Hakushaku to Yousei

Chapter 7 The Fairies" Treasure Box

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Chapter 7 The Fairies" Treasure Box

After walking into gla.s.s greenhouse, the thick and dense greenery had covered Lucinda"s line of sight. She headed towards the depths of the greenhouse, loathing the humidity and the plants’ intense fragrances that she was completely unfamiliar with.
She remembered hiding it under the base of the ma.s.sive ivy ahead.
Lucinda approached that tall conspicuous plant, then crouched down and rummaged through, trying to find the bottom of the ivy.
She used her hands to clasp the case. The beautiful jewel case was decorated with ivory fretwork carvings, just this alone was worth considering as a piece of art to be appreciated.
Used to conceal Madame Oughtred’s Regard necklace, it was indeed suitable.
The bottom of the case surely had a double tier design, or there was a mechanism that would open up from an unexpected area.
Lucinda confirmed this in many ways, like shaking the case, turning it over and so on, but ultimately, she still couldn’t find the Regard necklace.
“Do I have no other choice but to break the case?”
Although this was beautiful and considered to be an ornament, it was used as a jewel case and was expensive itself. However, the necklace ought to be more precious, and Lucinda thought that no matter what, she wanted to wear the Regard necklace.
Even if she wasn’t able to meet with her aunt, as long as the necklace was found, it could be borrowed.
It didn’t matter despite this being her aunt’s jewel case, as she could say that Annie broke it.
She was already asked to leave here; in any case, a person who wasn’t present had no way to explain themselves.
In order to break the jewel case, Lucinda looked around, then saw a flower bed enclosed by a stone wall.
Hitting it should be able to break it.
As Lucinda stood up and lifted the case over her head, she heard the sound of leather shoes behind her.
She was startled and planned to turn around, then was caught from a person behind her. The jewel case accidentally dropped from her hands, and although the cover came off, it wasn’t damaged.
“So this is the jewel case adorned with the Regard necklace.”
A man picked up the jewel case and sneered towards Lucinda, who was caught.
When she noticed, she was already surrounded by several unfamiliar men.
“W-who are you guys……”
“Hey, quickly break it and confirm its contents.”
The man in front of Lucinda, whose mouth was covered, took the ivory jewel case and threw it against the stone wall.
The fragments burst out in all directions. The crowd of men gathered around the broken case, carefully inspecting the case’s bottom, the inside of the cover, and places with possible small cracks. Finally, a man among them muttered:
“…It’s not here.”
“The Regard necklace isn’t anywhere.”
What?
“Was it you who hid it? Hey, where did you hide it?”
Lucinda, who had a knife against her by someone, was frightened.
“Don’t….I don’t know…. Save me….”
“Hey Annie, what’s this about? Didn’t this girl hide the necklace?”
Annie?
Astonished, Lucinda gingerly stole a glance at her.
Standing before her was a black-haired woman. After seeing her appearance, she was sure that it was Annie.
“I just wanted to ask. What’s the matter? Miss Lucinda, if you know of the necklace’s whereabouts then hurry up and speak, or else I’m going to humiliate you.
“...Annie, why would you…”
“You want to ask, why the expelled maid would be together with these guys? They’re my comrades, we planned to steal in this mansion.”
“Y--You’re the thief...?”
“More or less. The reason why I approached you was in order to enter this mansion without being suspected. When I was temporarily hired here in the past, I was driven out because I stole a few coins. At that time, I heard that there were many expensive gems here.”
Afterwards, Annie changed the color of her hair, pretended that she couldn’t speak, and a.s.sumed her position as Lucinda’s maid. If she was a guest’s maid, neither the butler nor the head maid would investigate her experiences and cautiously observe her. In addition, Annie always lowered her head, so no one would recall that she resembled the temporarily hired maid.
“I knew you wanted a maid who did not speak, so I decided to perform the role. Don’t you think the acting was cleverly done?”
The previous Annie, who would only tremble when she was cursed at by Lucinda, now unexpectedly changed into a person who seemed to show disdain for Lucinda, laughing as she poked fun at her.
Annie and the thieves eyeing the jewels were unexpectedly accomplices!
An impatient man hit Lucinda, who was speechless.
“Where is the Regard necklace? If you don’t know, then staying here is useless!”
Lucinda, who fell to ground, dragged her body wanting to escape, but was surrounded by the men.
"I beg you, Annie...save me. Didn’t I give you biscuits several times?”
Annie smiled and laughed as she stepped on Lucinda"s skirt.
“Oh~~ wasn’t that you throwing your leftovers on the floor then ordering me to pick it up? Are you a fool? The more I remember it, the more I wanted to get my revenge.”
“How troublesome, do you want to kill her or not?”
At present, Lucinda could only sob incessantly.
"Hey thieves, it ends here!”
Suddenly, a voice was heard.
Several familiar people appeared at the entrance of the greenhouse.
They were the servants of this mansion. For some reason, they were all holding pistols.
Furthermore, that slender figure with golden hair was…...
"You’ve already been cornered! It’s futile to resist so drop your weapons!”
