416 - Leonardo's Perspective The Imperial Capital, the Attendant, and the Doll Princess 1
We arrived at the Carlotta residence in the imperial capital of Tralbach at the beginning of summer, when spring was ending. Speaking of the beginning of summer, Tina's birthday falls around that time. I was unable to celebrate it again this year, but Tina turned fifteen.
...Fifteen years old is an age where she could be married off, you know.
Tina had told me she would stay with me until she turned twenty, which is the age of adulthood in Japan. The two precious years I could have spent with my little sister until she came of age were stolen by a despicable kidnapper, so the kidnapper is unforgivable. If I find myself in a situation where I can settle a personal grudge, I plan to settle it without hesitation. Holding things in is never good for anything. Conveniently enough, the Zugall Empire has a public order where merely straying a little off the highway means you are liable to run into bandits. If I guide the kidnapper's carriage off the highway, then all that will happen is an accident that is hardly uncommon in the Zugall Empire.
...I am starting to resemble Alf more and more.
Guiding someone off the highway to cause an accident is a joke, of course, but I think I would be forgiven for at least landing one punch. My one punch can knock down a large tree and even knock a bear unconscious, but that was just a matter of good placement. It is not like I can bring out that power whenever I want. In fact, if that power came out all the time, I would not be able to hold a sword. Every sword I touched would break.
...Still, even for an ordinary noble's residence, there are a lot of servants here.
The Grenore residence is managed by just Bart and Tabitha. Recently Mirshe joined them as a maid-in-training, and Kalisa works as Tina's nurse maid while also helping with other tasks. I thought the reason there were so many servants at Tina's detached palace in the capital was because they managed the palace itself, but seeing the number of servants at the Carlotta residence, I realize that Tina's detached palace actually has few servants, and the Grenore residence is being managed by an impossibly small number of people. Tina said we should increase the number of servants, but I think I should seriously consider it when we return to Grenore. Bart and Tabitha are getting on in years too. It might be about time we gave them an annex for retired servants and let them retire as Brownies.
...Having said that, living in the imperial capital really does incur a lot of waste.
The city built on the mid-slopes of the Erath Mountain Range has low temperatures due to its altitude, and snow remains even in summer. Being able to eat cheap frozen treats in summer might make it seem like a good location, but it is so cold that there is no demand for frozen treats in the first place. And even just living normally, it is so cold that a wood stove and hearth fire are indispensable. The cost of firewood alone is enough to strain a commoner's household budget. It might be fine for a small commoner's house, but nobles living in large mansions must be wracking their brains over how to save on firewood costs. A noble house with little interaction with others can choose not to heat rooms they do not use, but the Imperial Palace cannot do that. As befits a castle, there are people everywhere. Just thinking about the amount of firewood consumed in a year and its cost makes me think the imperial capital would be better off being moved to a lower elevation.
...So that is the Dawn Tower. I can see it faintly today.
To the southeast, I could see a tower stretching thinly into the sky. It seems the Zugall Empire has discovered a construction method for driving foundations into the frozen ground of the Erath Mountain Range, and they are currently building a giant tower near the summit. Given the nature of the Zugall Empire, if this tower is successfully completed, they will probably move the imperial capital to the summit next. As if I was not already worried about firewood costs, but the Zugall Empire tends to attempt such reckless endeavors in the name of "Imperial Prestige." It is a country that is the complete opposite of the Ivizia Kingdom, which prioritizes protecting the lives of its people above all else.
"Can you manage Imperial manners, Jin Boss?"
"As far as being able to escort a lady."
I could not very well honestly answer that it is a required subject for knights of the Ivizia Kingdom, so I could only give a vague reply. The Black Knights of the Ivizia Kingdom are drilled in the etiquette of escorting a lady. As for the Silver-White Knights, they are trained to be able to escort princesses, or even consorts depending on the situation. I cannot exactly reveal that while I am supposedly hiding my identity, but the education of a Silver-White Knight includes the etiquette of other countries. Escorting Carlotta, a lady of the Zugall Empire, should be something I can manage without difficulty.
"I see. That is good, then. If you know proper manners, then since a 'bandit boss' would stand out in the imperial capital, let us change your clothes."
"Please change," Carlotta said, and a maid emerged from the back room. It seemed she had prepared things in advance, as the maid was carrying several sets of formal wear.
"...What is this?"
