Chapter 93: Chapter 2, Episode 18
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
While all this was going on, we were almost at the capital of the Kingdom of Quanda.
「I thought I saw something sparkling, but it turned out to be a river flowing under the cliff.」
「Yes, it is. This river has an estuary that connects to the ocean after a while. When you get there, the royal city of Quanda is just a stone’s throw away. Has your lady ever seen the sea?」
「No, I have not. This is my first time out of the royal city of Gran Kingdom. So I am very much looking forward to visiting Quanda, which faces the sea.」
「It is a great honor for me to be able to share the first time with a beautiful young lady such as yourself.」
「Well, you’re a very good talker, Mr. Secretary.」
「No, no, no, this is just me speaking my honest thoughts.」
“Ahahaha, ufufufu,” The woman is not me, of course. It is a conversation between Ciel and my brother.
「…I told you not to hit on my Ciel, you womanizer.」
I reached my hand above my head and grabbed my brother’s chin and said. Why is my brother’s chin above my head? It is because my head is in my brother’s lap.
「What are you doing to the kind brother who is lending his knee to his ailing sister, little sister?」
My brother, who brushed my hand away, said so in a tedious manner.
「What are you doing, no, not that, my brother should just be my pillow. Don’t open your mouth any more than you have to… urk…」
O–Oh, every time the carriage shakes, I feel sick.
「You should be the one who should close your eyes and not interrupt our conversation. You’re looking a little pale.」
Then stop hitting on her. I have the Countess Bauer in my custody. Even if you are my brother, you can’t put a bug in her. I have a responsibility to supervise her, brother.
「Marsha-sama. Please don’t worry about me and rest. Besides, I won’t be offended by such a light talk. Please rest assured.」
Ciel smiles at me. You are a very quick learner. But are you sure you are okay? Don’t be afraid to say you don’t like something just because it’s my brother, okay?
I think she understood that’s what I was trying to say.
「Aww!!」
My brother flicked my forehead with his finger, which Ciel saw and made a ladylike laugh.
「You are really close to each other, aren’t you? I have no siblings, so I envy you very much.」
「Well, she is still like a child, and as the older brother, I’m not worried about her. It seems that she has yet to hatch as beautifully as Miss Cierlify.」
“Hahaha,” he is a brother who is obviously trying to raise his own stock with me. Like a child, I’m almost a year older than Ciel? My brother is so pathetic, so pathetic. I, the younger sister, feel ashamed.
「Fufufu, you really are a delightful person, aren’t you? If Marsha-sama is like a child, I am like a baby to Kate-sama. He has been so kind to me that I was happy to think I had a brother, but perhaps I should change my perception of him to be more like my father, ufufufu.」
「…uhh… Ha–hahaha. There’s no way, hahaha.」
Ah, I was laughing and fooling around, but I was checked and sunk, my brother, you know. Wahaha, that’s a sucker. Maybe Ciel’s skills against men are better than mine. Well done.
As I was laughing hysterically in my chest without saying it out loud, the carriage shook so loudly that my head almost fell off my brother’s knees.
「Ooops… what?」
I was glad that my brother supported me during my close call and I was safe, but the unnatural swaying of the carriage caused me to slowly raise my body.
The carriage slowly slowed down and finally came to a halt.
「…There’s a lot of commotion up ahead.」
A chill ran through my body at the sound of numerous voices coming from a short distance away.
「I’m going to check on them. You guys stay here. All right?」
My brother said this and was about to leave the carriage, but I quickly grabbed the hem of his robe to stop him.
「Wait. If there’s something up ahead, it’s just not safe for the brother secretary to go there. There are knights outside to protect us, so we’d better wait quietly.」
「What do you mean, “something”? You don’t think bandits attacked us? There’s no reason for it to be that unsafe when we’re so close to King’s Landing.」
「Yes. Since we have informed them of our schedule, they must be messengers from the country of Quanda. They told me that the knights over there would be joining the escort.」
「I… see.」
Am I worrying too much? Both my brother and Ciel tell me that there is nothing to worry so much about, but I can’t shake the bad feeling that is rumbling through my chest.
「Just you wait and see. Okay?」
「I understand. But be careful out there.」
「I know. This brother of yours is used to fighting. Don’t worry.」
What about a secretary who is used to fighting? And even though he was used to fighting, he was never strong.
