P. 207
When she finally reached Hyde Park, she headed to the lake that was located in the center of the grounds.
Trying to dodge people’s eyes seeing her, Lydia went over to a patch of bushes and yelled out over the lake.
The water surface remained still.
“Kelpie, are you really not here? Did you go back to Scotland?”
“I came all this way for you, I’m not going back so easily.”
“Weren’t you not going to speak to me again?”
A kelpie in the water was the most dangerous thing. She had let him be by her side when he was on land with her as a water horse had hardly any strong magic on the lands, but Lydia had been taking particular caution in not getting anywhere near water when she was with Kelpie.
She walked up close enough that he would hardly need to use any strength to pull her into the water if he were to change his mind and she looked up to his beautiful magic eyes.
“So which means, he hasn’t gone to h.e.l.l yet.”
“You know, for me, I think it would be great if he got out of the picture. Hadn’t you just lost your temper regarding that just earlier. And yet I can’t understand, why would you come and ask for something like that?”
Probably because she watered her eyes like she was about to cry, Kelpie let out a heavy sigh and finally opened his mouth like he gave up.
“A poison was used on him. Kelpie, you have the power to purify water. You know of a way to get rid of the poison that’s in his body, don’t you?”
Like she thought, there was something that could be done. Lydia stepped over to Kelpie even closer.
“You’re a fairy doctor. That part of you I can trust. Only I won’t tell it for free.”
And she could predict what sort of condition this kelpie would bring up.
“You said that you would cut your ties with me…. You haven’t forgiven me for instigating the painter, haven’t you. And yet, you’re saying that you’re able to do as I say?”
“It feels unpleasant for you if I didn’t speak to you. So you wouldn’t do something that would frighten me or make me suffer, would you?”
To see what it’s like to marry; the sight of this kelpie who had a vague expectation that marriage was a good thing, appeared cute to her eyes.
“Marriage…., was still a promise that we made when I said I’ll do it when you would ‘give me the moon.’ So for now, I will be able to live with you in the fairy realm…. Could that be enough?”
However, Kelpie still looked down at her like he wasn’t satisfied yet.
He was a water horse and yet he’s such a sympathetic fairy.
Finally, Kelpie said ‘All right.’
Lydia gazed at it as she was amazed to learn that kelpie’s blood is red as well, but that was perhaps it was the only color she could a.s.sociate with blood.
P. 211
Lydia closed her mouth like she was waiting for a kiss.
It was pure, untainted water that just woke from its slumber.
Kelpie’s hand was moved away and Lydia looked up to him.
“Have him drink it.”
“I don’t want to stick my finger in that b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s mouth.”
Even if the woman who you’re taking as your bride is going to kiss another man…..?
“Well, then, I guess anywhere is fine? But make sure and lick nearest the flow of blood on him. A kelpie’s blood loses its power if it comes in contact with air. There’s no other way but to make you the carrier and transfer it to him.”
P. 212
Lydia nodded and dashed out of the park.
It seemed he knew where Lydia went off to, as he stood twitching his whiskers in an irritating and furious manner.
“Don’t do it, Lydia. It’s stupid to trade with a kelpie.”
“That isn’t the problem. First of all, even if that human Edgar died, that wouldn’t cause us any trouble. We’ll go home to Scotland and just live the life that we had been living.”
“He’s the filthiest of humans out of the dump. The reason he puts on a good face in front of you is because he thinks you have value that he could use. Are you going to give up your dream of being a fairy doctor for the sake of a man like that? You’re too soft-hearted.”
P. 213
Lydia lowered her body down to kneel in front of Nico and held out her hand.
He was a friend that stood side-to-side to her from her childhood.
She took Nico’s hand as he remained grumpy and silent. His hand was soft and fluffy, like that of a cat’s paw, she squeezed that hand that was able to pick up a teacup much more gracefully than a human and amazingly crafty enough to use a knife and fork and let it go.
“I’ll write a letter to him later. Nico, after I’m gone, if you could, please try to share some drinks with him for a while.”
Lydia stood up and quickly headed to Edgar’s room.
Lydia didn’t spare any time to talk to them and whisked by the front of them.
P. 214
He only nodded to her and let her have her way.
Ohhh, now what do I do.
That alone made her nervous. At least the good thing was he was unconscious.
The heart? That was impossible. She would have to undress him.
I know! his hand…
And pressed her lips against his wrist, where she felt the beating of his heart.
Lydia spent some time waiting as she was unsure if Kelpie’s blood had any affect on Edgar’s body.
