133 - My Resolution
Inside the carriage where Kalisa had carried me, Ethel was there for some reason. Leonardo had said Ethel's carriage was waiting, but I never imagined he would be riding in it himself.
"Why is Ethel-shama here deshu ka?"
Had he followed along when we borrowed the carriage? As I wondered this, Kalisa told me why Ethel was riding with us.
"We borrowed Ethelbert-sama's power to search for you, young lady."
...Huh? Something's weird.
Usually her voice is sometimes quiet and hard to make out, but Kalisa's words just now were clearly audible. There was a clear expression of will mixed in there, not a timid atmosphere.
"Officially, it's that one of my attendants happened to witness the young lady being kidnapped, but it was Jemian-dono who suggested using the children as decoys."
"Decoys... deshu ka?"
That's a word I can't just let slide, I thought, separating from Kalisa's body where I'd been clinging and sitting up straight. When I glared at Ethel, determined not to miss a single word, the glared-at old gentleman smiled bitterly with a troubled look.
"From the earlier incident alone, we couldn't tell which child was being targeted. So we devised a plan, we put watchers on each of the children while deliberately luring out the kidnappers."
To keep Basilia and me as safe as possible, they apparently reduced the people placed around us and put us indoors instead, while Diet was sent out with Kyuubee into the back alleys that were dangerous for a child to walk through even without kidnappers.
"...If that was the case, you should have told me from the start."
"Just like Leonardo, young lady, you'd show everything on your face if we told you. Especially with Leonardo, we knew he'd object if we told him the plan beforehand."
I puffed out my cheeks to express my dissatisfaction, but when I thought about it, I realized I did understand. I can hardly say I'm good at lying, and if I'd known help was waiting, my actions while captive would probably have been unnatural too.
"Don't be so angry. We did treat you poorly, young lady, but Leonardo gained a great harvest."
"...A harvest for Leo, deshu ka?"
Huh, what could that be? As I tilted my head, I heard an unfamiliar man's voice from outside.
"Old master, the kidnapper's woken up."
As he said this, the carriage door opened, revealing a large man who seemed to be the speaker and William, bound tightly with rope in the man's grasp.
...Ah, William. So he was alive.
Since I hadn't seen any of the kidnappers after leaving the carriage, I'd vaguely thought they'd all escaped or died, but apparently they'd just been captured. His face was so red and swollen that the bump he'd gotten protecting me in the carriage was hardly noticeable.
"...Hmm, the more I look, the more it matches the characteristics of William, the third son of the Holbrook baronial family of the Saenard Kingdom."
"Do you know him deshu ka?"
"Only that the characteristics match. After all, there's no way a noble son from a neighboring country would cross the border without proper procedures and enter our country."
When Ethel confirmed that it must be someone else, William, his face pale, frantically nodded his head. Apparently, to my surprise, these kidnappers had crossed the border on their own.
...Well, I mean, a border that lets kidnappers through is questionable too, but still.
Come to think of it, I remembered that Leonardo's return had been later than expected, and I felt I understood why. Originally he was only supposed to handle a year's worth of reports and documents that only the Commander could authorize, but he was several days late returning. He was probably searching for those who'd crossed the border illegally, or capturing their accomplices.
"But what should we do about this? If he's a noble from a neighboring country, it wouldn't be easy to judge him..."
Since he's a person who shouldn't be in the country, Ethel showed a thoughtful gesture, suggesting they could play dumb and kill him, or if he could be used for bargaining, sell him back to his homeland. I felt something deliberately theatrical about his gesture, but I played along anyway.
"Since he shouldn't be here, there'd be no problem killing him, right deshu ne?"
"Don't say the same thing as Leonardo with such a cute face."
...Leo said to kill him, huh.
It occurred to me that the other kidnappers I hadn't seen might be in a very bad state. He'd been rampaging enough to knock down trees. It wouldn't be strange if one or two casualties had resulted.
"I understand you're angry enough to want to kill him, but there are uses for him, so please hold back your anger."
"I was just going along with Ethel-shama yo. I wasn't hurt or anything, the carriage was quite comfortable, and I have no objection to keeping him alive."
Seeing William breathe a visible sigh of relief, I added that I didn't know what Leonardo would say. Even when Kaya tried to steal my belongings, he had tried to judge her fairly. He might get a little rough when apprehending the criminals, but after capturing them, he would probably judge the crime of kidnapping fairly too.
...Ah, but Lagarette isn't Leo's territory, so once he captures them and hands them over to the noble lord, that's the end, right?
Leonardo probably knew that too, which is why he went wild first.
Ethel soon sent William away, perhaps just wanting to confirm his face. I watched William being led to the cargo area by the attendant named Yahachi, and the door closed. When I sat down again in the seat across from Ethel, Kalisa brewed me some warm tea.
...Ah, my stomach growled.
The moment I took a sip of tea, my stomach let out a gurgling cry. When I thought about it, I'd had a light lunch before going to the art gallery, but I hadn't eaten anything since. No wonder I was hungry.
"...Forgive me, young lady. I forgot to prepare a late-night snack."
"It's fine. You came to pick me up properly, that's enough. Please make something when we return to the hotel."
"Yes."
When she asked if there was anything I wanted to eat, I answered an egg sandwich or a Nassaworuku sandwich. If I was going to be greedy, I also wanted to drink Leonardo's chunky vegetable salted soup.
...Wanting Leo's vegetable soup, am I mentally worn out?
