When Eris woke up, she found herself in a dirty warehouse.
Sunlight was shining in through a window with iron bars.
Her body ached all over, and her hands and feet were tightly tied with rope.
What happened?
Faced with this situation that she couldn't understand at all, the young lady of the Boreas family was immediately confused.
She only remembered that the butler, Thomas, came to her and said that her father, Philip, had agreed to kick that guy named Shirou out of the Greyrat family.
Eris was undoubtedly very happy and even excited about this, and happily followed Thomas to see her father.
Because she was too happy, she even forgot that Thomas was taking her on a small path that she didn't usually take.
Of course, even if she had noticed something was wrong, Eris wouldn't have suspected anything, because she had grown up spoiled in the Boreas family and didn't think someone as important as her would face any danger.
Also, Philip wanting to kick Shirou out was like going against her grandfather Sauros's wishes, and Eris understood the risks involved in that kind of thing.
She knew better than anyone how fierce her grandfather was.
In a way, the only person in the world that the fearless Eris was afraid of was her grandfather Sauros.
So, she didn't suspect Thomas's purpose in taking her away from the Boreas family. She thought he was taking her out because the matter of kicking Shirou out wasn't something that could be discussed inside the family, since Sauros might find out. They needed to go somewhere without any prying ears and have a secret talk.
It was because of this naive idea that when Eris left the Boreas family, even when she saw a few strange figures in the shadows, she didn't become alert. It wasn't until a man used a cloth with anesthetic on it to cover her mouth and nose that Eris finally realized something was wrong and tried to struggle.
But it was already too late.
When Eris came to her senses, she had already passed out, and her hands and feet had been tied up and she had been left in this abandoned warehouse.
"Ugh..."
The ropes on her hands and feet were tied very tightly.
The person who tied her up was clearly a very experienced criminal.
No matter how much Eris struggled, she couldn't break free of the ropes. She could only flop around on the ground like a catfish, but she still couldn't move normally. She could only fall to the ground like a caterpillar.
"What's going on!"
Eris couldn't accept being in such an ugly situation. Her personality was such that she didn't want to be wronged in any way, let alone be captured in such a humiliating position. She wanted to twist the mastermind's head off and started shouting.
"Who did this! What a joke! Do you know who I am! Let me go now!"
She shouted loudly, and her voice even echoed in the room.
The reason she was so unrestrained was because she was simply imitating her grandfather Sauros. Although Sauros was the only person she was afraid of, he was also someone she sincerely believed in and even admired. Sauros certainly had his good points, but he also had many flaws.
Children imitate, especially bad behavior.
Eris had become this way almost entirely because of Sauros.
"What's all the noise! You little brat!"
The moment Eris's angry shout was heard, a man with the smell of alcohol on him walked in from outside the warehouse.
He was wearing rough clothes, smelled bad all over, was bald, and hadn't shaved.
If this were an animation, he would look like a classic lowlife.
Eris couldn't accept such an ugly guy appearing in front of her. She angrily said, "What! You stink! Don't come near me! You smell bad! Do you know who I am! If you don't let me go, Ghislaine will come and chop you into..."
Eris didn't finish her sentence.
"Bang!"
With a sound that made it hurt just to hear, the red-haired girl was kicked away by the man. She flew through the air and then slammed into the wall.
"Agh!!!"
Eris screamed.
The drunk man walked over without any mercy and scoffed, "Tch, damn it! So cocky, huh? I know you're that lord's granddaughter! But do you think you're still the lord's granddaughter now? No, you're not. You're just a prisoner, a piece of merchandise that's about to become a slave! If it weren't for some big shot wanting you specifically, I would rape you right now, you hear me!"
"You..."
Eris didn't expect the man to actually hit her. Her previous arrogant attitude wavered, but the habits she had developed over the years made her unwilling to stop glaring at him.
Seeing that the girl was still looking at him fiercely, the man ruthlessly kicked the young lady who couldn't move because her hands were tied behind her back.
"Bang!"
"Slap!"
"Bang!"
A brutal outburst took place in the room.