P. 215
P. 216
Slowly, his eyes opened. His ash mauve eyes looked around the air around him and finally settled at Lydia.
She was so relieved that she forgot that she was holding onto this hand tightly.
He must have had no idea what was going on and not able to grasp the situation as he twisted his brows together like he was trying to come up with an answer.
“I was having a dream about you.”
“I had grown old and in my death bed. There were people gathered around me and I was searching for you. But I couldn’t find you and I was shocked. Why? At that time, I was thinking that there was no way you wouldn’t be there and I was convinced that I had spent so many decades with you.”
It would be awkward if she suddenly let it go. And besides, he was sure not aware about how his hand was and not paying any attention to it. She decided to softly let it go while he didn’t notice and slowly relaxed her grip.
P. 217
Opposite of the slow, weak words that were spilling out of him, his grip was so strong it didn’t let her go.
“I don’t hate you. You just always play those jokes on me, so I was just pretending like I was angry at you. ….I just wanted to say that I’m not angry at you anymore.”
“I wonder if that was what you said to me in my dream. Just when I was discouraged that I couldn’t see you again, you appeared in front of me. Just in the form like you are now. And you had said something to me but I couldn’t hear……”
“And yet, I was just simply relieved. Just having you by my side, put’s me in a peaceful, happy feeling. At that time too, when I was about to meet my death as a lowlife, filthy human being, you held my hand and kissed it like you were forgiving me.”
“…..It"s just a dream.”
“Lydia, I wouldn’t be troubled.”
“Even if you become serious about me and if you become completely absorbed about m and followed me like a shadow, I wouldn’t be troubled. …You said you didn’t want to mistake the distance between us, but even if you become totally mistaken and came so near that I could reach you, so close that you’re practically falling into my arms, …..I wouldn’t be troubled at all.”
Edgar was just enjoying the game of running after Lydia who all the more so refused him, that’s why she thought he would be troubled if she were to turn serious about him.
“So, would you try and fall in love with me.”
But, she held down her trembling emotions somehow.
It was like it was his born instinct to flirt with women. It would be stupid to seriously take in what he said every time.
“….I’ll think about it.”
“You were just recovered from a dangerous state.”
“Get some sleep. …..See you tomorrow.”
Her heart tinged with pain just a little at the thought that maybe she was deceiving Edgar.
He was a person who could cut through more dangerous situations.
Good night. After she whispered that to him, Lydia stood up.
P. 220
Unless he didn’t realize the wound on his waist, he was sure to be vague about yesterday’s occurrence, if it was real or not.
Because he was going through such an ordinary morning scene, he was beginning to wonder if he was really alive or not.
He expected that the one he was going to face was Paul alone. If it was him, he thought that Paul was someone who he could come to an understanding that they were not to fight each other after he had a talk with him, and he took that bet.
For Edgar, he was targeted at the moment when he put his guard down after the long moment of tension.
Right after he was stabbed, pins-and-needles felt like they ran over his skin. He realized that he was poisoned and tried to pull out the knife, but his body didn’t respond to his will.
And yet, right now, it was like all the poison was drained out of his body.
His butler appeared.
“Will you prefer the doctor examine you just to be safe?”
“Right away.”
“Tomkins, what is the name of the doctor who saved me? It isn’t that bald-headed doctor, was it?”
He was right, it wasn’t a dream.
It was definite, she was irreplaceable.
Not seconds after the butler exited, Raven came in with the tea.
P. 222
“Raven, I think I may have put you through quite some worry.”
“I kept quiet to you because me myself was still undecided.”
Edgar still had his conscious up till Paul had pulled him up and put him onto the horse-drawn carriage. But he didn’t know what happened after that. He hadn’t said a word about what happened at Paul’s boarding house room to Raven.
Raven unraveled something wrapped in cloth and set it onto the table. What was wrapped inside was the knife that tormented Edgar. Blood, and it was stained with the toxic chemical that had changed color.
“Mister Foreman had sneaked this into your clothing as well. He must have thought we could use it to determine which toxins were used.”
“No, I knew it was useless at first glance.”
Just because he didn’t say any outspoken remarks, there was a part of Edgar who was being too dependent and taking advantage on his loyalty.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to take care of my business with Paul by myself. But that, was just like what you were worried about, it lead to me delaying my decision.”
“Lord Edgar, please do not apologize to me who is your lower. I am always prepared to accept whatever decision you chose. You don’t always think of your own safety as your first priority, but because of that, you are not Prince, but my master.”
