Chapter 56 :

Chapter 56 - Cornered

“There is a limit to incompetence.”

At Tollin’s cold voice, which echoed through the quiet study of the duke’s residence, Jack lowered his head even deeper.

“I apologize. I clearly confirmed that she disappeared deeper into the alley. But….”

“But when you went in with the knights, she had already vanished without a trace?”

At Tollin’s words, as if asking whether Jack called that an excuse, Jack had nothing he could say except that it was so, and had to confirm his failure once again.

There was no room for excuses.

To lose a young child twice—this was indeed his incompetence.

Tollin, who had been looking up at him in irritation, lowered his gaze.

“And you are saying this child was left all alone in an empty alley.”

Jill, who had been hiding behind Jack, trembled violently under that cold gaze and lowered her head.

“Yes. It seems the one named Seya was captured in her friend’s place while trying to save her.”

At Jack’s answer, Tollin’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you confirm their faces?”

He asked the child.

“N-No. They were all wearing black c-cloaks or something….”

“And of course, there were no special patterns or the like.”

Jill, who somehow managed not to collapse, nodded while trembling.

“There was nothing special besides the fact that it was near the food distribution center, Lord Tollin.”

Jack answered Tollin on behalf of the child, who could not continue speaking.

“Near the food distribution center…”

Tollin frowned.

Because there was one very suspicious place around there.

Pale had already finished his report and left.

They said the man called the manager they had caught at the scene had repeated that he knew nothing even after all his fingers were broken.

When they tried to break the last remaining toe, he had tried to say something, but then suddenly complained of difficulty breathing, collapsed, and never got up again.

All this evidence was leading Tollin toward one truth he did not want to believe.

As the wrinkles between Tollin’s brows gradually deepened, Jill quietly watched his mood, then opened her mouth hesitantly.

“She was probably hit by a blade. I heard fighting sounds, and I heard the sound of blades too. Since I heard something like a sack being dragged away, they must have knocked her unconscious and taken her. Please….please save Seya.”

Tollin only silently looked down at Jill, who had finished speaking while barely breathing properly, having squeezed out every last drop of courage she had.

When his sharp eyes turned toward her, Jill began hiccuping.

“Take her out and feed her something.”

At Tollin’s order, Jack led the trembling child toward the door.

“They may have noticed that we are watching them.”

Without even glancing at Jill leaving the room, Tollin murmured.

Unlike an opponent looking down at them from the palm of their hand, this side lacked far too much information.

“If they have already noticed, it will not be easy. If we are too late, the child who was taken may not survive either.”

Jack, who had returned after sending the child out, responded to Tollin’s murmur.

At the sight of him feeling sincerely regretful, Tollin stared at him quietly.

Tollin took his eyes off Jack, who was waiting for orders without understanding why, and stood up.

“We will leave this to the capital guards. Now is the time for us to take one step back.”

“Pardon?”

Jack knew he should not do so, but without realizing it, he asked back loudly.

“Did you not hear me? I said we will leave the investigation of the missing children and the food distribution center to the guards.”

He had heard properly.

Even if Jack was not as smart as Tollin, he was not so slow that he could not understand words.

“The young duke ordered us to find and save the children.”

Even at Jack’s flustered objection, Tollin did not waver.

As if this topic was already over, he reached toward the pile of papers stacked on the table.

Before him lay a great many letters that had arrived at the Feedus family that afternoon.

“Lord Plin will recuperate at the temple for the time being and prepare for the Tinas ritual. Until then, he must not be allowed to meet anyone. There is nothing good to be gained from us directly stepping forward at such an important time.”

At Tollin’s overstepping of authority, Jack eventually hardened his mouth and straightened his posture.

“I wield my sword for the House of Feedus. Lord Plin Feedus clearly ordered me to protect the children.”

The more Jack spoke, the more crookedly the corners of Tollin’s mouth rose.

“So you can do anything if it is the young duke’s order?”

At the mocking question, Jack nodded while standing upright.

“That is correct.”

“Even if that is the path that kills the young duke and brings the ducal House of Feedus to ruin?”

In Tollin’s hand as he asked through gritted teeth was one letter.

It contained a request for the young duke to spend time at the temple in preparation for the Tinas ritual, and the sender was Priest Vesper.

* * *

Rattle. Rattle.

The procession following behind the moving carriage was powerless.

Gael’s grand plan to cover within three days a road that should take a full week was not impossible.

It was simply a matter of grinding people hard.

“Damn it. If I had known it would be like this, it would have been better to just take a little and wash my hands of it.”

The young Jing whispered to Ratel and Jing.

The young Jing, who was somewhat frivolous but surprisingly not bad in skill, had been selected for the group going to the capital and was assigned to guard the carriage with them.

This meant that Jing and Ratel’s march had become a little more tiring.

“I was planning to go to the capital in the first place, so I don’t care, but what about the children? They are not even feeding them properly, and on top of that, they are making them walk all day. Good grief.”

He continued pouring out words while massaging his shoulders as if tired.

Ratel had shown threatening signs several times for him to shut his mouth, but the young Jing only shrank back for a moment, and after some time passed, he puffed up again like a snail’s eye stalks swelling back out and spoke to them.

“Look at that. None of them can even walk properly.”

“You might end up unable to walk forever, so shut your mouth and get lost now.”

