Hakushaku to Yousei

Chapter 60

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Scholar and Fairy: The Island at the World"s End (Part 1)

~Father’s secret~

The pure white veil seemed to have been directly woven using snowflake petals.
Along the unfolded edges of the lace, the words “pure of heart” were embedded in a lovely floral pattern.
This lace veil was cut out from cloth filled with kind feelings, carefully sewed one st.i.tch at a time using embroidery thread, with many hours spent to create it. Whether it was the warm white color or texture, it did not have the slightest feeling of it being old.
Lydia stroked the unfolded lace while sighing in admiration.
Just by slightly touching the delicate lace made it sway like waves. If she wore it and let the veil gracefully cover her hair, would even the slightest gestures seem both elegant and dignified?
“It’s very beautiful, Father. Was this Mother’s bridal veil?”
“Yes, this was from your mother...... she also received this veil handcrafted by your grandmother.”
Lydia’s father, Frederick Carlton, narrowed his eyes and gazed at the lace which seemed as thin as snow, reminiscing the past.
“But grandmother was still willing to bless the marriage, despite Father and Mother eloping?”
With a simple and short veil, no matter what kind of dress was paired with, it would be suitable.
Even though this veil was fairly short, weaving such a lace presumably cost a lot of time, so grandmother must have begun weaving it bit by bit ever since Mother was young.
This was the first time Lydia imagined her compa.s.sionate grandmother.
She barely knew her mother"s relatives, partly because her mother had died young, so she had no opportunity to ask about matters relating to her home or family.
Besides, even if she asked, she probably wouldn’t hear anything remarkable. Lydia felt that ever since her childhood, whether it was her mother or father, it seemed that they have severed their relations.h.i.+p with her mother"s relatives.
Despite that, she knew that her parents didn’t hold any grudges against her mother’s relatives, also including the old friends recalled in their hearts that no longer existed.
Because of this, Father remembered the veil during the time Lydia was going to get married, and had arranged for the veil to be sent to London, which was kept in their hometown in Scotland.
“Well...... yes, your grandmother was the only person to truly pray for your mother"s happiness.”
As long as she wore the veil, Lydia could then step onto the red carpet with her mother and her grandmother’s blessings, the latter whom she had never met. Although Lydia had always been unable to bring about the sense of reality of getting married, as long as she thought this, then she would feel a slight delight in her heart.
Lydia, who just accepted a marriage proposal, held the bridal veil and thought of her mother.
Lydia followed her father to live in London, who left Scotland due to work. Lydia heard that the Northern lands that was her mother’s hometown was actually very far.
When she pressed the veil close to her cheek, Lydia seemed to sense the odor of the cold sea breeze from the Northern country.
“Father, how did you propose to Mother?”
Up until now, Lydia had asked him several times, but he had always evaded the question. Now that his daughter is engaged, he may be willing to answer. Lydia asked, full of expectations.
But her father still had a bewildered expression and took off his gla.s.ses, fl.u.s.tered.
“Oh dear, that is a thing of the past.”
Then, as if requesting help, he called out to the housekeeper, who just happened to pa.s.s by the room.
“Ah, Mrs. Cooper, how are dinner preparations coming along?”
“Master, it’s no problem, the hotel’s cuisine just arrived, and the decorations of the dining room have also been finished.”
Tonight, the Carlton family was going to host a dinner party for Lydia’s fiancé, who was invited to come and eat. Having said that, only a total of three people, her father, Lydia and her fiancé will be dining together.
Although he often visited Lydia’s house prior to the engagement, and Lydia and her father accepted his invitations to have dinner at his mansion, now, as the two have been formally engaged, this was his first time formally coming to the Carlton house to have a meal.
Thus, this dinner will not be regarded as an ordinary meal, because Lydia’s fiancé was an aristocrat.
Although this fiancé wasn’t a picky person regarding the dishes on an ordinary family’s dining table, the Carlton family frequently dealt with the upper cla.s.s, thus they believed that attention to forms of etiquette couldn’t be tossed aside.
Now that he was invited to dinner, they had to entertain him using the formal mannerisms of dining.
“I don’t know whether the Handel’s hotel dishes will suit the Earl’s tastes.”
Father anxiously stared at Lydia.
“He is normally used to eating high-cla.s.s French cuisine so I suppose it’s okay to occasionally eat something uncommon, right?”
The Carlton family wasn’t of the upper cla.s.s, but was still regarded as well-off and had a certain social status; with regards to the middle cla.s.s people, this house’s dining hall was quite popular. It was only natural that the Carlton family hired a chef, but all in all, she was a chef who wasn’t an expert in formal dinners or in banquet dishes.
And because of this, although they had only invited one person to dinner, Father unconsciously began to panic.
“Is that so…… Ah, perhaps it is, in any case, the Earl probably isn’t interested in the cuisine.”
He looked at Lydia, and said this rather forlornly.
With regards to Father, the time to invite his only daughter’s fiancé to come and dine simply wasn’t a time to enjoy the cuisine.
“So, the young lady should more or less go and prepare, you must dress more luxuriously than the main meal.”
I’m not a delicacy. Lydia thought, while her father nodded, urging her to get up.
“If you are more eye-catching than the cuisine, you might as well be devoured because the Earl is like a wolf.”
Not knowing when, Nico came to their side and stood on his hind feet.
This fairy cat that gracefully swung its furry tail was Lydia’s friend who remained by her side from birth.
He was a cat-type fairy who originally came from the distant Northern lands with her mother, yet he considered himself as a gentleman; apart from always fastening his bowtie, he was also quite particular about food and wine and always put on an act.
“Oh Nico, you also don’t know how Father proposed to Mother, do you?”
Lydia asked Nico as they walked up the stairs side by side and returned to her room on the second floor.
“Well... I"ve never heard of it.”
Ultimately, Lydia was still unable to inquire about how her father proposed.
“Why does he need to hide it like this? It’s already a matter from twenty years ago, would he still feel embarra.s.sed?”
“Generally, I think it isn’t the problem of being embarra.s.sed, as even the talkative Aurora had never let it slip.”
This seemed to be a secret between the two.
“Anyways Lydia, why did you want to ask this?”
“Because I wanted to know what Father said that made Mother decide to part forever from her parents and hometown.”
Although Lydia already decided to get married, her sense of reality in being married into a n.o.ble family was getting stronger, thus confusing her more.
Moreover, Lydia’s fiancé was rumored to be a constant scandalous philanderer in society. Though she believed Edgar when he said he needed her, she really wasn’t completely without unease.
So she wanted to know how her father’s words supported her mother’s spirits, and how having that made her determined in marrying him.
However, this wish seemed incapable of being achieved.
Because her father intended to bring this to his grave.

