The Return of the Female Knight

CHAPTER 39: I just have to catch them

"… All the dresses are torn to shreds."

He did not fully understand what Michael was saying at first.

"What?"

He's totally blind. He already knew that not all events would flow the same way as they did in his previous life, however, he could not help but feel swayed by something he had never experienced before. What's wrong? Something changed because this was different from his last life. The problem was, he could not even guess the underlying cause.

"When I open the train …"

"Let's go soon."

Elena rushed over first, and Michael followed behind. Elena, who was unfamiliar with the layout of the mansion, walked unhesitatingly onto the carriage, and Michael could not help but tilt his head in confusion.

When they arrived, Elena checked the scene with eagle-like eyes. There were two carriages used by the traveling party. One was the carriage that Elena and Mirabelle had arrived in comfort, and the other was the one carrying the luggage. The servants of the family rode in luggage carriages, and the other men rode their own horses. Right now the coachman, the maid, Mary, and the knights standing around looked puzzled. Upon seeing them, Elena spoke to the group in a calm voice.

"What's going on here?"

Mary was the first to answer.

"After you entered the mansion, I opened the carriage to move the luggage .. and the dresses were destroyed."

Mary's face was red, fragile under Elena's gaze. Elena glanced at his face, then turned towards the nearby knights.

"Did you see any suspicious people?"

"No, Mistress. We traveled directly from the clothing store to the mansion, so there was no room for anyone suspicious to approach. ”

Even Elena agreed. They never stop on the way here from the clothing store. Lastly, he spoke to the coachman, who stood up restlessly.

"Did you see something strange while you were driving the carriage?"

"Oh, no, Madam. It's like a real ghost. ”

The coachman seemed to be afraid that he would have to pay compensation. It was not easy for an ordinary man to buy a dress worn by a noble woman. But that's not what matters now. It would be a waste of money, and even if Elena had wealth …

Now the problem is the difficulty of finding another dress for the dance. All the tailor shops in the capital are now full. Even if the dress had to be ordered now, it was impossible to meet the deadline.

"… Haaa."

The sigh could not help but escape from his mouth.

That was.

The coachman, who was looking at Elena's agitated face, hurriedly opened his mouth when he suddenly recalled something.

"Ah, Mistress. There's something unusual. "

"What's that?"

“Yes, we have four maids coming with us. Mary sat with me in the front because she wanted fresh air … "

Mary nodded in agreement at his side. The driver stuttered as he tried to recall his memories.

“There are maids in the carriage you are riding in, so there should be two maids in the freight car. But today there is only one girl. "

Mary, who was still listening quietly, noted that she also felt something strange.

"In hindsight, Tilda asked to stay on the luggage train alone because she felt unwell."

Since Elena was riding in the carriage with Mirabelle, she had no idea who was sitting in the coach seat. It was incredible that there were two maids riding in the coach seat on Elena's carriage, while Tilda was alone with luggage. The full story must come from him.

"Where is Tilda now?"

Mary's face paled upon hearing Elena's question. He seems to come to a damning realization.

"Y-yeah .. I couldn't find Tilda, so the other servants went to look for her."

After hearing this, Elena instantly knew who had destroyed the dress without having to dig any further. House Blaise is a family of knights. It would be difficult to sneak past the escorts of trained soldiers onto the carriage, unless the culprit, however, was the woman inside.

"…"

As Elena remained silent, one of the knights standing next to her spoke first.

"We're gonna find the perimeter, ma'am."

It's all planned. Chances of finding Tilda were low, but it was better than nothing, so Elena nodded.

"Then please take care of that."

"Understand."

The knights exchanged glances with each other then quickly dispersed. Elena could not suppress the sour feeling in her throat when she saw the rubble of the dress on the carriage.

'… Who is responsible for this?'

Tilda, a servant, couldn't have done this alone. A person moved in the shadows behind him, but it was not easily visible. Elena wondered if it was someone from her previous life. Since returning to the past, he could not think of what he had done to incite hatred towards her.

Elena pondered in silence for a moment, then turned to Mary.

"Did you see anything strange about Tilda while we were traveling?"

"Not everything…"

Mary, whose words were whispering, then suddenly raised her voice as if something had crossed her mind.

"Oh! She received a letter from Sophie a few days ago. "

"Sophie?"

Her memories of firing Sophie slowly surfaced. Tilda and Sophie work as domestic helpers together, and even if one of them is fired, they can still exchange letters. Elena has a bad feeling.

“No, the other waiter received nothing. Tilda and Sophie were close friends from the start. ”

"…Is that so?"

"Yes. But it may not matter, madam. "

Mary still seems to have a guilty conscience over Sophie, and her face is somewhat embarrassed. Sensing her discomfort, Elena replied with a slight nod in her head.

"I saw. Don't worry, I'll find out if it's related. ”

"Y-yeah!"

Mary's expression turned bright again, and Elena looked away from the torn dress. Staring at it will not return to its original state. For now, he had to think of how to deal with this.

