Chapter 155
Phew... I relaxed the hand I'd been unconsciously clenching and let out a deep breath. Even though I was only watching, it seemed I'd been tensing my whole body. The men had been trying to kill the soldiers, so it had been pretty scary.
Ideally, the world would be peaceful enough that I wouldn't need to experience something like this, but perhaps this experience would prove useful in this world. It was good that the problem with the stall had been resolved, but I was also glad I'd gotten to see that fight.
As I relaxed the tension in my body and thought about that, it seemed the soldiers had finished tying up the men.
"What should we do with these men?"
"Leon, what are we going to do?"
Lucien asked me. All that remained was to find out who was behind it for this to be a success.
"I want to find out who was behind this."
I said that and began walking toward the men. Then someone called out to me from behind.
"Leon, I'll come too. Now that I came up with the plan, I have to see it through to the end."
Ronnie said that with a determined expression.
"That's right. Then let's go together."
The two of us walked over to the men. When we approached, they pulled faces of obvious displeasure and shouted at us.
"You little brats are the ones running that stall, right? Were you the ones who set us up!?"
"I'll kill you bastards someday!"
Whoa... Having murderous intent directed at me was scarier than I'd imagined. I really didn't want to get any closer. But there was no point unless we found out who was behind this, so I had to do my best.
I forced my reluctant feet onward and walked over to the men. Then I stopped right in front of them and questioned them in the most dignified voice I could manage.
"There's something I want to ask you. Who hired you to do this?"
"As if we'd tell you that! What a stupid brat!"
"Gahahaha! He's right. Who'd be stupid enough to answer honestly?"
The men mocked us as they spoke. They weren't going to tell us right away, after all. As I wondered what I should do, Ronnie quietly spoke up.
"Did your employer save your life or something? Or do you owe him a great debt?"
"Huh? No way. It was money, money! You guys have never had to worry about money, so you wouldn't understand!"
"So you were hired by your employer for money and nothing else? Then there shouldn't be any reason for you to keep it a secret, should there? Which would you prefer: being tortured into talking or telling us yourself?"
"What!? Why would we get tortured!? All we did was wreck a stall, right? Surely we'd only get a fine for that!"
"You don't even know that? You're an idiot. Gahahaha!"
The men mocked us again, but Ronnie cut them off with his cold voice.
"You still don't seem to understand what you've done, but that isn't an ordinary stall. It's rented by a commoner affiliated with the ducal family. Do you understand what you've done now?"
The moment Ronnie said that in a cold voice and with a cold expression, the men, who had been so bold until then, went pale.
"The ducal family? Nobody told us that! We were told it was a stall run by a commoner, and that we'd get paid if we reduced its sales. They said we'd get even more money if we wrecked it..."
"Even if you didn't know, you still did it. If it comes out that you went after the ducal family, you won't escape the death penalty, will you? At best, you'll be sent to the mines."
"We didn't know! We really didn't know!"
"Yeah! Nobody told us that!"
"Didn't your employer deliberately hide that information from you?"
"That bastard...!"
The men had finally found a target for the anger they hadn't known where to direct, and hatred for their employer began to show on their faces.
"You don't need to protect the person who deceived you, do you? If you tell us now, we'll catch him for you. You might even avoid a harsh punishment since you didn't know."
"R-Really!?"
"It's possible, at least. But only if you tell us honestly."
"O-Of course we'll tell you! Catch that bastard! We're victims too—we were deceived!"
"Then who was your employer?"
"A guy named Salim from the Voclair Trading Company!!"
...Huh? Salim? The Salim from my class!?
Was that really true? Could it be someone else with the same name?
"Is that really true? How old is Salim?"
"It's true! He's about the same age as you guys, isn't he?"
Seriously...? I never imagined Salim would have ordered something like this. He'd initially picked a fight with me, but after learning that I belonged to the Townsend ducal family, he hadn't approached me again.
Why would he do something like this? He had often looked at me with contempt, but since he hadn't actually done anything to me, I'd ignored it.
"Ronnie, do you think it's really Salim?"
"There's no reason for them to lie, so I think it is. He does always look at you frighteningly, doesn't he?"
"Yeah. I see... Salim, huh... I'm not trying to defend him, but the fact that he's a classmate is a little shocking."
"That's true. We have been taking classes together every day, after all."
"...Yeah. For now, let's tell Richard-sama and have Salim arrested as well."
