P. 195
It was the entrance to Great British Empire. The port where people and shipments gathered from all over the world was filled with ships that went up and down the Thames River.
With the weather being cloudy and there being no wind, the built up smog that filled the Greater London looked as if there was a black giant was stood shrouding over the city. It endlessly swallowed up the immense wealth that was built by the colonial settlements. Passing by red brick warehouses and carriages used for transporting and the piled-up cargo, Lydia used the time to imagine that she could see a huge giant form of a fogman that used its fog to swallow up the city.
Eventually, their carriage stopped by a wharf. From there, they got onto a boat to oar across the surface of the river and swerved through a number of ships that were docked there.
And then, Graham had Edgar taken to one of those vessels which was a large sailing ship.
When they got on, he was surrounded by a large group of tall, muscular men who all eyed him with hostility, which made it feel like they were surrounded by a pack of wolves.
P. 196
However, Edgar didn’t change his expression at all. Instead, he glared back at them with an irritated look, which made the wolves sense the presence of a lion inside the slender young man and made them shrink away.
It was a different impression than when he showed himself courtly and sagacious to high-class people like Graham to shut them up, but more like they saw an instinctive presence in front of them, which made Lydia go back to a nervous state of mind.
Edgar who was trying to save Lydia; however, he was a man who always had a hidden quality about himself that Lydia wasn’t able to see.
And yet, Lydia still wasn’t able to hate that dangerous side of Edgar and felt that she would forgive him even if she was put through danger.
She would also see his sorrow and so she couldn’t make herself hate him.
And she had a faint feeling about something. That Edgar was plotting something on the other side of his mind under that mask of his.
Even if his motive of coming into the center of enemy territory alone was to save Lydia, he surely wouldn’t be planning to leave here with just that.
In the end, whatever impossibly dangerous situation it may be, he would use anything he could,
But, now, Lydia just gave up and thought he should just do as he pleases.
Since however much she is fed up and angry at him, she couldn’t bring herself to loath and hate him.
Graham had a few number of men, who didn’t look like sailors but more like bodyguards, with him as they went down a dark-lit staircase and through the passageways of the ship.
P. 197
Eventually, they reached the end and he opened a door to a heavily guarded room and entered it with just Edgar and him.
“So, where is my jewel?”
As Lydia sat limply, she turned red by him who was still saying such ticklishly embarrassing words.
“Beyond that door.”
Graham pointed to a door that was at the back of the room.
She was imagining that her body was thrown in some dirty, dark storeroom like place, and so surprised to learn that they kept her in an actual room.
Edgar hurried over to the door. When he tried to turn the knob, it looked like it was locked.
“Where’s the key?”
As he asked that, he must of sensed an unusual, prickling presence behind him, and slowly turned around with caution.
Lydia was able to get a glimpse of Graham pointing a pistol towards Edgar.
“Lord Graham, what would that be?” questioned Edgar, who spoke in an indifferent tone, like he had expected this.
“My lord, I’d like it if you didn’t underestimate me. I heard that it was you who was trying to claim all my fortunes using a number of false names.”
P. 198
“Oh? Do you have evidence of such a thing?”
“Rosalie told me. It was you who seized my hotel, and on top of that, you were secretly sniffing around about me, I hear. What are you after?”
“Rosalie…., I see. So, you loaded up a young woman who went to you pleading for help onto a slave trade ship. Just like you planned from the start, you were going to make it seem like she was the one who used and dried up the Worpole family fortune and disappeared with one of the men she was financing.”
Why, could someone do such a thing just for the sake of money? And to two of his nieces who he was suppose to look after as his ward…
Doris must also be in some dark place right now and crying by herself again. Even the strong-willed Rosalie must surely be frightened.
But, there was nothing Lydia could do. She was fighting against the tormenting sensation like her tiny self was slowly fading away and was at her limits with just staying conscious that she was still breathing.
“Lord Earl, it seems you know too much for your own good. I am going to have you sunken into the Atlantic Ocean. That way your body will definitely not be found.”
With the pistol still aimed at Edgar, Graham placed his finger on the lever.
“Lydia, excuse me.”
Being suddenly apologized to, she didn’t know what he meant, but in that moment, Edgar had already chucked the bottle into the air.
P. 199
I said it was alright to abandon me. But this!
She expected to be smashed against the wall. But, Lydia was caught by a body of fluffy fur.
“Nico….”
But, she had no time to relax, as her body flinched to the sound of bullet fire.
A hanging lamp was shattered. Just when she had looked up to see that, Edgar had made a lung at Graham and was in a scuffle with him to try to take away his weapon.
By mere chance, another bullet was fired.
Sure enough, men who heard the sound came dashing into the room immediately.
Nico clutched the bottle in his arms and hid under a table.
“Nico, Edgar is going to get killed.”
“What do you say I can do?”
“Well, that’s….but…”
She saw one of the massive, burly men wrapped his solid muscle arms around Edgar’s neck in order to pull him away from Graham.
During that struggle, suddenly, the man’s body bended backwards and his whole body crashed to the floor.
A black shadowy figure crossed swiftly in front of the desk that Lydia and Nico were hiding under. A hand axe sliced through the air and knocked the pistol out of Graham’s hand. The shadow didn’t stop and went on to attack another one of his men.
P. 200
It was Raven.
When his body, that appeared slender and frail at first glance, would pass by, the tall and heavyset bodyguards would just fall limp to the floor without even letting out a grunt.
On the other hand, Graham snatched up a knife from one of his fallen men and turned to face Edgar who was on his knees about to stand up.
“Lord Edgar!”
Just when Raven was distracted by that, one of Graham’s men jumped onto him from behind.
However, Raven spinned around as he swinged his leg around in a semicircular motion to strike the man with the his foot.
The man’s huge body flew back to crash through the door and made a booming sound as he hit the floor.
“Nico, hurry and return Lydia!”
In response to Edgar’s voice, Nico dashed into the room beyond the broken door.
In the room, on a simple bed, Lydia found her body laying on her back.
Nico rushed over to the body and the second he popped open the bottle, Lydia’s mind went blank.
The time that passed, must have been a short one, when the soul and body were melting back into each other.
Lydia heard the noise had died down around her and slowly opened her eyes.
P. 201
She realized that her body moved just as she thought and slightly relaxed in relief and lifted her upper body to sit up.
In the room where the floor was covered with broken parts of the room and Graham’s men lay unconscious all over the place, only three men were left standing.
Raven was standing behind Graham holding a pistol to his back and Edgar was in front of Graham with a tight hold of the scruff of his shirt, but he realized that Lydia was awakened and let go of his foe.
“Lydia, you’re back to your body?”
Noting paying any care to his ruffled hair, he gave her a child-like, defenseless smile which sent an almost painful, strange feeling through Lydia.
She became quite shy and embarrassed and took her eyes off of him.
She spotted the fairy cat on top of her lap and as she felt relieved she picked up Nico into her arms.
“Nico, thank you….”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Lydia, that’s enough. You’ll ruffle my fur coat.”
Nico didn’t like being touched and handled like a cat. There was no way a respectable gentleman wouldn’t allow himself to be cradled and stoked like a pet animal. But, Lydia didn’t know how she should act if she were to let go of Nico, and so, didn’t mind him wriggling in her arms to get out.
“You know, in these sorts of situation, wouldn’t you normally jump into my arms?” said Edgar with an unhappy gesture of combing up his blond hair.
P. 202
Probably just now, Lydia had the overpowering feeling of wanting to do that, but that would be such an embarrassing act for her and so she didn’t know what to do.
“It would be too dangerous to go into the arms of someone like you.”
Raven had told her it would be safe, but she couldn’t believe him. For now, it could have been that she didn’t have the strength to be able to slap him if it was necessary.
As she thought that in her head, she wondered if it was indeed as Raven said, and even if Edgar only said things to grab other people’s favor, he actually didn’t see her as a woman of interest to him; but I don’t care about that, she denied to herself.
She really wasn’t herself right now.
“…..But, I do sincerely appreciate the fact that you helped me. Thank you…….”
For a brief moment, Edgar leaned his face down to hers to inspect her face.
“Your face is a little red. Do you feel ill?”
“I-I’m fine!”
In an attempt to block his eyes to her, she lifted up Nico in front of her, which made Edgar and Nico looking into each other’s eyes close-up, and made Nico let out an irritated, low howl.
Making a mixed frown and smile, Edgar stepped away from Lydia and Nico and once again turned to face Graham.
P. 203
“Oi, do you think you’re going to get away with this untouched?” threatened Graham in an tough act.
However, Edgar completely ignored him and asked a question to Raven.
“Raven, how's outside the ship?”
“I have removed the ladder. Even if the escaped sailors went and called for more help, it would take them some time. I have thrown those still remaining on the ship into the river.”
As he gave his reply, Raven handed out a piece of paper which Edgar took and ripped it to shreds. It looked like it was the contract that he had signed just earlier with Graham, so Raven must have gone and stolen it.
“And with that, our contract had not happened. So, which means, Lord Graham, we can have a calm and quiet discussion together.”
“Discussion? What is there to talk about?”
“About your hidden assets.”
Even Lydia could tell from her place that the blood left on Graham’s face.
“Lord Graham, when you had your stolen goods or properties you gained through illegal ways delivered, you would slip out a number of them for yourself. And you had those hidden in the basement of a familiar noblewoman’s residence. You had told her that place was an ideal storage place for a scarce number of rare wines, and got the permission to use her basement store room.”
“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
P. 204
“I don’t mind if you don’t. That noblewoman also had a debt herself. She needed to sell off her home, so I went ahead and bought it. She had told me that the cheap wine stored in the basement belonged to you, and I had those transferred to a different location, but that house, and everything inside it, belongs to me. The room with its passageway blocked by a shelf wall and the room which was constructed unbeknownst to the noblewoman and the things in it, whether they once belonged to someone, are now own by me. That is all there is to it.”
Lydia had forgotten to let go of Nico and Nico remained still as a doll, clutched in her arms, as both their eyes were completely focused on the intensely tense air between Edgar and Graham.