"I did say bandits stand out, did I not? What will not stand out when accompanying me is my servant. Menial workers or attendants might be inconvenient for some things, so let us make you my personal attendant."
Carlotta held the formal wear the maid had brought against my shoulders and gave instructions for alterations. She seemed to have prepared clothes in approximate sizes, but my body was larger than expected.
"By the way, I would like to do something about that beard for an attendant..."
"This beard serves the purpose of hiding my face, so shaving it would be difficult..."
"In other words, we just need to divert attention from your face? That is simple enough."
Unless one is the head of a noble house trying to project authority, it would indeed be strange for a noble's attendant to let his beard grow wild. To behave as an attendant and move about freely while borrowing the Carlotta residence, I would need to maintain an appearance that matches my clothing. But I hesitated... though in the end, I decided to accept Carlotta's idea. I already owe Carlotta more than enough, so I do not want to embarrass her. I had grown the beard to hide my features, but if I can divert attention from my face, it does not have to be a beard.
...That said, I never imagined I would end up wearing a giant ribbon.
As an attendant, I need to maintain my appearance. Shaving my beard and combing my hair I understand, but I never imagined I would end up wearing a ribbon so large that it protrudes from both sides to assert its presence even when viewed from the front. With a ribbon this huge, it would certainly draw more attention than my face.
"Now I can take you along on my shopping trips without any worry, attendant Jin."
"I do not think it would fool Jasper, but it seems he has been keeping indoors as well."
I should be able to accompany Carlotta on her shopping at least. If I have her make me carry packages, I can walk around the imperial capital with my face hidden behind the luggage. Being able to walk outside during the day is convenient for me.
After tidying up my appearance as an attendant, I checked on the Black Dog (Oscar) I had brought from Augusta Castle. We had moved to the Augun territory and then brought him straight to the Carlotta residence in the imperial capital of Tralbach, but it seemed he had recovered from the fatigue of the long journey. He seemed to sense from my gaze that it was time for work, and he stood up briskly.
"First, I want to make contact with Jean-Jacques. Jean-Jacques should definitely be lurking somewhere near the Edgar residence. Find him."
Sending the Black Dog in alone would not convey my intentions to Jean-Jacques, so I attached one bandit to accompany the Black Dog. This made it look like a man walking his dog. Even if he walked through the noble district, it should not seem particularly unnatural.
After releasing the bandit and the Black Dog into the noble district, Jean-Jacques came to the Carlotta residence by evening. The Black Dog had found Jean-Jacques without difficulty, and now it seemed he was taking turns with Jean-Jacques, watching the Edgar residence together with the bandit. The Black Dog had been looking for hiding spots that maximized his canine body, but in the snow-covered imperial capital, that black coat was working against him. In a world of pure white, a black coat was too conspicuous, so apparently he decided to hide in the shadows where the bandit and Jean-Jacques had been lurking.
"That ain't fair, Boss. You are in a nice warm mansion wearin' fancy clothes."
Jean-Jacques's first words were a complaint. It was cold outside. The snow made it hard to approach the mansion. With only one person on watch, they could not properly procure food, and so on. After complaining at length that he might have caught a cold if it had been a few more days, Jean-Jacques pulled several sheets of paper from his breast pocket.
"Here, Jin Boss. A love letter packed full of my affection."
"I am attendant Jin now. Do not call me Boss."
"Right, right. Well then, let us get to the troublesome report..."
It seemed there were things to be conveyed orally alongside the written report, but before Jean-Jacques could open his mouth, Carlotta interrupted. "First, go take a bath and wash off that smell." Those were the same words Carlotta had said to me. It had not bothered me much, but the smell of Jean-Jacques must have been unbearable for Carlotta. Or perhaps it was because Jean-Jacques had said earlier that he "almost caught a cold." It was Carlotta's consideration. She wanted him to warm up in the bath while she looked over the report first.
"...Was not being a bandit Chack's true calling?"
"I do not think he is quite as impressive as Jin Boss, who had over two hundred subordinates just from traveling around."
While Jean-Jacques was in the bath, I looked over the report. The layout of the Edgar residence, as far as could be determined from the outside, and the approximate size of the mansion calculated from the stride of the guards walking around it, would be of great help when the time came to infiltrate. It seemed he had been watching the mansion for days already, and he had even investigated the patrol times, number of guards, and shift changes.
"Even with all this research, infiltrating without being noticed seems difficult."
"The snow is the problem, is it not..."
