Chapter 26

"Aaaah, the historic banquet hall...!"

"If you have time to wail like that, hurry up and strip it."

Arndt started scraping off the decorations attached to the wall while sniffling.

After watching Arndt for a moment, he turned his head to his own task.

The reason for reopening the closed banquet hall.

It was to gather travel expenses.

They were stripping off all the candelabras and gold leaf from the walls.

Before he died, in his first life, they had relied on the meat Leandros hunted for food.

But that was only possible when time was plentiful.

How troublesome was it to process meat, smoke or grill it, and then dry it?

Making dried meat in a situation where Yurik might come at any time and throw him into the eastern pit?

A complete luxury.

"Is this really okay? Won't we be punished? Is this really alright?!"

"I'm the Duke, so who's going to punish me? The previous Duke?"

"Anyone!"

"If they haunt me in my dreams, tell me. I'll at least offer prayers to my father."

"That's not the issue!"

"Then are you saying you want to exorcise evil spirits?"

"How can you call the late Duke an evil spirit!"

Ah, I don't know. I don't know. Shut up.

He handed over a handful of stripped gold leaf to Leandros.

In the meantime, Leandros checked the gold leaf he had neatly stacked.

"This should be enough."

"Is it sufficient? Consider having extra funds."

"It will be fine."

Leandros had been strangely cooperative since he had vowed revenge.

Though he wasn't sure, it seemed that Leandros couldn't entirely resign himself to what had happened to Hartmann.

Yet he couldn't be completely angry either.

Yurik was alive and well, and Leandros had to prioritize him as per the Duchess's request.

Leandros looked down at him, who had been silent for a moment.

"Is something unsettling you?"

"...Even if we strip all the gold leaf from the banquet hall, we couldn't escape to a foreign country, the three of us, could we?"

"It would be possible if we sold the castle."

"If there's someone who would buy it."

He would guarantee that the Hartmann Ducal Castle was the least marketable property in the empire.

It was basically a cursed haunted house.

Leandros carefully gathered the stripped gold leaf and tucked it inside his clothing.

"I'll go as soon as dawn breaks."

"I'm counting on you. And if you happen to encounter robbers on the way... No, that won't happen to you. Return safely."

Because protagonists don't die.

Leandros bowed his head.

He was about to leave with him when he called out to Arndt, who was still in a groggy state.

"If you don't come out, I'm just going to close the door."

"Don't say that! It's already dangerous because the repairs haven't been done in a long time."

Arndt hurriedly got up and ran to the door.

The repairs haven't been done in a long time.

As soon as he heard those words, something flashed through his mind.

"Arndt!"

"Yes?"

It happened almost simultaneously.

Arndt had happened to stop next to a pillar.

The candelabra leaning on it above made an ominous sound.

In an instant, there was a "thunk" sound, and the falling candelabra seemed to move in slow motion.

He should have thought of it sooner!

Knowing it would be futile, he stretched out his hand.

At that moment, a black shadow brushed past him.

-Clang!

The heavy piece of metal hit the floor and bounced several times.

Arndt was sitting down beside it.

Thanks to Leandros kicking the candelabra away, its trajectory had been altered.

Arndt, startled, stammered.

"Th-thank you."

"You should be careful when coming here alone."

If it had hit his head, it would have been at least a serious injury.

It was fortunate that Arndt hadn't been hurt.

But before relief, another thought came to him.

The story is exactly the same.

Everything from the falling candelabra to Arndt being the victim was all the same.

The moment he realized this, an inexplicable fear came over him.

Leandros lightly picked up Arndt, stood him upright, and looked at him.

"Your Grace."

"...Ah. Yes. Thank you. We shouldn't come here until it's repaired."

"Are you alright? Your complexion doesn't look good."

"I'm just shocked. I thought Arndt would be hit for sure."

"If you come next time, I'll remove the candelabras first."

Arndt and Leandros left the banquet hall.

He could see the backs of Arndt, whining about how he had almost died, and Leandros, retorting that it wouldn't have happened.

Watching them, he wiped the cold sweat that had pooled in his palm onto his clothes.

It can't be.

Surely not, it can't be...

* * *

Leandros left the castle at dawn and returned the following evening.

Instead of gold leaf, he returned with various packages and a small pouch.

Clear jingling sounds came from inside the pouch.

"Wow, how much did you sell it for?"

"Almost all of it, except for a little."

"And you received this much?"

Although Arndt looked at Leandros with suspicious eyes as he counted the coins, Leandros ignored him.

"I've gathered roughly all the items you ordered. When do you plan to depart?"

"I feel like we could go right now. What do you think?"

"If you're looking to trace the whereabouts of those we're seeking, it would be better to go directly to the nearest city without passing through the town."

Leandros spread out a map.

It was a familiar, crude second-hand map.

"There's a city on the way to the east. If we go here, roughly..."

"What about other cities?"

"This is the closest, but..."

At his resolute words, Leandros raised an eyebrow.

But that was all.

"...Then perhaps you should head to the capital instead?"

"The capital?"

"The capital is where the most information gathers. Nobles collect rumors in salons, and commoners in guilds, to grasp the current state of affairs."

"Hmm."

"Not only that, there's a place in the capital where lower nobles gather, hoping for various connections. Filthy rumors that are too dirty to mention are often heard there."

"Filthy rumors? What kind of place is that?"

"Mainly, alcohol and..."

Arndt jumped up frantically, waving his arms.

"No, anyway, the point of what Sir Leandros is saying is this, right? Let's go to where the most information gathers to find out the whereabouts of those people! I think it's not a bad idea."

"Is that so?"