Perhaps having passed today’s limit, Ratel spoke murderously.

The young Jing let out an “oops” and moved away, and the old Jing, who had stared at his back for a moment, turned his gaze to the splendid carriage Priest Gael was riding in.

He was a bit noisy, but there was nothing wrong in what the young Jing had said.

Perhaps because he was in quite a hurry, the priest named Gael was driving the procession only along uneven shortcuts, without stopping by the several villages between Komiel Village and the capital.

Jing looked once at the children following behind.

The children, who had already been thin, had their cheeks sunken even more after the harsh forced march.

‘At this rate, something serious will happen before we even arrive.’

In the end, Jing quickened his pace a little.

His target was the large, splendid carriage that did not suit this procession.

“What is it?”

Of course, the knights were not pleased by his approach.

Jing looked back and forth at the two knights who had blocked his path, then raised his voice a little.

“I have something to say to Lord Gael.”

It was a word thrown to Gael, who should be listening through the slightly opened carriage window, but there was no answer.

Jing let out a sigh once, then raised his voice a little more.

“The children are far too exhausted. I would like you to give them a little time to rest. If we keep going like this…”

With a rough explosive sound that cut off Jing’s words, Gael finally appeared.

“If we keep going like this, what?”

Perhaps he had woken up after sleeping inside the comfortable carriage, because his face was full of irritation.

“If we keep going like this, children will start collapsing. Then, instead, time may be delayed…”

“So, has anyone collapsed right now?”

“No, not yet, but if we keep going like this…”

“So they are all still fine.”

Jing, who had the precious experience of being interrupted for the third time today, felt the corners of his mouth, which he had barely raised, tremble.

“What is so great about walking this much that you are making such a fuss? You commoners originally make a living by walking and running with your feet, don’t you? Why are you so full of complaints while doing what is natural?”

There was no way he would know how hard it was to walk without resting while following a moving carriage, even if it was slow.

Gael glared at the panting children as if they were the laziest and most inferior things in the world, then shuddered and complained as he closed the carriage door.

“Stop exaggerating and increase the speed.”

From Duke Feedus’ position, there had never been a time when he and the priests of the temple had been so at odds.

No, that was not it.

The two had never needed to differ in opinion.

Because there had never been a time when their positions had differed.

Feeling once again how obnoxious a priest could be from a commoner’s perspective, Jing opened his mouth.

“Please give them a little time to rest. Then everyone will be able to gather more strength and arrive faster.”

“Lord Gael said no. Who are you to keep insisting?”

The knight guarding Gael’s carriage threateningly drew his sword.

Jing looked over that slow movement.

Taking down just two of them would be nothing.

But he did not want to become a fugitive after coming this far. Nor did he want to create any more commotion than this.

“I apologize. I was short-sighted.”

In the end, as he lowered his head and turned away, the voices of the knights loudly throwing mockery at him reached his back.

When he returned to his place, Ratel was waiting for him in the same unchanged posture.

“Judging by your face, it seems there will be no rest.”

“That is right. It seems he has no intention of stopping until someone collapses.”

At Jing’s words mixed with a sigh, Ratel sharply stared at the splendid carriage that did not suit the procession.

“I wonder who they think will collapse, acting that confident.”

At the momentum that seemed as if he would attack Gael immediately, Jing promptly blocked Ratel’s path.

“Do not think useless thoughts. Nothing good will come from provoking them for no reason.”

“Do not worry. The person in question will not even know what was done to him.”

It was the moment Ratel was about to pass by Jing and approach the carriage.

Thud.

Along with a sound like a small sandbag falling, children’s shrill screams burst out here and there.

“Mister, a kid collapsed here!”

“Someone please save him!”

As the children fell into confusion and wandered around, the formation fell apart in an instant.

Jing and Ratel also approached the place where people were gathered.

One child who seemed to be the smallest among the children had collapsed with foam at his mouth.

Jing hurriedly took out water from his chest and poured it toward the child’s mouth.

Half of the water flowed onto the ground, but the child who took in some moisture breathed heavily.

Jing quietly waited for the child’s breathing to regain stability.

Bang!

He looked at the other people taking care of the collapsed child, then turned a firm gaze toward the carriage Gael was riding in.

Then, he leisurely slipped out from among the people again and headed toward his target.

Jing expected that whatever he did, there would be little effect.

Because he could clearly see the face Gael would make, annoyed as he asked whether they could not simply carry the child if the child had collapsed.

Everyone watched the two of them with tense expressions.

“What is it this time! Honestly, there is not a single thing you people can do properly.”

With the rough sound of the door opening, Gael finally emerged from the carriage.

When the knight standing beside him carefully reported the situation, irritation spread across his face.

Then he glared at Jing, who was holding the child.

“What, is this some kind of demonstration for me to see?”

The reason Jing suppressed the anger that surged up from deep in his chest was because of someone beside him.

Because the guy who did not care about his surroundings unless he was given a reason to endure was threateningly moving his hand toward his sword.

“Oh my. I thought this would end up killing the children at this rate.”

There was one person who leisurely squeezed in through the people.

“Hey, if you have finished giving him water, lift him up and move him somewhere warm. You look plenty warm yourself, so take off your clothes for a moment too.”

It was the young Jing, calmer than expected.