"...Even so, an intruder got in, how can it not be a big deal."
Leonardo, whose eyes had momentarily met with the other's, flinched but pretended to rest his chin on his hand as he turned his eyes and head away. Though he thought he had handled it naturally, he wasn't sure how it appeared to the other person. He hoped they would consider it an unconscious glance.
"Was the barrier deactivated, or did someone deliberately break through it?"
"The latter is more likely."
"What kind of bastard would..."
However, contrary to Leonardo's wishes, an uncomfortable gaze followed him in the window where the train's interior was faintly reflected.
"Shouldn't we seal off the entire territory and issue a wanted notice?"
"Normally, yes. Since there's a possibility of an assassination attempt."
"I heard it might be the work of someone familiar—"
"Let's lower our voices a bit."
The man whose eyes had met Leonardo's interrupted his companion mid-sentence and added:
"So it doesn't cause harm."
He then pointed with his chin at the passenger sitting alone by the window. Though the nuance was to be careful, his eyes clearly showed wariness.
As soon as the instruction was given, a sudden silence flowed among the four sturdy men. Eight eyeballs simultaneously fixed on the window on the opposite side. Leonardo, who had pulled down his cap, felt as if sweat was trickling down the back of his head. The invisible gazes were stinging.
Isn't it no different from intimidation, telling someone not to eavesdrop when they suddenly stop talking and stare after saying they should lower their voices to avoid causing harm? Leonardo, who habitually pulled his face mask up to below his eyes, dyed his eyes an ambiguous light between gold and brown.
In truth, there shouldn't be a problem with just looking at the adjacent seat, but he felt needlessly guilty because the intruder mentioned in the conversation seemed to be him. Moreover, they were most likely His Grace's knights. Meeting people related to him in a region completely opposite from the vicinity of Agrizendro territory.
"――."
"――."
Leonardo found the continuing whispers quite uncomfortable. Though he couldn't precisely tell the direction of the gazes reflected in the window, it was certain that their heads were facing this way.
Wondering why they were staring so much, he belatedly recalled that Signe's beret was prominently placed on the table where his arm was resting.
'Ah... damn it.'
Those who seemed to be looking for active military personnel couldn't have missed this. Moreover, Signe's military gear would be occupying one of the luggage compartments above the seat.
The fact that they were deliberately wearing civilian clothes meant they had something to do secretly, not an official order. Naturally, they would be averse to having information exposed to military personnel. He could only hope they wouldn't unnecessarily consider him a subject of vigilance.
Leonardo quietly rested his chin on his hand and looked only out the window. Soon, the train that had been stopped departed, and most passengers took their seats in the empty spaces.
Just as time passed and the attention from the adjacent seat was about to be withdrawn, that was when an unhelpful voice appeared.
"Did you guard the luggage well?"
Signe, who had just returned from the bathroom, passed in front of the men's view and plopped down opposite Leonardo. It was the moment when the dying embers of interest were reignited.
"The bathroom was really dirty, I barely washed my hands. Oh, you cleaned up the table already?"
She took the solitary beret and put it on her head, securing it firmly with a pin. Her clothes were also a military uniform, a style that already drew attention. If he continued to converse with Signe like before, it seemed that the other side would be the ones eavesdropping on their conversation.
Having fulfilled his duty of watching over the luggage, Leonardo stood up from his seat.
"I'm going to smoke a cigarette."
"Huh?"
He awkwardly turned his body and walked along the corridor in the direction Signe had come from.
"Wait, Teo—"
His steps were so fast that Signe couldn't catch him in time.
There shouldn't be any space over there... She muttered softly and hesitated before half-raising her upper body. But concerned about leaving both seats unattended, she looked up once at the military gear laid in the luggage compartment. As she naturally looked around, she saw the reliable sturdy men in the adjacent seat and approached them to ask:
"Excuse me, could you watch my luggage for a moment? There are occasionally pickpockets inside the train."
