Hakushaku to Yousei

Chapter 3

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P. 89
    It was an abandoned well, but it wasn’t dry. Lydia drawed water from the well with a hand bucket that was buried in the thick gra.s.s after she cleaned it. She found a cracked cup and a distorted iron pot by the corner of the dirt floor of the kitchen-like area.
    The uninhabited shack that was near crumbling, and its wood hinges made creaking sounds every time the wind hit it.
    The place they were at was located quite away from the road, and thanks to the thicket which acted as a blindfold and the sun setting, Huxley wouldn’t realize there was a building here even if he managed to come after them.
    “Hey, Lydia, shouldn’t we hurry up and run out of here?” said Nico, who appeared on the stone hedge that surrounded the well.
    “Where were you. I thought we got separated.”
    “I was following after you with no problem. Although I did make myself invisible.”
    “That’s right, you always disappear when it turns dangerous.”
    “But then what was I suppose to do in that situation? I was at my limit with trying to not lose sight of you.

P. 90
    More importantly, I don’t think you have time to be drawing water.”
    Lydia let out a sigh, and sat down next to Nico.
    He was right. It she were to escape, now was the chance.
    Inside the shack, Edgar might be keeping an eye on them, but he is injured. Maybe she could manage to run him out.
    After being forced on the carriage by the injured Edgar, she wondered how far they traveled. After a while, he stopped the carriage. He told the driver to keep on driving to the next town, and handed him money to keep quiet on top of the charge, got off and started to walk off into the footpaths that weaved through the farm fields.
    Most likely, he must have antic.i.p.ated that Huxley was going to go after the carriage.
    And decided to spend the night in this shack that he found this dilapidated house just as the sun was setting.
    It wasn’t like she was chained, but in the end Lydia decided to follow after Edgar.
    She imagined if she could be relieved of her hopelessness with the company of a killer thief in the dark night road, on that forest road which didn’t have one single street lamp or houses, but decided that was ridiculous.
    That’s right. He was a criminal.
    “He, really was a wanted criminal.”
    “...Looks like it.”

P. 91
    Edgar called the man who introduced himself as Huxley as Gossam. The name Gossam was the name of the family that was victim nearly killed by the robber.
    Huxley must have been Lord Gossam’s son. When Edgar stole the money from their estate, he must have missed his target and shot his own father.
    Anyhow, that was all that Lydia understood.
    “But he called the money he stole compensation. And it sounded like the Gossam family were doing something against the law as well.”
    “Lydia, who cares if the two criminals have a falling out and start to kill each other. That doesn’t mean we have to get involved in it. There’s no need to even check the tattoo on his tongue, that man is not your average robber. Remember he was called Sir John? That’s supposedly the one executed in America…”
    “I’m fully aware of that, Nico.” She looked down at the light cut scar on her palm. It was made when she tried to struggle to get free from Huxley.
    “He saved my life.”
    “Listen, that’s because if something were to happen to you, he wouldn’t be able to find Lord Blue Knight’s jeweled sword.”
    “That’s true. But, there would be no point in getting killed himself by rescuing me.”

P. 92
    “Because he isn’t dead, and he doesn’t have any life threathening injuries. If it were to buy your sympathy, then it must have been cheaper than 500 pounds to him.”
    What he was saying made perfect sense.
    And then Nico held out the palm of his hand, or more like the palm of his paw, in which he had a small white ball.
    “Grind this up and make him drink it.”
    “What is it?”
    “A fairy’s secret sleeping formula. It’ll put him to sleep. Once that happens, then there’s no worry about us being followed or caught. Now the chance since that walking weapon servant of his isn’t with him.”
    “Hm. …..You’re right. The chance to escape is now when Raven and Ermine isn’t here.”
    “Yes, you got to wake up and snap out of it.”
    There really was something wrong with me.
    If I don’t run now, who knows what the robber would do to me.
    Clutching the pill in her fist, Lydia stood up.
    Walking through the door frame that was nearly falling down and entering the shack house, Edgar was in the corner of the small room, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the wall looking exhausted.
    He looked so bad, like if he appeared like a exhausted wounded man, then she might hesitate to try to escape.
    Would it be lighthearted of her to say that he didn’t look like a dangerous person.

