Chapter 370: Bread and Dagger (68)
Chapter 370: Bread and Dagger (68)
Stopping Elsie would have been the sensible thing to do, yet here she was, offering to go with her.
It was a decision that, by any measure, was unlike Delphine.
Elsie was beyond stunned; she was looking at Delphine with deep suspicion.
Delphine, however, remained perfectly composed. There wasn't a hint of hesitation in the way she sat upright and tilted her glass.
It meant her proposal was nothing but the sincere truth.
Finally, after a moment of wavering, Elsie spoke up cautiously.
"You... you... Is that rumor actually true?"
"What rumor?"
Delphine feigned total innocence, which only seemed to make Elsie more frantic.
It was inevitable that the girl’s voice would rise.
"That you and Master have a... a strange relationship! Is that why you're pushing yourself so hard to save him?!"
"Hmph, I wondered what nonsense you were going to spout now..."
Delphine merely snorted as if the idea were absurd.
Her voice, slightly laced with the effects of the alcohol, continued.
"Could you stop with the petty jealousy? It’s not like you have any proof."
"I smelled Master on your bed!"
At Elsie’s frantic shout, Delphine froze.
A smell?
She made sure the bedding was laundered every single day. The sheets that had been soaked in all sorts of bodily fluids that day were no exception. So, what did she mean, she smelled Ian?
However, her agitation lasted only a split second.
Delphine let out a deep sigh and pressed a hand to her forehead, giving Elsie a look of pure pity.
"Lainella... you really are a hopeless case, aren't you? Now you're going around smelling other people's bedding?"
Now it was Elsie’s turn to freeze.
She let out a startled "Ah!" and her body went stiff.
It didn't take long for the shocked girl to practically jump out of her skin.
"N-No! It’s not like I did it on purpose! I just happened to catch a scent I missed, and... and I just spaced out for a second! I-I really didn't mean to!"
"Right, right... Regardless, I have no intention of letting a pervert stay in my room. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave now."
Elsie spent a good while rambling and making excuses, but Delphine only met her with a look of contempt. In the end, Elsie was forced to retreat, her face flushed crimson with shame.
Not before they firmly struck a pact to go rescue Ian together, of course.
Left alone, Delphine finally stood up and buried herself in her bed.
She didn't even know why she was acting like this.
Now that the Marquis of Yurdina had grown frail, she was the pillar of the family. She shouldn't be leaving her post recklessly, and she certainly shouldn't be taking risks.
And yet, why?
Did she really grow to like that man?
Delphine gave a bitter smile at the absurdity of the thought, yet she found herself unconsciously bringing the blanket to her nose.
She couldn't smell Ian.
"......Honestly, she’s a total dog."
In the silent room, only her faint lament lingered.
As Delphine drifted off to sleep, a hazy mix of emotions flickered across her face.
Regret, longing.
No one could know the woman's true heart.
Perhaps not even herself.
And a few days later.
Before Delphine and Elsie, who had finished their preparations to depart with a small force, an unexpected guest arrived.
"I'm going too."
It was Emma, the woman with reddish-brown hair.
She spoke with eyes that burned with clear determination.
"I... I have to see Ian."
And so, the 'Ian Rescue Team' was formed.
*
The Elves remained silent at my proposal.
We were in a hideout tucked away somewhere in the coniferous forest. As it turned out, the Elves had prepared a safe house that no one knew about.
They called it insurance for an emergency.
They said no one knew its location except for the village Elves. Since even I hadn't known of its existence, its security was beyond doubt.
I just couldn't help but look a little hurt by the secret.
Luguet, whose face was now covered in bandages, gave an awkward smile. He spoke as if trying to soothe me.
"Ian, you understand, right? We wanted to tell you, we just haven't had the chance until now..."
"I don't know about that."
"Hey, are you really going to be like this?!"
After that bit of bickering, we returned to the present.
Having gathered the Elves, I got straight to the point.
I wanted to go to the 'Headquarters.'
It was the place where Leoric and the core Elven forces were stationed.
Naturally, the Elves were skeptical.
"Would the Headquarters even accept a human? Especially someone as famous as you... you're even scheduled for a, what was it? A conferment of peerage?"
That was Luguet's opinion.
It was a valid point, so I kept my mouth shut and nodded.
"Human, do you really have to go to the Headquarters? Let's just build a new village and live here... there are plenty of trees around!"
Isha’s plea followed.
Having seen her village burn and nearly losing her life, she was disheartened. Her desire to avoid any more risks or incidents was palpable.
It wasn't that I couldn't sympathize with her.
So, I remained silent again.
From Uncle Dolph to Aunt Miera, most of the village Elves expressed their opposition. Some seemed to fear that I, the village's core strength, would abandon them.