I remembered complaining about having it on heavy rotation. Without me noticing, I'd come to accept Leonardo as family, to the point where I now missed that taste.
As I warmed my stomach with tea, Ethel told me the full story of this incident. It was Jemian who suggested using us as decoys, and since they knew Leonardo would object, they separated me from him in the reception room. Using even his own daughter as a decoy, he really might be someone you can't let your guard around, just as Sukebei said. Basilia herself apparently hadn't been told anything, but her nursemaid was seriously injured. She had resisted to the end trying to protect Basilia and me, and was badly beaten. The boy painter who was the only man at the scene had both arms slashed and made a pool of blood, but apparently he managed to survive. Jemian is furious with the criminals, saying it's still unknown whether he'll be able to paint like before since his wounds were deep.
...W-wait, the reason Basilia-chan and I didn't get hurt was just because we didn't resist?
William deserves to have some pain. Hearing the details of the art gallery's state, my opinion changed.
Apparently an attendant of Ethel's named Okin was watching over me as I was taken from the art gallery. According to the story, he carried my unconscious body into a carriage, escaped from the art gallery, changed carriages several times within the city of Lagarette, and finally switched to William's carriage before leaving the city. After leaving the city, Yahachi and he tracked the carriage, and when the wheel broke down, Okin returned to the city to call Leonardo and the others. They managed to catch up to the carriage, but with the kidnapper clinging to me, they couldn't do anything reckless. While they were watching from a distance wondering what to do, William apparently came out of the carriage. Since they knew the number of kidnappers in advance, seeing William's figure allowed them to judge that I was the only one left inside.
...I just wanted to kick William out, but was that a good job from me?
It was mostly just coincidence, but apparently telling William to get out and sleep was the right move. Leonardo began his charge, seeing this as an opportunity since the kidnapper had left my side.
...And he won't tell me the details. As expected.
It seems William's face being swollen red and the highway being blocked by fallen trees from the rampage are things they can't tell a little girl like me. They won't tell me anything specific, but praises like "as expected of the man hailed as the incarnation of the War God Herkeles" and "his arm hasn't dulled at all" continue endlessly.
...Seriously, how do you knock down a tree?
As I listened to Ethel's story with half an ear, Ethel suddenly tightened his expression. It seemed he was switching to a serious topic.
"...Young lady, how about living in the capital?"
"The capital deshu ka?"
Why was he suddenly inviting me to move to the capital? As I blinked, not understanding, Ethel kept his difficult expression and explained why he was suggesting the move.
"No matter how you look at it, young lady, you're Leonardo's weak point. It would be safer to live in the capital where the protection is thicker than in a city near the border."
"...But, Leo. Even with me as a hostage, he charged in without caring yo."
When Leonardo came to rescue me, William had shouted several times. Saying they had a hostage, so listen. In response, Leonardo had firmly rejected the kidnappers' demands. Leonardo, who is usually so indulgent with me, hadn't wavered even with me as a hostage. Leonardo had come to rescue me, but he had also abandoned me.
"He's a model knight, isn't he? A man who can abandon me for the public good. He's loyal, but too upright."
Ethel said that since he's inflexible but also immune to bribery, there's no one more reassuring to have as a subordinate than Leonardo. On the other hand, he prioritizes public matters too much, and he worries that one day something irreparable might happen.
"I'm a little relieved deshu."
To Ethel, who was worried that he prioritizes public matters too much, I replied that I was actually relieved instead. I think his handling is rough, but I'm aware that I'm cherished in Leonardo's own way. I was able to learn that Leonardo is not a fool who would abandon his country just because I was taken hostage. My brother Leo is a person who knows what to restrain and can make rational judgments.
...But the thought of being 'abandoned' does stick in my head.
Still, I prefer Leonardo who can firmly reject the kidnappers' demands rather than being taken advantage of in that situation. That's what I think.
"...You really are brother and sister, through and through."
"It hasn't even been a year since we became siblings, though ne."
Ethel's exasperated face was a little amusing, and I tried to laugh, but my cheeks twitched. Rationally, I support Leonardo's choice, but there's still a catch somewhere in my heart. I need to be able to smile properly before Leonardo comes back, or he might worry. I put my empty teacup on the fixed table and massaged my cheeks with both hands.
"...If you're going to continue living with Leonardo from now on, young lady, you'll need a few more guards."
Ethel said this wasn't personal protection for Leonardo's sister, but security for a key point protecting the country.
"If something happens to his sister, that one will break in various ways."
"...I can imagine, somehow."
If he chooses the correct option in each moment and ends up abandoning me as a result, Leonardo will eventually be crushed by regret. He'll be crushed between the contradiction born of his pride in making the right choice and the regret of abandoning me.
Leonardo is stronger than anyone in a military sense, and his heart as a knight is strong and righteous. On the other hand, he's strangely honest and easy to deceive. The reason bad women get close to him is that Leonardo looks like excellent prey to such women.
"I can't just be protected by Leo, deshu ne."
At the very least, I need to be able to protect myself. Otherwise, when Leonardo chooses to abandon me, I won't be able to survive. If I can't survive, that will in turn tighten the noose around Leonardo's neck.
...My job is to survive, no matter the circumstances.
Whether by running, hiding, or even deceiving, I must survive no matter what. That is what I should do. And that will become one of the few ways I can help Leonardo in return.
I'll fix typos and errors when spring comes (I've given up). I've fixed the typos and errors I found.