P. 93
    There was a fire in the hearth. He must have had matches with him. Broken wooden chair parts and other furniture remains were used as wood for the flames as they built up and warmed the room.
    “It’s not good if you move around.”
    Looking up, he tilted his head as if surprised and wondering why she returned after she went outside.
    Although he could just be pretending that as well.
    “I just lit a fire.”
    Lydia carried the iron pot filled with water over to the heath. And then turned and walked over to where Edgar was.
    “Does it hurt?”
    “A little.”
    “This is comfrey. You better grind the leaves and put it over your wounds. It will stop the bleeding and disinfect it.” She showed Edgar the medicinal herb leaves.
    For a moment he hesitated, and he narrowed his eyes like he wanted to say something, but quietly accepted them.
    “You found them even in this darkness.”
    “About that, would you give me one of your cuffs?”
    “Ahh…., the charge for the medicine.” From one of the cuffholes on his s.h.i.+rt arm, he took off a cuff that had a garnet in it. In a carelessly way, he tossed it over to Lydia.

P. 94
    “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not the one to get this,” said Lydia and threw it out the window.
    “Is there someone outside?”
    “Yes, a fairy.”
    “Well, you certainly overcharge for some common garden leaves.”
    “But wouldn’t be able to find comfrey that’s has grown that much around here.”
    Edgar stared down at the slightly dried, limp leaves, and then he suddenly started chuckling and laughed out loud.
    “So this is your negotiation skills with fairies?”
    “What. Are you saying my fairy talk is absurd?”
    “No, ….it’s just that for a moment there was a part of me that was seriously believing in fairies.”
    “You’re saying you can’t believe them with just this?”
    “Who knows. More than that, I can’t believe you’re still here in front of me.”
    Seeing him with that kind of weak att.i.tude it made her feel like she was the bad one trying to escape.
    She was going to abandon someone injured, someone who had gotten hurt in Lydia’s place.
    She rea.s.sured herself in her head, or gave herself the excuse, that she was only going to make her escape after she tended to his wounds.

P. 95
    Just like Huxley, even Raven and Ermine could be coming after the carriage they were in, so there was no reason for her to panic, and if she waited till it was nearly dawn then it would be safer for Lydia not to have to walk in the dangerous dark roads.
    But like this, it was undeniable that there was a part of her that was hesitant about it.
    But, I was the one that was tricked and used.
    Lydia, moved a few feet away from Edgar and sat down on a creaking chair.
    “Why? I thought it was your forte to trick and threaten people and make them do what you want. My lord?”
    “The spell’s been broken.”
    “I haven’t been under any spell from the beginning,” replied Lydia confidently, although she thought to herself if that was true.
    Even now, she could be remaining here because she couldn’t resist the dangerous charm he released.
    Even though she thought that, she denied it immediately in her mind.
    Alright, he may be someone who has the charming looks and says pleasant things that women would love to see and hear, but what Lydia felt from him, wasn’t something sweet like that, but more like she was curious about his darkness because it was curiously frightening.
    He seemed like a n.o.ble from the time he was born, and yet in truth he was a dangerous criminal. He used his sharp way of talking and perfect smile to capture the hearts of others. But with that brilliant display he covered the truth, and used others with his lies.
    And yet, why would he defend and get injured for her.
    Just as Nico said, it may be because he wanted to get Lydia’s sympathy, but that was just the lucky result, and at that time, in that one second he reacted, it was impossible he was thinking about it that hard.

P. 96
    In the first place, Lydia’s action at that time was too rash and thoughtless and it was completely unpredictable.
    That’s why she must have wanted to find out the mysterious part about him.
    But was they the magic that he used on her as well.
    “I want to know, who are you? Lord Edgar? Or Sir John?”
    Taking off his frock coat, he hesitated for a moment, but answered her question: “Edgar, that was my first name.”
    “What do you mean by "was"?”
    “Because he died. The boy with that name died, when he was twelve, along with his parents. They were suspected of taking part in a rebellion, and his father killed his family and then took his own life. The family line ended there. That’s why, the one in front of you, is just a ghost. You can call me however you want.”
    “But you’re here, alive.”
    “Yes, alive. …..I know I"m in the presence of a lady, but excuse me.”
    He took off his gilet, or waistcoat, along with his blood stained s.h.i.+rt, and wrinkled his perfectly sculptured brows as he inspected his wound.
    Eitherway, the spot where he was was far away from the fire, and so Lydia didn’t mind him.
    Unconcerned with her, Edgar carried on.

