Bad Guy Theorad (3)

Following Ashley's lead, I walked toward the carriage waiting in the mansion's front courtyard.

Two Pelgaroin knights accompanied me, one on either side. To the servants, they seemed to be escorting me rather than enforcing a quarrel between Ashley and me.

Only the elf, following a little way behind us, looked displeased.

“Get in.”

Ashley gestured toward the open carriage door.

Her expression carried just the right measure of noble indignation. Even I, who had spent so much time struggling to act cruelly before the elf, had to admire her performance.

“As you wish.”

I climbed into the carriage. Ashley joined me shortly afterward and sat beside me.

The two Pelgaroin knights mounted their horses, preparing to ride alongside us.

“I hope you'll enjoy a comfortable journey,” the coachman said, closing the door with an oddly cheerful chuckle.

I looked through the window one last time.

The elf stood in her maid's uniform, hands neatly clasped, her face lowered in a show of obedience.

But the anger in her eyes was frightening.

Is she staring at Ashley rather than at me?

“Departing!”

The coachman called out, and the carriage lurched into motion.

As the mansion fell behind us and the elf disappeared from view, Ashley finally relaxed.

“Haaah… I thought that ordeal would be the death of me.”

Only then did I find my voice.

“You did wonderfully. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help you.”

“Lord Theorad. Don't apologize. I don't want to hear it.”

“Ah. I understand. Then allow House Deharem to repay you. If there is some gift you want, or anything valuable I can offer—”

“Wrong again.”

Ashley folded her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

I thought she was exaggerating her displeasure to put me at ease. But then I noticed her hands.

Her fingertips were trembling.

That conversation with a two-hundred-and-fifty-year-old elf had frightened her more than she wanted me to know.

And yet she'd kept a perfect face throughout, never letting the elf see her fear.

I felt both proud of her and ashamed of how much she'd endured for me.

I lifted a hand and gently touched the cheek I'd slapped.

“Such a beautiful face,” I murmured.

“L-Lord Theorad…?”

“Even though I only struck you as part of our performance, I still hit you. It doesn't change what I did. If there's something you want, please tell me. I don't want to leave you to bear the cost of my actions.”

Ashley swallowed.

For some reason, both of her cheeks had turned pink.

“W-well, if you put it that way… What I want is…”

She struggled for the words.

Then she took a deep breath and rested her hand over mine.

Warmth enclosed my fingers on both sides.

“Just… stay like this a little longer. Please.”

I blinked.

“Will that truly satisfy you?”

“Not merely satisfy me.”

She leaned her cheek into my palm, smiling shyly.

“It's everything to me.”

I didn't fully understand.

But I didn't ask her to explain.

If such a simple gesture made Ashley happy, I was happy to give it to her.

So I kept my hand against her cheek while the carriage rolled along.

Knock.

The peaceful journey ended before I would have liked.

The carriage had stopped at the courthouse.

After another moment, the coachman opened the door.

“We've arrived. Do you have any luggage you'd like me to carry?”

“None, thank you,” Ashley answered. “Would you wait here for us instead?”

“Of course, my lady.”

“Thank you. Lord Theorad, come with me.”

I hesitated as I followed her out.

“Are we really going into the courthouse?”

“Of course. Didn't I say I had business there?”

Ah. Right.

She must have intended to keep up the performance even before the coachman.

I nodded and went with her.

The Pelgaroin knights stayed to guard the entrance. Ashley and I went up the steps and entered the building.

Marble columns stood in the well-kept hall. Legal officials moved about, busy with their work.

There were plenty of people, yet the atmosphere remained strangely quiet. It was almost comforting.

“My lady! Lord Theorad!”

Two neatly dressed attendants approached us with bright greetings.

Each carried folded clothing.

Before I could ask why, one of them stepped forward and bowed.

“An honor to meet you, Lord Theorad. My name is Norman. I serve Lady Ashley.”

“Pleased to meet you, Norman. But those clothes…”

“They are for you to change into,” Ashley explained.

I turned.

She was looking up at me seriously.

“It never hurts to be careful.”

“I suppose not.”

“Thank you for understanding. We'll meet at the back door after we've changed. Norman will guide you there.”

You really thought of everything, Ashley.

I felt a familiar pang of guilt.

She'd made so many preparations, while I'd scarcely been able to do anything for her.

I nodded.

“Then I'll see you shortly.”

---

After changing, I followed Norman to the rear entrance of the courthouse.

There was only one problem.

I felt ridiculous.

The clothing he'd given me was an elegant formal outfit in the style fashionable in the principality. It was finely made, but utterly unlike the attire I usually wore as head of my family.

I couldn't quite feel at ease in it.

“My lord?”

Norman smiled gently.

