Hakushaku to Yousei

Chapter 21

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P. 251
There was a milky-white moon that hanged against the light blue-violet sky that reminisced with a summersolstice night. The wind slowly breezed along the river surface and the forest tree leaves.
The fairy world was not hot nor cold, and quiet.
As Lydia looked up at the moon, she was thinking about what her father was doing around about now. She wondered if Edgar was told that Lydia wasn’t able to work for the earl family anymore.
Since the fairy realm and the human realm went at different speeds of time, for Lydia, it may seem like night as even pa.s.sed yet but most likely more time must have pa.s.sed on the other side.
Feeling hungry with an empty stomach, Lydia looked down at the fruits that were on her lap.
The fruits in the fairy world were very ripe and released a sweet aroma. If one were to happen to take a bite out of one, then it was sure to be so delicious that you never had tasted before.
But if you were to put a food from the fairy realm into your mouth, then you would never be able to return to the human realm.
In the first place, since she decided to come and live with Kelpie, she needed to cut her ties with the human world, but since this was so sudden, she wasn’t mentally prepared.

P. 252
Closing her eyes, Lydia threw the fruits that Kelpie had picked for her far off in the distance. Just then, she saw him coming back from the direction of the river.
He set down the pile of gra.s.s that he carried on his back onto the ground. He sat down Lydia onto the soft gra.s.s with its nice smell that was spread out like a blanket and grinned in satisfaction.
“Rest on this for today. Once we return to Scotland, I’ll prepare everything so that it’ll be comfortable to live even for a human.”
“All right, thank you.”
Surprisingly, he was kind and took care of her.
“Hey, Lydia, couldn’t you take away the promise of the moon already?”
The promise that she made with him in the past that if he gave her the moon, then she’ll marry him.
She made a promise with Kelpie that she would stay by his side when she accepted his blood that cured poison. That didn’t connect to the promise of marriage, but since she was going to be with him for now-on, then there was no point in refusing the marriage, that’s why he was saying that he wanted her to take away the promise of the moon.
"….Let’s talk about that once we return to Scotland. I’m tired right now.”
“Okay. Well, to you, it may not be that easy to adjust your feelings in order to cut off from the human world.”

P. 253
It wasn’t words that was said to gloss things over. Kelpie didn’t have such an underside nor have the ability to play cheap tricks. This was just his natural personality he was born with, so if Lydia was able to adopt a clear-cut mindset to spending her life with him, then she would probably be able to live peacefully.
When she lifted up her head, she saw that Kelpie had his eyes fixed onto her.
Even if he didn’t have a bad character, he was still an Unseelie Court. He was a fairy that ate humans. It wasn’t the erotic kind when Edgar looked at her but made her feel surrounded with a feeling like he wanted to take a bite out of her.
Then, he suddenly grabbed ahold of her shoulder and Lydia was pressed down atop of the gra.s.s.
“Wa-wait, what are you doing….!”
“Mating.”
“Huhh?”
Oh, right, he had the instincts of an animal, that’s why he has such a practical turn of mind.
Lydia silently grew furious and suddenly threw her fist up at Kelpie’s nose.
“Ow…., what, I heard that humans don’t struggle that wildly like female kelpies.”
“We aren’t married yet!”
He tsked under his breath as he mumbled, d.a.m.n, still not good and leaned away from Lydia.
Just then, there was an unnatural sound on the river’s water surface.

P. 254
Kelpie seemed to be troubled by it as he stood up. At least for now, the area near the sh.o.r.e and river surroundings was the territory of Kelpie. Water horses hated intruders especially underwater.
“I’m going to go take a look.”
After he went and disappeared into the water, Lydia let out a deep sigh.
She became worried if she was going to be able to keep up with him.
“Lydia.”
She thought she heard Edgar’s voice, but she just though she must be tired. After taking a rest and spending the night, she might be able to turn into a more up-beat mood.
“Lydia, hurry, let’s escape while we can.”
Huh?
When Lydia finally lifted her head at the sound of gra.s.s rustling right near her, she saw that Edgar was smiling happily at her.
“Wh-why on earth are you here?”
“I’m here to take you back home.”
“But……”
“How horrible for you to leave as you please.”
“Hey, hurry up already! He’s going to come back!”

