TLVGAJ 19

Chapter 19

“Huh? Sir Eric?”

“My lady?”

It was Eric. He was wearing the same white shirt as last night.

Despite drinking quite a lot yesterday, Eric looked surprisingly fine with his strong build and smooth face.

“He’s really independent. He goes around so well on his own…”

“My lady, did you sleep well last night?”

Eric greeted me warmly as he approached. I smiled.

“Yes. Did you sleep well too? I didn’t see you at breakfast.”

“I overslept because I drank too much yesterday. Can you believe Albert went to the dining car without waking me up?”

Eric playfully clenched his fist as he spoke.

“So I came here for a late tea time. Would it be okay if I sat with you?”

“Of course. Please sit and relax. Besides, all the other seats are full.”

When Eric sat down, a staff member brought another teacup for him.

Since Eric hadn’t eaten breakfast, I asked the staff to prepare an extra sandwich. The staff gladly brought it over.

Eric made a grateful gesture and said,

“Thank you, my lady. I’m honored that you care for me like this.”

“It’s nothing. Please eat a lot.”

“You’re my favorite, Eric. I can do at least this much. Haha.”

Maybe because I was annoyed at Albert, I ended up taking extra care of Eric instead.

It was also like the fan-love I had for Eric, the character who once made my heart race as a reader.

“Honestly, Eric is much easier to talk to than Albert.”

I knew Eric very well. I was sure he wouldn’t suddenly change sides for me and betray the female lead just because we talked like this.

Eric finished the big sandwich in just two bites and then sipped his coffee.

“By the way, Albert seemed sensitive today. I heard something happened this morning? About the assassin.”

“Ah…”

I laughed awkwardly.

“Yes. Somehow it happened that way.”

“It’s amazing that you just happened to show up when the assassin attacked and saved him. Did you know in advance?”

“…Actually, I overheard the assassin talking yesterday by chance. As you know, I can sense magical items because of my magic. Since I knew, I couldn’t just ignore it. But please keep this a secret from His Highness.”

As far as I knew, Eric, being a holy knight, could also sense magic to some degree.

Eric said with interest,

“You have good instincts. People carrying magical items are more common than you’d think. I wouldn’t have suspected anything.”

“Haha. No, I was just lucky.”

I suddenly thought: Is the assassin still locked up safely?

“The train accident might have loosened the security.”

I decided I needed to check if the assassin was being watched properly.

The image of the assassin’s fierce, glaring eyes as he was taken away still lingered in my mind.

“Honestly, Albert’s behavior lately is strange. I’ve known him for a long time, but he’s never shown interest in a woman before.”

“Ah…”

I hesitated for a moment, then said,

“Actually, I… don’t like Albert. I just treated him kindly because we knew each other, but… I think His Highness misunderstood.”

Then I carefully asked,

“Sir Eric, would it be possible for you to tell him how I feel?”

“Hmm… It’s better if you tell him yourself,” Eric answered with a troubled look.

“Relationships should be handled by the people involved.”

“No, I don’t even want to be linked with Albert under the title of a relationship…”

…but Eric was right.

Even though I had no dating experience from my past life, I still had some common sense.

It was better to tell Albert directly than to send the message through someone else.

“Okay. If Albert approaches me next time, I’ll make it clear.”

I bit my lip and firmly made up my mind when—

“Kyaaah!”

A loud scream came from somewhere.

My heart dropped. What now?

The train car started to get noisy.

“What was that sound just now?”

The nobles turned their heads toward the direction of the sound.

The short scream clearly came from the passenger cabins.

One of the passengers opened the door and shouted toward the noise.

“What happened?”

“Th-there’s someone collapsed here!”

A noblewoman in an elegant dress shouted in panic. She was standing in the hallway, looking into one of the cabins.

Someone collapsed?

The train car was thrown into confusion. People whispered with shocked faces.

Meanwhile, a few curious ones got up and went to check the situation themselves.

Sophie, Eric, and I also stood up and went toward where the woman was standing.

“Oh my goodness, what is this?”

Inside an empty cabin, a man had collapsed unconscious. He was only in his underwear.

“This is my cabin. I was coming in to rest after being in the social club… but there was someone lying here.”

The woman’s voice trembled as she looked at the people who gathered.

“He’s not… dead, is he?”

“Excuse me.”

Pushing through the crowd, Eric approached the man and touched the back of his neck.

He said calmly,

“…He’s not dead. Just unconscious.”

At that moment, a train staff member appeared from the crowd.

He was the same staff who had been serving in the social club earlier.

“Oh no, I just went to the dining car to bring food and this happened… Wait, Sebastian?”

The staff recognized the collapsed man and widened his eyes. I asked,

“You know him?”

“Yes. He’s one of our train staff. I thought he was out on a call because I hadn’t seen him, but why is he here…”

“Ugh.”

Before the staff could finish speaking, the collapsed man twitched his eyebrows and slowly opened his eyes.

“You’re awake. Are you all right? What happened?”

“I’m sorry… I was on my way out after being called, and a stranger suddenly attacked me from behind.”

“A stranger?”

The staff asked. Sebastian weakly nodded.

“Yes. It was a man with a scar on his face. He knocked me out. It happened so fast I couldn’t fight back.”

“…The assassin.”

I muttered quietly and bit my lip. My heart sank.

A strong sense of dread washed over me.

“Where was the assassin locked up?”

“Huh?”

“…We need to check if the assassin we caught this morning is still securely locked up.”

I urged the staff, my face pale.

“Hurry!”

The staff finally understood what I meant and ran quickly.

Sophie, Eric, and I followed right behind him.

We arrived at the door of one of the first-class cabins. The staff panted.

“Here. This was the only empty room, so we locked him up here.”

Clack!

I opened the door myself.

The empty room was… completely deserted. As if no one had ever been there.

“Damn it.”

The staff cursed in frustration.

“I’m sorry. It seems he escaped while we were distracted by the accident.”

I bit my lip. No wonder I’d been feeling uneasy this whole time.

“The assassin must be walking around in staff clothes right now.”

The escaped assassin had probably knocked out a passing staff member, stolen his uniform, and changed clothes.

What would he do next?

The answer came in less than a second. Eric and I looked at each other and said at the same time:

“…Albert.”

Albert was in danger.

Realizing this, Eric immediately turned and sprinted toward Albert’s cabin.

I was about to run after him when—

Something was under my foot.

I looked down unconsciously and frowned.

“…Huh?”