The four men stared blankly at her who smiled with good humor. Soon, they exchanged glances, and the man sitting on the outside answered simply:
"Yes, sure."
"Thank you."
Having received an answer, Signe continued to follow Leonardo. Just then, two passengers from the back seat also walked in that direction, quickly obscuring Signe's figure.
The men maintained silence for about 10 seconds. Then one of them opened his mouth:
"Do you think they heard?"
"The man is a civilian, and the woman doesn't have a nameplate. Judging by her bulging military gear, she seems to be a recruit, so it's fine. Just the names."
"Still, to have Imperial Army next to us... It would be better to refrain from conversation. Didn't you see the military gear when they came in? I noticed the hat, but since it didn't have rank insignia, I thought it was a regular hat."
"Who would check the luggage compartment first? You check the person first. But what will that guy do with his girlfriend enlisting?"
"Is that important right now?"
"What should we do about organizing the list? We won't have time after getting off."
"If we do it in the window seat, it won't be visible from the corridor."
While the three men continued their conversation, the man who had answered Signe was staring at the door at the end of the corridor as it opened and closed. He was also the one who had made eye contact with Leonardo, as well as the highest-ranking person among the group.
Similarly, the knight sitting next to him rolled his eyes to examine the leader's expression.
"Senior, what's wrong?"
The leader-like man glanced at his companions.
"The man isn't a civilian either."
"Pardon?"
"The muscles and joints on the back of his hand were prominent. There were calluses too. Those are hands that have used quite a bit of strength."
The man's words once again stiffened the atmosphere. The knight who had asked him answered while rolling his eyes eerily:
"I'll go check it out."
"No, don't do anything conspicuous. It's our responsibility for being careless. Besides, it seems like they have their own complicated circumstances..."
He trailed off, muttering something incomprehensible.
'But why does he look familiar?'
The knight who had entered last looked around cautiously and asked as he stood up from his seat:
"I'll go check briefly while buying some snacks from the next car. Is there anything you need?"
The leader gave him a look as if to say do as you see fit. Then he paused, raised his hand, and added:
"Ah, get a napkin or a small memo pad if there is one."
"A napkin or memo pad... you say? Understood. I'll leave the communication device here, so if there's any contact from the main castle, please answer it for me."
"Alright, go ahead."
With that, one knight moved to the next car, and the remaining three people maintained silence for a moment. The knight who had said earlier that they needed to organize the list took out several papers from the briefcase he had brought.
He lowered his voice and muttered:
"Hah... By the way, the petition case is already a headache, and now an intruder in the main castle? To be honest, I'm greatly concerned that unfortunate incidents seem to be following His Lordship since the explosion incident. The orders we've received are essentially no different from digging into the internal affairs of the Imperial Army, aren't they?"
"...."
"No matter how careful we are, if we keep stirring things up, information will leak somewhere. If that happens, His Lordship will have more enemies, and I often wonder why he's taking such risks for others."
"Valens, didn't I tell you? Don't have doubts."
"As a faithful knight and servant, I'm only concerned for the master's well-being."
To the knight who responded while scratching with the nib of his fountain pen, the leader gave a colder look, resembling his master. Soon, with a small sigh, he added:
"The one we serve has a mission to rectify things that don't make sense. Ironically, those who walk the right path have always had many enemies. All of us, including myself, are here because we respect and honor his will. So, as faithful knights and his sword, we simply fulfill our assigned duties to prevent information from leaking."
"...."
"Though I'm worried about the incident at the main castle, that too will be resolved well. We focus on Leonardo Blaine's petition."
"Understood."
The knight who had been making notes on the paper reluctantly answered. He left a mark indicating that additional confirmation was needed for the names of the two soldiers mentioned earlier.
Giovanni Ambrose
Margo Penret
These were names written on the bundle of petitions secretly airlifted from Fidele Territory. They could only hope that these individuals would reveal to them the inside story of the Leonardo Blaine insubordination case they had been tracking for several months.