Chapter 61: The Young Lady
“Hey? Won’t you tell me where we’re going soon?”
“……”
“Ignoring me, huh…”
I was just chilling with Cornelia in a classroom at the academy when some mysterious soldiers practically kidnapped me and brought me here.
Right now, I’m being transported in a carriage, blindfolded.
There wasn’t supposed to be an event like this in the game… If it were Protagonist-kun, maybe, but I’m just a mob character, you know?
The pitch-black, unadorned carriage has good suspension, so there’s little vibration. I can tell it’s a pretty high-class carriage.
And the man sitting in front of me. I knew this man. I don’t know his real name. In the game, he was a mob character who appeared as a specialist in information warfare, handling the royal family’s dirty work.
What would a guy like that want with me?
The fact that this man is here means someone from the royal family must have given the order.
Assassination… I don’t think so. They took me away in broad daylight, after all. Besides, I don’t recall doing anything to the royal family.
Eleonore comes to mind, but… she wouldn’t do something this roundabout. The girl named Eleonore is someone who’s fed up with being royalty herself.
So, what’s this about then?
“Put on this blindfold.”
What the man offered me was a long, thin black cloth.
“Is there a masquerade ball or something?”
“Hurry up and put it on. If you remove it without permission, you’ll regret it.”
“Haaah…”
Guess I’ll just quietly obey for now. If it’s me, I can revive even if I take a fatal blow. First, let’s see what they’re up to.
The moment I put on the blindfold, the carriage stopped.
“Get up. We’re walking, follow me.”
“Yeah…”
My arm was pulled, and I got out of the carriage. The soles of my boots met the hard sensation of stone. It seems we’re still inside the royal capital.
“This way.”
I heard the sound of a door opening, and then a soft, fluffy sensation under my boots.
A carpet? Looks like these people are pretty rich. Well, they’re royalty, so of course.
“You can take off the blindfold now.”
“Yeah… Bright…”
Once my eyes adjusted, I found myself in a very girly room, predominantly white and pink. I’d imagined being taken to a dungeon or something, so the contrast made my eyes widen.
In the center of the room was a large, canopied bed.
Somehow, I had a feeling I’d understand the man’s business here.
“Where is this…?”
“Don’t pry. If you find out, I’ll have to kill you.”
“Scary, hey.”
But even such dangerous words could be met with a lighthearted retort in this girly room. That’s how much of a mismatch it was.
“Come.”
I followed the man and approached the bed placed in the middle.
“From here on, follow the instructions of that maid over there.”
“You’re Baron Baumgarten, correct? This way, please.”
“Yeah.”
The maid was surprisingly close to my age. Around sixteen, maybe? She was quite young, and rather than ‘cute,’ she was beautiful with a good figure. A pretty girl who’d surely be the talk of the academy if she were there.
“Ojou-sama, please excuse me.”
The maid opened the bed’s canopy. Inside was a girl with a slightly haggard expression. A girl about my age, whose long blonde hair lacked luster, and whose beautiful blue eyes were faintly sunken.
But the girl’s beauty was completely undiminished. Even in her sickly state, she was beautiful enough to steal one’s heart.
“Is this the person…?”
“Yes, Ojou-sama. This is the rumored Baron Baumgarten.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. My name is Dietfried Baumgarten.”
Just in case, I knelt and adopted a humble demeanor. The person before me was, nine times out of ten, either royalty or the daughter of a high-ranking noble connected to them. I could even feel a noble aura emanating from her.
“Baron Baumgarten, regarding my identity…?”
“No, I don’t believe I’m supposed to know…”
The maid and the Ojou-sama. The girls were looking at me with puzzled expressions.
So she really is of noble birth, huh?
“Ahem. Baron Baumgarten, as you can see, the Ojou-sama is afflicted by an illness. There was a rumor that you could cure her completely. Is that true?”
“Well now… I can’t say without examining her first. May I have your permission to touch your hand?”
“…I permit it.”
“Excuse me.”
I took the Ojou-sama’s right hand. The moment I touched it, I sensed the presence of a curse. It’s the Curse of the Evil God.
“The Curse of the Evil God, is it…”
“The rumor was that you could cure it, wasn’t it? Don’t tell me it’s impossible?”
“Um, please don’t push yourself…”
The maid-san looked at me with stern eyes, while the Ojou-sama watched me with a smile that seemed to have given up.
It’s true I spread the rumor that I could cure even the Curse of the Evil God, but I didn’t expect them to bite this quickly. They must be that desperate. Looking closely, the Ojou-sama, who still seemed somewhat energetic, lacked any vitality. Just like a wilting flower.
“Don’t worry. I’ll begin the treatment. Please lie down.”
“Yes… Nn…”
When I began to dispel the Curse of the Evil God, the Ojou-sama’s brow furrowed, and her face looked like she was enduring something. However, contrary to her will, her face gradually flushed red, her blue eyes welled up with tears, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged.
“Haah, haah, haah, nhaa…”
Finally, sweet breaths began to escape the Ojou-sama’s lips.