Going Out for a Picnic (1)
Going Out for a Picnic (1)
A carriage was waiting in front of the main entrance.
It was beautifully painted and adorned with the family crest.
Two soldiers in leather armor sat on the driver's seat, while servants loaded various items into the back of the carriage.
A knight stood nearby, soothing his horse.
'As expected of the Duke's household.'
Though it was only a short outing, the preparations were thorough.
I hadn't realized it while living like a hamster on a wheel inside the mansion, but the Gracia Duke's household was one of the most prestigious families in the Kingdom.
Even now, they were great nobles who wielded immense power. There was no way they'd make half-hearted preparations when the eldest son of such a family was going on an outing.
'But considering that, is this actually on the modest side?'
Then again, it would also be strange to have excessive security when we weren't going far.
'But then, there's more than just one or two strange things.'
After saying goodbye to Flora, I climbed into the carriage, and the people already inside looked at me.
Inside the carriage sat Brother Simon, his betrothed, Adria, and Adria's maid.
"Are there no other servants?"
Strangely, the servants who always accompanied Brother Simon were nowhere to be seen.
"...The security is sufficient, and I told them not to come."
Brother Simon replied with a reluctant look. As expected, he didn't even seem to want to talk to me.
It was a puzzling answer, but it wasn't my place to say anything. I propped my sword upright beside me and sat down.
"So, where are we going today?"
When I asked her, Adria answered excitedly.
"Majorka Fortress! And I want to see the defensive walls too!"
It was an unexpected request, but it was also very typical of Adria.
"Meseta City also has a large market and a beautiful temple. The plaza in the center of the city is wonderful, and the sunset from the temple spire is beautiful too, but..."
Brother Simon spoke with a look of regret, but Adria bowed her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry. I want to see the ruins of the Great War first."
Brother Simon could only sigh in disappointment at her words.
It seemed the eldest son of the Duke of Gracia was completely wrapped around his betrothed's finger.
'Ah, to be young.'
Listening to these fresh-faced teenagers talk, I felt a slight twinge in my chest.
Just then, Adria glared at me.
"Why are you making that weird face! It looks just like the smile my dad makes. You're weird!"
Oops. Apparently, my thoughts had shown right on my face.
"I was just lost in thought for a moment. My apologies."
"No, it's not like you need to apologize..."
She mumbled hesitantly at my apology.
As I spoke with her, Brother Simon chimed in from the side.
"Why do you speak informally to that fellow? I've never seen you speak informally to anyone else."
Right. That was true. She'd spoken informally to me since our very first meeting, so I hadn't thought much of it.
But looking at her now, she treated everyone else with respect! Why was she only speaking informally to me?
"Ah! You're right."
Adria's eyes widened in surprise.
Don't tell me she hadn't even realized it herself?
"Why did I do that? Hmm... Because he's younger than me? No, maybe it's because I heard so many rumors about him back home? He felt somehow familiar from the very first moment I saw him..."
Adria bowed her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry... No, my apologies. I hope you aren't offended."
She apologized as soon as she realized it. She really did have a good heart. If only she weren't getting involved with me, I'd think of her as an angel...
"No, it is quite all right."
I accepted her apology. I thought that was a nice way to settle things, but unfortunately, Brother Simon cut in.
"Ahem, but I don't think you need to switch to formal speech so suddenly..."
He'd interrupted because he saw us talking so closely, but now that she was using formal speech with me, he didn't seem to like that either.
Was this his rebellious phase? Dealing with kids really wasn't easy.
Adria was also looking at me with sparkling eyes.
Sighing inwardly, I spoke up.
"You can just treat me comfortably, as you did before."
"Okay!"
Adria smiled brightly, and Simon looked at her with an incredibly complex expression.
The carriage passed through the mansion's main gate and headed straight for the city.
The mansion was located north of Meseta, the central city of the territory.
To the north of the mansion, a vast forest and mountain range blocked enemies, while to the south, the sprawling urban area of Meseta City stretched out.
Beyond the urban area, a high defensive wall that broadly encircled the city came into view. It was the outer wall protecting Meseta City.