P. 255
Nico was beckoning for them with his hand from the shadows of the gra.s.s.
Edgar pulled on Lydia’s arm as she still didn’t know what to do and the both of them started off in a run.
“Wait, I can’t run off like this. I promised with Kelpie….”
“But, you fought courageously when your chast.i.ty was in danger.”
“Yo-you were watching-?”
“I nearly rushed out. Since Nico threw a frog into the river, we were able to turn Kelpie’s attention away.”
So it looked like they were trying to get away from Kelpie’s territory as Edgar hurried her through the forest at a fast pace. The reason he didn’t loosen his grip on Lydia’s arm was because he might have been frightened that she might say that she wanted to return to Kelpie’s side.
“Lydia, it isn’t like you really want to marry that fairy who knows not one bit of the delicate workings of a woman’s mind?”
That wasn’t a problem at this point.
Their promise was formed already, so what Edgar was trying to do was rash and pointless.
“This is the fairy world. This isn’t a world where you can use your lies and bluffs. You can’t break the promise that you made.”

P. 256
“Did you think that I would just say I thought so after I found out that you saved me? In that case, it was your biggest miscalculation,” he said it in a somewhat angry tone.
“And besides, you said that you would try to fall in love with me, so that itself is breaking a promise.”
“I didn’t say so, I just said that I will think about it.”
“Then I don’t want you to just disappear without thinking about it.”
But that, even if she thought about it, she had already made the promise with Kelpie.
More than that, she gazed up at the side of his face wondering how on earth he was able to come into the fairy realm.
Nico shouldn’t have had the ability to do that.
Not only did he come onto this side, but he must have not quite grasped the idea that his knowledge and experience was no match with this world as he kept on running with his usual confident expression.
“Hey, it’s those two. Hide!”Nico suddenly let out a shout.
Edgar pulled Lydia into his arms like he was cradling her and hid themselves behind a tree.
There was two faint floating lights that came flying through the forest.
They were calling out Edgar’s name.
“Oh, my goodness, were you brought here by those two fairies?”

P. 257
Quiet, whispered Edgar as he put a finger to his lips.
“…….Which means, did you perhaps accept the marriage proposal.”
“Well, those girls might be under the misunderstanding of something like that.”
“I-it isn’t misunderstanding! There isn’t any promise that can be made under a misunderstanding! Didn’t you accept the moonstone from Paul?
“Yup, this.”
He took out the ring from the chief pocket of his coat which made Lydia feel dizzy.
Even though he accepted the ring and was guided into the fairy world, he escaped from the eyes of those two female fairies and used Nico as his guide and searched for Lydia.
What an unbelievable thing he was trying to do.
In this situation, it wasn’t going to settle all the problems with just her calming Kelpie down and sending Edgar back to the human realm.
“….....And after your life was just saved……. You aren’t a person who could find happiness in the fairyworld, could you? Don’t you feel satisfaction in testing your powers in the human world? For people who have that kind of soul, this side is just like the underworld for them!”
“Hey, Lydia, you’ll make us be found out.”
Nico was turning frantic and pulled on her hair but Lydia wasn’t able to stop herself.

P. 258
“How stupid of you, if you accepted this, then you’re only left with the option of marrying the Queen. There’s nothing that even I can do.”
The two fairies must have noticed Lydia’s voice as they remained floating and glimmering in the air.
“Is there someone there?”asked one of them.
Finally, Lydia realized that they would be in trouble if they were found. She lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Oh, no…., hey, Nico, isn’t there another way?”
“Like I already said to the earl, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Oh, no Lydia, there’s something you can do to save me,” said Edgar in an especially confident way.
“Please marry me.”
“What?"
“As I was hovering over the two courses of life and death, I saw the dream of searching for you. In the future, when I would be visited by death once again, I’m sure that I’ll look for you. That’s why I want you to be by my side forever.”
He held Lydia’s hands in his and said it in a serious tone, but there was no possibility that this act of his was serious.
But, there might be a one in a hundred that he might be serious, so it confused her.
If it was a courting approach from Kelpie, then she would be able to drive him away with one punch but for some odd reason, she wasn’t able to smartly evade it when it was Edgar.

P. 259
“Our cla.s.ses are different.”
The thing that popped out of her mouth was something that was meaningless in a situation like this.
“Compared to marrying to a fairy, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”
“Anyways, don’t say something so stupid.”
“So it’s stupid. So stupid that you’ll agree to marry if I can give you the moon?”
“Yes, if it’s the real moon.”
“Nico, you heard her.”
“Eh, ah, yeah….”
“Lydia, this is the moon. The real one.”
He held out the moonstone that was the cause of their problems.
“Hold on a moment, this isn’t the moon,” retorted Lydia.
“It’s the moon. As long as you accept it as it.”
“…….What do you mean?”
“The Blue Knight Earl from the past didn’t say ‘if you would give me the moon’ but said the promise will be fulfilled with they‘exchanged an oath with the moon.’ That’s why, you don’t just accept it but need to put it on and consider it as the symbol of your oath. But, it happens to be, that Lydia, I haven’t wore this ring on my finger even once.”