「It’s okay. You should lie down and rest again. You look really pale.」
Ciel, whose tone changes dramatically when my brother is gone, peers at me with concern.
「Thanks. I’m okay…!」「!!」
When I mentioned that I was okay, I heard a scream from far away. Then Ciel and I looked at each other at the sword strike.
「No way…」
I can’t believe it, Ciel said. I felt the same way. If it were true, this should never have happened. The goodwill ambassador of the allied countries shouldn’t be attacked so close to the royal capital of Quanda. That’s why even the Kwanda Kingdom should have been careful to correct the security situation.
We heard the footsteps of horses approaching and the voice of a knight calling to us from outside.
「Bandits. But don’t worry. We will subdue them immediately. Please wait here, Goodwill Ambassador.」
「…I understand. Also, my brother has left. He needs protection.」
「Understood.」
And the knight moving away. Of course, there are other knights around to protect us. There should be no need for us to worry. But what happened to the other exchange students? I wondered if my brother was safe. And Noah-sama and the other civil servants? The sound of my heart is very loud. But I mustn’t get upset. If I get upset, Ciel, who is riding with me, will be frightened.
「It’s okay, Ciel. Our knights are not weak. They will subdue them soon.」
Taking Ciel’s hand, I said.
「…That’s right. It was only for a moment at the mansion. There is nothing to worry about.」
Ciel, who was holding my hand, replied stoutly with a slight tremor in his voice. As I had expected, she has a lot of guts.
As I listened carefully to the sounds around me under my breath, I could see that the slashes were gradually subsiding.
「…See, I knew our country’s knights were good.」
What we hear is the orderly voices of the knights. And the wayward yelling of the bandits who would have been overpowered. Ciel and I let out a relieved breath and relaxed our entire bodies. But right after that.
「Hey, guys, what the hell are you doing there!!!」
「!!」
What I heard wasn’t the sound of bandits resisting. It was my brother’s angry voice. The moment I stiffened, I heard the panicked voice of the knight and the neighing of the horse. Before we had time to figure out what had happened, the carriage carrying us made a loud noise and started to run.
「Kyaaah!!」
「Ciel, hold on tight to the carriage!」
A man’s scream and a thud as he hit the ground. I realized that the carriage had run out of control and that the gentleman had been shaken off.
「Marsha!!!」
I hear my brother’s voice calling me from outside, but there is nothing I can do in the carriage, which is rocking heavily, and the figure of my brother, faintly visible through the small window, is moving away from me.
There is nothing I can do to stop the carriage, which has no driver. The carriage shook with a clattering noise. Each time we do this, the load is placed heavily on us, and if we let up even a little, our bodies are likely to get smashed.
「Ciel, you must, bear with meeee!!」
「I, under, stand, waaah!!」
Both Ciel and I shouted to inspire each other. If we let our guard down even for a moment, we would be injured, perhaps even killed. We could even lose our lives. There was nothing we could do but endure desperately until help arrived.
And I was deeply relieved when I heard the sound of horses’ footsteps running alongside a carriage that was making a faint, loud noise. Here it comes! It’s all right now. That’s what we thought, and then we heard it,
「It’s a cliff. We’ll never make it in time. Jump!!」
It was. I thought I heard a huffing and gasping sound that might have been coming from my throat, maybe from Ciel’s throat.
How absurd was this request to jump off a rampaging carriage? But if there is a cliff as the knight cries out, there is not a moment to lose. There is no need to hesitate. The only option was to jump off.
「C–Ciel, m–my hand, over here!」
I managed to hold onto the carriage with one hand and reached out to Ciel with the other. The sound of the horse’s footsteps comes from the direction of the door where I am. This means that if we’re lucky, and if the knight is physically fit, he might be able to get us to be held up on horseback.
「N–Nuuu!!」
We were both desperately reaching for it, and just as we were about to reach it, the carriage suddenly jumped.
「……Ahh!!」
「Ciel!!」
The door on the opposite side of the carriage from mine opened with a bouncing impulse that threw Ciel’s body out of the carriage as if it were being sucked in. There was no ground beyond Ciel. It was the cliff.
「Noooooo!!」
It was already unconscious. I quickly jumped from the carriage toward Ciel and grabbed her outstretched hand. And soon after that, I would replace her with my body and throw Ciel toward where the ground was.
Oh, no, I thought, but it was already too late. My body was sucked down the cliff with the last image of Ciel slammed to the ground in my vision.
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