Chapter 431: Robbie Moves to Rescue Takamoto Konoka

Several days after Anouk conveyed Her Majesty the Queen’s request, on a rainy daytime, I had been thinking that something was likely to happen on a day like this. Even if people were killed, the rain would erase the sounds and wash away the blood. But getting soaked through while chasing and securing Konoka was something I disliked, so it would have been better if nothing happened on a day like this. While raising such a flag, I had been lazing around.

I know that the unpleasant kind of premonition always comes true. Before evening, a letter arrived from Anouk. When I opened the letter,

"Tonight, yes. Wait at the mansion."

was all that was written. Haa—— it can’t be helped. I called Rudolf and Lily and conveyed the contents of the letter. I had already informed them in advance about Her Majesty the Queen’s request.

Robbie and Lily would attach themselves in advance to Division Head Hütter’s mansion and wait for the departure of the carriage carrying Konoka. Once the carriage departed, they would follow without being noticed and secure Konoka at the point where she went outside. After that, they would evacuate to a hut arranged by Her Majesty the Queen, spend the night, and return to the embassy in the morning. Then they would hide Konoka and wait for the heat to die down—that was the arrangement. It was an extremely rough plan, but even if they decided the details finely it would probably be useless.

When coming from the Marie Kingdom to the Mainz Kingdom, I thought that tracking magic like the kind the Empire’s people had placed on Lily could be handled with "Mark," but unfortunately I had only met Konoka once together with Her Majesty the Queen, and at that time I had not thought things would turn out like this, so I had done nothing. Even if I had placed it, the time limit might have run out. Therefore, in the end, today would be by the seat of the pants.

The carriage going to pick up Konoka at Division Head Hütter’s mansion was apparently after dinner. Was it out of Prince Green’s mercy to at least let her eat dinner before disposing of her? I ended up thinking that those in the clouds above really do think differently. Though from a commoner’s perspective, I myself am also a person in the clouds above.

I prepared with Lily and left the embassy right after dusk. Of course we did not use a carriage, advancing along inconspicuous routes such as over roofs and in the shadows of walls. Division Head Hütter’s mansion was in the middle of a vast site at the edge of the Royal Capital. Once we entered the grounds, thick garden trees were growing, so we did not need to worry much about being seen. From the garden we circled around the mansion. I thought there might be an exit at the back of the mansion from which one could leave while hidden, but there was none, and it seemed it would be fine if we watched the single front entrance.

At that time, a light turned on in a second-floor room. When I watched, a person came to the window. Conveniently, Konoka came to the windowsill. However, her face was terribly gaunt compared to before. Is she eating properly? I grew worried. Once I saw her face, I tried using "Mark." But I had no confidence, because it was the first time. If one attaches this to anyone, it seems that those who can tell will be able to tell (as is obvious), and one can be charged with a crime. In other words, since it is stalking, it is probably a crime. But in this case, because it is an emergency, I wish not to be held accountable.

Now, since the marking was finished, all that remained was to wait for Konoka to go out. I wanted to wait somewhere under a roof, but there was no such convenient place from which the entrance could be seen. Therefore, I decided to wait among the trees in the garden.

In this world, there is no such thing as a highly water-repellent tarp. On top of that, there are no raincoats. Ah, rain gear means raincoats, right? There are also no super water-repellent rain gear or cloths processed with slime like in light novels. In the first place, it seems there are no such things as slimes. Therefore, to give water repellency, it becomes a matter of rubbing oil into cloth. This becomes quite smelly and heavy, so I do not want to carry it around at all. Even if kept inside a mana bag, I worry that the smell might transfer to other things.

But today it could not be helped, so I brought it and stretched it between trees to avoid the rain. To make it easier to move, Lily was not in her maid uniform; both of us were wearing all-black hooded shirts and trousers. But it was cold, so Lily and I huddled our shoulders together and escaped from the rain. It was good that there was no wind today.

The mark placed on Konoka could only be felt vaguely, perhaps because she was inside the mansion. Maybe it was because I was a beginner and lacked experience. I think that being able to tell even vaguely is sufficient.

While huddled together with Lily and waiting, a likely carriage arrived surprisingly quickly. A shabby carriage with only a driver attached. If the prince had come, mounted escorts should have been accompanying it, so that was surely the carriage to transport Konoka.

There was movement inside the mansion, and Konoka began to move. Then she came out the entrance. As soon as she boarded the carriage, it departed. At the entrance, a man was seeing the carriage off. Was a guy like that at this mansion? When I came before I had not seen his face.

The man was looking this way. Not vaguely, but consciously looking. Intimidation could be felt.

"Lord Robbie, let’s follow."

Lily said, but the man’s gaze bothered me.

"Wait. That man is looking this way. Let’s retreat until we are out of sight, then go outside."

"Yes."

I did not know whether he could see us or was only grasping the atmosphere, but in any case a dangerous presence could be felt. When the man said something to a man beside him, I dashed and retreated. The next time I looked at the man, he was drawing a bow.

"Lily! An arrow is coming!"

"Yes!"

The moment I said that, an arrow grazed the side of my head. I think we were already nearly 100 meters away, but the accuracy and power were tremendous. As if he could see us, the next arrow flew! And the next arrow.

Thanks to the thick garden trees, our escaping speed also did not increase, but the arrows were also hitting the trees and being obstructed.

Safely, we reached a place the arrows could not reach, crossed the wall, and went outside. Could it be that he had known we were coming? Had information leaked? The difficulty ahead was worrying.