P. 260
In other words, the engagement between Edgar and the Queen wasn’t completely fulfilled at this point.
If Lydia were to accept Edgar’s proposal and wore the moonstone on her finger, then could that mean that instead of accepting the ‘moon’ from the earl, she had exchanged an oath of marriage?
If the official fiancée who exchanged the ‘moon’ with the ‘oath’ was Lydia.
At the same time, that would mean that Lydia wouldn’t be able to marry Kelpie who she still had the ‘moon’promise she made with.
The moon field queen and Kelpie proposed to Edgar and Lydia with the prea.s.sumption that this moonstone was the ‘moon.’ That must in turn be the power that sealed them.
“My lord, oh, so there you were!” cried out one of the female fairies.
It seems they were found.
The field fairies came floating over to them.
“Lydia, would you please accept.”
Edgar tried to hurry her.
So, that’s what this is about.
Lydia finally was able to understand the meaning why Edgar suddenly brought up this marriage.
For him, this marriage was a method that would allow him to win back his fairy doctor and help him get through this situation.
Then, she couldn’t accept it all the more.

P. 261
If it was to keep the girl that was useful to him by his side, then he must think that marrying her to do that would be not that big of deal.
If it was Edgar, then it was possible. But, she would never be able to accept such a marriage.
“…….It isn’t you. You aren’t in love with me.”
“Is what I say that unbelievable for you?”
She wondered why she was being so stiff about. She thought she was prepared to marry a water horse which were said to be devilishly enchanting, and yet, Edgar who was a human, whether or not he was in love or not, was the better choice as a marriage partner for Lydia if she thought about it normally.
And yet, as she was appalled, Lydia was unable to nod her head in response.
Even Kelpie didn’t have the feelings of adoration and falling in love like a human. But if it was him, then she could imagine that he would treat her with feelings that never changed.
On the other hand, she had no idea what was going on in Edgar’s heart.
There could be so many other women who were qualified for him, and on top of that he was just all talk and a liar.
“I can’t trust you.”
He fell silent like he was trying to think of something.
Since he didn’t show any signs of pain from Lydia’s rejection, then this was indeed just a strategy for him.

P. 262
“All right. If you’re saying that you aren’t able to feel inclined to marry with me at this point, then you could just think of it as a ride to get out of this
situation.”
“A ride out of this situation? So that’s your true intentions.”
“No. I’m saying that if since I don’t have time right now to convince you is all.”
“My lord, let us please hurry on our way. To Our Majesty The Highness.”
The two fairies were circling around Edgar but he didn’t let go of Lydia.
“Hey, you two, what is the meaning of this!”
At that voice, the two female fairies quickly flew away from Edgar as if to escape.
“Ahhhh, it’s the barbaric kelpie!”
They were finally found by Kelpie as well.
When Lydia slowly turned around, he was boldly standing in his horse form and aimed his enchanting magical eyes fixed onto Edgar.
“My lord, quickly this way!”
As the two little fairies continued to make a commotion, they weren’t able to get near Edgar because of Kelpie.
As Edgar glared back at Kelpie, he pulled Lydia further into his arms.
“Blue Knight Earl, you’re such a persistent man. She’s my bride.”
“You’re wrong, Lydia is going to marry me.”

P. 263
“What nerve you have. Do you want to be eaten that badly.”
As Edgar backed away with Lydia in his arms, he whispered:
“Lydia, please, I beg of you, let’s just go home. Promises between humans can be easily forgotten like they never existed.”
She was dubious about her favor in that.
However, even if it was a lie, as long as she pretended to accept the marriage with Edgar, then Lydia would be able to return to the human world.
And she would be able to prevent him from being taken away to the field fairy queen’s land.
But there was also another concern that she had left behind in the human world.
“You don’t know how depressed Professor Carlton was after you disappeared.”
Edgar finally brought out his winning card that Lydia was trying not to think about.
I’m sure this is part of his calculation.
But once she remembered about her father, then that swayed Lydia’s heart dramatically.
For Lydia who thought that marriage was a long ways away from her in the future, it was her honest feelings that she wanted to remain as the daughter of her father for a little while longer.
How mean of him. However, knowing that Lydia wouldn’t be able to let go of Edgar’s hand that was connected to her father, Edgar made a fearless, winning smile.