"There are rumors that won't reach you if you just wander around the provinces. Most nobles stay in the capital."

The capital. The capital.

It seemed like a good choice.

Although going to the capital meant getting closer to Yurik, which was uncomfortable.

It might be fine if they weren't entering the royal palace, but just going to collect rumors briefly.

As he thought of Yurik, he unconsciously rubbed his fingertips that had grown cold, and nodded.

"I want to go as quickly as possible."

"It would be good if we could use horses, but Your Grace..."

"I know how to ride."

"You didn't learn horseback riding... did you?"

Arndt and Leandros looked at him.

Why are they looking at me like that?

"I can't ride alone, but I know how to ride behind someone."

"Ah."

"I was surprised. There's no way Your Grace could ride."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

After glaring at Arndt, who was excessively relieved, he looked away, feeling somewhat annoyed.

Should he learn horseback riding separately here?

"Let's borrow horses. Just two."

"I'll look into it. If that's the case, we might need to take a detour."

"Your Grace, you mustn't knock over the horses like you used to."

"I didn't do that!"

What on earth did Arenheit do in the past?

* * *

After leaving the castle, they eventually stopped at Absinthe, the nearest town.

For a town, it was quite large. A rather bustling market. People wandering around with bright expressions.

Arndt gave a small exclamation.

"Absinthe is the same now as it was before."

"It's not enough to be promoted to a small city, but there's talk of it being incorporated into a city's territory."

It was a story he had heard somewhere before.

Deliberately ignoring the Merchant Guild Absinthe Branch building standing prominently on his left, he asked.

"Where do we borrow horses from?"

"The inn will likely also sell horses."

He realized that the inn served various roles.

They headed to the first inn that caught their eye.

The innkeeper welcomed them with a bright smile. But when he heard their purpose, his expression turned sour.

"Ah, what a shame. If only you had come yesterday! Then you could have seen horses at your desired price."

"Is there some problem now?"

"A merchant group passing through here bought several horses last night. I heard they had to abandon their horses after they got injured on the way. So there are hardly any horses left now."

"Still, please show us. We're not looking for good horses anyway."

After making that request to the owner with such thoughts, the owner tilted his head but guided them to the stable.

Given their budget constraints, they couldn't afford good horses from the beginning.

So he thought, how scarce could the horses be, surely they could get at least one horse, right?

But when they entered the stable, he couldn't control his expression.

There were exactly three horses in front of him.

One was so skinny, showing its ribs, that it looked like it would collapse even if he rode it, let alone Leandros.

Next to it was one with a lot of eye discharge, unable to lift its head, making a sorrowful whinnying sound.

The last one was kneeling and sleeping as if it had fainted, for some unknown reason.

...None of them are in good condition?

The owner, examining him, whispered discreetly.

"Well, the merchant group took all the healthy horses..."

Then you should have said so!

You should have said there were only sick horses!

As he was pressing his throbbing temples, Leandros asked the owner.

"What's that horse in the corner?"

"Ah, that one in the corner."

Where?

When he turned his head, he finally noticed a horse at the very end of the stable.

It was a jet-black horse.

It exuded both the air of a colt, as if it had just grown up at this moment, and a majestic presence.

It looked healthy, merely snorting and occasionally stomping its feet.

The innkeeper answered as if troubled.

"That horse isn't for sale."

"Is it yours?"

"No, of course not! There have been more than a few guests who fell off trying to ride that horse. It's stubborn and has a nasty temperament."

"Is it sick?"

"No. It's a very healthy one."

While the two were talking, he quietly approached the black horse.

Up close, its coat was glossy, indicating it wasn't underfed.

If no one rides it, perhaps they could buy it cheaply.

With such thoughts, he observed the horse from various angles, and then his eyes met the horse's.

"Oh."

Blood-red eyes were looking at him.

They were like sparkling rubies.

They stared at each other for a long time.

He asked the horse.

"...Yurik's?"

-Snort.

...What was he saying?

There's no way this could be 'that' thing he was thinking of.

Even while thinking that, he felt uneasy.

Those eyes, reminiscent enough to cause trauma, resembled Yurik's too much, and in the novel, besides Yurik, beings with such eyes...

The horse blew a puff of breath at him, lost in thought, then pushed his forehead with its muzzle.

Well, look at that.

"Hey!"

"My goodness. This is the first time I've seen the horse not bite someone who approached it! Perhaps it likes you?"

The owner, who had come beside him while he was having a staring contest with the horse, made a fuss.

Even Leandros had a surprised expression.

"I'll give you this one really cheap. You won't find such a good horse anywhere else! Who knows? This horse might have good bloodline!"

"How much?"

"How about five silver coins?"

Arndt's eyes widened.

"That's genuinely cheap."

"Is it really cheap?"

"The sleeping horse over there is being sold for three silver coins and fifty copper coins. If it's a healthy horse, it's cheap; if it's a horse you can't ride, it's expensive."

"Do we have that much money?"

"Hmmmm."

He could almost see the coins rolling around in Arndt's head.

In truth, it wasn't a price they couldn't afford if they pushed it.

But it was risky to spend all their money when they didn't know what might happen in the future.

Though these were the only two rideable horses.

"Haaa."

Was this the only way after all?

He felt uneasy. Really uneasy.

"Arndt."

"Yes?"

"Wait here for a moment... just a moment."

"What? Where are you going, just a moment!"

He plodded out of the stable.

It wasn't difficult to retrace a path he had already taken.

And exactly half an hour later.

Leandros and Arndt, who had returned to the stable, were shocked to see his shortened hair, and they were able to lead out the black horse and the nodding, drowsy horse safely.