Shhk-
The sensation of a sharp blade piercing a human body was strangely distinct. The resistance changed layer by layer: soft, tough, then suddenly nothing.
But Charlotte had no time to register those differences. The scene playing out in slow motion before her eyes returned to normal the instant her attack ended, followed by the man's heavy breathing, groans, and a curse forced through clenched teeth.
"Fuck..."
The curse jolted Charlotte awake. She released the dagger clenched in both hands as though letting go of a red-hot iron, then slowly backed away with her hands still held in the same position, her heart pounding.
In her previous life, she had killed countless people in all sorts of ways in virtual games and seen plenty of bloody scenes in films and anime, but in reality, she had never even killed a chicken.
Yet so soon after transmigrating, she had killed a living, breathing person with her own hands... No, why did I stab him straight in the heart just now? Charlotte's gaze darted between Etienne's swaying legs, which could barely support him, his chest, from which blood slowly seeped, and the hand covering his wound, before finally settling on his rapidly paling face.
His wide eyes slowly turned toward her.
Wait, he's not dead yet?
Charlotte shuddered. The bewilderment and panic of having killed someone with her own hands swiftly receded, leaving only fear.
With the weapon lodged in his chest and his shirt stained red, Etienne gripped the dagger's handle with one hand and raised the other to clutch at the air ahead of him. Like a zombie filled with resentment, he moved his legs and approached one step at a time.
He should already be dead if I hit his heart. Maybe I just need to kick him... Thoughts raced through her mind, but Charlotte found her hands and feet icy cold, utterly unable to put those thoughts into action.
Suddenly, a tall figure stepped in front of Charlotte.
It was Baron Leon Gustav.
The nobleman, who had been protecting Charlotte all this time, clenched his fists and lowered his stance slightly, ready to throw a punch at any moment, but cautiously refrained from attacking first.
He, too, seemed to be waiting for the clearly mortally wounded Etienne to collapse on his own.
Charlotte immediately felt warmth flow from her chest into her cold limbs. This baron had been woken in the middle of the night and dragged into a strange dispute, yet he had stood by her throughout. Even now, he dared to shield her with his own body. Charlotte, who knew him only through the original owner's memories, was deeply moved.
Just then, another vase fell from above.
Seemingly to avoid the baron and Charlotte, who were now very close to Etienne, the vase did not strike its target directly. Instead, it landed behind him. The sharp crash and flying fragments made his already sluggish movements stop, and he stiffly craned his neck to look up.
Roselle Gustav was leaning halfway out of the second-floor window, holding a third vase and looking eager to try again, as though the expensive object in his hands did not belong to his own family.
Before he could throw the costly porcelain, several of the baron's servants arrived from behind. Two of them each carried a Flintlock Rifle that looked more decorative than practical, and pointed them at Etienne as soon as they entered the courtyard.
"Fire!"
The baron gave the order without the slightest hesitation.
Bang! Bang!
Flint ignited powder. The gunshots were unexpectedly dull, and as gunsmoke rose, two Lead Bullets struck Etienne in succession. One mangled his shoulder into a bloody mess, while the other hit him squarely in the chest.
Under the watching eyes, he, who had now suffered fatal injuries twice in succession, finally swayed and toppled backward. He landed with a thud on the ground strewn with vase fragments and moved no more.
Charlotte's heart, which had nearly leaped out of her chest in terror, finally settled.
But there was still much to do. First, naturally, they had to deal with the corpse on the ground, then answer the Sheriff's questions... I never expected things to turn out like this. Why did I draw the dagger and stab him straight in the heart? Was it fear, or because I haven't accepted my identity since transmigrating? In this era, even a noble can't kill a commoner and expect to get away completely unpunished. But this was self-defense, so that should lessen my responsibility. Her thoughts in disarray, Charlotte instinctively turned toward the owner of the mansion, Baron Gustav.
He, however, appeared perfectly calm, and his gaze held a trace of reassurance as he looked at her.
"Don't worry, Charlotte. Everyone here can testify that this man attacked us first and tried to take you away.
"You acted to protect yourself. What actually killed him was the pair of shots I ordered."
With that, he began directing everyone present. He told the two armed manservants to reload their guns and guard the gate, sent another servant to the Sauron residence in the Saint-Roc District to ask the baron to collect his daughter, and instructed the rest to preserve the scene. Apart from extinguishing the burning lamp oil, they were not to move anything, including the corpse.
At his orders, the courtyard, which had fallen into chaos after an intruder was killed, swiftly became orderly.
That atmosphere rubbed off on Charlotte, easing her panic and replacing it with admiration for Baron Gustav.
It took both a clear head and considerable experience to assess the situation swiftly amid the confusion of being jolted awake, choose to protect Charlotte rather than allow Etienne to take her away, and immediately establish the killing as "justified retaliation," clearing everyone of blame.
He even took most of the responsibility himself... After all, he's a baron, while I'm only a baron's daughter, and this happened at the Gustav mansion. It makes more sense for him to bear the responsibility... As she pondered this, Charlotte looked again at Etienne, lying on his back with the dagger still lodged in his chest, and felt a swell of emotion.
Whether it was self-defense or not, she would probably never forget what had happened tonight.
Noticing her staring blankly at the corpse, Baron Gustav frowned with concern. He reached out to pat her shoulder and reminded her:
"Charlotte, now tell me everything that happened before this. Don't hold anything back."
Is he trying to get our stories straight? But I really have nothing to hide, apart from transmigrating... Understanding his intention, she told the baron everything: her bewilderment upon waking in the alley, her panic at losing part of her memory, her fear when the Night Watcher interrogated her, and her terror upon discovering that Etienne was leading her in the opposite direction.
"I see. You really had never met this Etienne before. He claimed your father had sent him, but was vague about the details, and tried to take you toward the Harbor District, perhaps even out of Suhit City..."
The baron chose his words carefully as he summed things up, then fell silent, apparently reconstructing the entire sequence of events in his mind.
Charlotte reviewed everything herself at the same time. She found that as long as she concealed her transmigration and attributed her confused memories to temporary amnesia, there was nothing unreasonable about her actions. She could easily handle any questioning, or even interrogation, that might follow.
Still, with Baron Gustav clearly on her side, it was unlikely that a baron's daughter would face an interrogation after acting in self-defense.
Besides, her own father was also a nobleman...
Just as she pictured that unfamiliar yet familiar face, hurried hoofbeats and the creak of wheels rolling over the road sounded beyond the half-open gate.
One of the servants guarding the mansion with a gun nervously stepped out of the courtyard. A moment later, he returned, leading a red-haired, middle-aged man.
It was Charlotte's father, Raoul Sauron.
(Thanks to IgniaScarlet, Carl Says No Thanks, Light Clouds Strolling Past a Cold Tower, Pavilion of Eternity, Eternal Pavilion in the Lost Bamboo Forest, and Eternal Pavilion's Princess Kaguya for their Alliance Leader donations (づ￣ 3￣)づ~☆)