(1) The encounter

Fairies only existed in fairy tales. Frederick Carlton used to think that.
But people can dream. Everything, including all the wonderful, beautiful, or scary things, people couldn’t stop dreaming of those in their imaginations who did not belong to this world.
Therefore, Frederick was deeply interested in all kinds of incredible legends pa.s.sed down for generations and was not the kind of person who would laugh at people when they claimed to see fairies.
But he also did not antic.i.p.ate in his dreams that he would go as far as to step into the realm of the unimaginable.
Nevertheless, whether or not it was the fairy’s doing, it wasn’t clear to him. Because he was left with rather vague memories, he was only able to see it as an illusion.
He remembered losing his way. Not knowing whether or not it was coming close to nightfall as he was roaming about the gloomy wilderness, it was not easy to find the historic ruins. Before long, he managed to find it. The historic ruins were a group of rock formations towering on the ground, and those standing stones were made of smoky quartz.
The hazel crystals were like a gla.s.s of Scotch whisky, and was the finest smoky quartz through its high transparency. Such huge crystals stood tall, side by side on the ground.
When looking at the crystal, he always felt that the light radiated from within, making the lights and shadows of the stone gently sway, transforming into a prismatic light.
The ray of light was reflected upon the sky.
He looked up in wonder and could not help but think that this was fairy magic.
Frederick did not understand why he had such an intuition.
More than anything else, the vivid sight of the prismatic colored light was seared into his memory, but when suddenly looking back, his mind was distracted.
He seemed to have forgotten something important there.
But the more he thought about it, the more he thought that it was a dream.
It was probably a dream.
As he noticed that, it was when he was already sitting by the roadside at the outskirts of the village.
He remembered that no matter how much he walked, the village was unseen. Since he wanted to take a little rest, he sat down on the gra.s.s.
Despite him only wanting to rest his feet, he accidentally began to nap. He thought that only an hour had pa.s.sed, but when he returned to the inn in the village, he realized that six hours had actually pa.s.sed.
The inn owner said he got caught up in fairy illusions.
The local residents inevitably believed that fairies existed, and that losing one’s way on familiar pathways was reportedly a frequent matter.
He encountered fairies. In that case, that felt very nice.
Even if it meant that he was dreaming, it was very romantic.
However, there was only one thing Frederick could not understand. At that time, he seemed to have picked up a small fragment of smoky quartz, and after a long period of time had pa.s.sed, he accidentally discovered this fragment at the bottom of his coat pocket.
It wasn’t completely a dream?
It happened when he was still a student. One day, Frederick went with his Professor to a remote island to a.s.sist in the geological survey. As Frederick had not returned after having been sent to work, he wandered outside for several hours, so he was questioned by his seniors on where he ran off to enjoy himself, and they considered his wonderful experience as a clumsy excuse.
During his brief stay there were endless things to do, so there was no free time for a mere student.
His friends said that the smoky quartz standing stones were too conspicuous; if they truly existed, a thief would have certainly stolen it by now. He thought his friends were right, and did not confirm if the island existed and left. Despite having this stuck at the back of his mind, he was swamped with work later on as a university student later on; he banished the matter of the smoky quartz to the corner of his memories.

