P. 8
The nervous young debutante, who was spoken to, lifted her head up that was faced down to take a quick peek out the window of the carriage they were riding.
Her eyes recognized the Central Hall Cathedral, which stood tall and rising above the cl.u.s.ter of city buildings around it as the fog blurred its silhouette, making it almost appear like a giant was standing up and looking over the foggy city.
The young girl took a modest, small glance at the source of the male voice who sat next to her, but quickly turned her focus back to her hands that were placed on her lap.
“Oh, there is no need to be formal. I am so fortunate to be able to spend time with a charming young lady like you.”
P. 9
Even if she knew it was just flattery, she couldn’t make her heart beat slow down. The shy girl wasn’t able to lay her eyes on the owner of this carriage, which was grand on the inside as it was on the exterior.
And yet it was unbelievable that the rumored Earl had remembered a girl like her, who although he had met her, he had hardly spoken to her, and happened to pa.s.s by her when she couldn’t catch a coach, and offered to take her home.
The young girl stole another glance at the man next to her for another confirmation that this was indeed reality.
“You’re so reserved.”
“Or are you regretting getting onto a carriage of a man you barely know?”he asked.
“Rumors appear out of nowhere and disappear like the fog. No one really knows the truth and they aren’t interested in it,” he said and then unexpectedly leaned his body towards her, making her go stiff as a rock.
But his fingers stopped just near the air around her locks and he pulled back his arm to reveal he was holding a tree leaf.
Without thinking about what she was doing, she looked up and their eyes met.
A man she hardly knew. He was right.
“They say there is evil lurking in the London fog. Are you aware of how many young girls and boys have been swallowed up and disappeared into this fog, Lady Doris?”
P. 11
“Please be careful, so that you are not swallowed up by the darkness.”
The coachman opened the door, and she let out of breath of relief seeing that they were in front of her house.
But after she watched the Earl’s carriage ride off down the street into the thick fog and out of sight, she could understand how people believed that man’s lands were said to be located beyond the realms of the fog, in a different realm.
He is said to be the Lord of the Fairyworld.
“Rosalie! yes, uh.”
“Are you trying to gain an advantage over me?”
“Why aren’t you looking me in the eyes? Have you been hiding something from me lately?”
“Listen well, you will never be able to hide something from me. You had better not forgotten we swore an oath with a fairy.”
“Then, tell me. What was that letter you were writing behind my back?”
“What? Was it something that would trouble you if I saw it?”
“Oh, you were hiding something from me! You haven’t forgotten that if you break our oath, that the fairy would come and punish you?”
“But, Rosalie, do you really think a fogman exists?”
The fogman. It was a fog fae that any London child would be told growing up. She wasn’t at the age to believe fairytales, but she did believe some bit of it because it frightened her to no end.
She wondered what happens when someone is captured by the fogman.
As she watched her orange-haired cousin run off into the distance, she felt the isolation of being abandoned in the fog all by herself.
Mayfair-it was a renown district where it housed the properties of wealth and prestige in London. It one of its corners, was Edgar Ashenbert"s castle-like town house.
As the private fairy doctor coerced into being hired by the earl family, it had been two weeks since this seventeen-year-old had started to commute to his residence.
Just as most people were, he also couldn"t see faeries or hear their voices, but fairies lived on the lands that he inherited as the earl and since they accept him as their overlord, he must have thought that problems would arise where he would need the help of a fairy doctor, and so he decided to hire Lydia.
However, now, in the 19th century, the existence of faeries was pushed into children"s books, and everyone has forgotten that they were their neighbors. Even the existence of fairy doctors was thought of as rare.
It was easily said that this honorary position was unbefitting for someone as fresh and inexperienced as Lydia, but the reason she couldn"t think herself fortunate and feel grateful was because of her employer and the face that she didn"t know what he was thinking.
The room was filled with flowers in vases.
"Presents from the master," replied Tomkins, the butler, from behind her.
"The master had duties and is absent today, but he wished that Miss Carlton would please spend your day leisurely." Lydia was relieved to hear that Edgar was out of the house.
Lydia still hadn"t done any decent, honest work.
P. 16
Lydia thought she was practically his doll.
The carpet and wallpaper had a yellowish, light green tone to set off the beautiful sofa and cloths decorated with fine lace and embroideries and the graceful silk curtains made with plenty of pleats.
