still took the role seriously and let it shape her behavior. If one day the Second Prince told her she had to play a meat-lover, she might never cook green vegetables again.
This time, Blue Sparrow and Cyan Hawk had left in a rush, while Grey Dove came back early. Blue Sparrow had only taken out some vegetables before she had to leave. Even though she hadn’t cooked, she believed Grey Dove wouldn’t starve, especially with the “Red Crow” tagging along. Surely Grey Dove would do her best to impress her idol, maybe even whip up a surprise dish.
But… reality was different.
Poor Grey Dove now felt like she no longer had blood in her veins, only ketchup.
‘Could it be… if I drink enough ketchup, I’ll become someone as powerful as Lord Red Crow?’
Grey Dove was delirious, holding the ninth packet of ketchup in her hands.
As for Evelia, once she confirmed Rachel was breathing normally and seemed fine, she relaxed. She had planned to look around the house to get a feel for the place. That’s when she spotted the tomatoes Blue Sparrow had planned to use for a salad.
Evelia’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the tomatoes. Just like a cat spotting a fish, or a fish seeing bait. If you wanted to catch Evelia with a box trap, just prop it up with a stick and place some tomatoes or ketchup underneath. Or hang a packet of ketchup on a fishing line, she’d bite instantly.
But after that, you'd really need to think twice. Could you even defeat someone like “Red Crow”? Who’s the hunter and who’s the prey? That’s something you should be very clear about.
While Grey Dove was on the verge of passing out from ketchup overload, Rachel slowly began to wake up.
She had actually regained consciousness earlier in the carriage, but it was like when you wake up early in the morning and fall back asleep again. She had woken up, but since she didn’t get up right away, she drifted off even deeper into sleep.
Rachel really was exhausted. The stress from running away had worn her out. Even though the sleep was drug-induced, it still gave her body some much-needed rest.
By the time Rachel opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside. Though nighttime usually makes people sleepy, she had already slept way too much. She wasn’t tired at all now.
She was about to stretch lazily, but when she noticed the unfamiliar ceiling above her, she quickly stopped herself from making any sound.
That’s when she remembered that she wasn’t at Armand’s estate anymore. This wasn’t the little room she shared with Evelia either. She was in the hideout of some assassins, taken here by two strange people.
They were called Cyan Hawk and Blue Sparrow? All of them seem to be named after birds…
From the conversation between those two people, Rachel also heard names like “Grey Dove” and “White Dove.” They were probably part of the same group. Based on the naming style, they were likely high-level assassins with codenames, just like “Red Crow.”
When Rachel thought about this, for some reason, a strange image popped into her head, “There are five people as amazing as me!”
Still, those two seemed fairly normal. But she didn’t know, maybe they were like Evelia too. They looked human on the outside, but the way they acted made them seem fake. Almost like they were “trying really hard to learn how to be human.”
“......”
Rachel quietly took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the room. She carefully moved her body, just like a kid pretending to sleep when their parents check the room. She didn’t want the bed to creak and draw attention.
“Ugh… ahh...”
Then, while she was concentrating, she heard a faint and miserable groaning sound, weak and full of suffering.
It sounded like someone who had given up on life, and her first thought was that someone was being tortured. She gulped nervously.
Rachel slowly turned her body over, like a crab stuck in a pot trying to flip itself. She could feel she was lying on a soft bed. The blankets were fluffy, and the sheets felt like they had been warmed by sunlight. It was nothing like the hard beds that children were sometimes forced to sleep on.
Also, even though someone nearby sounded like they were suffering, there wasn’t any of that cold, damp, moldy smell you’d find in a prison.
Rachel used to work at the House of Nightingales, and during the time she followed the Second Prince, she had often gone to their dungeon area. There, she’d heard the cries of prisoners who were turned into “test subjects” because they didn’t meet certain standards.
That place always smelled like blood and rotting flesh. People were constantly begging for their lives, but no one ever got saved.
She remembered hearing that one young man managed to escape. After overhearing some gossip, she realized he had been one of the very first test subjects when she was developing her alchemy marks.