“The reason of your habit of splurging and putting your hands on the Worpole family assets so carelessly was because you figured you would still have your hidden assets, didn’t you? But when the situation turned to the worst, the noblewoman had sold her house. It’s important not to turn away your lover like that just because you grew tired of her. Or then, she wouldn’t have sold off her house without first coming to you for advice.”
His smile that looked like the devil was the side of Edgar that Lydia didn’t know.
“And yet, you figured that no one had found out about your hidden treasures in the basement room, and so you planned a sneak-in to recover it. And yet, it turns out the basement had been worked on by someone, and the wall that was suppose to open up to the hidden room was covered up with a new wall. And just when you were in a panic because it wouldn’t be a quiet, easy job to dig it out, you were found out by Lady Doris that you had been using the baron family fortune. …….Is how I imagined things happened.”
“What, are you after.”
Even Graham, must have felt the abnormality in Edgar’s tenacious and perfect scheme.
P. 205
“Your self destruction.”
“You plan to kill me…..?”
“There is no need for me to be the one to do that.”
He pressed the tip of his walking stick into Graham’s chest.
“The safely guarded, sealed diamond from South Africa, and the engraved gold to prevent them from being go through illegal channels, all of those goods were being handled by Prince. You were aware of that, no? That man hates and above else does not stand it when he gets tricked or betrayed. If he finds out that you were helping yourself to his belongings, I’m sure he wouldn’t let you get away with it.”
“So, yo-you know Prince? No, wait, just wait a moment, please don’t do that ….Lord Earl, I’ll do anything, you can take all of my money and assets….”
“I had said that I wished for your destruction. How about I put you in a wooden box along with one of those gold bars with engravings on it with you and send you off to Prince? I can imagine the look on his face when he realized that it was a present from me. He’s sure to turn that fury towards you.”
That probably was his declaration of war against Prince by using Graham.
Edgar’s revenge towards Graham was just the first step meant for the one he could never forgive the most.
P. 206
Lydia felt cold sweat run down her back.
“Wh-Who are you?”
“You should know that.”
“It’s a lie. You’re not really an earl….”
“Oh, my, then can I have you remember my name? Oh, Lord Graham, when I first met you eight years ago, you looked at me and laughed, saying I looked like a near dead juvenile vagrant. I wanted to take a look at your face so I wouldn’t forget, but my vision was blurred so I couldn’t really see.”
Graham’s eyes opened wide. His legs were trembling.
“No, you couldn’t be, you’re….”
The words that came after that, could have been Edgar’s real name. But it was such a small whisper that Lydia couldn’t hear it at all.
“Prince does not forgive those who handle what belongs to his roughly. You apparently had learned from your mistake and treated Lydia carefully. In my case, I was treated like a dirty piece of luggage, and I heard afterwards that you were put through quite a horrorful experience by angering Prince.”
Out of the blue, Graham let out a horrified scream and made a lung at Edgar in front of him.
But, Edgar gave a strike at him with his knee and to the wobbling Graham, he gave a finishing strike with his cane.
Lydia let out a small cry and turned her eyes away.
P. 207
P. 208
Edgar didn’t do anything further more to hurt him but his cold eyes that didn’t show a hint of sympathy showed that they wouldn’t accept any pleases of help or defending excuses.
It might have not been as scary if he had acted in rage and a fit of anger.
His cold glaring eyes continued as Raven held down Graham who was struggling to fight back until he was knocked down unconscious.
Edgar was aiming his overflowing rage at Prince who stood beyond Graham.
But, even if he let out his anger or make his revenge, what he lost would never come back.
Edgar also wouldn’t be saved.
He was free from the hands of Prince and obtained his freedom and yet he could have placed himself in another fierce and lonely battle.
How sad is that.
Edgar turned around to Lydia’s tired sigh and now he hid the heartless, cold presence and had the look of his gentleman self.
“I’m sorry, Lydia. To show you such an unbearable scene.”
He walked over to her and offered his hand and said let’s go. Lydia ignored it and stood up by herself to stare quietly at Edgar.
“Are you going to put that man into a wooden box?”
“You don’t have to know that. Since you’re not one of us.”
P. 209
He looked back at her with a slightly lonely expression.
Yes, Lydia wasn’t a part of his group. He acted in desperation to save her like she was a valuable member inside his ring, but since she wasn’t with them, she couldn’t take any step further to him.
But, she couldn’t agree to this.
“Edgar, what was your purpose in hiring me as your fairy doctor? Wasn’t it to help you as earl and the new you?”
“…..Let’s take about that later. We need to get out of here pretty soon, or the rest of his men might return.”
“What are you saying? Then, we have to hurry up to find and rescue Doris and Rosalie. The two of them were also put on this ship, weren’t they?”
“I don’t think there’s any obligation for us to help them.”
For a instant, Lydia couldn’t believe her ears.
“W-Why?”
“We don’t have that kind of time and besides, this ship isn’t able to leave port. Everything here will be searched eventually.”
When it would be search is the question. A few days? A few weeks? That would be the same as leaving them to die.
“But, I know that the two of them are being confined somewhere. I can’t leave when I know that….”
P. 210
Reaching to that, Lydia suddenly realized.
They knew and yet eight years ago, Edgar was abandoned.
“Do you loathe them? Because Rosalie and Doris stole the ‘fairy egg’ from you and yet they didn’t help you?”
He looked back at Lydia with a somewhat troubled expression.
“I don’t really remember.”
“Rosalie told me that she met a young boy who was tied up and locked in that river-side warehouse eight years ago. She thought he was a thief and took his water-sealed agate and never saw him since…. That boy was you wasn’t it? Rosalie and Doris had gotten into the warehouse that Lord Graham used to confine you to hand you over to Prince, right?”
He let out a breath of air, which didn’t look like it was from remembering his painful past but looked like he was tired of Lydia’s meddling.
“Even if that were so, it wasn’t that much to hate someone for. Lydia, it would be natural for those girls to abandon a filthy young boy. He would have nothing to do with them and they can figure out that it would do them any good to get involved with it. I’m sorry, but I don’t care if they are going to be the victims of their own uncle…”
Before Edgar could finish what he was saying, Lydia had slapped his face with the palm of her hand.
P. 211
The sound of flesh against flesh ringed through the air.
Nico gasped with a ‘whoa’ and that made her realize what she did, but the bubbling feeling of malaise inside Lydia didn’t go away just by hitting Edgar.
“You really are a scoundrel! You took advantage of Rosalie’s feelings by luring her with your sweet talk and used her and now that you don’t need her anymore, you’re going to throw her away? ……See, you really do resent them. You really wanted to be saved by then! Even if they have nothing to do with you, and even if there was nothing good in getting involved, if there was someone who helped you, you wouldn’t have suffered like this….”
She was supposed to have been furious at his heartlessness, but it was painful when Lydia thought about the cause that made him have that cursed way of thinking.
She couldn’t make up her mind about what was right and wrong so she could only spill out the feelings that were building up in her.
“So, then, I will save them! I will save Rosalie and Doris in your place! Even if there is no profit, the wish to help others should be in everybody. Was there gain in lose when you were helping me? I thought that it wasn’t and I want to believe it was so, so that’s why I’m going to help them!”
Still in the heated state after she finished speaking, she turned to back to Edgar.
“Nico, we’re going now!”
Even though he had the bothersome look, Nico jumped down from the bed, and openly trotted after Lydia on his back legs.
P. 212
“Raven, did you understand that?” asked Edgar as he stood in a daze, as his eyes was looking at the doorway that Lydia and Nico walked out of.
“I couldn’t understand the logic in it, but I feel like she went out for Lord Edgar’s sake.”
“……I have that feeling as well.”
He placed his hand on his cheek that was given a hit and he felt a burning heat than pain.
It was almost like it was a form of passionate expression of love.
For some odd reason, Lydia would say things that Edgar would have never imagined and did things that he wouldn’t have expected.
And because of that, Edgar was pulled in an unimaginable direction.
If she had messed up the plan that he had meticulous thought up, only to break into a completely new path which made him as he was now, then, maybe, this time as well.
“Lord Edgar”
Raven called to stop him. Because, Edgar was silently walking out of the room.
“I can’t leave Lydia by herself. Since, there could be Graham’s men still lurking around.”
P. 213
“What shall we do with him.”
He was referring to the unconscious Graham.
“Leave him.”
He felt like there was something more important than revenge in the direction that Lydia was heading.
Because, those mysterious colored eyes of hers may be looking at something important that Edgar wasn’t able to see.
*
Lydia was wandering around inside the deserted ship. There were a number of places that looked like a tornado had passed through, but she could guess that it may have been caused by Raven.
It didn’t look like it was caused by a fight or combat, but more the trail of Raven forcefully entering as he was looking around for Edgar.
Since every door like door had been broken down by the work of some axe-like object, she guessed that the sailors must have run-off than stay and try to stop Raven.
Imagining the sight of that expressionless person causing havoc wherever he went really made her see him as a living, breathing weapon of war.
Inside that disarranged ship, Lydia aimlessly went around to carefully searched the rooms, but it wasn’t that easy to locate Rosalie and Doris.
P. 214
“Hey, Nico, don’t you sense anything?”
“What are you saying that I sense.”
“Like, smells.”
“I am not a dog.”
Just then, Lydia picked up the sound of a woman’s scream.
“It’s this way!” Lydia went off in a dash.
“Oi, be careful. If it’s a scream, then couldn’t that mean there’s someone else there?” said Nico, as he followed her.
Oh, yes, he could be right.
She made sure to not make as much noise to give away that they were approaching as she rushed to the direction of the voice.
She stopped at the bend of a crossway as she could sense someone was present close-by around the corner, and after she peeked out, a figure and the person’s orange hair stood out even in this darkly lit place.
Rosalie was being carried on a plump man’s shoulder and was about to be taken off somewhere.
“That man, he’s the president of Graham’s company.”
“Hmm, since Raven came and made a commotion, he’s thinking of moving her to a different place? Oi, Lydia, what are you going to do?”
When Nico turned around, Lydia was already gripping a mop.