Five years later, Frederick obtained a degree in Cambridge and became a mineralogist. Now at the age of twenty eight, he still studied at Cambridge and used the status as a research fellow to be a lecturer.
The reason why he suddenly remembered those past events was because he just had a chat with his colleagues about England producing smoky quartz crystals.
The smoky quartz was only produced in the Scottish Highlands, but his colleague said that he saw the same huge smoky quartz on small islands far away from those Scottish Highlands.
The crystal on the island that was placed in some clan head"s mansion was an item carefully safeguarded by their ancestors for generations. According to legends, it was a gift from the fairies, and the clan head also claimed that there still ought to be similar things on the island.
In the Highland area of the islands, were there people that existed who still weren’t aware of the smoky quartz veins?
If that were truly the case, then the standing smoky quartz stones that Frederick saw were real.
Because the conversation reminded him of his past experience, regardless of whether he was standing from a personal or academic position, he still had a great interest in it.
He was going back to that island once again. Although he had decided this, he could never spare the time.
This time, the university"s summer vacation was coming up soon.
The island was located at the far end of Scotland. In all likelihood, the English had difficulties having other impressions of this island. The sea breeze that blew from the Atlantic Ocean directly swept across the islands, making it a barren land difficult for vegetation to grow on.
Even Frederick, as a Scottish person, found it hard to believe that this area was part of Scotland. Speaking of which, for someone who lived in the Southern Lowlands, it was said that the Northern Highlands was like a different country. In addition, regardless of whether it was the language or culture, it was all distinctive. Located in a distant point of the Highlands, there was an archipelago made up of numerous islands in the sea; no one probably believed that people lived on them.
However, Frederick once again arrived at an island within the Hebrides archipelago.
Despite the largest town on the island being a port city due to the rising of the fis.h.i.+ng industry, if you advanced from the local land to this island, there will be a feeling of being suddenly separated from the human world.
The carriage continued to travel along the wilderness where there were no human figures, no livestock, no decent roads, and nothing similar to a forest with any plants growing. The standing stones suddenly appeared on the empty horizon, making Frederick feel strangely curious as if he were entering a different world.
The scattered megaliths of the United Kingdom were similar to these randomly arranged landscape-like giant stones, which Frederick’s hometown also had. He once heard in his childhood that it was the fairy"s lair and afterwards it was known to be a historic relic of ancient mankind.
In any case, the standing stones were filled with mystery, as no one knew what they were.
Frederick thought about this on the carriage. After reaching the small village a couple of hours later, he found that it appeared to have not changed since five years ago.
It was probably always like this for hundreds of years.
The white walled inn and the pub owner with his smoking pipe on the first floor were also the same as it was five years ago. He was completely unable to determine whether or not this red-faced wrinkled old man had aged in five years.
“Excuse me, are there any rooms available?”
The boss glanced at Frederick, who was only carrying a bag and dressed fairly light for a traveler, then quickly spoke something. It was Gaelic.
Just then, Frederick remembered that only the boss’s eldest son was able to speak English fluently in this inn. He couldn’t understand Gaelic.
Just when he was worried about what he ought to do……
“He said to please wait a little more if you wanted to stay, as they prepare the room first.”
This was spoken in beautiful English with no Highlander accent. A woman sitting towards the side of the inner pub smiled and looked at him.
She had a Scottish tartan scarf covering her hair, and was wearing a gray skirt without any decorations. Because her clothes were honestly too simple, he couldn’t help but feel she was an older lady. But upon turning around, her features were quite young, approximately twenty years old.
Frederick usually never paid any particular attention to other people"s appearances, but even he knew that this person was a considerably outstanding beauty, and the girl’s smile didn’t have the least bit of displeasure.
The inn owner handed him a beer and went up the second floor. Then the girl approached and sat next to him.
“You are English, right?”
Full of interest, she appraised Frederick, probably thinking that he was a dull man rather than a strange one.
Frederick hadn’t had a haircut recently, so his hair was unkempt, and was wearing round eyegla.s.ses, which weren’t pleasing to the eye. Although his fingers had formed calluses from writing so much for a long time, there was no muscle in his arms. His unironed s.h.i.+rt had faded from was.h.i.+ng and his coat was wrinkled, so he didn’t look to be a man with a decent occupation.
Since Frederick was twenty eight years old, his mentors, colleagues, his parents and relatives were concerned over marriage, and so at parties and other occasions women had been introduced to him. But the women who were introduced to Frederick at parties and other occasions would a.s.sess him in a split second for the most part, a.s.suming an att.i.tude of wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Many people approved of his great success in research, but he also knew that this was not something that could attract women.
Therefore, Frederick couldn’t help but be confused at her intense gaze.
“No, umm... I"m Scottish.”
“Someone from the lowlands? The people in this region think that as long as you’re not a Highlander, then you’re English.”
From the edge of the scarf you could catch a glimpse of her pale hair that was almost fair as her skin. Her eyes were light blue.
The more one advanced towards the Northern islands, the more one would frequently see tall, blonde haired, fair skinned people who bore conspicuous characteristics of the Nordics.
They are descendants of the Celtics who speak Gaelic, and who also possess the thickly mixed blood with the Nordic Vikings.
“I am Aurora McKeel. Pleased to meet you.”
She cheerfully extended her right hand to him.
“Ah...... h.e.l.lo, I am Frederick Carlton.”
Her hand was extremely delicate; she should be a girl who came from a wealthy family. The pendant that shone on her bosom was an aquamarine, which wasn’t some cheaply-priced ore.
“McKeel” is one of the family names among the major clans on this island. In the Scottish Highlands, clan heads act as landlords; therefore, due to the clan hiring tenant farmers, they would also have the same family name. But from her speaking English, it seems that she isn’t a tenant farmer, but rather a relative of the clan head.
“Why have you come to this remote island?”
“Umm… to see the standing stones.”
“You like historic ruins?”
“No, I like stones.”
Whenever Frederick said this, he found that the majority of people will show a puzzled look, so he quickly added an explanation:
“Because I’m performing mineralogy-related research.”
But surprisingly, Aurora kept smiling.
“Mineralogy? That seems quite complicated.”
“There’s no such thing. From the beginning, it’s a kind of simple knowledge of looking for all kinds of stones and naming them in the field of natural history all over the world. But even if stones take on a completely different color in appearance, it is possible that it could be the same ore. Since ancient times, people were very interested in gems and actively a.s.signed names to them, but even the roadside stones, soil, gravel, and of course, standing stones, any stone can become the object of study. In addition, the area below the earth’s surface is still an unknown domain, so there might be minerals lying dormant underground which haven’t yet been discovered. All kinds of things can be clearly understood by merely researching one stone, such as the material of a stone, its characteristics, as well as the period and environment of when the stone was produced. Stones can bring up information from the underground that no one has seen or has been able to reach. Just thinking about these stones, there isn’t enough time……”
Frederick suddenly got ahold of himself and shut his mouth. This was already a common occurrence, as long as he mentioned stones, he would forget about the time and situation. He was also very bothersome.
“……Ah, my apologies, I suddenly said a bunch of strange things.”
“Strange? What’s strange about it?”
Unable to comprehend, she tilted her head and didn’t seem to think what Frederick said was particularly strange.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?”
“Ah…… yes, you can.”
“Are you single?”
“What?”
“Single, right? If you had a wife, she would help you sew b.u.t.tons and mend the frayed spots.”
Frederick noticed her staring at the loose threads on his cuffs, thus he urgently wanted to cover it. Now that he thought about it carefully, there was no point in covering it.
“Shall I mend it for you?”
“N--no absolutely not!”
“There’s no need to hold back.”
Frederick’s coat was caught and he couldn’t help but panic.
If he took off his coat, she would surely discover that there were ripped seams all over his s.h.i.+rt. Overall, he thought the clothes on his body would be taken off.
The old lady in his dormitory was also like this. As long as Frederick thought that her easy-going manner was similar to Aurora’s, his feelings of anxiety increased. Although he had been taken care of by the old woman around the time he was a student, regardless, there was no way for him to be half-naked in front of a young woman whom he met for the first time.
“I’m sorry! You being considerate is enough, truly...”
She loosened her hand at Frederick’s unyielding refusal, but she wasn’t unhappy as a result, as she was still grinning from ear to ear.
“Then, can I ask you another question?”
He heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.
“How long do you plan to stay here for?”
“Um, I always really wanted to see the standing stones with my own eyes. If possible, I want to stay until I find them.”
“What kind of stones are those?”
While Frederick didn’t know whether his experience in seeing the smoky quartz was a dream, he explained the size and characteristics of the stone and pondered over one thing.
She, who was asking a barrage of questions, what was she doing here anyway?
In broad daylight, no other guests could be found. He only saw her sitting by the table without any beer or Scotch whisky gla.s.ses, and was only putting the teacup and book down.
Was it her cat sleeping on the chair? It was an unkempt gray-haired cat.
“These standing stones can never be viewed from the same angle, as a different appearance will emerge, I’ve only heard about it, so I’m also not sure whether or not I know of the historic ruins. Oh, that’s right, shall I guide you to a nearby place with standing stones?”
Was she so unoccupied? But this person was quite friendly.
Was it okay to accept her courtesy? Women were never interested in Frederick in this way. Just when he was thinking hard for a solution, the door to the entrance opened.
A woman carrying a baby had entered.
While the woman tried to soothe the crying baby, she restlessly looked around the pub until her eyes immediately stopped on Aurora and then spoke.
Aurora stood in response and spoke with her.
She felt very cordial and used a firm tone, like a teacher facing a student as she spoke to the woman, who was older by comparison. Then, she took the small baby from the woman and gently whispered into its tiny ear.
Just like magic, the baby suddenly stopped crying. Frederick couldn’t help but feel that perhaps it was some kind of spell.
Aurora returned the baby to the mother, and after watching them leave, she turned to Frederick.
“I apologize, I suddenly have urgent matters. I have to go and pick some exorcism herbs now.”
Exorcism?
Frederick tilted his head and thought to himself, has he misheard that? After all, as the regions are different, sometimes discrepancies in the use of English will appear.
“Then see you later, Mr. Carlton.”
She turned around in a hurry and called to the cat sitting on the chair.
“Nico!”
The gray cat immediately got up, picked up the book on the table and walked out step by step using his hind legs.
It was the cat that was reading the book…...
How was that possible?
The cat, who a.s.sumed the air of a gentleman, seemed to have felt Frederick’s gaze, and shot a glance at him with his olive colored eyes.
While gazing at him, Frederick did not know why, but when he kept blinking nervously, the cat’s figure disappeared.
No, the cat must have quickly run out.
Without a doubt, he used his four legs.
I’m probably tired from the long trip. Frederick took off his gla.s.ses and rubbed the corner of his eyes.
“Having said that...... the herbs, what kind of person is she?”
“Sir, she’s a Fairy doctor.”
The person holding a basket filled with fish and walking behind the front desk was the inn owner"s eldest son. Frederick still remembered him. Compared to five years ago, he had gained a little weight and already had the dignified manner of a young boss.
“Miss Aurora is the village chief"s daughter and is an outstanding fairy doctor. In order for everyone to conveniently find her and discuss fairy problems, she frequently comes here to visit, which helps everyone a lot.”
“A fairy doctor...?”
“Yes, because this place has a lot of fairies, they will stir up trouble everywhere. That baby was probably pinched.”
Hearing the tone of his voice, it seemed that this was a common and trivial matter.

