132 - Leonardo Comes for Her
I thought I heard a horse's neigh in the distance and lifted my face. I said I was going to sleep and kicked William out of the carriage, but I'm not thick-skinned enough to casually sleep in a kidnapping situation. I just wanted to keep the kidnapper away and give myself a little peace of mind.
...I'd be happy if Leo came for me, but if it's an ordinary person, I'm worried they'd get killed to silence them.
A carriage passing on the road might not stick in someone's memory, but a carriage repairing its wheel on the roadside would definitely be remembered. All the men around the carriage are the kidnappers, so there's a real chance they'd think of eliminating witnesses, a dangerous line of reasoning.
...Are they okay?
Unable to bear the worry, I pressed my ear to the door leading outside.
—Who goes there?! Stop right th...!?
—Why won't you stop?! We have a hostage here too, you know!?
The voice I heard through the door was William's shouting. Given that he used the word "hostage," maybe someone really had come for me.
...Who came for me?
I pressed my ear even closer to the door, hoping to catch the rescuer's voice, but all I could hear was William and the kidnappers' angry yelling. No familiar voices came through. Frustrated by the lack of information, I peered out the window. The campfire let me see the surroundings well enough, but the rescuer seemed to be somewhere the firelight didn't reach, so I couldn't see them.
—Tina!
"Yes!?"
I couldn't see him, but I recognized Leonardo's voice calling my name, and I snapped to attention reflexively. His roar was so terrifying, the likes of which I'd never heard before, that even though I wasn't the one being yelled at, I found myself backing a few steps away from the door. That was how scary his voice was.
...He's probably angry at William and the others, I think.
I even felt a little sorry for the kidnappers who had to face Leonardo producing that voice, even though I had no reason to sympathize. If his voice alone was this terrifying, his expression must be absolutely fearsome.
I crept back to the window and peered outside again. I still couldn't see Leonardo, but the sound of horse hooves was drawing closer. It wasn't that light clip-clop you hear in period dramas. It was a sound like powerfully kicking the earth, dudududu, approaching from afar.
...Ah, Leo?
A chestnut horse passed through the fire-lit area for just a moment. I didn't actually identify the rider as Leonardo. I just assumed it was him because I'd heard his voice.
"Leo!"
I banged on the door to assert my presence. If Leonardo had really come for me, I needed him to know first that I was inside the carriage.
"Leo, Leo! I'm here!"
I shouted loudly while pounding on the door. I could unlock the inner latch and jump out, but getting caught by the kidnappers before meeting up with Leonardo would just make things harder. I would assert that I was here, but I should not go outside until I was completely sure it was safe.
After making my presence known for a while, I peered out the window. I could see William and the others' backs, but there was no sign of Leonardo.
...Is it not Leo?
I had heard Leonardo's voice, but maybe it was my imagination. I pressed my ear to the door again and heard voices outside.
—Your little sister is here, you know! If you want your precious sister back, then quietly come to my master's si...!?
—A knight does not fall for such a despicable invitation!
—Impossible, why will you not stop!?
The sound of hooves approached again, followed by a dull thud like something heavy being thrown. William's screams, the kidnappers' shouts, the sound of horse hooves rang out, and finally I heard Leonardo's voice once more.
"Tina! Do not move from there. Stay still!"
"Yes!"
Even through the door, Leonardo's voice was so clear and loud that I answered as ordered and moved away from the door. At any rate, I understood all too well that the only thing I could do now was stay still in the carriage.
...W-what is happening out there?!
The kidnappers' battle cries and angry shouts from outside made me want to cover my ears, but I could not do that either, in case Leonardo gave me another instruction. Unable to do anything, I looked around the carriage for something I could do, when the door behind me was slammed. Bang!
"GYAAAAAH!?"
At the loud noise, I whipped around reflexively and saw a kidnapper's face peering through the window, blood streaming from his forehead. He seemed to be rattling the door, trying to open it, and I saw him click his tongue when he realized the inner latch was locked.
...Good thing I kept the inner latch locked!
My relief lasted only a moment. The kidnapper, realizing the latch was on, started kicking the door with incredible force, trying to break it down. As the banging impacts rang out loudly, I backed away as far from the door as I could and bumped into a small firewood stove. Since I had been in the carriage the whole time, the stove was naturally burning firewood inside.
"Come on outta there!"
"No deshu!!"
A metallic clink rang out, and the inner latch came off the door. As the kidnapper's hand reached in from outside, I handed him a burning piece of firewood from the stove, like passing a baton. Normally I would never do something so dangerous, but this time I had no room to worry about what would happen to the person I handed the firewood to.
For a moment, there was a nice sizzling sound of flesh burning.
"GYAAAAH!? Hot! Hottt!!"
The kidnapper threw the firewood outside on reflex and stepped back, missing the carriage step. He vanished from my sight in an instant, and I closed the door again without checking below. There was no more inner latch, so I would have to hold the handle myself, but that could not be helped.
