211 - Bertrand's Assault
In an indescribably awful mood, I clung tightly to Leonardo's body. On the way there, I had gotten out of the carriage and enjoyed the scenery on the boat, but on the way back it was dark, and I was not in the mood for that, so I stayed stuck to Leonardo the whole time. I had even left half of the Nassaworuku sandwich Salisa bought me for dinner before we boarded the ship.
...She was such a creepy lady.
The arm that was rubbed with the handkerchief stung with a dull, persistent pain. It felt like I had experienced a scrub-down.
"Too bad you did not get to meet Lady Basilia."
"I do not reshu mind deshu."
It was not like I had gone to Lagarette planning to meet Basilia anyway, and because of that unexpected encounter with that strange beautiful girl, my face was in no state to be seen in public. I did not want to show my face to friends and acquaintances like this.
I tried cooling my eyes with the wet handkerchief Salisa had prepared, but it did not seem to have much effect. My eyes were still so red and swollen that even the oblivious Leonardo was still worried about what happened a few hours ago. Perhaps because of the swelling and the heat, when I touched my eyes with my hazy head, my fingertips were faintly warm.
"I feel bad for the boatman and Aback, having them take the boat out at this late hour..."
"I gave them a bonus as an apology, so they were happy about the extra income."
"I feel bad for the horse too."
"The horse... well, maybe so."
They should have been resting in the stable by now. If we had not decided to go home regardless of it being well past midnight, they would be resting in their beds right now.
The lord's residence was just past the gates of Grenore. Even the city gates, which should have been closed at night, let the carriage carrying Leonardo, the lord of the fortress, pass through almost freely. We were stopped for a confirmation check, but Grenore was a city where Leonardo had been staying for some time. There was not a single Black Knight guarding Grenore's gates who did not know Leonardo's face.
Seeing me clinging to Leonardo, the Black Knights at the gate called out, asking if I was feeling down. One of them even gave me a candy, but tonight I was not in the mood to put on a charming show, so I pretended to be sleepy and got through it. Being a child was convenient at times like this.
"...She was quite something, that Eighth Princess, was she not deshu?"
Unable to clear my gloomy mood, I deliberately brought up the biggest source of today's unease, as if to vent the murkiness in my chest. Rolling the candy I had just been given around in my mouth as I mentioned that person, I felt the hazy feelings being expelled little by little along with the carbon dioxide.
"I had heard from Leonyaldo-san that she was an intense person, but I never expected her to be that extreme."
I was ambushed by her screaming war cry, and the hand I had been holding with Salisa was brushed away. Immediately after, she started violently scrubbing my arm with her handkerchief, and even now looking back, I still could not understand the intent behind her actions.
...Well, she did say something about Leonyaldo-san's sebum though.
In this case, should I be surprised that the concept of sebum even existed here? I was aware that my priorities for surprise were off, but I also felt I should not think too seriously about it. I was already learning that against royals with such strong quirks, I should not think too deeply and instead keep my distance to avoid getting involved. Since they came to me, I could not completely escape, but I should not neglect making an effort to keep my distance.
"...Jemian-dono must have missed her. If she wants that painting, she should not appear before Tina again, so do not worry."
For now, she was probably making a fuss and agonizing over having done something to my little sister, then resigning herself to it being in the past, Leonardo said. When I pointed out that he spoke as if he had seen it, he explained that the princess had apparently done something similar to Alf before. At that time, it supposedly escalated into a fierce sibling quarrel with Alfred, who had received a complaint from Alf.
"I made a deal with her that if she let me model for the fountain, she would never show herself before me again. Thanks to that, once the fountain was completed, she shut herself up in the detached palace and stopped appearing..."
It seemed he never imagined the Eighth Princess would hear rumors of the embroidery painting and come all the way to Lagarette. The Eighth Princess, who spent all day gazing adoringly at the fountain built in the detached palace, leaving its side for a little trip.
"My arm still stings deshu."
I rolled up my thin spring sleeve and showed the arm that had been rubbed with the handkerchief. It was usually just pale, but now it was slightly red and swollen.
