〈 Episode 15 〉 Yandere Youngae 15

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"Noel-sama, is this real?"

I asked in surprise.

"Hmm, I was wondering if it would be okay if we went out of the mansion once in a while."

Of course, it was just Noel and him, plus the coachman, but I sensed that an opportunity of this magnitude would not come along often.

"Yes, this is it.

I looked at my splinted index finger for a moment.

"First, the church says a priest is on his way, so let's get it healed and get going."

My heart began to beat faster than ever. I hurriedly brought her breakfast, handed it to her, and finished eating with her, as if there was no time to wait for the priest.

"He's here."

To Noel's surprise, she recognized the priest from her room, sitting in the guest room of a distant manor house.

"How do you know, Noelle?"

I asked cautiously, remembering that I had just broken my index finger, assuming that with this newfound ability, she would be able to read my behavior and the people around me from anywhere.

"Well, why?"

"Shit.

Another reverse question. I think I'm about to be neurotic about her reverse question. A priest sits in the guest room. He sips the black tea he's been served slowly and asks.

"Is this your patient?"

"Then treat him well."

Noel, the servant's master, sits at his master's table. No fancy greetings or introductions, just the unspoken pressure to get straight to the point. I cautiously extend my hand.

"I hope you're well."

"Hmm, a neat sprain, this one...no broken bones."

His comment of relief. It was the same thing my sister-in-law had said.

"Shhhh!

With a sound like wind, a beam of light from the priest's hand enveloped my index finger, and soon it felt as if it would bend effortlessly, as if it had healed faster than my last wrist.

"Try moving it."

I slowly remove the splint and bend my finger.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Good. May St. Tria Seiron bless you."

The goddess Seiron is the current deity of the Order of Saint Tria. I bow my head, dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond.

"I'll be going, then."

The man from the Order stood up, wearing a cleric's cassock and walking with a cane. He looked to be quite old, and I couldn't imagine how much money it must cost to have him traveling.

"Until next time."

Noel wished him well with a short bow. The cleric shakes his head and leaves the guest room.

"Tir. Shall we go play, then?"

Her voice brightened again. It was strange, like a multi-faceted actress performing a one-woman show, and it was so good that it gave me goosebumps.

"Yes, Ms. Noel."

But this picnic was a stroke of genius for me, and I answered her with bright eyes.

"Have the coachman stand by. Today's picnic will be in the city."

Noel's words gave me more hope. A crowded city center. Even if she could check every inch of the mansion, it would be hard to find him in the crowd.

"If it wasn't for that, he would have found me long ago.

I've spent my life pickpocketing, blending in with the crowd, so I don't think even Noel would have found me.

'Go downtown...quickly put some money on the top and move on to another estate.

After many simulations of how to get away from her the fastest, I decided this was the right answer.

"Let's go."

Noel and Tyr quickly climb into the ready carriage. They tried to give the impression that they were acting normal, in case she was suspicious of them if they looked too bright today.

"Have a good trip, then. Miss."

The butler insists as he climbs into the carriage to see them off. Noelle nodded to him, smiling lightly, wondering if the picnic had lifted her spirits.

"My Lord Tir."

"Yes?"

"Take care of the lady."

There was an unspoken pressure in the butler's words.

"You're done here, anyway.

You will be free to live as you please. I was penniless, having worked for free at the manor, but in my arms were Noelle's earrings and necklace, which I had snatched along with the dagger.

"They were never checked anyway.

She didn't say anything when the earrings and necklace disappeared from the chest of drawers. You can blame it on the nature of pickpockets. But if she walks out of here penniless, there's no hope of coming out on top. She knows my home, and wherever she goes, her pawns will follow. I had no choice.

"Let's go."

The carriage rattled and moved.

"It's a fine day, isn't it?"

"Yes, Mr. Noel. It seems to be really sunny these days."

"I wish it were always sunny."

I wondered if their words had been a rainmaker. I could feel the dark clouds gathering.

"Druk!

The carriage soon arrived in town and the coachman hastily opened the latch to the carriage.

"Miss, it looks like it's about to rain, can I get you an umbrella?"

"No, it doesn't matter, I can buy one nearby."

"Okay. Have a nice ride."

