"K-Karvaldr...? How did you get here...?"
That bewildered voice came from Tryggdrik.
Even though he had used my name to lure Reisir here, he clearly hadn't expected me to actually show up.
With a troubled expression, he made a wild guess.
"Don't tell me... Reisir didn't come here as soon as he found the note, but went to find you first...?"
"Do you think you're in a position to ask me that?"
There was no reason for me to kindly explain to Tryggdrik how I got here.
So I conveyed my unwillingness to answer through Karvaldr's usual manner of speaking, and his face flushed red with anger.
"Ha... Haha... Right. As if Lord Karvaldr would bother explaining anything to a 'mere' nobody like me... Is that what you thought I'd say?"
What a sight, gritting his teeth and sneering like that.
It seemed his pride had been badly wounded when I treated him like some insignificant nobody back at the campus cafeteria.
'If I hadn't used that expression, would Tryggdrik have stayed quiet instead of starting something like this...?'
That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly concluded the answer was no.
"Your tone has become quite insolent."
"You didn't seriously think I'd kneel and beg, did you? Still haven't figured out the situation?"
Tryggdrik shot back, completely dropping the act as he glared at me with eyes full of hostility.
Yet his voice also carried a sense of exhilaration and relief.
As though he finally felt refreshed after being able to let out everything he'd been holding in.
For someone supposedly holding a grudge over what happened at the cafeteria, the hatred I sensed was far too intense.
That incident had merely pulled the trigger.
There was no doubt he had been holding a loaded gun for a long time already.
'In the original novel, Tryggdrik stayed by Karvaldr's side to the very end while calling himself his subordinate, but that was probably only because he judged the benefits outweighed the disadvantages.'
I could confidently say that Tryggdrik had hated Karvaldr for a very long time.
The idea of kidnapping Helga and using her as a hostage to torment Reisir wasn't something he could have come up with overnight.
In the end, today's incident.
It was safe to say it was inevitable from the moment I decided to live differently from Karvaldr.
"I understand the current situation perfectly well."
"Then why are you still acting so full of yourself? It's irritating. I've hated you for a long time. That condescending gaze full of superiority, that arrogant attitude like everyone naturally has to bow their heads to you, that smug composure you wear as casually as breathing itself. And all because you were born into a good family!!"
It seemed Tryggdrik's hatred toward Karvaldr stemmed from jealousy and an inferiority complex.
Well, for someone who enjoys tormenting others, it makes sense that they wouldn't tolerate having someone above them.
They probably assume their superiors look down on them the same way they themselves look down on people beneath them.
"What are you talking about when you were also born into an old prestigious noble family?"
"How is a Viscount's family remotely the same as a Ducal Family?! I have to swallow my pride, flatter ruling-class bastards like you, watch your moods, and diligently attend social gatherings to build connections... But people grovel before you even when you do nothing, and you don't just take that for granted, you actually find it annoying, don't you? Acting like connections don't matter at all, without a single worry about the future!"
People only see what they want to see, but this was excessive.
That statement showed a complete lack of understanding of Karvaldr as a person.
'As if he had no anxiety about the future when his own father showed no interest in him whatsoever. He must have constantly lived in fear of not knowing when he'd be abandoned.'
He found people approaching him while groveling annoying because he knew they only wanted something from him.
People who would shamelessly turn their backs and even ridicule him the moment he lost the family's backing.
What reason would he have to manage those kinds of people as valuable "connections"?
'Wasn't Karvaldr's arrogance itself the result of effort? To appear worthy of the title of Young Master of the Austri Family. And to hide his own precarious position from everyone else...'
However, I had no intention of sympathizing with Karvaldr and getting emotional over it.
Even though I was using his body, I wasn't the real Karvaldr.
Without getting worked up, I calmly continued {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the conversation.
"What exactly are you complaining about so naturally?"
"Haha... Hahahaha...! Complaining? You think this is complaining?"
"If you dislike the word 'complaining,' should I call it whining instead?"
At my mockery-laced question, Tryggdrik audibly ground his teeth.
But perhaps he couldn't think of a comeback, because instead of replying, he issued a threat.
"You're nothing special except for being born into a Ducal Family... nothing at all... What kind of confidence made you come here? And with someone like Ríolíkin? Did you think your precious family could protect you forever?"
"Does that seem impossible to you?"
"You idiot! Of course it's impossible! If I tell the mercenaries here to kill you right now, what exactly can your family do? You should've brought someone useful while relying on that precious family name of yours!"
There were so many things wrong with what he said that I didn't even know where to begin correcting him.
So I simply said whatever came to mind.