*

A fairy doctor. It was only natural that Frederick had heard about the existence of such people. When his grandmother was a young girl, it was said that they tried to find and consult with a fairy doctor as a last resort because she once had incurable ulcers.
According to the fairy doctor’s recommendation, his grandmother arranged items at the foot of a circular mound as an offering for the fairies, and then her body ulcers were cured in three days.
Fairy doctors were very close to fairies and were proficient in their magic. Not only were they responsible for solving troubles between fairies and humans, but they also did their utmost in order for both sides to coexist peacefully.
Previously, fairy doctors were commonly seen within society, but the wave of industrialisation that swept across London had also spread to the urban areas of Scotland.
The southwest area of the ancient city had already become one of United Kingdom’s few industrial cities.
It was only a matter of time before the railway that extended north from London was going to be built up to Edinburgh.
Fairies, these ambiguous, unseen existences were thus gradually forgotten.
Frederick did not know whether or not they really existed. According to common sense, fairies should merely be a product of illusions, but every time he heard legends a.s.sociated with them, his heart would set off waves of wonderful feelings of fear and nostalgia.
The Northern island’s night was like day. Since Frederick couldn’t sleep, he looked out the window. Only the strong winds were whistling past the empty horizon.
Human wisdom and strength, at the face of overwhelming nature, really is too insignificant. Staying in the midst of this land made Frederick unconsciously accept the existence of fairies.
Aurora could see fairies? Could she talk with them?
If it was truly that way, perhaps she truly knows about the smoky quartz standing stones. Frederick absent-mindedly thought this, while he was on the verge of falling asleep.