Although the one who said this was a short-haired servant, Lucinda’s eyes only saw one person.
“Earl Ashenbert ......!”
However, although she wanted to stand up, her shoulders were held down by Annie.
She pressed a knife against Lucinda’s face, saying...
“d.a.m.n it, so that’s how it is. Everyone, we’ve been deceived by that aristocrat!”
What did she mean?
“Saying that the Regard was hidden in that jewel case was a trap.”
“You finally noticed.”
The handsome Earl exposed a shallow smile, and Lucinda gazed at him, her mind full of confusion.
It was a lie, that the Regard necklace was hidden in the ivory jewel case? Earl Ashenbert deliberately lied?
He knew Lucinda hid the jewel case.
He also knew that Lucinda would take the jewel case after hearing about this matter, and knew that Annie’s comrades would follow closely after her.
He exposed the matter of Annie being able to speak, because he knew that Annie was a member of the group of thieves.
While Annie took Lucinda hostage, who was at a loss, she retreated backwards.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You don’t care what happens to this girl? You should be the ones to drop your weapons!”
A man yelled out among them, his other companions seemingly gaining the courage and a.s.suming this position.
Regardless, the servants still held their pistols as they gradually approached closer.
Annie’s hand that held the knife began to use force, thus Lucinda panicked.
“D-don’t come here! I will be killed! Earl, save me!”
Lucinda believed that she was quite suited for him, but the Earl exposed a smile at her miserable screams.
But that smile wasn’t directed towards Lucinda, rather it was towards Annie.
“Annie, it’s useless even if you do that kind of thing. Shouldn’t you be quite clear about that?”
Annie, whose name was called, trembled.
She probably recalled the scene where the Earl approached her with scorching iron tongs.
Lucinda also felt afraid.
At that time, Earl Ashenbert hardly retreated from committing such cruel acts.
Now, he clearly told Annie that even if she held a hostage as a s.h.i.+eld, it was useless. It meant that no matter how Lucinda was in the end, he wanted to catch Annie and these men.
Just as Lucinda realized that Annie felt afraid, she was also unable to make a sound.
“Lieutenant, hurry up and take action.”
He urged him on indifferently.
“However, the hostage…”
“You must choose your master’s safety or the hostage’s life. Even if it’s only a split second, you guys can’t be at all loss, right?”
“.......I understand.”
As they began to step forward, the sound of shattering gla.s.s was heard from behind Lucinda.
Just as everyone thought that a shadow jumped in, the man in front of Lucinda was kicked down. Subsequently, the shadow seized the opportunity to pull Lucinda away from Annie.
At the same time, a brawl unfolded all around.
Once the gunshots sounded, Lucinda held her head. But she was immediately pulled up by the man who jumped in just now.
This brown-skinned youth was Earl Ashenbert’s valet.
“Hurry up and get out!”
The youth pushed Lucinda out of the greenhouse from the place where the gla.s.s had broken, then she ran away without looking back.
Even if she wasn’t abandoned by the Earl, she was unable to think it would be like this.
She used her hands to touch her neck, which felt painful, and discovered that she was bleeding.
Because of that valet’s rough actions, it made Annie’s knife graze her neck.
If there was a mistake, she could have been killed. She felt that Earl Ashenbert was a person who, even if it was like this, he wouldn’t be distressed at all.
As Lucinda was slandered by humiliating gossip about her mother, the Earl clearly s.h.i.+elded her.
Now, she noticed that those protective words, with regards to the Earl, was him wanting to speak out for his fiancée, whose status was different from his own.
Lucinda thought to herself, compared to a common girl, an aristocrat such as herself was more suitable for him.
Continuously running caused Lucinda to be out of breath, as her footsteps were more and more heavy.
It was surely no problem, because she had already fled to a very distant area.
She stopped when she thought that.
As she adjusted her chaotic breathing, she looked around, wanting to know where this was.
Because she wildly ran around in the garden, there was no way for her to immediately know where she was.
Moonlight illuminated the garden, which had begun to darken. Lucinda, who lightly touched the hedges, retracted her hand due to the pain she felt.
This was a rose hedge, and thorned roses were growing all around.
The rose garden.
So to speak, she seemed to have heard that her aunt liked growing roses. Although having roses in such a large garden wasn’t strange, as Lucinda looked around, and saw white stone pillars appearing within the profound darkness, as well as twisting roses coming over as if they were crawling, thus she felt uneasy.
A burst of wind blew past. Countless th.o.r.n.y branches shook as if they were laughing.
She ought to be beautiful and conspicuous like the queen of all flowers --- the rose. At first, she wanted to obtain a marriage that would make everyone envious, and make those girls who spoke maliciously see her in a new light. She originally believed that this was a very simple matter.
However, Earl Ashenbert was tempted by a common girl. She couldn’t understand why she would lose to her.
She had a feeling that the th.o.r.n.y, leafed branches that had no flowers were laughing at her.
You’re not a flower, you’re not a n.o.ble rose, so hurry up and get out! They used their thorns in this way to threaten Lucinda.
