3-8 - The Mastermind

We had hidden ourselves in one of the mansion’s rooms to avoid the bandits. From outside, we could hear footsteps running down the corridor.

As I held my breath to avoid being discovered, all the grief I’d been suppressing came rushing back.

Father, Caroline-san, and the people who lived in the mansion. We might not have been particularly close, but I’d never once wished for any of them to die.

And yet, Caroline-san was dead, and Father had followed her. I hadn’t seen any of the servants’ bodies, but the bodies of knights were scattered everywhere.

How had things turned out like this…?

“—Leon-sama.”

Before I knew it, Alice was peering into my face.

“Leon-sama, are you all right? You look terribly distressed.”

“I can’t exactly say I’m fine. But don’t worry. I’ll save the grieving until after we’ve escaped.”

“…You’re strong, aren’t you?”

“I’m not strong. I’m desperate precisely because I’m weak.”

Because I’d been weak, I’d made Saya suffer. Because I’d been weak, I’d failed to protect Milly, Claire-nee, and everyone else. And because I was still weak, I was terrified of losing anything more.

“…I still think you’re strong. The way you try to shoulder everything yourself reminds me so much of my older brother.”

“Your older brother, huh? I’d like to hear what he’s like.”

“Then I’ll tell you all about him once we’ve escaped safely.”

“I see… I’ll look forward to it.”

It sounded suspiciously like a death flag, but I didn’t say so aloud. Somehow, I felt that if I put it into words, it might actually come true.

“…Oh, it seems the bandits have passed us.”

“Finally. Does it seem like there’s nobody else nearby?”

“Yes, I can’t sense anyone in the immediate vicinity anymore.”

Alice gave me a definite answer.

Apparently, Alice possessed the blessing of Presence Detection, which allowed her to perceive her surroundings with considerable accuracy. Thanks to that ability, she’d already helped us avoid danger several times on our way here.

Without Alice, we would have been captured long ago.

“All right, then let’s hurry to the hidden door.”

Just to be safe, I carefully opened the door and checked outside. As Alice had said, there was nobody nearby.

We proceeded cautiously, but as quickly as possible, toward the end of the second-floor corridor where the hidden door was located.

Afterward, we nearly ran into bandits several more times, but thanks to Alice, we managed to reach the hidden door without being discovered.

“The hidden door… Is this it?”

I examined the wall and figured out how to open it. It seemed simple enough. With this, we could finally escape the mansion.

But just as I reached toward the wall, a man’s shout echoed from the other end of the corridor.

“That voice…”

“That’s Blake-sama. He’s… just around the corner. It seems he’s been captured by the bandits.”

“Blake, huh…”

Father had said he’d sent him away earlier, but apparently he was still in the mansion.

“…What should we do? Since they’ve gone to the trouble of capturing him, they’re probably planning to interrogate him. I don’t think they’ll kill him immediately, but…”

“Yeah…”

If he was being interrogated, that naturally meant there were enemies nearby…

Only an incredibly softhearted person or a hopeless fool would risk their life to save Blake, the man who’d tried to violate Alice.

—And so, realizing that I must be a fool, I let out a sigh.

“Alice, I’m sorry, but go on ahead without me. I’m going to save Blake.”

“…I’m astonished.”

“Don’t say that. I can’t bear to lose any more family members. Even if he’s like that, he’s still my brother.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m your slave, Leon-sama, remember? If I tried to run away and leave you behind, the pain from my contract mark would obviously leave me unable to move.”

“—Ah.”

Come to think of it, slaves had contract marks engraved on them to prevent them from disobeying their masters. Lately, I’d barely even thought of Alice as a slave, so the whole thing had completely slipped my mind.

“…You forgot, didn’t you?”

“Uh, well… Sorry.”

“Well, that’s fine. I was planning to follow you anyway, Leon-sama. What astonished me earlier was that you were trying to leave me behind.”

“…Why? Why would you do that? To you, Blake is…”

He was nothing more than the man who’d tried to assault her. When I questioned why she’d want to help him, Alice gave me a wry smile.

“I hate him.”

“Then why?”

“Because if you abandoned him, you’d regret it forever, wouldn’t you, Leon-sama? And if that happened, I wouldn’t be able to be happy. That’s why we’re going to save him.”

I thought about it for a moment before immediately understanding what she meant.

“If I regretted it, you wouldn’t be able to be happy?”

“…Well, you said we’d be happy together, didn’t you? Or was that a lie?”

“No, of course it wasn’t, but…”

As I stood there bewildered, Alice gave me a smile unlike any I’d ever seen from her before.

The moment I saw it, I felt my face growing hot. But this wasn’t the time to stand around admiring her. I pushed those feelings aside, reminding myself that rescuing Blake came first.

