By Zephyria “…Still, how can it not be a big deal when an intruder came in.”
Leonardo, who had made eye contact in an instant, flinched, but pretended to rest his chin on his hand and turned his eyes and head away. He thought he had dealt with it naturally, but he didn’t know how it looked to the other person. He hoped they would think he had looked unconsciously.
“Was the barrier released, or did someone deliberately break through it?”
“It’s more likely the latter.”
“What the hell kind of guy….”
However, contrary to Leonardo’s wishes, an uncomfortable gaze followed him in the window that reflected the inside of the train.
“Shouldn’t we seal off the entire territory and issue a wanted notice?”
“Usually, that’s the case. Because there’s a possibility of an assassination attempt.”
“I heard that it was the work of someone they knew―”
“Let’s lower our voices a bit.”
The man who had made eye contact with Leonardo interrupted his companion’s words in the middle and added.
“It’ll cause damage.”
He gestured with his chin towards the guest sitting alone by the window. It was a nuance to be careful, but his eyes were full of vigilance. As soon as the order was given, a silence suddenly flowed between the four men.
Eight pairs of eyes were all fixed on the window on the opposite side. Leonardo felt like sweat was dripping down the back of his head under his hat. The invisible gazes were stinging.
If the guys who said to lower their voices because it would cause damage suddenly stopped talking and stared, wouldn’t that be no different from threatening him not to eavesdrop? Leonardo, habitually pulling his mask up to below his eyes, dyed his eyes an ambiguous light between gold and brown.
Actually, there’s nothing wrong with looking at the next seat a bit, but he felt guilty for no reason because the intruder in the conversation he heard seemed to be himself. Moreover, those guys seemed to be knights of His Excellency with a high probability. To meet people related to him not near Agrigento Territory, but in the opposite region.
“――.”
“――.”
The continuing whispers were also quite uncomfortable. He couldn’t know the exact direction of the gazes reflected in the window, but it was certain that the heads of the group were facing this way.
Why were they staring so intently? I belatedly remembered that my beret was sitting right there on the table where my arm was resting.
‘Ah… damn it.’
There was no way those guys, who seemed to be looking for active-duty soldiers, hadn’t seen it. Moreover, Signe’s military gear must be taking up a whole luggage compartment above the seats.
Wearing civilian clothes on purpose meant that there was something that needed to be done discreetly, not by official orders. Naturally, they would be reluctant to have information exposed to military personnel, so I just hoped they wouldn’t regard me as an unnecessary object of suspicion.
Leonardo rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window. Before long, the train, which had been stopped, started moving, and most of the passengers took their seats in the empty spaces.
Just as the attention from the next seat was about to fade away, an unhelpful voice cut through the tense atmosphere.
“Were you keeping a good watch on the luggage?”
Signe, who had been to the bathroom in the meantime, walked past the men’s line of sight and plopped down across from Leonardo. It was the moment when the embers of dying interest were rekindled.
“The bathroom was so dirty, I barely washed my hands. Oh, you cleaned the table in the meantime?”
She took the beret that was sitting there and put it on her head, securing it tightly with a pin. Her clothes were also military uniform, which already attracted attention. If I talked to Signe like that, they might eavesdrop on our conversation this time.
Leonardo, having fulfilled his duty to guard the luggage, got up from his seat.
“I’m going out for a smoke.”
“Huh?”
Awkwardly turning around, he walked down the aisle in the direction Signe had come from.
“Wait, Theo―.”
He was walking so fast that Signe couldn’t catch him.
There wouldn’t be much space over there…. She muttered to herself and hesitated, half-raising her upper body. But worried about both of them leaving their seats, she looked up at the military gear lying in the luggage compartment. Naturally, she looked around and approached the trustworthy men in the next seat and asked.
“Excuse me, could you watch my luggage for a moment? There are occasional pickpockets inside the train.”
At her request, which she showed with a good-natured smile, the four men looked up at her blankly. Soon, they looked at each other, and the man sitting on the outside simply replied.
