Could she possibly have lied to me? It is unlikely for the heroine to do so... However... This situation is really... uncalled for...
***
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat on the carriage as I looked out the window with Delia clinging to my arm. Trying to shake her off failed so I decided to take in the scenery instead. As I stared out the window, the scenery of the lively town switched from bricked walls before being replaced by a sea of green. The residents of the dukedom filled the scenery as they ploughed the soil and ran about their daily routine. A wave of nostalgia hit me as I recalled the years when I was back on my Earth.
My grandmother had been an old soul who couldn't part with her farm. It had been passed down throughout the generations and she loved the work there. She would wake me up before the sun rose and scale the fields with me by her side following her every movement as she worked it down thoroughly.
When she was too old to tend to the field and I was stuck at work, I worried for her health and begged her to move to the city to stay with me. However, no matter what I said or did, she refused to abandon the farm and ended breathing her last on that very soil that she loved.
As a tear threatened to fall, a handkerchief filled my view as Delia smiled at me sweetly. I hesitated before accepting it, wiping the tears that did freely slide down my cheeks. How did Delia notice? I wasn't looking in her direction... Plus, it was a passing nostalgia...
"Dear lord, what is your name? I'm Delia... Delia Von Ophelia. Thank you for helping me earlier. I appreciate the help you have extended to me." Delia said as she bowed her head before looking up at me with a smile plastered upon her face.
I smiled back nervously as I tried to approach the matter cautiously. She should know that I was also going to question her... Why did she say that? From the way she worded it, she doesn't expect me to question her. Did she think I'd blindly trust her words? It's better to see the problem in a whole rather than just by taking a small piece apart. In the original story, the issue that was supposedly dealt with for the heroine resurfaced and caused distraught for all the people around her... It wouldn't hurt to be cautious... no?
"About earlier... What exactly was the contract you guys were talking about? Oh, but don't get me wrong. I just need to know about it so I have definite proof to get them convicted." I said smiling slightly, hoping that she'd cooperate even though I ignored her question as it would be a pain to think of a name at the moment.
Delia let go of my arm as she sat upright, not saying anything. Is the situation actually her doing? I thought silently as I stared at her with her head hanging as I couldn't make our her expression.
Xavier and the knight popped their head through the window of the carriage, asking how everything was. I smiled and told them everything was alright before dismissing them when I felt a tug on the vest that I was wearing.
I turned to face Delia wondering if she was ready to spill, only to notice her expression was one filled with anxiousness as her hand released my vest and squeezed the cushion of the carriage instead. "My lord, actually..." Delia trailed off as she suddenly grabbed me and pulled me down to the carriage's floor.
"Wha?" I started only to hear the sound of metal clashing as the carriage sped up, tossing me and Delia uncomfortably around inside it. Delia clung to me as I struggled to remain in a position that wouldn't tumble me around so much. I then noticed a dagger sticking into the cushion where we used to sit.
"M-my lord... I'm sorry. I was going to tell you..." Delia sobbed as she clung onto me tighter than earlier. "T-tell me what?" I asked as I peeked out the window to see Xavier and the other knight fighting off some people dressed like bandits. What's going on?
"Those boys parents... they are actually bandits... so I tricked them into buying some low quality weaponry that I came across while ploughing the field. I made them sign a contract to pay me in installments and to not contact the knights as it was a sort of shady trade... I'm not happy about the fact that I did that but... I had no other choice! My family's living condition got worse day by day... So, when I found the chest of weaponry... I used that to gain some money to use for medicine and food... I didn't expect... hic... that... hic... the sword would break that easily and hic... that someone died and that they'd come for my family... Please! Help me!" Delia begged, as she squeezed my vest in her fists making me scratch my forehead at how to solve the situation.
There are holes in her story but... Thinking about it won't get me anywhere at the moment... I need to survive before I can plan on solving this issue! I can't retract my vow to help her... so I might as well come out victorious!