“Alright, Yellian. Did you hear that well?”
“Yes……, I heard it well.”
“Then tell me what you think.”
“My thoughts……?”
The answer is already decided, and all you need to do is respond. If you don’t give the desired answer, your ankle will be cut off.
Yellian heard an auditory hallucination, as if their own scream was echoing pitifully. Shivering with a chill, Yellian moistened their dry lips with their tongue and cautiously began to speak.
“Of course, naturally…….”
“Naturally?”
“Unless they’re insane, no one could reject my lord……. Not unless they want their ankle cut off…….”
Since the last part was mumbled, Elton and Larissa couldn’t make out what they were saying, but Leonard could. He found it quite amusing that Yellian was making their own subtle protest by mentioning the ankle even in this situation.
“Well, it seems everyone thinks the same. Anyway, let’s end this topic here, Larissa. Tell me more details about the memories of that day.”
“I really don’t remember much. I was so out of it myself……. But there was one thing I found strange.”
“What was that?”
“The smell.”
“Smell?”
At Larissa’s words, Leonard narrowed his eyes. Smell, smell. No matter how much he thought about it, nothing clicked. In the end, Leonard had no choice but to wait for Larissa’s explanation.
“I’m quite sensitive to smells, and those guys……. They didn’t smell like anything.”
“……That’s certainly strange.”
Leonard nodded in agreement with Larissa’s words. He seemed to understand what she was talking about.
On the other hand, Yellian couldn’t grasp what Larissa meant. Unable to comprehend what it signified that they had no smell, Yellian alternated glances between Larissa and Leonard with a puzzled expression.
“Sorry, but what’s so strange about that…….?”
Fortunately, it seemed Yellian wasn’t the only clueless one. Elton cautiously asked. Though Elton had been annoying earlier for taking Leonard’s side, at this moment, he felt like an ally, almost familiar.
“Thinking back now, those guys, their appearance and all, they were quite neat. You could say clothes can be changed easily, but smell can’t be hidden. In this sweltering weather, doing such rough work, you’d expect at least the smell of sweat, blood, or even old hide, but the fact that there was no stench at all is suspicious.”
After hearing Leonard’s explanation, Yellian finally nodded belatedly. Though they didn’t fully understand, it must be hard for commoners to wash every day. So the fact that those guys had no smell at all meant…….
“Could it be that those guys were nobles or something?”
It was the best conclusion Yellian could come up with after racking their brain, but Leonard closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh at the question.
“If they were nobles, that would’ve been uncovered during the investigation by now. That’s not what I mean.”
“Ah……. Then what…….?”
Feeling embarrassed but curious about what he meant, Yellian looked at him with eyes full of curiosity. Leonard shook his head a few times before finally speaking.
“It likely means that whoever hired them is obsessively meticulous about cleanliness.”
“Hah…….”
“What’s wrong?”
“Leonard, you seemed like a real genius just now.”
Yellian was genuinely impressed by his words. To Yellian, it was just the absence of smell, but Leonard had made an impressive deduction from that single piece of information.
“You’re trying to catch the ones behind them, right? I’ll help too!”
Larissa said with enthusiasm. Yellian couldn’t understand why she was so eager about this. Finding the mastermind behind those guys seemed to have nothing to do with Larissa.
“But why would Larissa…….?”
“My lord is my lifesaver. Of course, so are you, Yellian, and Elton. So I have to help with something.”
“How can I trust those words? What basis do I have to believe you’re not connected to those guys?”
At Leonard’s cold question, Yellian felt frustrated just listening to it. From their perspective, Larissa seemed to genuinely want to help with good intentions, so was there really a need to be so guarded?
“Yellian went through things they shouldn’t have because of those guys. So I need to clearly distinguish between enemies and non-enemies.”
At Leonard’s following words, Yellian was inwardly surprised. They had no idea that the reason he was so wary of Larissa was for their own safety. Thinking that he was this concerned about them made Yellian feel oddly embarrassed and their heart race a little.
Yellian didn’t even know why their heart was racing. It was probably out of surprise, but for that, their heart was beating quite loudly.
“I can’t provide evidence. No matter what proof I offer, my lord won’t believe me. So just give me information that’s safe to share. Wouldn’t that be fine?”
Larissa was definitely clever. Yellian thought so too. Even if they were Leonard, they wouldn’t be able to resist trusting her right now.
“……Clever.”
Sure enough, Leonard acknowledged her sharpness. He then nodded.
“I can trust you. But let me make one thing clear. I won’t protect you. If protecting you interferes with catching those guys, I’ll abandon you without hesitation. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I’m fine with it. If you all hadn’t saved me, I would’ve died in that cave anyway.”
It was a resolute answer. Yellian liked Larissa. She was definitely a character worthy of helping the master, Abigail. She was full of ambition and loyalty.
“Alright. If I get new information, I’ll share it.”
“I’ll let you know if I find anything more too!”
Larissa clenched her fist as she spoke. With this, an alliance was formed between Leonard and Larissa. Elton and Yellian were just tagging along, but…… well, they were all in the same boat regardless.
* * *
“Ahh, this is nice.”
Yellian soaked in the warm bathtub. It was so warm and pleasant that they couldn’t help but hum. The fragrance of the scented oils was also delightful.
Indeed, the lord’s household was nice in that it had various kinds of scented oils. Yellian picked whichever oils they liked and poured them into the bath.
Today’s chosen oils, picked at random, were peony and lavender. Both were fragrant, and mixed together, they smelled even better. Yellian felt their whole body relax in the pleasant aroma.
Floating in the large bathtub with their eyes closed, it felt like they were playing the role of a celestial being. After a while, Yellian opened their eyes and decided it was time to get out of the bath, trying to stand up.
For some reason, the bathtub had become incredibly deep. Not only could their feet not touch the bottom, but no matter how much they stretched their arms, they couldn’t reach the edge of the tub. Fear surged at the sudden depth. Yellian, swallowing water frantically, called out to Leonard in desperation.
“Yellian!”
Not long after, Leonard rushed into the bathroom. Because of the chain attached to their ankle, the bathroom door couldn’t be fully closed, and thus couldn’t be locked, which turned out to be a blessing. If the door had been locked, it would’ve taken Leonard much longer to come rescue them.
“Gah, save me, I’m drowning, gah, puh puh puh!”
“……What’s going on?”
“Hey, I’m dying hereeee!”
Someone was about to drown, and he was calmly asking, ‘What’s going on?’
Yellian was still flailing their limbs, panting heavily. Every time they shouted for help, water rushed into their mouth. They felt like they were about to die from the agony, yet Leonard still seemed unfazed.
Anyway, it seemed he intended to pull them out. He approached with a puzzled expression. Then, with one hand, he lifted them out…….
“Wait, with one hand? Wha, what?! Why is Leonard so big now? Wait, it’s not just Leonard! Everything else is huge too!”
Panicked, Yellian looked around the bathroom wildly. It was as if they had become a miniature; everything in the bathroom looked enormous. Leonard, right in front of them, was no exception.
Bewildered, Yellian widened their eyes, at a loss for what to do. Yet, this situation didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar. It was almost like the perspective they had when they were a cat…….
“Leonard.”
“Speak.”
“Am I, by any chance, a cat?”
“You are.”
“Damn it allllll!”
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