Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [309]
There was a brief pause, and Captain Ronmel said, surprisingly calm, “I am not Zaidek.”
“Oh? A lapdog is a lapdog from where I sit.”
“No. I’m no sympathizer with the causes of the Northern Empire. Nor would I care to raise my sword in defense of their ideals. If our Senate truly intends to allow the ideologies of the North to creep into our lands in exchange for peace, I would not accept it. I would resist it with every fiber of my being. Sometimes, even dogs turn against their masters. We do have a will of our own, you see.”
Trone was silent. It appeared that Captain Ronmel was waiting for his answer. The tension in the air was palpable, even under the desk where Wataru was hiding.
When Trone spoke next his voice was hoarse. “Even if we got our peace from the North and had to give nothing in exchange, I wouldn’t fancy being their allies. They have enslaved my people and tossed their corpses away like garbage. If peace means friendship with their sort, I choose war. I choose to fight, and fight until there is no one left. That’s something more important to me than my own life. Something more important to all us Highlanders. I wonder if you Knights have it?”
“So you mean to say that, for this thing which you hold dearer than life, you planned to assassinate the emperor? Was that your true objective? To me, it looks like you are engaged in nothing more than base revenge.”
Trone growled but did not reply.
“Arrest this man,” Captain Ronmel ordered his men. “Throw him in the cell here. We’ll let him cool off a little bit.”
“What about Kutz?” one of the men asked.
“We’ll split into three and search the town. If any of the residents get in our way, arrest them for hampering a public official. Our reinforcements should be arriving soon. We’ll use this branch office as our temporary headquarters. We must find Kutz by nightfall and take her to the capital.”
His man shouted a reply and dragged Trone out of the office. Now Wataru knew everything there was to know, except for where Kutz was hiding. Still, even though he was no longer keeping up the barrier around him, everything he had heard left him depleted. Northern sympathizers in the government…the strife between the dominant ankha and the minority beastkin. The Knights of Stengel, defenders of the United Southern Nations, and most of them ankha, at odds with the homegrown Highlanders organization.
Wataru began to have doubts, until his mind was racing, and he shivered. I can’t let them arrest Kutz. We have to go north together. Wataru didn’t know who was right anymore, Kutz or Captain Ronmel. It seemed like deciding between the two of them had such great consequences it was too much to bear. That was why he needed to see the truth for himself. He had to go north.
Knights were busily entering and leaving the office. Wataru drew the barrier of invisibility around himself once again, crept out from beneath the desk, and walking sideways along the wall, headed for the main entrance.
Captain Ronmel stood directly to the side of the desk. He had spread out a map of the town and was giving directions to a man. His eyes were on the map alone. Wataru could see deep lines etched in the side of his face.
Only a few more steps to the door. No one can see me. Wataru nearly stepped into a Knight who came running in through the door. He missed me. I’m okay.
“Captain! Word from the reinforcements!”
The Knight handed a communication to the captain. Captain Ronmel took it and looked up.
His blue eyes fixed on Wataru. Their eyes met. How? How can he see me?
The next instant, the captain had moved across the room in a few steps and held the tip of his sword pointed against Wataru’s throat. The way he moved was like magic. Only a soft breeze blew against Wataru’s face—he didn’t even hear the captain’s armor clink.
“I thought I sensed something strange before. Now I see what it was.” He wasn’t smiling.
Wataru