Chapter 56 - Chapter 55: Side Story: The Aftermath of the Kidnapping Incident
[Leventein Rubalwarus's Perspective]
The manor of the Leventein Marquis house, located in the city of Sarbengeal.
Inside the conference room of that manor, Rubalwarus sat heavily in a chair with his arms crossed.
The kidnapping of Cleiria was discovered the previous day at noon, and now night was finally breaking.
Inside the conference room, knights and officials gathered to organize and analyze the collected information were moving about frantically.
The search for Cleiria had been conducted through the night, but the situation was not favorable.
It did not seem like much time had passed between the execution of the kidnapping and its discovery.
Cleiria was last seen in the dining room during lunch.
The parlor maids serving and other servants had confirmed Cleiria's presence.
Her footsteps disappeared after she left the dining room, but shortly after that, an anomaly was reported at the main gate.
A merchant who entered and exited the manor reported, "There are no guard knights at the back gate, and we cannot bring in the delivery."
Merchants who enter and exit always use the back gate, but the back gate is always kept closed.
Guard knights check the contents of the horse-drawn carts before allowing them to enter the grounds.
Since those guard knights were absent, the merchant reported that they could not just enter on their own and were in trouble.
The anomaly was immediately reported to the Knight Captain, the person in charge of the manor's security, and several knights headed to check the back gate.
The four knights who should have been there were missing, and the gate lock had been removed.
The security captain immediately declared a state of emergency within the manor under his own authority.
At the same time, a messenger was sent to the Domain Army headquarters located next to the Leventein Marquis house grounds to report the abnormality.
This allowed Rubalwarus and the Knight Commander Magnus, who were at the Domain Army headquarters, to learn of the abnormality.
Rubalwarus immediately ordered the sealing of all three gates in the city walls of Sarbengeal.
At the same time, Rubalwarus ordered the Knight Commander Magnus to take command of the border defense and sent him toward the border.
This was because there was a possibility of an attack from the Gronoir Empire.
They might try to induce confusion here and invade while taking advantage of that chaos.
One could not know what they would attempt next.
Further work to incite chaos might be carried out.
It was necessary to exercise maximum vigilance against everything.
However, even after some time passed, there were no movements that seemed to be work by the enemy.
Reports continuously delivered to Rubalwarus revealed that Cleiria's whereabouts were unknown and that the bodies of three knights guarding the back gate had been discovered.
The three knights had been killed by poison and swords and were carelessly hidden in the bushes.
The figure of Bogeiza, Cleiria's attendant, was also nowhere to be seen; it was unknown if he had been caught up in it or had colluded in the kidnapping.
And there was one more person whose whereabouts were unknown.
Of the four knights guarding the back gate, the figure of one had vanished.
If the kidnapping of Cleiria was the objective, it would be difficult with just one guard knight.
More accurately, it was almost impossible.
Because they had almost no contact points and could not lure her out without drawing attention.
Based on this, Rubalwarus concluded that Bogeiza was also part of the kidnappers.
He decided to confine him in Sarbengeal and search for him like a louse.
However, the city of Sarbengeal was too vast.
Even if a considerable number of people were assigned to the search, they could not find him easily.
Several hours had passed since the discovery of Cleiria's kidnapping, and dusk was approaching.
Rubalwarus decided to move the headquarters for the search for Cleiria from the Domain Army headquarters to the conference room of the Leventein Marquis house.
If the work by the Gronoir Empire was limited to just the kidnapping, the possibility of an invasion taking advantage of the chaos would be low.
Because if Rubalwarus abandoned Cleiria, the chaos would subside immediately.
Judging so, he decided to treat it not as a matter for the Domain Army, but as an individual incident.
Currently, the city gates were sealed for the search, but they could not remain sealed for many days.
Because the people living in Sarbengeal also had lives to live.
Even if she was his beloved daughter, Rubalwarus could not trade everything for her in his position.
What Rubalwarus needed to protect was the Leventein Marquis domain, the subjects living there, and the Kingdom of Ektrem.
Sealing the city wall gates would reach its limit after one more day.
He should not make a judgment that sacrificed millions of people living in Sarbengeal just for Cleiria.
"Damn it!!!"
The sound of Rubalwarus slamming his fist onto the table echoed through the conference room.
The knights and officials in the conference room looked at Rubalwarus with surprised faces, but quickly returned to their own work.
It was rare for Rubalwarus to show his emotions so openly.
Although Rubalwarus was often misunderstood by his appearance, he rarely raised his voice in daily life.
When he did raise his voice, it was because he had decided that "it should be done."
However, asking whether his terror diminished by speaking in a low, suppressed voice was a question with a clear answer: not at all.
In fact, most people probably thought that was even more terrifying.
At that moment, several knights entered the conference room.
They were the captains of the knight squads searching within the city of Sarbengeal.
