29 - I Healed the Male Lead's Trauma
Episode 29
5. The Heroine Didn't Need a Hero (5)
This damn train is getting old.
The train bound for the capital, Lydell, which I boarded early in the morning, finally came to a stop a little after noon.
Ugh, I'm already exhausted.
Was it because of this unwanted trip?
Useless thoughts, once they took root in my mind, tormented me all the way to the capital.
It was so bad that I almost fell while getting off the train, which is unlike me.
I almost bumped into someone carrying a large trunk, and I paused, feeling a firm body supporting me from behind. It was Akteon.
"There are more people than last time."
"Yeah, they're probably all going to Romdina."
As Akteon said, the station was crowded.
Freight cars, loaded with supplies and support goods for transport, clanked as they were connected to the newly serviced control car.
Since the goods were to be sent to the front lines, Evolved Beings in dark navy uniforms, distinct from ordinary soldiers, were mixed among the people passing by.
Perhaps because the atmosphere in the capital had been uneasy lately, they were all busy stiffly monitoring their surroundings.
Some of them stared at us, who were wearing the pure white uniforms of the academy, which were in stark contrast to their own.
Since we rarely come to the capital during the semester, we stood out.
They nodded their heads in greeting, and I had to awkwardly acknowledge them. Many of them were older than us, but there were also some our age.
After mechanically exchanging greetings here and there, we finally got out of the station, but I was already extremely tired, even though we had just arrived.
But there was no time to rest.
"Hmm... they should have been waiting for us, but they're not here."
"Ah, they said they'd send a carriage."
I thought that at least we wouldn't have to go to the Royal Palace alone.
Since we were coming by order of a high-ranking official, they said they would send a carriage themselves, but….
'If they tell us to kneel, we have to kneel, so we can't refuse. Are they trying to train us?'
They knew the train schedule perfectly well, but the fact that the prepared carriage was delayed meant that the Crown Prince was trying to play a power game.
It was a kind of waiting game.
'Is he trying to test how obedient we are to his words?'
And not only that.
"Senior."
"I know. I felt it too."
"Two people are watching us."
Akteon sneered at the fact that we could be looked down upon so much.
He was someone who never forgot that he possessed a stronger power than anyone else, even if he was in a collared state.
And even if he was suppressed by a flawed system, he would not tolerate everyone treating him like a toothless beast.
"Do you have any idea who it might be?"
"It's probably who you think it is. His Highness, who wants to see us, seems to be curious about how far we can obey."
The large plaza in front of Lydell Central Station connects each district through several branching roads.
As such, there were many people, and quite a few were taking a short break amidst the antique scenery.
Among them, it was impossible not to stand out if someone was only watching the movements of a specific person.
'To have people watching us and seeing how far we'll bend over backwards… they'll probably send a carriage around dinner time.'
If we leave, they'll follow us and report it as it is.
It would become a reason to find fault with us in some way.
'This is quite unpleasant….'
I don't know if I should call it sinister.
Until now, I had met people who treated Evolved Beings as fellow human beings, but the Crown Prince was not one of them.
From the start, it was as if he didn't recognize us as people.
'Or maybe both?'
As an ordinary citizen, I naturally felt resentment towards such unfair orders.
"Akteon."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you like causing trouble?"
Akteon seemed a little surprised at the question, which was clearly an invitation to cause some trouble together.
But only for a moment, as he pretended to think about it and then smiled.
"Trouble? What we're going to do isn't trouble, but a well-trained soldier's response to a specific situation…. That's what it's going to be."
"Right? I made a mistake in my choice of words."
I deeply sympathized as I looked at his curving eyes.
We exchanged glances and decided to blame everything we were about to do on the excellent training of the academy.
We couldn't take a hired carriage or another carriage just because the carriage was late.
Isn't it the virtue of a subordinate to gloss over the mistakes of their superior?
'Of course. And if my superior acts like a jerk to me, I have to innocently respond in kind, pretending not to know.'
As if we had made no mistakes or errors, we had a reason to go to the Royal Palace as soon as possible, according to the order.
There were many ways to get to the Royal Palace from here, but the two best ways to mess with the Crown Prince had already been decided.
"……."
"……."
We didn't share what we were going to do, but Akteon understood and nodded slightly.
Immediately, I moved away from him and left the plaza.
'…Good. He's following me.'
The watcher left Akteon in his place and chased after me.
I didn't think he would be lured in by such a simple method, but it worked.
If I were him, I would have paid attention to Akteon, who was more dangerous.
Is he going to assign one person to each of us?
'Maybe he trusts the Control Stone Bracelet.'
