"Found me?" Mika decided to play along with Kendel"s plans for the time being."Yes. Little niece doesn"t know, but I saved you from a fire. If it weren"t for me, you would be dead!" Kendel painted himself as a hero and Mika"s savior.
"...really?" Mika stared into Kendel"s eyes before looking down at her body being restrained by rope.
*Cough**Cough*
Kendel cleared his throat when he saw what had Mika skeptical.
"Niece doesn"t know, but you were very wild in your sleep, we had no choice but to tie you up. You can forgive uncle, right?"Kendel gave Mika an, "I"ve been wronged look."
If Mika was as gullible as Kendel wanted her to be, she might have believed his lies.
"Sure, uncle. Mikaela doesn"t blame uncle." Mika had always watched girls talk in the third person and couldn"t stand it. Who knew it would come in handy when dealing with an immoral uncle.
"Good, good..." Kendel bent down and untied the rope from Mika"s body.
Helping her off the floor, he led her to a guest seat.
Rubbing her sore arms and back, Mika waited for Kendel to state what he wanted.
"Mikaela, now that you are safe, and sound within my Vlacca"s clan estate...we should let your family know so they don"t worry, right?"
"En!...I"ll leave this to uncle." Mika complied with what Kendel"s wishes.
"Good...you write to your father, and I"ll send the com-"
"Uncle!"
"Hmm? What??"
"I"m hungry." Mika rubbed her stomach and pushed out her bottom lip.
"...okay, you can eat after you write to your fathe-"
"No! I"m hungry now! I"m too hungry to write! Please, feed me!...." Mika kept whining while barely holding back her laughter when she saw Kendel"s troubled face.
"Alright, already! I"ll you something to eat!" Kendel called for his steward to bring Mika to a guest room, and to get her something to eat.
As the steward led her towards the guest room, he found himself troubled as Mika would continuously run off, distracted the scenery in the estate.
By the fifth time Mika did this, he was going out of his mind.
"Miss Mikaela, please just follow me... it"s been two hours since we left the meeting hall and we still haven"t reached your room." The steward"s voice sounded on the verge of crying, that"s when Mika decided to take pity on the poor man.
"Sorry, sorry...Mikaela will be good." Mika kept up her child-like persona.
The steward scrutinized Mika before coming to the conclusion that Lord Kendels niece was a little slow. How else could someone her age by distracted by everything around her?
"This way then." Even though something was wrong with her, he still needed to take good care of Miss Mikaela, after all, she is Lord Kendel"s niece.
Inside the guest residence, Mika was led into a room and told her food will arrive shortly. Left alone, Mika quickly drew out the layout of Vlacca clan"s estate, from her two hours of playing innocent.
Wiping away the sweat that acc.u.mulated on her forehead, Mika realized it"s not easy being stupid.
"Man, that was hard work. For a male his age, he sure knows how to run." Finish with her map of the Vlacca clan, Mika examined her room.
The room was even duller than the meeting hall, with only a bed and a small desk and chair.
No wonder Lord Kendel is resorting to stealing and kidnapping. It looks like the clan is on its last leg.
*Knock* *Knock*
Mika made sure to secure the map inside of her clothing before allowing the maid to enter.
"Miss Mikaela, Lord Kendel asks that when you have finished your meal to see him. Steward Pyl will be waiting outside for you." The maid set down the dishes and left.
Mika looked down at the dishes the maid bought over. Raising her hand over each one, she allowed her powers to sense if anything was added in.
Happy that the food is safe, Mika pick up her spoon to feed her hungry stomach. She wasn"t entirely lying when she claimed she was starving to Lord Kendel.
Unfortunately, when the soup touched her mouth, she also wished they added something in, like salt!
Putting her spoon down, Mika decided to eat the bread, except it was rock hard. Looking at the only other dish left, she didn"t even want to know what they did to it to turn in gray.
Mika first thought was Lord Kendel was doing this on purpose until she looked around the room again.
Maybe I should have daddy send them some money.
Soaking the bread in the soup, Mika made do if those two dishes before going back to sleep.
Waiting outside, Steward Ply wanted to know how long it takes for that young miss to finish her meal?
Knocking on the door Ply waited but when he didn"t hear anything he grew worried.
Did that little fool choke on her food!? Ply thought when all was silent inside the room.
Panicking Ply rushed inside the room only to find Mika asleep on the bed.
"...."
Blowing out a breath, Ply shook Mika"s shoulders.
"Miss Mikaela, Lord Kendel is waiting for you...Miss Mikaela?..." Mika swatted Ply"s hands away and pulled the blanket over her head.
Out of options on what to do, Ply walked back to Lord Kendel"s office.
"My lord..."
"Where is she?" Kendel had been waiting for the last five hours for Mika.
"She"s...asleep."
"What!?" Kendel stood up and ran out the door.
Arriving at the guest room, Kendel threw open the door, making it bang against the wall.
"Mikaela!...get up now!" Kendel shouted as soon as he saw the little body covered by a blanket on the bed.
"...mmugh...no." Mika snuggled farther into the bed.
"What!?" Kendel never had to deal with fledglings before this was his first time, and it was driving him crazy.
Steward Ply could see his lord was losing his patience for his niece fast, stepping in Ply coach Kendel on how to handle fledglings.
"My lord, you need to be softer. Compromise with her, you can"t yell..." Kendel couldn"t believe he was at the mercy of a little brat. If he didn"t need her to send out a comm, he would have just locked her inside his jailhouse.
"Fine."
*Sigh*
"Mikaela...Remember we need to send your father a message. So, you need to get up. Afterward, you can come back and go to sleep...okay?"
"....okay." Mika got up and walked out of the room.
Steward Ply gave his lord a thumb up as they followed Mika out the room.
Inside Kendel"s office, Mika sat in a chair waited for Kendel to pa.s.s her a tablet.
"Okay, Mikaela you remember what I told you to write, right?"
"En..."
Pa.s.sing the tablet over, Kendel leaned back in his seat while picturing the mountain of money he"ll get from Lord Mano.
"Done...can I go back now..?"
"Yeah, yeah...go, go, go..." Kendel grabbed the tablet and shooed Mika out of the room.
Alone in his office, Kendel picked up the tablet to look over what Mika wrote.
Dear Daddy,
Uncle Kendel won"t let me sleep!
Love, Mika.
"That f***ing brat!" Kendel threw the tablet at the door.