Wandering Malice (2)

"What?"

Contact with Jennis had been cut off?

So that meant… he was missing?

"How did you find out?"

"Well… a letter arrived at the estate yesterday, addressed to me. It was from Jennis, but…"

Ioline held a letter out to me as she spoke. I took it and checked the contents.

Setting aside the greetings and the unnecessary flourishes, the substance of it was this—

"…I may have to be away for quite some time"?

Ioline nodded.

What is going on?

"It might just be that things are taking a few more days, like he said… but for some reason I feel terribly uneasy. In his earlier letter he was certain he'd be back yesterday. And also… how do I put this… the handwriting seems ever so slightly off."

"The handwriting?"

"Yes. Here…"

Ioline handed me two letters. One was the note saying he would return soon; the other was the one saying he would need more time.

I couldn't honestly swear I saw a difference, but if his own sister was this certain, there had to be something.

I studied her anxious face and thought it over. I couldn't be sure of the details, but this moment felt like a critical turning point.

"Lord Swen… what should we do?"

If Jennis is mixed up in something strange… this might be our chance to stop whatever he's planning before it happens.

I'd already intended to investigate him the moment he returned. Working with her on this wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Who else has seen this letter?"

"Just me, for now."

"And you have no idea where Senior Jennis was headed?"

She shook ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her head.

"Lady Ioline. Let's start by confirming what we can, one step at a time."

"What do you mean…?"

I met her eyes and answered with quiet confidence.

"I think we can narrow down where Senior Jennis is."

"Pardon…?"

The place Ioline and I arrived at was the great bridge—the sole approach into Aingart Castle.

Aingart Castle stood on a river island, built between vast waterways. Unlike other territories, anyone who came or went from here left a record of their passage. If Jennis had left the domain, his name would be in those logs. I was certain of it.

Fortunately, I was an officer of Serpina's army. Asking a soldier for the entry records was well within my authority. And since Jennis was an officer as well, the request was even easier to make.

The result, however—

"You're saying his name isn't there?"

"Yes, sir. It appears Lord Jennis never left the domain."

Good.

If he had gone beyond the territory, this would have become a problem I could no longer help with. But if he was still inside the domain, there was hope of finding him.

After hearing the soldier's explanation of the records, I stepped out of the watchtower beside the bridge. Ioline, who had been waiting outside, looked up at me with worry written across her face.

"Well? How does it look?"

"Fortunately, it seems he never left the domain."

"Is that so? Then we should go straight to Brother Irian, form a search party, and—"

"No. Wait a moment."

"…What?"

If we mobilized private troops into a search party, word of this would inevitably reach Serpina's ears. And if she learned of it—and if this truly was treason—the entire Al Kaski family would be wiped out, and any number of people connected to them would lose their lives as well.

A fitting punishment for rebellion, one might say. But once blood was on her hands, every scrap of that resentment would fix itself on Serpina.

She already drew a strange, almost unnatural degree of hatred from every direction. Yuuri and Anima had made disastrous choices out of their grudge against her. Lin had found even the idea of allying with her humiliating. Even Lady Luna had lost blood kin to Serpina and hated her for it.

In a world that seemed designed to make everyone despise her, the best way to keep her safe was simple: reduce, as much as possible, the number of people who had reason to hate her.

Not long ago, when my advice had allowed us to root out the rebels early, reading the malice they held toward her had been effortless. If every grudge she earned only raised the frequency of uprisings, then the solution was to keep her from earning those grudges in the first place.

As a sovereign, she could never entirely avoid staining her hands with blood. But if there was a way to get through this without killing anyone, that was clearly the better path.

Ideally, we would stop the rebellion before it ever began. Simply sparing the Al Kaski family would prevent a web of bitter new enmities from forming.

So this was not the time to make a spectacle of things. Reporting to Serpina could wait until treason was confirmed beyond doubt.

Which left me with the problem of explaining this to Ioline…

I can hardly come out and say, "I suspect your brother is about to commit treason." How am I supposed to put this?

"Lord Swen…?"

"…"

For now, I'd approach it from an angle.

"If a search party starts moving, it could put the missing Senior Jennis in greater danger. If he truly has disappeared, the most likely explanation is that he's been abducted somewhere. If his captors notice a search underway, it might only provoke them."

"Abducted…? You're saying my brother was kidnapped?"

On a hunch, I fed the question into my ability: Has Jennis Al ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kaski been kidnapped?

Figured as much.

Of course it couldn't tell me. Even if it had given me an answer, it almost certainly wouldn't have revealed a location. I supposed I should take what comfort I could from that.

"It's only a possibility at this stage."

"But if we don't form a search party, what else can we do? And if he really has been kidnapped, as you say—"

"Lady Ioline."

I set a hand on her trembling shoulder.

"…!"

I felt the tension in her body ease, little by little, and held her gaze as I spoke in a calm, even voice.

"Sometimes the more urgent the situation, the more carefully you have to take the long way around. I'll help you. Don't worry so much."

"Ah… yes. I understand."

Good. At least she was willing to listen.

In that case, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first thing was to figure out why Jennis had gotten himself into this mess. I couldn't be certain, but talking to the person he'd always been so fixated on might give us some answers.

"Lady Ioline. Steady yourself, and do as I say."

"Please, tell me."

"How long does it take to reach the Al Kaski estate from here?"

"Pardon? Well… it isn't all that far from Aingart Castle, but why do you suddenly—?"

I looked at her bewildered expression and said,

"We're going to see Lord Irian."