P. 215
“Let’s go, Nico.”
“Ehh, idiot, stop! This is too reckless….”
But, she got set for only a second and then raced out. Gripping onto the pole of the mop, she swung it down as she aimed at the man from behind.
“Whoa….!”
Letting out a grunt, the man wobbled over as he let go of Rosalie.
“You, bloody, wench.”
In no time had the furious man grabbed the mob out of Lydia’s hands. He reached out to get his hands on Lydia.
Just then, Rosalie grasped onto the man’s leg. He tripped forward and fell face down, and then she sunk her teeth into him.
Lydia rushed to pick up the mop and she too repeatedly hit him with it.
The man crawled along the floor in an effort to escape, but accidently went tumbling down a near-by staircase against the wall on the floor down to the bottom of the ship.
“Hurry, shut the door!”
The two of them hustled to lift up two wooden boards that acted as doors to close up the stairs.
After the pounding sound of the closing wooden doors and latching the lock, it wasn’t frightening any more no matter how much the locked-in man yelled or bellowed at them.
They quickly ran away from there and was finally able to take a breath of relief in an empty, quiet place, and when the two of them looked at each other, it wasn’t sure who was the first, but the two of them relaxed the stern look on their faces.
P. 216
“Miss Rosalie, were you being locked-up at the bottom of the ship?”
“Yes…, but just earlier, that man suddenly came in, and took me out to take me somewhere…..”
It was there, she remembered what she had done to Lydia and nervously backed away.
“More than that, why are you here? He…Edgar came to see me and told me to reveal your location….. Weren’t you rescued by him?”
“Well, yes, I was, but I came here to rescue you.”
The look on her face suddenly changed, like she was angry. And then, she turned her back to Lydia.
“That’s impossible. Because, I, I did that awful thing to you….”
“Yes, that sure was awful.”
“That’s why I was nearly killed by Edgar!”
“Eh?”
“It’s true, there’s something wrong with him! …..He seemed like he was used to threatening people, and had that sweet, melting smile on his face as he was trying to kill me.”
Yes, he would be capable of that. She could effortlessly imagine the sight and being able to do that was depressing.
She hoped that he didn't have the intent to kill her, but the reason behind that why he didn't could be just be that there was no profit in doing that for Edgar.
P. 217
“Yes, that man did the wrong thing. Even I’m always fooled around by him.”
“You’re lying. You’re a part of his group. You say that you’re here to help me, but what are you really going to do with me? Are you going to get even?”
“No, I’m not. Miss Rosalie, when you were locked-in, did you understand the feelings of being scared and alone?”
Trembling her shoulders slightly, Rosalie looked up at her with a frightened look.
“……Yes, I understand….., that’s why I know that this happened because I deserved it.”
“Then, please believe what I’m saying. I understand how you feel, so I’m here to help you.”
Lydia gave her a smile and held out her hand to Rosalie.
“Now, let’s go. We still need to find Miss Doris and get her out since those crooks could come back.”
She didn’t take Lydia’s hand because she must have still had doubts about her. And yet, Rosalie appeared like she was still going to go along with Lydia.
Perhaps, she was worried about Doris.
“Are you saying that Doris is also on this ship?”
“I think, most likely. She was also locked up in that warehouse. After that, Lord Graham came into the warehouse and should have taken her onto this ship with me.”
P. 218
Rosalie gave a surprised look. She must have never imagined that Doris was in the warehouse. But if Graham was the culprit, she must have understood because of what she was put through.
“I didn’t know that Uncle was keeping Doris confined. He was our relative and I trusted him, so I can’t believe he would do this for the sake of the family money….”
Rosalie stopped in her tracks in a nervous stance.
“I can’t see Doris. I have done so much mean things to her and I even said that I wished her would disappear…. That’s why I didn’t know that any of this was happening and thought she was recovering in the countryside. I didn’t even send her a sympathy letter, and felt offended that she hadn’t sent me any kind of word.”
“But, Miss Doris didn’t seem like she was mad at you. If you want to reconcile, you just have to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
But, Rosalie’s response was a heavily puzzled look.
“I couldn’t possibly apologize. If I did that, it would make me a loser.”
“That’s not the problem….”
“But, it’s Doris’ fault for hiding something from me. This never would have happened, if she would have just told me the truth about Uncle.”
P. 219
“Thought, you do feel that you did something bad to her, don’t you?”
“But, I don’t want to apologize. Ever since we lost our parents in the accident, I was the one who protected her. I was the guardian of that girl who was always crying. I’m the only one who can be close to her, and yet, if I apologized, that’s like I’m saying I’m a bad, mean girl. Then, Doris is sure to grow apart from me.”
“You’re quite possessive.”
“That’s because if I didn’t have Doris, if I didn’t have her who understood the same pain of suddenly lost your parents at seven years old…..”
“Then, all the more you need to rescue her…”
“No, I can’t, I don’t want to see her, I’m never going to apologize!”
The reason she stubbornly refused could be, instead of fearing the looming danger to Doris and herself, she was frightened of the moment her friend, who she only knew how to keep by her side by taking control of her with her egotistical behavior and wishes.
Seeing Rosalie remained standing in the same spot and looking like she wasn’t going to budge, there was nothing Lydia could do any further.
“I will go search for Miss Doris. So, you need to hide in that room. Understand? Be careful not to be found by Graham’s men. And keep quiet.”
P. 220
Rosalie didn’t give a response, but Lydia knew she couldn’t waste any more time.
She left behind Rosalie and made sure that Nico was following her as he looked at her like she was absurd and started to inspect the rooms she hadn’t checked yet.
“How troublesome, humans are. I can’t see why they have such bizarre, warped ways of thinking,” mumbled Nico.
“Yes. Everything would be settled if they just said their feelings to the person they cared about.”
However, she could sort of imagine Rosalie’s feelings. Even if you did care for someone, that didn’t mean they would accept your feelings and you would be scared of being hurt when your trust and hope might be betrayed.
As a young girl who said she could see fairies, Lydia, who was treated as a freak, also had a part of her that had given up on trying to be liked by others.
Not only could she see, but she also had the hope of someday growing up to be like her mother and tried to give advice to those who got injured because of fairies or were suffering from their actions, but they only thought she was making up some lie or false accusation or doing a prank on them and treated like a nuisance.
Because she knew that a fairy doctor’s ability would be difficult to be understood by normal people and thought it couldn’t be helped, so even if she fell in love with someone, she probably wouldn’t be able to make herself confess her feelings, and was sure she would have given up from the beginning.
P. 221
Even if they didn’t openly treat her as a freak, for people who don’t believe that fairies exist, they wouldn’t be able to shake away the creepy, eerie feeling about Lydia’s ability.
I wonder about that for Edgar. She was curious about tat because he was a rare person who gave Lydia an unaffected, normal reaction.
But, she wouldn’t be able to know if he truly did or didn’t feel creeped out about Lydia’s ability.
If it was a separate thing to accept a fairy doctor’s ability and to accept them as a normal human being, then she was left with being cautious and couldn’t help but keep her guard up.
On the other hand, she would be thrilled if she was treated as a member of the group and wished that she would be able to trust them. That’s why she didn’t want Edgar to do the irresponsible act of abandoning the two girls. She didn’t want only her ability to be understood, but also her feelings. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to honestly express that, and ended up slapping him and start a fight, which didn’t make her all that different from Rosalie.
To be able to tell the truth was actually quite a difficult thing to do.
She wondered if that big liar just wasn’t able to say the truth.
Even if it was to escape from Prince, he wouldn’t be able to reveal his past criminal actions to people. Even his revenge that he was avenging for his friends, couldn’t be explained to naïve Lydia who grew up and lived in a peaceful world.
That must have been why he kept his secrets from her and used her when he was fully aware of the dangers.
P. 222
And yet, he unexpectedly worried for her state and acted kind by rescuing her.
He was a man with intentions she could not read.
But, it wasn’t like she couldn’t completely understand, and because she felt like she had times when she could pick up his thoughts, that’s why Lydia would be brought into this mess.
Edgar would get Lydia involved into his business and brought up the topic about the ‘fairy egg’ and the fogman and use her as bait, but she wanted to hope that he actually was waiting for someone to save him.
He asked her on top of the lake boat to help rescue his dead comrades from the misty fog and she came to believe that what he said then, was what he was truly hoping for.
In the nearly dead state he was confined in, he imagined that he saw the appearance of fairies and made a promise in exchange with the water-sealed agate and is still waiting in the dark for his rescue. That image lingered in her mind, and that sentimental thought couldn’t be erased from her mind maybe because Lydia knew that fairies had the characteristic to never break their promise.
If the fairy that made a trade with Edgar eight years ago, had an unavoidable reason that they couldn’t keep their promise, then she had the feeling like she was passed on the job to do something about it herself.
Since, she knew that as a fairy doctor, a promise that was kept unfulfilled was a bad thing for both fairies and humans.
P. 223
“Nico, don’t you hear footsteps?”
Lydia suddenly had the feeling like she sensed a moving presence and stopped her pace. But, there was no reply from Nico.
“Hey, Nico, where did you go?”
That whimsical fairy cat would suddenly just disappear so he was never reliable. Even as she thought that, Lydia’s body went rigid from someone approaching her and so she focused to hear any sound. She could indeed hear footsteps.
Just when she inched back into the back of a dark closet, she was yanked back from behind.
“Ah….”
“Quiet. It’s me, Lydia.”
She realized it was Edgar and managed to gulp down her scream.
The approaching presence could have been a sailor left behind inside the ship as the figure seemed like it didn’t know what was going on as it was turning its head looking around. In the person’s hand was a knife and the footsteps was just about to pass them, and her heart beated ever harder at the thought that they could be found.
The two of them carefully shut the closet door, trying not to be heard, which made the inside of the closet completely dark, but at the sound of the footsteps getting right up near them, the darkness wasn’t the thing that was frightening anymore.
But, even after the person went off into the distance, her heart wouldn’t calm down. Because, Edgar still had his arms around Lydia’s body.
“The person’s gone.”
P. 224
“Yes.”
