423 - Jean-Jacques's Perspective: Jasper and the Passage to the Imperial Castle
The snow still remaining here and there even though it was summer gave me all sorts of trouble, blocking my approach to the residence, and the temperature being so low that sleeping outdoors was difficult in the first place. But it seemed the snow wasn't completely my enemy. The snow-covered ground reflecting the moonlight was very helpful in the current situation where I couldn't light a lantern. Of course, once I entered forests or groves where the moonlight was blocked, my vision was wrapped in darkness, but from other places I could see surprisingly well. Especially on top of the castle walls where torches were lit, I could even count the number of watchmen.
...No way even Imperial castle guards would fall for a bribe so easily, huh.
I felt like trying it, but if the bribe didn't work, it wouldn't be a joke. If I had time to cross dangerous bridges, it would be more constructive to search for a way in through steady effort.
...A big castle like this ought to have a secret passage as a rule, right?
I searched around the Imperial castle while staying hidden, looking for any dried-up wells or caves nearby. Footprints were unavoidable because of the snow, but I moved through the shadows of forests and bushes, calculating the blind spots from the castle walls.
...Huh?
I sensed the faint sound of footsteps treading snow approaching, so I hid myself in the shadow of a bush. Holding my breath and checking who the footsteps belonged to, the one who appeared, pulling a sled, was Jasper heading into the forest guarding the rear of the Imperial castle.
...Why the hell is that guy in a place like this?
Jasper, who should have been at Edgar's residence, coming to the forest behind the Imperial castle was a bit strange. Figuring there had to be some purpose, I decided to secretly follow him. It seemed more promising than searching aimlessly through the vast forest for a hidden passage that might or might not exist.
...That's strange.
There was no hesitation in Jasper's steps. At least he didn't seem to be searching for the entrance to a hidden passage to infiltrate the Imperial castle like I was. If anything, his pace felt like he had a destination from the start and was heading straight for it.
...How does he know about a place like this?
Unaware he was being followed, Jasper opened the door of a shrine hidden among the trees. It was a narrow door that an adult would have to stoop to get through, but it seemed to lead deeper inside, and Jasper entered without hesitation.
...A Koyornaharu shrine. So this means...it's the secret passage I was looking for.
Shrines of Koyornaharu, the gods of destruction and regeneration, are the first things built to pray for recovery in lands struck by disaster. On the other hand, Koyornaharu shrines built in castles or residences where royal children are raised are often markers for escape routes. A passage for fleeing quickly and regrouping in case something happened to the king, like a rebellion.
...Well, I can't just let this pass without checking it out.
I moved aside the sled Jasper had leaned against the shrine entrance, apparently as a blind, and peered inside. The entrance was narrow, but the inside seemed to have a decent amount of space. Jasper's footsteps could already be heard from quite far ahead, so if I entered without making noise, he probably wouldn't notice me following.
...Would it be a bit too tight for the Commander?
If I told him about this secret passage, maybe Leonardo could infiltrate the Imperial castle from here too. That's what I thought, but the entrance was too narrow for Leonardo to get through. I could destroy the shrine to enter, but if traces were found later, we couldn't cover it up.
Once through the narrow entrance, I immediately came to a room reinforced with stonework around it. At the back, I could see a door reinforced with iron plates, confirming that this path was indeed an escape route for emergencies. The iron-reinforced door was probably meant to block pursuers if someone escaped from inside the castle.
I followed Jasper's trail using his footsteps as a guide. Watching for traps aimed at pursuers, I walked tracing Jasper's footprints. As I walked, my eyes must have gotten used to the darkness, because I could now make out the surroundings from the faint light coming through ventilation shafts. I couldn't say I could see as clearly as daytime, but I could discern the shape of the narrow passage and some walls that seemed to have trick mirrors. As for other things I could make out, there were gaps in the stonework through which wind and thin beams of light entered in some places.
I made my way through the passage, leaving marks so I wouldn't get lost, and followed Jasper's trail. I felt like I would get lost if I didn't leave marks now and then, but Jasper advanced without seeming to care about his surroundings. It was strange enough that he knew the entrance to the hidden passage, but the fact that he could walk around inside it as if it were his own territory was too unnatural.
...He does stop to check things sometimes, though.
Jasper stopped in front of a gap in the stonework where light was leaking through and peered inside. After confirming Jasper was far enough away, I looked into the same spot and saw what seemed to be a prison cell. I could see a torch on the other side of iron bars, but there was no prisoner inside.
...Damn, that bastard really knew a convenient secret passage.