We headed toward the source of the voice and peeked around the corner. There stood a lone knight, holding his sword against Blake, who had been cornered against the wall.

Fortunately, there was only one opponent. He hadn’t noticed us yet, so we might be able to take him down with a surprise attack.

“I’m going to ambush him. Alice, be ready in case something goes wrong.”

After a brief whispered exchange with Alice, I slipped around the corner and approached the bandit from behind, keeping my footsteps as quiet as possible.

At that moment, Blake caught sight of me. His eyes widened, and he pointed straight at me.

“That’s him! He’s the Leon you’ve been looking for!”

“Wha—!?”

That idiot!? Not only had he ruined my surprise attack, he’d actually sold me out! I immediately regretted coming to rescue him, but it was too late.

“Leon-sama, I’ve finally found you.”

The bandit slowly turned around. The instant I heard his voice, I froze for an entirely different reason. Although his face was concealed behind a mask, I recognized his voice.

“…Are you Regis?”

“Oh… I’m impressed you recognized me from my voice alone.”

With those words, Regis removed his mask. The face beneath it unquestionably belonged to Regis, the butler of House Sphiel.

“Why are you here!?”

“Because I’ve come to collect you.”

“Collect me? What are you after!?”

“Well, that is—”

“—Hey! You’ve found the person you were looking for, haven’t you!? Then let me go!”

Blake interrupted Regis, raising his voice.

“Oh, my apologies. Indeed, I have no further use for you. Very well, I shall release you, just as you wish.”

“O-oh, I see! Then I’ll be taking my leave!”

Freed from Regis’s restraint, Blake looked at me mockingly.

“I don’t know how you managed to escape that room, but too bad for you! In the end, I’m the one who gets the last laugh! A lowborn wretch like you deserves to die miserably right here!”

Blake laughed arrogantly. Behind him, however, Regis wore a cold smile.

“…Don’t tell me—Stop!”

Realizing what Regis intended, I shouted. But almost simultaneously, Regis swung his sword, severing Blake’s head from his shoulders.

He collapsed without a sound. That was how my brother, Blake, met his end.

“…Why? Why did you kill him!?”

“Because it would be troublesome if he remained alive.”

“…What the hell does that mean?”

“That is not something I can explain here. Would you kindly come with us without resisting?”

“You’re not going to kill me?”

“Indeed. We need you to accompany us alive, you see.”

“…And if I refuse?”

“Then we shall simply have to force you to comply!”

The instant Regis answered, he closed the distance between us.

—Fast! Even though I’d anticipated a surprise attack, he moved so quickly that I could barely react.

I narrowly managed to deflect Regis’s strike with the sword I was holding. However, the sheer force of the blow nearly tore the weapon from my hands.

“Oh, what marvelous reflexes! But what a shame! That body of yours simply lacks the necessary strength!”

“—Guh!”

I knocked aside his next attack and blocked the follow-up strike. But just as Regis had said, the difference in our physiques was obvious, and he knocked my sword out of my hands.

By the time I realized what had happened, the tip of his sword was right before my eyes.

“It’s over. Now, kindly come along with us without further resistance.”

“…Why do you need me? Whose orders are you following?”

“I’m afraid I cannot disclose that. However, I can assure you that no harm will come to you.”

“…No harm will come to me, you say?”

I glanced past Regis. Blake’s body lay there.

And burned into my mind were the gruesome images of Father, Caroline-san, and the other members of House Gransches. There was no way I could trust a word Regis said.

I swiftly concentrated my mind, gathering the surrounding mana particles into my right arm and converting them into magical power. Almost immediately, my right arm became enveloped in a faint blue glow.

“—Surely not! Are you capable of using magic at your age!?”

Regis instinctively leaped backward. In response, I drew back my right arm—but instead of swinging it, I jumped backward as well.

After all, the only thing Alice had taught me was how to control magical power. She hadn’t taught me a single actual spell. That had been nothing more than a bluff to create some distance between us.

“Alice!”

“—Yes!”

Understanding my intentions, Alice smashed one jar of oil against the ceiling and the other against the floor. Both jars shattered easily, spilling oil across the corridor and showering Regis from above.

“Wha—What is this!?”

Regis immediately leaped backward. At almost the same moment, Alice dropped the flame from the lantern she was carrying onto the oil-covered corridor. The oil caught fire instantly, transforming the passage into a sea of flames.

Calling it a sea of flames was a bit of an exaggeration, though. In reality, the flames only reached about waist height. But Regis was covered in oil.

If he quickly jumped over the fire, he might be able to avoid catching alight. But if the flames did spread to him—that possibility made Regis hesitate.

Taking advantage of that brief moment of indecision, we immediately turned and fled. We dashed into the hidden passage and descended the stairs, going straight from the second floor to the basement.

And just like that, we successfully escaped from the mansion.