P. 264
“All right, Edgar. Please give me the ‘moon’…”
“Thank you. I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”
A promise just for this situation. Even if she knew that, Edgar said it in such a serious tone, that it made her heart unexpectedly beat faster.
He quickly held up Lydia’s left hand. She watched as the moonstone ring was slipped onto her ring finger which made her have a surprisingly giddy feeling.
“Hey, Lydia.”
She turned around to Kelpie who shouted out to her after he realized about the ‘moon’ ring.
“I’m sorry, Kelpie. I still have an attachment to the human world.”
More than in rage, he frowned with a sad expression.
At least, he didn’t seem like he was going to attack Edgar or use his strength to do something about this situation.
The two female fairies also looked confused but stayed away in the distance.
“I’m sorry, little fairies. Please accept my decision and give up on me.”
“My lord, then please make a heir as soon as you can.”
“Did you hear, Lydia.”
“Don’t get carried away.”
“I’m going to open the way home,” shouted Nico and jumped up onto Lydia’s shoulder.

P. 265

P. 266
She felt like the landscape around her warped in distortion but that was just an instant when they pa.s.sed through the small opening of the fairy world and the human world.
In that small pa.s.sageway, Lydia heard Kelpie’s voice.
“I’ll wait until you don’t have any attachments. That’s sure to be in no time.”
That’s true. From the point of fairies, twenty or thirty years goes by like a blink of an eye.

So then, the peaceful daily life at the Ashenbert house returned.
Or it should have.
“Excuse me, Edgar, but what is the meaning of this?”
Lydia rushed into the lord of the house’s gentleman’s room and walked over to Edgar, who was unusually doing his duty of working on taking care of his estates.
“Oh, Lydia, h.e.l.lo, I missed you so much.”
“I heard you’re planning on entering the charity robbery group that went after your life? Nico told me. Just because they desire savory from the mysterious power of the Blue Knight Earl, you used Marygold and Sweetpea’s magic so that they would accept you as their earl, didn’t you?”
“It looks like I have some time that opened up tonight. I was just thinking of inviting you to dinner.”
“Don’t change the subject. Why is that? Are you joining forces in order to avenge yourselves against Prince? Are you going to put your hands in crimes
again?”
He shrugged his shoulders and set down his pen and looked straight into Lydia’s eyes as she seriously questioned him.
“I have no intention of joining their organization.”
“…Oh, good then,”
“I became its leader.”
“Whhaat?!"
Leader? Of a robin hood gang?
“Because they originally wanted a leader like the Blue Knight Earl. And besides, they and I both are in a position where we have to protect ourselves from Prince. So that’s just the reason why we decided to help each other.”
Protect themselves? If Edgar intended to head the organization as its leader, then he wouldn’t settle quietly with just protecting himself.
However, Edgar just softly smiled back at Lydia.
“Thanks to you, I was able to not lose Paul. He looked at me with the same eyes as before, even though I’ve changed this much. ….Unless you didn’t tell me that Paul had remembered and considered our promise special, then I don’t know if I was able to bet on the option of talking with him.”

P. 268
“That’s because you were able to discover his talent in art. It’s means there was a strong bond between the two of you since then. It isn’t thanks to me.”
“It isn’t that much of a big deal like discovering talent, or anything like that.”
“But, didn’t you recommend to Paul to become a painter?”
“Well, yes. At the time, he apparently wanted to become a poet, but when he showed me his work, it was so terrible. His paintings were horrible, but if someone were to buy them and hang them in their house, they would still have the fun of entertaining the guests, right? But with poems, it wouldn’t make any money unless society accepted and praised them.”
“………………..”
“Honestly, I was surprised at this growth.”
This man, maybe his personality hasn’t changed at all from the past?
However, even though he wasn’t any good, at least he thought of buying the man’s paintings, so that should mean that he has some compa.s.sion for the man.
I really can’t understand Edgar.
In the end, however Lydia thought about it, it was definite for him to become the leader of the secret organization and exact his revenge on Prince.

