Ch.235235. ····Excuse me, but are you in your right mind?

“Young master.”

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

Amid the loud sound of horse hooves pulling the carriage, Jawill Wilson carefully spoke up.

With his arms folded heavily across his chest, he opened his mouth.

“What?”

“…Excuse me, but are you in your right mind?”

“I’m perfectly clear-headed, refreshingly so.”

Then, Jawill Wilson looked at Balthasar, who was tied up from head to toe with rope made from Pale fruit, his mouth also tightly bound.

“Is it really okay to kidnap a Holy Knight like that?”

“I didn’t kidnap him.”

“…Then what?”

“I just tied him up temporarily.”

“For what reason?”

I acted quickly.

I used “Invisibility” to infiltrate the temple and entered Saint Claudia’s room.

Before she could even notice, I put her to sleep with my “Hypnosis” skill, then loaded her onto the carriage heading to Lumestia.

Jawill Wilson, who had been sleeping at the inn and only later boarded the carriage, must be quite bewildered by the current situation.

I sighed briefly before speaking.

“Because he was being a nuisance.”

“A nuisance…?”

I had also anticipated Balthasar’s reaction, of course.

What kind of madman would suddenly kidnap the saint he serves, and what Holy Knight would say, “Oh my, please take her away”?

When he tried to block me with his sword, I simply tied him up to calm him down for a bit.

“I was going to untie him soon anyway.”

Jawill Wilson blinked his eyes and shifted his gaze to Saint Claudia, who was sound asleep on my shoulder.

“Um, since I joined last, I have to ask—you didn’t kidnap the Saint too, did you?”

“Kidnap? I escorted her.”

“Then why is she so deeply asleep?”

“I put her to sleep so she wouldn’t get tired.”

“P-put her to sleep? By hitting her?”

“Come on, are you joking? Of course I used magic.”

At that, Balthasar, still tied up on the floor, began to squirm.

“Mmmphhh!!”

“What’s his problem now?”

I made a puzzled expression, and Jawill Wilson stared at me intently.

“…You’re not really asking because you don’t know, right?”

“I really don’t know.”

Jawill Wilson trembled and raised his voice.

“Is this something we can just brush off? Kidnapping a Saint and a Holy Knight… we’ll be hunted by Holy Knights for the rest of our lives!”

“It’s fine. Since I snuck into the temple, the Holy Knights won’t realize the Saint is missing until tomorrow morning anyway.”

“That doesn’t change anything! When you entered the temple, you even revealed your name! Once they discover the Saint is missing, we’ll be the first ones they suspect.”

I shrugged my shoulders as I looked at Jawill Wilson.

“That’s why we left early.”

“W-what does that mean…”

“The Holy Knights don’t know our final destination anyway.”

“But there’s tracking magic…”

“Even if they track us, we’ll already have arrived at Lumestia territory by then. No matter how bold the Holy Knights are, would they dare invade the Imperial Palace?”

“…And after that!?”

“Obviously, His Imperial Majesty will handle it.”

Jawill Wilson blinked again, then tilted his head.

“…That actually makes sense.”

“See? I didn’t act without thinking.”

Jawill Wilson looked pitifully at Balthasar, who was still struggling against his bonds on the floor.

“How unfortunate for you, Sir Knight, to have crossed paths with our young master and suffered such indignity…”

“What indignity? I’ve given him the honor of personally attending to the Saint.”

“…Pardon?”

I tapped Balthasar with the tip of my foot and continued.

“Even among Holy Knights, there’s a power hierarchy.”

“Hierarchy?”

“Yes. Currently, a man named Lionel is the captain, and he’s opposed to taking Saint Claudia to another territory.”

“So?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have an ally among the Holy Knights? Especially a strong one.”

Lionel.

Truly a troublesome character.

He’s the type who loses his mind over anything related to Saint Claudia.

Therefore.

Even though I had to kidnap her under the Emperor’s orders, there’s a possibility that fiery arrows will fly my way.

Moreover, since he’s skilled in schemes and plots, I needed an ally among the Holy Knights.

Preferably someone with skills comparable to Lionel’s.

Jawill Wilson raised his head, seemingly unable to understand.

“But this one doesn’t seem that strong.”

“Oh? You can sense that now?”

Jawill Wilson scratched his head sheepishly.

