I'll Borrow the Second-in-Command (2)
About thirty minutes must have passed. Around the time a greenish film began to form along the rim of the untouched teacup, Ru returned to the room.
Honestly, I never saw her come in. My body felt strangely heavy, and sleep kept tugging at me. I had been nodding off, head drooping, but the instant I heard the door open I pretended I hadn't been dozing at all and asked with my eyes still shut.
"You back, Ru?"
"I am. What were you doing?"
"Nothing. Just waiting."
"...Is that so."
Wondering if she'd caught me sleeping, I cracked my eyes open a slit. Ru was watching me with an oddly wary look. Receiving a gaze like that stung more than I expected, so I spoke a little more bluntly than necessary.
"So when does the investigation start? Right now?"
"We will begin gradually from today. It will not finish in a single day, though. As I told you earlier, there are procedures that must be followed."
"Those procedures are normally handled at a private residence, right?"
"That is exactly what I wanted to discuss."
Ru suddenly drew a seal from her pocket and held it out to me. Her family name was engraved on it in careful, elegant lettering.
"This is the seal of House Everdeen. Think of it as proof that you are a guest of our family. I will remain at your side the entire time, so you will likely never need to use it—but consider it a formality."
"A guest? Earlier you were treating me like a criminal."
"A person of interest. That is the term we have agreed upon. Under ordinary circumstances a person of interest would be taken to the royal interrogation rooms. But speaking with me like this is better for you as well, is it not?"
"Hmm."
"Trust me on this much. Staying at the Everdeen estate will be far more comfortable than those interrogation rooms. Some of the people there are... of rather poor quality."
So this was her idea of consideration. There were still plenty of points that didn't sit right with me. I took a moment to sort my thoughts, then began pointing them out one by one.
"So outwardly I'm a guest of House Everdeen, but in reality I'm a person of interest being investigated right here. Why go through all that complicated procedure?"
"I would think you already know. Because you are that important a person of interest. If word of your presence leaked outside, it would benefit neither of us."
"I don't really care. I'm not a criminal or anything. And why does it have to be your family handling this?"
"That is our side's business. But surely you would rather talk with someone you know than with complete strangers."
"Hmm."
She wasn't wrong. If this situation was unavoidable, someone I already knew was better. I was a guest in someone else's house, after all; I had to make concessions where I could.
"Fine. We'll do it that way. And if possible, let me write at least one letter. People are going to worry."
"That is still not allowed. It will become possible after some time has passed. Wait a little longer."
"Whatever. So where do I stay while this investigation's going on? For the record, my old room was a private suite—and huge."
"You will remain in this room exactly as it is. I do not know how large your previous quarters were, but I doubt this one will fall short."
"Uh... but this is your room, isn't it, Ru? So why am I—"
"As it happens, there is one final procedure related to that."
Once again Ru's hand moved toward her pocket. Expecting her to hand me something else, I naturally reached out.
The next moment, a metal cuff snapped shut around my wrist. Naturally I startled and called her name.
"Ru?"
"Wait. There is still one more."
"What do you mean by—"
...
Click.
At the same time, the other end of the cuff locked around Ru's own wrist. While I was still staring in shock, she spoke in a voice that trembled ever so slightly.
"...You said it yourself. That I am a criminal as well. So would it not be fairer if we wore the cuffs together?"
"No, I mean... I did say that, but..."
"Your status remains that of a person of interest. But this estate also houses my elderly father, and there are many objects that must not be touched carelessly. A minimum safety measure is therefore necessary."
"Ah... right."
"And you do not trust me either, do you? This way each of us becomes the other's restraint, so we can maintain at least a baseline of trust. For the duration of the investigation, wherever we go, we go together."
"..."
"Is this not an acceptable arrangement?"
Ru offered me a faint smile, as if seeking my agreement. Unexpected warmth seemed to radiate from the heavy cuffs that now bound us.
Instead of answering at once, I fell silent and thought it over. At last I carefully voiced the conclusion I had reached after much deliberation.
"...Then what about when we sleep?"
Night came even to the pure-white estate. Shadows thickened against the white outer walls and swallowed the knight's quarters whole, yet one room still burned with light, defying the reign of darkness.