P. 269
If that happens, Edgar wouldn’t be able to rest in peace unless things went his way.
That was the only part about him that she was definitely sure about.
“So, you would of course accept my invitation to dinner, wouldn’t you?”
“Sorry, but Father is coming home early tonight.”
“Then we can have the Professor come along as well.”
There was no way her father would come just because of the obvious fact that he was invited since Lydia was worried about him.
Edgar was well aware and yet he said that, because he knew that whatever Lydia were to say, he would be able to have her take a seat with him at dinner.
Because she witnessed him when he was so weak in bed, she had forgotten that he was this kind of person.
I wonder if it was all right like this. She worried about herself who was back by his side.
“You’re not going to wear the ring,” he said as he drew his attention towards Lydia’s fingertips like he just remembered.
“…..The size isn’t right.”
And besides, it would be strange for her to always wear it.
“Then it can just be fixed.”
“It’s all right, anyways, as long as I have it, it’ll will prevent the fairies from meddling with us.”

P. 270
Edgar rested his cheek into the palm of his hand as he looked at Lydia with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
She suddenly felt an awkward sense of uneasiness. Lydia had came marching into here, furious about him becoming a member of a secret organization, but there was no meaning in questioning him.
She was unsure of why she came here.
“So, I’ll be leaving now,”
However, when she tried to go, she was called back.
“Near the end of this week, I was thinking of visiting your family residence, so would you think the Professor would be there?”
“Huh, …..why?”
“It would be the polite thing to do to properly ask for his permission to marry.”
Huuhh?
“What are you talking about? Wa----wasn’t that just to get through that situation?”
Edgar tilted his head in a purposeful manner.
“But you had definitely accepted my marriage proposal and accepted the engagement ring.”
“But that was because you said it was just a promise between you and me! You said that promises between people are able to forgotten anytime.”
“I don’t recall saying something like that.”
“Ar-are you planning on forgetting that part!”

P. 271
Lydia became so furious that it was starting to make her dizzy.
“So, about the weekend,” he continued on with the conversation with a composed att.i.tude.
“N-no, you can’t! Don’t you dare come to my house.”
“Now I can’t let that happen.”
“Please, don’t tell Father!”
Lydia was in a panic. If her father was told about marriage from Edgar, he was sure to fall sick into bed.
He was so overjoyed that his daughter, who had supposedly gone off to the fairy realm but came back, that he nearly lost control of himself.
At the time, her father was quite drunk, so he must have been drinking in order to forget about his sorrows.
He was old enough to know better, and on top of that he was an university professor, and yet he was bawling fountains of tears and cried to her to never go off to marry. Lydia had just replied that she wasn’t going to go anywhere.
“It isn’t right to court in secret.”
“We aren’t courting!”
“Now, listen, Lydia. A close relations.h.i.+p will be evident to people who know one when they see it. A cla.s.s difference will especially draw weird speculation. Before it turns to people’s rumors, we need to make it public that we are in a proper and acceptable courts.h.i.+p, or else people will think that I am playing around with you.”

P. 272
“Then we just don’t have to be in a close relations.h.i.+p!”
“There won’t be any damage to me no matter what kind of rumors there may be, but for you, it will be a matter of dignity and reputation.”
Lydia’s counterargument wasn’t being listened to at all.
Well, it was indeed as he said, that if they were to really court one another, then there was nothing that Lydia could profit from by hiding it.
For a daughter from a proper family, there was no such thing as a courts.h.i.+p that didn’t lead to marriage.
But if this was made public, then that would mean she was left to marriage this scoundrel.
“First of all, I think the start of this all was the problem. You are well aware, that I have no intention of marrying someone like you…..”
He suddenly stood up and covered her mouth with his hand.
“Wouldn’t it be bad if you said that?”
She followed where Edgar took a suggestive glance towards, which was outside the window, where she saw a black horse taking a rest on its side by the fountain in the garden.
Why in the world is Kelpie here?
“He apparently is going to wait here in London until you change your mind.”
Which means, she couldn’t allow herself to speak out loud and claim that this engagement is a sham which will be just as Edgar had planned?
“There is no way that you are seriously considering this marriage.
Edgar lifted up Lydia’s chin with his fingertips and grinned at her.

P. 273
“Are you still saying such things? Then in order for you to understand how serious I am, I’ll have to exert myself and work harder.”
Is he declaring his flirtatious attacks on her?
Edgar, who had apparently tried to get his hands on the‘Scarlet Moon,’ must want to show off his ties with the fairies in order for them to realize him as the Blue Knight Earl.
And for him to continue to be the Blue Knight Earl who is blessed with the bond with fairies, Lydia was an indispensible person to him.
Just like she should have known, he was a complete villain.
If it was to keep Lydia by his side, he intended to use any means possible.
“I still have work to do…..”
Lydia was only able to escape from that situation, but of course that night, there wasn’t any possible way for her to refuse the invitation to dinner and was going to end up having to listen to his sweet, melting words that he had plenty to say to her.

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