“Well… I suppose so.”

Screech!

Just then, the moving carriage came to a halt.

The coachman knocked and opened the carriage door.

“Young master, I’d like to feed the horses and take a short rest.”

“Oh? That’s perfect.”

With a sinister smile, I dusted my palms and stood up.

“Jawill Wilson, untie him.”

“…Pardon?”

“You just said it yourself. He doesn’t seem that strong.”

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

“Then we need to make him stronger, don’t we?”

“By that, you mean…”

“You brought the Cheonwondan pills, right?”

“I do have them, but…”

I nodded my chin as I stepped out of the carriage.

“Hurry up and untie him, then unpack and bring the Cheonwondan pills and wooden swords.”

Jawill Wilson slowly bowed his head.

Looking at Balthasar, who was still struggling on the floor, with pitiful eyes, he spoke.

“…You would have been better off staying tied up.”

*

“Saint Claudia. Once again, I sincerely apologize.”

When Claudia woke up from the “Hypnosis” skill, she was initially very confused, but after I explained the situation, she seemed to understand.

She must have known.

That Emperor Malius’s remaining lifespan was running out while she was trying to persuade the Holy Knights.

“It’s alright. Sir Selden Alphonse, you had no choice because of His Imperial Majesty.”

“…That’s right. His Imperial Majesty is gravely ill, and we couldn’t wait for you to persuade the Holy Knights.”

Saint Claudia raised her head and stared at me intently.

“It really is you, Sir Selden Alphonse. I never expected you to make such a bold decision.”

I was newly impressed by her status as a Saint.

Given the circumstances, she could have been upset about being kidnapped, yet she remained composed.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“It’s fine. The Holy Knights at the temple must be very confused and angry right now, but they’ll understand once the situation is explained. By the way…”

Saint Claudia stared at me and then brushed off the dirt that was caked on my clothes with her fingers before continuing.

“Are you alright? I heard you were helping train Sir Balthasar… If you’re injured, I can heal you with my holy power.”

“Haha, fortunately, I’m not injured. I can change my clothes later.”

Jawill Wilson, who had been silently listening to the conversation, looked at Saint Claudia with an incredulous expression.

“…Excuse me, Saint.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you worried about Sir Balthasar over there?”

Saint Claudia followed Jawill Wilson’s pointing finger.

Her gaze stopped on Balthasar, who was half-unconscious with a severely swollen face.

“Ah… Sir Balthasar?”

“Yes, our young master only has a bit of dirt on his clothes. It seems Sir Balthasar is the one who needs treatment and concern.”

At that, Saint Claudia gave a benevolent smile.

“Holy Knights are always pushing beyond their limits through rigorous training. They wouldn’t want me to worry about them either. Am I wrong, Sir Balthasar?”

Balthasar moved his swollen lips and reluctantly nodded.

Was it my imagination that tears were welling up in his eyes?

“…Thash correch…”

“And now I’m heading to Lumestia territory. It’s a journey to treat His Imperial Majesty’s illness, so you’ll permit it, won’t you, Sir Balthasar?”

“…Yesh, of courshe…”

Saint Claudia didn’t seem particularly concerned about Balthasar’s slurred speech.

Jawill Wilson continued regardless.

“Treatment seems more urgent than concern…”

As Jawill Wilson’s voice trailed off, Saint Claudia once again showed her benevolent smile.

“I don’t have that much holy power. Sir Balthasar seems fine enough to converse with me, so I should save all my power for His Imperial Majesty.”

“…But just now, you offered to heal our young master…”

“Sir Selden Alphonse risked danger to bring me from the temple, and even spared time to help Sir Balthasar with his training. Of course I should help if he’s injured.”

Jawill Wilson narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

Then, muttering “This unfair world…” under his breath, he seemed to lose interest in the conversation and stuck his head out of the carriage.

Screech!

At that moment, the carriage stopped again, and the coachman knocked and opened the door.

“Young master, I’d like to feed the horses—”

Saint Claudia interrupted the coachman and nudged Balthasar with her foot.

“Sir Balthasar, the carriage has stopped. Why are you still lying down?”

“…Pardon?”

Looking at the dumbfounded Balthasar, she spoke with a bright smile.

“Hurry, you need to train with Sir Selden Alphonse!”