The Capital
The Capital
From his rambling, it seemed the Duchess wasn't here.
Nor had the Duchess put him up to it.
Besides, it had been a very long time since he'd last seen her.
He said that after falling in love with the Duchess at a banquet at the Duke's estate, he'd spoken with her privately and sworn his undying loyalty to her.
Even without her asking, he'd sent her information about the first Duchess, showered her with gifts, and devoted himself to her, abandoning his family and wives.
Apparently, she'd sent him letters of thanks in return.
But those letters didn't seem to mention an affair or contain any whispered declarations of love.
"My love for her is not something so vulgar! It is not something a mere brat like you can understand!"
When I pointed that out, he shouted something like that.
In the end, was this just the solo act of a married man who'd fallen in love all by himself?
Somehow, I couldn't help sighing at that conclusion.
The Baron hadn't fallen in love all on his own, of course. The Duchess must have led him down that path.
Seen from another angle, it was a truly terrifying ability.
She could make someone fall for her and keep that affection alive until it drove them to do something like this.
If she'd entered politics or stayed in the capital, she might have turned the entire country upside down.
But now, she would grow old alone in a corner of her house.
Fortunately, it seemed I wouldn't have to change my future plans or my schedule for the trip to the capital.
Surely, there wouldn't be another person like her.
"My beloved Maria, I prepared all of this for you. I've even prepared a child for you. And..."
He was now half out of his mind, rambling incoherently.
Since there were no other accomplices, it was time to wrap things up as planned and head back.
I picked up the sword the Baron had dropped.
It was an ornate sword.
I drove it deep into the chest of the still-rambling Baron.
The Baron's body shuddered violently, and soon his breath stopped.
I let go of the sword and stepped back.
In the disheveled room, I saw the Baron with his own sword driven into his chest.
Until the very end, he stared blankly at the portrait.
I clenched my hands tightly.
In my past life, I wouldn't have dared even dream of doing something like this. But to survive in this world, I had to do even worse things. I had no choice.
Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was on my hands. Even when I rubbed them against my clothes, it didn't feel as though anything was coming off.
After rubbing them for a long time, I finally let out a sigh.
My hands trembled as I rubbed them against my clothes.
As expected, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, killing someone like this was difficult.
Even a mind that had endured countless deaths couldn't shield such a young body from the shock.
Once I admitted that to myself, my trembling hands stopped.
What a relief.
After regaining my composure, I made an even bigger mess of the room.
I also slashed the portrait in one long stroke of my sword and splashed alcohol over it.
After wrecking the room like that, it looked as though someone had gone on a drunken rampage and then committed suicide.
Anyone who looked closely might spot some strange inconsistencies, but his wives would likely do their best to turn a blind eye.
Well, even if they found it strange and investigated, it wouldn't matter.
After all, no one would ever connect it to a young boy who was supposed to be camping dozens of kilometers away.
Some expensive-looking items lay scattered across the floor, but I ignored them all and slipped out of the room.
Rather than retracing my steps, I continued along the underground passage.
If it was a secret passage in a noble's mansion, there had to be a hidden exit outside the mansion at the other end.
As I ran along, just as I'd expected, I spotted stairs leading up at the end of the passage, along with an iron door fitted with a mechanism.
I climbed the stairs and examined the closed door.
It was a mechanical door made up of a wheel and leaf springs.
Perhaps because it had been used more often than I'd expected, the gaps around the door had been polished smooth. When I spun the wheel with all my strength, the door opened easily.
Rumble.
I opened the door and climbed up, finding myself inside a half-ruined house.
It seemed to be abandoned. Or perhaps it had been disguised to look that way.
The house stood in a secluded spot, a little way from the village.
Rumble.
As I stepped outside, the door closed again, probably thanks to the leaf springs.
The door leading underground was exceptionally well-made.
Though it was made of iron, it was difficult to distinguish from the rest of the floor.
It looked as though even I would have trouble opening the iron door from the outside.
Still, I had no reason or need to open it again.
I stepped out of the house. It stood a little way from the village.
The surroundings were filled with nothing but collapsed houses. It was as though this area alone had been abandoned after some incident.
It was still dark outside. Sunrise was a long way off, but given the distance, I had to hurry.
"Shall I get going?"
With my sword slung over my back, I took a deep breath.
And then I started running again.
As time passed and the sun began to rise, I made it back to where the group was staying.
Everyone except the soldier on guard duty was asleep.
It was easy to avoid the soldier, who was staring blankly in one direction with his eyes half-closed, and I quietly made my way to the carriage.
And just as I was about to step into the carriage—
"Are you only just returning?"
A voice rang out, stopping me in my tracks.
A half-asleep girl's voice.
It was the Baron's daughter. She was sitting against the carriage, dressed in her traveling clothes.
"You haven't slept yet?"
"When someone hasn't returned, it would be bad manners to go to sleep first."
She replied with a soft giggle.
Her smile shone brightly in the newly rising morning sun, but unfortunately, it meant nothing to me.
