415 - Leonardo's Perspective: Oscar's Letter
"Jean-Jacques should have arrived here before me..."
When I asked the Black Dog (Oscar) if he could guide me, the Black Dog tilted his head slightly. I don't think he can't understand my words, but he showed no sign of turning his back and walking off.
...Huh? What is it?
The Black Dog appeared to be tilting his head, but the gesture somehow felt unnatural. He sometimes tilted his head like that when playing dumb with Tina, but it was a gesture he never once showed toward Bertrand. The fact that the Black Dog is here means his purpose is probably the same as mine. Among us who all want to rescue Tina, there's no reason for the Black Dog to play dumb. If that's the case, then there must be some intention of the Black Dog's behind this head-tilting gesture.
"A letter?"
I found a small folded piece of paper on the back side of his collar and reached out. The Black Dog stood still on the spot, exposing his defenseless neck to me. Which means this is a letter I'm meant to receive.
...A message from Jean-Jacques?
Jean-Jacques, who was supposed to be hiding in Augusta Castle, was nowhere to be found, and the Black Dog was there instead. Jean-Jacques must have run into the Black Dog at Augusta Castle, left him here, and moved on, or perhaps he's resting somewhere. Jean-Jacques was supposed to be watching Augusta Castle alone. If he had someone to trade watch duty with, he'd probably take a shift change.
I checked my surroundings and hid myself in the shade of a convenient shrub. When I opened the letter hidden in the Black Dog's collar, there were signs that someone had opened it before me. This letter had been folded twice.
...This is.
I'd been sure it was a report from Jean-Jacques, but the handwriting in the letter was a soft woman's. Before reading the contents, I looked for the signature and found Giselle's name written at the edge of the letter. The letter the Black Dog had been carrying turned out to be from Giselle. Now that I knew the signature, I went back to the beginning and started reading the letter again. Giselle's letter contained information about their current situation, Tina's condition, the kidnapper's name, the method used to smuggle her into the Zugall Empire, and the fact that Jasper had aided this kidnapping. By the time the letter would arrive, Tina was scheduled to have been moved to the Imperial capital Tralbach, and after more than a year of captivity, Tina's muscle strength had deteriorated. She could barely stand and walk slowly, but she couldn't run or keep walking without rest. The letter also said that in order to rescue Tina, one would absolutely need a means of transportation like a horse or carriage to move her.
...Her physical strength has dropped that much. Even if she recovers, bringing her straight back to the Ivizia Kingdom will be impossible.
The Zugall Empire and the Ivizia Kingdom are neighboring countries, but between the Imperial capital Tralbach and the city of Grenore, there's enough distance to go all the way around the great Erath mountain range. It's hardly a distance where you could immediately drag Tina around in the condition described in the letter.
...Until Tina builds up some strength, I wonder if Carlotta-sama would let us stay with her.
I wonder if it's too much to ask, but within the Zugall Empire, there are few people we can rely on. Even if I could take Tina to a bandits' hideout, I don't think Tina could rest there. If we want to ensure Tina's safety and wait for her to recover her strength, there's no choice but to rely on Carlotta.
...Still, Giselle has been thinking in her own way, hasn't she. I thought she was an unreliable White Knight.
As a knight, I can't say she's been useful even now. But in the sense of staying by Tina's side and protecting her, she certainly has been doing her job. It's hard to call it a knight's way of fighting, but I think she's choosing the best method available to her.
...The signs that the letter had been opened were probably from Jean-Jacques's report.
Jean-Jacques must have opened Giselle's folded letter once, read the contents, and then hidden the letter again in the Black Dog's collar. On the back of Giselle's letter, a brief report had been written in small script.
...So Jean-Jacques moved ahead to the Imperial capital first. Oscar was entrusted with the letter and waited here.
Jean-Jacques's letter stated that he was heading to the Imperial capital, along with information about the area around Augusta Castle that he'd looked into beforehand. It seems Jean-Jacques received Giselle's letter, then tried to get information from the maids who had been dismissed from Augusta Castle after Tina disappeared. Apparently he couldn't find out anything about Tina, but he did learn about the character of the noble named Edgar who seemed to be the main culprit behind Tina's kidnapping.
...Still, the Imperial capital. We crossed paths.
Until just a little while ago, I was in the Imperial capital Tralbach with Carlotta's guidance. While I was investigating Edgar there, Cody brought a letter to Augun territory, and when Carlotta heard that a message had come from Tina, I moved along with her as she returned to her territory. Timing-wise, around the time I entered Augun territory, Tina would probably have arrived in the Imperial capital Tralbach.
...We must have passed each other somewhere on the highway.
