Chapter 18 – Escape (1)
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 18 – Escape (1)
Crr-eek—
“…Hmm.”
At the distant sound, the butler woke up with half-opened eyes.
At this ungodly hour, what could possibly be happening, yet as the manager of the mansion, he needed to be sensitive to even the slightest changes.
The butler cleared his throat and moved his steps.
Passing through the darkened corridor towards the entrance.
“…!”
Reflected in the moonlight, someone urgently dashed out of the mansion.
Luna Winfred, the eldest daughter of this mansion and the young lady the butler had served all her life.
“Ah, Miss!”
Running barefoot on the stone path, dressed like that, in the chilly dawn air.
What if she catches a cold!
Urgency filled the butler’s steps.
“Miss Luna!”
Despite the butler’s call, Luna didn’t stop.
Instead, she seemed to accelerate, distancing herself further from the butler.
A moment later.
“…What is that sound?”
In the serene silence, beyond the gate, a loud wail faintly echoed.
It was the sound of a horse’s whinny.
Luna’s mad dash gradually slowed down.
Then, accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats, a shabby carriage shot past the butler’s blurry eyes.
Luna collapsed in frustration as she watched the departing carriage.
Her exposed skin clearly met the cobblestone floor.
“Miss!!”
The butler rushed towards Luna, who was now sitting on the ground.
To see the young lady who had never once lost her composure acting so frantically.
The butler’s mind went blank.
Gradually closing the distance, the butler soon stood before Luna.
Her knees, scraped, turned red, her soles marked with blood from friction against the stone path, her clothes dragging on the ground.
“What in the world…!”
The butler’s eyes widened in shock.
Luna, with a bewildered expression, couldn’t take her eyes off where the carriage had gone.
“Miss! Are you alright?”
“Kyle…”
“Kyle? Do you mean Young Master Kyle? He’s currently sleeping in his room…”
“He really left…?”
“You’re injured…! I’ll call for the physician immediately.”
Kyle left the mansion.
Luna knew better than anyone else that this wasn’t just a simple outing.
Kyle, her precious younger brother, probably left with no intention of ever returning.
Which meant, Luna would never see Kyle again in this mansion.
“…”
Her heart felt like it was pounding through her ribcage.
Blood trickled from the now-open wound.
“Ha… Hahaha…”
Luna let out a hollow laugh.
A quiet madness flickered in her emotionless eyes.
Tap, tap—
Luna brushed off the dust from her clothes and stood up.
A serene voice slipped through the tightened gap between them.
“…Butler.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Kyle has left the mansion.”
“Then, could it be that the carriage earlier…?”
“Find him. Use any means necessary.”
The butler looked at Luna with a frightened expression.
“Find him and take separate measures?”
“No, just find out his location and report it to me.”
“Just his location?”
Luna gently patted the butler’s shoulder.
“Yes, just his location. Oh! And only report to me. Father won’t care anyway. Just say he went on vacation to some resort out of despair over a broken engagement. Simple, right?”
“I… I cannot omit reporting to the Duke.”
“Enough.”
Luna’s firm voice dispersed into the air.
The butler’s spine chilled under her piercing gaze.
“Simple. Right?”
“…”
“Nod if you understand.”
The butler nodded his head with a pale face.
Soon, Luna’s gaze softened.
“Oh.”
Luna, with her back turned, suddenly stopped.
A moment later, her softened voice reached the butler’s ears.
“I’ll be going out tomorrow at noon, so prepare.”
“Going out, you say?”
Luna lightly tucked her stray hair behind her ear.
“I have to visit Count Yustia’s residence.”
“Count’s residence? Then… where Lady Isabel is?”
“Yes, you know it well.”
Count Yustia.
A familiar resonance echoed in the butler’s mind.
Luna looked at the bloodstains on her stretched-out sole and clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, it stings. Could you call the physician to my room?”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
“It’s cold today. I’d also like some warm tea.”
“I’ll arrange it immediately.”
Luna grinned.
“Thank you.”
*****
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Success, at last.
