Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 29.1
I’m really getting sick of this damn train.
The express from the capital, Rydel, which I boarded early in the morning, didn’t come to a stop until just after noon.
Ugh, I’m already exhausted.
Maybe it’s because this trip was forced on me, not something I wanted.
All the useless thoughts that coiled up in my head kept tormenting me the entire way to the capital.
It was so bad that, unlike usual, I almost tripped getting off the train.
I hesitated to avoid bumping into someone carrying a huge trunk, at which point a solid presence behind me caught me.
It was Acteon.
“There are more people than last time,” he said.
“Yeah. They’re probably all headed for Lomdina.”
Just as Acteon said, the station was crowded.
The cargo cars, filled with supplies and aid shipments, were being linked to the newly serviced engine for transportation to the front lines.
Among the people moving through the area, I spotted some wearing dark navy uniforms distinct from the regular soldiers. They were Awakened, tasked with special support.
Maybe it was because the capital had been so tense lately, but all of them were busy watching their surroundings with rigid vigilance.
Some of them looked our way, eyeing us in our stark white academy uniforms, something you’d hardly ever see in the capital during the semester, which made us stand out.
Though most were older than us, I even spotted a few around our age.
I had to awkwardly acknowledge their nods and greetings as we passed by, exchanging mechanical pleasantries.
Just making it out of the station, I already felt completely drained.
Still, there was no time to rest.
“Hm… They should’ve been waiting for us, but they’re not here.”
“Oh, right, they said they’d send a carriage.”
At least I thought we’d been spared the trouble of going to the palace alone.
Since we’d been summoned by royal decree, the palace was supposed to send a carriage for us…
But.
‘If they tell us to kneel, we have to kneel. We can’t refuse. Is this just some sort of test or training?’
They knew exactly when the train would arrive, so the fact that the carriage was late was clearly a power move from the crown prince.
A kind of ‘wait and see’ training.
‘Is he testing how obedient we’ll be?’
And not just that.
“Senior.”
“I know. I noticed too.”
“There are two people watching us,” Acteon said, a note of sarcasm in his voice at just how little they thought of us.
No matter how much he was collared, Acteon was never one to forget the power he possessed. Even if the system suppressed him, he wouldn’t accept being treated as a toothless beast by everyone.
“Do you have any guesses?”
“It’s who you’re thinking. His Highness wants to see how far we’ll go in obeying his commands.”
The broad plaza in front of Rydel Central Station connected to various districts via several roads. It was packed with people, and many were enjoying a brief respite in the elegant setting.
In such a crowd, it wasn’t hard to spot people focused only on us.
‘He’s assigned people to watch us, just to see how far we’ll bow our heads… so the carriage probably won’t come until evening.’
If we tried to leave, they’d follow and report right away.
Anything we did could be used as a pretext for reprimand.
‘This is… seriously unpleasant.’
“Acteon.”
“Yes?”
“Do you like causing trouble?”
Anyone could tell I was proposing we stir things up, and Acteon looked momentarily surprised. But after pretending to think, he actually smiled.
“Trouble? What we’re about to do isn’t trouble, it’s just a well-trained response to a specific situation, befitting of model cadets like us.”
“Right? Guess I used the wrong word,” I replied, smiling as I watched his eyes curve in agreement.
We exchanged a glance and silently agreed to blame whatever we were about to do on our academy training.
We couldn’t just hail a cab or catch another carriage because the official one was late.
A subordinate’s virtue is to cover for a superior’s mistakes by pretending not to notice.
‘Yeah. And if a superior messes with you, just innocently play along as if you’re oblivious.’
As far as anyone was concerned, we had every reason to head straight to the palace at once as soon as we were ordered.
There were plenty of ways to get to the palace from here, but only two would really get under the crown prince’s skin.
But one of those was too good to waste right now, so the plan was already set.
“……”
“……”
We hadn’t shared any details, but Acteon gave me a small nod, as if to say he understood.
Immediately, I slipped away from his side and left the plaza.
‘…Good. He’s following.’
The observer trailed me, leaving Acteon where he stood.
I wondered if such a simple lure would really work.
But it did.
If I were them, I’d have kept a closer watch on the more dangerous Acteon.
Maybe they planned to assign one watcher per person?
Or maybe they just trusted in the control stone bracelet.
Unlike guides, who can’t use mana directly, S-Class Transcendents are required to wear enhanced bracelets.
If they were only following me, maybe they thought a single person could easily handle Acteon.
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