"Myang?!"
The first to react to the threat to my personal safety was, as expected, Yor.
The baby dragon's startled expression quickly twisted, and she let out a hissing sound.
But that wasn't all. As if intending to bite the arm of Reisir, who was gripping my collar, she opened her mouth wide and prepared to lunge at him.
"Yor, wait."
I quickly raised a hand toward Yor, stopping her.
Since Reisir couldn't see anything, it was obvious that if someone attacked him, he would reflexively counterattack without controlling his strength.
Knowing that, I couldn't let Yor pounce on Reisir.
'Stay calm, calm...'
Perhaps because of my composed reaction, Yor quickly calmed down and stopped in place.
Though her gaze toward Reisir remained murderous.
This was a sign that she trusted me to handle the situation and was waiting for me to do so.
'In that case, as her master, I should live up to her expectations.'
Even though this was a sudden situation I hadn't prepared for, I could still deal with it.
Reisir was far stronger than me physically, so there was no way I could pry him off with my own strength.
Still, even though my throat felt tight and suffocating, I was relieved that I could still speak.
Instead of struggling and trying to free myself...
...I straightened my posture, lifted my chin, and met Reisir's eyes as I spoke.
"You've got the wrong person. The culprit is probably Tryggdrik."
"You ordered him to do it, didn't you?!"
"No."
"If it really wasn't you, you would've been flustered and demanded to know what I was talking about!! You wouldn't be calmly telling me to go find someone else!"
The strength in Reisir's hand gripping my collar increased, and my throat tightened even more.
Still, considering this was a situation where a fist could come flying at any moment, it was a relatively restrained reaction.
Barely, but I {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} could still speak.
"I simply judged that this wasn't the... time to ask for detailed explanations. You asked about Helga's whereabouts yourself... didn't you? Wasn't she... kidnapped?"
"......"
There was no answer, but that could be taken as a positive sign.
I didn't know whether his anger had subsided enough for him to cool his head, or whether he had calmed down because I wasn't panicking.
Either way, it was better than him just shouting without listening at all.
"A few weeks ago, he said he'd teach you a lesson, so... I told him not to and... warned him... Kgh..."
"......"
Although the lecture hadn't started yet, it was about to.
Only the professor hadn't arrived yet. All the students were already inside the lecture room.
And they weren't just extras. Vigdís and Ríolíkin were also attending the martial arts lecture.
So I tried not to show a cowardly or weak side, but in the end, a groan escaped me.
This was because, as I spoke, Reisir's hand began trembling, and he tightened his grip on my collar even further.
"That conversation happened... at the campus cafeteria... so... if you check, ngh... there'll be witnesses..."
My head spun as I forced the words out while even breathing had become difficult.
But perhaps my mention of witnesses had an effect.
Right before I completely lost consciousness, Reisir released his grip.
"Hahk, hahk..."
I staggered as I gasped for air.
And yet, I comforted myself with the fact that at least I hadn't collapsed to the floor or fainted. I put strength into my legs and straightened my back, trying to remain standing.
Reisir was looking at me with a confused expression.
"Really... it wasn't you...?"
"I swear on the honor of the Austri Ducal Family. I never ordered a kidnapping."
"But...!"
"Are you going to argue that Tryggdrik did this to curry favor with me? I'll say it again. I clearly conveyed my intentions to him. To do nothing. How is disobeying my words supposed to be an act of currying favor?"
A protagonist in a novel should be capable of rational thought even in the most urgent situations.
They shouldn't throw a tantrum after they've already been given a clear answer.
Because readers wouldn't accept a protagonist acting that way.
'Of course, Reisir, the original protagonist, will also try to recover the reason that has been paralyzed by anger and arrive at the correct conclusion.'
Karvaldr's arrogance stems from the power and honor of his ducal family.
Since Reisir knew that, he wouldn't think Karvaldr would casually invoke his family's honor while telling a lie.
Since I'm not the real Karvaldr, the honor of the Austri Ducal Family means nothing to me.
'Still, I didn't lie.'
I had nothing to do with this incident. Continuing to hold me here and interrogate me was only a waste of time.
Reisir, too, would soon come to that conclusion.
"Do you know what lecture that bastard Tryggdrik has today?"
"That's none of my concern. Ask over there, not me."
As I answered, I gestured toward Ríolíkin with my chin.
He was often dragged around by Tryggdrik and forced to listen to his one-sided rambling.
It wouldn't be strange if Ríolíkin knew Tryggdrik's class schedule.
"Kar, are you okay...?"
"Myang..."
Vigdís and Yor, who had approached me at some point, spoke with concern.
I appreciated their concern, but now wasn't the time to talk with them.
So I steadied my breathing and straightened my clothes, indirectly showing them that I was fine, while at the same time...
...fixing my gaze on Reisir as he approached Ríolíkin.
"Speak."
Did he think there was no need to repeat the same question since Ríolíkin had already heard our conversation?
Reisir urging him so abruptly was surprising.
But more than that, I thought Ríolíkin, who had heard everything yet kept his mouth shut until Reisir approached him directly, was even more unbelievable.
"Uh..., um..., T-Tryggdrik... h-has no classes today... so... probably, um, is... s-sleeping in his room..."
"Which room number?"
"I-it's room 603..."
The moment he heard the answer, Reisir immediately turned and left the lecture room.
His impatience must have reached its limit while listening to Ríolíkin's slow response.