"I feel bad for Tina, but it could have been worse, meeting that person and getting off with just this..."
"Just how terrible is that person deshu?"
Leonardo's hand gently stroked my red, swollen arm in consolation. I appreciated the sentiment, but Leonardo's body temperature was higher than mine, so between my heated arm and his warm hand, the area where his hand touched felt burning hot. Today, it seemed it would be better to cool it with a cold handkerchief rather than have Leonardo stroke it.
"...Are there lots of people like that princess in the capital deshu?"
"I know of one other person as extreme as Princess Claudine, but she married into another family years ago, so things should be calm now... I hope."
"That is wishful thinking deshu ne."
I knew this because I had a special upbringing, being born with memories of my previous life. People's personalities did not change just from aging. If anything did change, it was only that they gained more ways of perceiving things and dealing with them. Their fundamental character did not change.
"...Tina, do you not want to go to the capital?"
"It seems like an order I cannot refuse, so I will go deshu."
But I do not want to go, I added, voicing my honest feelings. Bottling things up was not good, and if I went to the capital, Leonardo would be practically forced to go to the capital, where he apparently had bad memories. If we were in the same boat, I wanted to communicate my thoughts.
"Instead, in the capital I will stay stuck to Leonyaldo-san and refuse to leave, so please be prepared for that deshu."
As the conversation shifted to lighter banter, the sound of the carriage wheels stopped. It should have been the middle of the night, but we had arrived at the lord's residence.
"Huh? Oscar?"
As I was stepping down from the carriage with Leonardo's escort, the Black Dog followed behind Alf, who had come out to greet us at the entrance. I wondered why the Black Dog, which Bertrand should have taken back, was at the residence again, but Leonardo seemed to sense something else from the Black Dog's presence. His voice lowered slightly and he immediately turned to Alf, who had come out to greet us.
"...What happened?"
"Bertrand-dono came to the fortress again around noon."
At the report that began with those words, I recalled that, come to think of it, Bertrand had said something at the summer martial arts tournament about having business with Jean-Jacques. Back then, it had not even been a year since Wards disease had been cured, so we made Bertrand wait, saying we could not let them meet just in case. After that, word came from Bertrand's house that his grandchild was in critical condition, and I forced him to leave. Now that winter was over, Bertrand must have returned to Grenore, thinking Jean-Jacques would have come back from quarantine.
...I wonder if his grandchild recovered?
Bertrand had said his grandchild was in critical condition multiple times a year, but I would think someone with such a sickly grandchild could not leave their side. Bertrand apparently disagreed. His business with Jean-Jacques seemed more important than his sickly grandchild.
"...Tina, go back to your room and get some sleep now."
"Eh? I am curious deshu."
I had been pretending to watch Salisa and Bart start unloading the luggage while pricking up my ears, but it seemed I had been caught eavesdropping. As if swapping with Tabitha who came out late, Leonardo grabbed me by the shoulder and handed me over to Salisa.
"What did Jean-Jacques do deshu?"
Handed over to Salisa, I had to enter the residence first. When I stubbornly tried to listen until I got to a good stopping point, Leonardo put on a slightly angry face. I could tell immediately that he was just making the face and was not actually angry.
"...It has to do with my work, so I cannot let Tina hear it."
"Work deshu? I understand deshu."
If it was about knight work, then truly I could not listen to it. Deciding to obediently back off for now, I hugged Leonardo and said goodnight.
"I apologize, young lady. Would you allow me some time to prepare your bath?"
Waiting for the Black Dog to follow me into the room, Salisa worried about the bath. Whether from my previous life's habits, I always bathed before bed. I understood that Salisa was being considerate, thinking I would want a bath tonight too.
"Tonight is fine deshu. If I bathe in the morning, it can be done together with Leonyaldo-san's bath preparations, right deshu?"
If I had planned to go to Lagarette and back in a day from the start, Tabitha or Bart would have prepared everything, but we had rushed back from Lagarette after the unexpected encounter with the Eighth Princess. Even if the bath was not ready for tonight, no one could be blamed.
"Then let us change and apply some medicine."