“All right, let go, already.”
But he didn’t show any signs of letting Lydia go.
“If I let go of you in this darkness, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to make sure you are right here.”
“Then, you can just open this door.”
“I wish it had been you….”
“What are you saying?”
“If it was you who was the fairy that I saw in my confused state of mind, you might have pulled me out of this darkness.”
Was he making up lines just to show off again? She couldn’t tell if it was so or not by his unceremonial, plainly put manner of speaking.
It was dark so she couldn’t see his face. Only he didn’t put too much strength in his arms which were carefully wrapped around Lydia’s body. It was just that simple treatment that made her feel like she was hearing a rare confession from him.
“…..Then, I’ll take you out.”
She had said that in a serious way as she could, but she needed the courage like she was going to jump off the London Bridge. She expected that she was going to be laughed at, yet, unexpectedly, he remained quiet like he was deep in thought.
Eventually, he opened his mouth to speak.
P. 225
“It’s from eight years ago.”
The warm air from his breath brushed against her hair. Lydia thought to herself that the rising beat of her heart was because she was desperately trying to think of a way that would save Edgar.
“It isn’t too late. I will keep that promise you made eight years ago. The fairy you saw wasn’t able to keep its promise because of unavoidable circumstances and promises are meant to be fulfilled. So, that’s why, we should go rescue those two girls together. There is no need for you to avenge yourself. There’s no need to hate somebody. You are able to live without relying on hatred.”
She couldn’t bare remaining still and so when Lydia leaned towards the door, Edgar’s arms easily unraveled themselves.
Even with the light inside the dim interior of the ship, if it shined through the crack of the bearly open closet doors, it felt bright to their eyes.
“Why aren’t you hating Rosalie? And, me?”
He narrowed his eyes to the light.
“That’s because I was always saved. You continued to encourage me while I was inside the bottle. Even in the short while I was confined I didn’t feel alone and I didn’t have to fear the darkness, and so I’m free from hating and blaming someone for it.”
The two of them stepped out into the hallway.
P. 226
Edgar gave her a look like he was confused and she couldn’t tell what he felt from what Lydiasaid. But, she was sure that he was going to give his hand to help rescue Doris.
“Did you search this way?”
“No, not yet.”
“Let’s go.”
In the end, Edgar tossed aside Graham and came to follow after Lydia.
It may not be that he has given up his revenge, but he was working to compromise with Lydia.
He would have a frivolous attitude and fool around and poke fun at her, but he was also a mysterious person who could sense what Lydia was feeling or what she really wanted to say.
That’s why, Lydiacouldn’t help but say things that she thought were normally too embarrassing.
Perhaps, Edgar might be secretly laughing to himself at Lydia for seriously saying that she would bring him out of the darkness, but to believe that he might really have understood her seriousness, that might be because she was so simple-minded.
“You know, Lydia, I think I’m near to falling in love with you,” he said suddenly.
Yes, he was enjoying poking her around.
Or, maybe…..?
P. 227
No, however simple-minded I may be, I’m not that stupid.
“Those kinds of lines of yours will never be taken seriously.”
Even if she stick it to him straight, he still was chuckling at her.
There were so many things that overlapped, and so right then, Lydia had completely forgotten about the other major problem.
*
The reason why Nico had slipped away from her was because he spotted something troublesome.
The bogey beast that moved in a bouncing, jumping run, had gotten his body back after Nico had made him disappear yesterday. Nico had gotten a quick glance of it out of the corner of his eye and quickly dashed to follow it.
“What an annoying little critter, geesh.”
Even as Nico thought that, he carefully followed after the bogey beast.
The devilish fae appeared like it was looking for something. Could it be that orange-haired girl?
He twitched his nose to try to pick up a scent and immediately rushed in the direction that Rosalie might be at.
P. 228
The meerky smell of Thames River mixed with the erry mist of the smog shrouded the inside of the ship. Wherever you were, that followed you in every part of this city.
More than the smell, Nico felt the moisture-laden air. It seeped into his whiskers and fur coat and that pasty and clammy feeling made his fur feel more heavy than normal.
Either way today too, Londonwas enveloped in the fog. There was no wind and the city was covered in a heavy, cold humidity.
Everyone wondered when the spring winds would come.
(Ahh, Master is calling me. If I don’t hurry, I will be heavily scolded,) mumbled the bogey beast to itself. Nico perked up his ears as
he followed after it.
(Oh, geesh, how could I allow my great self to be beaten by a fur-covered monster cat.)
I ain’t a monster.
(Oh, but that fairy doctor is still inside the bottle. The body was taken away so I couldn’t have any fun with it. And the Blue Knight Earl is on this ship. What a perfect chance. If he’s defeated, then it’s the revival of my Master!)
Blue Knight Earl? That’s Edgar.
The bogey beast that was bounding around inside the ship must have seen Edgar. But, it looks like it didn’t know Lydia was here after she was rescued out of the bottle.
P. 229
He wondered what kind of relationship the bogey beast had with the earl.
He remained confused as he kept his pursuit, but eventually, the bogey beast found the room that Rosalie was hiding in.
(Here it is. I can hear Master’s voice.)
Voice? But Nico couldn’t hear anything. It could have been a noise that had the same characteristics as the bogey beast, and if that were so, then that [Master] seemed like it was something of a troublesome or deadly nature.
From the slight crack of the open door, the bogey beast slipped inside. Nico also faded his body and passed through the door.
Rosalie was sitting near a round skylight windowsill. The bogey beast that went up to her, remained in an invisible form that humans were unable to see and called out its master.
Of course, it didn’t refer to Rosalie. Something seemed to be inside the faint green stone that Rosalie had in her hand.
“So that’s the master.”
Even Nico could tell the strong presence of the charm spell that repelled evil. His instinct told him that if he were to touch it, it was dangerous as he would be sucked into it.
“So that means, it’s something stupid enough to be sucked into that thing, right?”
The rock itself appeared mesmerizingly beautiful and extremely appealing, but because they couldn’t touch it, it was a charm to ward off evil.
P. 230
(Master, forgive me for my lateness. Oh, no, you will wait no further. I will immediately put the girl to work. Ahh, you mean the forerunner? Yes, I have put it in a trap. It was a stupid one, so I trapped it while it had fallen asleep in a pile of its favorite leaves. There is nothing that will stand in your way now, so please do not worry.)
What did it mean about forerunner? Was it the nemesis of the bogey beast and its master? If so, it was sure that it was in a state that couldn’t stop the two of them. To even put Lydia, the Earl’s fairy doctor, inside a bottle was quite a job for a bonehead bogey beast.
Oh, but, he had no time to be surprised by that.
As Nico spied on them even further, the bogey beast bounced up to stand right in front of Rosalie.
So that she could perceive it, it appeared its body to the human eye.
(Ahh, my lady, how I have searched for you. What happened for you to be trapped inside a place like this?)
Just seconds ago when it was calling her a little brat, it suddenly put up the façade of a cajoling attitude towards the girl. Rosalie, who had her head down, whipped her face up.
“Fairy….., where have you been! I was tricked by Uncle and had such an awful experience! No matter how much I called you, you never appeared……”
P. 231
P. 232
(Please forgive me. There was a small unanticipated accident and I was in a state of unconsciousness. Ahh, but, everything is fine now. If you would just follow my word, everything would work out perfectly.)
“What are you saying I do? If I’m seen by one of Uncle’s men, I’ll be locked up again. And I can’t escape from this ship, since I can’ swim. So hurry up and go get help.”
(Yes, yes, but I also happened to see that Earl on this ship as well. I’m sure he’s here to rescue my lady…)
“What! Why is that man here! You have to be kidding, I’m never going near that man again!”
(Eh, wh-why would that be? I was told that the earl was my lady’s ideal man of your dreams…)
“He tried to kill me! His attitude changed all of a sudden….Even Uncle, who was so kind to me, I’m never going to trust men ever again!”
Seeing that the bogey beast was confused and in a state of panic, Nico guessed that it had been planning to make Rosalie get near Edgar.
It was going to get its [Master] that was inside Rosalie’s stone near the target in order to revive it.
Perhaps the reason why Rosalie felling in love with Edgar and calculatingly approached him was because the thing inside the stone had learned about the man called the Blue Knight Earl and used its magic to get near him.
P. 233
The Blue Knight Earl it targeted was a type of man that constantly put up a sweet, good face towards all women was sure to be a godsend.
For the bogey beast and its master, to manipulate the girl and inflict an attack on the earl, the most simple and easiest way to control was to have her fall completely in love with him.
(Oh…., oh, yes, my lady, if something like that had happened, then you must not let that man get away with it.)
It looked like the bogey beast had come up with a new way to make Rosalie go on the move.
(You must let him have a taste of his own medicine. Please listen carefully, my lady, there is a magical power in that gemstone you hold. If you use that, then you will be able to punish the man who slighted you.)
“Punish…..?”
(Yes, just leave it to me. Ah, yes, please be careful not to drop the ‘fairy egg.’ Everything is alright, because you are a courageous one.)
The dark, evil inside the stone seeped out to sink into the weak opening of Rosalie’s heart. It was trying to take control of her.
Even though it was sealed within the stone, if one were to keep ahold of it for a long period of time, then they would be influenced by the dark magic slowly seeping out.
Normally, it should be under the care of someone who had a strong tolerance against it.
If it was in the old days, a priest or nobleman, and even if there was no guarantee that they were in the same position now, there were sure to be people who had a high tolerance against it, so it shouldn’t be in the hands of a girl like Rosalie who could be easily influenced by it.
P. 234
But, in reality, she was the one who had it.
Prompted by the bogey beast and manipulated by the dark magic, Rosalie stood up.
Her feelings of admiration towards Edgar, yet being double-crossed, and the fearful feelings after being put through a horrible experience had now changed to a bitter hatred inside her.
"Oh, this is bad,” whispered Nico. “Hmm, I don’t care what happens to that flirt. But at this rate, Lydia might get in trouble.”
Before the two of them left, Nico dashed out of the room.
He hurried in a dash with his back legs to let Lydia know about what he just saw.