Prince got his hands on Raven in order to become that, but the sprit didn’t accept him as its master, and only released its ma.s.sacring, b.l.o.o.d.y nature, and Raven’s heart had locked up his emotions and he appeared like a lifeless doll and didn’t laugh or cry.
Their ingenious religious belief and traditional culture which bounded the blood that possessed the strength to fight in wars.
P. 224
Edgar was beginning to feel that the fairies that Lydia could see, must also been something of that.
What was the goal of that secretive, devilish organization of Prince that was doing experiments with magic?
Which means, the ‘Scarlett Moon’ that is fighting against Prince goes by the name of the guardian fairy from the legend of Lord Blue Knight might be because they are after some sort of magical power to use to fight with.
If that were so, what method should he use?
“Yes, your wish is my command.”
He said that Professor Carlton was asking to see him.
He asked Raven to make his preparations and put his lips to the thick milk tea.
“Quit? Lydia is quitting?”
Carlton spoke in a businesslike manner, but he appeared obviously in low spirits.
“……I too, am not aware of the reason…. The only thing which is clear is that Lydia has chosen the other side.”
“My lord, the other day, I had talked with you about how I would accept the day when Lydiawould make her natural decision. It seems that that time was unexpectedly yesterday.”
He offered the man a seat but Carlton didn’t bother to sit down, so Edgar drew near to him.
“You are saying she chose to live in the world of the fairies? Because she grew displeased and tired of this side?”
Did she give up hope on the human world that was filled with fights and wars?
“The one who can do that is not me. And my lord, neither was it you. It was not humans, but fairies, that spurred Lydia’s decision.”
“Getting her back…., can we not even see her and talk to her?”
He, himself, was probably unable to accept it, and from his unnerved feelings, he must have feared he might spill out his emotions in front of other people and decided to leave before that happened.
So it was difficult for even the love of family to bind Lydia to the human world. Just like it was with her mother, unless she found someone in the human world that she shared a bond stronger that of blood, then nothing could hold her back.
But, he couldn’t let it go. If Lydia had despaired over the human world, then why would she go and rescue Edgar.
As he silently thought, he whipped his eyes up to follow something. Because he thought he saw Nico’s long, gray tail pa.s.s by the windowsill.
He dashed over to open the window. The cat who was apparently jumping from one balcony railing to another turned around to face him.
“I don’t have any business here anymore, but I wanted to have a last drink of Mister Tomkins tea.”
“Is it the round chocolate?”
With each glum step, he came into the room.
No longer did Edgar disbelieve that Nico was an existence from the other side.
“So Lydia agreed to the marriage with Kelpie in order to save me?”
“I can’t believe she went into the hands of that barbaric fairy as she thought of me.”
“But normally, someone wouldn’t go so far for a man they didn’t have any feelings for?”
You have to br joking, thought Edgar.
If she thought that she could live more peacefully by Kelpie’s side more than being by Edgar, then it could have just been a deed of helping someone while she was at it for her.
In the end, Edgar wasn’t nearly killed by Paul. Even if Kelpie encouraged Paul and urged a human to poison another, there was nothing in that where Lydiahad to feel responsible for.
“Nico, even you don’t want to have Lydia go away, don’t you? And that water horse isn’t a gentleman like us.”
Edgar was thinking of dragging Nico onto his side. For one thing, Kelpie is a fairy. He would need the help of a fairy on his side as well.
“Hey, earl, Lydiamade the decision on her own and went. What right do you or I have in saying you want to bring her back?”
P. 230
“Your flirtatious character?”
How would I know, mentioned Nico by shrugging his shoulders. Edgar didn’t lost by drawing himself near.
“I can’t take any other human besides Lydia through to the fairy world. Fairies have their boundaries and rules we have to abide to.”
Mnn, thought Nico as he crossed his arms. However, like he was batting away the temptation, he shook his head.
Edgar tried to think of something.
That was another problem. However, if he found Lydia, wouldn’t something work out? He was thinking about it too positively. This kind of thing depended on vigor. If one thought about it too much, then that would make it seem like there was no path.
“Those two, Marygold and Sweetpea, are they still here?”
“Hey, the earl is calling for you.”
“What business do you have with us?”
“I’d like for you to take me to your Queen.”
Before anything else, there was nothing he could do unless he entered the fairy world. In order to do that, he was using the preposterous idea of pretending to accept the marriage with the queen just for that, which made Nico jump up onto his shoulder with an irritated look.
“However good a con-artist you may be, the method you would use with humans doesn’t work on fairies. Instead of bringing back Lydia, you’ll end up captured by the fairy queen.”
