Chapter 41
“Chief, everyone’s gathered.”
“Hm?”
Snow, who was enjoying the evening on top of a wall as the sunset began, opened his eyes at the sound of someone calling him.
Wagging his tail, he looked down to see dozens of cats gazing up at him. The one with dark stripes on its head was the one who had called.
“Oh, right. I called everyone because I have a favor to ask. Has anyone seen the human in this picture recently? If so, come forward and let me know.”
At the rare request from Snow, the cats began to murmur amongst themselves. Snow, now fully awake, took the wanted poster hanging from his neck in his mouth and shook it out.
As the poster unfurled below, the cats stretched their necks forward or climbed on each other’s backs to get a better look at Rose’s face drawn on it.
While everyone was intently examining the human’s face, suddenly a white spotted cat darted out from the back.
“Me! I saw her, Chief.”
“Oh, really? Where did you see her?”
Snow’s eyes lit up as he rose at those words. Pleased to have the Chief’s attention, the white spotted cat twisted its body happily as it replied.
“Just a little while ago! I saw her at the carriage station at the village entrance. I even saw her handing money to a coachman!”
That meant she was planning to leave. Having heard enough, Snow tossed the poster to the striped cat next to him and leapt down from the wall.
“Hey, Stripes! Take this in your mouth and follow me!”
“Ah, yes, Chief!”
The striped cat, who had been licking his lips in disappointment at not being able to help the Chief, brightened at Snow’s call. He quickly took the poster in his mouth and followed after Snow.
The other cats hurriedly made way for Snow as he dashed off urgently. Amidst the two groups of parted cats, excited squeals rang out about Snow’s fur brushing past them.
“Regina! It’s urgent, come out quickly!”
Ignoring the other cats, Snow called for Regina with all his might. Though the inn was still quite far, he shouted her name loudly in case his voice might reach her.
“Regina, Regina!”
Regina, who had been waiting for Snow’s return in the inn room, got up at the sound of loud cat cries coming from outside. She quickly leaned out the window to see Snow racing towards her from an alley in the distance.
“Regina, come down! I found her, I found her!”
“What?! Wait, just a moment! I’m coming down now!”
Regina’s heart leapt at the news that Rose had been found. They had finally found her.
She ran down the inn stairs and outside without even grabbing her belongings thrown on the table.
“This way!”
Snow, who had reached the inn in that short time, waited for Regina to emerge before starting to run again. Regina frantically followed after him
Snow would occasionally wait for Regina, who couldn’t keep up with his speed, before dashing off again.
Beside them, the striped cat desperately tried to keep up, not knowing what was happening. The poster in its mouth flapped wildly in the wind and was getting soaked with cat saliva, but no one had time to worry about that.
“It’s here!”
The place Regina arrived at, panting heavily, was an area packed with carriages.
In the bustling place where coachmen were loading luggage onto carriages and people were hurrying about, Regina frantically looked around.
“Regina, my subordinate said he saw the person you’re looking for at the carriage station. The carriage station is this way!”
“Okay, Snow!”
Regina, who had been frantically scanning her surroundings amidst the crowds, quickly ran in the direction Snow indicated. Just then, something familiar flashed in the corner of her eye.
“…!!”
Regina unconsciously stopped in her tracks and turned to look at a carriage parked on the opposite side.
She saw a woman with red hair pinned up, wearing an elegant feathered hat, stepping into the carriage. Though it was only her back view, Regina recognized her instantly.
“Lily!”
The hat she wore and the cape trimmed with white fox fur were things Regina had purchased, after all.
The empty boxes left behind in the carriage when Regina first awoke – this red-haired woman was wearing all the clothes and shoes that had been inside them.
Even without that, the familiar back view and posture clearly belonged to her personal maid who was always by her side. In her haste, Regina called out “Lily” – the name she was accustomed to – instead of Rose.
“Regina, what’s wrong? I said it’s this way?”
“Snow, I found her! It’s that person. She just got into that black carriage that’s about to depart!”
“What?”
“Lily, stop! Lily!”
Regina ran towards the carriage Lily had boarded, calling out to her loudly.
However, it was quite far to the other side and extremely crowded with people. As she ran, dodging carriages and people here and there, the carriage started to move.
“Ah, no!”
Regina’s face fell in dismay. Seeing her expression, Snow pressed his triangular mouth shut, then darted forward at high speed, weaving between people’s feet.