Just when she couldn’t stay any longer and wanted to run away, a person’s figure came out from between the hedges and obstructed her path.
“...Annie...”
“I won’t let you escape, because I still want to deal with you properly.”
Lucinda bolted out. Annie chased after her.
She wanted to run into the thickets deep within the rose garden, but Annie seized her hair.
Lucinda struggled as she twisted into a ball with Annie.
At this time, the ground underneath her feet suddenly disappeared.
Lucinda lost her balance with Annie, grabbing each other as they fell into a pit.
She was pressed down beneath Annie, therefore she was unable to get up. Her entire body received hits and the pain made her lose the strength to resist.
“Where... is this place...?”
It wasn’t surprising that Annie would speak with an astonished tone, because the tunnel that were like ditches that continued down like a zig-zag.
The mud walls on both sides were covered by gra.s.s, and the top of the cave also had vegetation growing all over, layer upon layer. It was a completely green cave.
In order to not let Lucinda escape, Annie firmly grasped her hand when she stood up.
“Hiding in here doesn’t seem too bad. Listen well! If the Earl and that group of people discover us, don’t think you’ll survive. If I’ll be killed no matter what, then I’m also going to take you to the grave with me.”
Annie stubbornly dragged Lucinda, whose feet were sore to no end, and who wouldn’t be able to walk if there wasn’t someone pulling her, proceeding towards the depths of the tunnel.

*

Not a lot of time was spent subduing the group of thieves.
Billy and Raven beat the members until they were unable to stand, then bound them afterwards.
At this time, Edgar noticed that Annie wasn’t there.
“Lieutenant, a woman escaped.”
“You’re talking about Annie, a woman can’t do anything.”
“But she was the terrible person who attacked Madame Oughtred by herself.”
“Hey, Earl!”
Nico called out to Edgar, looking from the other side of the broken gla.s.s.
“That woman is headed towards Lydia! She took Miss Lucinda and got lost, and burst into the fairies’ pa.s.sage!”
“What did you say? Nico, where is that pa.s.sage?”
“Inside the rose garden. It’s interlinked with the Danish fairies’ rose garden. Oh my. At first, I wanted but to go where Lydia is, then after walking for a bit, the both of them suddenly fell from above. Although I quickly hid, I saw the maid mess with that young lady, saying that she was going to take her to the grave no matter what and such words, so I felt that it was quite strange…”
“Excuse me, Earl Ashenbert, you can communicate with cats?”
Billy probably saw Edgar talking to a gray cat who was mewing noisily.
“Her Majesty the Queen and Madame Oughtred are in danger. It seems that Annie is heading towards them.”
Edgar turned his head to speak.
He looked at Billy who was dubious and bewildered at the situation.
“Do you know my official t.i.tle?”
“...The Lord of Ibrazel…”
“That’s right, and he isn’t a cat at all, he is a fairy gentleman.”
Billy still had an expression of not seeming to understand.
“Raven, let’s hurry.”
Once Edgar turned around, Nico ran on his two hind legs in order to guide them.

The more the surroundings darkened, the more the moonlight became clear.
Lydia and the two ladies gazed at the roses, entranced.
Once the blue rose buds were illuminated by the moonlight, they suddenly lifted up, as if they were awakening.
Then, the flower buds gently shook, as if they were surrounded by happiness.
Under everyone’s gaze, the flower buds slowly swelled up, then pushed out as if they were unfurling. From the inside, slightly curled blue petals stretched outwards layer upon layer, emerging gracefully.
In this short while, the fairy realm’s roses bloomed, and were proudly looking up at them.
Madame Oughtred cut off a rose from among the branches, and gave the blooming blue rose to d.u.c.h.ess Brightbery.
“Thank you, Virginia. ”
“It is unfortunate that the roses cannot be brought out, however, this is your rose.”
Virginia once said that bringing the roses out will cause them to wither. This should be because the fairies won’t allow her to take the roses out. But, if the roses were able to be taken out...
Lydia had been thinking about it all this time.
Was the garland-shaped Regard necklace made of jewels? But now, it didn’t look anything like that, but like a soft swaying garland of fresh flowers.
Was it because this was the fairy realm, that it would be seen like that?
"Truly an inconceivable color, practically like a turquoise blue.”
Pearl white, coral pink, amber gold, each rose here was…...
Where was the Danish fairies’ treasure’s secret hiding spot?
Was it hidden somewhere in this magical rose garden?
Or could it be…?
At this time, an earthquake-like sound came through, interrupting Lydia’s thoughts.
“That sound just now, what was that?”
“I don’t know, something probably collapsed.”
Lydia had a foreboding feeling as she said that.
“Lydia, what is that?”
Madame Oughtred pointed to a corner of the garden that could be overlooked from the hill. The bed of roses which should have been there disappeared, as it was surrounded by complete darkness.
“This rose garden wouldn’t be collapsing, right….?”
The fairies said that they were going to bury this place, but they should be waiting until dawn, could they not wait?
