133 – Rotting in Despair
“Kyou, I can see the Arian Road Fortress!!”
At Rosa’s voice, his drowsiness disappeared and he came to his senses.
It was a long trip since we started by carriage from a place farther away than Little Lake, so it seemed like we fell asleep.
When she opened the carriage door and looked outside, she saw the thinly layered snow-covered landscape of the County of Wentoth, which she had often seen.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“Hang in there, let’s eat something warm when we get there.”
It seems that this cold was difficult for the duchy soldiers who were not from the north but from the warm south.
Even though he was wearing warm fur clothes, he was seen shivering from the cold.
…When I arrived, I thought I should tell the servants and treat them to some warm-up Northern cuisine.
The carriage ran and stopped in front of the main gate of the fortress.
“Stop, there will be a brief inspection.”
“Ah, yes!! We…”
Rosa stepped forward, but it would probably be quicker for me to step forward myself.
As I stepped forward, Rosa noticed me and left.
“Good work. Are you okay for a moment?”
“Ah, aren’t you a master!”
The soldiers recognized me and took their posture immediately.
“I’ve been escorting an important criminal. I want to quickly move him to the count’s house…”
“Ah! I’ve heard before! I’ll open the way now!”
As expected, it seemed like there had already been talk about Alan being transported.
All carriages, including the convoy carrying Alan, passed through the city streets within the fortress.
…Of course, the prisoner escort carriage exposes the criminals trapped behind the iron bars.
In other words, it could naturally be said that it was very noticeable.
You may wonder what to do because a criminal stands out, but this is also a form of punishment.
You could call it an example… By deliberately exposing criminals and parading them through the streets, they are showing that this is what happens when you commit a crime.
“…You still look young.”
“What kind of deadly crime did I commit… Tsk tsk…”
“It looks like the carriage has our family’s emblem… The leader is Lord Soga, right?”
Well, something like this.
When I turned my head and looked at the bars where Alan was locked up, I saw him with his head down and his blanket pulled up to his head, as if he was ashamed of himself.
…Well, that doesn’t make any difference.
Anyway, once the investigation is over as a witness, the next step is to be executed as a criminal.
A person who had already been scheduled for capital punishment ended up being exiled due to the church’s defense.
However, even though he was sentenced to exile, he went so far as to cause trouble and hurt the knight, even though it was a crime worth dying for just to enter the kingdom again.
His execution is already confirmed.
… I don’t know what punishment he will receive, but he will be executed horribly.
“Kyou!!”
“Daddy!!”
As soon as I returned to the mansion, the people who immediately welcomed me were, of course, Riel and Sir.
Perhaps because I have been away in the duchy for quite a long time, I feel like Riel’s hugging power is stronger than usual.
“I was worried! I heard you’d be late coming back!”
“Daddy!!”
…No, this is not the strength of Riel’s hug.
“…Sir, if this continues, my father’s leg will be broken.”
“Huh?”
I think it felt even stronger with the power of Sir’s hug.
Sir was startled by Mr. Leelu’s words and fell down.
“hahahaha, that’s okay. Sorry for being late.”
“Yes!! hehehe…”
As I was stroking Sir, who was hugging her tightly against her leg again, Riel, who had fallen from me, opened her mouth.
“Then why did you go out? I didn’t hear anything from my mother…”
“Ah…That’s…”
For a moment, I wondered if I should tell the reason.
To Riel, who seems to be averse to Alan, she wonders if she can bring up the story about him, even though she has arrested him…
But it seems she didn’t really have to worry about that.
She seemed to have forgotten for a moment that she had dragged Alan here in the first place.
“Riel…”
Alan was dragged out of the iron bars, bound, and dragged away by soldiers.
The guy found Riel and spoke to her, but Riel just had a rotten expression on her face.
“Kyou, why is that here?”
“Ah…That’s it…”
Alan tried to say something more to her, but Riel turned away, as if she didn’t want to even look at him.
While trying to shout something, Alan, who was struggling and waving his hands and feet, was beaten by the soldiers and dragged away unconscious.
Riel looks at me and asks for an explanation.
In the end, he had no choice but to explain everything that had happened so far.
Of course, that included going to the duchy and setting a specific wedding date.
When I returned to the County of Wentos, two news awaited me.
The first news was that Emperor Ophelia of the Empire was scheduled to secretly visit the County of Wentoth.
She arrived just yesterday.