All of them had uniformly gloomy expressions.
Just by looking at that, the results of the search could be guessed.
Seeing such knight captains, Rubalwarus slumped weakly against the backrest.
"...What happened. Did something occur?"
In response to Rubalwarus's inquiry, one of the knight captains with a scar on his chin stepped forward.
"My Lord. Please increase the search teams outside the city. Also, let us request cooperation from the lords of neighboring domains."
"There is almost no possibility she is outside Sarbengeal. Considering the time between the execution of the kidnapping and its discovery, it is almost impossible. If you allocate people outside, wash the inside of the city thoroughly with that same amount. Don't you think you are already short-handed?"
"But..."
It seemed that these knight captains, who believed they should search more outside the city, had gathered to persuade Rubalwarus.
"Then, please request cooperation from at least the Viscount of Orcosa! If she went outside the city, the most likely route is escape to the Trade Union!"
Another knight captain stepped forward.
Indeed, the possibility that she had already gone outside the city was not zero.
While it was unreasonable to think so, one could not say with absolute certainty that it was impossible.
However, there were limits to the knights available for mobilization for the search, and even deploying all of them was insufficient for the search within the city.
Currently, the minimum necessary was allocated to the outside search, but ideally, even that should be used for the search inside the city.
Rubalwarus considered the kidnapping of Cleiria this time as an attack from the Gronoir Empire.
And if they were to take Cleiria to the Gronoir Empire, what routes could be considered?
The most likely route was indeed the one the knight captain mentioned: using a ship via the southern Trade Union.
If one could deceive even human eyes, this route would be the most reliable.
The Leventein domain and the Gronoir Empire shared a border on a plain, but a long protective wall had been built along that border.
After the end of the Fifty-Year War, when the Leventein Marquis domain was still a Margraviate.
Over the course of sixteen years, spanning two generations of Rubalwarus's grandfather and father, a protective wall exceeding thirty kilometers was constructed along the border.
Thanks to this protective wall built to connect the mountain ranges, direct combat almost ceased after its completion.
In return, the obstruction and sabotage work by the Gronoir Empire during construction was said to be quite persistent.
The Gronoir Empire, of course, needed to maintain face by claiming they were not the ones doing the work, so they did not move large armies for sabotage.
However, if it was sabotage work disguised in the night darkness, they could do as they pleased.
After all, it was a protective wall under construction spanning thirty kilometers. They could break it anywhere they liked.
Preventing all obstruction and sabotage work was, in any way, an impossible task.
Even if destroyed, it was rebuilt, and only the knights serving the Leventein family fought desperately to protect the protective wall. For sixteen years, even after the war ended.
The country itself had to focus its efforts on post-war reconstruction and could not support the construction of the protective wall.
Thanks to this protective wall, direct escape from the Leventein Marquis domain to the Gronoir Empire was impossible.
The remaining route was crossing the mountain range, but that was too dangerous.
Even just crossing the mountains was harsh, let alone the appearance of ferocious beasts and magical beasts.
While movement was not impossible, they would not choose crossing the mountains for this kidnapping operation.
Rubalwarus closed his eyes and pondered.
It was easy to dismiss something as impossible simply because it was not strictly impossible.
In fact, currently, almost all limited human resources were being allocated to the search in Sarbengeal in that manner.
However, since no visible results were being achieved with that, it might indeed be necessary to expand their reach.
Above all, if Cleiria was lost as is, he could not simply say, "We did everything we could."
As time passed, Rubalwarus would eventually have to abandon Cleiria.
As a domain lord. As the shield of the kingdom.
"My Lord. Please order that duty to me."
A female knight in her mid-twenties with long pink hair came straight before Rubalwarus and knelt.
It was Virone, who served as Cleiria's guard knight.
Virone felt a strong sense of responsibility, believing the kidnapping of Cleiria was her own failure.
She usually kept her neatly arranged hair tidy because she could not show Cleiria anything unsightly, but now it was terribly disheveled.
"Please order me, My Lord. I will surely save Lady Cleiria, and after that, please behead me---."
"Stop it, Virone. It is not your responsibility."
Rubalwarus interrupted Virone's words.
"I was the one who was careless, thinking the inside of the manor was safe. I was the one who permitted that no guard knights were needed inside the manor. It is not your responsibility."
"But, My Lord---."
"Hold it, Virone. Originally, you should not be permitted to enter this room."
One of the knight captains reprimanded Virone, who tried to press further.
"Do not think you are the only one. We all share the same feeling of wanting to save Lady Cleiria. Hold it."
At the knight captain's words, Virone twisted her face in frustration and clenched her fists until they trembled.
However, she slowly stood up, saluted Rubalwarus, and left the conference room with her head bowed.
"Wait, Virone."
