Justice Does Not Yield (5)
Here stood three people, each thrown into a situation they never saw coming.
A woman who had infiltrated the enemy's den only to witness a comrade's betrayal right before her eyes.
A knight who, on the very day he resolved to defect in service of a greater cause, was caught red-handed by one of the kingdom's highest-ranking knights.
And a man who had simply been trying to buy a cake on his way home when disaster struck.
One was flustered. One was stunned. One just wanted to go home. Of the three, the man with the least stake in any of this was the first to speak.
"Uh."
"..."
"I don't think putting that down would change much about this conversation."
It was the most sensible advice he could offer, given that he had no intention of hurting anyone. But neither of them heard a word of it. They kept staring into each other's eyes.
The silence stretched on and on. At last, Dyke's trembling voice broke through it.
"Ru... Everdeen?"
"That's right. Knight Dyke."
"You were a woman all along? But why are you even here..."
"I should be the one asking that."
"And what on earth is that getup..."
"..."
Ru had nothing to say on that particular point. Besides, there were far more serious matters at hand than fretting over something so trivial.
"And what of you? A servant of His Majesty the King, bowing his head to someone else?"
"Because unlike you, I am not a fool who blindly serves a blind king. A true knight knows how to choose whom he kneels before."
"Is that how you excuse your own weakness? A truly filthy method."
"What did you say? You—who have spent years blinding the kingdom with your idiotic hero act—dare speak that way to me...!"
Both of them had once been among the kingdom's most loyal, and the arguments they had spent so long refining now tore into each other's weak points with ruthless precision. Of course, the only spectator on the scene was yawning in boredom, but their heated debate showed no sign of stopping.
"A man who entrusted his fate to assassins dares speak of the kingdom's honor? I cannot tolerate this. Where does that shamelessness even come from?"
"From the fact that I alone saw through your hypocrisy. Amusing, isn't it—the man who tried to hold the kingdom's destiny in his own two hands, lecturing anyone on shamelessness."
"Not only weak, but foolish as well, Dyke. Was jealousy the only reason you betrayed your family and brothers?"
"Jealousy? You... you filthy hypocrite... You hide your face even from the king and play at being a hero!"
A fierce argument was always destined to become a personal shouting match, and their exchange was no exception. Claus was just starting to think he ought to step in when Ru beat him to it.
"Shut your mouth, traitor! I will not hear another word from someone who knows nothing of honor!"
"K-knows nothing of honor? Me?"
"Yes! A cheap man who would kneel even to a thief! You were the weakest one at the Round Table to begin with!"
"What? A woman standing before her enemy looking like that has no right to say such things!"
"Th-this is...!"
Ru's face, which had been deathly pale, flushed scarlet with mortification. Even Claus, watching from the sidelines, was surprised she could raise her voice that loudly. But the one most thoroughly rattled was, of course, Dyke.
The White Knight he had believed dead, infiltrating this place like this—and of all days, on the very day of his defection. What a cruel coincidence.
He cursed his misfortune for a moment and sank into thought. The White Knight's sudden unmasking. His encounter with Claus. The long-nurtured resolve he had finally acted on. Why did all of it have to happen at once?
...
But then a new thought struck him. What if none of this was a coincidence at all?
First of all, the White Knight's appearance was suspicious. It wasn't just the clothes. Being locked up, helpless, in an underground prison like this was completely unlike her. Could a knight as conservative as she was ever endure such humiliation?
Besides, the White Knight Dyke knew was not the sort to devise a scheme like sneaking into the enemy camp looking like that. She had always relied on her natural martial power and chosen a frontal assault. Their dealings had never been especially close, but as far as he knew, that was who she was.
And most of all, there was that man's attitude—Claus's expression, far too calm. The White Knight had revealed her identity and leveled a weapon at him, yet he looked completely unsurprised, just standing there yawning.
What if that man had foreseen this entire situation from the start?
Which would mean that this whole scene was...
"...A test?"
In an instant, the chaos in his head snapped into perfect order. Yes. This was a test the man had prepared. He was staging this little play to see whether Dyke's betrayal was genuine.
That would also explain why every coincidence seemed to stack up on this particular day. A man of that caliber could never have failed to notice Dyke was coming to surrender. And that woman calling herself the White Knight was almost certainly an actress he had arranged.
Honestly—as if the real White Knight would ever look like that. The thought drew a dry laugh out of him before he could stop it.
"Heh. So that was it after all, Lord Claus."
"...Pardon?"
"I nearly fell for it."
Dyke smiled faintly and sent Claus a silent message. By the way, that actress of yours is well prepared. Leaving everything else aside, her way of speaking is a dead ringer for the White Knight's.
