Chapter 32 (2/2)

He had no intention of cursing at me. After a moment’s hesitation, I threw aside my reservations.

I’d already hit the worst-case scenario. It wasn’t like it would get any worse than this. I was done.

“…To see Leon.”

Still, fearing punishment, I turned my eyes away as I squeezed out the words.

Is it too late? What do I do if I see him in the first place? The truth is, those feelings of guilt were gnawing away, even at me.

It wasn’t until now that I realized — I wasn’t thinking of anything but needing to see him, to talk to him.

I am beyond stupid.

“Hmm… Understood. I’ll take you to him.”

After letting out the mother of all sighs, Leopard unfolded his arms. I couldn’t help but doubt my ears.

“…Eh–?”

“At any rate, even I can see that right now that the young master… Lord Leon needs this. It did invalidate Lord Leon’s orders, but I expected you to pull something like this. Though, I didn’t think you’d escape through the window.”

“Ah, uh…”

His expression still a bit exasperated, Leopard glared at me.

Though his unexpected words promised just what I wanted, I trembled, my doubt seeping into my speech and behavior. Trying to force it down, I lightly slapped my cheeks.

“There’s a soldier stationed outside your room, but I told him that, in the event that you attempted to leave, he was to report to me without forcibly detaining you.”

Maybe having fun watching me shake, Leopard’s tone softened ever so slightly.

s.h.i.+t, this is embarra.s.sing.

“Still. To report, huh.” 1

“Of course. If you escaped to search for Lord Leon, that would’ve been fine, but if it was to desert again, it would be a headache for me.”

…Wow, he really didn’t trust me. But, well, of course he wouldn’t. I’d do the same in his shoes.

Besides, Leopard was this close to being in violation of his orders.

“Eh, it’s fine. If we’re going, then let’s get going quickly… after you do something about that suggestive appearance of yours.”

After looking at me from top to bottom, Leopard turned his back to me. Given his words and behavior, I looked myself over too.

The hem of my dress, which I’d torn to keep it from getting in my way, was split all the way up to my waist. It should’ve been above my knee, like it was before I went down, but it seemed it tore further in the middle of my descent. Even my underwear was visible.

Yeah, it might be a… stimulating sort of appearance.

If I were to scream right now, Leopard would be in a really questionable position.

That thought popped into my head all of a sudden.

–

–

Just when I thought we were on our way, we stopped by a room crammed with servants not far from Leopard’s room. There, I got a change of clothes.

This being a military facility, there wasn’t much call for maid uniforms or showy clothing like at the estate. I promptly changed into what was handed to me: a jacket that wasn’t plain so much as a bit conspicuous in its tatteredness; and a thin pair of breeches.

The crowd of female servants were startled by the sudden intrusion, but perhaps because of Leopard’s presence, they surrounded me from a distance and said nothing. For Leopard to come with a girl wearing ripped clothing in tow, the situation had all the makings of a scandal. He didn’t say a word, though, so I decided not to worry about it either.

“Let’s get going. Quickly.”

Estimating that I’d finished dressing, Leopard called me from outside the room. As you might expect, he waited outside while I was in the middle of changing. If it were Rupert, he might have waited inside without batting an eyelid, but in this area, Leopard revealed a frank indifference.

“Let’s go now.”

When I came out, Leopard wasted no time taking the lead, and started walking off. I followed after him at a sort of half-jog.

When I thought about it, 2, I realized

that although I’d run into Leopard every now and again, this was the first time we’d had such a close conversation.

Leon was always the face, and according to my intuition, it seemed that Leopard usually followed along in the shadows.

I didn’t know if this guy, who was ‘Commander’ to Rupert and Irene, was an adjutant or a close confidant to Leon. But it was clear that he was Leon’s man, through and through.

So it seemed to me that seeing Leon in such a state earlier was connected to his current behavior. In his own way, he was looking out for Leon.

It was unquestionable, impossible to misunderstand.

He wasn’t doing this for our sake, but for Leon’s alone.

You might even say that we’d pretty much become pests, but his candor left a favorable impression on me.

I didn’t know what he was thinking, to go this far, but on the flip side, for Leon to inspire that level of loyalty, it was a bit — …

We went down the corridor and descended a flight of stairs. Without the faintest idea where Leon was, I obediently walked after him. Leopard was silent from start to finish, but sometimes, he would nonchalantly look over his shoulder at me, making sure I was still there.

Look, I didn’t come this far just to make a break for it now.

So I thought, but, well, I suppose it was in his nature. It wasn’t like I was in any position to complain, so I decided to leave it alone.

Even so, he moved at a brisk pace. I remembered going into town with Rupert back in Telaberan, but he and Leopard really were polar opposites, I thought. Fondly, even.

“Here it is.”

What he pointed out to me was the opposite side of an entryway, which led to a gate. We were probably before the door that opened out to the back of the building.

I was a bit conflicted. Of course, I’d had no idea at all where Leon was right now, but I didn’t expect him to be outside.

“Is it — okay, here?”

“Yeah. You’re on your own after this… got it? I’m not doing a thing.”

Leopard nodded. And tacked on a warning.

“Got it.”

Given Leopard’s position, he couldn’t help but say that. Even without his partic.i.p.ation, the fact that I was here right now at all would only put him in a tight spot.

I gave him a small wave, and then opened the door.

As I expected, on the other side of the door was what you could call a rear garden. It wasn’t like it was all that s.p.a.cious.

The walls surrounding the garrison pa.s.sed quite close by. Precisely because of that, the s.p.a.ce wasn’t so much drab as quietly refined. Even the moonlight didn’t reach between the building and the walls. There was only starlight, providing the barest of illumination.

At its heart stood a magnificent tree. Unlike the side with the gate, the tree stood there alone. That emptiness under the starlight — it was just that spot, but it was like something out of a fairy tale.

And standing there, looking up at that tree, was Leon.

Footnotes

1. Guessed: それでも報告なんだな ↵

2. Guessed: 初めて会ってこちら側 ↵

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