P. 195
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. Pa.s.sing 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.
And then, Graham had Edgar taken to one of those vessels which was a large sailing s.h.i.+p.
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.
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.
She would also see his sorrow and so she couldn’t make herself hate him.
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.
But, now, Lydia just gave up and thought he should just do as he pleases.
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 pa.s.sageways of the s.h.i.+p.
P. 197
“So, where is my jewel?”
“Beyond that door.”
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.
“Where’s the key?”
Lydia was able to get a glimpse of Graham pointing a pistol towards Edgar.
“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
“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?”
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…
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.
With the pistol still aimed at Edgar, Graham placed his finger on the lever.
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
She expected to be smashed against the wall. But, Lydia was caught by a body of fluffy fur.
But, she had no time to relax, as her body flinched to the sound of bullet fire.
By mere chance, another bullet was fired.
Nico clutched the bottle in his arms and hid under a table.
“What do you say I can do?”
She saw one of the ma.s.sive, burly men wrapped his solid muscle arms around Edgar’s neck in order to pull him away from Graham.
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
When his body, that appeared slender and frail at first glance, would pa.s.s by, the tall and heavyset bodyguards would just fall limp to the floor without even letting out a grunt.
“Lord Edgar!”
However, Raven spinned around as he swinged his leg around in a semicircular motion to strike the man with the his foot.
“Nico, hurry and return Lydia!”
In the room, on a simple bed, Lydia found her body laying on her back.
The time that pa.s.sed, must have been a short one, when the soul and body were melting back into each other.
She realized that her body moved just as she thought and slightly relaxed in relief and lifted her upper body to sit up.
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 s.h.i.+rt, but he realized that Lydia was awakened and let go of his foe.
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 spotted the fairy cat on top of her lap and as she felt relieved she picked up Nico into her arms.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Lydia, that’s enough. You’ll ruffle my fur coat.”
“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
“It would be too dangerous to go into the arms of someone like you.”
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.
“…..But, I do sincerely appreciate the fact that you helped me. Thank you…….”
“Your face is a little red. Do you feel ill?”
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.
“Oi, do you think you’re going to get away with this untouched?” threatened Graham in an tough act.
“Raven, how"s outside the s.h.i.+p?”
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.
“Discussion? What is there to talk about?”
Even Lydia could tell from her place that the blood left on Graham’s face.
“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
P. 204
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.
His smile that looked like the devil was the side of Edgar that Lydia didn’t know.
“What, are you after.”
“Your self destruction.”
“There is no need for me to be the one to do that.”
“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.”
“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.”
Edgar’s revenge towards Graham was just the first step meant for the one he could never forgive the most.
P. 206
“Wh-Who are you?”
“It’s a lie. You’re not really an earl….”
Graham’s eyes opened wide. His legs were trembling.
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.
Out of the blue, Graham let out a horrified scream and made a lung at Edgar in front of him.
Lydia let out a small cry and turned her eyes away.
P. 207
P. 208
It might have not been as scary if he had acted in rage and a fit of anger.
Edgar was aiming his overflowing rage at Prince who stood beyond Graham.
Edgar also wouldn’t be saved.
How sad is that.
“I’m sorry, Lydia. To show you such an unbearable scene.”
“Are you going to put that man into a wooden box?”
He looked back at her with a slightly lonely expression.
But, she couldn’t agree to this.
“…..Let’s take about that later. We need to get out of here pretty soon, or the rest of his men might return.”
“I don’t think there’s any obligation for us to help them.”
“W-Why?”
When it would be search is the question. A few days? A few weeks? That would be the same as leaving them to die.
Reaching to that, Lydia suddenly realized.
“Do you loathe them? Because Rosalie and Doris stole the ‘fairy egg’ from you and yet they didn’t help you?”
“I don’t really remember.”
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.
Before Edgar could finish what he was saying, Lydia had slapped his face with the palm of her hand.
P. 211
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.
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.
“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!”
“Nico, we’re going now!”
“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 have that feeling as well.”
It was almost like it was a form of pa.s.sionate expression of love.
And because of that, Edgar was pulled in an unimaginable direction.
“Lord Edgar”
“I can’t leave Lydia by herself. Since, there could be Graham’s men still lurking around.”
P. 213
He was referring to the unconscious Graham.