No one knew whether he actually escaped or died along the way. But back then, Rachel had at least admired his courage.
So many tried to escape and failed, but he had made it out of the cage. Some might even say it was fate. That maybe, one day, he would become the key to changing everything.
—Of course, that would only happen if he truly escaped… and hadn’t lost his will to fight.
If he died on the road to freedom, or just lived a quiet, hidden life, then he wouldn’t change anything at all.
“...?”
Just as Rachel was feeling a little relieved that there wasn’t any prison smell, she suddenly noticed something very familiar.
It was a scent she used to smell every single day at the estate. A scent even perfume couldn’t fully hide—
Tomato ketchup.
As the poor roommate of a ketchup-obsessed maniac, Rachel was used to that strong, sweet-sour smell. Evelia would often save a portion of tomato-based dishes and bring them back to their little room to slowly enjoy.
Even if Evelia ate those meals with Armand instead, the smell would still cling to her clothes.
Not to mention, Evelia had even cleaned out a special section of her room just for ketchup. That area was packed full of bright red bottles and sachets, all giving off that sweet, tangy aroma.
Back when she lived at the estate, Rachel had honestly gotten tired of that strong scent. Sometimes when Evelia sprayed on perfume, it felt like a breath of fresh air.
Now, in this unfamiliar place, after being kidnapped, and suddenly smelling that strong ketchup scent, Rachel became emotional all of a sudden. It felt like seeing a family member again!
This strong ketchup smell had to be from Evelia!
Only she could make tomato dishes that smelled this rich and powerful!
She must have come to rescue me!
Even though I don’t know why there’s ketchup everywhere…
She has to be here to save me, right? Right?!
“You’re awake?”
Just as Rachel was getting excited inside, thinking that the mighty Evelia would surely fix everything now, Evelia had quietly walked over and appeared right in front of her.
“Uh, yeah.”
Rachel had been excited just a moment ago, but when facing Evelia’s overwhelming presence, her body reacted instinctively. She pulled her neck back, clearly nervous and scared.
No matter how close they once were… this was still the person who had killed her before. That trauma was something she probably couldn’t get over in this lifetime.
“Good. I made you something to eat.”
As she said that, Evelia brought over a bowl of steaming red food and placed it in front of Rachel.
It was bright red, thick, hot, with a sharp sweet-and-sour smell.
“This is… what exactly?”
Rachel swallowed nervously. Somehow, this scene felt very familiar.
When she had first met Evelia as “Rachel,” wasn’t it something like this too?
At that moment, she suddenly understood why Armand had risked making Evelia angry just to send away all of her tomato dishes.
I’m sorry, Captain Armand…! I really blamed you wrongly when I tossed you into that trash can! This… this is too much! No one can handle this!
Rachel could almost see Armand writing “Dead” on the wall in ketchup.
“This is thick tomato ketchup soup.”
“Ah… it’s tomato… ketchup…”
Rachel mumbled the words, but something felt off.
“Tomato… and ketchup? Aren’t those the same thing?”
“Yes. That’s why it’s extra thick soup.”
“...Is this some kind of bad joke? Mom…”
“Drink.”
After that, Evelia only said one word, short and clear.
She held a spoon covered in bright red ketchup close to Rachel’s lips. The smell was so strong that Rachel didn’t even dare breathe.
Rachel didn’t open her mouth, and Evelia didn’t force her either. She just silently held the spoon there. Even though Evelia’s face didn’t show emotion, Rachel felt like if she didn’t act soon, her mouth was about to be pried open.
...Fine. It’s just ketchup. I can do this!
Rachel made up her mind.
If I can just make “Mom” happy, then I can leave this place!
So Rachel put on a determined expression, opened her mouth, and bravely accepted the red challenge—
And not long after that…
Once Rachel finished the entire bowl of thick tomato ketchup soup, she ended up just like Grey Dove earlier, sitting in a beam of sunlight, looking pale and worn out, with ketchup dripping from the corner of her mouth.
…I feel like she’s going to kill me with ketchup before she ever gets around to rescuing me…