422 - Leonardo's Perspective on Tina's Whereabouts and Giselle's News
"Not even knowing your little sister's favorite color, what a strange big brother you are."
Occasionally, as if remembering, she would prick me with barbed words, but Carlotta was generally in high spirits, preparing a room for Tina. Judging by the sight of her sending letters with instructions to Augun Castle as well, Carlotta seemed to have taken quite a liking to Tina. She was my cute little sister to boast about, but I was already a little anxious that after her recovery treatment, she might say "I do not want to send her back to the Ivizia Kingdom." Being able to worry about such trivial things was happiness itself. Until we had pinpointed Tina's whereabouts, I could not even recall a version of myself that could be pleased or anxious over such trivial matters.
...But, as was the case in the capital, Tina's face was dangerous.
If I were only considering the single point of her cute appearance, it seemed like a good thing, but the fact that she drew the interest of multiple unknown men, and drew them in far too much, was a somewhat troublesome trait. Alfred had pointed it out as well. It would be difficult for Tina to marry a commoner man. The Ivizia Kingdom did not have as stark a class divide as the Zugall Empire, but there were still nobles who would commit outrages against commoners. A commoner's wife who was too beautiful would only tickle the malice of noble men. I could easily imagine a future where she was targeted as a mistress and taken from her husband through one means or another.
...Her insides were just a slightly tomboyish, ordinary girl, though.
Jean-Jacques called it an appearance scam, but I myself found Tina's personality (inner self) lovely. When she was silent, her face was as mysterious as a spirit's. It just happened to house a tomboy soul that could sometimes make even a brat cry. If someone started interacting with Tina normally, any strange worshipful feelings toward Tina would dissolve.
However, the current Tina did not take any actions that asserted herself at all. She seemed to sit quietly all day long, and could not break the dreams of the men who flocked to her for her appearance. At this rate, men attracted to Tina's appearance would only increase, never decrease.
...I thought the decrease in visitors was only the day after Carlotta-sama visited... but apparently not?
That is strange, I furrowed my brow at the report from the man I had keeping watch on the Edgar residence. Usually, visitors' carriages would stop incessantly at the Edgar residence entrance, but today it seemed not a single carriage had come.
Something was wrong.
It was just as I realized that, that an anomaly occurred at Carlotta's residence.
"What is going on!?"
At the commotion coming from downstairs, I set down my report and left the room. Walking with long strides down the stairs, I saw in the entrance hall the Black Dog (Oscar) and servants trying to restrain a sudden intruder.
"Ah, Mr. Jin. This dog suddenly came bursting in, but..."
"That dog is one I use for communications. No problem."
"Huh? A communication dog, you say... is that Oscar? That dog is usually much calmer than this, though..."
"It must be an urgent message. ...Oscar."
The servant seemed perplexed, wondering if it was really the same black dog that sometimes appeared in the residence. The well-trained watchdog, the Black Dog, was so quiet that unless necessary, one could not even tell if it was there or not. If that Black Dog came bursting in, it might be unavoidable for them to be confused by the unusual behavior.
"What is it, Oscar?"
I called out, thinking there must be some message, and the Black Dog smoothly pressed his neck toward me. I almost started thinking Tina would want me to pet him and began reaching for his head, but I stopped. I quickly spotted what the Black Dog was indicating, a letter tucked inside his collar, and pulled it out.
"Did something happen?"
"...It is a message from Chuck. He says Tina was taken by soldiers to the Imperial Castle."
Jean-Jacques's letter was written concisely, only the essential points. To list just the main points, Tina had been put in a cage and taken to the Imperial Castle, Jean-Jacques was following and investigating the castle, he needed some extra men sent, and a replacement watcher should be sent to the Edgar residence. There were a few other things he had noticed, but what was important now was Tina's whereabouts. As long as she was in the Edgar residence's sunroom, I could confirm her safety through the far-seeing glasses, but if she had been moved to the Imperial Castle, it would be difficult to confirm her safety not just through sight, but even through word of mouth.
"So the rumor that Edgar was keeping a beautiful young girl reached the ears of Her Majesty Emperor Edeltrod."
"Emperor Edeltrod... she was a woman, was she not..."
"When it comes to admiring beautiful things, there is no man or woman, is there. ...This is troublesome."
If she had been taken as a beautiful object, there was no worry that Tina would be physically harmed. Since the purpose was to appreciate something beautiful as something beautiful, they would not damage that beauty and lower its value. However, if the Emperor's goal was not Tina as a beautiful young girl, but Tina as a reincarnated person, then her safety would be at risk.
"Her Majesty Emperor Edeltrod is, in any case, a person of extremely fierce temperament and short temper, so..."
I thought it might be due to the influence of having ascended to the throne from a young age, but apparently the Emperor was extremely short-tempered and would throw tantrums when things did not go her way. If it were the Tina who had always chosen to adapt to my actions, she might have been able to match the Emperor's mood, but the current Tina was clearly incapable of it no matter how I looked at it. There was no way she could comply with the Emperor's demands, and I could see her incurring imperial displeasure.