As he zigzagged perilously between hooves and carriages, racing towards the carriage Regina had pointed out, Snow suddenly came to an abrupt halt as a shadow loomed over him.
“Snow!!”
Several horses, many times larger than Snow, had crossed right in front of him. He had nearly been flattened under those angry hooves. Snow swallowed dryly, a cold sweat breaking out as chills ran down his spine.
Regina, who had belatedly caught up, hurriedly scooped Snow into her arms.
“That was dangerous, Snow! What if you’d gotten hurt!”
“I’m fine, Regina. Now’s not the time for this. Our priority should be finding out where that carriage is headed.”
He had a point. Regina approached a nearby coachman and pointed to the departing carriage.
“Excuse me, do you know where that carriage that just left is headed?”
“What? Three carriages just left, which one do you mean?”
The coachman, who had just been about to put a cigarette in his mouth, answered halfheartedly without even looking at her. Regina stamped her foot impatiently and asked again.
“The one that just turned the corner down there. The black carriage! The one that just left!”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“Miss, if you mean that carriage, it’s headed to Quellin territory.”
As the coachman turned away irritably saying he didn’t know, a young coachman sitting nearby answered instead. When Regina looked his way, the young man who met her eyes smiled.
“I happened to be watching earlier – you were chasing after the carriage with the red-haired woman, right?”
“Yes, that’s right! That’s the one!”
“Then it must be Uncle Jack’s carriage. I heard this morning he was going to Quellin territory. If you need to follow it, shall I give you a ride?”
“Really? Yes, thank you!”
Regina nodded with a bright smile. Then she belatedly remembered Noah.
Of course, even if she left like this, he could find her with the pocket watch, but he was bound to misunderstand and think she had run away. Moreover, though she had her purse, she had left all her luggage at the inn.
“Ah, but I have a companion, so could you wait just a moment? I’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing, miss.”
At Regina’s response, the coachman stepped back with a strangely disappointed expression. The old coachman smoking beside him chuckled.
“See, I told you it was a waste of time. ‘Be right back,’ she says – she’s probably just getting the information and leaving.”
Regina, who had been about to head to the inn to call Noah, stopped at those words. She turned back to the young coachman and took out ten silver coins from her purse. It was all the silver she had.
“Thank you so much. And this is an advance payment. I really will be right back, so could you please wait just a moment?”
“No, one silver coin is enough for a trip to Quellin territory. You don’t need to give me this much.”
The young coachman waved his hands, trying to return the rest of the money Regina had given him. But Regina shook her head.
“No, please accept it as a token of my gratitude. I’ll be right back!”
Seeing the silver coins Regina handed over, the old coachman dropped the cigarette he’d been smoking and addressed her.
“Miss, I’m much better at driving a carriage than this young fool. How about I take you for half the price you just paid?”
But Regina turned away with a huff, not even deigning to respond. She didn’t want to exchange words with such a rude person, so she quickly passed by him and returned to the main road.
Snow, who had been leisurely following her as she hurried back to the inn to call Noah, asked curiously:
“But Regina, wouldn’t it be much faster and more convenient to take a carriage to the inn as well? Why are you insisting on running when you’ve already paid so much money?”
“…”
Regina, who had been running with all her might, stopped abruptly at those words. She had been so flustered that the thought hadn’t even occurred to her.
“Tsk tsk, they say if you’re stupid you suffer physically, and that fits you perfectly. And on top of that, you’re throwing money around like water. Regina, without me, you’d have all your money and clothes stolen in a second and end up crouched in some street corner.”
Regina was about to protest that it wasn’t that bad, but she closed her mouth again. She thought that maybe it could happen after all.
“Um, Chief. Can I return this now?”
Just then, the striped cat that had been following them came forward. He put down the poster he had been carrying in his mouth, sweating profusely.
Only then remembering the striped cat, Snow turned around with an “oh no” expression to see the wanted poster on the ground, soaked with cat saliva and the person’s face horribly smeared.
Seeing it, Snow looked at the striped cat with a dumbfounded expression.
“…?”
Happy that Snow was looking at him, the striped cat grinned broadly. At that innocent smile, Snow couldn’t say anything and just lowered his head. No matter how much he regretted it now, the ruined poster couldn’t be restored.
Regina picked up the wanted poster, now torn and damp with saliva beyond recognition. The only poster with Rose’s face on it was gone. She looked back and forth between the two cats and let out a long, silent sigh.
