Chapter 8: CH 7

Seniel broke down again at my idea of having a leisurely dinner. I stared at him with a brazen expression.

Talking to Seniel about Kid’s threat would clear his doubt, but I wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t like I could say, ‘I will seduce you, so please do a decent job’, right?

‘And I don’t want to do something wrong by saying that for no reason. I don’t want to be deeply involved.’

“Let’s change what we call each other. You can call me Vivi. I’ll call you Seniel, too.”

In front of Seniel, who paused again, I nodded my head satisfactorily to myself.

‘If I tell Kid that Seniel calls me by my nickname, and we eat together and hold hands, the day will pass.’

I didn’t know when he would come to monitor and when I could stow away, so I had to lay the groundwork for no.

Of course, I could lie. This was the best for me, who couldn’t lie, in front of Kid.

“That’s all I ask of you. Will you protect me?”

He looked at me, wondering if this was of any use. I was sure he would have no choice but to nod, as there was nothing else he could do.

However, still unsure, Seniel bit his lip and shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about it, but that’s not a good way-”

“What’s your answer?”

“… All right.”

“Good. I’ll see you in the evening, Seniel.”

But Seniel couldn’t finish speaking and crumpled under my urging.

I waved my hand to the lamb, who couldn’t hide his discomfort to get out. The lamb timidly hesitated and eventually left.

After Seniel exited, I leaned back on the bed and sighed.

‘If I do this, I can survive before running with a ship… Since Kid said he would come unexpectedly, it would be impossible for Seniel to stay out overnight.’

Why did Vivi die in the original story? Because she didn’t think to run? Or did she not lure Seniel properly enough to the Kid’s satisfaction?

‘From Vivi’s memories, Vivi seems to be shy. Most likely, she was killed by the Kid after not having a proper conversation with Seniel.’

If I hadn’t grabbed Seniel, too, he would’ve just said hello and gone out like yesterday.

‘Is it important to be shy now?’

Unlike Vivi, I wasn’t afraid of that. Rather than testing or measuring, I’d always run straight through my situation like a bulldozer. I should be able to stall this situation a little like this.

After confirming that Seniel had gone to the temple, I called the maids and began to prepare for the outing. I said I’d accidentally broken the glass while sleeping, so they cleaned it up.

Before going out, I packed some simple jewelry in my room.

***

The weather was so nice for once, as it was spring. It would be perfect if I could stow away on a day like this.

However, even if I had the opportunity today, I had a problem to think about.

It took at least four hours by horse-drawn carriage to reach the port from this house.

‘It would be nice if I was lucky enough to leave without being caught during that time.’

The possibility that this might not be the case had to be considered.

Things got a little complicated if Kid woke up and realized I was not there before I got to the port.

He never missed a catch.

Even if teleportation did not exist here, there was a ‘video equipment’ or a device that immediately delivered news from a distance.

So if Kid reached out to the post pretending to be Seniel, I could have been caught as soon as I got to the port. Or he could block the route for one day with the high priest’s authority.

Perhaps this was my first and last chance to escape via the sea, so I couldn’t pass this opportunity so stupidly. To avoid wasting this moment, it was necessary to distract Kid’s attention from the escape day.

The carriage stopped on Rodwald Street. I thanked the coachman and got off the carriage. As the carriage left, I put on the robe I had prepared and pressed my hat deeply.

‘The only thing that can divert Kid’s attention is to give him information about the opponent he wants to kill. Conversely, I can buy time by putting Kid’s identity in danger of being exposed.’

I knew who Kid wanted to kill the most. It was Joel, an older person with a history of rising to a high position in the temple. But I didn’t know any other details because Kid couldn’t find Joel in the original story.

‘This much isn’t enough to divert his attention.’

As far as I knew, there was a high possibility that Kid already knew.

So that left the other option. I had to put pressure on Kid.

‘I know how to gather evidence that Seniel is a Kid. But who am I going to hand over the evidence to…?’

Giving it to someone who had no power and was convinced that Seniel could not be a criminal would have no effect. But I had to think carefully about handing it over to reporters who only seek gossip or to people with a light mouth. If there were rumors, Kid would doubt me and go after me first as someone who knew his face. So it had to be someone with tight lips as much as possible.

‘As expected, the best thing is to give it to the female lead so that the original story can proceed, and I must also escape.’

While I was thinking of gathering evidence to find the female protagonist—

“I’m sorry!”

Someone slammed past me.

What? A sudden ominous feeling wrapped around my whole body.

“My jewel!”

I didn’t have an escort because I had to go secretly, but I hadn’t expected to be pickpocketed like this. I knew that this street was unsafe and that the heroine disguised as a paladin would occasionally patrol here, but I hadn’t known I would suffer like this.

I swore out loud and chased after the pickpocket.

The pickpocket quickly hid in the crowd. The culprit was lost without a second thought.

It wasn’t even my jewel. It was something from Seniel’s mansion—which I brought proudly in return for being threatened with death. Still, I needed that for my escape!

