7-1 Part 1
The Seventh Son Says It Is a Grand
Escape
- Flight -
Translator : PolterGlast
Recap of the
Previous Chapter
Upon returning to
the Imperial Capital, Ashley was informed by Georg that
the Alchemist Dulin had been abducted by members of the State Church.
Despite Georg warning him not to make an enemy of the State Church,
Ashley did not stop.
There, Ashley
relied on the power of his page, Jii,
to investigate Dulin's whereabouts.
Jii, though reluctant, performed his job perfectly and discovered
that Dulin was confined in the Detached Palace of Ashley's
aunt, the High Priestess Du-Neil of the State Church.
Taking Jii along, Ashley headed to his
aunt's Detached Palace and dug a tunnel from a nearby fishing hut
leading to the palace's basement.
Finding Dulin
imprisoned in an underground prison,
he broke her out and reunited her with Princess Atomina, who was waiting
outside. To punish the sinful act of kidnapping, Ashley invited lake
water into the dug tunnel, flooding the foundation.
Their destination
for escape was the territory of Duke Aion, the family Atomina
married into.
―――――――――――――――――
Princess Atomina
Arc
The Dragon Says:
Expose the Conspiracy and Betrayal
―――――――――――――――――
7-1 The Seventh Son
Calls It "The Great Escape" - Flight -
The Duke Aion's
territory is three days south of the Imperial Capital by carriage. From auntie's Detached Palace, it's a
distance that can be managed in a little over two days if we hurry.
Let me briefly
explain the escape plan. Surprisingly, Aneue personally drove the carriage
herself. We plan to
board it and escape to the territory of Duke Aion, governed by Aneue's
husband.
"W-What did you
say?! Do you intend to leave me behind? That is cruel, Ashley-sama! I question your conduct as my
master, treating me as an old man only when it's convenient for you!"
"That's not it.
I need you to deliver a message."
"A message! To
whom, exactly?!"
"To Aniue.
And also to the people at the Hez Company. It's insurance in case things
don't work out with Duke Aion."
Even if he couldn't
accept it emotionally, the logic should hold up. After grumbling and
complaining extensively, Jii finally
listened to my request. Now that I've taken Dulin back like this, even Aniue
can't oppose what we're doing at this point. After all, considering who the
opponent is.
Aniue will
surely try to protect his sister, born on the same day from the same womb. He's
a tremendous stickler for the rules, but that is how Atomina's brother, Georg,
has been for as long as I can remember.
"Ashley-sama, this oldman will
definitely come for you... So, please, I beg of you, do not do anything
reckless..."
"Yeah, I'll
think about it once this matter settles down. I've already done it; there's
nothing left but to brace myself from here on."
"You really
treat your own life far too lightly!!"
Jii continued with various orders and lectures after that, but
naturally, I'll omit those. Thus, we parted ways with Jii, hid little Dulin in the carriage compartment, and
spurred the horses south.
"Umm... Atomina-oneeshama, aren't you tired...? Doing
all this for Dulin... I'm happy, but, uuu... I'm sowwy..."
"It's fine.
After all, thanks to Dulin, we can travel together like this. ...Though,
returning over there makes my heart heavy."
Aneue and I
took turns driving the carriage. I'm not sure, but Aneue's behavior
might have been a little strange.
Well, I can guess a
few things. It was clearly odd that she barely returned to her husband's home
and spent all her time at the palace in the Imperial Capital... Still,
as Aneue said, the carriage journey had a sense of fulfilling
liberation.
In the words of the
other world, it's The Great Escape. Setting Dulin aside, Aneue
and I brazenly enjoyed this flight. Forest paths, hilly mountain roads, granary
regions with endless wheat fields, and towns large and small. There was no
shortage of sights to see.
And so it went. The
journey proceeded surprisingly smoothly, and partly because we hurried, we
entered Duke Aion's territory on the morning of the second day. Right
now, we are proceeding along a quiet forest road where sunlight filtering
through the trees flickers across our vision. It wouldn't be hurt to be cautious in this kind of
terrain.
"Sigh..."
"What's wrong, oneeshama?"
"No... It's
nothing."
"Could it be
that Dulin is a bother and you're fed up...?"
"Fufufu, that's
not it. It's just that facing my husband and father-in-law makes my heart a
little heavy... But I think Ashley is right. Here, I can protect my
precious little sister."
"Dulin
is a bad girl... Being oneeshama's
little sister, I... I shouldn't…
He, hehehe... But I'm happy."
In the carriage
compartment, the same dialogue that had been going on for some time was being
repeated. Over these two days, there were many opportunities to sense that
things weren't going well for Aneue over there.
"Aneue,
we haven't done anything wrong. We saved Dulin from villains; you should
hold your head high."
"...You're
right. I'll do that."
"Thank you, Ashley-sama. I will never forget this debt
for the rest of my life."
"You can forget
such a trivial thing. By the way, Aneue, is the Ducal Capital not yet in
sight?"
"Just a little
more. Once we exit this forest road, we'll see a large city; it's right there.
Fufufu, I wonder what excuse we should give to that stubborn Georg. Oh, Ashley...?"
Suddenly looking far
ahead from the height of the driver's seat, I saw some wooden structures lined
up on the road. I've never seen them before. And something is strange. As the
distance closed, figures resembling people came into view.
"Something's
ahead. Be careful, both of you. That is—shit, a barricade! We've been
ambushed!"
"Did the bad auntie
chase after Dulin?!"
"I won't let
that happen! Ashley, I'm leaving
this to you—order me to do whatever is necessary! "
She isn't Aniue's
twin sister for nothing. Atomina-aneue
isn't a soldier, yet she didn't panic at all and relied on my judgment.
This is a forest
road. The trees are in the way, so the carriage can only go straight.
Unhitching the horses from the carriage and riding through the forest requires
high skill. It's impossible for Aneue and Dulin.
"Understood. Aneue,
come to the driver's seat."
"Got it!"
"Umm, umm, what
should Dulin do?!"
"If they notice
you, that alone will be trouble. Sorry, but cover yourself with a blanket and
keep low on the floor of the carriage."
"O-Okay!"
While this was
happening, Aneue came next to the driver's seat, and the figures over
there became visible. I assumed she would use her private soldiers, but this is
unexpected. No matter how you look at it, they were just highway bandits.
"W-What do we
do, Ashley?! Do we charge straight in?!"
"No way. We're
stopping, obviously."
Even if we tried to charge, the horses value their lives too. So, I stopped the horses at a distance that maintained a bit of space and got down from the driver's seat.
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