Subliminal Wayfarer

Verdic broke through the door with dozens of stalwart men.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Carynne’s voice, sharp and accusatory, challenged Verdic.

Indifferent to whatever Carynne might say, however, Verdic made his way in.

“Don’t we have much to discuss?”

“At this hour of the night? What audacity! Leave at once!”

Of course, Verdic paid no heed to Carynne’s words. Pointing at Carynne with his finger, he commanded the men standing behind him.

“Carynne… or should I say, Carrie. Take that woman away. Bind her so she cannot move.”

“Yes, sir.”

“…Let me go! How dare you invade a home without its master… You’re no better than bandits!”

“And gag her as well.”

“Yes.”

The men approached the struggling Carynne. Rough hands bound her, and soon, her mouth was also gagged with cloth. Carynne was forcibly seated on the sofa in the parlor, and Verdic pointed at his men.

“The first five of you, start from the ground floor, and Mister Sailun, begin from the upper floor. Search every corner.”

“Should we start with places like the attic and boiler room?”

Why was that man here? Carynne’s eyes widened in recognition. She had seen his face before.

He was a subordinate of Crown Prince Gueuze. Were Verdic and Crown Prince Gueuze more deeply connected than she thought? Was Raymond aware of all this?

That man instructed Verdic’s goons.

“No, first perform a general sweep of the regular rooms, then move to the special chambers.”

“Do we have blueprints?”

“No.”

“Then we’ll have to search manually.”

The men dispersed. Verdic moved with them. Verdic Evans literally ransacked the house. Numerous men scoured every nook and cranny. Looking for any trace of Isella.

 

* * *

 

“It’s been a while… Well, only two days, but still.”

“…Mmph.”

“You must be missing him terribly during this time.”

Verdic gazed down at Carynne. It was hard to think of her as any other woman. And the reason a young woman would defend a young man alone was obvious.

His own daughter had lost her senses over Raymond’s face. Young girls often fell for whatever shone brightest, regardless of what lay within. He didn’t know how far this woman had fallen.

“Even if you don’t speak, there’s much that can be done. Stay quiet.”

Verdic looked down at Carynne, then ascended the stairs himself to join the search. The library was his first stop. The men who entered before him were rummaging inside. They were sent by Crown Prince Gueuze. One of them noticed Verdic and raised one hand to halt his approach.

“…Mister Verdic Evans, you should not move any further.”

“What’s the issue?”

“There’s a trap set up.”

“…What?”

Verdic halted and peered down. The darkness of the night obscured his vision. However, as he squinted, he slowly discerned something twinkling.

“What is this?”

“It’s a wire saw. Well, it’s not like it’ll immediately slice off a leg, but it’s perfect for tripping someone.”

“What’s with these childish tricks?”

“Perhaps it’s because it’s dangerous for a woman to be alone? Had we not been here, you might have been injured.”

“…I’m thankful, then.”

Verdic’s eyebrows twitched. Raymond was indeed dripping with suspicion, laying traps in his own estate, almost as if he had anticipated their intrusion.

“Can we not move a bit faster?”

“Yes, since we’ve found a wire saw, we don’t know what else might be there. That’s why I’m preventing the people working under you from moving too.”

“Baron Saytes might return at any moment.”

Verdic was feeling jittery.

He didn’t know when Raymond would return. He wanted to search the house thoroughly before Raymond’s return, but these childish pranks by Raymond were delaying them.

It would be more dangerous once Raymond returned. But the crown prince’s subordinate remained nonchalant, as it wasn’t his problem.

Verdic gnawed on his lip.

 

* * *

 

Carynne, bound, thought to herself.

There was nothing I could do now.

Raymond had set various traps, but they weren’t thoroughly prepared.

 

“He’ll never find his daughter. I’ve already checked everything.”

 

But that was when Carynne was away.

In the past, Carynne had tried to kill Dullan and died early. Raymond’s experiments, his revenge, succeeded after that. It succeeded because Carynne wasn’t in the house.

“Damn it!”

From a distance, Carynne heard Verdic, unable to contain his anger, shouting. Had he been caught in one of Raymond’s traps?

 

“When entering a room, avoid the study and the kitchen… I’ll organize them separately, so don’t enter those areas.”

“What’s this?”

“Just a little prank. I didn’t set up anything lethal in case you accidentally get hurt by the traps, but they’re still dangerous.”

“…I see.”

 

However, the traps were really quite simple. In some rooms, needles would spring out, pricking a hand, and in others, a desk might topple over and bruise a foot, but there were no traps where guns would spring out or axes would suddenly drop.

Why did Raymond set up such things?

Verdic was not a man to be taken lightly.

He was persistent and experienced. He would grab any minor evidence and return to seek revenge on Carynne. He would find Raymond through Carynne, and Isella through Raymond.

And then, he would return to exact his revenge on them. Carynne thought about that fingernail. If the owner of the nail was Isella, had Raymond dealt with her sufficiently? Had he ended it perfectly?

‘Sir Raymond, you’re not really good at cleaning, are you?’

Carynne sighed.

Raymond spoke with confidence, but sometimes he was careless. Under normal circumstances, over fifty servants should be managing this manor. As Raymond was just one man, he inevitably had to focus on just the more noticeable areas, sweeping and cleaning them.

Like how she discovered the nail, he might have made a slight mistake.

‘But he should have at least disposed of the body properly.’

Carynne worried that Raymond might not have done a thorough job.

And she mulled over whether Isella was the only concern.

But what could she do now?

Carynne felt a bit pathetic, bound and helpless as she was, but she knew there was nothing she could do.

More than twenty strong men had come.

Whatever Raymond had done, subduing all these men was something only Raymond could achieve. No matter what she did, some things were just not possible.

Her thoughts turned into dissatisfaction with Raymond.

What on earth was he thinking?

“Carynne Hare!”

Verdic Evans’s angry voice calling her from above made her stomach churn. It seemed Raymond had been up to something.

 

* * *

 

Verdic glared at Carynne Hare and hurried down the stairs. Carynne stared back at him intently.

“What exactly is your relationship with Sir Raymond? What are you doing here?”

“……”

But Carynne couldn’t answer—after all, her mouth was gagged.

Realizing he had asked a foolish question, Verdic roughly tore off the cloth covering her mouth.

“Cough, cough—”

“Tell me what you are hiding in this mansion. Now!”

Carynne grimaced and coughed. The position was uncomfortable. Her throat hurt.

“Suddenly coming to the Tez Manor when the owner is absent… What are you doing here, sir?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know me, Carynne Hare.”

“I am not Carynne Hare.”

Carynne recalled the name she had given previously.

“My name is Carrie.”

“Drop that insincere alias, Carynne.”

“I can’t admit to something that’s not true. I am Carrie.”

She almost tripped over her words. Clearing her throat, she spoke again.

“He… Lord Raymond saved me. I encountered bandits in the forest, lost my family, and was about to be killed, when he rescued me and allowed me to live in this mansion.”