Chapter 58

I was being careless.

No, really, this is entirely my fault. I was completely off guard.

I thought that since it was an invitation from Duke Einhorn, he would surely act with restraint, but crazy people are everywhere, and they don’t care about age. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that kids can be even more reckless.

“F-First Prince Your Highness”

In front of me was the Einhorn Duchess, looking like she was about to cry.

“You can call me Albert.”

And we are currently in the middle of being moved somewhere.

The reason I don’t know our destination is that we are in the middle of being kidnapped.

Who is the kidnapper? If I had known from the start, I would have taken proper precautions.

It’s definitely not the baron whose family caused me to go on this trip. Why would they do something like that? Well, there might have been an informant or a collaborator, but...

The trigger was a horse.

In this world, far from modernization, the means of transportation are horses and carriages. It’s about time for the invention of railways and steam locomotives, but for now, horses are still the main mode of transportation.

So, Duke Einhorn offered to prepare a horse for me to ride, as a form of apology for past grievances and because it was about time for me to start riding.

The horses that the royal family rides are bred in stables managed by the royal family, but just like with humans, inbreeding can lead to deformities, so they sometimes buy horses from other places or capture wild ones.

Duke Einhorn’s foster family, which breeds horses, sometimes supplies horses to the royal family upon request, and the quality of the horses they handle is on par with those bred in the royal stables. That’s why he invited me to come and see them.

Fulftbahr didn’t have a hand in the horse industry, so I accepted the invitation, thinking it would just be a visit.

Besides, since it was a day trip, I was allowed to go on a long journey.

The carriage to pick us up was arranged by Duke Einhorn, and for this trip, Nebel came along as my servant instead of Silt and Lanz.

This was my mistake.

Without Silt and Lanz, I should have been more cautious. Especially with Nebel around.

But I was excited about going out with Nebel.

After all, I had never left the capital before, and going to see horses with a friend sounded like a lot of fun.

Moreover, Duke Einhorn was sending a carriage to pick us up, so Nebel was staying at the Sturmwind Palace.

I was so excited that I stayed up late talking with Nebel, to the point where Lanz had to urge me to go to bed.

I think I was a bit sleep-deprived.

The next day, a carriage from the baron’s family, arranged by Duke Einhorn, came to pick us up.

The carriage was from the baron’s family, and the lack of a grand escort was because it was a sort of covert trip. It was a fake to deter potential attackers. No one would expect a royal to travel in a baron’s carriage, right?

Still, the Einhorn family did provide some guards.

The carriage headed straight to the Loeprecht Baron’s horse farm. The baron and his fourth son, Walm, whom I had met a few times at tea parties, greeted us.

And, for some reason, the Einhorn Duchess was there too.

I could sort of see what Duke Einhorn was thinking, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know how much the Duchess knew, and it would also be awkward for the Loeprecht Baron.

So, I decided to let Walm show us around the farm.

Walm, who I often saw at tea parties, was a reserved person and one of the few who talked to me and Nebel. Unlike the Duchess’s entourage, he always kept a certain distance from her.

So, I was a bit surprised to see him greet us with the baron.

Walm, who loved horses, taught us a lot about them.

For example, the current trend among the nobility is for white horses, and while the knights prefer elegant horses, the military values stamina over speed, so they prefer sturdy-legged horses.

It was really fun.

I even got to ride a horse and genuinely thought it was great.

At the Loeprecht Baron’s horse farm, I had a lot of satisfying experiences and everything went smoothly.

The problem came afterward.

The Einhorn Duchess offered to take Nebel and me back to the Sturmwind Palace in her carriage.

It was probably an instruction from the Duke from the beginning.

With the intention of later protesting to the Duke, I got into the carriage and started the journey back. Nebel, who had been looking out the window, said in a low voice with a serious face:

“Al, something’s wrong.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The last fork in the road, we took the one that doesn’t lead to the capital.”

The Einhorn Duchess, who had been looking out the window, let out a surprised “Eh?”

“Duchess, are the guards with us?”

“Ah, yes.”

Casually sticking our heads out the window to check would alert the kidnappers.

“Duchess, I know you’re scared, but please stay quiet. Don’t make a fuss.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Nebel, what do you think?”

In response to my question, Nebel glanced at the Einhorn Duchess and then looked back at me, answering briefly.

“…The target is probably the Duchess.”

Nebel also realized it.

This kidnapping isn’t for profit.

The possibility of kidnapping me to affect the line of succession or royal authority is extremely low. The nobles who participate in the national council know that the crown prince is Ignatz, not me. If it were a politically motivated kidnapping, the target would be Ignatz.

Another possibility is something related to my grandfather, but would anyone be foolish enough to target me with the Attentäter around? I can’t say it’s impossible, but it’s highly unlikely.

But both Nebel and I thought that the motive for this kidnapping was probably the Einhorn Duchess.

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