After passing through the city's upscale northern residential district, we crossed the central plaza Brother Simon had mentioned.
"This plaza was built when the territory was first established... To the west is the central market, and that beautiful building with the spire to the east is the temple. Even the Archbishop admired its beauty immensely..."
Though Brother Simon was always polite and gentle, at that moment he was just an excited boy.
He eagerly chattered about the scenery passing by outside the carriage, and Adria's maid and I dutifully turned our heads like tourists listening to a guide.
Unfortunately, Adria didn't seem interested at all.
After talking for a long time, Brother Simon finally fell silent.
What a shame. She could have at least pretended to listen a little. It wasn't easy to find a guide like this.
I had rarely stepped outside the mansion, so the sight of the streets was entirely new to me.
Perhaps because we weren't passing through the back alleys, the city was cleaner and livelier than I had expected.
Well, it wasn't as clean as the modern cities I'd lived in during my past life, but thankfully, it wasn't like the medieval cities covered in horse manure I'd read about in books, either.
The Gracia Duke's household also seemed to be quite well-regarded by the residents of this city.
As the carriage passed, people stepped aside when they saw the family crest and immediately bowed their heads.
While many bowed with fear on their faces, quite a few offered their greetings sincerely.
It was only natural for people to fear the lord of the territory. Still, seeing people greet him sincerely, it seemed the Duke had earned a fair amount of trust from his people.
But so what?
Even in my past life, there were plenty of great men who abandoned their families and were still respected.
Whether he was a great man or not, I had no intention whatsoever of acknowledging or forgiving the Duke.
We crossed the main avenue past the plaza, and the high defensive wall drew nearer.
Perhaps because it was daytime, the city gates stood wide open, and people waiting to enter the city formed a long line on one side.
The soldiers managing the crowd saluted when they saw the Duke's carriage, and the people in line quickly bowed their heads.
Naturally, there was no inspection. The soldiers recognized the knight and cleared the way, and the carriage passed through the gates and out of the city.
Majorka Fortress was about a thirty-minute carriage ride beyond the southern wall.
After following a road between pastures and climbing a low hill, a half-collapsed building came into view.
Majorka Fortress, a relic from the Great War, where the heroes fought the Demon King to save the world.
This was the backdrop to the founding myth: the heroes and the allied forces fought a life-or-death battle against the Demon King's army, and after their victory, two of the heroes returned to establish the nation.
Well, now it was nothing but a desolate ruin, with only the scars of war remaining.
Since this wasn't a world that protected cultural heritage, the ruins had been left to decay into mere rubble.
The soldiers parked the carriage below the ruins.
The knight rode off to scout around the fortress, and the rest of us got out of the carriage and headed toward the ruins.
Watching the soldiers guard the carriage, I tilted my head in confusion.
Although the Duke's territory was famous for being safe even within the Kingdom, they seemed to be paying far too little attention to security, especially with Simon here.
Well, since everyone in our party had decent skills, it didn't seem like much of a problem, but still.
"Wow! So this is the very fortress where the Great Battle of Majorka took place?"
Adria stepped into the ruins with a deeply moved expression.
Brother Simon seemed to have visited multiple times. To him, staying by his betrothed's side seemed far more important than looking around.
Unlike when she was in the carriage, Adria's maid was scanning the surroundings with a tense expression.
Though her gaze rested on the collapsed ruins, her expression was definitely not that of a tourist.
As expected, she was a bodyguard, not a maid. Or perhaps a bodyguard-cum-maid, since she was also good at her maid duties.
As we made our way inside, avoiding the piles of collapsed buildings, we could see walls and sculptures that were still standing.
Hardly any trace of those days remained, but it didn't seem that way to Adria.
"Oh, there are traces of a mural on this remaining wall."
"Ah, about that. Originally, this fortress..."
To me, it just looked like simple scratch marks, but Brother Simon began explaining passionately.
He truly was worthy of being the Duke's heir, the one who would carry the family into the next generation. Aside from his swordsmanship, he was impressively knowledgeable and dignified.