Who was spending this sleepless night while even the full moon hid behind clouds? As always, it was a pair of young man and woman. They sat on opposite sides of a single bed, locked in a quiet staring contest.
Yet there was no tenderness in those gazes—only mutual awkwardness and embarrassment. The words that finally left the man's mouth were closer to a scolding complaint.
"You should've changed clothes first and then cuffed us."
"Sorry. I did not think that far ahead."
"Have you ever done something like this before?"
"No. Never."
"Ugh."
Claus shook his head as if thoroughly done with the situation, but Ru continued to watch his every move with distrustful eyes. Would he suddenly draw a hidden weapon? Would he try to send a secret signal to some accomplice? Every little action of his was of vital interest.
Claus himself, however, was examining the bedding with the most carefree attitude imaginable. That boldness—fidgeting with the pillow even while captured by the enemy. The white knight could not shake the feeling that she was being completely played in their psychological contest.
"...I am starting to wonder who is imprisoning whom."
"Huh? What was that?"
"It is nearly time to extinguish the lights. In the capital, every building is required to put out its lamps at ten o'clock without exception."
"So if an attack comes after ten, we'd just have to sit there and take it, huh?"
"Do not say such things, even in jest."
Unable to bear the pressure, she had snapped overreactively. Claus, apparently used to that sort of treatment, simply lay down on the bed without a word and prepared to sleep.
Ru, however, was not someone accustomed to enduring such an atmosphere. The unfamiliar feel of the cuff against her wrist made it impossible to keep silent any longer.
"You seem rather used to this. Sleeping alongside someone else."
"Actually, I've only been sleeping alone for a little while. Living piled up with other people is more natural for me."
"So until recently you were always with others? For example... that younger sister of yours?"
"Younger sister?"
Claus turned his head, looking puzzled by the question. Ru took it as a chance to pry for information and carefully pressed on.
"The black-haired girl. The one we met at the cake shop in Beimesher."
"Ah. Her."
"Is she your blood relative? You do not particularly resemble each other."
"Not a real sister. No shared blood either."
"For that, she seemed to rely on you a great deal."
"She's the type that gets lonely easily. And given my own situation, I couldn't just leave a kid like that alone."
It was such an ordinary story that it only stirred the imagination further. Not blood, yet treated as family? Or a child entrusted by someone who had died? Or perhaps a half-sibling from his father's side?
Whichever it was, the bond was clearly precious to him. Having reached that conclusion, Ru found herself wanting to confirm whether the hypothesis she had formed back at the shop was correct.
"Could it be... that you joined them because of that child? That she is at least one of the serious reasons..."
"In a way, you could say that. If it weren't for her, I never would have gone to that city in the first place."
"As I thought. Then you as well..."
"What?"
"...Never mind."
For a moment Ru had almost felt pity; she hastily cut the conversation short. Even the emotion she was feeling now might be something the man had deliberately induced.
How much of him was sincere, and how much was false? Distinguishing the two would be her critical task going forward. In order to gather information on the Black Lady and ultimately track her down...
"..."
She would first need to earn this man's trust. She doubted simple interrogation would draw anything useful from someone of his caliber. Was it not said that it is the gentle sun, not the fierce wind, that strips a traveler of his cloak?
Her thoughts kept multiplying. Realizing she was likely in for another sleepless night, Ru spoke again without meaning to.
"Are you asleep?"
"No. But could you keep quiet for a bit, Ru?"
"I did not intend to disturb your rest. It is simply that lying here like this leaves me feeling oddly empty. Sharing the same cuffs with someone, lying in the same bed..."
"That's not what I mean. Don't you hear that?"
"What?"
"Something's been knocking on the wall for a while now."
Only then did Ru fall silent and focus her hearing. A night so quiet even the insects had gone to sleep. Beyond it came a strange sound—tap, tap, tap—as if something were scraping at the wall.
The sky was clear, so it was not rain. This was no shoddily built house where one could hear the servants moving about. And the white knight was hardly so fragile that she would mistake the tension of sharing a bed for noise.
Yet the sound kept coming, clear and rhythmic, like some sort of flying craft landing repeatedly on the roof.
...
There was only one possible conclusion.
"An intruder."