Due to being unable to fall asleep for a long time the previous night, it was already quite late when Frederick got out of bed the next morning.
As he was changing his clothes, the sound of an uproar came from outside. He couldn"t help but look down from the window. As a result, he saw a tall man who was roaring loudly, and the person he was disputing with had pale blonde hair...... it was Aurora.
What kind of dispute was it? Even if that was the case, he shouldn’t bellow to a feeble young woman like that.
Frederick thought to himself that he should go and stop it, so he rushed out of the room, even forgetting to comb his bedhead. But usually, he just uses his fingers to comb his hair as he wishes.
As he dashed down the stairs, the man had grabbed Aurora’s hand and pull her into the pub.
He noticed Frederick, thus he glared at him. The man had grown a full red beard. It was very much the style of a Highlander male.
“I heard that you’re a lecturer in Cambridge.”
The man suddenly spoke to him, making him feel suspicious.
He did not give details when he introduced himself to Aurora, but he talked a lot with the young boss and the people in the pub last night. With regards to this small village, he was a rare traveller, so the substance of conversations had spread throughout the entire village in one night, which wasn’t unreasonable. As soon as he thought this, it wasn’t strange that the red-bearded man knew of his ident.i.ty.
However, the next thing that the man said truly baffled him.
"I don"t know how distinguished you are in England, and it has nothing to do with us, so I advise you to not have presumptuous desires towards this girl of this remote area.”
“What? Umm...”
“Father, please stop, you are mistaken!”
So it turned out to be her father. Astonished, Frederick watched the interaction between the man and Aurora, but did not see any similarities between the two.
“It isn’t this person.”
“Aurora, don’t you think of fooling me, didn’t this man come to this village five years ago?!”
Frederick realized that she mentioned this matter to the young inn owner. He said that he also remembered Frederick, the youngest among the students, who was travelling with the Professor at that time.
“Hey, isn’t that right, Professor?”
“Well, yes…”
After Frederick nodded in confusion, the man became increasingly angry, grabbed onto the clothes from his chest and warned:
“I don"t care whether or not it was the temporary whim of a youngster, but a man casually pursuing the local girls on a trip, saying that one day he will come and take her, absolutely can’t be a good thing.”
“Father!”
”By no means do I believe that you purposely came in order to fulfill the promise with my daughter. Anyways, you forgot the promise because of recalling some matters at an earlier time, right? If you simply came to tease a simple country girl, then hurry up and go home. For now, I can let it pa.s.s.”
The man rudely pushed Frederick and his back hit the counter.
“I said it wasn’t him! The one who made the promise with me… was a different man! Mr. Carlton, hurry and say that you don’t remember this matter at all.”
“A different man? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, if you dare to try to deny making that promise with my daughter in front of me again, I will absolutely bury you under the peat!
“……Um, please calm down a little, let’s talk......”
“How could I possibly calm down! My daughter already has a fiancé, I won’t hand her over to you!”
Frederick truly did not remember this matter, but the man seemed to have no intentions on listening to his explanation.
Then he pulled Aurora and left.
The inn’s senior boss had been watching this unfold from behind the counter; perhaps he was unable to understand the contents of the English discussion, so it most likely brought about a misunderstanding.
He looked at Frederick with pity and shrugged.
This matter will immediately spread throughout the village.
Will I be described as the foolish man who pursued the village chief’s daughter?
Oh well, let it be. In any case, I won’t be staying here.
He was indifferent to his own matters, but after Frederick found out that Aurora had a fiancé that she didn’t like, it bothered him a little.