Nor was it the sort of captivating smile that could bewitch people, like the Duchess's.
"By the way, did you really come back empty-handed? You said you were good at hunting."
She tilted her head and looked me up and down.
Her face seemed puzzled, but her eyes had grown incredibly sharp.
"There wasn't as much game worth catching as I expected."
I shrugged and dragged over the object I'd tossed at the outskirts of the campsite.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
When I dragged over a carcass several times larger than my own body, the soldier on guard duty was startled.
"Ah! Isn't that a wild boar?"
At the sight of the wild boar, which was far from ordinary in size, the soldier made a great fuss. Everyone who'd been sleeping under their blankets woke up and came out to look at the boar I'd caught.
Once I'd dragged the wild boar right up to the carriage, I looked at her and shrugged.
"I barely managed to catch one. Since everyone was sleeping, I just tossed it outside."
At my words, the sharpness in her eyes faded. Then she let out a sigh and stood up.
"I'm glad you made it back safely."
Though her tone sounded relieved, there was a hint of grumbling beneath her words, as if she felt she'd wasted her time.
The soldiers and the others chattered excitedly as they looked at the wild boar I'd brought back, and at last I could breathe a sigh of relief.
I could have returned at least an hour earlier, but I'd caught it just in case, and it seemed to have helped far more than I'd expected.
Still.
Why had the Baron's daughter waited for me without sleeping?
If I were an ignorant, naive young master, I might have deluded myself into thinking she'd waited because she'd fallen for me, or perhaps out of some angelic kindness. But I couldn't entertain either thought in the slightest.
I watched her back closely as she stepped inside the carriage.
The breakfast that followed was incredibly lively, thanks to the wild boar I'd brought back.
"No way, you stayed up all night just to catch this? How pathetic."
Despite being surprised by the larger-than-expected wild boar, Manuel mocked me as always.
Naturally, neither the others nor I paid him any mind.
The Baron's son and daughter, who were our guests, watched the scene with curiosity.
Manuel grumbled, but everyone else was delighted.
After all, there was no way the food on a journey could be good.
The burly soldiers immediately butchered the wild boar, and its meat was added to the breakfast soup.
After eating our fill of meat soup—a rather unusual breakfast—we set off again.
We left the territory behind and headed for the capital.
As we continued our journey to the capital, I wondered.
Whether it was all right to leave the Baron's daughter, Balea, alone.
In the Baron's case, even if I regressed to the past again, he was someone who would harm me, so I couldn't leave him be. But that wasn't true of Balea.
Though her personality seemed dangerous and she had impressive abilities, now that the Baron was dead, I couldn't be sure she would actually harm me.
She herself hadn't wanted to listen to the Baron's words, either.
Still, leaving her be left a bad taste in my mouth, so my worries could only deepen.
Fortunately, she didn't take off her mask until we arrived in the capital.
And so, a week later, we finally arrived in the capital.
The capital of the Carlos Kingdom. This was the city where Knight Carlos, who had defeated the Demon King alongside the Hero, returned to his ruined homeland and founded the Kingdom.
Before he founded the Kingdom, the city had another name. But after Knight Carlos established the Kingdom, it came to be called 'Palma,' after the name of his sword.
Before our eyes lay a massive city enclosed by a grand fortress wall.
A city several times larger than Meseta, where the Duke's estate was located, stretched out before us.
"Wow..."
Passing through the city gates, the soldiers who were visiting the capital for the first time let out continuous gasps of admiration.
The Baron's son and daughter were busy looking around, too, and even Brother Manuel was occupied scanning the surroundings.
I, too, was genuinely impressed.
It was much larger than I'd expected.
Tall buildings of five stories or more, countless people, carriages, and horses. Yet the streets weren't all that dirty, and the smell wasn't bad either.
The Kingdom's capital was far more bustling and complex than Meseta, the capital of the Duke's estate, but it was still quite beautiful to look at.
We passed through the city gates without inspection and headed straight for the residential district.
It was where the Duke and other members of the family stayed when they came to the capital.
Naturally, it was smaller than the estate back home, but it was a classic three-story mansion in an upscale residential area, befitting the Duke's dignity.
People were waiting in front of the mansion.
A middle-aged man who appeared to be the butler and maids in uniform were waiting outside the door.
"Welcome."
They bowed to Manuel, but the words they spoke immediately afterward weren't directed to him. They were meant for the Baron's son.
"A message has arrived from the Baron's household via communication magic. It is a summons for you to return immediately."
He handed a letter to the Baron's son.
It bore the crest of the capital's Magic Tower. It was a magical communication letter.
After opening the letter, the Baron's son frowned. He looked bewildered, completely at a loss.
"What is it?"
When his younger sister asked, he handed her the letter.
Balea read its contents, then let out a low exclamation.
"Oh! They say Father has passed away."
When she raised her head, her face was filled with sorrow, but I remembered the exclamation I'd heard just before.
It had been an exclamation mixed with joy.