After peering through each gap in the stonework where light was leaking, Jasper seemed to have reached the end of the passage. I sensed him coming back, so I looked for a place to hide to let him pass.
...There are occasional forks, but there's nothing else along the path, since it's a hidden passage after all.
At this rate, we'd run into each other. In that case, I could just rely on brute strength, but from what I could see, Jasper knew this hidden passage well. I felt it would be better to let him have more freedom and observe his movements rather than capture him here.
...Well then. Time to tough it out.
If there was no shadow to hide in, there was no helping it. I'd just have to make up my mind and use a desperate hiding method.
As expected of a hidden passage, the distance between the walls on either side was narrow. With this tight a space, I could brace my hands and feet against both walls and climb up. After that, I just had to pray that Jasper wouldn't look up, relying on the darkness.
If you don't think someone's there, human senses are surprisingly dull. Especially since this was inside a hidden passage. Jasper probably never imagined someone else might be lurking here. Jasper, who wasn't even a trained soldier, couldn't seem to sense someone's presence. I was tense when Jasper passed right below me, but he seemed to be looking down at the ground in the darkness and never looked up.
I waited until Jasper had gone far enough that I thought it was safe, then dropped back down to the passage without making a sound. Following Jasper by his footprints, I found a staircase this time. I strained my ears for the fading footsteps, but there was no sign of Jasper stopping or getting lost. Occasionally coming back along the passage and then going up or down a different staircase, Jasper seemed to be searching for something from inside the hidden passage. I was certain he was looking for Tina rather than something. I'd seen the cage carrying Tina being moved by soldiers, and Jasper had also been beyond the door the soldiers came out of. He hadn't looked like everything was going according to plan, so Tina being taken to the Imperial castle was probably an unexpected event for Jasper too.
...His footsteps stopped.
Suddenly Jasper's footsteps halted. It seemed he'd found the room he was looking for. I crept up as close as I could without being seen by Jasper, holding my breath and checking the situation. Jasper seemed to be checking the situation inside too, and I could faintly hear voices from beyond the wall.
"Call a pharmacist immediately!"
"How fragile. To stop breathing from this level of torment."
The ominous phrase 'stop breathing' that I heard sent a chill through the pit of my stomach. Too late. Regret that I hadn't made it in time filled my thoughts, and for a moment I couldn't think at all. It wasn't certain that the one who'd stopped breathing beyond the wall was Tina, but if it wasn't a case of mistaken identity, I didn't know how to report it to Leonardo. Should I act calm as usual, return to the Kingdom of Ivizia first, and await decisions from above, or go on a rampage in the Imperial capital in my anger?
...Neither would be good.
I calmed my loudly pounding heart, praying it was a mishearing. Even if I panicked here, it wouldn't change anything. First, I needed to get accurate information and, if possible, secure Tina. If that wasn't possible, I had to deliver the information to Leonardo.
"Have you forgotten that you killed the previous reincarnator with that torture too?"
The man's voice I heard told me that the one who'd 'stopped breathing' was a reincarnator. There was no doubt anymore. This had to be about Tina. Tina was beyond that wall, not breathing.
"I am the one who wishes it. It is the fault of the incompetents who cannot fulfill my wishes."
"Guh!?"
I heard a woman's voice, and the next moment there was a sound of something soft hitting something. Whether that was fortunate or not, I heard a large exhale of breath, followed by violent coughing. That voice belonged to a girl I recognized.
She's alive! Or rather, was she dead just now!?
I didn't want to know what was happening beyond that wall, nor could I tolerate it, but I could at least be grateful that Tina had been revived. And it was confirmed that Tina was beyond that wall, and that Jasper had indeed been searching for Tina.
"What's this, she's alive after all. ...Continue."
"Your Majesty, please have mercy. Sistina is still a child. If you torture her any further, she will truly die."
"Then will you read the Japanese language in her place?"
From the conversation I could hear beyond the wall, it seemed the torture of Tina would continue. For Tina, who could be seen at a glance to have lost physical strength and muscle, to have the torture continued even knowing she had once stopped breathing, was not something that should be done. If she stopped breathing again, there was a chance she might never breathe again.
...This is no situation where I can take it easy and think about retrieving her safely and reliably!
Tina would be killed while I was preparing the plan. Not from dying of weakness, but from being tortured to death first.
"What?"
A dull, heavy thud, then a sharp, dull sound like a pot or jar breaking. Then the sound of something large falling into water, followed by water spilling.
"He's dead. He must have hit his head wrong. Someone, bring a replacement."