Unlike guides, who cannot directly use magic, S-class Transcendent Beings must wear enhanced bracelets.
Chasing after me must mean that he is confident that he can control Akteon with just one person.
As I hurried my steps, the plaza gradually disappeared behind the buildings.
I turned into an alley in the downtown area leading to District 2.
Taat!
The watcher, judging that he might lose me, started running.
From the moment I entered the alley, there were no more people to be seen. I didn't need to lure him any further, and I revealed my true colors.
Instead of turning the corner and going straight, I stepped on a wooden box filled with firewood and lightly climbed onto the wall.
I hid inside the shadow of the roof until he approached.
"I'm sure it was this way…?"
Taking advantage of his confusion at my disappearance, I jumped down on the watcher.
Our eyes met as I pounced on him.
This person must not have been used to unexpected counterattacks.
I quickly bent his arm backwards and twisted it hard to prevent him from escaping.
"Aaaagh!"
"Shh. It's better to be quiet."
He must be the Crown Prince's lackey.
There's no need to be gentle… or is there?
However, this loyal watcher struggled roughly and did not give in easily.
Due to the difference in physical condition, there was a difference in strength, but I replaced the answer by snapping the arm I was holding.
"Heeeuuuwaaaack!"
I pressed his screaming head to the ground, and he finally became quiet.
This is the first time I've treated someone like this, but my antipathy towards the Crown Prince must be quite strong.
But I shouldn't know anything about this guy.
I asked simply, pretending to misunderstand his identity.
"A spy in the middle of the holy capital."
"Kkeuek, keuk…."
"It's not Igrendos. Did Zenabart send you? Or Yuskhal?"
The watcher's pupils trembled finely at my question.
He must want to correct me.
He wants to say that he's not a spy. But he can't reveal it.
The moment he corrects me, he'll be questioned about his real identity, and the Crown Prince might abandon him to deny that he committed such a petty act.
Then he might really be falsely accused of being a spy.
'Well, it doesn't matter what he says. My purpose is to buy time.'
If I hold onto him, the other person will definitely move this way.
Then, taking advantage of the opportunity, I'll pretend to try to catch the spy.
'I'll use magic.'
If the management office is notified of unauthorized use of magic, the supervisors will appear quickly and take us into custody.
'And if we go straight to the Royal Palace through them, we can cause some trouble and scratch their nerves while arriving.'
On the surface, we only used magic out of necessity while trying to catch a spy.
The level of punishment will inevitably be low.
I felt lighter as I thought about how to get to the Royal Palace quickly and easily while giving the Crown Prince a blow.
By the way, what happened to Akteon?
The watcher under me didn't seem to want to open his mouth at all.
I was about to call a manager and report him without using magic, so I was about to get up.
I felt a gaze and turned my body in surprise.
Taang!
A chill ran down my spine at the sound of a gunshot that shouldn't have been heard.
I heard someone running away from the alley behind me, having failed to hit their target.
And in the brief moment that my attention was diverted, the watcher I was suppressing also shook off my grasp and ran away.
I immediately chased after him.
'Calm down. It was just a warning shot!'
My heart was pounding fiercely.
It was because the image of the woman I saw through Akteon at the moment I heard the gunshot came to mind.
It was Claire Brondearne.
"Surely not…."
It would be an unforgettable sound for Akteon…!
For no reason, I increased the speed of my pursuit of the watcher a little more.
I was out of breath in an instant.
But instead of catching my breath, I took out a small bottle and swallowed a pill the size of a fingernail. It was Nexium.
'It must be the one who stayed in the plaza to watch Akteon. Then what is Akteon doing now?'
If he's quick-witted, he might have noticed something strange.
If he stopped watching Akteon and moved towards me.
'Akteon must be chasing him. So I….'
I just need to catch the person I missed.
As soon as I finished organizing my thoughts, the road I had just passed appeared.
It was a U-shaped alley where the blocked wall was connected to that road.
As soon as the watcher I was chasing disappeared to the left, I stepped on the trash can and jumped over the wall in front of me.
At that moment.
Akteon beyond the wall.
And the man with the gun came into my heightened view.
The man I missed was running towards Akteon without seeing what was in front of him.
Akteon, who had a cold expression on his face, hardened his expression as soon as he found me.
Between the moment the gun was pointed at me.
The surrounding magic, which I was able to use due to the drug, was drawn into my heart through the circuits inside me.
Tang!
It's hard to tell whether the bullet flying towards me will come first, or whether the crackling white current will deflect it faster.
In the illusion that the surroundings were slowing down, I saw Akteon's Control Stone Bracelet glowing bright red.
At the same time, crystal-like fragments were appearing.
