Chapter 30
30. Tryst
“Look out!”
Black pushed Liene away. Thanks to that, Liene barely managed to step back, while heavy cargo, making a weighty roar, crashed down on Black.
“Lord Tiwakan!”
Liene screamed. The street was instantly turned into a mess. A cloud of dust rose, and wooden barrels rolled around noisily. Everyone shouted and ran away, trying to avoid the wooden barrels that looked like they could break bones if hit.
“Lord Tiwa……. ……Mmph!”
In the midst of the chaos, someone approached Liene from behind and covered her mouth.
“Don’t make a sound.”
“……!”
Liene recognized whose voice it was.
“We can’t get caught.”
The familiar voice forcibly pulled Liene’s body away. In the next moment, Liene had vanished without a trace. * * *
“……Haa! Are you crazy?”
The hand covering her mouth disappeared. As soon as she released the breath she had been holding, Liene shouted. Actually, she wanted to say something even harsher.
“Do you know what you’ve done? Why on earth would you…….”
“Liene.”
The culprit was Laffite. Laffite grabbed Liene’s hand and placed it on his forehead. He had committed a crazy act in front of everyone, yet his attitude was extremely polite and affectionate, which was just absurd.
“I wanted to talk to you. In a place where we can face each other alone. In a place where we don’t have to worry about anyone listening.”
“……You are, crazy.”
Liene wore a truly disgusted expression. They were currently inside a cargo wagon without windows. She could tell that he had prepared quite a bit to kidnap her.
“Stop the wagon immediately.”
Laffite stubbornly held onto Liene’s hand as she coldly tried to pull it away.
“Liene. Can’t you stop worrying about him even for a moment?”
“What on earth are you talking about!”
“By now, he’s probably dead. So…….”
“So, I’m telling you to let me down!”
Suddenly, a wave of fear washed over her. The wooden barrels pouring down in front of her flashed through her mind. The last thing she heard was Black’s voice telling her to get out of the way. And that person……. Her pale hand began to tremble terribly. Was he dead? No, no. That person doesn’t die. He lived on the battlefield for ten years and didn’t die. There’s no way someone like that would suddenly die on the street. He’s not dead. He won’t die.
“He’s not…… dead.”
Her vision blurred. If moisture didn’t flow and instead pooled, her vision could become distorted like this. Laffite, who was holding onto her, even looked like Black. That’s when she realized. That she desperately, desperately hoped that man wouldn’t die.
“He’s not dead.”
Liene gasped for breath. Only when tears streamed down did Laffite finally look like Laffite again.
“Let me down. And you, run away this instant.”
Liene pulled her hand away again.
“Never set foot on Nauk land again. This is the last time I’m saying this.”
“Do you think that by saying such things, I won’t know your heart?”
Laffite still didn’t understand what Liene was saying.
“It’s no use trying to push me away with cruel words. I won’t be swayed by such words anymore. Liene, please…… you can be honest now. He’s dead! Even if he’s not dead, he’ll die soon! Do you really believe I would have carried out this plan so sloppily?”
“What…… what are you saying?”
“There’s no way I would miss such a golden opportunity to catch him alone, with no protection. Although I initially only intended to face you, I added to the plan when I heard that he had appeared. The Kleinfelter Family knights will take care of the injured him…….”
Bang! Laffite’s words scattered into the air. The cargo wagon, carrying Liene and speeding along, collided with something and shook violently. Unfortunately, inside the cargo wagon without windows, there was no way to know what was happening outside. The door was closed and locked from the outside, so it couldn’t be opened from the inside.
“What’s going on!”
Laffite shouted, pounding on the driver’s seat. The only response was a scream.
“Aaaagh!”
Thud! The scream faded away. It was reminiscent of a scene where someone forcibly dragged the driver out of the moving wagon and threw him to the ground. As if it wasn’t just imagination, Laffite jumped up. Neigh! In the next moment, the wagon stopped. The sudden stop caused the wagon to shake violently, and Laffite, who was getting up, fell and landed on top of Liene. Bang! In that state, the wagon door opened.
“…….”
Liene blinked at the sudden flood of light. It was like that time long ago. Her eyes were blinded by the sudden sunlight, and what was reflected in her stinging eyes was someone’s dark silhouette. Looking at him, who appeared as a mass of darkness due to the backlight, Liene thought that he was like a very large and ferocious beast. It was the same now.
“…….”
Eyes as pale blue as a beast’s gleamed, facing this way. As if ready to tear out a throat at any moment.
* * *
“Get out.”
It was a human voice, but to her ears, it sounded like a beast growling in its throat. She realized he was talking to her when Black flung Laffite, who was on top of her, away. Thwack! Laffite, grabbed by the ankle, flew far away and crashed onto the street.
“……!”
Liene couldn’t even make a sound of surprise and covered her mouth.
“Get out.”
Once again, the same words were heard.
“…….”
She finally came to her senses. She was now facing Black. The first emotion she felt was relief. See? He wasn’t dead. Why did he say he was dead? Thank goodness. ……I’m so glad.
“Lord…….”
But the relief quickly disappeared.
“Or should I drag you out?”
“…….”