“Don't worry. You look very fine. Even as another man, I can say you're handsome.”

“You needn't flatter me.”

“Flatter you? I'm quite serious. Surely you've heard that before?”

“Of course people have said it. But how much of what one hears in society is sincere? My late father and our chief chamberlain both told me I had an ordinary face.”

“Er… Lord Theorad? Are you making a joke?”

What a convincing performance.

Norman could keep a straight face while telling a very obvious lie.

With his talent for flattery, he ought to do well in society.

Still, praise taken too far wasn't good for anyone.

I was about to tell him so when a familiar voice called across the passage.

“Lord Theorad!”

I turned.

And stopped.

Ashley had changed too.

Her new skirt was short enough to reveal her knees, and her light, airy top was unlike the formal gowns I'd always seen her wear. A thin coat covered it, fortunately, or I might not have known where to look.

Her legs, so often hidden beneath layers of fabric, kept drawing my eyes.

She was beautiful.

Almost painfully so.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

She approached with an expectant smile.

I hurriedly raised my gaze and cleared my throat.

“You look alluring—but almost dangerously exposed. I hardly want other people seeing you dressed that way.”

“Really…? If you're uncomfortable, I can change. I brought other clothes.”

I wasn't entirely certain this counted as a simple question about clothes.

I looked to the attendants for their opinions.

Norman and Ashley's maids shook their heads vigorously.

I collected my thoughts.

“I would hate to deprive you of your beauty simply because it makes me nervous. There's no need to change.”

“Lord Theorad…”

Her expression softened.

Behind her, one of the maids gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Good. It seems I said the right thing.

I returned a small, discreet nod.

These attendants were proving surprisingly helpful.

“Oh,” Ashley said, as though remembering something. “There's one more thing we should wear before going out.”

“Something else?”

One of her maids stepped forward.

On the cushion in her hands were two headbands shaped like animal ears.

I stared.

“What are those?”

“Magic accessories. They're enchanted to make people less likely to recognize us. I wanted something less noticeable, but these were all I could obtain on short notice. I'm sorry.”

“There's no need to apologize. But if they're only recognition-dampening devices…”

Ashley understood what I was asking.

She glanced at the servants.

Norman and the maids bowed and withdrew, leaving the two of us alone.

I looked around to make sure nobody was listening, then leaned closer to whisper.

“Can we be certain the elf won't find us?”

“No,” Ashley admitted. “You're right to worry. But these will greatly reduce the chance. Normally someone must first realize they're under a perception-dampening spell before they can work around it. And we've changed our clothes as well. She'll have difficulty recognizing us.”

She picked up one of the headbands and put it on.

A pair of golden ears, the same color as her hair, stood up on her head.

They looked rather like cat ears.

“And there's something else,” she continued. “We went into the courthouse through the front entrance, but we're leaving through the back. From outside, it will look as though we're still inside attending to the tribunal matter.”

She glanced toward the front of the building.

“We've left the carriage and the escort knights in plain sight. Unless the elf wants to cause a public commotion and abandon her pretense of being a slave, she'll have little reason to do anything but wait for us at the entrance.”

“I see…”

Her reasoning made sense.

Ashley held out the remaining headband with both hands.

Its ears were black, matching my hair.

“Now it's your turn, Lord Theorad.”

Her eyes shone with an excitement that made me suspicious.

Are you quite sure these were the only accessories you could find?

It was starting to seem unlikely.

Still, I put the headband on.

Although nobody else was watching, I felt embarrassed enough to cough.

“Well?”

“Pfft.”

Ashley covered her mouth.

Then she giggled, wiping at the corners of her eyes.

“I'm sorry. It doesn't look quite the way I expected. You look… rather cute.”

Cute?

I hadn't put the absurd thing on for my own amusement, but somehow her laughter offended my dignity.

I frowned.

“Cute? Me? The head of House Deharem?”

Ashley's laughter stopped.

For a moment, she simply stared.

Then she turned her face away, cheeks flushing.

“N-now that I look again… You seem rather handsome.”

Her voice trembled.

Sometimes Ashley was so endearing that I wanted to keep the sight to myself.

“Ashley. Perhaps you're the one who's cute.”

“Ah… um…”

Her face reddened even further.

She stood so still that she might have been a clockwork doll whose mechanism had stopped.

It was delightful to watch.

But I didn't want to waste the rare chance to walk through town with her.

“There's something I need to tell you about the elf,” Ashley began. “According to what I discovered—”

The elf.

I was weary of hearing about her.

For now, I wanted to think about something else.

I gently took Ashley's hand and smiled.

“Let's discuss the elf later. Right now, Ashley, I want to walk through the streets with you.”

She fell silent.

Then she followed as I led her away, her steps still a little unsteady.