“Danish fairies, what’s going on? The time to bury this rose garden still hasn’t arrived!”
After waiting for a while, a voice answered from an unknown location.
(Fairy doctor, if we are to bury this place at dawn, we must start now more or less.)
They don’t begin at dawn?
Because of this, the promises with fairies had to be carefully made, but now, saying this was useless.
“Then do it as slowly as possible.”
(Even if you say it like that, there’s no way, as there is a thief who plans to intrude.)
(Our comrade who switched positions with Virginia was a.s.sa.s.sinated by that woman.)
What?
“How is that possible, why could the thief discover the entrance?”
(A person related to Virginia by blood seems to be together with the thief.)
(Although the path can only opened by a person of this household, the person with the blood relations.h.i.+p was mistakenly brought in.)
(The thief took that girl hostage.)
Astonished, Lydia looked back at Virginia.
“...This is bad, Madame Oughtred, Miss Lucinda, she’s...”
The Madame’s expression also changed.
“How could it be like this, that child already came to this mansion?”
(Fairy doctor, we’re going to stop those to people, can we?)
The fairies were going to go and call out to them, telling them that as long as they left, that they would grant their wishes.
But even if it was only towards the thief, it’s possible that Lucinda will also answer the fairies’ question, then she would surely encounter not so trivial matters due to the fairies’ magic.
“Wait a minute, Danish fairies, I will go and send them away, so don’t ask them questions.”
The fairies didn’t reply, as they had probably already left for the entrance where the thief appeared.
Lydia hurriedly spoke to the two women.
"Both of you, please stay here. If that thief brought weapons, then it will be dangerous.”
“No Lydia, we cannot let a young girl do something so dangerous.”
Madame Oughtred bravely carried a huge shovel on her shoulder.
“But this is the Danish fairies’ territory. It’s different from the human world, so I will think of a way to save Lucinda.”
Lydia immediately turned around, and after she ran down the blue rose hill, she hurried to entrance of the rose garden.
As she followed the rose thickets and crossed the rose garden, the sound of the ground shaking echoed once more, as some area had probably collapsed again.
If she didn’t hurry, then there wouldn’t even be enough time to bring the d.u.c.h.ess out.
After finally running out of the stone alley, the green tunnel ahead came into Lydia’s view.
At the time time, she saw two figures in front of the tunnel.
It was Lucinda. So was the other person the thief that wanted to a.s.sa.s.sinate Madame Oughtred?
“Annie...?”
The maid, Annie, pressed a knife against Lucinda. After Lydia discovered this, she stopped her footsteps, alarmed.
After she saw Lydia, who emerged from the other side of the shrubbery, she immediately a.s.sumed a defensive position, pulling Lucinda over.
“You’re... Lydia, why are you here...”
Annie, who shouldn’t be able to speak, unexpectedly began to talk. This made Lydia a little surprised, but another thing was making her genuinely surprised.
“Annie, could it be that you were the thief who attacked Lady Oughtred?”
Annie clicked her tongue.
“Lydia, save me...”
Lucinda uttered weakly, and Annie deliberately spoke mockingly:
"Hmph, did you not deliberately plan to make people think that Lydia stole the brooch? Do you think she would save you?”
Sure enough, it was Lucinda... Although Lydia thought this, she wasn’t able to have the thought of getting angry at Lucinda now.
“Annie, hurry up and release her.”
“I’m not going to, because someone’s chasing after me.”
“If you want to escape, I’ll let you go. I’ll make truce with you, so you mustn"t harm other people.”
Annie stared at Lydia with an unconvinced face, then raised her lips to smile and said:
“Oh that’s right, you’re having an affair with that blonde Earl. Like this, it just so happens that you will replace this woman since she simply can’t be a hostage, as the Earl seemingly wants to have her killed with me.”
“...Y-Yes, Lydia, if it’s you, you won’t be killed, so...”
Edgar was pursuing Annie? If that was the case, he really might abandon Lucinda, who was a hostage. Lydia was at a loss as she thought this.
At any rate, there was no time. She had to quickly get Annie out, then stop the fairies from destroying the whole rose garden.
“I understand, as long as I replace her...”
When she started to say this, the ground shook again.
Lydia was startled and stepped back.
A very deep ditch had appeared ahead, separating Lydia from Annie and Lucinda.
Did the fairies not want Annie to step into the rose garden?
When Lydia noticed, the Danish fairies had already surrounded her and Annie in large numbers.
The fairies, wearing small animal furs and pinion feathers, a.s.sembled under the small cracks of the underbrush, the branches of the forest, and the roots of the rose garden, while looking towards them.
Lucinda and Annie could also see the fairies here. Just seeing them amazed them to the point of being unable to make a sound.
“Th-these guys…. What are these things….”
(Humans, listen well. I will grant you guys a wish, so leave here immediately!)
The Danish fairy’s voice echoed through the moonlit night.
They could only use their magic towards those who responded, therefore only then would they suggest a deal.
“Wish...?”
Lucinda raised her head and murmured, seeming as if she would cry for help now. This was bad. Lydia was anxious.