Ioline and I took a carriage out through the castle gates and headed toward the outskirts of the Aingart domain. The sun had already begun to sink, and evening was settling in—a little concerning—but just as she'd said, the journey to the Al Kaski estate didn't take long.

"We've arrived."

I stepped down from the carriage and studied the vast manor spread out before us. Even on the outskirts of the castle, maintaining an estate of this scale inside the domain itself spoke volumes. The Al Kaski family was every bit as influential as I'd expected.

"This way, please…"

I followed her, and servants came forward to greet us with the utmost deference.

"Welcome home, Lady Ioline. Forgive me, but the gentleman accompanying you…?"

"He's a guest of Brother Irian's."

"I see."

The elderly maid's tone turned immediately respectful.

"Then allow me to show you—"

"It's all right. I'll take care of it. You needn't trouble yourself."

"Are you certain? Then, about dinner—"

"We've already eaten. We're fine."

"If my lady says so…"

And just like that, we entered the estate without difficulty.

The interior was ordinary enough—though "ordinary" was a relative term. The place had a refined, luxurious air that made it hard to believe it belonged to a fallen noble house. Considering how thoroughly the chaos of the age had broken most aristocratic families, even this much was impressive.

I followed her a little farther until we reached something like a drawing room.

"We can wait here."

"Lord Irian hasn't returned yet?"

"No. He's been terribly busy with his work."

A foolish thought crossed my mind—what could there possibly be to work so hard at in this world, beyond farming, commerce, and military drills?—but a domain and castle this developed would naturally require a great deal of manpower.

As for me, Serpina had been summoning me constantly these past few days, so I had no particular assignment of my own. If I had to name one, advising her was my duty.

I wasn't sure how much time passed before the door opened and a dark-haired, handsome young man strode in from the far end of the hall. I'd seen that face once before.

"Brother Irian…!"

Irian turned his head toward Ioline.

"Ioline. What's going on? I was told I had a guest."

"Yes. Well…"

Ioline gestured toward me with her eyes.

"…"

I rose from my seat and offered a light bow. Irian returned it.

"So you're the one who came looking for me?"

"Yes."

"My apologies for keeping you waiting. Your name was Swen, was it not?"

"That's correct."

"Well then, Swen. What brings you here ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so suddenly, without so much as a word of notice?"

"Would it be all right if I explained carefully?"

"I suppose so. Ioline—leave us for a moment."

"Ah, I…"

"No. Lady Ioline may stay."

"Hm?"

"It'll be easier to explain with her present."

Irian's brow twitched slightly at that. Then he folded his arms and regarded me with open wariness.

"Swen. Don't tell me…"

"…?"

And then he said something I had never once considered.

"You haven't come to ask me, as head of the family, for Ioline's hand in marriage, have you?"

"Brother…!!"

Leaving the flustered Ioline behind me, I answered in the most courteous tone I could manage.

"That is not the case."

"Is that so? Good. I wouldn't want to settle a matter of that importance lightly myself. I've heard of your distinguished service more than once, but even so, deciding something like that on the spur of the moment would be… difficult. I'd appreciate your understanding."

"…"

Ioline had gone scarlet and dropped her gaze to the floor. Setting that aside, I studied Irian carefully.

A young man who had become head of his house early, distinguished himself on the battlefield, and risen as a promising talent within Serpina's army. Since he didn't exist in my memories, it was all but certain he would die at some point.

"Then allow me to get straight to the point. Lady Ioline—would you mind explaining?"

"Ah…"

Having recovered a little of her composure, Ioline nodded and gave a brief account of the situation, just as I'd coached her beforehand.

"You're saying Jennis's behavior has been strange?"

"Yes. He's constantly angry, and he won't even speak to me… I thought something might have happened to him, and I wondered if you knew anything about it, Brother."

"And your reason for coming here?"

Irian's gaze shifted to me.

"As his roommate, I've been worried about Senior Jennis as well. He's been away from the barracks constantly, which is concerning in itself… and I happened to run into Lady Ioline when she came looking for him, so we decided to come together."

"Is that so? …No matter how I look at it, something feels off."

"…!"

Irian glanced back and forth between Ioline and me several times. Was he still suspicious of the two of us? I was sorry to disappoint him, but I already had someone who would become my wife.

He folded his arms and sank into thought.

"I can't think of anything that would explain it."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Jennis was never a particularly ambitious man."

"But he used to talk about you constantly, Lord Irian. He was enormously proud of you. When I saw him looking so conspicuously dejected, I naturally assumed it had something to do with you…"

"I appreciate the thought, but that fool has to live his own life eventually. A man who bears the Al Kaski name can't spend forever idolizing someone else."

"In any case—is there nothing that comes to mind? Anything at all."

"Something that comes to mind…"

Irian thought for a moment, then slowly parted his lips.

"It doesn't seem related to his current duties, but… not long ago, for once, he raised his voice at me."

"About what?"

"Is that so? If you wouldn't mind telling us…"

"…"

Irian looked down at the cold tea sitting on the table.

"…Swen. This is a rather complicated matter to discuss in front of you, of all people."

"Pardon?"

"What do you mean, Brother…?"

"Hmm…"

Irian let out several short sighs.

"You know that a new deputy commander of the occupation forces was appointed recently, don't you?"

…Ah.

The moment he said it, I understood why he'd been reluctant to speak.

Airen Juliette.

The red-haired knight who had taken the deputy commander post that everyone had believed would go to Irian.

So her name comes up here, of all places.

Coming to see Irian, I thought, might have been the right decision after all.