“How...did things come to this?”
Orania and the children were currently in a carriage headed for the manor that belonged to the head of the shipbuilding guild. A princess like Orania couldn’t be held in the dungeon, so this manor had been chosen for her temporary house arrest. Orania had insisted that the children accompany her, and so they had.
Sitting right across from them was an armed guard.
“Ugh... Why does father suspect me...?” said Orania, slumping her shoulders in defeat. She was still as confused as ever.
Suddenly a small hand overlapped hers—or rather, hands. She looked up to find Yanna and Kiryl, who, despite their anxieties, had the admirable courage to try to cheer her up. She could feel their warmth through her own hand, and the realization that she alone had become the target of protection lit a fire in her heart.
“That’s right...! I need to do everything I can...”
A disciple of the Great Sage of the Empire couldn’t be moping about! Two of the three children were Visalians, and this was no situation for them to extend their own kindness. There was no knowing what might happen to Patty, even. Thus...
“I need to protect them...!”
Orania slowly looked ahead of her...and noticed a strong flash of light from outside the carriage!
“Eek!” Orania covered her eyes as the carriage came to a stop.
“What?! Hey, what’s happening?! Why did we stop?!” The soldier called out to the coachman and opened the door, but—
“Ack!” He was knocked out by the man who used that as an opportunity to step inside.
“Huh?!”
“Jeez... I’m not a fan of violence, if I can avoid it,” muttered the man as he removed the bandana that was sloppily tied around his head. After flicking himself on his smooth forehead, he shot a friendly smile at Orania.
“Wh-Who are you...?”
“Nobody, really. Just your savior,” said the man with a playful bow. He was overwhelmingly friendly and agreeable...but that only put Orania on edge.
“You came to save me...?”
“Of course. Moving on! This way, now! You too, kids.” He took hold of Orania’s hand with gentlemanly refinement he lacked before and beckoned her outside the carriage.
The sight Orania met had her drawing in her breath—the coachman had collapsed on the ground. “Did you kill him...?” she asked, firmly.
The man responded with a cheerful laugh. “Hmm? Oh. Aha ha ha! Of course not. There’s no way I would kill him, right?” He lightly kicked the coachman, who stirred with a groan. “I just put him asleep for a bit. I didn’t kill the soldier inside the carriage with you either. But anyway, let’s get going.”
“Going...? Oh! Are you with Master Mia?”
Orania had no comrades here in Ganudos. She spent her days slacking off to instead go fishing, which meant, naturally, the only person who would come and save her was her Master Mia.
Maybe Master Mia wasn’t willing to let the children get captured, and she decided to save me while she was at it too...?
As those thoughts ran through her mind, the man answered. “Yup, I am. I’m here on orders from Miss Mia. Anyway, come on. I’ll lead you to our secret hideout.”
His answer was just as she had expected. He had said...the very thing she was hoping he would. This fact caught on a corner of Orania’s mind, but the man was clearly ready to walk. She hesitated, glancing at the collapsed soldier.
Hmm... Well, I suppose I can’t be here forever. But just as she had resolved to follow him, she felt a pull on the hem of her dress. She turned around to find Patty, her expression serious. “My, Patty, what is it...?”
“I don’t think he’s one of Miss Mia’s friends,” she whispered.
Orania mulled this over for a moment before kneeling on the ground to bring her face closer to Patty’s. “And why is that...?” she whispered back.
“I don’t know of any friends of Miss Mia’s like him. And...”
“Huh? Something the matter?” asked the man. He still wore the same smile, and maybe it was just her imagination, but his eyes didn’t seem to match his mouth.
Patty stared back at him and took a step forward. “They’ll suspect us more if we run, and that’ll make things harder for Miss Mia too. The right thing to do is to believe in Miss Mia and wait, so we shouldn’t run.”
The man strolled right up to Patty. “Wow! That’s quite an interesting opinion. And who might you be?”
“You’re...trying to direct things toward chaos. You’re...our enemy,” she said, staring at the man fearlessly.
Orania drew in her breath. If the man before them was an enemy, then what might he do in retaliation for her attitude?
The man opened his eyes wide and sneered. “Oho! Really, who might you be? Your senses are quite sharp...” He placed his hands on his knees and brought his gaze down to match Patty’s. “You’re right. Princess Orania being captured isn’t good for us. We’ve gotta turn her into the assassin that killed the king, after all.” He turned to Orania and winked. “That’s why I kept the soldiers alive. We’ve gotta have them spread the rumor that it was the Visalians who saved you. Only then can we kill the king.”
He shrugged. “So, will you work with us here? I don’t want to threaten you and take you by force if I don’t—”
“That’s a lie. You’re alone, so you can’t keep track of us all. That’s why you’re saying that.” Patty cut him off. “Don’t listen to him, Princess Orania.”
The moment Patty turned to glance at Orania, the man placed his hand on her head. “Aha ha! I see, I see. You’re right. Walking around the city while armed would attract attention, and so would kidnapping you kids. I’d have a hard time keeping track of you all, but you’re in no position to run and ask for help either. If it was Visalians who came to save you, then they couldn’t afford to kill you and reduce their numbers. They’d have to take you with them. So, I see. It’d be rather difficult to take you by force. If we’re speaking logically, that is, little lady.”
He lovingly petted her hair before bringing his hand down to the back of her neck.
“Huh...?” She blinked.
The man maintained his friendly smile. “But you’d do well to remember this. Humans don’t need logic to kill. I might murder you just because your cheeky little attitude pissed me off. So, what will you do, little lady? I could easily snap your tiny neck with a little force...”
“If you kill that girl, then I’ll die too...!”
The man blinked. Orania knocked away his hand and protectively pulled Patty over to her. That was when she realized Patty was shaking. She squeezed her into a hug to comfort her as she spoke. “And I’ll also die if you take these children as prisoners... You won’t be able to capture me. You need me alive, right...?”
The man nodded, clearly amused. “I see. That would put me in quite the pickle. So? What’s your plan?”
“We’ll run away... If our capture isn’t good for you, then I believe this is a fair compromise...”
“Huh. So you’ll run, but not to us. Then you’ll hide somewhere? If you can make it without being captured, then it’s not a bad plan. That”—he chuckled—“will bring about some chaos too.”
Orania turned her back on the man’s fit of maniacal, gleeful laughter.
“Let’s run...!”
Dauntlessly, she grabbed Patty’s hand, called out to Yanna and Kiryl, and dashed away.