“Don’t, you mustn’t say your wis.h.!.+”
“That’s right, only one wish can be granted, so you need to think clearly.”
It was Edgar’s voice.
Raven and Nico also appeared together from the path on the other end of the ditch.
Annie looked back with a stiffened expression and pulled to Lucinda to her side, using her as a s.h.i.+eld and tightly covered her mouth.
“Annie, what are you planning to do? If you don"t say it then shall I say it for you?”
Ehh...Edgar……?
Just as Lydia was going to speak, d.u.c.h.ess Brightbery grabbed her shoulder, as if to stop her.
The two ladies who ran down the hill held their breath, watching everything attentively.
“Hey fairies, I also have the right to make a wish, right?”
(As long as it’s a person who steps foot into here, they will have that right.)
Lucinda seemed to want to say something, but because her mouth was covered, she could only make a groaning sound from her mouth.
“In that case…... that’s right, from the beginning, legends say fairies hid many jewels in this land, so……”
“The jewels are mine!”
Annie cried out suddenly.
“All of them belong to me! These animals are fairies? If any wish can be fulfilled, then give me all of the jewels! You will decorate my entire body in jewels!”
In that split second, Annie was wrapped by a pillar of light.
Because it was too dazzling, everyone could only close their eyes.
After sensing that the light had finally faded away, they opened their eyes. A large crystalline pillar stood where Annie was just a moment ago.
“Annie...”
Lucinda muttered to herself. Lydia discovered that the crystal was a figure of Annie.
(Jewels that are completely worn all over the body, you’re satisfied like this, right?)
After the fairy finished speaking, everyone burst out laughing.
(Humans are truly greedy creatures. As long as they hear that a wish can be granted, they’re unable to shut their mouths.)
(Really, what a talkative bunch. They didn’t respond, yet they are happier in comparison.)
The fairies were clearly unable to keep silent on important matters. While Lydia thought this, she felt that it was quite ironic.
Until now, Annie pretended that she was unable to speak, and because she opened her mouth, she suffered this kind of conclusion.
But Lucinda was saved as a result. After she was released, she crouched down at the scene.
Madame Oughtred fearlessly jumped over the deep crevice, then ran towards Lucinda. Lydia looked ahead, and because the worst was prevented from happening. Lydia heaved a sigh of relief.
As Lydia powerlessly sat on the ground, someone grabbed her arm, so she looked up, confused.
Edgar was in front of her, looking slightly angry.
“Lydia, you thought little of me.”
“What... umm...”
“To go as far as to replace another person as a hostage, even if you have a good heart, there should be limits. By any chance, if something happened to you, how do you expect me to survive by myself?”
It’s all being heard.
d.u.c.h.ess Brightbery saw this scene and giggled. Regardless of onlookers, Edgar expressed his love, making Lydia blush with embarra.s.sment.
But the ground incessantly shook. She promptly grabbed onto Edgar, but because the shaking was too intense, the cracks before them became broader.
“Danish fairies, the thief is already gone! Don’t destroy the rose garden!”
(In any case, we will leave by dawn regardless.)
(Fairy doctor, if you know our secret, then hurry and say your wis.h.!.+)
The fairies urged her, but Lydia was unable to reply.
“d.u.c.h.ess, my deepest apologies, I asked that you immediately jump across to the opposite side, otherwise you won’t be able to return.”
Edgar quickly decided and requested her to leave.
“My valet will aid you.”
He signalled to Raven, who was on the opposite side, then pushed the d.u.c.h.ess over. As soon as he confirmed that Raven, who was on the other end providing a.s.sistance, helped the d.u.c.h.ess up and left for a safe area, he then pulled Lydia’s arm.
“Let’s go.”
However, the rumbling sounds had not subsided, and when they wanted to step out, the ground before them collapsed.
They quickly withdrew as the crevices increasingly got bigger so if they were to jump over, it would be more difficult.
“Lydia, we can still jump over to the other side.”
“Edgar it’s too late, the rose garden is slowly collapsing. It’s already too late... I’m going to make a deal with the Danish fairies.”
Only then would I be able to bring Madame Oughtred out of here.
“Lydia, can you handle it?”
“But if I don’t succeed, then you’ll get swept in with me……”
“Being able to share my destiny with you, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
He firmly held Lydia’s hand and smiled. As long as Edgar was here by her side, Lydia was able to calm down.
Even if she was unable to accomplish something by herself, she felt that as long as she was with Edgar, then she could do it.
“Danish fairies!”
Lydia called out towards the surroundings.
“Let everyone here return safely to the human world, I’ll make an exchange with your secret!”
(Do you really know our secret?)
“......I know.”
(Then we agree to your deal. Fairy doctor, you must forget our secret, and the conditions of exchange is that we will let everyone leave.)
Lydia nodded and closed her eyes.
Just now, she focused her consciousness, and was able to arrange her train of thought.
The location of the Danish fairies’ hidden jewels.
Since the beginning, they had a very close relations.h.i.+p with the master of this household, and as long as Madame Oughtred’s Regard necklace was worn, then the pa.s.sage leading to the rose garden could be opened.
