Settlement

Duke Lesrom's arrival didn't mean I could just dump everything on him and walk away. Whatever else you could say, the fact remained that I was the one who'd done the deed.

Starting with showing his attendants the spot where I'd been ambushed, the soldiers began moving busily while a sort of fact-finding inquiry was underway. That didn't mean they clapped me in irons like a prisoner, though. That alone made the royal family's handling of this incident look like a done deal.

"Well, you really went and made a mess of it, didn't you."

Watching Duke Lesrom personally direct operations while I took in the sight of Envelde's mansion—it was a spectacle, all right. As I muttered that like it was someone else's problem, another soldier who'd been sneaking glances at me while flinching looked at me with an expression of sheer disbelief. Not that I didn't understand the look. It wasn't the kind of sentiment someone who'd just done something wildly abnormal ought to be voicing.

I was spacing out, thinking things like 'well, rumors about a noble being butchered in his own mansion won't exactly spread nicely,' when Asilie and Ragnis pushed through the murmuring crowd and appeared.

"Oh, you got here early?"

For a brief moment, their faces had worn an expression like the world had crumbled, and I could see relief seeping into them. The way they looked, if we'd been at the Ogatorf manor, a back-smash would've flown my way without question.

Fortunately, the soldiers recognized Ragnis and didn't particularly stop them from approaching me. Asilie, who'd closed the distance with quick strides, inspected my body, while Ragnis—unable to join in that particular action because of the watching eyes—let out a long sigh and spoke.

"I thought the world was ending."

Ah, so it wasn't just their expressions, then.

"All I could think was that I'd made the absolute right call deciding not to put shackles on Yen Tie."

"Her abilities are impressive, sure. There's a reason you pay good money to hire someone."

"That's not the point! Why did you move so suddenly like this? You should've at least given us a heads-up!"

"Yeah. I feel the same way. The fact that you moved alone means you expected this to some degree, doesn’t it?"

Asilie, who'd sharply caught the trace of the through-and-through wound on my stomach and was poking at it with her finger in displeasure, backed Ragnis up and demanded a clear answer.

It was less that I'd expected it and more of a 'let's hope at least one of them takes the bait' sort of feeling, honestly. But if I said that straight out, I figured I might get stabbed to death by their glares, so I decided to stretch the truth a bit and deflect.

"I figured I'd move eventually, sure, but I didn't know it'd be today. Whether it was Envelde who rushed things or his underlings, I don't know, but either way, things did move a bit suddenly, that's true. I wanted to tell you too, but if I'd gone back to the manor to deliver the message, it could've caused problems when presenting the connections or the narrative logic of it all, so I just came as I was."

That said, I wasn't spinning complete lies out of thin air on the spot.

This had to be Eldmia Ega acting alone. There was nothing to gain from giving people the impression that the Levien family and the Ogatorf family—both kingdom nobles—were tangled up in it. I'd happened to get Esmue's letter too, so I'd just gone ahead and let loose comfortably; without that, I would've submitted my resignation one by one before moving in earnest.

That was probably why only Asilie, who was completely uninvolved, and Ragnis, the actual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party to the trial, had come now. Until the royal family's movements were clearly confirmed, the Ogatorf family right now, to me...

"Eldmia!"

"...Why the hell is she here?"

Unlike me, who stood there dumbstruck seeing Sheryl emerge from the crowd, Ragnis and Asilie reacted naturally.

"Yen Tie must have told her."

"No, her telling her is one thing. She shouldn't be here right now. Hey, you idiot. What do you think you're doing, being here?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Did you get hit in the head during the fight or something?"

Contrary to her insolent tone, Sheryl's face had a look of concern on it, a rare sight. No, this isn't the time for you to be worried about me.

"What happens if someone from the Ogatorf family is here?"

"You do remember that you're currently employed as a servant of our family, right?"

"No, that's just in name only, at most. Does it make any sense for you to come here in this situation?"

No matter how favorably Duke Lesrom had responded and how he'd said he had royal permission, that was only conveyed verbally—I couldn't guarantee it was set in stone. Of course, even if the Ogatorf family was a house of loyal retainers, the best policy was to avoid anything that might become an issue, but if she was here, it might stir up needless gossip.

But contrary to my calculations, Sheryl tilted her head to the side and reacted as if she'd heard something strange.

"But you raiding Envelde's mansion... that makes sense?"

"...No, that was... I had my own calculations..."

"Ogatorf follows its convictions. Father couldn't come because he had business—if he'd been at the manor, he would've rushed over immediately. Just as you did your duty, I'm only doing mine, so don't worry about it."

Infuriating. I had no comeback.