P. 195
It was the entrance to Great British Empire. The port where people and shipments gathered from all over the world was filled with ships that went up and down the Thames River.
With the weather being cloudy and there being no wind, the built up smog that filled the Greater London looked as if there was a black giant was stood shrouding over the city. It endlessly swallowed up the immense wealth that was built by the colonial settlements. Passing by red brick warehouses and carriages used for transporting and the piled-up cargo, Lydia used the time to imagine that she could see a huge giant form of a fogman that used its fog to swallow up the city.
Eventually, their carriage stopped by a wharf. From there, they got onto a boat to oar across the surface of the river and swerved through a number of ships that were docked there.
And then, Graham had Edgar taken to one of those vessels which was a large sailing ship.
When they got on, he was surrounded by a large group of tall, muscular men who all eyed him with hostility, which made it feel like they were surrounded by a pack of wolves.
P. 196
However, Edgar didn’t change his expression at all. Instead, he glared back at them with an irritated look, which made the wolves sense the presence of a lion inside the slender young man and made them shrink away.
It was a different impression than when he showed himself courtly and sagacious to high-class people like Graham to shut them up, but more like they saw an instinctive presence in front of them, which made Lydia go back to a nervous state of mind.
Edgar who was trying to save Lydia; however, he was a man who always had a hidden quality about himself that Lydia wasn’t able to see.
And yet, Lydia still wasn’t able to hate that dangerous side of Edgar and felt that she would forgive him even if she was put through danger.
She would also see his sorrow and so she couldn’t make herself hate him.
And she had a faint feeling about something. That Edgar was plotting something on the other side of his mind under that mask of his.
Even if his motive of coming into the center of enemy territory alone was to save Lydia, he surely wouldn’t be planning to leave here with just that.
In the end, whatever impossibly dangerous situation it may be, he would use anything he could,
But, now, Lydia just gave up and thought he should just do as he pleases.
Since however much she is fed up and angry at him, she couldn’t bring herself to loath and hate him.
Graham had a few number of men, who didn’t look like sailors but more like bodyguards, with him as they went down a dark-lit staircase and through the passageways of the ship.
P. 197
Eventually, they reached the end and he opened a door to a heavily guarded room and entered it with just Edgar and him.
“So, where is my jewel?”
As Lydia sat limply, she turned red by him who was still saying such ticklishly embarrassing words.
“Beyond that door.”
Graham pointed to a door that was at the back of the room.
She was imagining that her body was thrown in some dirty, dark storeroom like place, and so surprised to learn that they kept her in an actual room.
Edgar hurried over to the door. When he tried to turn the knob, it looked like it was locked.
“Where’s the key?”
As he asked that, he must of sensed an unusual, prickling presence behind him, and slowly turned around with caution.
Lydia was able to get a glimpse of Graham pointing a pistol towards Edgar.
“Lord Graham, what would that be?” questioned Edgar, who spoke in an indifferent tone, like he had expected this.
“My lord, I’d like it if you didn’t underestimate me. I heard that it was you who was trying to claim all my fortunes using a number of false names.”
P. 198
“Oh? Do you have evidence of such a thing?”
“Rosalie told me. It was you who seized my hotel, and on top of that, you were secretly sniffing around about me, I hear. What are you after?”
“Rosalie…., I see. So, you loaded up a young woman who went to you pleading for help onto a slave trade ship. Just like you planned from the start, you were going to make it seem like she was the one who used and dried up the Worpole family fortune and disappeared with one of the men she was financing.”
Why, could someone do such a thing just for the sake of money? And to two of his nieces who he was suppose to look after as his ward…
Doris must also be in some dark place right now and crying by herself again. Even the strong-willed Rosalie must surely be frightened.
But, there was nothing Lydia could do. She was fighting against the tormenting sensation like her tiny self was slowly fading away and was at her limits with just staying conscious that she was still breathing.
“Lord Earl, it seems you know too much for your own good. I am going to have you sunken into the Atlantic Ocean. That way your body will definitely not be found.”
With the pistol still aimed at Edgar, Graham placed his finger on the lever.
“Lydia, excuse me.”
Being suddenly apologized to, she didn’t know what he meant, but in that moment, Edgar had already chucked the bottle into the air.
P. 199
I said it was alright to abandon me. But this!
She expected to be smashed against the wall. But, Lydia was caught by a body of fluffy fur.
“Nico….”
But, she had no time to relax, as her body flinched to the sound of bullet fire.
A hanging lamp was shattered. Just when she had looked up to see that, Edgar had made a lung at Graham and was in a scuffle with him to try to take away his weapon.
By mere chance, another bullet was fired.
Sure enough, men who heard the sound came dashing into the room immediately.
Nico clutched the bottle in his arms and hid under a table.
“Nico, Edgar is going to get killed.”
“What do you say I can do?”
“Well, that’s….but…”
She saw one of the massive, burly men wrapped his solid muscle arms around Edgar’s neck in order to pull him away from Graham.
During that struggle, suddenly, the man’s body bended backwards and his whole body crashed to the floor.
A black shadowy figure crossed swiftly in front of the desk that Lydia and Nico were hiding under. A hand axe sliced through the air and knocked the pistol out of Graham’s hand. The shadow didn’t stop and went on to attack another one of his men.
P. 200
It was Raven.
When his body, that appeared slender and frail at first glance, would pass by, the tall and heavyset bodyguards would just fall limp to the floor without even letting out a grunt.
On the other hand, Graham snatched up a knife from one of his fallen men and turned to face Edgar who was on his knees about to stand up.
“Lord Edgar!”
Just when Raven was distracted by that, one of Graham’s men jumped onto him from behind.
However, Raven spinned around as he swinged his leg around in a semicircular motion to strike the man with the his foot.
The man’s huge body flew back to crash through the door and made a booming sound as he hit the floor.
“Nico, hurry and return Lydia!”
In response to Edgar’s voice, Nico dashed into the room beyond the broken door.
In the room, on a simple bed, Lydia found her body laying on her back.
Nico rushed over to the body and the second he popped open the bottle, Lydia’s mind went blank.
The time that passed, must have been a short one, when the soul and body were melting back into each other.
Lydia heard the noise had died down around her and slowly opened her eyes.
P. 201
She realized that her body moved just as she thought and slightly relaxed in relief and lifted her upper body to sit up.
In the room where the floor was covered with broken parts of the room and Graham’s men lay unconscious all over the place, only three men were left standing.
Raven was standing behind Graham holding a pistol to his back and Edgar was in front of Graham with a tight hold of the scruff of his shirt, but he realized that Lydia was awakened and let go of his foe.
“Lydia, you’re back to your body?”
Noting paying any care to his ruffled hair, he gave her a child-like, defenseless smile which sent an almost painful, strange feeling through Lydia.
She became quite shy and embarrassed and took her eyes off of him.
She spotted the fairy cat on top of her lap and as she felt relieved she picked up Nico into her arms.
“Nico, thank you….”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Lydia, that’s enough. You’ll ruffle my fur coat.”
Nico didn’t like being touched and handled like a cat. There was no way a respectable gentleman wouldn’t allow himself to be cradled and stoked like a pet animal. But, Lydia didn’t know how she should act if she were to let go of Nico, and so, didn’t mind him wriggling in her arms to get out.
“You know, in these sorts of situation, wouldn’t you normally jump into my arms?” said Edgar with an unhappy gesture of combing up his blond hair.
P. 202
Probably just now, Lydia had the overpowering feeling of wanting to do that, but that would be such an embarrassing act for her and so she didn’t know what to do.
“It would be too dangerous to go into the arms of someone like you.”
Raven had told her it would be safe, but she couldn’t believe him. For now, it could have been that she didn’t have the strength to be able to slap him if it was necessary.
As she thought that in her head, she wondered if it was indeed as Raven said, and even if Edgar only said things to grab other people’s favor, he actually didn’t see her as a woman of interest to him; but I don’t care about that, she denied to herself.
She really wasn’t herself right now.
“…..But, I do sincerely appreciate the fact that you helped me. Thank you…….”
For a brief moment, Edgar leaned his face down to hers to inspect her face.
“Your face is a little red. Do you feel ill?”
“I-I’m fine!”
In an attempt to block his eyes to her, she lifted up Nico in front of her, which made Edgar and Nico looking into each other’s eyes close-up, and made Nico let out an irritated, low howl.
Making a mixed frown and smile, Edgar stepped away from Lydia and Nico and once again turned to face Graham.
P. 203
“Oi, do you think you’re going to get away with this untouched?” threatened Graham in an tough act.
However, Edgar completely ignored him and asked a question to Raven.
“Raven, how's outside the ship?”
“I have removed the ladder. Even if the escaped sailors went and called for more help, it would take them some time. I have thrown those still remaining on the ship into the river.”
As he gave his reply, Raven handed out a piece of paper which Edgar took and ripped it to shreds. It looked like it was the contract that he had signed just earlier with Graham, so Raven must have gone and stolen it.
“And with that, our contract had not happened. So, which means, Lord Graham, we can have a calm and quiet discussion together.”
“Discussion? What is there to talk about?”
“About your hidden assets.”
Even Lydia could tell from her place that the blood left on Graham’s face.
“Lord Graham, when you had your stolen goods or properties you gained through illegal ways delivered, you would slip out a number of them for yourself. And you had those hidden in the basement of a familiar noblewoman’s residence. You had told her that place was an ideal storage place for a scarce number of rare wines, and got the permission to use her basement store room.”
“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
P. 204
“I don’t mind if you don’t. That noblewoman also had a debt herself. She needed to sell off her home, so I went ahead and bought it. She had told me that the cheap wine stored in the basement belonged to you, and I had those transferred to a different location, but that house, and everything inside it, belongs to me. The room with its passageway blocked by a shelf wall and the room which was constructed unbeknownst to the noblewoman and the things in it, whether they once belonged to someone, are now own by me. That is all there is to it.”
Lydia had forgotten to let go of Nico and Nico remained still as a doll, clutched in her arms, as both their eyes were completely focused on the intensely tense air between Edgar and Graham.