Though he was currently pouring all his energy into his romantic pursuits, the future of the Duke's household looked incredibly bright.
'I should probably back off now.'
Since he was trying so hard, I felt I should give them some space.
I signaled to Adria's maid with my eyes: just far enough back not to interfere with security.
She understood at once, and we carefully put some distance between us.
We stopped far enough away that the collapsed walls blocked our view and Simon's voice reached us only faintly.
Then the two of us climbed onto a wall that offered a good view of the surroundings.
"We have a good view of the area around the fortress from here, so this should be fine, right?"
At my words, the maid bowed her head.
"By the way, I haven't heard your name yet."
"I am Bianca. I am merely a maid. You may speak informally to me."
"Are you truly just a maid?"
At my question, Bianca slightly averted her gaze.
"Then, could you at least tell me how things are playing out?"
Since my plan to buy time had gone down the drain, I had no choice but to ask directly.
Bianca looked at me with a curious expression. Had I spoken in a way that didn't suit my age again?
"They said you were a genius, but you're even more remarkable than I'd heard."
No, seriously, what kind of rumors have been spreading about me?
"You will find out soon enough. And the task you must perform remains the same as always."
"You mean security?"
"Yes. I look forward to working with you."
So even if I found out, my job would still be the same: security... In that case?
"Are you saying that Lady Adria, the one we're guarding, is in danger? If so, isn't security far too lax?"
"Yes. I am counting on you."
It seemed my guess was correct.
At that thought, the gears in my head began to fall into place, and something was just about to click.
But unfortunately, I was interrupted at the very last moment.
Whoosh.
A cold wind brushed past me.
At the same time, the already gloomy atmosphere of the ruins grew even heavier.
I felt as though something were slowly crawling up my spine.
That sensation, which I'd felt several times before I died, grew increasingly intense.
'The air has changed!' was exactly the phrase to use at a time like this.
I quickly scanned the surroundings. Then my eyes met Bianca's.
Bianca was also scanning the area with a stiff expression.
She was thinking exactly the same thing as me.
She and I dashed toward Simon and Adria.
The two of them were talking while looking at a half-broken statue.
Had things been going well? At our sudden interruption, Simon's eyebrows twitched.
But this was a moment to put my support for Simon's romantic endeavors on hold.
Before I could speak, Bianca questioned Simon first.
"Where are the knights protecting the Young Lord?"
"Protecting me? What do you mean?"
Bianca frowned at Simon's response. As if she'd realized something, she urgently asked again.
"There are no accompanying servants either... Don't tell me you came here without telling anyone else?"
No way. That's impossible. There's no way Simon would sneak off in secret...
"...Why does that matter?"
He really had sneaked off in secret!
"Other people must have seen us when we boarded the carriage. There was a knight and soldiers as well."
When I said that, Bianca shook her head.
"We boarded the carriage before they arrived. No one else would have seen us."
I couldn't help looking dumbfounded.
Perhaps Simon had caught my expression, because his face flushed red.
"What does it matter! I couldn't just let my betrothed go on an outing all by herself!"
The Duke's well-brought-up eldest son still hadn't gotten past his adolescent phase.
Originally, this outing was meant for Adria alone.
Wait, why had they sent her on an outing alone? Had they even gone so far as to deliberately keep Simon away?
As my doubts grew, Adria spoke up.
"What's going on?"
"There might be an ambush."
At those words, Adria drew her sword.
"As I suspected, something's going on that I don't know about, isn't there?"
"My apologies."
"It's fine. I heard from my dad that it might be dangerous."
She looked straight at Bianca.
"You can tell me now, right?"
I really wanted to hear it too.
"I will explain after this is over. For now, we must return to the mansion immediately. Things have gotten a bit complicated."
Though Bianca wasn't looking at Simon, it was obvious to everyone who she meant.
"Don't talk about me like I'm baggage!"
Her words seemed to have pricked Simon's pride.
With a flushed face, Simon drew his sword, and I sighed as I gripped mine.
Getting caught up in some unknown business was bad enough, but now things had gone awry as well.
I'd lived peacefully for a few years, but it seemed my hardships were about to begin all over again.