The luxurious jewels which were worn by the Madame in social parties were collected together, then strewn into a necklace. At the same time, it was the key to opening the hidden location’s gate.
Yes, speaking of that, where did that bronze gate lead to in the end?
The Regard necklace is the key to the gate, and was the key to the rose garden. If that was the case…...
If the opposite side of the gate was the fairy rose garden……
Furthermore, if the Madame’s Regard necklace weren’t jewels in this place, and became flowers…...
“Danish fairies, you aren’t hiding gems, rather you are cultivating them, and making jewels blossom. The roses blooming here are jewels, correct? Although every flower in your country will bloom or wither, all of them can be made into genuine jewels!”
The fairies all fell silent.
Was her conclusion wrong?
Edgar, as if wanting to protect her, who was anxious, held her in an embrace.
Subsequently, the Danish fairies suddenly became chaotic.
(How did this happen? The secret has been leaked out!)
(Who? The talkative bunch, that’s who!)
(Didn’t I say that when in the human world, you must not carelessly speak it out!)
(Hey, retreat, leave at once!)
(Fairy doctor, we no longer want to have anything to do with you!)
Then, a gust of wind blew.
The noisy chatter of the fairies disappeared in the strong wind, blowing over the sound of plants.
Leaves covered the sky by swirls of wind, and after the moonlight was covered, the surroundings were left in darkness.
But this only lasted for a short while.
As soon as the wind and sounds stopped, and the tranquil moonlit night resumed, everyone who was originally in that wonderful garden stood in Madame’s Oughtred’s rose garden, which had sculptures of Maria on the water fountain.
d.u.c.h.ess Brightbery opened her hands, gazing at the item in her palms, amazed.
It was a blue rose.
Madame Oughtred had cultivated blue roses in the fairy garden. After arriving in the human world, an elaborate turquoise handiwork calmly rested in her hands.
“Its color is similar to the rose that Virginia cultivated.”
Astonished, Madame Oughtred sighed an “oh my”, and called out.
“This must be the fairies’ gift.”
The d.u.c.h.ess strongly agreed with Lydia’s words.
Madame Oughtred made countless roses bloom, making the fairies very happy, thus in order to express their thanks, they allowed her to take one blue rose that she did her utmost to grow.

* * *

That night, Lydia had a dream.
In an extremely large ballroom, a party was taking place. Men and women dressed in gorgeous clothes came and went in this s.p.a.cious hall, which was so broad that the four corners couldn’t be seen… The tall, endless ceiling was embellished with gold and silver decorations, and those ornaments reflected the chandelier’s lights.
Just as Lydia was entranced, there was a n.o.blewoman standing beside Lydia.
Who is she? I clearly know…...
Lydia merely gazed at the turquoise rose accessory worn on her chest.
It was an exquisite handiwork that was difficult to distinguish from a genuine rose.
Furthermore, Lydia felt that the surrounding gazes were especially focused on her.
Was it because the n.o.blewoman was talking to her? Or...
Ah that’s right, I’m dressed in ordinary clothes.
Among the guests wearing splendid clothes and evening dresses, even Lydia hair wasn’t done up, thus being ridiculed was inevitable. Lydia thought in this way, and because she was timid, she lowered her head.
The n.o.blewoman wearing the blue rose spoke a few words to Lydia.
Lydia turned to the direction that the lady wanted her to look towards, and saw Edgar as a result.
At first, she believed that he was going to approach her, but she didn’t expect him to suddenly kneel down, surprising Lydia.
Then treating her like a princess, he kissed her ungloved hand.
“Miss Carlton, would you like to dance with me? Together with your fiancé?”
Once Edgar pulled her hand and gazed at her, Lydia felt that regardless of how she was dressed, it didn’t matter.
He was able to make Lydia become a more special girl compared to any gorgeous jewel.
As long as he especially valued Lydia, the magic which enchanted Cinderella into a princess wouldn’t be lifted.

Lydia.
She heard Edgar whisper closely to her ear.
The things you aren’t good at, as long as you entrust it to me, then it will be alright.
As long as you maintain your usual manner then it’s fine, because my responsibility is to use my magic and make you appear to be a woman who is more suited to this place than anyone else.
She felt a pair of hands touch her cheek.
Then, a kiss was left on her forehead.
He narrowed his ash mauve eyes, revealing a smile. After he drew back his hand, the clattering sound of metal colliding came through.
The sound of the real world made Lydia escape from her dreamland.
Opening her eyes slightly, she saw the bedroom door just about to softly close.
Edgar? Even if he entered the bedroom without permission, Lydia would not be angry.
Lydia went ahead and thought that because she fainted yesterday, Edgar came to take a look at her as he was worried.
The sun had already risen high. As long as she saw the light coming in through the curtains, then she would know that she had slept for a very long time.
She turned her head, and the clattering sounds were heard once more.
When she touched her neck, her fingers came across an item similar to a necklace.
Lydia managed to wake up, and after sitting up, she held up the hand mirror that was on the bedside table.