Someone had apparently died beyond the wall. From the words 'bring a replacement', at least it wasn't Tina who died. If something had happened to Tina, they would have called for a pharmacist or physician like before.
"Your Majesty, let us give Sistina some rest. If she truly dies, then there will be no meaning to the risk we took to obtain her."
"It's because you say such soft things that she remains stubborn."
"Have you forgotten that the result of the first Emperor forcing his own will was the death of Camilo two hundred years ago?"
I heard a man's voice saying that the Empire's conquest of the continent had been stalled for two hundred years by the death of the reincarnator Camilo, and then a sound like something being struck. I couldn't peek at what was beyond the wall, but from the sound, it seemed a man had been hit.
"I do not have infinite time either. The continuation is in two hours. Throw her in a cell or somewhere until then."
I heard the sound of the woman leaving, and Jasper began to move again. I saw him coming back this way, so I moved a little further away and climbed the wall again to let him pass.
Following Jasper as he retraced his steps, we arrived back around the area where Jasper had first headed when entering the hidden passage, as far as I could tell by instinct. The first thing I'd seen was a prison cell, so he'd probably come to check the cell Tina would be thrown into. After a while, I heard footsteps beyond the wall. The sound of an iron-barred door opening and closing again, the sound of a lock being fastened, and then the footsteps faded away. Jasper checked the inside of the cell through the gap in the stonework and went back the way he came. I thought about following him right away, but I decided to confirm Tina's location first.
...There she is. The Tina kid.
In the dim cell, there was Tina lying limply on the stone floor. At Edgar's residence, she'd been wearing a long silver-haired wig, but now she had her natural black hair. Her black hair, shorter than when we first met, was probably cut so that a wig of a different color from her original could be worn beautifully.
...If she stays wet, her body will get cold and she'll die before the next torture session.
From what had been happening beyond the wall earlier, it seemed water torture had been used. Her black hair was plastered to her face, and her clothes were soaked, clinging to her skin. On a hot summer day, wet clothes would dry quickly, but this was the Imperial capital Tralbach, where snow remained even in summer. Left on the floor of a cell with no way to warm her wet body, she would lose body heat and die.
...No good. All there is is a peephole. Actually, if there was an exit to the cell here, that bastard Jasper would have used it.
I checked the wall thoroughly and confirmed there was no hidden door leading to the cell. If I could get into the cell from here, I'd want to retrieve Tina right away, but it seemed I'd need to take a bit of a detour.
...Would Jasper know something?
Jasper seemed to know this hidden passage to an unnatural degree. It wouldn't be surprising if he knew of an exit close to the cell.
...Actually, he was probably heading that way. Judging from how he acted.
After confirming the cell where Tina was placed, Jasper went back along the passage. That meant there was probably an exit leading to the cell somewhere.
Following Jasper by his footsteps and footprints, I reached a dead end. Unlike me who was following his trail, Jasper had no need to hide his footprints. Since there were no return footprints, it was safe to assume he'd disappeared beyond this wall. I checked the wall for any mechanisms and found a hidden door. Peering beyond the door, I came to a room that was clearly built differently from the passage.
It was a dim storage-like room, but there were black footprints on the floor. This seemed to be one of the exits leading into the Imperial castle.
Once inside the castle, I could roughly understand the structure. The underground was for cells and the areas where servants worked. The first floor was for knights and soldiers. The nobles and the Emperor were on the second floor and above.
...Which means, first priority is reporting.
I knew Jasper was moving regarding Tina. I needed to retrieve her within two hours, but I also knew that charging in alone would end in a dead end. I'd already sent word to Leonardo, so maybe some backup had arrived by now.
I went back through the hidden passage following my marks. When I exited from the Koyornaharu shrine and headed for Carlotta's residence, I immediately ran into the bandits who were now Leonardo's subordinates. So Leonardo had indeed sent people this way.
I told the bandits about the Koyornaharu shrine and the passage beyond it, and sent two of them to keep watch on Tina. One was to inform us if anything happened, and the other was to follow Tina. I was about to say we'd take the rest through the passage into the Imperial castle when Leonardo appeared. Lately he'd been acting as Carlotta's attendant, so he'd been dressed presentably enough to appear before nobles, but now he was in full battle gear. Equipment tailored for a mercenary, and instead of his shaved beard, he wore black wolf fur draped over his head. No one seeing this appearance would think he was the silver-white knight of the Kingdom of Ivizia.
From every angle, he looked like a proper bandit chieftain.
Bracing hands against the walls on both sides and climbing, I actually (abridged) as a child.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.