It is said that she has already finished greeting Her Highness Luna and Her Highness Aine, who were staying within the county, and is awaiting the visit of Her Royal Highness Princess Yuril.
I am currently staying in the count’s mansion, so I should visit him as the heir of the count.
And the second thing was that Duke Ignis had finally come to his senses.
The reason is unknown, but when Riel and Sir went to visit him, he came to his senses and recognized Riel.
It is said that he was almost completely sane, speaking clearly and even recognizing his father who came running after hearing the news.
However, it is said that his body was quite weakened because he spent a long time lying in bed and did not eat much.
So, she was still staying in the villa in the greenhouse under the judgment that she still needed more medical care.
However, I am glad to hear that now that he can eat properly on his own, he is eating more and eating well.
She seems to be able to deliver good news to Prince Andrew and Lady Rachel, who will visit the county in the future.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to meet you?”
“Ah…It’ll be okay to do that later.”
When I thought about going to see the duke, Riel stopped me.
When Riel looked at her face wondering why she was doing this, she said as Riel broke into a cold sweat.
“…Well, my father seems a little confused…And has no energy…I think it would be a good idea to come see him when he calms down a bit.”
…Well, Riel is definitely a person who suffered mental attacks from fairies outside from a young age and ultimately lost his mind.
Once you come to your senses, you will be confused because many things around you have changed.
Definitely, it would be better to accept the surrounding situation moderately and then go there.
“Huh? Mom, it looks like her grandfather was very energetic.”
“Sir…Syr…”
“I introduced myself to my grandfather, and he jumped up and said, “What kind of old man…!!”
… Cyr tried to say something more, but Riel covered her mouth.
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Although something was bothering her, her instincts told her not to wonder any more, so she stopped.
Of course, Arianrod Fortress can be said to be an outpost in the northern part of the kingdom.
Although it is said to be a battle against monsters, all the usual exhibition facilities were present as it was originally built as a battle fortress.
Of course, there are also underground prisons where prisoners are imprisoned or interrogated.
However, prisoners were finally brought into this facility, which had not been used for a long time and had been used as an underground warehouse.
When Alan Ludwig opened his eyes, he was lying face down with his head on the hard stone floor.
As my eyes became more and more familiar, the scenery inside the room came into view.
It looks old, but it is a prison surrounded by very strong iron bars.
The floor is hard, and there is a cot attached to the wall.
There was also a bathroom in the corner for running errands, but it had not been used for a long time and the water was emitting a rancid smell.
Alan’s arms were tied, and he somehow managed to get his body up and over to the bed.
Thank goodness the blanket on the bed was new.
It was very cold inside the prison, so Alan wrapped himself in a blanket.
Just now, he thought of the girl he had seen before fainting.
Riel, Riel Ignis.
I meet her for the first time since meeting her, right before she was banished from her kingdom.
She had grown so beautiful that she was unrecognizable.
Even as she was being dragged away, she was momentarily distracted by her beauty.
But at the same time.
The sight of an unknown young girl clinging to Kyouwentos and showing off her affection.
And as soon as he recognized himself, the image of him crumpling his face and expressing disgust appeared in Alan’s mind.
Alan tightened the blanket wrapped around himself.
It was so cold, and I felt so empty.
While I was being brought here, the story the soldiers were telling came to mind.
The only thing I can do is to keep him alive as a witness to some important incident.
Once his role is over, he is scheduled to be executed as a felon.
I don’t know where it went wrong…I don’t even want to think about it now.
…In the first place, maybe he shouldn’t have tried to touch the flower on the cliff called Riel?
Was she just a frog at the bottom of a cliff who should have just been watching?
Alan’s heart was stained with black despair.
There was someone watching Alan from afar.
Someone unknown to Alan, who no longer has the ability or energy to do so.
“Ah! It’s so good! It’s getting riper. Or should I say it’s rotting?”
It shouted in a voice full of joy.
“But my strength is still not enough. I didn’t know that even after eating so much, I would still be lacking this much…”
Actually, it didn’t matter as long as I didn’t have enough strength.
The problem is a quick-witted kid named Kyouwentos.
He might become a nuisance if he gets caught by that guy.
And, that b*tch lived around here.
If your existence is discovered in this state, it will be the end.
So, I had to be careful.
Increase his own power further.
If not…
“… Or look away….”
The formless being smiled darkly inside.
I need to help you until the end.
Thinking like that, I thought of a foolish woman who went crazy with love and hate.