It seemed I would have to sneak into the Imperial Castle, I thought, drawing a map of the castle based on my memory of Carlotta's information. Carlotta, as a noble, occasionally entered the Imperial Castle, but her range of movement was limited. She had never entered the underground where the menial workers' spaces were, nor had she had any opportunity to approach the prison. Even so, she could guess the locations of stairs leading underground, and was helpful in creating an uncertain map. Even a rough map was better than me sneaking in with nothing, and would be useful.
I sent several subordinates to Jean-Jacques, and also sent watchers to the Edgar residence. As I waited while drawing the map, hoping for some follow-up report, the downstairs grew noisy again. This time, it was not from the front entrance but from the back door.
"What..."
"Boss, it is terrible!"
The one who shouted "It is terrible!" and came running up the stairs was one of the men I had sent to watch the Edgar residence. I had been having the residence watched by the Black Dog for communication and one, sometimes two or more, human watchers. This was one of them.
"What happened?"
"In the evening, someone came out of the residence and dumped a big bundle, so I waited for it to get dark and checked it, but..."
Inside the bag that had been discarded as trash from the residence, there was reportedly a blood-soaked maid. Moreover, judging by the description of the maid's features, it was an acquaintance (Giselle). It seemed that she had been disposed of as no longer useful the moment Tina was taken away to the Imperial Castle.
"And that maid?"
"She was barely breathing, so I carried her to the Sedovara Church. But the pharmacist there was grumbling, saying stuff like 'Can you pay for the treatment? This is a noble house's maid, is it not. I do not want any trouble.'"
The Sedovara Church pharmacists these days hesitated to perform medical treatment in the Zugall Empire. It seemed to be a retaliatory action stemming from Tina's kidnapping, but having Giselle, who had been protecting Tina up until now, denied treatment because of that was problematic. If they refused treatment for Giselle just because we were within the Zugall Empire, I felt it would defeat the purpose entirely.
"Do not worry about the treatment fees. Tell the pharmacist my name and he will begin."
Opening a drawer, Carlotta took out her purse, saying that if her reputation was good, the pharmacist would likely begin treatment. Urged to go quickly, I was pushed out the door along with the purse, and on the way to the Sedovara Church, I heard more about Giselle's condition. Because they had waited for it to get dark before retrieving Giselle, it was late. Her body was ice-cold, and she had apparently lost a great deal of blood. The pharmacist had been reluctant to begin treatment, but he had at least examined her condition. Perhaps the examination was meant to inform them that it was already too late and there was no need for treatment. Giselle's leg tendons had been cut, there were countless cuts all over her body, and her right hand's ring finger had been severed. To surmise, the leg tendons to prevent escape, the countless cuts for the purpose of torment, and cutting off her finger as revenge for her taking a finger from them. Even if Giselle's life was saved, she would be a damaged girl. Even if, through some miracle, her wounds healed without scars, there was nothing to be done about the lost finger.
When we arrived at the Sedovara Church, surprisingly, treatment preparations had already begun. Though they were hesitant to treat as a retaliatory measure, a pharmacist was still a pharmacist. With a life in need of help right before their eyes, they must have found themselves unable to refrain from taking action to save it.
When I presented Carlotta's name and her purse, the pharmacist looked visibly relieved and immediately began treatment. Usually, one could not approach the examination table during treatment, but the pharmacist called me over. Giselle, lying on the examination table, had a bloodless face, but she seemed to recognize my face.
"...Do...sama... the young lady has been taken to the castle..."
"Yes. I have received a report from Chuck. I have people looking into it now."
I answered Giselle that she could rest assured that I was already aware Tina had been taken to the Imperial Castle. I had already begun moving on the matter of her being taken to the Imperial Castle. But that did not mean I could let my guard down and let her die on me, so I found myself at a loss for what to say next. For Tina's sake, Giselle had to pull through. After losing Kalisa, Tina would surely not want to think that Giselle died as a result of being caught up in her kidnapping as well.
As I was thinking about what to say so that Giselle would feel reassured, yet not let her guard down and would hold on, Giselle spoke again, perhaps reacting to my silence. Her voice was faint and breathless, and as I leaned my ear close to her mouth, the pharmacist furrowed his brow. I did not usually think about it, but according to the pharmacist, we who had not disinfected our mouths or hands were dirty to a wounded person, and it interfered with treatment. Ideally, I should not be getting too close to Giselle in her current state, but the situation was what it was. Ignoring the pharmacist who looked like he wanted to say something, I listened to Giselle's voice.
"Jas... per was, plann...ing to move, the young lady... to some place... to a tower, it seemed..."
Reporting that Jasper seemed to have been planning to move Tina to some other place, to a tower, Giselle lost consciousness. She must have desperately held on to consciousness specifically to convey this. At her suddenly cut-off voice, I panicked, thinking she might have been satisfied having conveyed what needed to be said, but she was still breathing, however faintly. After this, there was truly nothing left but to leave it to the pharmacist.
It is short, but it is a good stopping point.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.