That piece of jewelry had six kinds of jewels whose dimensions were arranged appropriately, and were a.s.sembled together into a graceful necklace.
The six jewels, individually, were diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, sapphire and topaz. Taking the first letter of each jewel’s English names and connecting them, it spelt “Dearest"*(beloved one); a word of the Regard necklace.
This truly was a gift that exceeded expectations.
Lydia smiled while she touched the Regard necklace with her fingers.
I must immediately get out of bed and go to thank him.
I hope that I won’t be embarra.s.sed, and genuinely convey my happiness to him.

After one night had pa.s.sed, everything that had to do with the Danish fairies’ secret had already disappeared from Lydia’s mind, as well as those who were at the rose garden at the time.
Not only was it like this, everyone had the vague impression of everything seemingly happening in a dream.
Even so, Lydia still remembered that she had once contacted and made a deal with them.
Of course, Madame Oughtred had never doubted the fact that she had been living with fairies before.
Judging by the eyes of the human world, one would clearly know that the Madame’s Regard necklace was a dazzling product of fine craftsmans.h.i.+p.
The flowers had a three-dimensional feeling, thus the petals were formed with innumerable fine jewels embedded.
It’s just that, the gate that will reportedly open as long as the necklace was there, will no longer open.
Upon closer look, one would find that the gate and wall completely had no cracks in between, and was merely an ornament embed in the wall. The Madame said that even she felt as if it was a dream, regarding whether or not she truly opened this gate.
The bronze gates are said to be connected with the extended pa.s.sages of the rose garden. As long as you wore the Regard necklace, then you could open the path leading to the rose garden.
It was said that all the kinds of jeweled accessories that the Madame wore in the past were brought over from the gate by her late husband, which were then given back to the other side of the gate. Those items were probably borrowed from the Danish fairies.
Now the gate already can’t be opened. Perhaps, the fairies’ rose garden beyond the front of the door no longer exists.
Although Madame Oughtred was a little lonely after losing the rose garden, but she exposed a relaxed smile, almost free of worry, towards Lydia.
She had already fulfilled the promise with her good friend in cultivating the blue roses. The Madame also said that despite having feelings of not wanting to leave the rose garden, even if she lived eternally in the fairies’ garden, she wouldn’t be able to grow a flower more wonderful than the rose.
“I apologize, Lydia, for bringing you such inconveniences.”
Sometime in the afternoon, Lydia and Edgar were invited to the Madame’s reception room.
“Furthermore, my niece’s matters were also……”
When Lucinda was taken as Annie’s hostage, she previously said that she wanted Lydia to replace her, and these words were also heard by Madame Oughtred. Moreover, she seemed to have received a lot of information personally from Lucinda regarding the inconveniences that she gave to Lydia and Edgar.
“Lucinda’s mother was a governess born in the upper middle cla.s.s. My younger brother, although he married her, when the heir of the family suddenly pa.s.sed away and the right of inheritance was given to him, he drove his wife and child away…...Before cutting off ties with my younger brother, I should have thought of Lucinda more, as she was two years old at the time.”
The part with regards to her Lucinda’s twisted behaviour, the Madame felt as if she should bear a lot of the responsibility.
“Although it’s a tad late, I’m going to re-educate Lucinda. The matter of her debut in society will have to wait until she becomes a genuine lady.
“Now I have decided that I must re-educate Lucinda. I will not permit her debut in n.o.ble society until she becomes a proper lady. There will be a day where I will make her properly apologize to you, so can you overlook it for the time being?”
Lydia nodded in agreement.
“...I should apologize, I also quarrelled a bit with her, I was really immature.”
“Oh my, you can’t be so weak. From now on, you must drive away all the women who approach your fiancé.”
“Madame Oughtred, please don’t say these things, I won’t let Lydia grasp that kind of intention.”
Although Edgar said that, full of confidence…...
“It’s hard to say.”
Madame Oughtred chuckled, thinking the same thing as Lydia, who had a taut face.
“Excuse me... may I request of you to direct me in the rules of social etiquette here?”
Lydia originally came here for this purpose. Since Madame Oughtred returned safe and sound, she braced herself as thought of accepting the genuine bridal course that was going to begin, but Edgar interrupted...
“Regarding this matter, I want to bring Lydia back to London.”
“Eh, but...”
Edgar anxiously looked at Lydia, who had an unconvinced face.
“It’s all right Edgar, I won’t act recklessly anymore.”
“No, it’s not because of that.”
Then, he turned towards Madame Oughtred and said…
“Because now is the precious time during engagement, I realized that I should be spending the time peacefully in London. If Lydia tries hard by herself, and not planning to depend on me at all, then it loses its meaning. Although I discarded the worrying elements in order to make her feel at ease in marrying, that being the case, I hope to be able to do my best to make her believe that as long as I’m by her side, whether it’s an audience with her Majesty the Queen or entering aristocracy, she won’t have to be worried.”
Lydia felt as if she heard these words in a dream. Or, was Edgar beside her saying this while she was half asleep?
