125 - The Sunroom Assailant
...Ugh, I can't stop feeling uneasy.
As far as I was concerned, I'd only said what I honestly thought. But no matter what, I can't get Diet's hurt expression when we parted out of my head. Thanks to my decisive rejection, the past two days had been peaceful, but that face kept flashing through my mind and I couldn't enjoy my embroidery. Thoughts like "Did I go too far?" or "I feel like there was a better way to say it" would pop up, and before I knew it I was only thinking about Diet, pricking my finger with my needle.
...But apologizing feels wrong somehow, doesn't it?
I know my wording was bad, but I'm confident what I said wasn't wrong. I was being bothered by Diet forcing his way in, and there's no way I could just start liking him.
My thoughts were so occupied by this unease that I gave up on embroidery and lay down on the lounge chair like a rude child. When I buried my face in the soft cushion, my view was blocked and the world went pitch black.
What should I have done back then? What should I do from now on? Every time I stopped working, I'd think about it, but no good ideas came to me.
In my irritation, meaningless groans like "Aah..." and "Ooh..." slipped from my lips. As I was wasting time flailing around, Kalisa came in, guiding Ethel into the room.
"How are you feeling?"
"Terrible deshu."
"So it would seem."
I didn't feel like entertaining a guest, but considering who it was, I reluctantly lifted my face from the cushion. I sat up and straightened my posture, then offered Ethel a chair.
"I hate how childish I am. Like, there might've been a better way to say it."
At the very least, an adult probably could've made Diet understand their point of view without hurting him that much. If I'd managed that, I wouldn't have been distracted by his hurt face and unable to concentrate on my work afterward.
I vented my uneasy feelings to the family member of the cause. Ethel, who was bringing the pudding Kalisa had brought to his mouth with a delicious expression, wore an intentionally comical face. It was honestly infuriating.
"Do you think you were in the wrong, young lady?"
"I only think my wording was bad, that's all deshu. I don't think what I said was wrong."
That's also part of the problem. I don't think I said anything wrong. So it wouldn't make sense for me to apologize to Diet.
...It's Diet who's bad, you know. He keeps doing things that make people dislike him, and then when someone finally says they hate him, he makes that hurt face.
That's dirty. He's the one in the wrong, but because of that face, I start feeling like I did something bad.
As I pouted with my cheeks puffed out, Ethel got to the main point he'd come to discuss after two days.
"Diet is just as depressed, you know. How about you two make up already?"
"If Diet sincerely reflects and apologizes, I'll accept the apology, but making up is impossible deshu."
I don't want to be pushed around by Diet, I answered honestly, looking Ethel in the eye. I'm not opposed to accepting an apology, but if we start interacting again, I'll end up at Diet's mercy. Even that promise about three times a day was never kept. If I relax my stance even once, there's a high risk he'll demand this and that.
"Then, would you have him keep the promise to play with you up to three times a day?"
"I already told him that much, so if he comes to me, I'll play with him up to three times, but I don't intend to go invite him myself deshu."
I have no obligation to do that either, I answered, then immediately slumped. I knew I wasn't being very endearing, but even I thought I was being too harsh.
"You're quite stubborn, young lady."
"I'm painfully aware of that right now, believe me."
Just leave me alone, I said, turning my face away, and Ethel's wrinkled hand rested on my head.
At least I could manage the promise about three times a day, so I moved to the sunroom. According to Ethel, Diet should have been playing with Basilia, but neither of them was there. On the table, however, was a Reversi board, with the pieces scattered in a way that showed they'd been abandoned mid-game.
"...Looks like Diet ran away, doesn't it?"
"That boy, honestly..."
Ethel pressed his temple at Diet's behavior, which was easy to read from the table. Apparently he'd been trying to get Diet and me to make up, but if the key player Diet himself had run away, then Ethel's efforts would be in vain.
"Would you wait here for a while, young lady? I'll drag Diet back here by the scruff of his neck if I have to."
"You don't have to force him, you know?"
"No, no. There's hardly anyone who speaks as bluntly to Diet as you do, young lady. As his great-grandfather, I don't want to lose such a precious candidate for my great-grandson's friend."