P. 97
    “But, it wasn’t like I was rescued. When I came to, I was in h.e.l.l, in a town in South East America. ….I had been sold to a man who wanted a white slave, and a person who was supposed to be dead wasn’t treated as a human there. I escaped from that place four years ago. Raven and Ermine escaped with me. We hid in the downtown district, and evaded the men who hunted for us, we did anything to survive.”
    As she listened to his unimaginable story, the reason she probably didn’t help tend his wounds was because her mind was filled with distrust.
    Even this story, it could be a big lie.
    “And about you being a killer thief? Did you really kill a hundred people?”
    “Rumors tend to get exaggerated as it’s pa.s.sed on.”
    “So did you?”
    “We were in the lowest part of society, in the dirty dumps. Boys the same age as us, would live by by stealing and selling their bodies, and doing that they would only just barely get by. They just lived a life of a stray dog; they couldn’t read or think, and just lived hopelessly. But they were just never told. About the location where gold is hidden, how to get your hands on it and that dirty money was dirty money, something that didn’t exist in the open society.”
    “And that’s how you became their leader and they all called you Sir.”

P.98
    “King of the sewer rats? Yes, maybe. A king just orders his army. He decides the plan, gathers his men, gives them weapons and orders them to go. In a battleground there are sure to be casualties. And that’s indeed my fault, so I won’t say I have never killed anyone. But, I don’t want you to worry so I’ll say this, the money I have been paying with was not stolen. I did jobs as a day laborer, and built up money along with counterfeit gamble, oh, but you wouldn’t approve of that either, anyway, I went around investing in businesses by buying their stocks. That’s the source of my wealth. Luckily, it’s built up so much that no one would suspect me when I called myself a n.o.ble.”
    Lydia could only listen to him quietly. Edgar didn’t change his expression, and talk about himself like he was a different person.
    “However I’m just a man who has no name or ident.i.ty and suppose to be dead. Even if it was legitimate business, I made the deals using another person’s name. Whereever I run to, the mark of a slave follows me, and I tremble at the shadows of my hunters.”
    “The mark… of a slave?”
    “You know already, don’t you? About the cross that I have on me. ….Didn’t you try and look for it on the train?”
    So he was awake and yet he did something like that.
    The offended part of her must have shown up on her face, because he smiled amusingly at her.
    “Your reaction was so cute, I couldn’t help myself.”
    How he could say such a thing, when the conversation was so depressing, was beyond her.

P. 99
    “Next time I’ll make sure to spill bubbling hot water on you.”
    “I won’t do it anymore.”
    “Fine. Then you really do have a tattoo.”
    “It’s not a tattoo, more like a brand. The man who didn’t want me dead, burnt it on me to mean I was his slave. I don’t know where the rumor of the tattoo started from, but it seems like other gangs started to copy it, and thanks to that it made a good cover.”
    So there were leaders of criminal gangs who posed as Sir John all over the place.
    Then no one would know who had started the rumor about the heartless murderer. Before she knew it, Lydia was thinking about his situation positively like that.
    “Then, whose is this man named Gossam? How did you return to England?”
    “Gossam was a doctor, and had come to America looking for specimens to use in his experiments of the human body. On top of that, he wanted the brain of a criminal to do his psychiatric research on.”
    “A, a brain…., and experiments on the human body?”
    “That’s right. I had been captured because someone reported me, and I was waiting for my hanging. And Gossam exchanged me with someone else secretly. It seems he paid quite some money to the ones involved in that.”
    “And so they took your brain?”
    “That’s an interesting remark.”

