NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 85: Running Away From Home
“Cecile, Lady Cecile!”
When the maid entered Cecile’s room, Cecile, who would always be lying in the bed, was not there. I also heard the maid’s cry and went into Cecile’s room.
(Oh, my God, the window’s open! Did she run away?)
Cecile’s room is on the third floor. I looked out the window to see if that’s really possible. I didn’t see Cecile anywhere in the garden from there.
“What’s going on?”
The Butler also notices something strange and comes running in. When the maid explained the situation, the Butler began to instruct, “Everyone search the building!”
Both the Baron and the Baroness noticed something was wrong and started looking around, but no one could not find her.
All the employees started looking for her. She’s not here, she’s not there. We searched the garden and even the stable, but she was nowhere to be found.
I called out to the Butler.
“Perhaps she is in the city. May I search the city, sir?”
“Right. I’m counting on you!”
I said yes and ran out of the building in my manservant uniform.
(Where are you?!)
I summoned eight Eagles in the sky when I looked out the window of Cecile’s room earlier. When summoning a summon from inside to outside, I must be able to see outside.
I used <Sharing> on them and used [Eagle Eye] to search the entire city.
(This city is uselessly big. And I can’t see inside any house.)
The city of Grandver felt unnecessarily large to me at that time, as if it had flourished with Mithril over a hundred years ago. I hope she is outside, because [Eagle Eye] cannot see anything inside a house.
(There she is!)
I found Cecile sitting in the corner of an alleyway that was several streets away from the main street of a downtown area that I have never been to. In that unflattering place, there was a girl with light purple hair whose expression was obscured by her downcast face.
When I hurried to the place, I found that it was almost like a slum as I had seen it from the air. The air was stagnant, and Cecile was sitting alone in the gloomy place.
Cecile looked up, perhaps having noticed the sound of my footsteps, and was momentarily startled.
“Allen?”
“Yes.”
After replying, I said excuse me and sat down next to Cecile. As I sat beside her without saying anything, Cecile spoke up.
“Did you come to bring me back?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I’m Lady Cecile’s manservant, you know. Since you went out alone, I came to accompany you as usual.”
I have gone to various places in this city as Cecile’s manservant. Sometimes we went shopping, sometimes we went to the city for events that required daughters of Noble. There were also times when I accompanied her on walks without having to do anything.
I said that this situation was the same as the ones before.
“……”
Cecile’s mouth was open but she remained silent, as if she had never expected to be told such a thing. I noticed that she was barefoot. When I looked closely, I saw that the sole of her foot had been cut by a floor stone and she was bleeding in some places. It seems that she was sitting here because she couldn’t walk anymore.
“Lady Cecile, you have an injured leg. I have some herbs that I can use to heal it.”
Then I used the [Grass of Life] on her.
“Yeah…”
Cecile was amazed at the herbs that healed her wounds in an instant. For a while, I sat beside Cecile without saying anything, and then Cecile’s stomach rumbled. Cecile held her stomach in embarrassment.
She hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday, so of course she was hungry.
“Lady Cecile, this is all I have, but here you go.”
I took Mormo nuts, dried meat, and dried potatoes out of <Inventory>. She started eating frantically while asking “Where did you get these from?” Meanwhile, I continued to stare silently at the edge of the alley.
(Now, I don’t want to get tangled up in this place. Hmm?)
I was worried about public safety and didn’t want to get tangled up with others. So, I was doing my best to scout the area with the help of Eagle and <Sharing>.
Mutterings of discontent
Now that her stomach was full, she seemed to have more room in her heart. Cecile was sobbing, remembering what happened yesterday. In a small voice, she said “I don’t want to die.” That only I could hear as I sat next to her.
(Hmm, I’ve never encouraged an eleven-year-old girl before, but what can I do?)
“Lady Cecile.”
“What?”
“Why don’t you leave the city with me and not go back to the mansion? I’m sure there’s a magic ship coming tomorrow, and we can take an overland route from the city to the other territories.”
“Huh?”
She didn’t think that I would encourage her to run away from her home. She lowered her head, and then raised it as fast as she could and looked at me.
“Why don’t we forget about your home and go to different cities together and explore the world?”
(What I mean is mainly magical beasts rather than cities. And I also want a rear guard.)
Magical beasts are associated with death, so I need to be strong in every way possible. None of my summons can attack at long range.
“Of course you can’t!”
“No, we can. See.”
“I have the money to flee the city,” I said, holding out a flurry of Gold coins.
“What?”
“Well, I suppose we could go back to the mansion and wait until I turn twelve, then I can register as an adventurer, and then we can go from there.”
“Oh, no. The Academy.”
Cecile had always thought that when she turned 12, she would go to the Academy. She had always been told that after all.
“You don’t have to go to the Academy.”
“Don’t have to?”
“Yes, if someone tells you to go, you don’t have to go. What do you want to do, Lady Cecile? It’s all up to you.”
“What I want to do:…”
I just wanted to tell her that there are choices in life. Hearing this, Cecile began to think, so I waited in silence. Maybe it was the first time she thought about what she wanted to do.
We sat down quietly for about an hour.
The commotion could be heard as far as this back alley off the main street. It seems to have become a large-scale search.
“Allen.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going back to the mansion.”
“I understand.”
“Allen, pick me up.”
“Yes.”
I carried Cecile, who was barefoot, on my back. Then I started walking from the alley toward the main street.
“Allen.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Thanks….”
Embarrassed, she nuzzled her face into my shoulder and thanked me.
“No, no, no.”
As I carried Cecile on my back and went out to the main street, I met a Knight. I told him that I had found Lady Cecile, and slowly returned to the mansion without running with Cecile on my back.
It took me quite a while to get back because I had to walk back. The news of Cecile’s discovery had come out, and it seemed that the search had already been called off. I didn’t see any more Knights running around.
The Baronial family was waiting in line in front of the mansion. A little in front of where her parents stood, Cecile asked me to drop her off, and I did so at the gate.
“Cecile…”
The Baron hugged Cecile.
“Father, I’m sorry for the inconvenience…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Yes, Cecile. You are not the only one who has to carry this burden.”
Beside her, the Baroness also rejoiced with tears in her eyes at Cecile’s return.
The Baron, who was holding Cecile, stretched out his arms and held both of Cecile’s shoulders and said to Cecile.
“We’re almost there, so don’t worry.”
“What?”
“The mining of Mithril will begin soon. If we offer a portion of the mining rights to the Royal Family, we may be relieved of your duties. I’ll make sure to coordinate with the Royal family, so you have nothing to worry about, Cecile.”
The Baron told Cecile that there’s nothing to worry about, perhaps because Cecile got angry and went up to the third floor yesterday and couldn’t say anything.
So, that’s why he was in such a hurry.
When he heard that the White Dragon had moved last year, I had a feeling that the Baron was in a hurry to start mining as soon as possible. It seemed that his beloved daughter’s life was at stake in the mining of Mithril.
“No.”
“Huh?”
Cecile rejected those words. It seems to be different from what she had decided earlier in the alley.
“I, Cecile Granvelle, will fulfill the duties of the Granvelle family. I will not run away again, just like my brother Mihai didn’t.”
The girl with angled, crimson eyes said this in a trembling voice.