I Became the Heroine’s Stand-in - Chapter 103

“So, when exactly are we going on that train trip?”

Time flew as they searched for Lillian. They were now greeting the morning of their third day. Like the previous two days, Kardel and Diana met in the inn’s dining room after finishing their preparations.

He threw the question out of nowhere in the middle of a light conversation while waiting for their food. Though the question itself sprang from innocent intent, Diana felt a certain thorniness hidden in his tone.

“I know, right? We really have to find her today.”

The server brought out the pre-meal bread. The basket held golden-brown toasted rye bread and a savory walnut jam. Diana quickly picked up a knife and spread the jam. Before taking a bite of the evenly coated bread, she didn’t forget to moisten her throat with milk.

After taking a bite, she added, “But well, don’t you think we’ll find her today?”

“It’s not ‘don’t you think’; we must find her. We don’t know when your husband will return, so we need to be back in advance to be safe.”

“I get it. I’ll hurry. Should we just skip breakfast?”

She looked ready to call the server over and cancel the order right then and there.

“…One must always eat properly.”

Startled by her seemingly sincere—not threatening—display, Kardel quickly added those words. It would be a disaster if she, who already had a small appetite, started skipping meals. If Diana overexerted herself and collapsed again, the one who would pay the price wouldn’t be Diana for failing to manage herself, but Kardel’s neck.

“Still, there aren’t many places left. If we move briskly from this morning, we should be right on time.”

“Under the premise that this village you chose is the right one.”

“Hmm.”

“And under the premise that, by some damn stroke of luck, your sister hasn’t temporarily gone elsewhere.”

“Mmm.”

Her expression as she chewed the bread was subtle. It was hard to tell if the bread was less tasty than expected or if she was dissatisfied with Kardel’s words. Kardel tasted the rye bread himself and soon understood the meaning of her look. As expected, freshly baked bread couldn’t be bad. That meant the cause was the latter.

“There won’t be any bad coincidences like that.”

Wiping the crumbs from her lips, Diana locked eyes with Kardel.

“I told you. Just trust me.”

She answered pertly and ended the conversation with a bright smile. Kardel felt somewhat absurd at how the banter had ended so abruptly without his consent. She behaved with the practiced ease of someone accustomed to getting her way.

Regardless, she left the stunned Kardel behind and licked the remaining walnut jam off the knife. She even peeked around to see when the server was coming, as if she were still hungry. Soon, she spotted the server approaching their table with plates and hummed a hopeful tune.

The dishes served were salmon salad, pancakes, and boiled beans. The light yet delicious menu was perfect for breakfast. Diana picked up her fork and knife with a joyful face.

Ah, the elder should start first.

Recalling that table manners must be observed no matter how hungry she was, Diana slid the plate toward Kardel.

“Shall we eat?”

“…Yeah. Enjoy your meal.”

Kardel tilted his head, wondering if he was the only one feeling tense. Diana was almost lethargically calm. She had changed so much since he first saw her. While the positive change was good, she felt like a miniature Ersivan…

It felt like there were now two troublesome people in the world.

When they stepped outside, a heavy sky laden with morning clouds greeted them.

“It was that alleyway, right?”

Patting her full stomach, Diana pointed to an alley with her other hand.

“Yes.”

“Then I’m counting on you again today.”

She shook a clenched fist at Kardel. To anyone else, it would have been an adorable sight that boosted their morale.

“…I feel like my energy is draining.”

“Oh, you’re sturdier than that.”

Unfortunately, it had no effect on Kardel. He was too busy being dismayed by the journey ahead.

‘Do you have a plan?’

‘A plan?’

‘You’re surely not going to search the entire village house by house. If it’s such an analog plan, I’d like to talk you out of it.’

The first thing he had done upon arriving in Periona was ask how they would search for Lillian.

‘Oh, of course not. I’d be a bit hurt if you thought I’d use such a dull method…’

Diana’s proposal was this: Soul Tracking Magic.

As she had read in magic books, ‘Soul Tracking Magic’ was exactly what it sounded like—a technique to track a soul. By collecting fragments through an object that still held the soul’s energy, one could verify if the same soul energy was nearby. While the area where the soul’s location could be confirmed wasn’t vast, it was much faster and simpler than checking every house manually.