P.100
    I don’t think so, thought Lydia, what he was saying was all so extreme, and she started to not be able to accept it all.
    He used his unraveled necktie as bandage, and tied it around his wound, how he did that looked like he was used to it.
    Perhaps in the place he was living, injuries happened all the time.
    “He went all the way to get his criminal and brought him back to London, so he tried to get as much data as he could. I was injected with drugs, and other painful experiments that were as close to torture. I wasn’t the only test experiment, there were ones who had their heads opened while still alive, and I saw subjects that were opened up inside. He didn’t only do research on criminals, but used innocent people in his experiments and killed so many.”
    Hearing that, she was beginning to feel sick. Lydia couldn’t imagine that kind of world. The underside of society, filled with conspiracies and madness. She couldn’t imagine what the people who got pulled into that world saw or felt.
    That’s why, she would never fully be able to understand his person.
    “To me, it’s more unimaginable than fairies that there is such twisted parts in people’s hearts. Are you saying there are people who feel indifferent selling other humans and using them as experiments?” Lydia lowered her eyes, and could only barely say those words.
    “You are a fortunate girl. However, humans are creatures that able to do any kind of atrocity.”

P. 101
    She felt the air around her move, and she snapped her head up. Lydia didn’t realize that Edgar was standing right in front of her, looking down at her.
    He was a man who just reached his twenties, yet like he said everything he had was taken, his name, his ident.i.ty, his past, and if it was true that he survived with all his strength, then what was hiding behind that captivating smile of his would be unimaginable to others, making him just a dangerous person.
    What he had in his hands, was the rapier that was set in his stick. Lydia’s body went stiff.
    “I knew about the story and legend of Lord Blue Knight ever since I was a child. I got that gold coin at an antique shop in America. I was planning on looking into it when I eventually returned to England. But even if I came back to London I was still imprisoned by Gossam and couldn’t move. That’s why I had Gossam find the gold coin and hinted that it lead the way to the hidden location of the star sapphire, and waited until he finished researching about it. I couldn’t get killed by him while I was still waiting for Raven and Ermine, so that trick was perfect to buy me some time. But because of that, I have to compete against his family for the treasure but that can’t be helped.”
    “...But then, that means you’re not the real descendant of Lord Blue Knight right? If you have me help you, even though your not the real one, then it will be impossible to get the sword that’s protected by the merrows.”
    “Still my only option is getting that jeweled sword.”
    “Will you be happy getting a fake name? Shouldn’t you be trying to get back your real one?”

P. 102
    Bending down just barely, he lowered his face down to Lydia’s.
    “You’re wrong, Lydia, to think that there’s no worth in something fake. What would be the point in getting back the family name that’s labeled as a rebel? The slave boy and the gang leader are dead. Even if it’s fake, I need a name that’s big with an undeniable presence. I need that secure power so that the ones who put me through h.e.l.l will not be able to put their hands on me. If I cannot obtain the Earl name, then I will just die like the garbage they say I am. But if I do get it, I’ll show you that I make that fake into the real thing,” he said, kindly persuading her, and then held the stick in front of Lydia’s eyes.
    “Nn, Now what?”
    “If a thief had a weapon with him, you wouldn’t be able to sleep right? I’ll leave this with you.”
    Stepping away from Lydia, he sat back down against the wall in the corner.
    His real self was in the grave. If he really lived the fake life as the object of another person’s, then everything was a lie. To him, there wasn’t the real or fake, just the difference of if it being a useful lie or not.
    What he told Lydia, couldn’t be sure to be true.
    But if it was him, then he could make a gla.s.s ball look like a diamond. Just like that, Lydia’s eyes were being covered, and felt persuaded by his thinking of why can’t gla.s.s be considered a diamond.