His feelings reached Lydia’s heart. The fault wasn’t with Edgar, rather, Lydia was always unable to straightforwardly depend on him, and acted immaturely.
“Yes, furthermore, Lydia, I also feel that I have nothing in particular to teach you, because indeed, you already have the heart to consider other people. Compared to the rules of etiquette of paying attention to outer appearances or whatsoever, a considerate heart is the most important, and this point is all I teach to those young ladies waiting to enter society.”
Then the Madame picked up a card on the table beside the chair.
“This was written by Alexandrina. Because she had to depart early this morning, she left this here in my care.”
“Eh, she already left? I haven’t seen her off...”
“She said that there was no need to force you, who was unwell and overworked, while properly resting, to get up.”
For Edgar, whose social etiquette was hardly careless, he certainly must have sent her off early in the morning.
“But you can still see her in London. In order to express her grat.i.tude to you, she invited you to a ball.”
That opened card was an invitation.
The handwritten signature on top was Victoria R.
“That’s great, Lydia, Her Majesty personally allowed you to visit and make your debut in n.o.ble society.”
What? Her Majesty?!
“That time she was going incognito when she came to visit Madame Oughtred.”

Incognito? But...
“Excuse me, isn’t the Madame’s name Alexandrina?”
“Yes, her name is Alexandrina Victoria.”
“Whaat!? T-the d.u.c.h.ess is…!”
Lydia’s hands were stuck to her cheeks, and her whole body went stiff.
That’s can’t be, I carelessly spoke a bunch, as if I threw up grievances...
But also, I didn’t see her off.
“This way, I have already introduced my fiancée, and Her Majesty has seen you. Next, as long as you grandly take this special invitation card, then entering the court will be easy.”
“Bu--but social etiquette...”
“As long as you know the basics that will be fine. As soon as Madame Maysfield returns, she will teach you without delay again. Furthermore Lydia, the one whose manners are receiving attention shouldn’t be you, but rather me. After all, I must invite the lady which Her Majesty the Queen had noticed to dance.”
Haven’t I seen that kind of scene?
That dream… was a dream that matched reality?
Not knowing why, Lydia felt dizzy.
“If you can’t do it, it’s okay to let him deal with it for you. Aren’t the two of you getting married?”
Recalling the words of d.u.c.h.ess Brightbery, Lydia couldn’t help but be thankful for her consideration.
“In short, this time you can now announce your engagement to the public, but Lucinda will be quite remorseful.”
“It’s all right, she only liked my outward appearance, nothing more.”
What, liking outward appearances, didn’t he feel quite strange saying these words himself? In other words, Edgar deliberately ruined Lucinda’s dreams with regards to appearances?
“Uh, Edgar...”
“What is it?
“Umm... it can wait until later.”
In any case, she could not ask him what he did to Lucinda and Annie in front of Madame Oughtred.
But the Madame seemed to have misunderstood and smiled, as she left the room to let them talk alone.
“You wanted to be alone with me sooner?”
“A--as if.”
“But I hoped that I would be alone with you sooner.”
Edgar leaned forward towards her, and as if it was an old habit he pulled the reddish brown hair that only he compared it to the color of caramel.
“Hey, why did Annie take Lucinda hostage? Furthermore, she was afraid and said that she would be killed with Lucinda by you.”
Edgar played with Lydia’s hair he had picked up with his fingertips while feigning ignorance.
“Because of a little accident.”
An accident? Edgar, this man would have planned for an accident to occur, therefore this sentence was unconvincing.
As coercing Annie into making a dangerous promise was the same, he in no way would show his enemies mercy. Edgar, who was unable to abandon his callous side, always maintained this state of being able to immediately fight when something suddenly happens. Even now, his body and mind still hadn’t settled into the peaceful daily life.
Perhaps even now, he wasn’t only thinking of marriage.
So to say… could it be that...
“Edgar, you wouldn’t... have known of Her Majesty the Queen coming here, right…”
“How could I have known?”
He replied with a big grin.
That’s absolutely a lie.
In the end, where exactly did this man get state secrets?
This, on all kinds of levels, made Lydia dizzy.
“This good fortune is standing by our side.”
Indeed, he still gets carried away.
Lydia lifted her gaze, and that familiar smiling face was before her. This kind of shameless cheerful smile was perhaps the style most like Edgar.
His old enemy had already undoubtedly died, but he threw himself into battle. Although Lydia still didn’t know the reason, she hoped that she would be able to understand and support him without the slightest hesitation in that moment.
She earnestly hoped that whether it was being tactful or distressed, there would inevitably be one day that he wouldn’t need to conceal anything under that smile.
And because of this, despite Lydia lowering her head, unable to convey her happiness and grat.i.tude for receiving the Regard necklace, she still felt that being needed by Edgar was her own wish, thus as always, she nervously used her hand to grasp his in response.

[1] j.a.panese T/N: Following the j.a.panese spelling of Dearest, ディアレスト (Di-ah-re-su-to). Which is why there is no jewel starting with an E included.

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