The coachman put on his raincoat and boots in anticipation of the rain, which was going to be quite heavy and the sky was cloudy.

"What if it rains?"

"How about we have a drink together?"

Even better. If she's drunk and loose, I can catch her off guard, say I need to go to the bathroom, and we can get away.

"Shall we go through the slums? Nah... there's a good chance my path will be read. Then I'll go to the Adventurers' Guild in the city.

Mapping it out in his head, he escorts Noel to a fairly prestigious inn. They make their way to a fairly prestigious inn, and Noel speaks up.

"One night, dinner, and drinks."

"Clink!

She pulls out a large wad of money and throws it on the table. The innkeeper bowed his head deeply, then bowed again when he realized that what was in his pocket was not a fairy tale, but silver.

"Welcome!!!"

A big guest after a long absence. He yells at the chefs in the restaurant and tells them to serve him quickly.

"Hehe, young lady. Please sit down and your food will be ready in no time. What kind of alcohol can I prepare for you?"

She looks at me.

"What do you want to eat?"

I wanted to order something strong so that Noel could get properly drunk.

"Since it's overcast and it looks like it's going to rain soon, how about some rum?"

"Rum?"

"Yes. It's from another continent, made from sugar cane...and it tastes pretty damn good."

Sugar cane was easy to cultivate in the Deckard estate's climate and in the neighboring estates as well. The rum made from it was a pretty good nighttime companion, even for the slums of Reading, and even for the laborers doing the hard labor.

"Give me rum, then."

"Oh, my dear sir, I can't serve you that kind of liquor when you've paid me so much money!"

"Then rum and the most expensive liquor."

"Yes, Colonel!"

The innkeeper salutes like a soldier, making a ridiculous appearance. They are shown to a table with a view of the surroundings.

"Your room is the largest room on the second floor. Well, have a good time."

He busily disappears to get the sake.

"Shaaaaa!!!

The rain is falling hard outside the window.

I wonder if the rain will drown out my footsteps.

I try to think positively.

"Here's your rum and whiskey."

The most expensive whiskey I've ever had, a fine gin, and a rum with an equally expensive logo. These are the most expensive drinks in the inn, and I hastily offer them to her.

"Did you want a drink?"

"Haha, things have been hectic lately, and I've been craving a drink."

"I'll tell her."

Alcohol was easy to come by in the mansion, if you knew where to look. He remembers the liquor cellar overflowing with expensive wines and bubbly specialty beers called champagne.

"I have a cheap mouth, so if it wasn't rum, it was just okay."

There's a saying that a man's bravado is his drink. Noel stares at the rum in his glass.

"It's Tyr's favorite."

Not the fine wine favored by the nobility, but cheap rum, full of alcoholic flavor. Slowly, Noel brings the rum to his lips.

"Hmmm."

Noel frowns slightly.

"Haha, Noel. Rum is supposed to taste like that."

"Shit, you said it was made from sugar cane, so it should be sweet."

"It smells sweet, though."

They clinked their glasses again, melting into the liquor with a rhythmic rain.

"More and more.

I clink glasses with her, trying to stay awake. Soon, the large pork chops and charcuterie arrive, and as we fork over them, we drink in the sweet flavor of the rum as it melts into the fatty pork juices.

"Shit, wake up.

This has to be their big chance. Not that it matters that Noel is wobbly and starting to double over.

"Ah... I'm dizzy... I'll just find a place to stay and hide.

If she went to the top and handed over her expensive trinkets, she'd likely be thrown out. He had to make a deal with them while he was still sober.

"Then... I'll just go into a nearby stable and hide.

One of the tricks I'd learned during my time on the streets in the rain was that a stable could be a good place to sleep, as long as you didn't get caught. He wondered if other homeless people would take it first, but he had a dagger hidden in his other sleeve, so he knew it would work.

"Tir, are you drunk?"

Noel ruffles my hair with concern.

"No...Noel."

This scary woman is pouring champagne with a calm face, as if she's not even drunk. When the charcuterie was half gone, I stood up, unable to contain myself.

"Ms. Noel. I need to use the bathroom..."

"Uh, yeah?"

The urgent look on his face must have worked. I said, "I'm going to the restroom," and walked over to the side of the inn. The smell of rain and filth drifted in.

"Now.