Marygold grabbed Nico’s tail and tried to pull him down.
Edgar grabbed Nico who tried to reveal the truth and covered his mouth.
“Ahh, but my lord, we will need the moon ring. The previous Blue Knight Earl had said that the promise of engagement can only be fulfilled when we exchange the ‘moon.’ That is why we will need for you to wear the ‘moon’that Her Highness has given to you as proof of your promise.
Exchange the moon with the promise. That would mean, that images the marriage between the Blue Knight Earl and his Lady, Gwendolen? The marriage of the lord of the earl house might have had some sort of tradition as proof of the promise with the moonstone.
He must be under the watch of the ‘Scarlett Moon."
“All right. Let’s get back that ring. Ladies, Nico, I a.s.sume you’ll lend me a hand.”
“More like, what are you plotting to do!”
“Prepare to leave. Oh, and bring me my sword.”
*
The club house that finally was able to spit out its last customer who kept up residence all through the night had its doors tightly closed until the hustle and bustle of the night arrived.
“Lord Edgar, is this the headquarters of the ‘Scarlett Moon’?”
It was the club that held that exhibition where Edgar and Paul first met.
Because Paul’s father O’neill, and his other father Foreman, were both painters who accepts job offers from n.o.bles, there was a high possibility that they were members of here. To begin with, it was the work of the owner of this place who introduced Paul to Edgar and made it work out so that the young painter would win his interest.
P. 234
“Now, time for checkmate.”
After a moment, the one to pop out his head was a man who looked to be a servant.
“I have business with Mister Slade.”
“I was nearly killed by his woman. Tell him that I won’t mind talking to him before I make it public.”
“Pardon me, but you are?”
As soon as he said the name, the man widened his eyes. He didn’t hide his trembling, and escaped back behind the door.
He went up the stairs that connected from the entrance hall. Raven was right behind him.
It was Slade. A portly man with a black beard. So, he was the one, Edgar remembered him as Edgar looked to check the scarlett red moonstone he wore on his right hand.
So he means it would be troublesome to have me walking about.
“Yes, but, ah….”
“Are you saying a dead man doesn’t qualify?”
“Yo-you do not look dead to my eyes.”
“…..What are you talking about?”
“Please visit his residence.”
“That is out of my knowledge…”
Raven walked up to Slade and grabbed the scruff of his s.h.i.+rt and pointed a knife to forehead.
Edgar cruelly peered down at him as he was unable to move.
“……………..”
“No, I-I’m awake.”
The club’s servants gathered around them from a far distance. From the look of their confused noise, it seemed like they weren’t members of the ‘Scarlett Moon.’
The man urged the servants to return to their work posts.
P. 237
He lowered his voice and whispered into the man’s ear.
“…….We don’t just simply kill off our men just because they screwed up a job.”
Only Edgar couldn’t have cared less. If he says that they’re different from Prince, then that was all the better.
He guided Edgar and his servant to the back as they went on down winding hallways. The location must be a place where normal servants couldn’t enter. Before they knew it, there was no body else around them.
In the next moment, the sound of gunfire overlapped with the sound of shattering sound of the nearby lamp shoot.
P. 238
“Catch them!”
“Raven, this way!”
Paul should captured so that he wouldn’t be witnessed and so hidden somewhere deep in this building.
But every room looked like it was unused.
The room turned out to be some gathering hall for the secret organization as it was a large, open hall.
Taking a closer look, the mosaic turned out to be made of red moonstones, and each one of the stones had blood-red colored alphabets inscribed onto them.
Most likely, they were moonstones that had the first alphabet of the member’s names inscribed on the moonstones and like it was looking down at them, there was a more than evident throne that sat atop of an altar facing them.
P. 239
“The Blue Knight Earl…..?”
Guessing from his clothes, he must be Julius Ashenbert who was said to have appeared in the palace of Elizabeth I.
They came to the conclusion that since the family had such a strong bond between fairies, they wanted to avoid the danger of having a portrait that had their features stored on it to be used for cursing purposes.
Then, why did this earl have his portrait created. And why was it in a place like this.
Something slammed heavily against the door. The lock was bound to be broken through and the prop up spear was going to give out pretty soon.
“No, let’s finish this here.”
Men came pouring into the chamber. From behind them, he could see Slade.
Slade realized that the pistol was aiming at his forehead without any hesitation and he stopped in his tracks.
Slade let out a scream and all the men froze like time stopped.
As he said that, Edgar took the opportunity to have a good look at each one of them.