(2) The promise

The distance of the standing stone location nearest to the village was about a half hour walk from the inn.
Only one spectacular rock, tall enough to require one to raise their head, towered over the plains.
This was a rock that wasn’t afraid of powerful winds, as it stood for hundreds of years.
As Frederick quickly held down his hat with one hand from almost being blown away by the wind, he pressed his face close to the rock.
Of course, this wasn’t a smoky quartz, but just the thought of these stones standing for such a long time attracted Frederick through its charm.
No matter how many hours he looked, he certainly wouldn’t feel tired of it.
“Mr. Carlton.”
At that time, a female’s voice that was gentle and soft unlike the wind, pa.s.sed by his ears; thus, he promptly turned his head over.
“I truly apologize for this morning.”
It was Aurora. Her eyes looked very wet; was it because the color of her eyes were light blue like the water?
“No, don’t worry about it. Did you resolve the misunderstanding with your father?”
She softly shook her head.
Her red swollen cheeks looked quite painful.
“As long as he’s stubborn, he won’t listen to what other people say.”
Was she slapped by her father? However, she didn’t seem to be a girl who would collapse and falter. Aurora faced Frederick with a composed expression.
“I don"t want to talk about getting married. I can’t help but say that there is a person outside the island that I promised to marry without permission.”
“In other words, that man was a traveller who once paid a visit previously, and his circ.u.mstances also happened to match mine.”
She smiled slightly.
“Yes...... it’s quite rare having a person visiting the second time in this village, located in the outermost zone of the “Hebrides” islands. You are a young man also coming to visit here for the second time. The matters of me quite amicably speaking to you had already reached my father’s ears, so he completely misunderstood.”
So to say, she came and left the inn’s pub, and should be waiting for her lover to visit. If she wanted to receive the villagers’ trust, wouldn’t remaining at the village chief’s house, that is, her own home, and waiting for the people to come to her door, be better, as it wasn’t necessary to purposely go out?
However, perhaps her lover hadn’t yet arrived at the inn.
There weren’t many people who would visit this village several times, thus Frederick’s second visit had taken the inn owner by surprise, as it seemed that the possibility of Aurora’s lover from then not returning was very high.
Could he really abide by the promise?
Even if he met a maiden full of charm during the trip and agreed to pick her up one day, forgetting about the matters of that time after returning to everyday life, such cases were common.
“Has he written letters to you?”
Although it was none of his business, Frederick was still worried and therefore asked.
“Mr Carlton, do you also think that he wouldn’t abide with this kind of spoken promise?”
“Uh, no that...”
“I’m not a naive child, and have already thought that he might have forgotten about it. However, there are still five days left and I want to believe him.”
“Five days?”
“Until my fiancé will come and marry me.”
It turns out her matters were very urgent.
Without knowing why, Frederick felt fl.u.s.tered.
“So...... what are you going to do? If he doesn’t come within five days, do you plan to get married to him?”
She lowered her eyes, distressed.
“I plan..... to leave this house. ”
“Alone?”
“I want to confirm my feelings toward him.”
“But if that’s the case…”
Escaping the marriage her parents had decided for her, leaving home for the sake of another man, such behaviour was not acknowledged by the world, and people will secretly say that she became an unrestrained girl. This was especially true, as the clan’s binding force on this land was exceptionally powerful. Then perhaps, as a result, she would not be allowed to set foot into the family again.
If Aurora went and saw that the man did not accept her, then she would be left deserted.
Of course, she had decided to leave home after making up her mind considerably.
Did Aurora like this man that much? Or did she dislike her fiancé considerably?
“Aurora, what are you doing here?”
A man riding a horse came over. Aurora’s expression immediately turned dim and as if to protect Frederick, she took a few steps forward.
“Didn’t your father repeatedly make it clear to not leave home!”
He was a young man, with his shoulder length blonde hair continuously waving about in the breeze. He got off the horse and looked at Frederick with disatisfaction.
“Having said that, my fiancée was unexpectedly alone with another man, I cannot idly sit by.”
He deliberately spoke in English, probably wanting Frederick to hear.
“……Kenneth, you are not my fiancé.”
“I am your second fiancé and you"ll be my wife very soon.”
The second? What was going on? Frederick looked at the two of them, back and forth. She has several fiancés?
“I"m not going to marry you!”
Aurora spared no effort to shout loudly.
The man snorted and then looked at Frederick.
“So you"re the Englishman who made a move on Aurora?”
He was clearly hostile to Frederick as he clenched his fists.
“Disappear from me, you eyesore.”
Frederick thought to himself that he didn’t lay hands on Aurora, nor was he an Englishman, and he had no reason for the need to escape. But compared to explaining, he cared more about Aurora, who stood before the man, glaring at him with her shoulders trembling slightly, and so he thought he had to think of a way.
“Umm... I understand how you feel, but when it comes to being eyesores, we are the same.”
Frederick suddenly spoke out and said these words, making Aurora turn around and look at him in surprise.
“What did you say, did you want to fight?!”
“Ah, no that’s not what I meant.”
Seeing that he may take a beating in a moment, Frederick promptly appeased him, as he lifted both of his hands up as if to stop him.
“I mean, for her true fiancé, whether it"s me or you, we’re both eyesores.”
“What...?”
“Well, in other words, we’re in the same position, both wanting to pursue a woman with a fiancé, correct? But I think, even if we argued with each other, it would be meaningless.”
“I’m different from you, I’m…...”
“Her second fiancé? That’s unreasonable, would G.o.d approve of such a matter?”
G.o.d will only allow a man to marry one woman; if believers went as far as to say that it was possible to violate G.o.d’s decree, this would be an extremely terrible matter.
Devout Protestants dwelled on this island, so even if it was a hot-blooded man, hearing this remark would make him lose the will to fight and unwillingly lower his fists.
“Miss McKeel, I’ll take you home.”
Frederick urged her and took a step forward. Although he was quite worried whether or not the man would punch him from behind, the both of them kept far away from that man, as if nothing had happened.
Even though the man’s figure already couldn’t be seen, she remained tight-lipped and Aurora grabbed onto Frederick’s arm, and quickly walked refusing to slow down. Frederick vaguely thought that perhaps the person who slapped her was not her father, rather it was that man.
“Is your house this way?”
Frederick asked after walking for a while, and Aurora regained her composure, lifting her head.
“Ah, I"m sorry...... I really troubled you again.”
She quickly withdrew her hand from Frederick.
“Thank you for protecting me, but in this way everyone will be more convinced in their misunderstanding of you.”
“In any case, it seems like the misunderstanding won’t be resolved, and I am a carefree traveler, so it doesn’t matter.”
Despite Aurora’s stiff body trembling, she still stood in front of Frederick. Compared with her actions, pretending to be lovers was really much more simple.
“You really are a kindhearted person.”
Aurora smiled a little and stopped.
“My home is in the other side of the hill, sending me off here is just fine.”
Her scattered light colored hair fluttered under the strong breeze. On such a cold land, having porcelain-like pale skin made her seem very lonely, even if she smiled.
Frederick had an urge to bring her to the warm suns.h.i.+ne of the south.
“Miss McKeel.”
He couldn’t help but call out to Aurora.
“If there"s anything I can do, I"d be happy to help. Although I am a traveler and can’t help very much, but at least I can stand by your side.”
“Then, will you marry me?”
“What!...Ma....rriage...?”
“You see, you’ll be taken advantage of if you’re too kind to a troubled woman.”
Aurora’s serious expression suddenly changed as she laughed.
Even if he was taken advantage of, women are those who choose their partners. Although Frederick thought this, the feelings in his heart and the thoughts in his head were different, and his heart beat wildly as he was astonished.
“Call me Aurora, Frederick. This isn’t an embarra.s.sing request, right?”
Aurora was quite beautiful. Just her display of kindness to him was enough to make him feel uneasy.
Despite not knowing what kind of man she had set her heart on, if they met once again and knew her current situation, he surely would not hesitate to take her and escape from this island.
So, even if it was due to her taking the initiative to find him, perhaps it wasn’t such a reckless matter.
“My father will go to the neighboring village tomorrow evening, so he won’t be at home for two or three days. I can take advantage of that time to leave home. In order to thank you for protecting me, I will take you to the nearby ruins. If we’re lucky, we may be able to see the smoky quartz that you’ve been looking for.”
Aurora said and continued walking.
Frederick stared at her from behind.
How did she know that I came here to look for smoky quartz?
Was it due to the fairy doctor’s incredible power to see through him?
Do those huge smoky quartz crystals truly exist? Has Aurora seen it before?
Frederick suddenly felt unsteady in his footing and made sure his steps were on the ground. The narrow gap between dream and reality was opening an entrance to an invisible place. While he thought that this was preposterous, he pondered about whether or not the smoky quartz standing stones truly existed in this world.
Hebrides - the world’s end.
The island was also closest to a mysterious land that did not belong in this world.