Finally, it was Old Man Pope's turn.
Only then did I hear the question I had been waiting for.
"Why?"
It was a blunt inquiry.
At his challenging tone, several Elves looked back and forth between me and Pope with anxious eyes. It was a scene that illustrated just how much my status had changed.
Originally, the Elves didn't walk on eggshells around me.
They just thought of me as a talented outsider who had rolled in and was doing a great job adapting to the village. But in just a few hours, my position had shifted drastically.
I was now the village's savior and its sole protector.
Without me, surviving the human invasion was impossible.
Yet Old Man Pope remained unchanged. He didn't care about my status in the slightest.
If anything, he pressed me with his characteristically blunt tone.
"You know well enough that the Headquarters is dangerous, don't you? And the villagers will be anxious without you... Is there a reason you must go to the Headquarters right now?"
"......Senior Neris."
Instead of answering, I called for Neris.
At that, Neris bowed her head politely. A crow hopped onto the shoulder of the woman who had been standing behind me.
The Elves stared at the crow with eyes full of questions.
Why was a crow appearing all of a sudden?
Neris began to explain as if to clear their confusion.
"This crow is a type of familiar. It has the ability to store scenes it has seen and heard and transmit them to the caster. The specifics are... a secret of the Imperial Intelligence Agency."
Snap.
Neris flicked her fingers, creating a crisp sound.
As if responding, the crow let out a caw. Soon, its pitch-black eyes flickered with a blue light, and it began to project images into the air.
At first, the Elves were mesmerized by this new technology they had never seen before.
But as the footage continued, their expressions hardened. By the end, most were swallowing groans or looking on with disbelief.
The one who had the most violent reaction was Old Man Pope.
"It’s a fabrication! You, do you believe this woman's words?! She’s a woman sent by the Empire!"
"Technically, I'm part of the Empire too... Pope."
I spoke with a sigh in my voice.
"To be blunt, the Elves here aren't much help in a fight. There’s no reason for Senior Neris to go through the trouble of deceiving us."
"She might be deceiving you, not us...!"
"I trust Senior Neris. She is one of the few people I have total confidence in."
My words were filled with strong conviction.
At my firm tone, Pope finally fell silent. He looked back and forth between the images floating in the air and Neris with a confused gaze.
Neris herself was blushing, looking embarrassed by the trust I placed in her.
Agony flickered across Pope's face.
He was a devout believer. It was uncertain whether he could accept this even with logic and evidence presented to him.
Religion was a realm of faith, not reason.
I privately predicted that Pope's resistance would last much longer.
As if to prove it, he even glared at me with a face full of resentment. His eyes burned with a desperate defiance, as if asking what I could possibly know.
But that, too, was brief.
Pope, who had been holding my gaze, suddenly dropped his eyes.
He knew.
I had saved the village even while turning against my own kind. There was no reason for me to lie.
A weak lament escaped Pope's lips.
"It can't be... Lord Leoric has been attacking humans? Is... is that why humanity has been hunting us down so relentlessly?"
"It seems to be a bit of both. I suspect the faction led by Sir Alex and the faction led by Leoric were playing both sides against each other."
Pope looked completely soul-crushed.
The remaining Elves also couldn't hide their distress. The 'Headquarters' was their spiritual pillar.
The only place they could always lean on.
But that place was actually the one forging the chains of hatred.
It was a fact that was hard to accept. I understood how they felt.
Because that was exactly how I felt when I cut down Sir Alex.
The first one to snap out of it was Luguet.
With a face still clouded by confusion, he asked me cautiously.
"There’s no problem with telling you the location of the Headquarters. But that place is difficult for even an Elf to enter... What do you plan to do?"
It was a reasonable question.
And a problem more important than anything else.
To be honest, I was feeling a bit troubled, but I forced a confident smile.
It was to give them reassurance.
"I don't have to be the one to go inside."
"......?"
Luguet still looked puzzled, but I didn't give him the answer yet.
I intended to reveal the plan only after they had fully accepted the situation.
However, I subtly glanced at someone.
The gray-haired Elf girl lost in deep thought.
Avian.
And even the crow projecting images into the air.
My plan relied entirely on these two. My only worry was whether Avian would 'betray' the Headquarters and follow me.
My throat felt dry with nerves.
Actually, besides that, I had one more thing weighing on my mind.
My comrades back at Yurdina Castle—would they be okay?
I wondered if they were worrying themselves sick because of Leoric's slander.
I let out a long breath, feeling the weight of the uncertainty.
But this, too, would be temporary. By the time I returned from the Headquarters, I would have the means to clear the misunderstanding.
I only hoped my friends wouldn't suffer too much until then.
*
The Princess felt like she was going to go insane.
It’s my fault. All of it.