CH 55

I persuaded Alice who was reluctant to go to the inn for a long time. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, I hurriedly grabbed two traveling costumes for disguise from my room, made Alice wear one of them, and headed for the inn.

We managed to reach the inn by dusk.

I haven’t even started yet, and I’m so tired I want to spend the next three days in bed…….

“So, Alice? You’re a princess, aren’t you? Where’s your bodyguard? I’m sure you’ll be fine without them while you’re at the academy, but it’s not safe for you to be here now, is it?”

“It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Alice turned away and answered.

“It’s not good! I’ll take you home.”

We were so close that I forgot that she was a princess and brought her to the inn, but if I think about it calmly, I might have become a kidnapper.

“Please! Please don’t leave me!”

“Don’t try to grab me!”

I flipped Alice off when she grabbed me. With that momentum, Alice plunged headfirst into the bed and made a soft bopping sound.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

I called out to Alice, who was buried in the bed.

“Mogo mogo!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Come on out.”

“Mogo!”

Alice remained buried and refused to move, protesting in an impersonal voice, perhaps muffled by the bedding.

“Mogo mogo!”

I pulled Alice out of the bed and threw her on the floor.

“Ow! What are you doing?”

“You didn’t come out fast enough.”

“What?”

Alice stares at me with tears in her eyes. I turn my back on Alice’s clinging gaze and open the door.

“I’m going to go do the paperwork, so pack your things in the meantime.”

I closed the door behind me.

“I’m not moving from here!”

Ignoring Alice’s words, I closed the door and stepped out into the hallway. The hallway was a single corridor, with one large window at the back and doors to the guest rooms at regular intervals on both sides of the corridor wall. Going straight down such a corridor and descending the stairs, I arrived at the entrance to the reception area.　I walked down the dimly lit hallway to the reception desk in front of the entrance. But then, suddenly, the door of the next room opened. As soon as it opened, I felt a shock in my mouth and was dragged away. I was still unable to comprehend the situation, but I fought back, trying to shake off the hand that was covering my mouth.

However, even though I was only blocked with one hand, I didn’t freak out. As I took a deep breath to call for help, I was suddenly confronted with a knife at my neck.

“……will kill you if you try to call for help.”

The cold voice of the man, sharp as a knife, threatened me, and I had to slowly let out the breath I had taken in. The room was unlit and dark, giving the impression that there was something else lurking in the room, but since all I could hear was the sound of my breathing and the man’s, I realized that we were the only two people in the room.

Seeing that I had exhaled all of my breath, the man stopped pointing the knife at me and put his arm around my neck as if to choke me, then opened his mouth.

“……Would you like me to answer my question?”

The man let go of the hand that was holding my mouth.

I asked as soon as his hand left my mouth.

“What do you want? Who are you?”

“I don’t remember allowing you to question me. And there’s no need to get so defensive. I may kill you depending on your answer, but for now, I have no intention of killing you.”

You’re not going to kill me for no reason, are you going to kidnap me for ransom? Or maybe he was aiming for Alice and mistook me for her. There was no way to identify the person walking down the hallway from inside the room, so it was possible that he mistook me for Alice and attacked me.

“Viscount Dreschord, who were you with in the room?”

“Huh? I’m so famous now that you know my name?”

“Well, depending on how you answer, I’ll be famous tomorrow.”

As a murderer……

“Answer me. Who were you in the room with?”

I see. You want Alice. If I give a wrong answer, both Alice and I will be in danger.

“With an acquaintance.”

“Are you still trying to get out of this?”

“I’m not lying, though, am I?”

“So what is the name of this acquaintance?”

“I only know the nickname.”

“……tch.”

I continued to dodge the man’s questions and bought myself some time. As time went by, my brain, which had been unable to turn due to fear and impatience, gradually started to turn.

From the way this guy was talking, it seemed like he knew that Alice was next door. He also guessed my name even though I was in disguise.

So why are you asking me these questions……And if Alice is what you’re after, there’s no reason to ask me a long list of questions. But you have no interest in Viscount Dreschord. If that’s the case, it means that you want me as Chris, who is with Alice.

I breathed out a sigh of relief at this situation, which was not dangerous at all.