Chapter 10

　　Inwardly, Laila agreed with him. Her dream was to live to be ninety. Compared to that, thirty-five was indeed a very young age.

　　Laila crouched down in front of Wilhel, bringing them eye-to-eye.

　　“Do you remember what I just asked of you?”

　　Wilhel remained silent.

　　“Do this for me, and I’ll forget all about the ledger. I swear it.”

　　Blackmailing someone wasn’t a pleasant experience. She understood that better than anyone, now that she was doing it herself. But Laila wanted to live. She was desperate. In her position, there was nothing she wouldn’t do.

　　Wilhel seemed to hesitate, but finally gave Laila the answer she wanted.

　　“…Is that truly all I have to do?”

　　Relieved, Laila couldn’t help but let a faint smile slip out.

　　“Of course.”

* * *

　　Laila hurried along, keeping the “item” Wilhel had stolen tucked safely in her arms.

　　Aside from the foolish mistake he would make three years from now, Wilhel was definitely competent. In just an hour, he had stolen the exact item she asked for and handed it over.

　　I gave him an hour, but I didn’t think he’d actually pull it off.

　　Even so, Laila was running out of time. She hadn’t had much of a window to begin with.

　　Laila rushed straight to the carriage house.

　　“Pardon? You want to ride in this wagon, my lady?” a servant asked.

　　She wasn’t at the main carriage house, but the storage area where they kept the luggage wagons.

　　“Yes!”

　　“But this wagon is for luggage. The only people who ride in it are maids and servants…”

　　It was a polite refusal, but Laila didn’t back down. Looking up at the servant, Laila forced a tearful expression. “But if I don’t ride in this wagon, I won’t be able to go on the hunt.”

　　She dropped her head and began to whimper. “They said there’s no room left in the carriage with Father and my siblings. What am I supposed to do? It’s my fault for asking too late, so…”

　　“Ah, please don’t cry, my lady!”

　　Suddenly finding himself the reason for his young mistress’ tears, the servant panicked. He looked around frantically before hurriedly opening the back door of the wagon. “I’ll let you on. B-but, I didn’t let you on. You snuck in on your own. Understood?”

　　“Got it. I promise.”

　　Her face brightening instantly as if the tears were a mere illusion, Laila quickly climbed inside. Judging by how full it was, it must have been just about ready to depart.

　　Thank goodness I’m not late.

　　Breathing a sigh of relief, Laila went to sit by the wall with the maids, who exchanged puzzled looks and a few hushed words at her presence. Just then, through the still-open back door, a servant roughly shoved something inside.

　　“Hurry and get in!”

　　That something was a person. Someone Laila knew very well.

　　Laila’s expression hardened as she caught a glimpse of the boy who had just been thrown in.

　　So he did ride this wagon after all.

　　She had expected he would be transported in this one, but she still felt no pleasure in being proven correct. Perhaps because she had just seen how the servant treated the boy. That same servant who had been so flustered and accommodating toward her…

　　Laila clenched her hands into fists in her lap.

　　If things had been different, would the future have changed? If the Marquis had been the only villain in this estate, and everyone else had been decent… perhaps the man’s revenge ten years from now wouldn’t have been quite so gruesome.

　　Laila entertained the thought before suddenly realizing what an absurd hypothetical it was. A decent person? Someone who was kind to the weak and couldn’t turn a blind eye to injustice? Such a person would never survive in Marquis Hildegard’s castle. Anyone with that disposition would inevitably defy the Marquis, and their end would be…

　　Her stomach lurched. It was probably just because the wagon had started moving. Luggage wagons weren’t meant for passengers, and the ride was far from smooth.

　　Fighting off motion sickness, Laila hunched her shoulders and tried to stay out of the boy’s line of sight. She had purposely chosen the innermost seat, but she couldn’t be too careful.

　　He must not see me.

　　This wasn’t the dungeon where it was just the two of them. If he showed his hatred for her in a place like this, with so many eyes watching, it would spell trouble for both of them.

　　Fortunately, the wagon was spacious. They were seated quite far apart. Laila cast a quick glance at the boy, who didn’t seem to have noticed her. He was sitting haphazardly near the back door, not on a bench or even a scrap of cloth for warmth, but right on the floor. Treated like just another piece of luggage.

　　Laila watched him for a moment before lowering her head. Do wagons normally cause this much motion sickness? Her stomach still churned.

* * *

　　The wagon rolled to a stop in a clearing beside a forest owned by the Marquis. The moment it halted, the maids poured out and busily began to sort the luggage.

　　“Hurry up!”

　　“We have to be ready before the Marquis arrives!”

　　Meanwhile, the servant reappeared at the back of the wagon and dragged the kid out like another sack of goods, before hauling him toward the treeline and disappearing into the forest.

　　Laila glanced around. While the maids were preoccupied with pitching tents in the clearing, she slipped away and hurried after them.

　　They definitely went this way… Ah, there they are.

　　Because the forest was maintained as a hunting ground, the underbrush was clear, allowing for a good line of sight. Through the tall, sparsely placed trees, the servant and the kid were easy to spot. They hadn’t gotten far.

　　Laila tailed them, muffling her footsteps and occasionally ducking behind the thick trunks. It was her first time tailing anyone, so she was naturally tense, but the servant didn’t seem to be on guard at all. Thanks to that, Laila gradually found her rhythm.

　　How long had they been walking deeper into the woods? The widely spaced vegetation grew a bit denser. The chirping of the forest birds grew louder. Just as Laila’s feet and calves began to scream in protest, the servant finally halted.

　　Laila quickly pressed her back against the nearest tree.

　　“…listen…don’t…”

　　What is he saying?

　　The servant’s voice only reached her in fragments. Laila strained to listen, but the birds in the branches above her were chirping so loudly she could barely make out a word.

　　Before Laila she had time to feel frustrated, the servant finished speaking. Then as if his job was done, he turned around and walked back the way he came alone, leaving the boy there. Laila clung to the tree and held her breath until his footsteps faded away.

　　A moment later, when the servant’s footsteps were completely gone and the birds quieted down, silence fell over the woods. Laila carefully stepped away from the trunk.

　　Where is the boy?

　　She looked for him and found he was standing in the exact spot where the servant had left him. From the looks of it, he hadn’t moved an inch. His expression was completely blank.

　　…What is he thinking about? Whatever it is, he probably doesn’t know this place is meant to be his grave, right?

　　I’m not going to let that happen.

　　Laila swallowed dryly and slowly approached him. Just then, the kid snapped his head around and locked eyes with her.

　　Laila jumped. Her heart dropped. Not quite with a heavy thump, but with a sharp thud.

　　What the…? I haven’t even said anything yet, so how did he know? Don’t tell me he noticed I was tailing them from the very beginning…

　　But it seemed he had only just spotted her, as his brow furrowed fiercely upon seeing Laila.

　　“What do you want?” He paused, glaring at her. “What do you think this place is? You can’t just follow me in here.”

　　Laila flinched at his sharp glare, but didn’t back away. She had already come this far and she didn’t exactly have anywhere left to retreat. Though the boy wouldn’t know that. Instead, Laila took a few more steps toward him and spoke.

　　“…What do you mean? It’s just a forest.”

　　The distance between them shrank to just a couple of steps.

　　Instead of moving, the boy gave her a command.

　　“Get out.”

　　He’s telling me to get out again.

　　It was a familiar command. Of course it was, since he had said the exact same thing in the dungeon.