What was so wrong with today?

I had to go back home, but while nervously messing with my hair, I heard a scream from somewhere.

“Aaaaah!”

What was that? I raised my head. A sound could be heard from where the pickpocket had vanished earlier, but it was obscured by the crowd, making it impossible to see exactly what had happened.

Someone came up next to me when I thought it was none of my business.

A large and thick body. The person’s chest was the first thing I saw when I raised my face.

“Are you the owner of this thing?”

My jewel! I raised my head as hard as I could to thank this person.

Milk-white hair and clear blue eyes. A large body with tight muscles. A reticent mouth that seemed hard to open. And a pair of serious eyes where lightness couldn’t be found.

“Ah, yes! Thank yo-”

My eyes widened when I looked closer.

‘It’s the female lead. The female lead disguised as her brother!’

The female lead— no, Ezette gave me the jewel. Her large, calloused hands proved that she’d held swords for quite some time.

Ezette stared intently at my face hidden by the robe.

“… Aren’t you the high priest’s wife? I’m sorry for the late introduction. I’m the paladin Ronan Phylaxis who guarded the wedding venue yesterday.”

She must have been an escort at my wedding yesterday. She had a good memory, too. How did she remember what she saw only for a moment?

I was going to say no, but I changed my mind. Now she was exactly what I needed. There was no need to pretend not to know.

This was an opportunity.

“Nice to meet you, Sir Phylaxis. I would have lost my jewelry if it weren’t for you. Thank you.”

All right. Just complimenting her like this was enough opportunity for me. All I had to do was give her a sneak peek of the proof and her reward! Then she’d have an excuse to take on Kid.

“I just did what I had to do. Rather, this is a dangerous place to go out alone without an escort. I will guide you outside if you don’t have any urgent business.”

‘You’re going to guide me out?’

I shook my head in a hurry.

I didn’t have much to say to her, but I had to subtly infer my current situation in our conversation.

I waved my hand to refuse the offer because it was enough as long as I passed Kid’s information to her.

“No. Thanks for your concern, but I have something to do, so I’ll get going. I’ll make sure to thank you later. Then, farewell.”

I was ready to run at any moment.

I would be in trouble if Ezette escorted me out now. I wanted her to not worry about me now but make a fuss once she got the evidence I’d send later.

‘I’m going to take advantage of the chaos that Ezette causes and run away to a foreign country.’

I hid the jewel in my arms and took a few steps. But I was blocked after a few steps. Ezette, who quickly caught up with me, blocked my way and spoke in a low voice, “I will escort you.”

“… Pardon? You must be busy, so if you don’t-”

“It is not right to leave an esteemed person in ignorance. I will escort you.”

I worked my mind and agonized for a moment. According to the knight’s code of chivalry, if anything happened to me after she left me behind, she would be first held responsible.

‘But can I go to the broker with her? The female lead also gets her information there, but…’

Ezette, who took the form of Ronan, did not seem to have much interest in oracles or God. Rather, she even insulted God in this unfair world.

Ezette, who focused only on her family affairs and brother’s revenge, may behave well if I revealed my escape plan.

‘Maybe it would be better to take Ezette with me.’

It would make her think something was wrong in the house if I tried to escape.

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I thought it wouldn’t be bad to build up suspicions about the High Priest in this way. Even if Ezette discovered Seniel was Kid before the escape day due to this suspicion, I wasn’t too worried.

She had tight lips and was not someone reckless. I believed she wouldn’t face Kid recklessly when I was present.

“… All right. Please do. I’ll make sure to thank you for this.”

Ezette looked disinterested and nodded her head gently.

***

I entered Bay’s Teahouse. There was a faint smell of tea.

The teahouse seemed ordinary from the inside and outside. There were no people with a bad impression, and everyone was drinking tea and chatting happily.

I approached the clerk. I followed exactly what I read in the novel.

“Give me a cup of lemon tea that Bay made.”

There was a moment of silence in the teahouse. A lot of eyes were looking at me. What were they looking at?

“… Oh, the lemon tea that Bay made? We’re out of stock, so could you wait here?” The clerk smiled and paused as he opened the counter door. That person looked at Ezette and me alternately, wondering what to do.

As if Ezette did not know I would come to such a place, embarrassment permeated her silent eyes for a moment.

She soon realized that she had to keep her promise and said bluntly, “It is dangerous to be alone.”

“That’s true. Two glasses, please.”

“All right. I’ll take you inside.”

We went into the space behind the counter. At the end of the narrow hallway was a staircase leading down to the basement.

***

As I followed the clerk, I wondered if it would have been better to leave Ezette behind. But it was true that I felt secure with her protecting my back.

How could such a great man have died so early? I wanted to see the real Ronan, not Ezette disguised as Ronan.

As we went down the stairs, I saw a door. I saw a large space inside, and the clerk knocked on the door three times familiarly.

“Have a good time.”

The clerk nodded and went upstairs. I thanked him politely and opened the door.