I managed to read the room and didn't say "Can I run away as fast as I can?" Still, it seemed to show on my face, as Ethel gave a nasty grin. True to his words, he didn't seem to intend to let me off easily.
...Well, they know I'm Leo's sister, after all.
If he seriously wants to keep me with Diet, he might even summon Leonardo back to the capital. Even without calling Leonardo back, he could prepare some appropriate position like Diet's study companion and summon only me.
...Ugh. I shouldn't have carelessly mentioned Alf-san's name.
Through being introduced as an acquaintance of Alf's, it became known that I lived in Grenore, and from there they figured out I was Leonardo's sister. If they hadn't known who my guardian was or where I lived, we should have parted ways in Lagarette and never met again. But if they're so inclined, reunion and subsequent friendship are entirely up to them.
I watched Ethel's back as he left the sunroom. For some reason I stayed standing by the door, watching Kalisa start to clean up the abandoned Reversi board, when suddenly a shadow fell over my face.
"...Mmph?!"
Before I could blink wondering "What shadow?", a large hand covered my mouth. With this, I can't make a sound. By the time I realized that, the other hand of the person standing behind me had already wrapped around my abdomen.
...This is bad, isn't it!?
The sensation against my back as I was lifted up was unfamiliar. There was a strange smell, and the chest pressing against my back also felt wrong. But from the rough, large hands and the lack of softness in the chest, I could tell the person behind me was a man.
Since my upper body was restrained, I compared it to my upper body and instinctively kicked the door with my free legs. Immediately, Kalisa noticed something was wrong. She whipped around and our eyes met perfectly. I didn't really understand the situation, but Kalisa seemed to grasp it at once. The moment I saw her lower her stance, a powerful impact hit me. Followed by a feeling of weightlessness. By the time I realized I'd been thrown, I was slammed against the floor, all the air forced from my lungs. I tried to breathe in new air, but the impact of hitting the floor made my head spin. With no combat experience, I couldn't move right away after being thrown to the ground. I tried at least to keep my consciousness, but my vision began to wobble and my thoughts were scrambled. After two loud sounds, I could hear footsteps approaching from far away, thanks to having my ear pressed against the floor.
...Did someone come for me...?
Maybe it was the relief of that thought, but my consciousness, which I'd wanted to hold onto, was easily let go. As my vision went dark, I could see Kalisa's feet standing in front of me.
"...sorry, Tina-sama."
When I woke up, I was in bed. When I shifted and told her my shoulders and back were throbbing with pain, Kalisa made herself even smaller, waiting by the bedside.
"To get you back, Tina-sama, I acted impulsively... I'm terribly sorry."
According to Kalisa's explanation, she noticed something was wrong from the sound of me kicking the door, and when she turned around, I was being lifted by a stranger whose face I couldn't see. From the fact my mouth was covered and she didn't recognize the man, she apparently understood immediately that it was an emergency. Judging from how I was being carried, she determined the goal was kidnapping, and in order to get me back first, she stabbed the Reversi board into the man's arm.
...Yeah, that would break the culprit's arm too. That's why I got thrown too.
Thanks to Kalisa's no-holds-barred actions, my kidnapping was thwarted. The only injured were the kidnapper who got a Reversi board stabbed into him, and me who got thrown to the floor.
"I think Salisa would have been able to catch the culprit too, though..."
Claiming she was the most immature of the three sisters, Kalisa sank into dejection. Apparently, if it had been Alisa, she supposedly would have secured the culprit and rescued me without injury. If it had been Iridal, apparently he'd have finished investigating the background by now.
...No, that's a little too competent, it's scary, you know?
It seems the regular guards and the hotel security were working together now to track down the culprit. It wasn't that everything was already finished when I woke up, but apparently all necessary instructions had already been given.
As I was consoling Kalisa, who was depressed that she was the one who'd hurt me, even if it was unavoidable, Cidur came in bringing a pharmacist from the Sedovara Church. First came the examination, they set up a screen between me and Cidur, and the pharmacist stripped off my clothes, revealing several bruises that seemed to have formed from being thrown to the floor.
