Chapter 573 – A Small Incident in the Count's Territory

“Hmm, you’ll come visit the grave again tomorrow too, right?”

“Only if Theodore says it’s okay.”

“Of course.”

I made some vague conversation with Daryl that felt both connected and disconnected. Father would probably start moving soon too… but since it was snowing, I should mention that I’d escort them to the city entrance. As I was considering various arrangements on my end, there was movement from Carter and the others in the storage room of the guard post.

“Alright… I’ve warmed up now, let’s think of some way to escape.”

Carter said this after finishing his drink and letting out a sigh.

“Carter. I’ve been thinking. It might be impossible for all of us, but what if just one person could escape? Anyway, we just need at least one of us to meet Theodore-sama.”

“That might be true. But just one person… have you thought of a good idea?”

When Carter asked, the boy grinned.

“Look. There’s a slightly broken helmet and armor over there, right? You put those on… and then—”

The boys and girls froze up and began their strategy meeting.

“I see. In that case, we might need to call people over.”

“Then if we block the entrance and break that window—”

“Oh. That might work.”

The children were seriously devising their escape plan. Hmm. Whether it would work was questionable… but it wasn’t a bad idea.

Once Carter had equipped the full set of armor, the children began moving according to their plan.

Working together, they carefully moved sofas and tables to block the door without making noise. Then with Carter in position, one of them picked up a brick of suitable size from the storage room—probably repair materials. The boy swung it back and threw it at the high window.

The window glass shattered with a loud noise. To break all the remaining glass in the frame, he threw it again, hitting perfectly. Quite good control.

The boys began moving busily. They were moving things from the storage room, leaning them against the wall to create footholds to reach the window.

“Watch out for the fragments!”

“Right!”

“Hey! What was that noise?”

The sound of the breaking window and the noise of moving things in the storage room quickly caught the attention of the guards outside. But even when they turned the knob, the sofas and tables placed in front of the wooden door prevented them from entering.

“They’ve blocked the door! Really… what a troublesome bunch!”

“I’ll go get everyone! Let’s break down the whole door!”

There were two guards. One stayed behind while the other ran off—footsteps fading. Meanwhile, the children focused on building their foothold. Suddenly, it became noisy outside.

This area was indeed a soldier’s guard post. Their response was swift.

“Don’t stand in front of the door, it’s dangerous!”

While warning the children inside, the door suffered impact after impact until it easily broke. A gap large enough for someone to enter appeared. Reaching through, they forcibly moved the obstructing items, rendering the barricade useless as soldiers easily broke through and entered the storage room. The sounds of stomping feet and falling objects echoed through the room.

And—what the soldiers saw was the children building footholds and reaching for the high window. However, there were only three gathered there. The soldiers quickly noticed.

“Hey! We’re missing two people!?”

“Wait, did they escape through that window frame gap? That’s supposed to be fixed and won’t open!”

“Could a child fit through…? Tch, leave someone here to watch this place and search outside!”

…This was the boys’ strategy. Using their own appearance—gathered at the broken window trying to escape—as bait to draw the soldiers’ attention.

The small girl hid under a blanket behind a barrel, while the largest of them all, Carter, wore the helmet and armor, pretending to be a small soldier while hiding near the door, secretly blending in with the soldiers. Then amidst the confusion, pretending to go search while actually escaping.

Not a bad idea at all. If escaping is difficult, then have it opened from outside—that makes sense.

If they escape from over there, there might be places where encountering them becomes easier.

Hearing the story from Carter and learning the circumstances… well, it would make things easier for me too. If they want to meet and talk with me, I’ll go listen.

Since it was snowing and Mother’s house was outside the walls, when I mentioned escorting them to the city entrance, Father nodded.

“Sorry about this.”

“Not at all. Consider it escort to the city.”

“We’ll come along too.”

“Right.”

So Grace and the others were coming too. Given the nature of the matter, and since at least Carter and the others didn’t seem malicious… I wanted to talk with everyone and hear their opinions. I’d have them come along.