Rubalwarus called out to Virone, who was leaving.
"You were not bad with horses. I will lend you a squad. Go to Yaunasun at the fastest speed and request cooperation from the Viscount of Orcosa. After that, search the area around Yaunasun."
At Rubalwarus's words, Virone's eyes shone.
However, that shine was like the eyes of a ferocious beast shining redly and brilliantly.
It was such a dangerous shine.
"Shall I send a squad from my unit that has particular confidence in speed? Is that acceptable?"
The knight captain with the scar on his chin proposed, and Rubalwarus nodded.
The knight captain thought he should tell the squad accompanying Virone to be careful not to go too far if they found bandits.
They might tear them apart into eight pieces.
He could let some go free, but killing everyone would make it impossible to extract information.
He must strictly order them to capture alive a few people who seemed to hold important information.
After that, Rubalwarus wrote a letter requesting cooperation addressed to the Viscount of Orcosa and gave it to Virone.
It was already approaching dusk.
Even if they rode relay horses, they would arrive in Yaunasun late at night.
Rubalwarus ordered the knights to search through the night and stationed himself in the conference room.
Praying for Cleiria's safety, he refused his favorite distilled liquor.
■■■■■■
The morning of the day after the kidnapping of Cleiria was discovered.
"Is it true!!!"
Rubalwarus stood up and confronted the two knights who reported.
The force was so great that the chair he was sitting on fell over, but he paid no mind to that and urged the knights to continue their report.
"Yes! It is certainly Lady Cleiria! I have confirmed it with my own eyes!"
Next to the knight reporting, the other knight nodded as well.
The knights who came to report were those sent to the Viscount of Orcosa along with Virone.
Considering the time for the round trip, they had almost returned immediately.
"I see..."
Rubalwarus nearly sat down on the spot from relief.
However, he could not relax his guard here.
"Where were they?"
"At the gate of the city of Yaunasun. Since it was late at night, the gate was closed, and they were arguing with the soldiers there."
It seemed the soldiers of Yaunasun spotted suspicious people, which led to the discovery.
"What was Lady Cleiria's condition? Was she injured in any way?"
"We did not confirm that far, but Lady Cleiria ran toward Virone. I think she is not seriously injured."
Although she had been captured by bandits and would have some exhaustion and weakness, if she had enough energy to run toward someone, there seemed to be no serious problems.
"I see..."
Rubalwarus exhaled deeply.
He had prepared himself for the worst-case scenario, but this was a result that could be called almost the best.
Rubalwarus slowly inhaled a deep breath and asked the knights who had come to report.
His gaze changed sharply.
"The bandits?"
"About that..."
At Rubalwarus's question, the knights hesitated.
"Did you let them escape?"
Rubalwarus's back teeth ground together.
Failing to capture the bandits alive was regrettable.
He wanted to extract as much information as possible from the bandits for future countermeasures.
Above all, it meant failing to gain the greatest clue to the full picture of this incident.
"No, that is..."
However, the knights' demeanor was strange for that.
Letting the bandits escape was painful, but it did not seem like they were regretting it.
Rather, they seemed confused.
"What happened. Did something occur?"
"Actually, there were no bandits at that scene. Lady Cleiria and another girl were at the gate of Yaunasun."
"............What do you mean?"
Even after hearing the report, the situation was not clear.
No bandits?
Another girl?
"...Did Cleiria escape on her own by cooperating with that girl...?"
If one predicted a possible situation based only on the information known now, that would be the feeling.
"That is, well, we do not understand it well either."
"Why? Just ask. Both Cleiria and that other girl."
"Lady Cleiria was... sobbing uncontrollably. We can understand that she must have had a very scary experience... We waited for her to calm down, but she seemed to have cried herself to sleep..."
The knights reported to Rubalwarus with an apologetic look.
It was understandable that Cleiria would cry uncontrollably once she felt safe.
It was also understandable that she fell asleep after crying herself to exhaustion.
She was a girl with a strong spirit, but she was still not even nine years old.
She had spent a day crushed by anxiety and fear after being kidnapped.
Even an adult would have received a considerable mental burden.
"In that case, it would be fine to hear the story from that other girl."
"That girl also fell asleep..."
"What?"
"When we tried to talk to her, she was lying in the middle of the road with her limbs spread out, snoring. Of course, we tried to wake her. No matter how much we shook her, she would not wake up at all..."
What was this?
The situation was completely unclear.
My head must be hurting right now because I haven't slept. It must be that.
"For now, we came back quickly just to report Lady Cleiria's safety."
"S-so that's it... Yes."
"Lady Cleiria and that girl have been protected at the Viscount of Orcosa's manor. As soon as the night breaks, we plan to borrow a carriage and guard knights, and Lady Cleiria will depart from Yaunasun. If everything goes as planned, she should have already departed."