"Is medicine necessary deshu?"
It stung from being rubbed hard with the handkerchief, but there were no real injuries. There might be tiny invisible scratches, but I did not think it was bad enough to need medicine.
I changed into clean white sleepwear and let Salisa apply the medicine. She wrapped it in bandages so the medicine would not get on the sleepwear, making it look a little overdone, but Salisa's work was complete.
"Then, young lady, goodnight. I will take my leave."
"Okaaay. I will be a good girl and sleep just as I was told, so Salisa, please go secretly listen to Leonyaldo-san and the others' conversation deshu."
Using the bear stuffed toy's belly as a pillow, I asked Salisa, who was closing the canopy, to eavesdrop. Salisa stopped with a slightly troubled look, but she shrugged at me as I lay there waving my hand.
"...Leonardo-sama said he cannot let you hear it because it is work talk."
"That is why Salisa should listen and tell me if it is something I can hear, okay deshu?"
I insisted that I had only heard bits and pieces and was curious. I understood that Jean-Jacques had been captured by Bertrand, but on the flip side, the fact that I had only caught that much was what bothered me.
"Understood. I will look into it if I can, but I will tell you tomorrow morning. Young lady, please be a good girl and sleep well."
Salisa lowered the candlelight and left the room. Whether she had seen Salisa off or not, I sensed the Black Dog coming to the side of the bed and stopping there. He was probably curling up outside the canopy.
...Somehow, Oscar had completely become my dog.
He was originally supposed to be Bertrand's dog, but the moment Bertrand came to Grenore, he came to me. At this rate, I could not tell who his owner was.
"It seems Jean-Jacques was arrested on charges of stealing a noble's personal property."
Rare for me, I washed off the sweat with a morning bath. As I slipped into a dress with my refreshed body and had Salisa do my hair, she gave me the report from the previous night.
...Jean-Jacques and a noble's personal property... father's ring?
Connecting Jean-Jacques with a noble's personal property with my limited knowledge, I could not help but think of father's ring. Actually, the only other "noble's personal property" I could think of was the hair ornament Alf had prepared that Kaya stole.
...Come to think of it, I was technically a noble's daughter too, was I not?
In any case, Jean-Jacques had never stolen anything from me. Even with father's ring, if I believed what Jean-Jacques said, he had just picked up something that was lying on the ground. He had not stolen it intending to steal a noble's personal property.
...I am not sure about selling burial goods from a grave, but he did try to buy it back...
Jean-Jacques was a careless man, but I did not think he was a bad person. I had also heard that he had reburied a grave that wild dogs had dug up. He was not a good person, but he was not a bad person either.
"For now, I understand that since it is a scandal involving a Black Knight, it falls under the jurisdiction of Leonyaldo-san, the lord of the fortress deshu."
This was probably also the reason I could not be told about it. True, I was a little curious from the words I had overheard, but now that I knew, it was not something I should stick my nose into. It was entirely Leonardo's work talk.
Salisa must have understood that I was satisfied with just the general outline. She just shrugged, and the matter was settled.
"Good morning, Leonyaldo-san."
"Good morning, Tina."
As I was munching on the salad at breakfast, Leonardo came out looking a little sleepy. I could tell from his appearance that he had bathed, but he still seemed drowsy. It was unusual for Leonardo, who always woke up before me.
...Oh, but maybe he was up late last night?
Alf had been waiting for him to return home and reported about Jean-Jacques. Even after I went to my room and slept, Leonardo and the others might have still been working. When I asked about it, he said he had only managed a two-hour nap.
"Did something happen deshu?"
I had heard the rough outline from Salisa, but since I was supposed to not know anything, I asked Leonardo again. If there was a line within Leonardo's judgment that he could tell me, he would share a little.
"Well... I suppose it is better than having you eavesdrop again?"
Taking a sip of the coffee Salisa had brought, Leonardo lightly closed his eyes. He might have been more than half-asleep. It was a topic he had chased me away from yesterday, but he seemed in the mood to talk a little now.
...Sorry. I did eavesdrop this time, using Salisa.