I could not help but think that if only Tina had not been taken from Augusta Castle. And even if she had been taken, if only her destination had not been the imperial capital of Tralbach, where snow remains even in summer. With the snow covering the area around the building, infiltrating the mansion from anywhere other than the snow-cleared front entrance or the servants' back entrance would be like personally announcing one's intrusion. Even if I managed to retrieve Tina successfully, our footprints would be traced by pursuers.
"Tina is in the sunroom on the first floor."
According to Jean-Jacques's report, Tina seemed to be inside a giant birdcage installed in the sunroom on the first floor. The existence of the birdcage was barely visible from the shadow where Jean-Jacques had been lurking, but the distance was too great to discern Tina's condition. At a line saying that if he could prepare far-seeing glasses, he might be able to see more of the sunroom's interior, Carlotta called out to a maid. It seemed Jean-Jacques had not been able to obtain far-seeing glasses, but Carlotta could probably prepare some.
Just as I finished reading about the number of visible guards from outside and the guard apparently watching Giselle as well, Jean-Jacques came back from his bath. Having changed into the clean clothes that had been prepared, the stench of a man who had not bathed for days had been mercifully eliminated.
"Well then, to start fresh. The grounds are not that big compared to Augusta Castle, so it was easy to scope things out. But the snow is a real pain. Infiltrating without being noticed is impossible."
Jean-Jacques said that when we infiltrate the Edgar residence, it would probably only be when we actually retrieve Tina, when footprints would not matter anymore. We would need a perfect escape route, preparations to at least flee the imperial capital immediately after getting Tina out of the Edgar residence, and then the swiftness and provisions to escape into the Augun territory without being delayed. At the very least, we could not sneak into the Edgar residence just for reconnaissance on Tina's retrieval.
"Also, about the birdcage Tina kid is locked in... seems like the key is with a guard. We gotta find this guy and take the key, or we cannot get Tina kid out of that cage."
Apparently Tina basically stayed still inside the birdcage in the sunroom during the day. She was sometimes let out, and at night she seemed to sleep in a different room. There was no bed visible from outside the sunroom, and Tina could not be seen at night. It was probably a separate bedroom, but apparently they had not figured out where that room was yet.
"If we could get enough hands to take the whole mansion at night, I think we could force our way in..."
"...Maybe we should just launch a night raid with seventy bandits."
"What is this seventy bandits thing?"
"They are reinforcements that joined while I was traveling after parting ways with you."
"...As unpredictable as ever, Boss."
At its peak there were over two hundred, but I deliberately did not mention that. It was not relevant now, and I had decided to move through the Zugall Empire as a bandit saying I could not let Jean-Jacques run loose. The fact that I had expanded a bandit group of about twenty into a large band of over two hundred was something I could not mention until the time came when it could be a funny story.
"Even if you have the numbers, if you want to get Christina out safely, I cannot recommend a raid. The Emperor would not move his troops over a small bandit group attacking a small village, but if a noble's residence in the imperial capital is attacked, they will pursue the attackers in the name of Imperial Prestige."
Any action against the Edgar residence would have to be done quietly. If we damaged something like national prestige, it would be more troublesome than being chased by Edgar alone.
"If we are going to do it, it has to be done quietly."
"Doing it quietly is difficult..."
According to Giselle's letter, Tina was not in a condition to run on her own, and even if she headed straight from the imperial capital to the Ivizia Kingdom by carriage, it would take more than a month. With a large-scale pursuit underway, it would be nearly impossible to return safely to the Ivizia Kingdom without harming Tina's health. Retrieving Tina was important, but Tina's life took priority above all else. If Tina died because I forced her out, there would be no point in retrieving her.
"...A raid is the last resort."
"Tina kid is actin' weird, that is for sure... but as long as she is bein' quiet, there is no problem. The problem is the lady maid."
"Has something happened to Giselle?"
I thought she was doing well for a White Knight, but Jean-Jacques, who had been watching for a while, seemed to have concerns about Giselle. According to Jean-Jacques, Giselle sometimes glanced around outside from inside the sunroom, as if she knew someone was outside and was loudly announcing that she was waiting for contact. If one did not know the circumstances of how Tina and Giselle ended up at the Edgar residence, it might be an innocent gesture, but to Jasper and Edgar, who had guilty consciences, it was an attitude they could not help but suspect.
"...Maybe I should have Oscar deliver a letter once."
Telling her not to act in a way that draws attention and arouses suspicion.
Time is up.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.