And, several of the ordered dresses have arrived, so please verify their sizes.
"Yes, they are for when you will be going to the Royal Opera House next month."
"Then, you shall be informed soon. We have prepared several dresses for in the future when you go to the social settings where you will need them. Oh, please do not feel offended. This is just one of the equipments for your employment supplied by the earl family.
Either way, girls were ornaments to him to stand beside him and help magnify his charm. And because she felt that, Lydia had resistance against this flower presents and taken out to glamorous social gatherings.
One couldn"t tell it off as a joke when Edgar said it. Lydia wanted to put her head in her hands.
His family had been in service as the Earl"s butler for generations and he was eager to serve his new master who had returned from a three-hundred year absence, but she was curious to know if he was happy with that frivolous young chap.
"Oh..I see, so it"s a world of compet.i.tion."
"But I have no intention of playing competing with Edgar."
"Where to? My lady."
The thought that if she were to sit still here, made her think she was doing just what Edgar wanted her to do and that was irritating.
"You can tell?"
"Then, I"ll be back before that."
She wondered how long she had to stay here in London. Lydia had originally only came out from the Scotland countryside to spend Easter with her father.
But for Lydia, that countryside home of theirs was her haven, where her memories rested about her mother who pa.s.sed away when she was little, and above else, she loved how it housed many different trees and plants and fairies.
Even if she were to choose her country living now, her father was sure to agree.
Since she was hired by the Earl, she wouldn"t be able to leave London without Edgar"s permission.
To have a job that dealt with fairies was a rare one, but she couldn"t make herself think that going along with Edgar"s playful antics was part of her job, and so she thought it might be possible to retire back into the countryside still as his private fairy doctor.
"Oh, goodness, this fish is really awful."
No, he wasn"t really a cat but a fairy, and he was walking on all fours like a normal feline on top of the brick wall.
"Now I understand why the alley cats aren"t even going near the place. The food was not meant for me."
P. 20
"Then what is that?"
"They said it is a tin can. According to the hobgoblins who were sleeping under the eaves, this has the most delicious thing to eat in all of London."
"What, fish? I never saw a fish like this."
"Huh? So this is a container? There"s no way it can be; there"s no hole to put it through."
Nico was examining the can by turning it round and round and knocked on it to test its hardness and as he began to realize what it was the hair on the back of his neck rose up in outrage.
"Now, don"t get too bothered by this. Let"s have it opened up later. Even if it"s fish, I"m sure it"s something that couldn"t be normally caught around here."
P. 21
The sky was filled with clouds and the fog was starting to set in around them, but entering an area surrounded by trees was just relaxing in itself.
It wasn"t much compared to the woods of Scotland, but places like this in London still had many fairies. Once they figured out Lydia could see them, a human who could see them must have been rare, as they began to gather into a swarm around her.
As she calmly let the time roll by, the view around suddenly grew dark. She thought a big cloud of fog had rolled up around her, but she heard the deep, rumble of dog"s barking.
"Oh, no, Nico. I wonder if there"s stray dogs on the loose."
"Oh, wait, Nico!"
P. 22
A large dog stepped out growling. One by one, more came out from the dark and circled around her.
One of the canines jumped up to attack her, and she didn"t hesitate to throw the can that was in her hand. It hit its mark, and the dog tumbled to the ground, but it looked like that only sparked and stirred up the other dogs.
It was a large man clothed in all black and he appeared like he came rising up out of the fog.
The man reached out his hand towards Lydia.
What? A kidnapper?
A pool of blood oozed out from under his body and soaked the ground red and the one who stood behind him as he looked down with absolutely no expression on his face was a young man with hazel skin.
"Ahhhh!"
The young man rocketed at her with the knife in his hand aimed at the dog. In one slash, he gashed opened the animal"s neck.
"We must leave, Miss Carlton."
"Hurry, we need to leave this area."
When they finally reached an area where there were some people, Lydia suddenly felt sick.
She checked her clothes and hair and they weren"t dirty or stained at all, yet, she felt as if she was soaked with invisible blood that was splashed back onto her.
"Couldn"t you go easy on them just a little," was what she wanted to say, but Lydia knew that that sort of standard evaluation of his was much too different than hers.
"No, ....I"m fine."
The city was sure a dangerous place.