“The reason of your habit of splurging and putting your hands on the Worpole family assets so carelessly was because you figured you would still have your hidden assets, didn’t you? But when the situation turned to the worst, the noblewoman had sold her house. It’s important not to turn away your lover like that just because you grew tired of her. Or then, she wouldn’t have sold off her house without first coming to you for advice.”
His smile that looked like the devil was the side of Edgar that Lydia didn’t know.
“And yet, you figured that no one had found out about your hidden treasures in the basement room, and so you planned a sneak-in to recover it. And yet, it turns out the basement had been worked on by someone, and the wall that was suppose to open up to the hidden room was covered up with a new wall. And just when you were in a panic because it wouldn’t be a quiet, easy job to dig it out, you were found out by Lady Doris that you had been using the baron family fortune. …….Is how I imagined things happened.”
“What, are you after.”
Even Graham, must have felt the abnormality in Edgar’s tenacious and perfect scheme.
P. 205
“Your self destruction.”
“You plan to kill me…..?”
“There is no need for me to be the one to do that.”
He pressed the tip of his walking stick into Graham’s chest.
“The safely guarded, sealed diamond from South Africa, and the engraved gold to prevent them from being go through illegal channels, all of those goods were being handled by Prince. You were aware of that, no? That man hates and above else does not stand it when he gets tricked or betrayed. If he finds out that you were helping yourself to his belongings, I’m sure he wouldn’t let you get away with it.”
“So, yo-you know Prince? No, wait, just wait a moment, please don’t do that ….Lord Earl, I’ll do anything, you can take all of my money and assets….”
“I had said that I wished for your destruction. How about I put you in a wooden box along with one of those gold bars with engravings on it with you and send you off to Prince? I can imagine the look on his face when he realized that it was a present from me. He’s sure to turn that fury towards you.”
That probably was his declaration of war against Prince by using Graham.
Edgar’s revenge towards Graham was just the first step meant for the one he could never forgive the most.
P. 206
Lydia felt cold sweat run down her back.
“Wh-Who are you?”
“You should know that.”
“It’s a lie. You’re not really an earl….”
“Oh, my, then can I have you remember my name? Oh, Lord Graham, when I first met you eight years ago, you looked at me and laughed, saying I looked like a near dead juvenile vagrant. I wanted to take a look at your face so I wouldn’t forget, but my vision was blurred so I couldn’t really see.”
Graham’s eyes opened wide. His legs were trembling.
“No, you couldn’t be, you’re….”
The words that came after that, could have been Edgar’s real name. But it was such a small whisper that Lydia couldn’t hear it at all.
“Prince does not forgive those who handle what belongs to his roughly. You apparently had learned from your mistake and treated Lydia carefully. In my case, I was treated like a dirty piece of luggage, and I heard afterwards that you were put through quite a horrorful experience by angering Prince.”
Out of the blue, Graham let out a horrified scream and made a lung at Edgar in front of him.
But, Edgar gave a strike at him with his knee and to the wobbling Graham, he gave a finishing strike with his cane.
Lydia let out a small cry and turned her eyes away.
P. 207
P. 208
Edgar didn’t do anything further more to hurt him but his cold eyes that didn’t show a hint of sympathy showed that they wouldn’t accept any pleases of help or defending excuses.
It might have not been as scary if he had acted in rage and a fit of anger.
His cold glaring eyes continued as Raven held down Graham who was struggling to fight back until he was knocked down unconscious.
Edgar was aiming his overflowing rage at Prince who stood beyond Graham.
But, even if he let out his anger or make his revenge, what he lost would never come back.
Edgar also wouldn’t be saved.
He was free from the hands of Prince and obtained his freedom and yet he could have placed himself in another fierce and lonely battle.
How sad is that.
Edgar turned around to Lydia’s tired sigh and now he hid the heartless, cold presence and had the look of his gentleman self.
“I’m sorry, Lydia. To show you such an unbearable scene.”
He walked over to her and offered his hand and said let’s go. Lydia ignored it and stood up by herself to stare quietly at Edgar.
“Are you going to put that man into a wooden box?”
“You don’t have to know that. Since you’re not one of us.”
P. 209
He looked back at her with a slightly lonely expression.
Yes, Lydia wasn’t a part of his group. He acted in desperation to save her like she was a valuable member inside his ring, but since she wasn’t with them, she couldn’t take any step further to him.
But, she couldn’t agree to this.
“Edgar, what was your purpose in hiring me as your fairy doctor? Wasn’t it to help you as earl and the new you?”
“…..Let’s take about that later. We need to get out of here pretty soon, or the rest of his men might return.”
“What are you saying? Then, we have to hurry up to find and rescue Doris and Rosalie. The two of them were also put on this ship, weren’t they?”
“I don’t think there’s any obligation for us to help them.”
For a instant, Lydia couldn’t believe her ears.
“W-Why?”
“We don’t have that kind of time and besides, this ship isn’t able to leave port. Everything here will be searched eventually.”
When it would be search is the question. A few days? A few weeks? That would be the same as leaving them to die.
“But, I know that the two of them are being confined somewhere. I can’t leave when I know that….”
P. 210
Reaching to that, Lydia suddenly realized.
They knew and yet eight years ago, Edgar was abandoned.
“Do you loathe them? Because Rosalie and Doris stole the ‘fairy egg’ from you and yet they didn’t help you?”
He looked back at Lydia with a somewhat troubled expression.
“I don’t really remember.”
“Rosalie told me that she met a young boy who was tied up and locked in that river-side warehouse eight years ago. She thought he was a thief and took his water-sealed agate and never saw him since…. That boy was you wasn’t it? Rosalie and Doris had gotten into the warehouse that Lord Graham used to confine you to hand you over to Prince, right?”
He let out a breath of air, which didn’t look like it was from remembering his painful past but looked like he was tired of Lydia’s meddling.
“Even if that were so, it wasn’t that much to hate someone for. Lydia, it would be natural for those girls to abandon a filthy young boy. He would have nothing to do with them and they can figure out that it would do them any good to get involved with it. I’m sorry, but I don’t care if they are going to be the victims of their own uncle…”
Before Edgar could finish what he was saying, Lydia had slapped his face with the palm of her hand.
P. 211
The sound of flesh against flesh ringed through the air.
Nico gasped with a ‘whoa’ and that made her realize what she did, but the bubbling feeling of malaise inside Lydia didn’t go away just by hitting Edgar.
“You really are a scoundrel! You took advantage of Rosalie’s feelings by luring her with your sweet talk and used her and now that you don’t need her anymore, you’re going to throw her away? ……See, you really do resent them. You really wanted to be saved by then! Even if they have nothing to do with you, and even if there was nothing good in getting involved, if there was someone who helped you, you wouldn’t have suffered like this….”
She was supposed to have been furious at his heartlessness, but it was painful when Lydia thought about the cause that made him have that cursed way of thinking.
She couldn’t make up her mind about what was right and wrong so she could only spill out the feelings that were building up in her.
“So, then, I will save them! I will save Rosalie and Doris in your place! Even if there is no profit, the wish to help others should be in everybody. Was there gain in lose when you were helping me? I thought that it wasn’t and I want to believe it was so, so that’s why I’m going to help them!”
Still in the heated state after she finished speaking, she turned to back to Edgar.
“Nico, we’re going now!”
Even though he had the bothersome look, Nico jumped down from the bed, and openly trotted after Lydia on his back legs.
P. 212
“Raven, did you understand that?” asked Edgar as he stood in a daze, as his eyes was looking at the doorway that Lydia and Nico walked out of.
“I couldn’t understand the logic in it, but I feel like she went out for Lord Edgar’s sake.”
“……I have that feeling as well.”
He placed his hand on his cheek that was given a hit and he felt a burning heat than pain.
It was almost like it was a form of passionate expression of love.
For some odd reason, Lydia would say things that Edgar would have never imagined and did things that he wouldn’t have expected.
And because of that, Edgar was pulled in an unimaginable direction.
If she had messed up the plan that he had meticulous thought up, only to break into a completely new path which made him as he was now, then, maybe, this time as well.
“Lord Edgar”
Raven called to stop him. Because, Edgar was silently walking out of the room.
“I can’t leave Lydia by herself. Since, there could be Graham’s men still lurking around.”
P. 213
“What shall we do with him.”
He was referring to the unconscious Graham.
“Leave him.”
He felt like there was something more important than revenge in the direction that Lydia was heading.
Because, those mysterious colored eyes of hers may be looking at something important that Edgar wasn’t able to see.
*
Lydia was wandering around inside the deserted ship. There were a number of places that looked like a tornado had passed through, but she could guess that it may have been caused by Raven.
It didn’t look like it was caused by a fight or combat, but more the trail of Raven forcefully entering as he was looking around for Edgar.
Since every door like door had been broken down by the work of some axe-like object, she guessed that the sailors must have run-off than stay and try to stop Raven.
Imagining the sight of that expressionless person causing havoc wherever he went really made her see him as a living, breathing weapon of war.
Inside that disarranged ship, Lydia aimlessly went around to carefully searched the rooms, but it wasn’t that easy to locate Rosalie and Doris.
P. 214
“Hey, Nico, don’t you sense anything?”
“What are you saying that I sense.”
“Like, smells.”
“I am not a dog.”
Just then, Lydia picked up the sound of a woman’s scream.
“It’s this way!” Lydia went off in a dash.
“Oi, be careful. If it’s a scream, then couldn’t that mean there’s someone else there?” said Nico, as he followed her.
Oh, yes, he could be right.
She made sure to not make as much noise to give away that they were approaching as she rushed to the direction of the voice.
She stopped at the bend of a crossway as she could sense someone was present close-by around the corner, and after she peeked out, a figure and the person’s orange hair stood out even in this darkly lit place.
Rosalie was being carried on a plump man’s shoulder and was about to be taken off somewhere.
“That man, he’s the president of Graham’s company.”
“Hmm, since Raven came and made a commotion, he’s thinking of moving her to a different place? Oi, Lydia, what are you going to do?”
When Nico turned around, Lydia was already gripping a mop.