Even Eris, after a brief burst of anger, was overcome with fear and pain, and she pleaded miserably, "It hurts... it hurts so much... stop... ugh... no... waah... don't..."
But her pleas had no effect.
The man was clearly a professional kidnapper who knew what kind of temper slaves had and would use all sorts of cruel methods to torture his slaves until they were too afraid to resist in any way.
In a way, this was also a kind of training for the merchandise, to prevent these valuable future items from doing things that would harm the buyer.
Of course, the reason he was being so violent right now was also because Eris's attitude was too arrogant, and the man was already drunk and emotionally unstable. He almost killed Eris directly.
"Ptooey!"
After beating her for a while, the man finally stopped.
He spat on Eris and, in the end, didn't dare to lay a hand on the big shot's merchandise. He turned around and left the room.
Outside the warehouse, his accomplice saw him return and chuckled, "Did she calm down? I heard she was a mad dog, but I didn't expect her to be so arrogant."
"No matter how mad she is, she's just a little girl. She still cries when she gets beaten up. I wonder if she'll cry when we do her, hahaha."
"That's none of our business. This is the prey that that minister specifically asked for. We'll have to wait until the minister is done enjoying her and gets bored before we see if he's willing to give her to us."
"Yeah."
"And you better not hit her so hard later. If the merchandise is damaged beyond repair, it'll lower the price."
"We can just find a magician to heal her with healing magic."
"..."
The kidnappers were drinking and chatting outside, completely treating Eris inside as a slave and a piece of merchandise.
They didn't hide any of their conversations, so Eris naturally heard them.
It was only at this moment that Eris finally realized the truth and recognized the fact that she, as the young lady of the Boreas family, had been kidnapped.
"Damn it, I'll never forgive you. I'm going to report you to Grandfather."
Eris trembled all over as she cursed helplessly.
She knew that in her current situation, there was no way she could do anything to the men outside.
If nothing went wrong, she would be sold off by these guys and used as a plaything by some unknown person.
The thought of that made Eris want to bite her tongue out, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"..."
While Eris was despairing in place, Shirou was hiding in a big tree outside the warehouse, observing the situation.
He had followed the kidnappers all the way and found their hideout, but he didn't rush in and kill all the bandits right away. Instead, he was patiently observing from the outside.
The reason he was doing this was because he realized that this kidnapping incident was both an accident and an opportunity.
If he could use it properly, he might be able to fix his relationship with Eris in one go.
But he also knew that someone as stubborn as Eris wouldn't change easily. Even if he rushed in and rescued her, she probably wouldn't be grateful to him. Instead, she would think it was only right and proper.
That's just human nature.
People never appreciate things that they get too easily.
Especially children like Eris who have been spoiled since they were young. She might even think that everyone in the world being good to her is only right and proper.
That's why, even though Shirou knew about Eris's situation and saw her being captured by the kidnappers, he didn't directly step in to save her. Instead, he did nothing and waited for her to be brutally tortured by the kidnappers and realize the truth.
"Is it about time now?"
Shirou asked himself.
He wasn't sure if Eris had really realized the truth and understood the price she would pay for her willfulness.
Maybe she had really learned from her mistakes during the punishment, or maybe she hadn't. Or rather, the latter seemed more likely…
After thinking about it, Shirou didn't dare to face Eris with his true face.
If he went to see Eris in his own form, it might not only fail to gain her approval, but it might also cause her to think that he was the mastermind behind it all because of her dislike for him. That would be missing such a good opportunity to improve his relationship with the young lady.
"I guess that's how it is..."
Shirou sighed and chose to activate the Servant Emiya card, showing his Servant form again.
In a non-combat situation, he could maintain this form for quite a long time.
But he would still have to spend a long time recovering his stamina and magical power afterward.
Under normal circumstances, Shirou wouldn't just randomly use his Servant form, but since he was doing it to make sure he could improve his relationship with Eris, it was clearly easier to gain her favor in this form.
"Dream Summon!"
When the familiar cloak appeared behind him, Shirou jumped lightly and landed on the roof of the warehouse from the tree. Without anyone noticing him, he sneaked into the cell where Eris was.
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