"I understand. We will take over from here. You may step back. You have worked hard. Rest well."
"Yes!"
As the knights stepped back, Rubalwarus issued orders one after another to those in the conference room.
First, he ordered the knights currently searching to cease their operations and take turns resting.
The gates of the city wall also had to be unsealed urgently.
Thinking of the complaints that would pour in from the residents, his head began to hurt, but that was necessary post-processing.
Magnus at the border should stand by at the protective wall for a few days just in case, and if there were no movements from Gronoir, he could be recalled.
The fatigue was strong, but there were many things that needed to be ordered quickly.
Above all, there was a possibility that the bandits were still lurking.
However, if Cleiria and the others were in Yaunasun, the bandits should also be considered to be in the surrounding area.
No matter that the Viscount of Orcosa was a vassal of the Leventein Marquis, he could not arbitrarily send troops to suppress the bandits.
He must cooperate with the Viscount of Orcosa and somehow capture the bandits.
"There is too much to do..."
He couldn't help but mutter such a complaint.
Was it due to fatigue, worry, or perhaps the strong drowsiness after staying up all night?
No, it was probably because he learned his beloved daughter was safe and his guard had slipped.
Rubalwarus ordered a maid passing in front of the conference room to bring him a glass of distilled liquor to wake him up.
Enjoying the heat that burned his throat and the scent of wood, Rubalwarus gathered his mental strength.
■■■■■■
On the fourth day since the kidnapping occurred.
Cleiria returned to the Leventein Marquis's manor yesterday evening.
Immediately after being protected at the Viscount of Orcosa's manor, she seemed exhausted, but when she returned to the Leventein Marquis's manor, she had already regained her original energy.
Fatigue from the two-day carriage ride was visible, but otherwise, there seemed to be no particular problems.
So, that was fine.
Cleiria was fine. That was enough.
However, Rubalwarus was now facing another terrible problem.
"This... is it true? Is he really saying such a thing?"
Rubalwarus stared at the report in his hand, his hands trembling with shock and anger.
"Yes, there is no mistake. I was present as well. However, My Lord. This is a rather serious situation. Unless that boy is transferred to Sarbengeal immediately, who knows what other stories will come out."
The girl protected with Cleiria in Yaunasun was revealed to be a boy the next day.
That was not a big problem in itself, but the information held by that boy was a terrible bomb.
Information that Rubalwarus did not want to be known, even if it was the Viscount of Orcosa, a vassal---.
"He said, 'We slipped under the city wall and left the city from the slums.' He heard the bandits say that. I do not know what else they were asked. Please order immediate transfer."
The content of the boy's story was terrible for Rubalwarus, but whether he could transfer the boy was, frankly, a rather ambiguous problem.
Returning Cleiria to Sarbengeal was natural.
She was the daughter of the Leventein Marquis.
The Viscount of Orcosa had also sent her off cheerfully with guards.
So, what about this boy?
Even if the Leventein Marquis ordered the transfer of the boy protected by the Viscount of Orcosa to Sarbengeal, on what grounds would such an order be given?
It was confirmed that the boy was a student of the Magic Academy and an adventurer in Sarbengeal.
But that was not grounds enough to ignore the Viscount of Orcosa's right to interrogate.
"I understand. I will send him to Sarbengeal after the interrogation is finished."
That was how the matter could be settled.
If he activated his strong authority, he could forcibly transfer the boy regardless of what the Viscount of Orcosa said.
Even without going that far, the Viscount of Orcosa would likely agree to transfer the boy as an important person regarding the 'Cleiria Kidnapping Incident.'
However, acting too tyrannically might cast a shadow over the future relationship with the Viscount of Orcosa.
"Currently, we are permitted to attend the interrogation, so we are aware of the content the boy spoke. However, frankly, I am uneasy about what stories might come out. My Lord, can you somehow make that boy be transferred?"
Rubalwarus furrowed his brow deeply and pondered.
Rubalwarus wanted to interrogate the boy just as much.
Therefore, the Viscount of Orcosa, showing consideration, had permitted the attendance of the Leventein Marquis's knights.
There was a fact too heavy for Rubalwarus to ignore the Viscount of Orcosa's right to interrogate.
The bandits had been discovered.
The kidnappers were discovered from almost the exact location the boy testified to.
All of them were found in a state of being brutally slaughtered.
The boy testified only to the place where he rescued Cleiria.
The boy seemed to say, "I rescued the girl while the bandits left the carriage, so I do not know what happened to the bandits afterwards."
The Viscount of Orcosa did not think this boy had killed the bandits.
However, given the circumstances, it was necessary to investigate thoroughly.
Rubalwarus let out a deep sigh and leaned heavily against the backrest.
From the kidnapping incident of Cleiria, to this.
Rubalwarus continued to be troubled by head-splitting problems.