I apologized silently in my heart, but the words that came out of Leonardo's mouth were not much different from what I had heard from Salisa this morning. Jean-Jacques had been captured by Bertrand last night and was now in the fortress's solitary cell.
However, there was also new information mixed in.
"I will have to guide Bertrand-dono and leave the city for a few days."
For Leonardo, this was probably an unwelcome action. His tone dropped slightly, and his sleepily closed eyelids opened. I could see clearly that the black eyes behind them were wide awake.
"Leaving the city deshu? Where are you going deshu?"
"It is work, so it is a secret from Tina."
"What about watching the residence deshu?"
"I will leave it to Alf, as usual. Siegwald-sama is also at the residence, so nothing too problematic should happen."
The only concern was the Eighth Princess we had encountered in Lagarette, but he said the painting would keep her at bay. If she wanted to purchase the painting, it meant she accepted the terms banning her from approaching me, so she would inevitably not come charging into Grenore.
Having to go on another trip the very next day, Leonardo had it rough. However, since this trip involved moving with Bertrand, who was used to horses, it apparently would take less time since they were not using a carriage. As I watched Bart loading ten days' worth of food and water onto the horses' backs and preparing for the trip, Jean-Jacques and Bertrand came to the residence.
"Wh-what happened!? Jean-Jacques, you are injured, are you not deshu?"
"Tina, what about you? That arm."
I was startled by the sight of Jean-Jacques with his arm in a sling, and in turn, Jean-Jacques was startled by the bandage wrapped around my arm. Under my bandage, there was just a little ointment applied as a precaution, hardly even an injury. But Jean-Jacques's arm even had a splint on it. It did not look at all like he had caught his finger in a door or jammed it. An arm with a sling and a splint meant a serious injury, like a broken bone. Moreover, looking closely, the treated areas were not limited to his arm. His cheek was slightly swollen, and he had a compress on his forehead as if he had a cut. The sling was so conspicuous that my eyes went to it first, but his other arm was also wrapped in bandages.
"What happened in just these few days!?"
"Few days, more like just yesterday. That old geezer over there beat me to a pulp."
I turned my gaze to the 'geezer' he indicated, Bertrand. He had an utterly unreadable expression, as if he did not think anything of inflicting serious injuries on Jean-Jacques.
"That is so cruel, torture! That is prisoner abuse deshu!"
I heard Jean-Jacques's retort of "I ain't no prisoner!" but I ignored it. I had heard that Jean-Jacques had been captured, and if the person who captured him hurt him, to me, that was violence like torture or interrogation. I had heard about Jean-Jacques's crime, but even so, once captured, there should have been no need for assault.
"It is his fault for not speaking honestly."
"You both have mouths, Bertrand-sama and Jean-Jacques, so please talk it out deshu!"
"When words did not work, I asked his body."
"And did Jean-Jacques talk after you asked his body deshu?"
He did not talk, I indicated, pointing at Jean-Jacques's body. I did not know what they were trying to make him say, but I could tell from Jean-Jacques's state. He must have refused Bertrand's demands and did not spill even after receiving treatment close to torture. I could tell from Bertrand's mouth twisting into a frown that I had hit the mark. Now I understood why Alf had waited for Leonardo to return last night. Alf could not stop Bertrand, so he must have waited for Leonardo, the lord of the fortress. Because Leonardo stepped in to mediate, that was why his sleep was short today. And now leaving the city for a few days was also related to Jean-Jacques and Bertrand.
I pleaded with Leonardo, loud enough for Bertrand to hear, to keep a close watch so he would not bully Jean-Jacques any further. It was not that I was close with Jean-Jacques, but this was just too much. I did not know what Bertrand wanted to ask, but there was no excuse for breaking bones.
As I made my request to Leonardo fueled by anger, Leonardo looked between Bertrand and Jean-Jacques with a troubled expression. Finally, he dropped his gaze to me and muttered that he and Bertrand had bad compatibility.
...I know he is a great hero and all, but torture, abandoning a sickly grandchild... I just cannot respect him as a person!
Typos and omissions again another day. Fixed any typos and omissions I found.