I completely tied up the loose ends with Isabel, who might hinder me in the future, and escaped from the mansion where I would have faced a big headache.
Creak— The swaying of the carriage felt pleasantly soothing.
Though uncomfortable due to the hurriedly arranged carriage, my heart couldn’t have been lighter.
There are two ways to leave the Northern region and reach the capital of the Empire.
Either by carriage all the way overland, or by stopping at a station and taking a train to the capital.
I plan to use only carriages as my means of transportation to the Imperial Capital.
In terms of efficiency, taking the train would be the better choice, but the risk of being traced is higher, so it’s a route to be avoided.
How can there be trains in a medieval setting, you ask?
I don’t know. In a world where magic exists, it’s not strange for there to be a single train.
I knew it even before the transmigration, but the background of this game’s world is medieval yet close to the modern era.
A world where systematically developed engineering technology coexists with alchemy and divine power.
That’s the world it is.
‘There are some advantages too.’
If the world I transmigrated into was a purely medieval one without any conveniences.
Where you had to deal with sewage in the alleys, and where there wasn’t even proper heating or cooling.
I guarantee that the quality of life would have been less than half of what it is now.
The main contributor to me being able to maintain my sanity in this world is undoubtedly the advancement of civilization.
Of course, it’s an exclusive of the Empire, but what does it matter?
After all, I’m an Imperial citizen.
“…”
While absentmindedly staring out the window, I suddenly asked Diana, who was sitting across from me.
“Do you think it’s unfair?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were suddenly put in a fugitive’s position. I’m asking if it feels unfair?” “I do not feel unfair.”
I looked at Diana with a puzzled expression.
Come to think of it, when I mentioned leaving the mansion without any explanation, Diana nodded expressionlessly, just like she did now.
Are knights naturally so blindly obedient?
Suddenly, the memory of my first meeting with Diana from the previous run flashed through my mind.
Diana, the firstborn Knight Commander of the Empire.
As she prepared to go out to battle, she still maintained her majestic aura, as seen in the in-game illustrations.
Now, that’s a sight I won’t be seeing anywhere anymore.
Diana is no longer a Knight of the Empire but Kyle Winfred’s sword.
Yes, perhaps I was the one who took her away.
For the sole purpose of returning to my own world, the future of an innocent person with no relation to me.
A strange sense of guilt pricked at my heart.
That’s when it happened.
“…!”
The carriage suddenly jolted violently, lifting my buttocks off the seat.
As soon as the neatly maintained stone path ended, the carriage began to shake violently as if it had gone mad.
As uncomfortable as it already was, with the road being so rough, there was no part of my back, shoulders, or buttocks that wasn’t sore.
As I endured the discomfort with furrowed brows, Diana’s gentle voice came to me.
“If you release the tension in your arms and lean your shoulders to the side, the discomfort will greatly diminish.”
“But the handle is sticking out, where am I supposed to lean?”
“You can lean on my shoulder.”
“…What?”
Surely she’s not suggesting I lean my head on her shoulder right now?
I blinked, speechless, and Diana smirked as if it were nothing.
“The journey is still long.”
“…”
“You’ll have to endure for at least another full day until we reach our destination.”
That’s true.
But even so, it’s not like I can lean my head on the shoulder of a stranger, especially a woman’s.
I stared out the window in silence.
However, the carriage began to violently sway again as if to signal the beginning.
No matter how urgently I arranged this carriage, what’s with the poor quality?
My head spun from the rattling, and my stomach churned.
“…”
Our eyes met.
It was a gaze that seemed to ask if I could continue enduring.
‘…I might really die at this rate.’
When I tried to lean my head against the window, the protruding handle got in the way, and when I tried to lean against the back, there was no suitable support.
I swallowed a deep sigh.
It didn’t take long to make a decision.
“…”
I cautiously leaned my head on Diana’s shoulder.
Following her suggestion, the discomfort lessened considerably, and I even felt a firm sense of stability.
At that moment, Diana’s boundless voice pierced my ears.
“Rest comfortably.”
Damn it.
I should have gotten a better carriage.
[Translator – Peptobismol]
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