"Right."
After that, we had one of the ducal family's soldiers go notify the Royal Capital soldiers' station, and the men were handed over to the Royal Capital soldiers.
Then we returned to the residence.
Even though it was already midnight and the date had changed, Richard-sama had waited for our return. We all moved to the drawing room to give our report.
"What was the result?"
"Yes. The men came as planned and began destroying the stall, so we arrested them in the act and handed them over to the soldiers. We also managed to find out who was behind it, but the mastermind turned out to be our classmate, Salim."
"Is Salim a commoner?"
"Yes. He's the son of the owner of a trading company called Voclair."
After I said that, Richard-sama thought for a moment with a troubled expression, then asked me seriously,
"Leon-kun, is this commoner boy named Salim your friend?"
"No. If anything, he seems to dislike me, and we haven't spoken since we argued near the beginning."
"I see. That's good, then. I was worried it might be painful for you if he were your friend."
Richard-sama said that and softened his expression. He really was a kind person to worry about something like that.
"There's no need to worry about me. But what will happen to Salim?"
"Well... If Salim's name comes up from the men we've captured, he'll probably be arrested. However, unless a contract proving that he actually hired the men turns up, it won't amount to a serious crime. A fine is the most likely outcome. That would be different if he admitted his guilt, though."
So that's how it would work. I suppose it would count as insufficient evidence.
"However, that boy named Salim won't be able to continue living as he has until now. If it becomes known that he attacked the ducal family, there's a good chance he'll have to leave the Royal School. He might also be expelled from his family's trading company..."
That was certainly possible, depending on what kind of parents he had. If his parents were the sort who valued their social position, they might immediately disown a son who had attacked the ducal family.
If that happened, I would feel sorry for Salim to some extent, but I was even more worried that he might hold a grudge against me. I would feel safer if he could be kept under watch somewhere within my sight.
Hmm... What should I do? As I agonized over it, Richard-sama offered a good suggestion.
"Do you want to help Salim?"
"I wouldn't say I feel enough sympathy for Salim to go that far, but I'm worried about him holding a grudge against me."
"That's true. Hmm... Then how about hiring him as a menial servant in the ducal household? We could assign someone to shadow him so he can't do anything foolish, and reform him from the ground up."
"That would be... very helpful, but it would be far too much of a burden on everyone in the ducal household..."
Raising one person would be difficult enough on its own, and raising someone who resented me would be even more so. It would also increase the burden on the servants.
"I don't mind."
"But wouldn't that place a considerable burden on the servants...?"
"That is true. Alban, what do you think?"
Alban-san was also present for the discussion, so Richard-sama asked whether he thought it would be possible.
"Yes, it is possible, though it would indeed increase the burden on the other servants. However, may I accept this matter as my personal responsibility?"
"You mean you'll educate Salim by yourself?"
"Yes. My son is grown now, so educating one additional person should not interfere with my duties."
"In that case, that should be fine. But why are you willing to go that far, Alban?"
"It would be my way of repaying Leon-sama. Leon-sama saved my life. I have always wanted to repay that debt, but there have hardly been any situations in which Leon-sama needed my abilities, and I have not yet had the opportunity. That is why I would like to accept this task. Of course, I do not believe this alone will repay everything I owe you, but I hope I can be of some small assistance."
"I see... If that's your reason, then very well. Alban, I'm counting on you. If Salim is cast out, find him and bring him here. Then educate him until he reaches a level befitting a servant of our household."
"Understood."
Alban-san had been that grateful for the treatment I'd given him back then...? I'd almost forgotten about it.
What a loyal and good person he was.
I didn't like Salim either, but I couldn't wish for him to be cast out and die on the streets. If we could at least save his life and eliminate the risk of him holding a grudge against me, I was truly grateful. I decided to accept Alban-san's generous offer.
"Alban-san, thank you very much."
"It is my way of repaying Leon-sama. I will do my utmost."
"I'm counting on you."
And so, the meeting to report on the plan came to an end. The revelation of the mastermind was quite a shock, but it was fair to call the plan a tremendous success. Ronnie really was incredible. His leading questions when he got the mastermind's name out of them had been perfect.
Ronnie would be staying in a guest room at the ducal residence tonight, so he seemed quite nervous at the moment. But he was gradually getting used to nobles and becoming more and more capable. I needed to work hard so I wouldn't lose to Ronnie.