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 s.h.i.+p. There were a number of places that looked like a tornado had pa.s.sed through, but she could guess that it may have been caused by Raven.
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.
Inside that disarranged s.h.i.+p, Lydia aimlessly went around to carefully searched the rooms, but it wasn’t that easy to locate Rosalie and Doris.
P. 214
“What are you saying that I sense.”
“I am not a dog.”
“It’s this way!” Lydia went off in a dash.
Oh, yes, he could be right.
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.
“That man, he’s the president of Graham’s company.”
When Nico turned around, Lydia was already gripping a mop.
P. 215
“Ehh, idiot, stop! This is too reckless….”
“Whoa….!”
“You, b.l.o.o.d.y, wench.”
Just then, Rosalie grasped onto the man’s leg. He tripped forward and fell face down, and then she sunk her teeth into him.
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 s.h.i.+p.
The two of them hustled to lift up two wooden boards that acted as doors to close up the stairs.
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
“Yes…, but just earlier, that man suddenly came in, and took me out to take me somewhere…..”
“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?”
The look on her face suddenly changed, like she was angry. And then, she turned her back to Lydia.
“Yes, that sure was awful.”
“Eh?”
Yes, he would be capable of that. She could effortlessly imagine the sight and being able to do that was depressing.
“Yes, that man did the wrong thing. Even I’m always fooled around by him.”
“No, I’m not. Miss Rosalie, when you were locked-in, did you understand the feelings of being scared and alone?”
“……Yes, I understand….., that’s why I know that this happened because I deserved it.”
Lydia gave her a smile and held out her hand to Rosalie.
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.
“Are you saying that Doris is also on this s.h.i.+p?”
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.
Rosalie stopped in her tracks in a nervous stance.
“But, Miss Doris didn’t seem like she was mad at you. If you want to reconcile, you just have to apologize.”
But, Rosalie’s response was a heavily puzzled look.
“That’s not the problem….”
“Thought, you do feel that you did something bad to her, don’t you?”
“You’re quite possessive.”
“Then, all the more you need to rescue her…”
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.
“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
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.
“Yes. Everything would be settled if they just said their feelings to the person they cared about.”
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.
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
I wonder about that for Edgar. She was curious about tat because he was a rare person who gave Lydia an unaffected, normal reaction.
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.
To be able to tell the truth was actually quite a difficult thing to do.
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.
And yet, he unexpectedly worried for her state and acted kind by rescuing her.
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.
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.
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 pa.s.sed on the job to do something about it herself.
“Nico, don’t you hear footsteps?”
“Hey, Nico, where did you go?”
Just when she inched back into the back of a dark closet, she was yanked back from behind.
“Quiet. It’s me, Lydia.”
The approaching presence could have been a sailor left behind inside the s.h.i.+p 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 pa.s.s them, and her heart beated ever harder at the thought that they could be found.
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.
“Yes.”
But he didn’t show any signs of letting Lydia go.
“Then, you can just open this door.”
“What are you saying?”
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.
“…..Then, I’ll take you out.”
Eventually, he opened his mouth to speak.
P. 225
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.
She couldn’t bare remaining still and so when Lydia leaned towards the door, Edgar’s arms easily unraveled themselves.
“Why aren’t you hating Rosalie? And, me?”
“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.”
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.
“No, not yet.”
In the end, Edgar tossed aside Graham and came to follow after Lydia.
He would have a frivolous att.i.tude 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.
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.
Yes, he was enjoying poking her around.
No, however simple-minded I may be, I’m not that stupid.
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.
“What an annoying little critter, geesh.”
The devilish fae appeared like it was looking for something. Could it be that orange-haired girl?
The meerky smell of Thames River mixed with the erry mist of the smog shrouded the inside of the s.h.i.+p. Wherever you were, that followed you in every part of this city.
Either way today too, Londonwas enveloped in the fog. There was no wind and the city was covered in a heavy, cold humidity.
(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
(Oh, geesh, how could I allow my great self to be beaten by a fur-covered monster cat.)
(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 s.h.i.+p. What a perfect chance. If he’s defeated, then it’s the revival of my Master!)
The bogey beast that was bounding around inside the s.h.i.+p 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 remained confused as he kept his pursuit, but eventually, the bogey beast found the room that Rosalie was hiding in.
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.
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.
“So that’s the master.”
“So that means, it’s something stupid enough to be sucked into that thing, right?”
(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 a