Elena raised her voice to speak to the people gathered about her.

“We all had a difficult journey to get here. Go and rest. "

For the nobility, luxury goods and displays of wealth were highly valued. It was not unusual for a noblewoman to shout and cry in this situation, but Elena remained calm and composed. Michael, Mary, and the coachmen gathered here could not hide their shock.

"Oh, Madam …"

"Mary, get some rest."

Elena turned around first, and everyone lowered their heads. Michael himself follows Elena's awakening as she peacefully disappears into the mansion. Without turning her head, Elena spoke in a low voice to Michael.

"Please call Blaise Castle and look for a waiter named Sophie who was recently laid off. Find out what he's doing now in as much detail as possible. "

"Yes, I'll send word soon. Leave it to me, Madam. ”

Michael held his hand to the chest, as if convincing him to believe it, and Elena simply nodded in return. The simple gesture was so graceful that Michael could only stare at Elena's profile in awe.

As Elena headed for her room, she wondered who the culprit was responsible for the incident. She could ask Kuhn to investigate, but in her experience, household affairs had to be resolved internally. If he knew who the culprit was, he would make sure they wouldn't get away with it. She needed a dress because she had to attend a party, but she was even more furious when she recalled Mirabelle's smiling face.

'… I just need to catch them.'

When they reached Elena's room, Michael bowed deeper than he had first.

"Good night, Madam."

"Yes, and you too."

After he closed the door, he began to check if there was anyone in the room. Only after making sure he was alone did he carefully dismantle the dagger and the weight of the sandbag he was wearing on his ankle. He didn't always have time to exercise, so he used them as the second best option. Therefore, he was now much healthier physically than when he first saved Carlisle. He rubbed his stiff ankles for a moment then hid the dagger and sandbags beside his bed. He had a habit of sleeping with a sword next to him from his previous life, in the case of a surprise attack when he slept.

Elena walked up to the window and picked up the red handkerchief, then tied it to the handle for it to be seen from the outside. It was the first time he had called out to Kuhn since he had saved Mirabelle. There was no guarantee that her signal would work in this mansion, but Elena knew that Kuhn would come to her.

There was a lot of work he had to do in the capital. However, since a major incident had already occurred on the first day, it was still one more problem among the pile of things to be resolved.

Elena looked at the star-filled night sky and muttered to herself.

"… I'll be busy again tomorrow."

Elena's prediction proved to be correct. Despite a long search by the knights, Tilda was nowhere to be found.

After Elena finished her simple breakfast, Kuhn appeared in her room.

"What are you calling me for?"

Kuhn's sudden appearance was no longer surprising to Elena. He calmly sat down at his desk as he spoke to her.

"Do you know what happened last night?"

He did not feel the need to give any further explanation. Kuhn replied grimly, with no sign of surprise.

"Yes . ”

There are major implications in that short answer. Even though he already knew that Kuhn possessed extraordinary abilities, he seemed to have many eyes hidden from him, and those eyes were probably under Carlisle's orders. He suddenly recalled something the crown prince had said earlier.

– Than surveillance, consider it as protection since last we parted.

No matter how much she thought about it, the term "surveillance" seemed more appropriate, but Elena decided to skip it. After all, the position of Crown Prince attracted the attention of many people, and he could expect this to be on a greater level if he became empress later on. It wasn't a very pleasant idea, but he was ready to handle it. Despite that, he could escape their surveillance if he wanted to, and perhaps Carlisle already knew that after seeing his sword ability

"Then did the Crown Prince know about last night?"

"Yes . He likely received the report immediately. ”

“It appears to me that my every step has been tracked. ”

“... I won't comment. ”

Kuhn avoided giving a definitive answer, but anyone could see where the conversation was headed. Elena was silent for a moment. He anticipates that his movements are reporting to Carlisle, but he doesn't realize it will include incidents in his personal life, such as the incident from last night. Of course, her life as a noble princess was so simple that there was nothing embarrassing for her to know, and she wondered if she really cared about him.

At the same time, his curiosity about his last words grew.

– If you are very curious, then I will tell you. You don't seem to remember it, but we've met for a long time.

As Carlisle had intended, his words never left Elena's head for a single moment. She is upset at herself for falling in love with her words, but she can't help but wonder when she and Carlisle met. If he saw her again, perhaps he would be able to get an answer. Elena wanted to see him again as soon as possible.

"I'd like to make an appointment to see His Majesty–

Before he could finish speaking, Kuhn took out a small piece of paper and reached out to him. Elena looked surprised, then carefully picked it up. That's a ticket to a famous opera. He looked at Kuhn with a questioning look, and he explained it in a business tone.

"The general said to send this. ”

"Send…?"

Elena looked again at the opera ticket. Then the date and time of the show is tonight. Although she intended to meet him, this was much faster than Elena expected, like someone waiting for her to arrive at the capital. Elena was stunned by the confusion, then Kuhn spoke to her once more.

“She said she'd send a train to pick you up at eight tonight. ”