I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 30: A Chance to Help

“Hey, just because I’m not attacking doesn’t mean the story’s plot convenience is at work, right!?”

Rushing toward the source of the voice, I found Miss Diane and her maid being abducted by two rough-looking men. In this part of the street, where large shops lined up, there was an alley leading away without an entrance, making it less crowded. If they were dragged into the alley from there, it would be troublesome.

Grasping the sheath of the dagger tucked into my inner pocket along with my coat, I drew it out by the handle. Since the men were trying to carry Miss Diane and her maid away, I aimed for their legs and threw the dagger.

“Argh!”

“Eek!”

“What’s happening!?”

“My lady!”

The dagger I threw struck the calf of the man carrying Miss Diane, causing him to collapse. At the same time, Miss Diane was thrown onto the cobblestones. My apologies.

“Damn, if it’s come to this…”

“Ouch! Let go, my lady!”

The man carrying the maid dropped her onto the cobblestones and grabbed Miss Diane. It seemed like he intended to leave the other man behind and take only Miss Diane, but the maid clung to his leg.

“Damn it, let go!”

“I won’t let go! You release my lady!”

Despite being kicked roughly, the maid continued to cling desperately. Unable to escape and catching up, I addressed the maid.

“Well done. Let’s get Miss Diane back.”

“Ugh!”

I drove my knee into the man’s side, causing him to loosen his grip on Miss Diane.

“Any injuries?”

“No, I am… Ah, Annabella!”

Feeling dizzy from being tossed around, she held her head with one hand but soon called out the maid’s name. The maid, called Annabella, had several red marks on her face from being kicked and looked exhausted. Probably due to me intervening, she had let her guard down and fainted.

“Dammit, we’re out of here!”

The man, still carrying the one with the dagger stuck in his leg, fled. I wanted to apprehend them, but I couldn’t just leave these two in their current state and chase after them.

“What about the carriage back home?”

“It should have arrived here by now, but…”

Miss Diane looked around anxiously, but there was no sign of the carriage. The coachman was probably either attacked or involved in this abduction.

“No choice. Let’s catch a carriage at the crossroads and head back to the royal castle. I’ll carry the maid… She’s quite loyal.”

“Yes, she’s too important for me. She’s been my dear friend since our time at the Royal Academy.”

“Oh, that explains why you looked familiar.”

Miss Diane and I only overlapped for a year at the Royal Academy. That’s why she called out to me, trying to avoid Ernest’s attention.

Carrying an unconscious person like a princess is quite heavy, but with my trained body, it’s no problem. I lifted her up and started walking, making sure she didn’t see my face too much.

“For now, if the coachman who came with us today is uninjured, it’s better to dismiss him. He’s probably involved in this abduction. If he’s injured, it means he got caught up in it, so it’s good to give him enough compensation.”

“What…!? Y-Yes, I’ll do that.”

Since there are many carriage stands along the main street, you can usually get one quickly. I called out to the coachman, had him open the door, and laid the maid on the seat first. As Miss Diane got in, I offered her my hand to assist her.

“Thank you for today. If Knight Commander Vandière hadn’t been here, who knows what would have happened…”

She thanked me again after getting into the carriage.

“Don’t worry about it; it’s all part of a knight’s duty. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that I was here; there are some nosy people who might wonder. Oh, that’s right. I think there was a message from my father, but if you want to become the official wife, it’s better to get married soon. It’s about time the temple went to pick up the saintess.”

“T-That’s none of your concern! Could you please close the door!?”

“Yes, yes.”

For some reason, Miss Diane suddenly got angry, even though I just spoke out of kindness. I closed the door as instructed and gave the coachman extra payment.

“Head to the royal castle. When you arrive, tell the gatekeeper to call for help because there’s an injured woman inside.”

“Understood, leave it to me!”

Seeing the coachman’s smile as he looked at the number of silver coins in his hand, I felt relieved. He should be reliable. As I watched the carriage speed away, I suddenly realized something. Since we were heading in the same direction, should I have gone with them for part of the way?

But well, if someone saw us, it would cause a fuss, so it was probably better not to. It would be pointless to search for those guys now, and I should probably just return to the dormitory.

I took out the empty sheath from my inner pocket and threw it into the magic bag. Little did I know at the time that the missing partner would return with a commotion later on.