The trace began to run through the rain and around the corner. Noel might catch up, but it's now or never. I had to run with all my might.

"I have to get through the crowd!

I melt into the rain and the rushing crowd. My breath tasted of alcohol, but I couldn't stop. The rain comes down harder and harder, splashing up the mud that has gathered under my feet as I run.

"We need to hide.

I give up on the stables I've seen before. The Adventurer's Guild stables I'd seen in passing should be a good target.

"Please!

I hope I'm not being followed. And just like that, I arrived at the Adventurers' Guild Stables. I heard the sound of pounding feet, brushed off my dripping clothes, and looked at the horses snorting.

"Foals..."

I felt like I was finally free.

"Who's that?"

An inyoung with a lantern approaches and asks.

"Holy shit.

I gripped the dagger in my hand, wondering if it was another hobo from the stables.

"Came to get out of the rain."

"Well, you're not going to get a good night's sleep in that stable, and it doesn't look good."

The man with the lantern approached. As the light drew closer, I could see his form. He was a man dressed in leather, with a stooped waist and a scraggly white beard. You could tell he had lived a good life by the knife marks in his eyes.

"Adventurer?

I vaguely recognized him as one of the adventurers.

"My name is Sudson, I do odd jobs for the Adventurers Guild. Are you homeless?"

The lantern's beam illuminated the darkened stable, and I couldn't help but recoil at its warmth.

"Yes, it's been raining so hard I had to take shelter."

"Well, that's a shame for a young man, but..."

He had been watching me closely. The attire of a servant somewhere.

"You ran away?"

"..."

I said nothing. I didn't have the markings of a servant, but I was dressed in the common servant's garb, which was enough to suggest that I was a servant in a high-ranking household.

"Come with me, you should be able to leave the estate sometime tomorrow."

"What?"

"The Adventurers' Guild isn't called the Adventurers' Guild for nothing. You become an adventurer when there are more things you want to avoid."

Obediently, I followed his good intentions and entered the Adventurers' Guild. He calmly took out a rusty key from a large package of keys and let me in.

"If you stay like this, you'll be caught in less than a day, let alone run away."

He ladled soup from the boiling pot and set it on a plate.

"Here you go."

"...Thank you."

Sometimes, when I was homeless, I remembered the goodwill I had received. Handing me the wooden spoon, he said.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I haven't decided yet...but the Deckard estate is in competition with the west...so I'm thinking of going to the western part of the Empire."

"Hmm, well thought out."

The West was a territory that the East was gnashing its teeth over, not surprisingly, given the great turf wars that could break out at any moment. I slowly scooped up the soup and put it in my mouth to warm my cold body. The strong sake flavor melted away with the soup, and the potatoes and carrots in the soup crunched and sweetened my palate.

"Yes. Then you will speak well to the butler."

"Yes?"

I rose from my chair with a thud.

"You won't be scolded so hard if you say it was a momentary aberration."

"You, you..."

The Adventurer's Guild man shakes his head, his eyes filled with regret. I collapsed, my eyes slowly clearing. The rain began to fall harder and harder, and the last thing I could see was the light of the lantern he had placed.

.

"You're awake."

I opened my eyes, seeing the folds of rough cloth in the dim light, and recognized a familiar voice in the darkness.

"Deacon..."

"Yes."

He felt his entire body strapped into a chair, the feel of rough wooden straps binding his arms and legs, and his head covered by a cloth hood that prevented him from seeing.

"Flap!

The flap over my eyes was removed, and I could finally see my surroundings. This was the cellar of the mansion I'd seen in passing.

"How is Mr. Noel now?"

I opened my mouth, imagining the person who could be most upset.

"Would it reassure you if I answered that?"

Absolutely not. I sighed heavily and looked at the butler standing in the cellar.

"How did you find me?"

I wanted to know everything. How did he know I was hiding in the Adventurers' Guild, and who was that middle-aged man who had reassured me, had he always had a mole in the Adventurers' Guild, or was he disguised to trick me?

"Since you're so curious, I suppose I should give you a little information."

The butler shook his head slowly.

"Why you are so important to us, the Earl of Deckard."

"What?"

My escape failed, and not knowing what punishment awaited me, I could only wait for the butler's next answer.

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