She even needed to watch out for pickpockets and purse-s.n.a.t.c.hers in crowded areas, and even if there was no one around, thieves or perverts would be looking for a chance to go after her.
But still, to have Raven follow after her didn"t put her at ease at all.
But the part about not knowing someone good enough was the same for Edgar who was his master.
Edgar came running into her flower-filled work office, and overly reacted like he was relieved and quickly took both of Lydia"s hands.
P. 25
Lydia speedily shook off his grip.
"I"m glad I could be of help."
"I didn"t antic.i.p.ate that. This was purely for the purpose to guard you."
Lydia stared up at him like a hawk as he looked back at her worryingly, but those soul-melting ash mauve eyes and stunningly handsome looks hid what he was really planning skillfully in the dark.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Raven entering the room through the doorway.
"Is that true, Lydia? It must be because you went through such a terrifying experience." As he said that, he leaned in as if to peer in closer to her eyes, which made Lydia scoot herself the other direction on the sofa.
P. 26
For Lydia, who was called an oddball and excluded from the group and hence not used to being in close contact with the opposite gender, all of that appeared improper and displeased her, but he carried on in spite and laid his hand on her forehead.
"It"s because I saw blood, but I"m fine now!"
"Blood? Did you kill?"
It was normal for Raven not to move a muscle on his face. He was forever loyal to Edgar and didn"t give any excuse and answered his master"s question in a calm, composed manner.
"One man plus four."
"He had dogs with him."
P. 27
P. 28
With a nod, Raven set down a gla.s.s of water and medicine on the table, as well as a tinned iron object.
It was the tin can that Lydia threw at the dogs.
"A can of fish?"
Raven wasn"t the sort of person to make a joke, so that must mean he thought Lydia always carried around a tin can to be ready to throw it at something.
As if saying it had nothing to do with me, Nico opened his mouth in a yawn.
"Would you like to find out?" Lydia replied.
Replying with a crack of a smile, he stood up to sit down on the sofa opposite of her.
"You don"t have to over-do everything like that, I"ll just be more careful from now on."
"But I"m not a peer. I"m used to traveling by myself and I prefer to."
"Father doesn"t mind any of that."
I"m not sure if that"s true.
That didn"t mean that the upper cla.s.s believed in the existence of faeries, but they only accepted the seasonal sense of humor of the family that had inherited that name from generation to generation; but the reason society accepted him so readily was probably because of how Edgar was able to act like the ideal, perfect n.o.bleman that no one could find fault in.
P. 30
"Yes, that"s why."
"The reason you want to dress me up like a lady is because it would take away your boredom, wouldn"t it? You must be out of your mind to supply this office and send these flowers."
"Huh? How would I?"
He pressed his lips lightly against the rose that was near him. He looked at her with his heated, luring eyes, and they made Lydia be under the impression like she was the one getting a kiss on her eyelid.
"And you are the fairy in the flower garden. By having you sit here, this room is completed like one marvelous painting. Just like I thought; it"s a beautiful sight. Ahh, yes, would you allow a small violet to bloom beside you. To stand in my place so that I can always be watching you; I think it will highlight that beautiful caramel hair of yours."
P. 31
She regretted that she asked, and he held out a violet in front of her-it had the same color as his eyes-and although tired, she accepted it.
Edgar shrugged, like he still had more he wanted to say.
"I treat you as a lady because I didn"t hire you as one of my servants. It"s because I feel you are an important, irreplaceable member of this earl family."
"This t.i.tle was something you gave me, and so this isn"t just mine alone, but I feel it was thanks to you. You, as a Fairy Doctor, are my important partner."
"A jewel"s value is only when it captures and mesmerizes the eyes of many people. It"s a waste to leave a young and beautiful fairy doctor behind the curtain."
Although Edgar was an exception, he was sure to be saying the same sort of flattering lines to anybody.
"And, why is that? Isn"t it to make you stand out more."
He said it in a timid tone like he was unconfident; and that made it seem like he was confessing his unbearable feelings for her.
Edgar was a man not to be trusted. He wasn"t twisted from the core, but he could do any heartless act if it was necessary.
"Do you want to keep an eye on me that much? Is it because I"m the only other person besides Raven that knows you were the criminal that was supposed to be executed in America? I don"t have any plans of revealing that, so you can relax. For all the faeries that accepted you as their new earl, I"ll do anything I can to help as a fairy doctor. So it isn"t necessary to flannel me or pretend to flirt with me."