There was no longer any kindness in Black’s voice. The same was true of his gaze and expression.
“Is that what you want?”
“……No……. No, it’s not.”
Liene gathered the hem of her skirt and stood up. She realized belatedly that her whole body was numb. It seemed she had bumped into things here and there as the wagon shook.
“How…….”
As soon as she got out of the wagon, she could tell what the situation was without having to ask. Tiwakan’s mercenaries were surrounding the wagon on horseback. The driver was nowhere to be seen, and Laffite, who had been thrown far away, was already in the hands of the mercenaries. Laffite’s plan had failed. She didn’t know how the Tiwakans had chased after the cargo wagon so quickly, but she knew that they were very fast. Half of Black’s clothes were soaked in blood.
“Are you badly hurt?”
Without realizing it, her hand reached out. Black lightly avoided the approaching hand by stepping back.
“Don’t touch me. It’s not all mine. Is that what you’re curious about?”
“Then that’s a relief……. ……Huh?”
“Do you want to know if I’m hurt enough to die?”
“What…… what are you…….”
“I told you. I’m only helping the Kleinfelter Family’s bastard once, and that was that day.”
“…….”
Liene now realized why the kindness had disappeared from Black. A sudden accident had occurred while they were walking alone, and she had disappeared. When he chased after her, he found her hiding in a cargo wagon with her former lover, heading somewhere. When he opened the wagon door, she and her ex-lover were tangled together as if they were hugging……. It might have seemed to Black that Liene had been involved in all of this from the beginning. Liene shook her head desperately.
“I’m…… it’s not like that. What happened today…….”
“Are you saying you didn’t know?”
“Yes. I didn’t get on the wagon of my own free will. I only realized it wasn’t just an accident after I was forced onto the wagon.”
“……I see.”
There was no understanding or emotion in the words, “I see.” Black didn’t believe what Liene had said.
“If that’s the case, then it seems the Kleinfelter Family’s bastard dreamed of treason all by himself. Go and drag him over here. Cut off his head here. Throw away the body and send only the head back to his house.”
“Yes, Lord.”
The command was clear, and the response was swift. The only one who wasn’t was Liene.
“Lord Tiwakan!”
Liene urgently grabbed Black. Her fingers, clutching his sleeve, were stained with sticky blood. She realized anew that he was badly hurt.
“I told you not to touch me.”
“No, you can’t.”
“What can’t I do?”
Liene squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. She, more than anyone, would find the Kleinfelter Family loathsome, and Laffite's obsession with a finished relationship frustrating and sickening. Still, she couldn't kill the eldest son of the Kleinfelter Family. That would mean war. This small, impoverished kingdom would be torn in half, killing each other. And she couldn't choose either side.
“Don't… kill that man.”
“Is Nauk a place where traitors' heads are also kept?”
“If his name is Kleinfelter.”
Liene swallowed hard. It felt like swallowing thorns, not saliva.
“The price is too high. The Kleinfelter Family will never accept this execution. I can't handle it.”
“I will handle it.”
“No. You can't.”
Drip, drip. As she tightened her grip on the hem of her dress, the oozing blood flowed down her instep.
“In the end, Nauk will bleed. Killing Kleinfelter is like killing half of Nauk.”
If Kleinfelter started a war against the royal family, all the families belonging to the aristocratic council would side with Kleinfelter. Even if Tiwakan killed them all, it wouldn't be suppressing a rebellion. It would only be chopping up and crushing this kingdom into small pieces.
“Nauk has already shed too much blood. What I regret is not accepting Lord Tiwakan's proposal before. If I had, things wouldn't have come to this.”
If she had stopped Laffite from going to the Sharkan Kingdom to borrow reinforcements. If she had ended their half-hearted relationship and accepted the proposal right away. If she had, a hundred lives wouldn't have been lost, and she wouldn't have to keep telling dangerous lies to save Laffite Kleinfelter. She wouldn't have had to lie about being pregnant, tremble on her period dates, or search for ways to hide her inexperience. And you would have done whatever you wanted to do, whether it was revenge or something else. Then I wouldn't be so confused about what your real feelings are, and my head wouldn't feel like it's about to explode every moment.
“Please… don't kill that man. I… I want to protect Nauk.”
His unusually sharp, gleaming eyes scanned Liene's expression thoroughly. Every time he did that, Liene felt like she couldn't tell any lies in front of those eyes.
“Not just that man, but Nauk.”
“……I don't believe it.”
Black's answer came very slowly. It was a word that pushed Liene into despair.
“The Princess has been making unbelievable excuses and promises she won't keep… and I'm tired of believing them now.”
“Please… believe me. Everything I've said now is true.”
“That can't be.”
Black twisted his lips.
“The Princess has lied to me more often until now. Is there any reason why what you're saying now would suddenly be true?”
“……”
Liene lost her words. Black was right. Every time she avoided a crisis with precarious lies, Black wasn't unaware, he was just pretending not to know.
“I'll bet… anything. If what I just said is a lie, then anything….”
Liene was desperate, but Black wasn't. A twisted laugh escaped.
“It seems I've given the Princess a bad habit.”
“What do you mean….”
“Do you think that if you appease me with your body again, I'll give in as you want?”