*

Whether it was Father or Mother, why did they never smile? Ever since Aurora was able to think, she had harbored this question.
She was a girl who frequently laughed and smiled as a child. When she saw lively fairies walking, which seemed more like leaping, she would laugh without restraint, and even when her grandmother scolded her, she would laugh because she thought her grandmother’s angry face was very funny. In the end, her grandmother would feel both angry and amused.
However, no matter how happy Aurora was, her parents never smiled from the bottom of their hearts.
After she became aware of the reason, she also gradually became unable to laugh sincerely in front of her parents.
Aurora was a changeling.
Fairies who stole human infants and placed rocks, wood or a fairy baby in exchange for it, this was a changeling. It was said that Aurora’s family and fairies were under a contract, so they had been exchanging for several generations.
The children who were taken away were raised in the fairy realm, then they will get married to fairies. Afterwards, the child that was born will be exchanged with the first born of a McKeel clan descendant, after they had gotten married.
A clan who lived in the fairy world yet possessed human blood, and constantly exchanged babies of relatives in the human world; the fairy blood possessed by the McKeel clan thus became increasingly stronger, and people who possessed fairy doctor abilities were never severed.
The clan head possessed the highest status amongst all the families with the surname McKeel. This was also a responsibility given by the head of the clan to Aurora’s family.
Aurora wasn’t her parents’ genuine daughter, as their child was taken to the fairy realm, no longer able to meet.
She was told all this from her father’s mouth.
As they had given up their own child and decided to raise Aurora, she had to also comply with the clan’s traditions.
Aurora’s responsibility was to get married with her specifically a.s.signed partner.
All of this came from the will of the clan.
Her parents harbored the sorrow of having their child being taken away and solemnly endured it.
During that time, Aurora’s brother, whom she had a big age difference with, was born, and she thought the atmosphere at home would somewhat change, but the situation wasn’t as she had thought.
Although her younger brother, who still didn’t know the truth, very much admired Aurora, he had a taciturn personality so the house remained quiet.
As long as this home had a changeling, the situation wouldn’t change, and whenever her parents looked at her face, there was probably a sharp pain in their chest. Their grief was incurable.
“Aurora, do you really intend to leave this island?”
The fairy cat sitting by the window anxiously asked.
Aurora looked away from the book she wasn’t reading at all and lifted her head.
She also didn’t know whether or not she really wanted to do this. It was just that the fairy blood and magic bound her tightly to this island, so wanting to leave the island wasn’t simple at all.
Once she leaves the island, perhaps the magic that the land possesses will no longer allow her to set foot here.
“That Cambridge lecturer doesn’t remember you at all.”
“……But Nico, he remembered the standing stones, he didn’t forget about those smoky quartz crystals.”
“Which also means he’s only interested in stones.”
After an ordinary human accidentally stumbles upon the fairy realm, they would barely remember what happened. It was like forgetting a dream that they had while sleeping.
The moment he met Aurora in front of the smoky quartz standing stones before did not exist in his memories.
“Even if he doesn’t remember now, he still came to this remote island, so maybe he’ll remember.”
“You don’t have time to wait for him to remember. That said, Aurora, even if he remembered that, he depended on your help to escape from the fairy realm that he had mistakenly entered, he’ll probably say thank you and it’ll be over like that when the time comes.”
Nico was right. Even if he remembered something, there was no special promise made between them.
As for the promise, he promised at most that he would come to this island the next time he took a vacation, Aurora would lead him to see the smoky quartz standing stones and then...
-- Will you take me there? I hope to see Cambridge or London one day.
-- Yes, of course.
With regards to Aurora, who was 16 years old at the time, she thought that this was a special promise.
However, Frederick thought Aurora was a fairy at the time. Although he made a promise in his dream to bring a carefree fairy to a place far away, he surely hadn’t seriously thought about it as he over-promised.
Nevertheless, Aurora was still foolishly waiting.
He said that he would come on his next vacation. If he remembered, they would be able to meet again. Aurora thought that when the time came, she would decide whether to leave the island or not.
She could not leave the island alone as the magic power surrounding the island was binding her.
But if an outsider was willing to help, and that person was him, Aurora believed that she would be able to come to a decision.
“Also, Aurora, if you leave this island, you won’t be able to eat any delicious pacific herrings with Gaelic whisky.”
“Those are all your favorite foods.”
Refusing to give in, Nico angrily twirled his whiskers.
“Hey Nico, if I’m not here, could I trouble you to take care of my mother and younger brother?”
“I’m not a human’s babysitter.”
“I know, but at this point, you should readily promise for your close friend.”
“Will running away from home be good for you? If the lecturer doesn’t respond to your feelings, how will you survive alone? Once you leave the island, you cannot come back.”
“Well... I will find fairy doctor work.”
Nico sighed heavily.
“What place would trust a foreign, outsider, fairy doctor?”
She wasn’t sure of this point, but even if she stayed here, she had no choice but to marry someone she didn’t like, let her child be taken away by the fairies, and live a life of forgetting how to laugh.
“I’m sorry, Nico.”
She stroked Nico’s fluffy, gray fur then kissed the top of his head.
Aurora stood up and walked out of the room alone.
Walking down the staircase, she saw her mother’s silhouette in the living room.
The pale light s.h.i.+ning through the window made her look unusually haggard. She sat on the bench with cus.h.i.+ons laid out and was intently weaving a cutwork lace.
Aurora stopped and gazed at her mother for awhile.
Mother had come from the Orkney islands to get married, and heard that the first time she saw Father was on their wedding day.
Though this was not unusual, she got married while completely unaware of the changeling matters, as well as their profound background relations with the fairies. Her psychological trauma in losing a child was presumably very deep.
Although Aurora’s mother was very gentle to her, she heard her relatives say that her mother’s woven lace was for her daughter in the fairy realm.
It is said that when the moon moves close to the horizon once every nineteen years, as long as the items were gathered at the fairy stone circles, then it will be sent to the changeling’s side.
Mother had prayed that the real “Aurora” could grow up safely into adulthood and looked forward to the day she got married, as she knit the lace seam by seam.
Even if Aurora wasn’t here, the changeling will not come back, but if in the future when someone of the family was to become a mother, this could be regarded as a reason to hold doubts and disagree with this tradition, which would be nice.
Because exchanging children was very painful.
Aurora crept past the doorside and stepped outside. She walked through the garden and walked along the white fences, the wind blowing her untied beautiful hair.
The herd of livestock on the narrow pasture, the wilderness of acc.u.mulated peat, the smooth earth surface’s without ups and downs in height, the sun that won’t set, these things were practically masked by the gloomy sky. As she slowly walked, the scenery of the island was seared into her memory.
This island where Aurora was born and had grew up in used formidable magic to entwine her soul with it.
But from the moment Aurora met him, she considered leaving even more.
In fact, she doesn’t know why she felt that way, thus she attributed the reason to her parents’ remorse, and wanted to change the way all the unreasonable responsibilities were placed on this clan.
Perhaps her desire was merely very simple.
She just wanted to be with the person she loved.
This feeling became a sigh, which slipped into the wind.
Aurora suddenly moved her line of sight and noticed a shadow ahead of her on the road.
Once she discovered that it was an unpleasant person, she subconsciously frowned.
That man was Kenneth McKeel, her “second fiance”.
“Where are you going?”
“Taking a walk.”
Although Aurora sped up the pace, he snickered and caught up with her.
He silently kicked and trampled on the group of fairies running beside the gra.s.sroots. Aurora couldn’t stand him at this point.
As he was a member of the McKeel family, even if his abilities were insufficient to become a fairy doctor, he should at least be able to feel the fairies’ presence, but he treated them like bugs. And because he knew how to avoid the fairies’ vengeance, he definitely wasn’t afraid of fairies making this kind of person even more difficult to deal with.
“You’re not going to the inn are you?”
Frederick was an ordinary person, yet he would unconsciously avoid the fairies that were invisible to him.
Because he treated stones with love and respected nature, he was able to face the world consisting of magical things.
Even if he couldn’t see fairies, as long as he held reverent feelings toward them, then he won’t step on them.
Because of this, Aurora felt more attracted to him than she did five years ago.
“Hey, wait. I was entrusted to look after the house while Uncle isn’t here.”
Kenneth grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her over.
As he approached Aurora, strong winds blew across the wheat field, which made howl-like sounds.
“Let me go.”
Aurora wanted to push him away, but he didn"t relax his grip one bit. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Aurora.
"To be honest, I never thought you"d become such an attractive woman. You used to have freckles all across your face and coa.r.s.e stiff hair, but you were also skinny and ugly. This kind of woman was unexpectedly my fiancée, it truly made me disappointed.”
“I’m not your fiancée!”
Despite Aurora glaring at the man she hated the most, he laughed.
“I know that. The changeling’s fiancé is the Prophet from the legends. I heard that guy will awaken and come to marry his fiancée, right? He won’t come. Although this legend was from hundreds of years ago, this man had never appeared. In any case, there are still four days, if the man from the legends doesn’t appear, you’re mine.”
He hugged Aurora, for this is as much as she should merely allow.
“Do you intend to violate the customs?”
“It is you who wants to break the custom, so in that case let me change your mind.”
Aurora was suddenly kissed on the lips.
Although she resisted as much as she could, twisting her body around, she was forcefully grabbed and could not move at all.
At that moment, a small figure jumped out of the bushes.
The shadow leaped onto Kenneth, scratching him with his sharp claws.
“Ah! ....that d.a.m.n cat….!”
“Nico!”
As his ear was bitten, he let go of Aurora. Nico wanted to escape, but he was one step too late and his tail was caught by Kenneth.
“S--stop it! ahhhh!”
Kenneth shook the constantly struggling Nico, and then forcefully tossed him aside.
Aurora wanted to run away, but this time her hair was caught.
Just then, the haystack rustled as a group of mice rushed forth, gathering at Kenneth’s feet, climbing up.
“This is the work… of the fairies?!”
Aurora took advantage of the time while Kenneth recoiled and escaped from his grip.
She picked up Nico, who had collapsed onto the ground, and ran forward without looking back.
“……I clearly called those mice to follow behind me…… to go as far as to make me charge in alone……”
Nico, who was completely limp, said weakly.
“Ahh, actually forgetting their grat.i.tude of me saving them from stray cats… truly a group of heartless guys….”
He then closed his eyes. Aurora shook him while she ran.
“Nico, are you hurt? Is it painful?”
“I’m already….. it’s no good…”
“Hang in there!”
There was no sign of Kenneth catching up, but Aurora kept running forward.
The disgusting feeling of being violently kissed made her constantly clean her lips, rubbing them so much that it hurt. As she was holding a motionless Nico, she was full of anxiety. With this feeling, she trembled as she ran.