“Yes, we will.”
“Thank you.”
She bowed her head and followed Leonardo. Just in time, two passengers in the back seat also walked in that direction, and Signe’s figure was soon obscured.
The men maintained silence for about 10 seconds. Then one of them spoke first.
“Did they hear?”
“The man is a civilian, and the woman doesn’t have a name tag. Judging by the full military gear, she seems to be an enlistee, so it’s okay. Just the name.”
“Still, the Imperial Army is in the next seat… It would be better to refrain from talking. Didn’t you see the military gear when they came in? I checked the hat, but I thought it was a regular hat because there was no rank insignia.”
“Who would look at the luggage compartment first? You check the person first. But what about that guy whose girlfriend is enlisting?”
“Is that what’s important now?”
“How should we organize the list? We don’t have time to get off and do it.”
“If we do it by the window, it won’t be visible from the aisle.”
While the three men continued their conversation, the man who had answered Signe stared at the door at the end of the aisle as it opened and closed. He was also the one who had made eye contact with Leonardo, and he was also the highest-ranking member of the group.
The knight sitting next to him rolled his eyes to gauge his leader’s expression.
“Sir, what’s wrong?”
The leader glanced back at the group.
“The man is not a civilian either.”
“Yes?”
“The muscles and knuckles on the back of his hand are prominent. He also has calluses. He has hands that can use strength.”
The man’s words made the atmosphere tense again. The knight who had asked him looked warily down the aisle and replied.
“I’ll go check it out.”
“No, don’t do anything conspicuous. It’s our responsibility for being careless. Besides, it seems like there are complicated circumstances involved on their side….”
He trailed off, muttering something incomprehensible.
‘But why does he look familiar?’
The knight who had joined last sensed the atmosphere and got up from his seat, asking cautiously.
“I’ll go buy some snacks from the next car and take a quick look. Is there anything you need?”
The leader gestured as if to say, do as you please. Then he paused, raised his hand, and added.
“Oh, if there are any napkins or small memo pads, get one.”
“Napkins or memo pads… you mean? I understand. I’ll leave the communication device here, so please answer it for me if there’s a call from the main castle.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
With that, one knight moved to the next car, and the remaining three remained silent for a while, gauging the surrounding atmosphere. The sound of passengers talking was like a quiet background noise. The knight who had said he needed to organize the list earlier took out several sheets of paper from the briefcase he had brought.
Looking around, he judged that it was relatively safe and lowered his voice, muttering.
“Ha… By the way, the petition is also a headache, and now there’s an intruder in the main castle. To be honest, I’m very worried because unfortunate incidents seem to be happening around him since the explosion. The orders we received are, when you think about it, no different from digging into the affairs of the Imperial Army.”
He took out the fountain pen he always carried in his inside pocket, twisted the cap, and exposed the gold nib.
“No matter how careful we are, if we keep poking around, it will leak out somewhere. That would increase his enemies even more, and I often wonder why he takes such risks for others.”
“Valence, didn’t I tell you not to be skeptical?”
“I’m just a loyal knight and servant, worrying about my master’s safety.”
To the knight who retorted while scratching the nib, the leader gave a gaze that had become colder, resembling his master. Soon, a small sigh was followed by a serious voice.
“The one we serve has a mission to correct what is not right. Since ancient times, those who walk the right path have had many enemies. All of us, including me, are here because we respect and honor his will. So, as a loyal knight and his sword, we will only fulfill our responsibilities to prevent information from leaking.”
“……”
“I’m worried about the incident at the main castle, but that will be resolved as well. We will focus on Leonardo Blaine’s petition.”
“…I understand.”
The knight who was making notes on the paper reluctantly replied. He left a mark on the names of the two soldiers mentioned earlier, indicating that additional confirmation was needed.
Giovanni Ambrose
Margo Penlett
These were the names written on the bundles of petitions secretly airlifted from Fidele Territory. I just hope they can shed light on the details of the Leonardo Blaine insubordination case that they have been tracking for months.