377 - Giselle's Perspective The Useless White Knight 3
"......That maid!!"
At the same time as the angry shout, the ceiling—or rather the floor, from the perspective of those riding inside the carriage as humans—shook violently. Though the word "ceiling" might make it seem distant, in reality it is just a lid covering a narrow space, so it is right above us. My heart started pounding from the sudden impact and the loud, angry voice that struck just as I was resting with my eyes closed. Right in front of me is Christina's face, still covered in leaves, but as always, she shows no reaction at all. Even with such a loud noise, there was not even a hint of her waking up.
...It was not a dream.
I had meant to close my eyes for just a moment, thinking it would make it easier for the spirits to care for Christina, but it seems I had actually fallen completely asleep. I think I even saw a bit of a dream.
...By maid, does she mean Kalisa?
I strain my ears to listen to what is happening inside the carriage. There is so little I can do, so if there is anything I might be able to accomplish, I have no choice but to throw myself at it. For now, what I can do is gather information. I listen closely to the conversation inside the carriage, picking up as many scraps of information as I can.
...The noble's name is Edgar. Jasper is riding inside the carriage to treat injuries. The other drivers are outside.
Edgar had the appearance of a typical noble, but the number of servants he brought was small for a noble. The reason for that is probably that rather than traveling to a neighboring country as a noble, he crossed the border disguised as a wealthy merchant. I was able to overhear that much from under the floorboards. Apparently, his merchant persona involves being someone who is eager to be the first to bring back a board game called Reversi that has started becoming popular in the kingdom of Ivizia, and make a fortune off it. If that is the case, I thought he would need the Reversi boards he should have procured to cross the border, but it seems he has already prepared those too. There are many forests and woods around Mail Fortress. Many villagers make their living from forestry, and it seems he has already placed orders with them.
...If the Black Knights can find us before the Reversi boards are ready, we can still return Christina-sama to Grenore.
Even if not, there might be a chance to escape while waiting for the boards to be assembled. If we can make contact with the villagers, we should be able to convey our current situation to the Black Knights.
...First, patience. Even to make the enemy let down their guard, I have to act obedient.
I tell myself once more, renewing my resolve that I will absolutely not give up. I am someone who cannot be of use in combat. With Aaron unable to be relied on now, at least in the realm of thinking and planning, I want to be useful to Christina.
...The ring, taken...?
I turn my attention to the conversation inside the carriage. Straining my ears to see if I can pick up any information, Edgar's abuse directed at Kalisa reaches me.
"We had the ring taken, finger and all! We are going back to retrieve it!"
"...You must be joking. Now that we have taken the reincarnator, all that is left is to escape to safety. It is better not to go near the city of Grenore."
"That ring is the ring of my family's head!"
"Why would you wear such an important ring in the place you came to kidnap someone? Something that, if taken, would lead back to you..."
"As the head of the family, it is only natural that I always wear that ring...!"
At the end of Edgar's words, the ceiling creaks loudly. More likely than not, he is kicking the floor to vent his frustration, attacking those of us underneath. Being constantly subjected to blows in the darkness, never knowing when they will come, would wear down anyone's mental fortitude. Thinking that this is the treatment Christina would have had to endure alone if not for me, I feel a little relieved that there are two of us.
...But Christina-sama still is not waking up.
Even when Edgar kicks the floor and attacks us from above, it has no effect on the slumbering Christina. Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, I sometimes grow anxious that she might have already died, but her eyelids occasionally quiver, letting me know that Christina is still alive.
...She is still alive. She is still okay for now.
Once a day, the trap door opens and I am allowed to stick out the upper half of my body. That is when we are given water and food, but when I touch Christina to care for her, her body is shockingly cold. She is wrapped in a blanket to prevent her from losing body heat, but since Christina herself is so cold, I feel like the blanket is not doing much good.
"Her body temperature is low. It would be troublesome if she caught a cold, but..."
Jasper's assessment was that since Christina does nothing but sleep, she cannot take food on her own, and therefore cannot generate warmth by herself.
For fluids, we soak a cloth in water and have her hold it in her mouth to absorb, but that is about it. Since we cannot feed her solid food, Christina's meals consist of vegetable soup boiled down until soft and mashed. This is forced down Christina's throat using a funnel. When it fails, Christina chokes and spits it out, wasting energy, which is a troublesome issue, but the caretaker just has to get used to it. Even if she is sleeping continuously, as long as she is alive, we cannot give her nothing to eat.
...It is as if Christina-sama is resisting by not resisting.
If they want to take her away, let them. If they want to care for her meals, do as they please. But in return, she will not give any reaction back. She absolutely refuses to be at the mercy of her kidnappers.
That is the will I feel.
Christina shows no sign of waking up, and since she hit her head, a forced march escape is impossible. We tried increasing her meals from once a day to twice by stopping the carriage in secluded spots, but there was no change in Christina. However, the leaves on her face stopped increasing, so I think the spirits' treatment has finished.
Although we have been moving cautiously while monitoring Christina's condition, we have also started gradually changing her posture to prevent bedsores. Once we were able to move Christina's body a little, we could stop the carriage near water and wash her body. After all, we are trapped under the carriage floor all day. Everything we excrete just flows out as is. Under normal circumstances, a foul odor would accumulate beneath the floor, but perhaps thanks to the blessing of the spirits Christina carries, I have never found it to smell. The space beneath the carriage floor has always been filled with the scent of flowers I smelled in the capital.
"Change Christina into these clothes."
"There is something for you too," Jasper said as he handed over coarse men's clothing. While I was cleaning Christina's body, the driver had been sent off somewhere, apparently to buy clothes. Since her hair was cut shorter than a boy's during the medical treatment, if she wears men's clothes, Christina will probably look like a boy. Convenient for the kidnappers.
Once the change of clothes was finished, all the clothes she had been wearing were burned. The cameo that Christina always wore was also taken and thrown into the fire, but strangely, the cameo was unharmed and did not burn. I thought about discreetly retrieving the cameo before anyone noticed, but Edgar spotted me. Edgar picked the cameo out of the ashes, examined it, and threw it into the river. There is no way now to return that cameo to Christina's hands.
...Huh? Come to think of it...
A numbing drug is administered to our tongues, and we are pushed back under the carriage floor, likely because there is a checkpoint ahead on the road. Her clothes had been changed to coarse men's attire, but Christina was given sufficient blankets. Looking at Christina's peaceful sleeping face, the space beneath the floor is once again filled with the scent of flowers. I felt like I caught that scent outside the carriage.
[Author's Note]
Since this is a continuation from yesterday, it is a bit short. Regarding the naming, Jasper is Gaspar, and apparently the meaning is "carrier of treasure." Many of the side characters are named using a generator, but Jasper's name was chosen for its meaning. He was always someone who would carry Tina away.
Incidentally, the underworld watchdog Cerberus has the setting of being a "guardian of treasure" in this world.