...Scary, scary, scary!
I prayed for it to end soon, for them to come get me soon, gripping the handle tightly. Maybe I was squeezing too hard, because my hands were trembling. The uproar from outside was terrifying, so this time I deliberately tried to distract myself. I was afraid of hearing what was happening out there.
It was too scary, so I blanked out my mind, but then a different sound mixed in with all the noise I had been hearing. A strange sound like a tree branch snapping. Crack. It drew my attention.
Crack, crack, crackle. The sounds continued, building up into a single loud noise. Crash. Then I heard a wave-like sound. Thud. And the carriage shook violently, as if pushed up from below.
...What is really happening out there...?
After that particularly loud noise, no other sounds came. The sudden silence, torn away from all the previous racket, was somehow unsettling.
"...Leo? Are you there?"
Anxious, I called out toward the outside. I could not hear the kidnappers' voices, nor Leonardo's.
"Leo, Leo!"
Feeling like I would be crushed by anxiety, I kept calling outside. I was still too scared to let go of the handle, but I was also worried about what was happening out there.
"...desu. Please wait a moment."
"Kalisa...?"
An unexpected voice came from just beyond the door, and the tension drained from my shoulders. At the very least, Kalisa had come for me, right on the other side of the door.
"Kalisa? Huh? Why?"
I wanted to see her face, so I peered out the window, but Kalisa's back filled the entire window. I could not see anything outside at all.
"Kalisa? Kalisa!"
I knocked on the door, saying "Open up," and Kalisa replied in a slightly troubled voice, "Please wait inside a little longer." I could not see what was happening outside, but from her tone I could tell the danger had passed. The danger was gone, but there must be some reason she could not let me out yet.
Since it was Kalisa saying so, I obediently decided to wait in the carriage.
She said to wait a little, but it felt like nearly an hour passed. When the door finally opened, I hugged Kalisa first and took a deep breath.
...It really is Kalisa. She is not a stranger, and she is not a kidnapper!
I had been trying not to think about it, but I must have been scared after all. Just clinging to Kalisa made me feel calmer. I hugged Kalisa tightly over and over, like a cat pressing its forehead to show affection, and Kalisa stroked my back.
...Huh? What is that smell?
As I kept taking deep breaths to calm myself, I noticed a strange odor. A faint sweet scent, like rusted iron, lingered in the air.
"...What happened?"
Or perhaps I should ask, "What did you do?" I pulled my face away from Kalisa's body to look at the surroundings, and they were clearly different from what I had seen before. Before, there had been kidnappers gathered around a campfire, but there was no sign of them anywhere now, and a single tree had fallen across the road ahead. I realized what that loud noise had been and furrowed my brow. Near where the tree had fallen, I thought I saw a dark puddle.
...A puddle? Did it rain?
I narrowed my eyes to get a better look, but Kalisa tugged my hand. Perhaps showing my safe face to Leonardo took priority over checking puddles.
As I walked, still wondering about the puddle, I spotted Leonardo standing in the darkness. The campfire light did not reach him, and I could only vaguely make out his silhouette in the moonlight, but it was definitely Leonardo.
"Leo..."
"Do not come near me!"
"Huh?"
I tried to approach him to hug him and feel relieved, but he stopped me. He held out his hand in a "wait" gesture, but then he seemed to notice something and hid his hand behind his back.
"...Leo?"
"My hands are dirty."
With what. I decided it was better not to ask. Leonardo smelled like rust.
"...Ethelbert-sama's carriage is waiting ahead. I will clean up here a bit more and come, so you go to the carriage first, Tina."
"I can wait for you, Leo."
"You will get cold. I do not want Tina catching a cold."
So go to the carriage quickly, he said, and I remembered. Come to think of it, I had been taken from the art gallery, so I was not wearing a coat or anything. I just had not noticed because I had been in the carriage with its small firewood stove until now.
"...All right. I will wait at Ethel-sama's place."
Come soon, okay, I said, and I sensed Leonardo smile. I felt reluctant to leave and looked up at him, but Kalisa, unable to wait any longer, picked me up. She could not let me be exposed to the night air without a coat and catch a cold.
"I can walk by myself, you know?"
"...The moment I took my eyes off her, the young lady disappeared."
So to make sure she did not look away again, she would just carry me, apparently. It was not my fault I was kidnapped, but I had definitely worried her, so I let Kalisa do as she thought best. Kalisa did not have Leonardo's stability physically, so I wrapped my arms around her neck and held on tight.
Being close helped with stability, but more than that, the warmth of another person's skin soothed my heart.
For now, my guardian came to get me. I am not sure if it is just me, but Tina might have been more scared of the sound-only battle outside than of being kidnapped.
I will fix typos and errors later. I found and corrected the ones I spotted.