P. 215
“Let’s go, Nico.”
“Ehh, idiot, stop! This is too reckless….”
But, she got set for only a second and then raced out. Gripping onto the pole of the mop, she swung it down as she aimed at the man from behind.
“Whoa….!”
Letting out a grunt, the man wobbled over as he let go of Rosalie.
“You, bloody, wench.”
In no time had the furious man grabbed the mob out of Lydia’s hands. He reached out to get his hands on Lydia.
Just then, Rosalie grasped onto the man’s leg. He tripped forward and fell face down, and then she sunk her teeth into him.
Lydia rushed to pick up the mop and she too repeatedly hit him with it.
The man crawled along the floor in an effort to escape, but accidently went tumbling down a near-by staircase against the wall on the floor down to the bottom of the ship.
“Hurry, shut the door!”
The two of them hustled to lift up two wooden boards that acted as doors to close up the stairs.
After the pounding sound of the closing wooden doors and latching the lock, it wasn’t frightening any more no matter how much the locked-in man yelled or bellowed at them.
They quickly ran away from there and was finally able to take a breath of relief in an empty, quiet place, and when the two of them looked at each other, it wasn’t sure who was the first, but the two of them relaxed the stern look on their faces.
P. 216
“Miss Rosalie, were you being locked-up at the bottom of the ship?”
“Yes…, but just earlier, that man suddenly came in, and took me out to take me somewhere…..”
It was there, she remembered what she had done to Lydia and nervously backed away.
“More than that, why are you here? He…Edgar came to see me and told me to reveal your location….. Weren’t you rescued by him?”
“Well, yes, I was, but I came here to rescue you.”
The look on her face suddenly changed, like she was angry. And then, she turned her back to Lydia.
“That’s impossible. Because, I, I did that awful thing to you….”
“Yes, that sure was awful.”
“That’s why I was nearly killed by Edgar!”
“Eh?”
“It’s true, there’s something wrong with him! …..He seemed like he was used to threatening people, and had that sweet, melting smile on his face as he was trying to kill me.”
Yes, he would be capable of that. She could effortlessly imagine the sight and being able to do that was depressing.
She hoped that he didn't have the intent to kill her, but the reason behind that why he didn't could be just be that there was no profit in doing that for Edgar.
P. 217
“Yes, that man did the wrong thing. Even I’m always fooled around by him.”
“You’re lying. You’re a part of his group. You say that you’re here to help me, but what are you really going to do with me? Are you going to get even?”
“No, I’m not. Miss Rosalie, when you were locked-in, did you understand the feelings of being scared and alone?”
Trembling her shoulders slightly, Rosalie looked up at her with a frightened look.
“……Yes, I understand….., that’s why I know that this happened because I deserved it.”
“Then, please believe what I’m saying. I understand how you feel, so I’m here to help you.”
Lydia gave her a smile and held out her hand to Rosalie.
“Now, let’s go. We still need to find Miss Doris and get her out since those crooks could come back.”
She didn’t take Lydia’s hand because she must have still had doubts about her. And yet, Rosalie appeared like she was still going to go along with Lydia.
Perhaps, she was worried about Doris.
“Are you saying that Doris is also on this ship?”
“I think, most likely. She was also locked up in that warehouse. After that, Lord Graham came into the warehouse and should have taken her onto this ship with me.”
P. 218
Rosalie gave a surprised look. She must have never imagined that Doris was in the warehouse. But if Graham was the culprit, she must have understood because of what she was put through.
“I didn’t know that Uncle was keeping Doris confined. He was our relative and I trusted him, so I can’t believe he would do this for the sake of the family money….”
Rosalie stopped in her tracks in a nervous stance.
“I can’t see Doris. I have done so much mean things to her and I even said that I wished her would disappear…. That’s why I didn’t know that any of this was happening and thought she was recovering in the countryside. I didn’t even send her a sympathy letter, and felt offended that she hadn’t sent me any kind of word.”
“But, Miss Doris didn’t seem like she was mad at you. If you want to reconcile, you just have to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
But, Rosalie’s response was a heavily puzzled look.
“I couldn’t possibly apologize. If I did that, it would make me a loser.”
“That’s not the problem….”
“But, it’s Doris’ fault for hiding something from me. This never would have happened, if she would have just told me the truth about Uncle.”
P. 219
“Thought, you do feel that you did something bad to her, don’t you?”
“But, I don’t want to apologize. Ever since we lost our parents in the accident, I was the one who protected her. I was the guardian of that girl who was always crying. I’m the only one who can be close to her, and yet, if I apologized, that’s like I’m saying I’m a bad, mean girl. Then, Doris is sure to grow apart from me.”
“You’re quite possessive.”
“That’s because if I didn’t have Doris, if I didn’t have her who understood the same pain of suddenly lost your parents at seven years old…..”
“Then, all the more you need to rescue her…”
“No, I can’t, I don’t want to see her, I’m never going to apologize!”
The reason she stubbornly refused could be, instead of fearing the looming danger to Doris and herself, she was frightened of the moment her friend, who she only knew how to keep by her side by taking control of her with her egotistical behavior and wishes.
Seeing Rosalie remained standing in the same spot and looking like she wasn’t going to budge, there was nothing Lydia could do any further.
“I will go search for Miss Doris. So, you need to hide in that room. Understand? Be careful not to be found by Graham’s men. And keep quiet.”
P. 220
Rosalie didn’t give a response, but Lydia knew she couldn’t waste any more time.
She left behind Rosalie and made sure that Nico was following her as he looked at her like she was absurd and started to inspect the rooms she hadn’t checked yet.
“How troublesome, humans are. I can’t see why they have such bizarre, warped ways of thinking,” mumbled Nico.
“Yes. Everything would be settled if they just said their feelings to the person they cared about.”
However, she could sort of imagine Rosalie’s feelings. Even if you did care for someone, that didn’t mean they would accept your feelings and you would be scared of being hurt when your trust and hope might be betrayed.
As a young girl who said she could see fairies, Lydia, who was treated as a freak, also had a part of her that had given up on trying to be liked by others.
Not only could she see, but she also had the hope of someday growing up to be like her mother and tried to give advice to those who got injured because of fairies or were suffering from their actions, but they only thought she was making up some lie or false accusation or doing a prank on them and treated like a nuisance.
Because she knew that a fairy doctor’s ability would be difficult to be understood by normal people and thought it couldn’t be helped, so even if she fell in love with someone, she probably wouldn’t be able to make herself confess her feelings, and was sure she would have given up from the beginning.
P. 221
Even if they didn’t openly treat her as a freak, for people who don’t believe that fairies exist, they wouldn’t be able to shake away the creepy, eerie feeling about Lydia’s ability.
I wonder about that for Edgar. She was curious about tat because he was a rare person who gave Lydia an unaffected, normal reaction.
But, she wouldn’t be able to know if he truly did or didn’t feel creeped out about Lydia’s ability.
If it was a separate thing to accept a fairy doctor’s ability and to accept them as a normal human being, then she was left with being cautious and couldn’t help but keep her guard up.
On the other hand, she would be thrilled if she was treated as a member of the group and wished that she would be able to trust them. That’s why she didn’t want Edgar to do the irresponsible act of abandoning the two girls. She didn’t want only her ability to be understood, but also her feelings. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to honestly express that, and ended up slapping him and start a fight, which didn’t make her all that different from Rosalie.
To be able to tell the truth was actually quite a difficult thing to do.
She wondered if that big liar just wasn’t able to say the truth.
Even if it was to escape from Prince, he wouldn’t be able to reveal his past criminal actions to people. Even his revenge that he was avenging for his friends, couldn’t be explained to naïve Lydia who grew up and lived in a peaceful world.
That must have been why he kept his secrets from her and used her when he was fully aware of the dangers.
P. 222
And yet, he unexpectedly worried for her state and acted kind by rescuing her.
He was a man with intentions she could not read.
But, it wasn’t like she couldn’t completely understand, and because she felt like she had times when she could pick up his thoughts, that’s why Lydia would be brought into this mess.
Edgar would get Lydia involved into his business and brought up the topic about the ‘fairy egg’ and the fogman and use her as bait, but she wanted to hope that he actually was waiting for someone to save him.
He asked her on top of the lake boat to help rescue his dead comrades from the misty fog and she came to believe that what he said then, was what he was truly hoping for.
In the nearly dead state he was confined in, he imagined that he saw the appearance of fairies and made a promise in exchange with the water-sealed agate and is still waiting in the dark for his rescue. That image lingered in her mind, and that sentimental thought couldn’t be erased from her mind maybe because Lydia knew that fairies had the characteristic to never break their promise.
If the fairy that made a trade with Edgar eight years ago, had an unavoidable reason that they couldn’t keep their promise, then she had the feeling like she was passed on the job to do something about it herself.
Since, she knew that as a fairy doctor, a promise that was kept unfulfilled was a bad thing for both fairies and humans.
P. 223
“Nico, don’t you hear footsteps?”
Lydia suddenly had the feeling like she sensed a moving presence and stopped her pace. But, there was no reply from Nico.
“Hey, Nico, where did you go?”
That whimsical fairy cat would suddenly just disappear so he was never reliable. Even as she thought that, Lydia’s body went rigid from someone approaching her and so she focused to hear any sound. She could indeed hear footsteps.
Just when she inched back into the back of a dark closet, she was yanked back from behind.
“Ah….”
“Quiet. It’s me, Lydia.”
She realized it was Edgar and managed to gulp down her scream.
The approaching presence could have been a sailor left behind inside the ship as the figure seemed like it didn’t know what was going on as it was turning its head looking around. In the person’s hand was a knife and the footsteps was just about to pass them, and her heart beated ever harder at the thought that they could be found.
The two of them carefully shut the closet door, trying not to be heard, which made the inside of the closet completely dark, but at the sound of the footsteps getting right up near them, the darkness wasn’t the thing that was frightening anymore.
But, even after the person went off into the distance, her heart wouldn’t calm down. Because, Edgar still had his arms around Lydia’s body.
“The person’s gone.”
P. 224
“Yes.”
