Free Web NovelThe carriage cut through the rain as it raced onward. The only one who knew where they were headed was the knight driving it.
“Please endure it a little longer, even if you become sick from the motion.”
“Yes.”
Ren answered quietly. His stomach was already churning badly enough as it was. If he opened his mouth even a little, it felt as though he would throw up immediately.
Rain battered the carriage without rest. Ren thought it felt as though he were submerged underwater.
“Excuse me, Sir Knight.”
“...Go ahead.”
After a short silence, the knight’s voice came through the small window in the center of the carriage.
“How much farther?”
Only after asking did Ren realize he was feeling a little lonely. He was not actually curious how much remained. He simply wanted to speak to another person. freёwebnovel.com
How stupid.
Even if the knight chose not to answer, there was nothing he could do about it. Ren fiddled with his hood. His dried, thin wrist caught his eye. It felt as though his body was getting worse and worse.
“One more hour and we will arrive.”
“...I see.”
Leaning his head weakly against the wall, Ren looked out through the fogged window. But because of the rain, he could not properly see anything. The blurred scenery drifted by indistinctly.
Ah, no.
Was the scenery blurry... or was it his vision?
Ren blinked slowly.
Thud.
His body gradually tilted, and in the end he collapsed onto the carriage floor.
“What is wrong? Lady Lucia?”
“......”
“Lady Lucia.”
“......”
Damn it!
Along with the short curse, the carriage came to an abrupt stop. Leaving the horses’ cries behind him, the knight jumped down and yanked the carriage door open.
Whoosh— cold air and rainwater crashed over Ren’s fallen body.
The knight hurried into the carriage and checked Ren’s condition.
“The fever...”
Ren could not even hold himself upright. His eyes were faintly open, but unfocused.
“Lady Lucia. Lady Lucia.”
Just as the knight, shaking Ren by the shoulder, reached toward his bag—
“My good man.”
Someone called out to him.
“Who are you?”
The knight immediately turned, hand falling to his sword hilt. Ready to draw at any moment, he glared sharply at the figure standing there.
A person wearing a black robe stood beneath the pouring rain without even an umbrella. The stranger raised a hand, pushed back the hood, and spoke.
“I am a physician.”
An old man with snow-white hair.
His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, yet his eyes were as vivid as a young man’s. His pitch-black gaze quietly swallowed the light around it.
“You say you are a physician?”
The knight’s suspicion did not fade.
“That’s right. I once stayed at the royal palace, so you may confirm it if you wish. I also happen to have ties to the fallen boy.”
“Were you following us?”
“Lord Giselle likely already knew.”
The old man said only that before falling silent. It was the attitude of someone leaving himself entirely to the knight’s judgment.
The knight stared into those pitch-black eyes before finally stepping aside.
He had mentioned Giselle’s name.
Very few people casually spoke the name of Giselle, one of the central figures of the royal palace. Even those who knew the name either did not dare utter it aloud or scarcely understood who he truly was.
The knight had no choice but to trust his instincts.
Ren’s condition looked terrible at a glance, as though his breathing might stop at any moment.
Until they reached their destination, there was nowhere else they could stop. They would have to wait for the fever to subside naturally, but the knight did not know whether Ren’s body could endure that long. He was merely carrying out his duty, yet that did not mean he wished to witness someone’s death.
“Get in.”
“My thanks.”
Leaving behind a brief word of gratitude, the old man climbed into the carriage. A sturdy body utterly unsuited to his aged face disappeared inside. As the knight shut the door, he warned him that they could not stop until reaching their destination. The old man merely nodded without even asking why.
Those pitch-black eyes looked as though they already knew everything.
Soon after, the carriage started moving again.
Much faster than before.
“My child.”
Inside the violently rattling carriage, the old man lifted Ren into his arms without difficulty.
After rummaging through his clothes, he pulled out a pitch-black pill and pressed it into Ren’s mouth. When Ren’s lips twitched weakly in refusal, the old man shoved his fingers deep inside.
Then the old man withdrew a bottle from his robes, removed his fingers, and poured the liquid inside against Ren’s lips. But Ren could not swallow even half of it, and the front of his clothes became completely soaked.
Wiping away the sweat covering Ren’s forehead, the old man quietly patted his chest.
***
“My lady—!”
The moment Coco heard Jepeto’s words, she staggered. A maid shrieked sharply and grabbed hold of her. The umbrella fell to the muddy ground with a splash.
Jepeto stood frozen in place, unable to do anything.