Purposefully, he took a glance at the portrait on the wall.
He heard Slade’s whisper and walked over to him.
Grabbing his arm, Edgar took off his ring roughly.
He carelessly threw it away.
“We did not start this thinking it as a game? This is to protect ourselves and to fight.”
Somewhere in the corner, someone moved.
But that disrupted the tension that was straining everyone’s nerves and another different man tried to attack and grab ahold of Edgar.
He drawed out the sword from its sheahe that he had been holding in his hand.
“I am the Blue Knight Earl. The master of this sword. If you don’t like it, then come and get me. That is, if you have the courage to face your weapon to this sword.”
It was nothing for him to pretend like he was courageous and dignified even if he was surrounded by enemies. Since Edgar was well aware of his blessed beauty and how he appeared to other people’s eyes, he willingly used it.
Slade broke the silence.
“Everybody wait!”
“You all need to stop. This man isn’t the henchman of Prince. He’s the same as us, a victim.”
P. 243
P. 244
He didn’t know the reason why he wasn’t killed. Prince killed off Edgar’s comrades in order to corner him and had used all kinds of methods so far, but using his one weakness of not killing him, Edgar managed to escape this far.
Slade t.i.tled his head in silence as he must have been trying to think up of an objection.
Paul turned his head around slightly with a hesitant look, as if he was undecided if he could tell Edgar or not.
“Let’s tell him.”
From the doorway, an old man came in. From how the members opened up a path for him, he must be one of the leading members.
P. 245
“Foreman…” said Slade in a worried tone.
“Slade, could you leave this to me.”
“I’m terribly sorry for all the rudeness, my lord. No, should I call you your grace?”
“Then my lord, to tell you the truth we also don’t really know what the history is between Prince and the Blue Knight Earl. We only know that he uses all his power to completely obliterate the bloodline like he is afraid of the existence of the Blue Knight Earl.”
“Yes, that is so, however, even if he didn’t have the right to succeed the earl t.i.tle, there was one who descended from the earl.”
“We believe that this is the only one that portrays the figures of the Blue Knight Earl family. The one who painted this was his lover and a woman who gave birth to his child…”
P. 246
into that female painter’s family.”
So the art dealer originally had aimed to become a painter. Because he wasn’t able to sell his name, he must have gotten ahold of some kind of fortune and came up to his position.
With a painful face, he lowered his head as if he was mourning for the dead.
“So that was the formation of the ‘Scarlett Moon’?”
“So in the end, you don’t know why they were targeted?” asked Edgar.
“And yet it was an imposter, so you were disappointed?”
“Several years ago, when O’neill was killed, we grew suspicious of the duke family he was residing at and started to investigate about them. But we were only able to find out that there was just a fire, and never thought to think that the family’s young son was alive in the hands of Prince. My lord, if he, who had painted your family, was killed and your family was obliterated by Prince, then I would like to find out the reason. O’neill might have known something about the duke family.”
However, there still was no exact answer. Only, more than that the duke family was targeted, Edgar had the feeling like they were after Edgar himself.
young, but there was no connection with the earl family who may or may not appear once in a hundred years.”
P. 248
There were so many things that were still a mystery.
There was that possibility. However Edgar didn’t have the mysterious power that was succeeded in the Ashenbert family.
Either way, he was unable to break away from the path of confronting with Prince.
“So you’re saying that you don’t need an earl that doesn’t have the blood nor the G.o.dly power that can fight against Prince?”
That’s why he wanted it.
Slade made an offended expression probably because he himself must have been feeling impatient and irritated about that as well. Foreman didn’t change his expression and continued to speak in an even-leveled tone.
“You’re wrong, ‘Scarlett Moon’ gentlemen. I’m saying you should become mine.”
There was a moment of bursting voices and commotion, but there was no one who spoke up in objection.
There was no answer. But he felt the effect he made.
Because they were a fake scarlet moon with just a name and enthusiasm, so that’s why they desired the real Blue Knight Earl.
Even if they tried to s.h.i.+ne like the real thing, they wouldn’t be able to be the same thing. If a fake was able to become the real thing, then it had to s.h.i.+ne even brighter than the real one.
P. 250
“By the way, Paul, the reason I came to see you because I wanted you to return that white moonstone to me.”
He then handed the sword to Raven and he stood up with the ring in his hand.
“Yes.”
He took a good look around all of them who didn’t know what to do, and then Edgar called for Marygold and Sweetpea.
“Then, my lord, let us make our way.”
The two fairies in the form of young girls took Edgar’s hand.