I Kidnapped the Hero’s Women

"Is it certain that Yuria is there?"

"Yes, sir. I clearly saw it with my own eyes. Yuria is inside the carriage."

"Did you also check that there's a small dot under the left side of her neck?"

"U-uh... Yes, it's there. But... how did you know about that, sir?"

"..."

The procession of the Pope’s carriage, heading south, completely occupied one side of the road.

It's too far for me to see clearly.

Thanks to Charlotte's sharp eyesight, it was confirmed that Yuria was in the middle carriage.

The carriage was still heading toward the Vatican in real time.

It would take less than an hour to reach the Vatican now.

Fortunately, we caught up early. If we had been just a little late, we might have missed Yuria right in front of our eyes.

"If we enter the Vatican, it will be difficult to get out. It's surrounded by high walls and heavily guarded."

"Master, do you really intend to attack the Vatican?"

"This isn’t something I can decide alone. The backlash will surely be tremendous. However, my opinion is that even if it means making the Vatican our enemy, we must forcefully take Yuria out. What do you all think?"

"Y-Yuria is a precious friend to me... I really don't want her to be dragged away and end up in an unhappy situation..."

"I also want to spend a long time with Yuria!"

"I will follow whatever the master decides, no matter what it is."

"...."

To turn against the Vatican.

I know very well what that means.

One moment’s decision could drag the entire family or even the whole territory into ruin.

But I don’t care.

If I leave Yuria behind to protect everything I’ve built up until now...

I would probably regret it so much that I’d want to go back to the past.

If worse comes to worst, my Empress sister will sort it out.

I decided not to worry too much.

"Then, we’ll take Yuria before we reach the Vatican."

"The carriage is surrounded by three layers of guards. It's not hard to take it, but if the troops go into defensive mode, it will be hard to avoid a violent clash."

"Then we’ll end it before they go into defensive mode."

"Eh? How is that possible? There will be magicians on the other side, and even if we use the Swordmaster’s speed, it will be difficult to reach them before they react."

Sylvia tilted her head in confusion. There’s always a way.

"Yulia, if we call out Heukheuki and Mulmuli, do you think we can precisely adjust the impact points?"

"Yeah, no problem. If I concentrate, I can change the trajectory while Heukheuki and Mulmuli are flying. ...I think."

"Good. Then we’ll enlarge Heukheuki and Mulmuli and make them land at the front and back of the carriage, separating the troops from the carriage. Then, before the troops go into defensive mode, we’ll take Yuria. Got it?"

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

The final plan was set, and all preparations were complete.

All that was left was to act.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"Let’s go."

I stepped forward.

"Yuria, I came to rescue you. Take my hand."

"Eh...?"

"Don’t just stand there, take it quickly. We don’t have much time."

Everything was going according to plan.

I had blocked both the front and back of the narrow road with Heukheuki and Mulmuli, so it would take at least 30 seconds for the troops to go around.

In that time, I had rushed over, carried by Sylvia, and now it was just a matter of escaping with Yuria.

But this girl...

Why is she standing there with such a stunned expression?

She’s never been this clueless before.

"Wh-what is Count doing here...?"

"I told you. I came to rescue you. Just take my hand. We’ll pretend we kidnapped you."

"Ah...!"

"Sylvia, let’s run."

"Yes, Master."

I grabbed Yuria’s hand and pulled her out, then held her tightly.

Sylvia, carrying me on her back, ran quickly down the road, with soldiers from the Vatican chasing us.

But that didn’t last long.

In less than a second, the soldiers had already vanished from sight.

We had successfully shaken them off.

I felt like I’d forgotten something, but I decided not to worry about it.

It was probably nothing.

"Yuria is back!"

"Waaah! I thought I’d never see you again!"

"No..."

[The Evil God, 'Kalli', praises your quick and bold decision that saved our healer.]

Sylvia set me down, and as soon as I set Yuria down, Charlotte and Yulia rushed to her, crying heavily.

It was a close call. Yuria could’ve been turned into a Saint and we might have never seen her again. It’s natural to cry in such a situation.

But even now, Yuria only looked confused and somewhat embarrassed.@@novelbin@@

By now, shouldn't she have figured out what was going on?

"Why is this happening all of a sudden? Was something going on?"

"A letter... No, I heard from the priests of the Vatican that you were surrounded and taken. They seemed to be forcing you to become a saint, so I came to rescue you..."

"Huh? I never planned to become a saint. I was never forced into it. They just kept calling me a saint, but they didn’t do anything bad when I refused."

"...?"

Wait a minute.

Something feels off.

I think there's been a huge misunderstanding...

"So, then why did you suddenly leave without saying anything?"

"Huh? Do I have to report to you, Count, every time I go somewhere?"

"Of course. You're my employee. If you don't do your job, it’s a problem for me."

"Anyway, I have three days off."

"Three days? You were planning to be gone only for three days?"

"Yeah, after stopping by the Vatican, three days is plenty of time."

"..."

So, the reason I hadn’t heard from her for a while was just because she couldn’t send letters for three days?

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

If I base it on the usual cycle, where Yuria sends a letter every two days, then three days is indeed a long time.

But I was thinking in terms of years, not days...

"So, what about all those guards surrounding you while you were heading to the Vatican?"

"The Pope is critically ill. He needs urgent treatment, so I offered to help. I told them I didn’t need guards, but they insisted that the saint must be protected, so I couldn’t refuse..."

"Is that all?"

"That's all."

"..."

"..."

[The Evil God, 'Kalli', scolds you for your reckless and hasty actions!]

After hearing everything, my head started to throb, and I could feel my face burning with embarrassment.

So Yuria had just been heading to the Vatican to help treat the Pope.

She hadn't been unreachable for days—it was just three days.

She hadn’t been forced into becoming a saint, and the reason she couldn’t send letters was because she had to leave quickly to treat the Pope.

Then what was all this mess I had caused?

Did I just make an unnecessary ruckus?

The side of my head hurt terribly.

"So, Yuria, you’re not going to become a saint?"

"Probably not? At least if becoming a saint would keep me from meeting you all, I wouldn’t do it."

"Thank goodness! I was so worried I wouldn’t ever see you again!"

"Hmm... I wouldn’t have let that happen..."

"Yuria, go to the Vatican and help the Pope. They said there's an urgent patient, so it can’t be helped. I’ll take care of the situation here."

"Yes, Count."

As I tried to calm the situation, my vision blurred.

Right now, I could see Heukheuki and Mulmuli blocking the road in the distance, and soldiers struggling to clear them away.

This is going to cause some headaches, a lot of them.

...

"Saint! You’re back!"

"We were so worried that you were kidnapped by that scoundrel who controls those weird monsters!"

"Haha... I just had to clear up a misunderstanding with my employer..."

"Is he a wicked employer? We can check if the contract is fair for you."

"Oh, no, that’s alright."

Yuria quickly rejoined the procession, receiving a shower of concerned glances from all sides.

I felt a bit reassured.

It seems like everyone was relieved that the saint was safe, but they didn’t seem particularly angry at Aslan Vermont...

'Wait, why am I worried about that guy? He’s the one who made all this trouble for me...'

It suddenly hit me that I shouldn’t be in a position to worry about him.

Thinking about Aslan Vermont made me feel embarrassed, and I couldn’t stop my face from reddening.