But the play was not over yet. The woman still gripping her iron bar frowned and stared at Dyke.
"Dyke. Have you finally lost your mind?"
"You noticed, and you're still going to continue? Fine. Lord Claus will want to see what I can do as well."
"..."
"Come, woman. I'll go easy on you."
He didn't even draw a weapon—just flicked his fingers in a goading gesture. A heavy iron club came hurtling toward him almost immediately.
Even as that gray blur of violence closed in on him, Dyke kept a look of easy confidence on his face. Then, ready to show off his skill in full, he tightened his core and let out a powerful battle cry.
"Haaah!"
...
Huh. So a person's eyes can go that soft and stupid.
I thought that as I looked at the face of the man who had just been knocked out cold. Pupils that had been blazing only a second ago now looked like a puppy grabbed by the scruff. I was starting to understand what people meant when they said unreasonable violence is fair to everyone.
But while an unconscious man can take a little nap, I was still awake and still had to get through the rest of the day. By the time that thought settled, Ru had already turned her head toward me.
"..."
"...Uh."
What was I supposed to say here? I scratched my head for a moment, thinking it over. But before I could open my mouth, Ru thrust her weapon at me.
"...The order of things has gotten a little strange. But if I had simply left him be, the knight order's intelligence would have leaked."
"..."
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am the knight Ru Everdeen."
"Ah. Right."
"Claus. I came here to arrest you."
Arrest. Even I couldn't help but flinch a little at a word that fresh and heavy. While I was still turning the weight of it over in my head, Ru pressed on with her grand declaration.
"I am sorry for concealing my identity. On that point, I offer a personal apology. But that does nothing to lighten your crimes."
"Ah. Okay."
"For the crime of operating as an officer of a criminal organization that has thrown this kingdom into chaos, and for the crime of disrupting the kingdom's order, I hereby take you into custody as of this moment. If you have anything to say in your defense, you may present it before the kingdom's court."
"Mm."
"Then, in the name of His Majesty the King—Claus."
...
"I arrest you."
A solid fist closed around my wrist. Under a pressure I couldn't resist, I calmly accepted that my freedom had just been stripped away.
So there's no such thing as free pleasure after all. It almost felt like I was finally paying the price for freeloading and taking money for months of doing nothing. Ru stepped closer to her wicked criminal and prepared to bind my arms.
But there was one thing I simply could not let slide, so at the last moment I quietly spoke up.
"...Hey, Ru. What crime am I being arrested for again?"
"I already told you. Operating as an officer of a criminal organization that has thrown this kingdom into chaos, and disrupting the kingdom's order."
"Just so you know, that sounds wrong to me. Can you actually arrest someone for that?"
"What do you mean?"
"I've never been an officer of anything, and I've never thrown the kingdom's order into chaos."
It wasn't a sophistry—it was simply the truth. Getting arrested for a crime you committed was one thing, but getting arrested for a crime you never committed was a little unfair, wasn't it?
"For one thing, those people over there aren't even that bad. And even if they were, I never officially joined. Actually, I was told I'm still temporary and that I'll need permission in a little while."
"What? But I was told you were the person in charge of this city..."
"As the person in charge, I haven't really done anything. I didn't collect taxes, and I didn't work anyone for free. I've still got every payroll record for the band and the laborers."
"That's... well..."
Finding nothing to counter with, Ru let her words trail off. But I still had one more point to raise.
"And I haven't broken any kingdom laws, either. All I've done these past few months is play with the kids, throw festivals, invite a theater troupe, paint building exteriors—stuff like that. And even the painting was done to city regulations."
"Even so..."
"Well, maybe I broke some tiny rule I don't know about, but nobody's ever pointed it out. People seemed happy about it, if anything. You said yourself that's why you moved here."
"Ah... um..."
"And this part I'm only bringing up because I'm genuinely worried."
At that, I shifted a half-step to the side, pointed at the man sprawled on the floor, and went on.
"If this goes to trial as-is, aren't you the one who ends up in trouble? You hit someone."
"What? But that was the execution of a traitor—"
"Except I never accepted that guy in the first place. And Ru, you got locked in a prison cell today. That's definitely going to be in the guard records."
"..."
"...Ru?"
I had been expressing my concern with complete sincerity, but one look at Ru's face and the words died in my throat. Even her earlobes had gone bright red, and she was trembling so hard I almost wondered if she was in pain.
So, the way I always did, I put on an awkward smile to try and put her at ease. Then, in the gentlest voice I could manage, I asked the woman whose lips were pressed tight together:
"Are you really sure you want to take this to trial?"