P. 33
Why are you making that face? Because you felt stinged by what I said?
"I see, I never imagined you hated me that much."
"Then, does that mean I"m not hated?" Edgar whipped away in a blink of an eye and he suddenly had her hands in his.
"So it"s more towards like?"
The smile that made any girl fall under a romantic ill.u.s.tion came right up to hers.
Edgar made a sour smile but he still let go of her hands, so that must have meant he sensed her feelings about there being no romance or desire.
She already had her back to him, but hearing that, she whipped around.
"Hmmm, when faeries come up in the conversation, your golden green eyes give off a keen sparkle. I wager my strong rival are faeries, no doubt."
Of course, it wasn"t a fairy but a human man that came after her, but she couldn"t help feel fate of hearing the word fogman again.
"Oh, no, she"s played just like the Earl wanted her."
The more high cla.s.s a fairy was, they could make their reflections appear and disappear at will.
"I wonder what"s going to happen. It"s obvious that he"s a scoundrel and as long as he doesn"t do anything to Lydia, then there"s no use for me to stand up," uttered Nico but as he said that, he wasn"t really against Lydia going in-and-out of the castle-like estate of Edgar who was beginning to consolidate his position as earl.
The food and spirits were also quite excellent. The air was filthy in London and it was so noisy, and he was really getting tired of this city, but he was beginning to rethink about staying here at little bit longer.
"Shall I pour a fresh cup?"
"Yes, make it especially hot," asked Nico, handing out his teacup.
Edgar might have sensed something, but Nico didn"t have the intention of lowering his guard around him, so he continued to pretend like a cat.
Giving the sense that something was off and making him believe he would never be able to understand their true nature was just right.
"Oh, as in?" said the butler in a half-hearted reply, as he poured hot Darjeeling into the cup.
"Wouldn"t you have been mistaking that for someone else?"
"Maybe so."
"Did someone get on?"
"I haven"t the faintest idea."
Tomkins only replied by curving his full lips into the shape of a smile.
That was what this man"s features resembled, because he had merrow blood, and that made Nico lick his lips.
"Oh, could you open that up? That can."
"I"m just going to give it a taste."
He stared at the can, swallowing the wad of saliva in his mouth as he wondered if it was really the most delicious thing in London.
P. 38
As if it was trying to resist Nico trying to eat it, it emitted hostility through its steel cover.
And then he took the can and tapped it, shook it, and clamped his fangs onto it.
Could there be some strange creature lurking inside it?
"For now, I"ll hold back on taste-testing it," said Nico crossing his arms, as he looked down at the can.
Escorted by Edgar, Lydia entered the salon facing the south of the house to see that the visitor was a woman, who stood up to greet her with a nervous expression.
Hearing his introduction, the woman let the anxiety roll off her shoulders.
A fairy doctor isn"t a witch. She raised her eyebrow as she thought that, but it was a common mistake, however on second thought, she decided that it wasn"t something to make a fuss about.
Edgar invited Ms. Marl to take a seat.
Ms Marl sat herself down, and at Edgar"s question, she drooped her head.
A baron"s daughter went missing. And, the story seems to be that she was kidnapped by a fogman. Lydia tightened her expression at the seriousness of the situation.
Ms Marl had been the tutor in the past for the Worpole family, but she left her post due to her marriage, but had been keeping in touch with the baron daughter even after that. Since she was a distant relative of the baron family, she was searching for the whereabouts of the baron daughter and worried for her safety as her friend.
Well, Lydia was also frequently laughed at for bringing up the topic of faeries, so she knew how she felt.
Apparently she felt he was sincere, trustworthy and so she could rely on him. But, Lydia"s thoughts on that were, she has sure been tricked into thinking that.
"Yes, I remember the fog that day was so thick you couldn"t see two steps in front of you," said Edgar.
"Then, why do you think it"s a fogman? Even if she did disappear on a foggy night. These days, there aren"t that many people who take the fogman seriously," said Lydia.
"Fairy egg?"
Why would you know a game that"s favored amongst girls? Lydia really wanted to question that at him, but decided it was only silly.
"So you"ve tried it."
You good-for-nothing man.
"So, Mrs. Marl, that fairy egg is just a simple game. Even if there wasn"t a fairy, one of the partic.i.p.ating members must have purposefully, or even unco