Vowing to Give the Lord a Proper Education (2)
“According to what Priest Mirka said, if we monitor her condition for about a day, she can be discharged.”
Fortunately, Helia's condition wasn't all that serious. In this world, no matter how gravely injured someone was, as long as they clung to life, divine power could heal them without any lingering aftereffects.
But even so, I couldn't take Helia's words as pure comfort. Even if wounds could be mended, she'd nearly lost her life—and if that had happened, I might have snapped, losing every shred of reason.
“……Adrian.”
Was my worry showing on my face? As she gazed at me, a look of pity softened her features. I grasped her limp hand and let out a heavy sigh.
“I went to check it out yesterday. I saw what Helia fought.”
“……You saw it.”
Yeah, it was no wonder she'd ended up like this after battling that absurd monster. Just thinking of it sent chills down my spine as I forced the words out.
“Weren't you scared?”
No matter how strong she was, she was still human. I figured she'd felt fear, but she responded calmly.
“It'd be a lie to say I wasn't, but I saw it as something I had to endure.”
Something to endure. That's how Helia defined a desperate fight that had threatened her very life. All for putting on a show to revitalize the city. She considered staking her life on something so trivial as the right thing to do.
“Is it because of the lord's…… that woman's orders?”
“……Adrian.”
“I don't get it. You nearly died…… and yet that woman didn't even thank you. She just used you. Same with Martina, and now you…… Why do you follow that lord's orders so blindly?”
It might displease Helia, but I couldn't hold back. This was my woman who'd nearly died. No matter how rationally I tried to think, I couldn't forgive that damned bitch.
And yet……
“That's what it means to be a knight.”
Denying my thoughts outright, Helia stated her view matter-of-factly.
“A knight swears absolute loyalty to the one they've vowed to serve. Loyalty itself proves their achievements, and upholding that unwavering devotion preserves their pride.”
There was no anger in her words. She spoke as naturally as water flowing or wind blowing, as if this was simply how things ought to be.
“……Is that pride really so important?”
“It is. A man like you, Adrian, might not understand……”
Different genders, so no understanding? No, that was wrong. Coming from a world where gender roles were reversed from this one, my perspective wasn't so different from hers. Blind obsession toward someone to maintain pride—I could relate, having once felt belonging in a workplace.
“But you can't just swear loyalty to anyone.”
Yet the one she served treated those who pledged loyalty to her like tools. Blinded by the city's revival, she ruthlessly exploited the weak and shrugged off the blood spilled for her sake.
“Helia, you know it too. That woman's selfish, drunk on power…… No matter how much loyalty you give, she won't reciprocate.”
So I hoped she'd stop sacrificing for that woman. Pouring my desperate plea into those words, Helia just gave a wry smile and looked away.
“Even so, I can't betray her.”
No agreement with me, no anger at my insulting her loyalty. She simply explained why she had no choice, seizing this moment quietly.
“Anyone else, maybe…… but not me. I owe her a debt I could never repay in a lifetime.”
“A debt……?”
“Yes, a debt…… Without her, I wouldn't exist as I am today.”
Her eyes, tinged with bitterness, turned to the window. She gazed at the cityscape beyond, as if peering into her past.
“I was an orphan. A rural village was raided by bandits long ago, and I lost my parents who lived there with me. I was left alone.”
A past too heavy for her light tone. I took her words to heart, suppressing my rage toward the lord and listening in silence.
Helia continued her reminiscence in that quiet space.
“And the one who saved me back then was Renes, managing a much smaller territory than now.”
“The lord…… saved you?”
“She was like that then. She couldn't stand injustice and sought to bestow kindness on as many as possible……”
An image impossible to imagine now. But there was no lie in Helia's words. The sincerity in them, and the bitterness at how things had changed, proved it.
“Yes, it was because she took me in that I found hope to live. My achievements, my accomplishments, the public's admiration…… None would have been possible without her mercy. Having received such grace, as my status rose, so did my loyalty to her.”
Yeah, Helia never really had a choice. No matter what that woman was now, the past debt made her existence that crucial—everything Helia had built rested on it.
“After contact with the royal family, she suddenly became obsessed with revitalizing the territory……”
Still, she didn't view her entirely positively. Her voice carried lingering bitterness as she reluctantly continued.
“Even so, I believe in her. I have to. I've received a grace beyond words…… Having vowed my life to her, all I can do is believe she'll return to her old self.”
“……Helia.”
“Of course, expecting you to understand is asking too much.”
A line was drawn. Between me and her. An inevitable boundary because we started from different points with Renes.
“……You must hate her, right, Adrian?”
Yet she didn't scold me, trying to understand instead, her voice rising slightly with excitement.
“Then maybe find an opening and escape the city, away from her……”
Run away. If you can't keep playing her game, that's the only way.
“……No, that's unrealistic. Now that she's obsessed with you, nowhere on the continent would be safe.”
Realizing the impossibility, Helia lay back in bed, pulling the covers over herself to end the talk.
“I'm a bit tired. I need some rest, so can we postpone the rest of this conversation?”
Her voice held sympathy and guilt toward me. Reluctantly, I turned to leave.
*****
After failing to convince Helia, I returned to the mansion and lay on the bed. The mansion that vile woman had given me……
Yeah, everything I'd achieved since coming to this world was essentially by her hand. If I escaped her grasp, what would I have left? Wealth, home, people—all hers. Opposing her meant losing everything I had here.
And on top of that, being branded a criminal, forced to hide forever…… No, maybe that'd be better. Unlike when I first fell into this world, I had power now. I could make something of it; even as a fugitive, I wouldn't starve.
The issue was her followers hunting me down. Among them were people I loved, making the decision impossible.
If Helia and Martina came after me on her orders, would they draw blades on me? If they didn't……
Could I turn their feelings against them and drive my sword into them?
Crash!!
Lost in those thoughts, a massive shatter of glass echoed through the room. Startled, I looked to the window—suspicious women in black clothes were charging straight at me.
“What the hell, who are you…… Ghk!”
They bound my body with ropes and shoved a cloth over my mouth. Reflexively swallowing, an odd scent invaded my lungs, clouding my mind.
Damn, a sedative. Realizing it, I tried to resist, but it was too late. Consciousness faded, and they dragged my limp body away.
I came to some time later.
“Ugh……”
Feeling my dazed mind clear, I scanned my surroundings to grasp the situation. My body was tied with ropes. Stacks of crates suggested a warehouse. And everywhere, black-clad women watched me, whispering.
“What? He's awake already?”
“Weird. That stuff puts you out for three days straight, but he wakes in one? Did we use the wrong dose?”
“Try it yourself then.”
Damn, what the hell's going on? Amid my confusion and wariness, one woman stepped forward from the group, whistling in admiration.
“Wow~ Impressive. Wakes up in a day after a dose that drops orcs? The arena superstar really is something else~”
Her demeanor screamed troublemaker. Convinced she was the leader of this trash heap, I asked her calmly.
“Mind explaining what's going on here?”
“Pfft, if our esteemed cargo's so curious, how could I not?”
She grinned, flashing sharp teeth.
“You've been kidnapped.”
It was explanation enough.