P. 103
    She even had the thought that perhaps, the name of Lord Blue Knight that this person would claim, would be more suited for him than anyone else.
    On top of that, he gave her charge of his weapon, and treated her like he was a gentleman on the outside. It could be his plot to buy her sympathy, and to prove that, Lydia was started to want to believe he wasn’t a cruel person.
    But of course, she still was cautious of him. Going through the trouble of handing her his weapon, may be his way of checking if Lydia was planning to escape.
    If she were to escape, then that would be trouble for Edgar. It would make his search for the jeweled sword of Lord Blue Knight ever more difficult, and heighten his chance of being caught by Huxley or the police.
    He may be thinking he could manage one girl, even if he handed her his stick.
    Then what would he do if she hinted that she was going to escape. Would be show her the true criminal part of him.
    It was best for her to make him drink the sleeping pill before she needed to see such a side of him.
    Determined, Lydia stood up and peered down into the pot over the fire. She scouped up the hot water with the cup. Dropping the pill that Nico gave her, she added a mint leaf to it, and handed it to Edgar.
    “It may not be fancy as tea, but at least this will calm you down.”

P. 104
    “Ah, thank you,” he smiled at her, showing no worry.
    But Lydia sensed something sharp behind that smile and she suddenly felt her back turning cold.
    The hand that Edgar took the cup in, touched Lydia’s hand. Without thinking she pulled it back, and he grabbed it.
    “What did you put in?”
    “Huh…., Wh, what are you talking about..”
    “Someone who’s plotting something, their behaviors shows their caution. You may think you were doing it unseen, but I saw that you slipped in something other than the mint. It’s dangerous to provoke a criminal with something like this.”
    “Let go of me.”
    “If I let go, you’ll run.”
    “...Of course I would, you’re a burglar!” shouted Lydia, saying something more provoking.
    “You really don’t have any self-defense. Just like the time you were caught by Huxley, you shouldn’t try to get away so recklessly, you’d run out of lives even if you had more than one.”
    “Are you saying you’re going to kill me?”

P. 105
    “I would never dare. If I did, then I wouldn’t find out where the sword was hidden.”
    “Even if you threaten me, I’ll never do as you say!”
    “You really don’t get it. There are other ways of making someone do as you say. Naive little miss, I’m sure you could never imagine how it feels to fall into despair so deep and dark that you didn"t even want to continue breathing anymore.”
    At that moment, Lydia remembered how Ermine described Edgar: a sad man.
    More than being scared of him, she felt her heart hurt for the person in front of her who revealed his true self for the first time.
    It wasn’t the true criminal part of him, it was the pain, the pain of someone who was robed of their happiness and future that should have been promised to them.
    “….You’ve felt despair like that.”
    Suddenly, he frowned.
    Maybe she said something that could have angered him.
    Oh my instinct to sense danger really must be messed up.
    Just as she thought that, Edgar left go of her.
    Still looking like he was in pain, he lowered his face.

P. 106
    Eventually, he said “that’s right” under his breath.
    “The Blue Knight Earl’s sword is my only hope. Lydia, are you abandoning me.”
    His gaze clinged onto her, as if he was trying to stop his lover from leaving him. Lydia too, was about to forget her captive position.
    “….Even if you say that it’s no use.”
    “Please don’t go.”
    “You’re not making any sense. You were the one who threatened me and planned to make me do as you say.”
    “If you say you’re going, then I’ll kill myself.”
    “Wait, that’s your threat?”
    “If my hope will disappear, then I’ll just suffer if I keep living.”
    He was gazing at the cup that Lydia handed to him and then gulped it down in a desperate manner.
    “If this were to be poison and I were to die, then it still wouldn’t hurt you at all.”
    “D-don’t be ridiculous. It’s a sleeping potion.”
    “I see. Then my destiny will be decided when I awake. If you disappeared before my eyes, then my life ends there…. Ah, that doesn’t sound bad. My destiny is in your hands. It’s like words of pa.s.sionate love.”

P.107

P. 108
    You"ve got to be joking.
    He gave the shocked and gaping Lydia a hurt, yet perfectly graceful smile.
    “Goodnight, my fairy.”
    Even if it was in a joking tone, when he said it, it sounded like an honest love proposal.
    Leaving the sound of his sweet voice still ringing in her ears, he lowered down to the floor, wrapped in his coat.
    Immediately he sank into a deep sleep, and Lydia stood looking down at the defenseless site of Edgar.
    “Oh, thank goodness, that was scaring,” said Nico, appearing himself.
    “Geez, Lydia, your timing to put in the potion wasn’t good at all. Well, it worked out all right in the end since he drank it.”
    Poking Edgar with his back leg, he made sure that the potion was working.
    “Now, let’s hurry up and go Lydia.”

