Laila’s eyes widened as she spoke. The idea of using Sion as a bodyguard had just popped into her head, coinciding with a trend six years in the future.
“Escort?”
“…to accompany me when I go out. Just the two of us, Sion and me, without any other escorts….”
Her words struck her belatedly. Was it an unreasonable request?
In other words, it meant permitting them to leave without the presence of a knight.
He wouldn’t grant permission, would he? No master would allow their slave the freedom to escape at any time.
“Do as you wish.”
“…Pardon?”
“From what I saw today, he doesn’t seem incapable of serving as an escort.”
Laila stared at the Marquis of Hildegarde, unable to believe the casual permission he had granted.
Marquis Hildegarde had a peculiar expression. He seemed to consider Laila’s wish insignificant.
“Why do you look like that? Planning to change your wish?”
“…Oh, no, Father. Thank you for granting my wish.”
Laila quickly lowered her gaze again. Her mind raced.
Why did he allow it? Could it be that he doesn’t even entertain the thought of Sion running away?
Or perhaps it means it wouldn’t matter if he did run away?
Suddenly, she remembered how easily she obtained permission to teach Sion how to use a sword.
…A sense of unease washed over her.
But it was an inexplicable unease.
Just as Laila was trying to grasp the source of this unease,
This time, instead of laughter, it was the sound of sobbing that reached Laila’s ears.
Following the sound of the sob, Taylor’s tear-streaked face came into sharp focus.
“…….”
Laila forgot all her worries. Taylor’s face was that much of a mess.
“Sir Taylor, are you…?”
“I got dust in my eyes.”
Laila bit her lip at the excessively cliché excuse. She almost laughed.
Soon, Laila’s expression softened slightly more than before.
Yeah, let’s just be glad now, even if not as moved as others.
Sion is alive. He didn’t die resenting me.
That was enough.
The stream of congratulations and applause dwindled. The referee finally released Sion’s hand. The announcer stepped onto the stage to bid farewell to the audience.
The Roel Gladiatorial Tournament had come to an end.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Laila realized the tail or shadow of her unease the day after returning to the duke’s mansion.
‘How did I forget about this?’
The trend that would come six years later.
The reason why having a sword-wielding slave as an escort could be possible became clear to her now.
‘It wasn’t just a regular slave they were taking around. Clearly…’
At that time, the nobles had been dosing their swordsmen slaves with poison.
They didn’t die immediately, but they needed to regularly take an antidote to maintain their daily lives.
The only people who had the antidote were, of course, their masters, the nobles.
The sword slaves never threatened their masters, even when they held the sword to take the antidote.
Nor did they flee when their masters left them outside without a guard.
With a pale face since morning, Laila rushed into Sion’s room.
“Sion!”
Sion, who had just woken up, greeted Laila with a surprised look on his face.
“Why…….”
“You, did you, did you eat something?”
“What?”
“I mean, besides, when you were eating with me…… did anyone feed you anything?”
Laila hesitated. But she couldn’t gather her thoughts calmly.
What if Sion had been poisoned?
Just thinking about it made her head feel dizzy.
How, how could this happen? After killing his family, burning down the place they lived, dragging him to the castle, shooting arrows in the woods, and now giving poison to this child…
“Calm down. I didn’t eat anything.”
“…Nothing?”
“Yeah. Except for what we had together during meals, I didn’t eat anything else.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“……Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Do you want me to swear to it?”
Laila looked at Sion’s face intently and then shook her head. It seemed unnecessary to make him swear.
As Laila’s momentum waned, this time Sion scrutinized her face.
“Are we done? Any more questions?”
“……Yes.”
Laila calmly replied and then drifted into her thoughts. Regaining her composure allowed her to reflect on her actions belatedly.
Why did she react so strongly just now? … She wasn’t sure.
‘At least it’s a relief if he didn’t unknowingly eat poison.’
After all, was it not the tail or shadow of unease?
Was the discomfort she felt merely a delusion?
Was she unnecessarily searching for something there, where there was nothing but the whims of a villain?
Laila soon stopped pondering and let out a short sigh.
The discomfort she thought she had caught slipped through her fingers. She hoped it was a fake, one that would never be caught.
“……Sion.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to go out today?”
It would be their first outing alone.
As always, Sion obediently replied.
“Sure.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
What if Sion ran away?
Laila pondered as she sat in the carriage.
It wouldn’t be so bad.
Right now, Sion seems to not dislike her…
So even if he ran away now, wouldn’t he come back in ten years and spare her?
For the first time, she felt certain. Laila repeatedly reminded herself of how Sion had wiped away her tears in the courtyard the other day.
Someone who felt compelled to wipe her tears upon seeing her cry… She didn’t think he would include her in his revenge plan.
At this point, Laila began to wish that Sion would truly run away.
And from that point on, she began creating opportunities.
Leaving Sion alone outside while she went into a shop, for instance.
‘Now’s your chance. Run away.’
Laila left Sion outside again, this time entering and exiting the library.
‘Now! This time, run away!’
She even spent time in a shop across the street, leaving Sion completely alone on the other side.
‘Why isn’t he running away?’
After purposely dawdling inside the shop, Laila still felt despair when she saw Sion across the street.
Why wasn’t he running away?
‘Does he think he’ll get caught if he runs away?’
Laila sighed softly. Ah, that could be it. They were inside the Marquis of Hildergarde’s territory, after all.
‘In that case…’
Laila stared at the sky. Having wasted too much time on futile efforts, the sun was already setting.
With hope for tomorrow, Laila crossed the street with a determined look on her face.
The next day, Laila deliberately left the Marquis’s estate early with Sion.
After riding in the carriage for hours, they ventured far, far away from Marquis Hildergarde’s territory.
“Coachman, pull over.”
As they got off the carriage, the refreshing air tickled their noses.
A forest. A dense forest.
A place where one could disappear without anyone noticing.
Laila led Sion away from the carriage, distancing themselves. When the carriage became barely visible behind the trees, Laila suddenly feigned distraction.
“Hmmmm~”
She started humming a tune, pretending to be preoccupied with something else, emphasizing that she wouldn’t notice whatever he did.
“Hmmmmmmmm~”
…But as time passed, Sion showed no signs of fleeing. The familiar song faded away. This wasn’t working.
Oh, instead of pretending to be distracted, why not just leave altogether?
Laila should have done this sooner. After getting off the carriage, she spoke to Sion for the first time.
“I’ll go back to the carriage for a bit.”
She didn’t bother to tell him to wait. Without looking back, Laila briskly walked towards the carriage.
She purposely didn’t glance back once as she headed to the carriage. It was as if she was casting a spell. Run away. Now’s the time. Escape. Quickly. Now!
After reaching the carriage, she spent quite a bit of time inside.
“……Mmm.”
Laila slowly rose from her drowsy state. What is it? What happened? Ah, it seems she dozed off while spending time in the carriage.
She’s not sure how long she slept, but judging by how refreshed she felt, it must have been over an hour.
At least this should have given Sion enough time to escape…
“Ahh!”
As soon as Laila opened her eyes, she screamed at the sight of Sion’s face.
