Chapter 52: The Kidnapped Heiress

After arriving at the carriage station and waiting for about five minutes, I saw Reysir running from afar.

Yor, who had done his errand well, was flying alongside Reysir.

Their speed was quite fast, so the distance between us closed in an instant.

“The note, huff, huff… I’ve got it…”

Reysir arrived in front of the carriage, panting heavily, confirming my prediction was correct.

He bent over, one hand resting on his knee, while wiping the sweat beads off his chin with the back of his other hand. He looked utterly exhausted.

“Get on the carriage first. Give the note to the coachman so he knows the location.”

I said that, reaching out my hand, and Reysir hesitated as he was about to hand over the paper he was holding.

I had offered for him to sit and rest since he looked tired, but his reaction was unexpected.

I couldn’t help but frown.

“What’s with that reaction? Are you afraid I’m going to tear up the note or something?”

“To doubt you is, huff… not true.”

‘Is that something the person who just came barging in and grabbed my collar without cause should say?’

I was dumbfounded, but now wasn’t the time to nitpick.

“If you’re uneasy about entrusting the note to someone even for a moment, then you should tell the coachman the location yourself.”

I said that and tried to get on the carriage first, but Reysir suddenly grabbed my arm firmly.

He was stopping me from getting on.

There’s a limit to how much one’s words and actions can contradict.

He said he wasn’t doubting me just now, so what was this?

I glared at him with a dissatisfied look.

“I’ll go alone. The note said if I don’t come alone, Hailga’s safety can’t be guaranteed…”

Reysir explained his reasoning between heavy breaths.

The kidnapper wanted money. If handing over the money would solve everything, it would be one thing.

But since this was a deliberate act of torment, he was refusing to simply comply with the kidnapper’s demands?

‘He can’t really think Tridrick will just let Hailga go if he comes alone, right?’

That suspicion came to mind reflexively but I quickly dismissed it.

The original protagonist wouldn’t be that naive.

He probably judged that going in a group would risk unpredictable actions from Tridrick, so going alone was less dangerous.

But I had my own reasons and couldn’t back down here.

“If that’s the case, then you shouldn’t even ride the coach the driver is driving.”

“…Maybe riding a horse would be better? That might be faster too.”

“Are you seriously saying you want to ride a horse through the city in your current state of mind? What if you end up hitting someone?”

“……”

“Get on the carriage and get off near the destination. I’ll accompany you only up to there.”

I never intended to enter the place where Hailga was held together with Reysir.

He’d go inside first, and I’d wait a moment before following.

So saying I’d accompany him partway was no lie.

Whether he knew this or not, Reysir stared at me with an indescribable expression before finally letting go of my arm.

I climbed onto the carriage, then called Yor by patting the seat next to me.

Once Yor took the seat beside me, Liolikin, who boarded after, sat directly across from me.

“…Are you bringing him too?”

“It’s not me bringing him. Liolikin is just following on his own.”

Reysir, who had told the coachman the destination, showed dissatisfaction as he looked at Liolikin who had already taken a seat.

I told the truth as it was, and he narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Liolikin’s face.

He must have been trying to gauge Liolikin’s intentions.

Then he glanced at me briefly, and with a decisive look said to Liolikin:

“…Go inside.”

“Huh? Ah, y-yes…”

Maybe he judged it wouldn’t be a problem since I hadn’t pushed him away.

Instead of telling Liolikin to get off the carriage, Reysir ordered him to go inside and then took the seat in front of me.

Only then did the carriage door close, and the coachman started the horses.

“This is the note.”

It seemed Reysir didn’t give me the note earlier simply because he didn’t want to reveal the destination.

Once the carriage began moving, he handed the note to me.

I took it and read it.

The message was very brief.

An address of a certain building and an instruction to come quietly alone without telling anyone.

And the initials ‘K.A.’

‘Why is it that in a world where Korean is used and written with Hangul, the initials or signatures are in English letters…?’

I already suspected Tridrick was trying to frame me.

So, more than the fact that the initials Karvald Austri (K.A) were written, the use of foreign letters caught my attention.

Once again I thought, “This world really is strange.”

Reysir then spoke seriously.

“It looks like Tridrick is trying to pin this whole incident on you.”

“That was expected. That’s why I’m here right now. If Tridrick is arrested by the city guard and makes a false statement saying I ordered it, even presenting fake evidence, it would put me in trouble. I want to take action before that happens.”

“I thought you followed me because you were worried about me…”

“Wrong.”

I said it flatly, then handed the note back to Reysir.