(3) The elopement

“The smoky quartz? I’m not sure, I’ve never heard of it being mined on the island before.”
After Frederick had dinner, he was chatting with the inn manager and so he casually asked, but the answer given was very blunt.
“However, if it is a very small fragment, each family household should have it. Ahh, the clan head should have more beautiful crystals.”
“Every family has them?”
“Legend has it that smoky quartz are able to repel evil things. Our ancient ancestors, the Celtics, seemed to have also used smoky quartz to predict the future.”
He held the small crystal that he carried with him for Frederick to see, but once he saw, he knew that it ought to be harvested in a famous source of the Highlands.
The smoky quartz standing stones Frederick saw had a brighter color like amber, was not cloudy, and was clear enough to see through to the other side.
If the standing stones made of smoky quartz of exorcism did exist, then it must have a very special reason to.
In short, he had to confirm the nearby historic ruins one by one. Frederick originally had such an intention, and Aurora was willing to lead the way, which made him more grateful.
She said if they have luck on their side, they may be able to find them.
She might have seen them, so she might know the right place.
The historic ruins were scattered about the wilderness. If there were no roads or objects that could be considered as an indicator that headed towards the historical ruins, in the situation of not knowing the correct direction and distance, it is not easy to reach the same place again.
Nevertheless, the thought of new discoveries, made him feel very excited as a scholar.
Furthermore, he had been unable to calm down since yesterday, was it only related to the smoky quartz?
Frederick tried to recall the smoky quartz he had seen five years ago, but he did not know why he could only think of Aurora’s face.
She was clearly in a lot of pain, yet she smiled while waiting for her lover’s visit before the deadline came.
There was such a lucky man in the world, but he hadn’t discovered his own good fortune.
Frederick thought to himself that he could not stop thinking of these things. Perhaps it was because of the drinks he had at the bar.
He wanted to drink whiskey to clear his head, but he was a little drunk and so he walked out of the inn’s pub. As he was planning to wander about in the vicinity by himself, he noticed a figure discreetly sitting within the shadows of a building.
“Aurora?”
As soon as Frederick called out, she suddenly raised her head.
“....Help me.”
Just barely after Aurora finished speaking, she suddenly clung onto him.
Frederick felt her soft hair touching his neck, panicking to the point of opening his

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