Pressing a hand against her dizzy forehead, Coco gave an order to the maid. Her violet eyes were blazing fiercely.
“Bring Seton.”
“My lady! Please, come inside first!”
“Hurry!”
“M-my lady...”
The maid tearfully stomped her feet before scrambling upright. Coco barely managed to steady herself. A knight guarding the entrance hurried over to support her and shielded her with his hand, but there was no way to avoid the torrential rain. Before long, Coco too was completely soaked.
Seton and Hugh came rushing over at the maid’s summons.
“My lady—!”
Flap flap flap— someone came running late behind them.
It was Kirky.
“Ren...”
Coco bit down on her lip for a moment.
“They said Ren never returned to the royal palace. But the carriage that came then really was from the palace. Then what happened? Did the coachman deceive Ren and take him away? Or else...”
Coco’s chest swelled sharply before sinking again. A hot breath escaped her lips.
“Did Ren leave on purpose?”
In the end, Coco’s voice broke.
It felt as though the thing she least wanted had suddenly become reality before her eyes.
“Lady Coco, Ren will be alright.”
But today, even his comfort failed to reach her.
“We have to find Ren.”
“Lady Coco. First, back inside the residence.”
Hugh lifted her onto his back.
“Does everyone really not know? Or are they pretending not to know? If... if Ren truly left...”
Then the reason could only be one thing.
If there was a reason for him to quietly disappear alone—
Coco squeezed her eyes shut.
“I-I will hurry back to the royal palace.”
Jepeto barely managed to force the words out.
Seton ordered a carriage prepared, and not long after, one arrived.
“I-I should go too.”
Still on Hugh’s back, Coco raised her head.
“My lady.”
Hugh called to her in a sorrowful voice.
“My lady. You likely will not even be allowed inside. The royal palace carriage was real. If they realized the carriage never returned, then the palace would have moved first.”
Seton’s words meant only one thing.
That Ren had left of his own will, and the royal palace had permitted it.
Which meant there was nothing the ducal house could do. At most, they could only try to search for Ren privately.
Coco could not say a word.
Jepeto returned to the royal palace in the ducal family’s carriage.
He no longer even knew how he had managed to return. Wandering the palace like a ghost with a deathly pale face, he eventually regained his senses only to realize he was once again standing in front of Ren’s room.
Did everyone already know Ren had left?
After hesitating, Jepeto turned the doorknob again, and the still-empty room greeted him.
“Ren.”
At his feet, the carpet slowly began to soak through. Rainwater dripped from his un-dried hair, from his face, from his body, from his clothes.
“Good heavens. I’ll fetch you a towel.”
Startled by Jepeto’s appearance, a servant hurried away and quickly returned with a towel.
“U-um, then I’ll be going now.”
The servant had been about to retreat after seeing Jepeto’s soulless expression.
“Wait. Just a moment.”
“Yes?”
The servant asked blankly. The towel slipped from Jepeto’s hand. As the servant awkwardly rolled his eyes and bent to pick it up, an ice-cold hand suddenly seized his arm through his sleeve. Feeling the freezing touch even through the fabric, the servant flinched violently.
Good heavens, just how long had he been outside?
Rumble—
Thunder growled viciously through the sky.
“W-why are you doing this?”
The servant swallowed hard.
“Do you happen to know where Sir Luman is?”
Swallowing as well, Jepeto asked as calmly as he could.
“Excuse me? Why would the Hero...”
“Please. There is something I absolutely must tell him.”
“E-even if you ask me that... I’m only the servant assigned to this hallway. I merely sweep and clean it. How would I know where the Hero is?”
“Then who should I ask? Please. There is truly something I must tell him...”
Jepeto’s hand trembled violently as he clutched the servant’s arm tighter.
Then a voice sounded from farther down the hallway.
“Physician?”
A gentle, beautiful voice rang softly through the corridor. The servant looked up, startled, and immediately bowed deeply.
“My greetings to Lord Luman.”
“Ah. You may go.”
Luman tilted his head slightly, dismissing the servant before turning his gaze toward Jepeto. Golden eyes filled with confusion as they examined him.
“What happened to you...?”
Luman picked up the towel lying on the corridor floor, shook it out, and held it toward Jepeto.
“What is going on? Why are you standing in front of Ren’s room...”
As he draped the towel over Jepeto’s shoulders when it became obvious he had no intention of taking it himself, Luman suddenly stopped speaking.
His smiling face froze exactly as it was.
After thinking about something for a moment, he pushed himself through the open doorway.
The room was empty.
Without a trace of warmth left inside it.