Diana took out Lillian’s jewel pin, which she had secured in advance during her visit to the Mernard estate, and handed it to Kardel. After collecting Lillian’s soul trace that way, they spent a few days roaming Periona. Even for a rural town, it was quite large, and they were already moving through their eighth neighborhood.

There were about five neighborhoods left. Based on their records over the past few days, they could cover two to three neighborhoods a day. Considering they had one more day tomorrow, there was enough time, but as Kardel said, the sooner it ended, the better.

I should finish it today.

In truth, though she didn’t show it to him, Diana was just as anxious. Her sister, whom she expected to find quickly, hadn’t shown her face at all. Moreover, the lack of any village residents recognizing her doubled her nervousness.

What if it’s not Periona… Such belated worries were beginning to crawl up.

“What are you doing? You should lead the way.”

Even now. Kardel urged Diana, who was standing still in front of the inn door. He showered her with a pile of nagging because she hesitated for a few seconds, telling her not to be sluggish and that it would be a disaster if she mistakenly thought they had plenty of time. It felt like she was hearing all the cute nagging she had never heard in her life from her parents from Kardel instead.

“I know, I’m going. We must find her today.”

To regain her morale, she recalled the vow she had made before coming to Periona. To trust herself, and that she wouldn’t be wrong.

‘I can find her!’

Before stepping forward to begin today’s journey, Diana fumbled with the pendant around her neck. Warmth was still seeping through the cracks, as if the spirit were telling her she was absolutely right.

Perhaps boosting her morale before starting was effective, as things went very smoothly. She didn’t tire out quickly despite her low stamina, nor did they make the mistake of skipping a spot and having to turn back. Thanks to that, Diana and Kardel succeeded in covering two neighborhoods in about four hours. It was a marvelous result—a record for the three days.

After a quick lunch, they set out for the third neighborhood. It was much smaller and more humble than the previous ones, the kind of place where people with relatively low incomes would stay. As they walked through the village, a child ran past them.

“Careful!”

The child was in such a hurry they weren’t looking ahead. There was a jagged rock in their path. Fearing they might trip, Diana meddled and gave a warning. Hearing her, the child fortunately avoided the disaster of tripping over the stone.

“Ah!”

The child turned around to give thanks, but then let out a gasp. They pointed a finger, looking utterly shocked. Early on, Diana would have run over happily, thinking they might be an acquaintance of Lillian. But everyone was simply shocked by their striking appearance. Since most people they had encountered had reacted that way, she was no longer easily fooled.

Yet, strangely, her instinct commanded her to catch the child. It was worth a try either way. If failure only cost her a bit of hollow disappointment, success would bring something far more valuable.

“Why are you so surprised?” Diana asked the startled child.

“N-No, it’s nothing!”

“I’m not trying to scold you…”

“I don’t know anything! Big sister told me not to answer!”

But the child was busy fleeing in a hurry. Without giving her a moment to speak again, the child ran off into the distance. Diana stared quietly at the child’s retreating back until they became a tiny dot.

“Kardel, this place feels a bit strange, doesn’t it?”

“I think this is the third time I’ve heard that.”

“They say the third time’s the charm.”

Diana hurried to wave Lillian’s jewel pin. If she were nearby, the pin would glow brightly. As they walked straight ahead, a fork in the road appeared. Deciding to go sequentially from left to right, the two chose the left path first.

Soon, the entrance to the first residential block appeared. Behind it were small houses huddled close together. Diana checked the reaction of the jewel pin every time they passed a house. They passed dozens, perhaps hundreds of homes.

The left-side block seemed to be wrong. The jewel pin remained faint, with no reaction at all.

“Next is the middle.”

The middle always tends to have a good feeling. Entering the second block, she passed the houses with a slightly faster pace. When they reached about the midpoint, the jewel pin flashed. It was a very unusual reaction, something that hadn’t happened once over the past few days to be dismissed as mere coincidence.

Diana, who had been keeping her eyes on the pin, stopped in her tracks immediately. In front of her stood one line—a total of five houses. From left to right, she slowly moved the jewel pin along the path.

“…Kardel, I told you. I said I’d definitely find Sister today.”

Out of the five houses, she stopped at the one in the center.

“I think I’ve really found it.”

The jewel pin shone most brilliantly in front of that house.

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