We rode in several carriages that had brought bedding from the Count’s residence back to the territory. As we advanced along the snow-covered road, Father spoke to me.

“Theodore”

“What is it?”

“I know there’s conflict between you and the townspeople. To be honest… I have complicated feelings about it too.”

“…Yes.”

Even so, the reason he doesn’t punish them… probably because he feels guilty about not arriving in time himself, and believes punishing out of personal feelings later isn’t something a lord should do. Because Father acts that way, even I can avoid venting my emotions on them. Grace is probably the same.

If you ask whether they could have done anything at that time, the truth is nothing. Even I understand they were doing their best to protect themselves, or their families.

“—If they said they wanted to visit Lisa’s tomb… what would you two think?”

Father asked me and Grace this. I don’t know if he’s aware of Daryl’s movements, or if someone involved has spoken or consulted with him. At the very least, it’s probably in response to Carter and the others’ actions.

“Grace… what do you think?”

When I asked Grace, she slightly furrowed her brows and shook her head.

“I can’t say just based on that. If it’s just for appearances, I don’t want them to come.”

I nodded at Grace’s words. Yeah. I feel the same.

“Basically, I share Grace’s opinion. With my position having changed, there are parts that have become even more difficult to navigate. In the end, I think we have no choice but to judge based on hearing what they truly think about Mother, not about me.”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Saying this, Father closed his eyes. Daryl also had a distant look in his eyes.

“Perhaps that’s exactly why, I should say. If they want to talk, whatever the content may be, I’ll listen for now. And even if it’s disappointing content, I won’t respond with violence… I’ll say that.”

Looking at Grace, she also nodded, apparently agreeing with my opinion. Yeah. Later I’ll share this conversation with everyone and hear their opinions. I should probably tell Old Sigmund, Valentina, and Rosetta too. Well, in the end, it’ll be everyone.

“Understood.”

Father nodded quietly. Whether specific discussions were moving forward… I wouldn’t ask now.

If that were the case, he would confide in me when he judged it was time to talk… and if discussions weren’t progressing, or if Father thought he shouldn’t tell me, then this conversation would simply end here. Whatever Carter wants to tell me… he’s not directly involved anyway.

As for what Carter is currently doing… it seems he successfully escaped the guard post by blending in with the soldiers searching for the escaped children. I had Caduceus stick with him to monitor his movements.

Naturally, Carter would probably wait for an opportunity near the gate to head to Mother’s house… if things go well, we should be able to meet soon.

Eventually, the carriages arrived at the gate of Gartner County’s city. We would get off there to see them off for now… well, I wonder if Carter will notice.

Just as we arrived at the gate, soldiers came running and whispered something to Father. They were probably reporting about the children’s escape.

While not exactly a major incident… with many things to worry about and prepare for, Father has it tough.

“…Understood. I’ll head there immediately.”

Replying to the soldiers, he turned back to me.

“Well then… see you later, Theodore. Once preparations here are complete, I’ll send a carriage to Lisa’s house again.”

“Yes. Until later.”

While having that conversation in front of the carriage, Carter—who had been hiding in an alley near the gate—seemed to have noticed me too. If other soldiers had spotted him, he probably planned to say he was searching the alley.

“Hmm, is something wrong?”

“No… I spotted an acquaintance, so I thought I’d greet them briefly after you leave before returning.”

“Hmm, I see. You can use the other carriage for coming and going.”

“Understood. I’ll take responsibility for the driver.”

“Right.”

Father nodded, then got in the carriage and headed toward the soldiers’ guard post. Well. To prevent Carter’s search from becoming large-scale, it would be good to contact Father via communication device to say I’m hearing Carter’s story. Given our earlier conversation in the carriage, I think Father and Daryl would be reassured.

After seeing the carriage off, I approached Carter. From Carter’s perspective, the person he was looking for was coming toward him, so he seemed quite surprised.

“Hello.”

“Ah, eh? Um, well…”

I smiled at the flustered Carter. For now, treating him as a friend and going somewhere calm to hear his story would probably be best.