"The reason I didn't bring anyone to help is because I assumed there would already be someone suitable here."
"And who would that be? Don't tell me it's Reisir? The hostage is in my hands. What can he possibly do?"
Tryggdrik snickered as he lightly pressed the tip of the dagger against unconscious Helga's neck.
A drop of blood welled up.
Seeing that, Reisir looked at me anxiously, as though asking what I planned to do now.
I showed him my palm, signaling him to calm down and wait, before speaking again.
"Tryggdrik, you wouldn't be capable of carrying out a kidnapping alone, so I assumed you hired mercenaries. And since you intended to frame me as the mastermind behind this kidnapping, you must have used my name when hiring them. Isn't that right?"
"Pfft! You don't seriously think the mercenaries I hired would listen to your orders, do you? I may have used your name while hiring them, but I'm the one who paid them."
"You paid them? Enough money that they'd willingly help harm the youngest son of Duke Austri?"
"......!"
The word "youngest" carried a certain image.
Someone doted on more than the other children. Spoiled and dearly cherished.
Even though the reality was nothing like that.
'There's no way the mercenaries would know the details of that family situation.'
Tryggdrik still hadn't realized it, but the mercenary standing behind him had puckered his lips with interest.
He didn't make a sound, but he was silently expressing an impressed 'Oh!'
"No matter how much mercenaries love money, they wouldn't casually accept a request to kidnap a noble lady. Interfering with nobles carries too much risk. The reason they accepted the job is because you brought up the 'Austri Ducal Family.' They must have assumed that even if something went wrong, your family would cover for them."
"St-still... they already accepted the contract, so they have to follow through...!"
"Why should they? It was a fraudulent contract, wasn't it?"
To insist they had to honor a contract simply because one existed.
For him to say something so naive in a fantasy world like this.
It proved that despite pretending to have lived some rough, ruthless life, he had actually grown up like a flower in a greenhouse.
"Did you tell them beforehand that the reason for this kidnapping was simply to torment a classmate, and that you intended to pin all the blame on someone from the Austri Ducal Family? Did you include a clause saying they must attack me if I appeared here? If you intend to kill me and frame Reisir for it, do you even have enough money to pay the additional fee for that?"
"Th-that's..."
"I'm the one asking the questions. Why do you think the mercenaries would obey your orders?"
"......"
I could see Tryggdrik's pupils trembling violently as though an earthquake had struck.
But he still hadn't fully grasped the situation.
No, it would be more accurate to say he was trying to escape reality.
"Th-the mercenaries already cooperated in kidnapping a noble lady. So they'll know it's in their best interest to frame you as the mastermind and Reisir as your killer. No, no... I can just order Reisir to kill you for real, can't I? I have a hostage in my hands!! Then I won't even need to pay the extra fee..."
"If you truly believe that, then even calling you a fool would be too generous."
I clicked my tongue with a tsk and glanced at the mercenary standing behind Tryggdrik.
He had probably already reached a conclusion, yet he was pretending to deliberate.
"If things go according to your plan, wouldn't these mercenaries become criminals who failed to protect me despite being hired by me? Do you really think my father would let them go? From their perspective, wouldn't it be better to simply go to prison for kidnapping a Baron's daughter?"
"Ah..."
"The outcome most beneficial to the mercenaries in this situation is for them to become victims of a fraudulent contract. You used the Ducal Family's name and threatened them by saying their families would be exterminated if they refused after hearing the details of the job. So they were forced to kidnap the Baron's daughter as instructed, only to later discover that everything was a lie you fabricated."
"......"
Tryggdrik's expression hardened.
The way he clenched his jaw made it look as though he had reached some kind of decision, and that was not a good sign.
Which was why I hurriedly continued speaking.
"They'll still be punished for participating in the kidnapping, but since they cooperated under false threats, the sentence will be light. And if they protect the Baron's daughter from the kidnapper the moment they realize they've been deceived, even that punishment could be reduced."
I finished speaking almost at the exact same moment Tryggdrik tried to drive the dagger into Helga's neck.
And at nearly the same moment, the mercenary who had been standing motionless behind Tryggdrik like a guard finally moved.
Before the dagger could pierce Helga's neck, the mercenary swiftly grabbed Tryggdrik's wrist and twisted it backward.
"Aaargh!!!"
To think I would feel such immense relief from hearing someone else's scream.
I had been confident that as long as Tryggdrik was willing to keep talking, I could steer the conversation this way and save the hostage.
Still, this wasn't my novel, but someone else's.
Deep down, I had been anxious about what I would do if things didn't unfold the way I expected, so I was truly relieved everything worked out.