    Ted, called that man to Edgar.
    The voice that never disappeared from his memory, still tormented him even in his sleep.

P. 109
    Ted, you’re perfect. All you have to do is look down at those inferior to you and stand basking in the light. Eventually your followers will present themselves and gather around your feet.
    I’ll teach you. How easy it is to manipulate those around you. They wouldn’t be aware how you’ve become able to make then move as you wish.
    Then that’s how you will become me. You will think as I do, rule as I do, and manipulate as I do.
    There is no way that that will happen.
    Because Edgar had managed to escape from the clutches of the man who said that. He didn’t end up like that man wanted.
    He was a man who wore a mask, covering the distorted, ugly half of his face that was said to be from a wound in battle.
    He called himself the Prince, and attempted to make Edgar his puppet.
    He wanted a doll that was loyal and attractive, a puppet that would move, talk and work to his wishes, in his place since he couldn’t appear before the public.
    His dream of robbing the puppet of his will and soul and make it his walking empty sh.e.l.l would never succeed.
    But, once in a while, Edgar would become fearful.
    Everything that he had built up till now could actually be maneuvered by that man.
    Because when Edgar desperately broke out, and hid and tried to survive he ended up using the knowledge and skills that was hammered into him.

P. 110
    If he could successfully put himself above others, acting tolerant and patience towards them which made him appear attractive and charming, then everything would go the way he wanted.
    He could make others happy and nervous, make them pity and fear him at his will, manipulating their feelings and use them to his advantage.
    Yet Edgar knew that those he manipulated like that were not his true allies.
    Trust could not be formed in a master-servant or charismatic-follower relations.h.i.+p, but only when two individuals stood parallel to each other. But that wasn’t easy, it couldn’t be formed between anyone.
    Without any reason, his only allies were Raven and Ermine.
    And he had no other choice so he used options just for the spur of the moment. After all, n.o.body could understand the pain that Edgar and his friends went through. He rationalized that he’d just used them as he pleased.
    Lydia was another one of the many he was going to use, but it didn’t work out.
    If it was a young ignorant girl like that, he thought it would be easy to win her over, but she didn’t trust him immediately like he planned.
    It was unexpected that their ident.i.ties would be revealed because of the appearance of Gossam’s eldest son, but thanks to the wound that Edgar just happened to get, it was an advantage as he could use it to buy her sympathy.
    That’s why he decided to talk about his past. It seemed like she was still hesitating, but in the end, she decided that she still couldn’t trust them.
    When he saw her slip in the pill, there was only one option left to Edgar.

P. 111
    He would make her listen by violence.
    And yet he couldn’t understand why he did such a thing like give her the chance to escape.
    You’ve felt despair like that.
    Why could she think about him when she was faced with a terrifying criminal. At a time when all you could think about was how to protect yourself.
    Edgar became confused as to how he appeared in those golden green fairy-like eyes of hers.
    Usually, he was absolutely aware of how he appeared to others. He was conscious and acted the part, and used to creating the impression he wanted to leave on others, but with Lydia, he felt like she looked past Edgar’s layers of masks to act the part of an evil, inhuman creature.
    He couldn’t believe himself for spilling out his deep, honest feelings for wis.h.i.+ng her to not leave him.
    And no one agree that killing himself could be an effective threat.
    But it didn’t matter to him anymore.
    Rather, he thought it was better if she did poison him.
    A simple sleeping potion gradually drained the power of sleep over him, and brote him to his awakening.
    The light of the sun washed over his eyelids, stirring his awake.
    Edgar slowly opened his eyes.
    The morning sun poured over his body from the open shack roof and the cracks of the walls.

P. 112
    Oh, morning has come.
    A morning by myself.
    “Meow.”
    Hearing the meow of a cat, Edgar sat himself up and spotted a gray cat that had a necktie tied around its neck sitting by the window sill.
    That’s Lydia’s cat. Why is it here. Just as he wondered that, the sight of the girl, clutching his stick and sleeping up against the back of the chair near the hearth came into his eyes.