“All right, let go, already.”
But he didn’t show any signs of letting Lydia go.
“If I let go of you in this darkness, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to make sure you are right here.”
“Then, you can just open this door.”
“I wish it had been you….”
“What are you saying?”
“If it was you who was the fairy that I saw in my confused state of mind, you might have pulled me out of this darkness.”
Was he making up lines just to show off again? She couldn’t tell if it was so or not by his unceremonial, plainly put manner of speaking.
It was dark so she couldn’t see his face. Only he didn’t put too much strength in his arms which were carefully wrapped around Lydia’s body. It was just that simple treatment that made her feel like she was hearing a rare confession from him.
“…..Then, I’ll take you out.”
She had said that in a serious way as she could, but she needed the courage like she was going to jump off the London Bridge. She expected that she was going to be laughed at, yet, unexpectedly, he remained quiet like he was deep in thought.
Eventually, he opened his mouth to speak.
P. 225
“It’s from eight years ago.”
The warm air from his breath brushed against her hair. Lydia thought to herself that the rising beat of her heart was because she was desperately trying to think of a way that would save Edgar.
“It isn’t too late. I will keep that promise you made eight years ago. The fairy you saw wasn’t able to keep its promise because of unavoidable circumstances and promises are meant to be fulfilled. So, that’s why, we should go rescue those two girls together. There is no need for you to avenge yourself. There’s no need to hate somebody. You are able to live without relying on hatred.”
She couldn’t bare remaining still and so when Lydia leaned towards the door, Edgar’s arms easily unraveled themselves.
Even with the light inside the dim interior of the ship, if it shined through the crack of the bearly open closet doors, it felt bright to their eyes.
“Why aren’t you hating Rosalie? And, me?”
He narrowed his eyes to the light.
“That’s because I was always saved. You continued to encourage me while I was inside the bottle. Even in the short while I was confined I didn’t feel alone and I didn’t have to fear the darkness, and so I’m free from hating and blaming someone for it.”
The two of them stepped out into the hallway.
P. 226
Edgar gave her a look like he was confused and she couldn’t tell what he felt from what Lydiasaid. But, she was sure that he was going to give his hand to help rescue Doris.
“Did you search this way?”
“No, not yet.”
“Let’s go.”
In the end, Edgar tossed aside Graham and came to follow after Lydia.
It may not be that he has given up his revenge, but he was working to compromise with Lydia.
He would have a frivolous attitude and fool around and poke fun at her, but he was also a mysterious person who could sense what Lydia was feeling or what she really wanted to say.
That’s why, Lydiacouldn’t help but say things that she thought were normally too embarrassing.
Perhaps, Edgar might be secretly laughing to himself at Lydia for seriously saying that she would bring him out of the darkness, but to believe that he might really have understood her seriousness, that might be because she was so simple-minded.
“You know, Lydia, I think I’m near to falling in love with you,” he said suddenly.
Yes, he was enjoying poking her around.
Or, maybe…..?
P. 227
No, however simple-minded I may be, I’m not that stupid.
“Those kinds of lines of yours will never be taken seriously.”
Even if she stick it to him straight, he still was chuckling at her.
There were so many things that overlapped, and so right then, Lydia had completely forgotten about the other major problem.
*
The reason why Nico had slipped away from her was because he spotted something troublesome.
The bogey beast that moved in a bouncing, jumping run, had gotten his body back after Nico had made him disappear yesterday. Nico had gotten a quick glance of it out of the corner of his eye and quickly dashed to follow it.
“What an annoying little critter, geesh.”
Even as Nico thought that, he carefully followed after the bogey beast.
The devilish fae appeared like it was looking for something. Could it be that orange-haired girl?
He twitched his nose to try to pick up a scent and immediately rushed in the direction that Rosalie might be at.
P. 228
The meerky smell of Thames River mixed with the erry mist of the smog shrouded the inside of the ship. Wherever you were, that followed you in every part of this city.
More than the smell, Nico felt the moisture-laden air. It seeped into his whiskers and fur coat and that pasty and clammy feeling made his fur feel more heavy than normal.
Either way today too, Londonwas enveloped in the fog. There was no wind and the city was covered in a heavy, cold humidity.
Everyone wondered when the spring winds would come.
(Ahh, Master is calling me. If I don’t hurry, I will be heavily scolded,) mumbled the bogey beast to itself. Nico perked up his ears as
he followed after it.
(Oh, geesh, how could I allow my great self to be beaten by a fur-covered monster cat.)
I ain’t a monster.
(Oh, but that fairy doctor is still inside the bottle. The body was taken away so I couldn’t have any fun with it. And the Blue Knight Earl is on this ship. What a perfect chance. If he’s defeated, then it’s the revival of my Master!)
Blue Knight Earl? That’s Edgar.
The bogey beast that was bounding around inside the ship must have seen Edgar. But, it looks like it didn’t know Lydia was here after she was rescued out of the bottle.
P. 229
He wondered what kind of relationship the bogey beast had with the earl.
He remained confused as he kept his pursuit, but eventually, the bogey beast found the room that Rosalie was hiding in.
(Here it is. I can hear Master’s voice.)
Voice? But Nico couldn’t hear anything. It could have been a noise that had the same characteristics as the bogey beast, and if that were so, then that [Master] seemed like it was something of a troublesome or deadly nature.
From the slight crack of the open door, the bogey beast slipped inside. Nico also faded his body and passed through the door.
Rosalie was sitting near a round skylight windowsill. The bogey beast that went up to her, remained in an invisible form that humans were unable to see and called out its master.
Of course, it didn’t refer to Rosalie. Something seemed to be inside the faint green stone that Rosalie had in her hand.
“So that’s the master.”
Even Nico could tell the strong presence of the charm spell that repelled evil. His instinct told him that if he were to touch it, it was dangerous as he would be sucked into it.
“So that means, it’s something stupid enough to be sucked into that thing, right?”
The rock itself appeared mesmerizingly beautiful and extremely appealing, but because they couldn’t touch it, it was a charm to ward off evil.
P. 230
(Master, forgive me for my lateness. Oh, no, you will wait no further. I will immediately put the girl to work. Ahh, you mean the forerunner? Yes, I have put it in a trap. It was a stupid one, so I trapped it while it had fallen asleep in a pile of its favorite leaves. There is nothing that will stand in your way now, so please do not worry.)
What did it mean about forerunner? Was it the nemesis of the bogey beast and its master? If so, it was sure that it was in a state that couldn’t stop the two of them. To even put Lydia, the Earl’s fairy doctor, inside a bottle was quite a job for a bonehead bogey beast.
Oh, but, he had no time to be surprised by that.
As Nico spied on them even further, the bogey beast bounced up to stand right in front of Rosalie.
So that she could perceive it, it appeared its body to the human eye.
(Ahh, my lady, how I have searched for you. What happened for you to be trapped inside a place like this?)
Just seconds ago when it was calling her a little brat, it suddenly put up the façade of a cajoling attitude towards the girl. Rosalie, who had her head down, whipped her face up.
“Fairy….., where have you been! I was tricked by Uncle and had such an awful experience! No matter how much I called you, you never appeared……”
P. 231
P. 232
(Please forgive me. There was a small unanticipated accident and I was in a state of unconsciousness. Ahh, but, everything is fine now. If you would just follow my word, everything would work out perfectly.)
“What are you saying I do? If I’m seen by one of Uncle’s men, I’ll be locked up again. And I can’t escape from this ship, since I can’ swim. So hurry up and go get help.”
(Yes, yes, but I also happened to see that Earl on this ship as well. I’m sure he’s here to rescue my lady…)
“What! Why is that man here! You have to be kidding, I’m never going near that man again!”
(Eh, wh-why would that be? I was told that the earl was my lady’s ideal man of your dreams…)
“He tried to kill me! His attitude changed all of a sudden….Even Uncle, who was so kind to me, I’m never going to trust men ever again!”
Seeing that the bogey beast was confused and in a state of panic, Nico guessed that it had been planning to make Rosalie get near Edgar.
It was going to get its [Master] that was inside Rosalie’s stone near the target in order to revive it.
Perhaps the reason why Rosalie felling in love with Edgar and calculatingly approached him was because the thing inside the stone had learned about the man called the Blue Knight Earl and used its magic to get near him.
P. 233
The Blue Knight Earl it targeted was a type of man that constantly put up a sweet, good face towards all women was sure to be a godsend.
For the bogey beast and its master, to manipulate the girl and inflict an attack on the earl, the most simple and easiest way to control was to have her fall completely in love with him.
(Oh…., oh, yes, my lady, if something like that had happened, then you must not let that man get away with it.)
It looked like the bogey beast had come up with a new way to make Rosalie go on the move.
(You must let him have a taste of his own medicine. Please listen carefully, my lady, there is a magical power in that gemstone you hold. If you use that, then you will be able to punish the man who slighted you.)
“Punish…..?”
(Yes, just leave it to me. Ah, yes, please be careful not to drop the ‘fairy egg.’ Everything is alright, because you are a courageous one.)
The dark, evil inside the stone seeped out to sink into the weak opening of Rosalie’s heart. It was trying to take control of her.
Even though it was sealed within the stone, if one were to keep ahold of it for a long period of time, then they would be influenced by the dark magic slowly seeping out.
Normally, it should be under the care of someone who had a strong tolerance against it.
If it was in the old days, a priest or nobleman, and even if there was no guarantee that they were in the same position now, there were sure to be people who had a high tolerance against it, so it shouldn’t be in the hands of a girl like Rosalie who could be easily influenced by it.
P. 234
But, in reality, she was the one who had it.
Prompted by the bogey beast and manipulated by the dark magic, Rosalie stood up.
Her feelings of admiration towards Edgar, yet being double-crossed, and the fearful feelings after being put through a horrible experience had now changed to a bitter hatred inside her.
"Oh, this is bad,” whispered Nico. “Hmm, I don’t care what happens to that flirt. But at this rate, Lydia might get in trouble.”
Before the two of them left, Nico dashed out of the room.
He hurried in a dash with his back legs to let Lydia know about what he just saw.