In the end, after I'd given a rough account of the situation to everyone who'd somehow gathered, I saw them off and moved with the soldiers, gripped by a strong conviction that my back was going to be wrecked when I returned. Duke Lesrom, who'd maintained a dignified front but whose exhaustion was unmistakable, had ridden here on horseback yet insisted on walking alongside me.

"How curious, that all those worrying about you are women."

He'd been moving around incredibly busily, yet he'd noticed that too.

"Seems that way, doesn't it."

"I also hear you brought the White Star's letter yourself."

He really was an old man hard to dislike. Maybe it was precisely because of his flexibility—knowing how to deal with people warmly according to the situation rather than wielding his authority.

Whatever the case, it was true I'd caused him trouble this time, so I decided to be a bit more amiable myself.

"That's right. Ah, by any chance, do you know how that gatekeeper who wouldn't let me in that time reacted?"

"I'm told his complexion looked like he hadn't been able to visit the privy for about four days. Still, he wasn't dismissed or anything, so you may see him again. In a way, he overstepped his authority, so he likely had to write a formal reprimand and got a bit of a pay cut."

"Overstepped his authority?"

"Any unforeseen circumstances must be reported to a superior, mustn't they? He judged it insignificant on his own and turned you away at the door despite you having given prior notice, so it's true he exceeded his authority."

"If you report every little thing like that, don't you get chewed out for reporting it too?"

"Which is precisely why one must judge wisely on one's own."

Military life was the same everywhere, honestly.

Still, thanks to that gatekeeper, I'd been able to smoothly shift the topic of conversation, so I figured I'd let it slide if I saw him next time.

◈

What followed was more ordinary than I could've imagined.

After going through a series of steps—entering the Noble Council building, transferring to a carriage, heading somewhere—only to end up staying at a temporary detention center that really drove home just how much of a steaming pile of dog shit the one Ragnis had stayed in before was, I found myself having washed up clean and lying on a bed, struggling fiercely to hold onto my sanity as it tried violently to detach from my body.

"Thinking about it, it's even more absurd."

It was a detached house, you could even call it modest. That's what I'd thought, just looking at the outside. So I'd been expecting to meet yet another new person or something. But then they told me this was a temporary detention center.

If Duke Lesrom hadn't once again apologized for the series of incidents that had happened to Ragnis and promised official compensation, I might've been staring up at the night sky from a half-wrecked jail cell. Good god, I'd known I was ignorant of noble society, but maybe I'd been more ignorant than I thought.

"Hoo... Fine. Still, I cleaned up one bastard who kept throwing huge obstacles into my life, so I should be satisfied with that."

Whether you could really call him an obstacle, honestly, I wasn't sure. In the end, if Envelde hadn't intervened, I might never have come to the capital, and my relationship with Asilie might really have ended after the promised period. It was also true that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because it was an unexpected farewell, we'd been able to be a bit more honest with each other.

But that it was settled—that was certain. The time had finally come to extract myself from this sickening political game. All that remained now was the wandering knight investiture I'd receive next year, and after that, I'd outfit myself with gear bought with the money I'd frugally saved and head for the front lines.

"Ah, before that, I did agree to stop by Ogwen once."

As I was thinking, 'Then I'll ride a wyvern or something, head west, and then go back toward the eastern front,' the thought of what a bizarre life it'd been crossed my mind, and at the same time, a question arose.

"Why the fuck did those Demonfolk bastards come all the way to the middle of nowhere in the west and pull that kind of shitty rampage on our village?"

In the past, I'd just thought it was bad luck—the southern region of Itisel and the eastern outskirts were Demonfolk Territory, after all.

But in the end, from that day onward, not once had the Demonfolk ever invaded the west again.

It was hard to say there'd been something special about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠our village. If it had been a village with something special, like some common cliché, I would've noticed it long ago.

"A slave merchant group? Did something go wrong with those bastards?"

Asilie had definitely said the slave merchant group she'd been held by had been wiped out by unidentified attackers. Back then, I'd deliberately not let it show, but the first thing that came to mind was the Demon King's Army that had raided our village.

Otherwise, it didn't make sense for them to attack one-sidedly, kill absolutely everyone, and then leave without even taking spoils. But it was only a strong suspicion, with no physical evidence.

"...Let's just sleep."

Worrying about it with no information would only waste time and lead to negative thoughts. I was better off getting even one more hour of sleep to recover my body.

I didn't know how many days I'd be staying here, but since things had turned out this way, I resolved to enjoy the rare break for what it was.

So I slept, woke up and did light exercise, and spent my days leading an absurdly leisurely life reading books I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked the servant to borrow for me—and on the second day of that,

Esmue visited the kingdom.