'Is that guy's brain really not functioning right now?'
I clicked my tongue as I looked toward the lecture room door Reisir had left wide open.
For reference, only now was oxygen finally reaching my brain properly and my thoughts beginning to clear.
What that meant was...
"Who kidnaps someone and then leisurely goes to sleep? Whether he did it himself or hired someone else to do it, he would already be at the place where the victim is being held."
Something along those lines.
But I couldn't blame Reisir for acting foolishly.
His childhood friend, someone he had grown up with, had been kidnapped, so it was only natural that he couldn't think properly.
'Since he doesn't know where Helga is being held, he's desperately trying to locate the kidnapper, isn't he?'
Even if he knows the culprit probably won't be there, he won't be able to accept it until he confirms it with his own eyes.
And rather than standing around helplessly wringing his hands, it was only natural for him to cling to even the smallest possibility and keep moving.
"K-Kar...! How can you say that at a time like this...?!"
During my monologue, Vigdís looked shocked and tried to run after Reisir.
But even if she conveyed what I had just said to him, nothing would change.
If anything, it would only exhaust her.
"Don't act rashly and stay still. I need to think for a moment."
I stopped Vigdís from rushing out and sank into thought.
It wasn't a matter of whether I should help Reisir or not.
'Helga's family is a baron's household, while Tryggdrik's family is a viscount's, one rank higher. But even then, he can't cover up the crime of kidnapping a noble family's daughter. And yet he still went through with it, which means...'
...it was obvious.
He planned to pin it on me.
To do that, he must have prepared fabricated evidence.
Whether he believed the power of a ducal family could cover it up, or whether this was revenge for the humiliation I caused him.
Either way, it was utterly despicable.
'Reisir will probably be able to rescue Helga safely on his own. But if he discovers the fake evidence prepared by Tryggdrik in the process, won't he start suspecting me again?'
After all, circumstantial evidence can't stand against physical evidence.
But if no one believes that physical evidence, then it's a different matter.
For that to happen...
'I'll have to step forward actively and contribute to rescuing Helga. So decisively that everyone will have no choice but to acknowledge it.'
And so I thought through the purpose behind this kidnapping farce.
"Tryggdrik clearly enjoys the act of bullying Reisir itself. And that's only meaningful if he can witness it personally. So he'll summon Reisir to the place where Helga is being held and torment him while threatening her safety."
"Really... what a villain."
Just as Vigdís said, he truly was a villain.
But I hadn't brought this up simply to badmouth Tryggdrik together.
So without reacting to Vigdís's comment, I continued my deduction.
"If he drags things out too long, there's a risk of being caught by the security forces during their search, and then he won't be able to accomplish anything. So Tryggdrik will try to achieve his goal as quickly as possible. Which means there's a high chance he already left behind a clue about the location. In that case, the place would be... where Reisir would eventually end up after running around all day searching for Helga, finding nothing, and returning exhausted, overwhelmed with despair and self-reproach."
If this turned out to be wrong after I had rambled on like this in front of everyone, it would be incredibly embarrassing.
Still, even if I were wrong, it wouldn't be a loss since I had at least shown that I was racking my brains trying to help Reisir.
"Yor, I need you to run an errand."
"Nyang!"
"If Tryggdrik isn't in his room, tell Reisir to go back to his own room and check whether a note or something has been slipped through the crack under the door. I'll head to the carriage waiting area and prepare a carriage, so tell him to come there whether he finds something or not."
"Myaaat!!"
Perhaps because she intended to take the shortest route to the dormitory building, Yor flew out through the window instead of using the door Reisir had left through.
Seeing how clever she was, she would probably carry out the first errand of her dragon life perfectly even without me supervising her.
Feeling reassured, I took a step to leave the lecture room and head toward the carriage rental office, but Vigdís and Ríolíkin followed closely behind me.
"Vigdís, if you follow me, who's going to teach me today's lesson?"
"Ah...! Are you finally acknowledging my teaching ability?"
"......"
Now wasn't the time to point out that Vigdís's explanations were still terrible.
And I also couldn't tell her the truth: that I had only made up an excuse because I wanted to keep her away from involvement with Reisir as much as possible.
So without a word, I averted my eyes from her and looked toward Ríolíkin instead.
'Vigdís naturally wants to help in some way. But what exactly is Ríolíkin thinking, trying to follow me?'
I was suspicious, but for that very reason, I decided to let Ríolíkin come along.
If he was trying to lure me into a trap to help Tryggdrik, then I could use this opportunity to get rid of not only Tryggdrik, but Ríolíkin as well.
Please let Ríolíkin be involved in this.
Hoping for that, I tried to leave the lecture room, but once again I had to stop in place.
Because of all times, the professor arrived right then.
"The lecture is about to begin, so where exactly do you think you're going?"
Since this involved one student kidnapping another, it briefly crossed my mind that it might be better to bring a professor along.
But unfortunately, the martial arts professor was not someone I could trust.
He also had a history of being humiliated by me during the first class.
If Tryggdrik were to insist, "Lord Karvaldr ordered it!" then the professor would surely try to brand me as the true culprit without even confirming the details.
Having reached that conclusion, I brushed past the professor and said,
"Something urgent has come up, so I will be taking a self-declared absence today."
"Wh-what?!"
I heard the martial arts professor's bewildered voice from behind me, but ignored it since it wasn't something I could afford to care about.