There's more than one highway leading to the Imperial capital. It wasn't necessarily the case that one had to pass through Augun territory to go from Uhlenfurt territory to the Imperial capital Tralbach. The possibility that I might have passed Tina on the highway was just one possibility, but still, I felt like I'd made some huge mistake, and my chest felt heavy. I knew it was just self-blame coming from a misunderstanding, so I took a deep breath and switched my mindset.
"Oscar. I'm going to chase after Tina now. Are you coming too?"
I folded the letter small and tucked it into my breast pocket as I called out to the Black Dog on the other side of the iron gate. I was a little puzzled about how the Black Dog had gotten inside the iron gate, but when I called out to him, he disappeared from sight for a moment, then came falling from above, rustling leaves and shaking branches. It seemed the Black Dog hadn't been trapped inside the iron gate at all, but had used the branches to get in from above it.
...Can dogs climb trees?
A small question arose, but I stopped thinking about it as the Black Dog started walking ahead. The Black Dog is an excellent watchdog. If I get the chance, it might be nice to have Bertrand-dono introduce me to the Black Dog's trainer.
Just as I'd transported the Black Dog on a horse before, this time too I put the Black Dog on a horse and rode to Augun territory. Going to the Imperial capital Tralbach alone would be simple, but I'd probably need to lay low for a while. If so, it would be better to rely on Carlotta, who has a mansion in the Imperial capital. I was already planning to rely on her for securing an escape route anyway. I'll ask for her help in recovering Tina too.
"...Oh my. It seems we crossed paths after all."
When I showed her the letters from Giselle and Jean-Jacques, Carlotta reacted the same way I had. But her actions after that were swift. She called her husband, who called himself her steward, and said that she would be spending some time in the Imperial capital this year, and to adjust the schedule accordingly.
"Oh, and also. I'll be receiving a young lady guest, so please prepare a room for a girl here at the castle as well."
"Do you have any preference for the guest's favorite colors?"
When the elderly gentleman asked, I answered based on what I remembered. I recall that when Tina chose her own clothes, she tended to pick colors that were a bit too subdued for a child. Since Kalisa and Hermine-sensei consulted with her when making clothes, she also wore bright colors. It's not that she hates subdued colors, but the room she arranged herself after returning from the capital had wallpaper that was a bit more muted in color than the original bright wallpaper. I suppose Tina does prefer calm colors after all.
"...Carlotta-sama is going to the Imperial capital too?"
"Yes. Since we know she's in the Imperial capital, I want to meet Christina-san as soon as possible too."
Carlotta said she'd let me freely use the mansion in the Imperial capital, and to scheme to my heart's content, as she saw the elderly gentleman out of the room. For my part, I just want to make arrangements to get my kidnapped little sister back, so being told to scheme feels a bit strange.
I left the arrangements for the trip to the Imperial capital to Carlotta and her husband, and did what I needed to do myself. First, I gathered the bandits I'd sent to Augun Castle, and decided to disband half of them and send them back to their villages. There were some ruffians who'd only challenged me to a contest of strength since I'd apparently become famous for my monstrous strength, but most of the bandits were righteous thieves who'd become bandits out of necessity to protect their families and villages. Some of them told me that since I was here to retrieve my little sister, they couldn't go back to their villages halfway out of a sense of obligation or sympathy, but that's exactly why I sent them back to their home villages. The bandit group had grown too large in number, and if I was going to be laying low in the Imperial capital for a while, a small elite force would be better. Those who'd become bandits out of necessity and weren't used to violence should go back to their villages and work the fields. The spring planting had already passed, but summer fieldwork was waiting. In the Zugall Empire, where winters are harsh, spring planting and summer fieldwork directly affect the autumn harvest.
I chose the gentle-hearted and those unsuited for violence and sent them back to their villages. Seeing the faces of those who were to return to their villages, they seemed to understand my criteria. The bandits began to choose among themselves who would stay and who would return to their villages, and the bandit group I'd planned to reduce by half shrank to a third of its maximum size. I wanted enough hands, but too many would also be a problem, so I think this is just the right number.
To those returning to their villages, I asked them to gather information along the way. In order to select an escape route after retrieving Tina, information like how many soldiers are in which village, or which highways have checkpoints, can never be enough. While investigating these things on their way back to their villages, they would eventually gather information at the abandoned village that Marco's bandit group used as a stronghold, and arrangements would be made to deliver it to Augun Castle. I saw off the bandits one by one as they departed, and bowed my head to those remaining, asking them to lend me their help a little longer.
It's short, but it's a good stopping point. The dog I had when I was a child was a dog that climbed jungle gyms.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.