He took it, fidgeting with it for a while in deep thought.

Then suddenly tore it to pieces and threw it out the window.

If the note with the initials ‘K.A.’ remained, I could be framed.

I guess he thought it better to destroy false evidence immediately.

He says he’s not doubting me, but that’s a pretty dramatic way to prove it.

“Sorry for grabbing your collar earlier.”

“That’s already forgiven. I’ve told you many times that I dislike you, and last semester I even bullied you, so it’s only natural to be suspicious. Unless you’d made enemies besides me, no one else would have been a suspect.”

“But it was wrong to do that without solid proof.”

So earnest it’s almost unnecessary.

Tridrick’s act of kidnapping Hailga and my suspicion of Reysir both originated from the evildoings Karvald Austri committed last semester.

I could have shamelessly brought that up to justify my actions.

“It was fortunate for me. If you hadn’t come suspecting me, I would’ve had to take the blame for the kidnapping without knowing why. Compared to that, getting grabbed by the collar is nothing.”

I didn’t want to blame Reysir.

Even though Karvald was the original sinner, I also hurt Reysir.

Yet I couldn’t bring myself to apologize.

What right do I have to ask for an apology from him?

“……”

Reysir fell silent, having nothing more to say.

I averted my gaze from him and looked out the window.

When sharing a carriage with awkward people, the only thing to do is look at the scenery outside.

***

A few minutes passed in that state.

I felt the legs of the person sitting across from me trembling.

Keeping my head still, I glanced sideways to check the seat in front of me.

Reysir was nervously clenching and unclenching his hands, unable to hide his anxiety.

He was also looking out the window, but it didn’t seem like he was just doing it out of boredom.

Despite the carriage moving at a good speed, he must have been feeling it was too slow and getting impatient.

‘To him, Hailga is like family—the daughter of the benefactor who raised him after he lost his own family and hometown, and a friend he’s known since childhood. Of course he’d be burning up inside.’

I suddenly recalled Reysir’s reaction after Hailga’s death in the original story.

He completely lost his mind.

Whenever he came back to his senses, he was tormented by guilt for failing to protect his family.

Now, Hailga isn’t dead, so he’s not completely broken, but he must be blaming himself just the same.

Perhaps even more harshly than before, since the original Hailga’s death was an accident, but this time it’s a targeted incident.

“Sigh… Tridrick won’t do anything to Hailga until you arrive. So don’t act like you’re in a hurry.”

Finally unable to hold it in, I let out a deep sigh and spoke first.

Reysir’s expression instantly contorted and he snapped sharply.

“Don’t speak so casually about other people’s matters! How can you be so sure of that?!”

In web novels, female characters close to the protagonist are treated by readers as potential heroines.

And such characters, even if kidnapped, tend to be rescued unharmed.

Even if the kidnapper isn’t someone of high status but merely the son of a minor noble family? Then it’s an absolute guarantee.

If the heroine candidate isn’t rescued safely, readers judge the protagonist incompetent.

So they’d rather have her die in a battle or accident than suffer at the hands of a pathetic villain.

Although this kidnapping incident wasn’t in the original story.

Still, this is undoubtedly a world inside a novel, so it wouldn’t break those rules.

But I can’t explain or convince Reysir of this.

“That’s because showing her already hurt would cause more pain. Seeing her get wounded right before your eyes and gradually deteriorate causes greater suffering and helplessness.”

“……!”

“And if the hostage looks unharmed at first, you’d be less reckless, right? Or you might pretend to negotiate but secretly plan to stab them in the back.”

“……”

“Maybe the kidnapping was just bait. They never planned to hurt her. Even if I fabricated this incident, if they harmed her with their own hands, they’d be blamed as well.”

“……”

I rattled off the kinds of thoughts and behaviors a typical web novel’s weak villain might have.

Reysir’s trembling legs calmed, and his restless hands rested quietly on his thighs.

I felt a bit relieved by that…

“Are you trying to comfort me so I won’t be anxious right now?”

Reysir suddenly said, staring straight at my face.

Though true, I couldn’t admit it.

“N-no way! Don’t misunderstand. You kept shaking your legs, so I was worried… I meant it in a way that your mind’s restless, not in a worried way… Anyway, I’m just guessing. Whether you stay anxious or not is none of my business, so do as you please.”

“Ah, now I see. So Karvald is like that?”

“Like what…?”

“I mean, tsundere?”

“……”

Even though this is a pseudo-medieval fantasy world modeled after old Western settings, I don’t understand why modern Japanese otaku terms exist here.