Whoosh!
It’s not like I really had no expectations at all.
I could make my own guesses about the information Alice had discovered. After all, the memories of that time still lingered in a corner of my mind.
Especially, it wasn’t easy to forget the face of that person who had smashed my face with a fist. If it wasn’t my face under that fist, it would definitely have been Claire’s, and thinking about that made it even harder to let go.
I made my own efforts to find that guy. However, I didn’t rely on others. Unlike Alice, who used royal power to twist things ruthlessly, I moved quietly without anyone noticing.
And I didn’t find him. To be honest, I didn’t search for too long. In this changed timeline, he was someone who had never been involved with me, so I thought, why bother searching?
But… it seems Alice had a slightly different thought.
“Do you know this place?”
As she looked at the scenery outside the carriage, Alice asked me.
The view outside the window was a beautiful and peaceful estate. There weren’t fields of poppies, nor were there beggars by the road. Most of the people walking around looked like ordinary folks dressed neatly.
A not-so-wide river flowed by, with a stone bridge crossing over it. Beyond the bridge were rows of uniformly designed brick houses that seemed straight out of an Industrial Revolution-themed artwork.
The carriage was heading towards the edge of that residential area. As if the river was the boundary, there were many brick houses on the other side, while this side was almost undeveloped prairie.
And I remembered that place.
There was a hill a little way off from here. And there should be a tall tree there. Someone might have cut it down, but the hill would still be there.
And from that tree, I watched the Count’s carriage explode. The people inside turning into pieces. Even innocent horses getting caught up in the blast.
Right now, there was no trace of that left. Quite naturally, of course.
The overall shape hadn’t changed much, but the number of brick houses across the river had increased significantly. Some of the buildings looked different from the way I remembered them. I could be sure of that because I had already wandered around among those buildings several times. I could accurately remember the insides of some.
Especially the one in the middle, which seemed to be better maintained than the others.
I furrowed my brow slightly.
I wondered if that building was still being used for… such purposes?
“……”
I wasn’t the only one with a stiff face. Mia Crowfield, sitting next to Alice, also had a rigid expression.
Despite her somewhat youthful appearance, Mia Crowfield was about the same age as us.
She was old enough to vividly remember the day her father died, so she would know what kind of place this was.
But she didn’t say a word.
It would have made sense to ask why she brought us to such a place.
As I recalled, the carriage came to a stop in front of that clean building.
Knights were already stationed at the entrance. The police were also present, but they wore expressions as if they had no idea what was going on. And beyond those knights and police, it seemed like the royal knights and local knights were standing in a standoff.
The royal knights were outnumbered, yet their spirit was unyielding. I had no basis for this feeling, but it seemed like, even if both sides were to engage in battle, the royal knights would win.
The fact that the carriage made it this far safely was thanks to that spirit.
“Your father is really something.”
Alice said in a somewhat dazed voice as she stepped off the carriage. Her gaze was directed at the local knights clashing with the royal knights.
“It’s obvious that a territory that hates him this much would not just leave such soldiers unpunished.”
“…Crowfield Territory borders the Kingdom of Velbur.”
Mia Crowfield rebutted Alice’s musing, but Alice merely shrugged and replied.
“That doesn’t look like they’re ‘assisting’ the Imperial Army.”
“……”
Mia Crowfield couldn’t refute those words.
However, Alice wasn’t glaring at Mia Crowfield nor displaying any hostile expressions. Rather… she looked just like she did at school.
In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she had a slightly worried expression.
Alice turned her head to glance at the building once more. Then she lowered her gaze back to Mia Crowfield and spoke.
“Inside, there will be information you may not want to know.”
“Information I don’t want to know? What do you mean?”
Mia Crowfield attempted to glare at Alice, at least making an effort to do so.
“Before coming here, I heard that your father was much more of a father figure than mine.”
Alice spoke in a flat tone, hiding her emotions.
“Are you saying that Count Crowfield has been doing the opposite of his kind image?”
Mia Crowfield’s expression darkened even further than before.
I might have reacted similarly. If my father had done something bad that I didn’t know about, and if my memory of him was just that of a proud and loving dad, and on top of that, he was unfairly murdered…
What would I do if the daughter of the person who ordered his murder told me, “Your father isn’t as good a person as you think.”?
…Thinking this way, Mia Crowfield seemed to be exercising tremendous restraint. Perhaps the royal knight and Alice surrounding her helped her maintain that restraint.
“Sure.”
But Alice replied without a hint of hesitation.
“……”
Mia Crowfield’s expression reset beyond mere hostility. Suddenly feeling uneasy while watching Alice speak without any guilt, she seemed to realize something.
Mia Crowfield had spent the past several months meeting and conversing with Alice. And several months were enough time to gauge a person’s character roughly.
Mia Crowfield would surely know that Alice wasn’t the type to joke about such matters.
“Even so, are you going to go in together? It might cause you a great deal of emotional pain.”
“……”
Mia Crowfield’s head slowly dropped before it suddenly shot up.
Her eyes were trembling, and her lips were slightly downturned. Her face was paler than usual.
But the expression that emerged on her face was one of noble determination.
“Fine.”
Mia Crowfield spoke with a somewhat trembling voice.
“If you two are going to say that, then I won’t just avoid it either. My father is definitely not that kind of person.”
“……”
Alice let out a small sigh.
“Alright, then.”
Alice turned and began walking. I followed, as did Mia Crowfield.
A knight, standing by the door, opened it for us.
Inside the building… even though it certainly had windows, it was way too dim.
Creek!
The only sounds we heard as we walked were the creaking of the old wooden stairs and our footsteps.
If there were people inside who were being subdued by the knights, we’d at least expect to hear some complaints, but there was nothing, which felt a bit unsettling.
Royal knights stood intermittently in the narrow corridor. Despite their outfits looking like they could rustle, they stood still, welcoming us. How well-trained they must have been.
The smell I recalled from my last visit was absent. Thankfully, it seemed it wasn’t still being used for that purpose.
“This way, Your Highness.”
In the corner of the second floor, in front of the smallest room, stood a knight.
As Alice, Mia Crowfield, and I approached silently, the knight opened the door for us just like when we entered the building.
And inside—
“What do you think?”
As we stepped into the room, Alice turned her face slightly towards me. She didn’t turn all the way, so I couldn’t clearly see her expression hidden by her hair.
But the contempt in her voice was unmistakable.
Inside the room, a middle-aged man was lying on the floor, kneeling beneath a knight. His arms were bound behind him and trapped beneath the knight’s knee. He looked to be relatively older and in good shape, but he didn’t seem to have the strength to push off the armored muscle.
…Back then, when I saw him as a child, he looked truly terrifying.
A few books were scattered on the floor. These were novels celebrated as classical literature.
And beside the books, a glass lens lay cracked.
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