...It doesn't hurt in any strange way, so I don't think any bones are broken.
But my whole body aches in an understated way. It's a different kind of pain from muscle soreness, an invisible pain.
Once the examination was done, the pharmacist prescribed an ointment and a poultice. I also got their assurance that nothing was broken. With instructions not to get out of bed for the rest of the day and to rest for a while after that, the pharmacist left.
"We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused by this hotel's negligence, resulting in such distress and injury to our guest..."
"What's done is done deshu."
Feeling uncomfortable, I cut off Cidur as he bowed deeply. The one at fault is the culprit, not Cidur, the manager of the hotel. This was the place Leonardo chose to stay, a place he trusted enough to leave his sister. Something that rarely happens must have occurred. Even I can understand that much.
"Has the culprit been caught?"
"The security staff and the young lady's guards are searching, but we have yet to receive word of an arrest. However, since your maid inflicted a wound on him, we have already notified the Sedovara Church."
It seems if the culprit tries to rely on the Sedovara Church for treatment of his injury, word will reach Cidur. Though I'm not sure someone who'd try to suddenly snatch a child would be foolish enough to honestly go to the Sedovara Church just because they're injured.
"However, I don't understand it. This hotel confirms the identity of not only our guests, but also their companions, employees, their families, and even the vendors who come and go. Just where could a suspicious person have infiltrated from..."
"If infiltration is unlikely, then maybe the culprit is among the guests who were supposed to have been checked from the start desu ne."
If they were inside the facility from the beginning, searching for an entry point would be a waste of time.
I'd only suggested it as one way of thinking, but I could tell Cidur was deep in thought. They might have confirmed all guests had solid identities, but not all of them would be squeaky clean if you shook them. If the culprit is among the guests, it's only a matter of time before they're caught. They attempted a kidnapping inside a luxury hotel that prides itself on safety. It's as good as rubbing mud in Cidur's face as the manager.
Saying he needed more time for the capture of the culprit, Cidur left the room. In exchange, flowers and cakes were brought in as get-well gifts. Since my shoulder hurt, I had Kalisa feed them to me while a thought suddenly occurred to me.
...Who was the culprit after, I wonder?
If I had to name the most likely person to be kidnapped, it would be Diet. Though he seems barely aware of it himself, he is technically a prince. But considering they tried to grab me without hesitation despite me wearing a skirt, it could also be that they were targeting Basilia. Basilia is the daughter of the most powerful person in the city.
...It makes more sense to think they mistook me for someone else rather than targeting a commoner like me, doesn't it...?
Either way, it's probably the work of someone who knew that sunroom had become a children's play area recently. Thinking about it, it might be faster to seriously suspect the other guests.
I was too scared to go near the sunroom, so I followed the pharmacist's instructions and spent a full two days in bed. Diet came to my room every day, dragging Basilia along, saying Basilia was worried and that Basilia wanted to come, making excuses over and over. He seemed to remember what I'd said about hating him and finding him annoying. Though he barged in every day, he'd just start playing Reversi with Basilia on his own in the room, never inviting me to join. When I muttered that they could just play in their own room then, Maru secretly told me why. Because Diet stays nearby, his guards also protect me. Even though Diet is aware I hate him, he's apparently trying to stay by my side.
...That's hard to figure out!
This was apparently Diet's chosen way of acting after accepting what I'd said.
In the end, Diet's self-invited, relying-on-others bodyguard routine continued until Leonardo returned. Every day he'd drag Basilia along to barge into my room, play Reversi to his heart's content, and leave. It must be rough on Basilia. She just wants to get along with Diet. Ethel came to check on us a few times, but since we weren't really fighting, he'd silently go back. By this point, even I, who have no charm to speak of, had stopped thinking "Why doesn't he just take Diet home?" and I was surprised at myself.
[Author's Note]
Leonardo finally comes back. Though depending on my mood, it might become a side story from Diet's perspective.
As confirmed, updates will be on break from the 30th to January 5th. I'll write a bit at night, and if I get enough for an update, I'll try to get one more out before the 30th if I can! That's the level of motivation I'm bringing.
Typos and errors will be fixed another day. I've corrected the ones I found.