    “Geez, I really can’t keep up with this anymore,” mumbled Nico and threw a scone at the young man who was completely dazed, staring at Lydia.
    Hitting him on the head, he turned back to the cat. He still tilted his head like he didn’t know what he just witnessed, maybe at the reason why Lydia didn’t escape, or maybe at the impossibility that a cat threw a scone at him with one of its front paws.
    He glanced at the scone that dropped down by him, and didn’t move like it would hurt his pride to receive spared food from a cat.
    “Eat it,” said Nico, in a purposefully arrogant way.

P. 113
    “Uhh, Nico, wasn’t it. Thank you for your offer but I’m fine. Just like how you prefer your tea hot, it goes against my policy to receive food from others.”
    “Hmm, so you can comprehend what I’m saying.”
    “...It may be my imagination, but you sound rude when you talk.”
    “Oh, I see, you’re the type of human that can hear us but doesn’t realize that you are. There are halfway humans like you every so often. Well, no mater, as long as you can understand what I’m saying. Now pay attention, you b.l.o.o.d.y villain, if you do anything to Lydia I’ll never forgive you.”
    Opening his mouth and hissing with his fangs must have sent his message to Edgar.
    “Ah, so you are worried about Lydia,” said Edgar, looking back over to Lydia.
    “I wonder why she didn’t leave.”
    “Who knows.” To Nico, that was a major dissatisfaction.
    Nico said that if the thief died on his own, then that would be good for society to Lydia, but she didn’t leave.
    Perhaps her feeling of sympathy to him for getting wounded in her place must have won. Even if he really died, then that could have haunted her dreams.

P. 114
    But Nico thought that if someone depended on Lydia, she couldn’t turn them down. Even though she was called a fairy changeling when she was little and treated like the freak of town, she never came to hate people.
    Instead she believed that people like her were born to become the bridge between humans and fairies and she would eventually become needed for her gift.
    For now she worked for the townspeople who were making fun of her by starting with handing a ‘fairy doctor’ sign which emphasized her soft-heartedness, and if there was someone in trouble she was sure to come to their help.
    That’s why she couldn’t come to hate Edgar that she could leave him to die.
    “Maybe she fell in love with me.”
    “That’s impossible.”
    “Maybe, you’re right.”
    The sunlight reflected on her hair brightening its reddish brown s.h.i.+ne.
    Edgar stood up and slowly stepped over to Lydia. But stopped when Nico jumped down onto Lydia’s lap.
    “Are you saying I can’t? I’m just going to touch her a little, so overlook it just this once.”
    “In your dreams.”

P. 115
    Ignoring the hiss, he reached out his hand. He touched the smooth hair that was hanging down across her cheek.
    Lydia opened her eyes a crack.
    The sunlight reflected off her golden green eyes she saw fairies with.
    “Good morning, Lydia.”
    To top it off, before Nico could react, Edgar slipped up Lydia’s hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand.
    “Huh…, what were you planning to do! You pervert!” Lydia scammered up in a panic.
    “Nothing really. Since your cat was guarding you.”
    Was it really worth sympathizing for this frivolous b.a.s.t.a.r.d, thought Nico as he gave out a sigh.
    “Hey Lydia, I brought you some scones, let’s have breakfast.”
    She caught the scone he threw at her with both her hands, but still eyeing Edgar suspiciously.
    “I thought you had already hated me, so I’m happy to meet you again.”
    “...I do hate you. I hate liars. That’s why I hate you too.”
    “But you decided that you wouldn’t abandon me.”
    “That’s, because I’m a fairy doctor and I accepted your job offer. But it’s not like I’m saying I’ll help you get the Lord Blue Knight’s sword. If the merrows are protecting it, then I want to make it clear that it’s out of your reach.

P. 116
    Merrows aren’t bad fairies but they are powerful. And it’s my job as a fairy doctor to teach a careless thief like you, who doesn’t believe in fairies, that what you"re doing is pointless.”
    “I will take that as you’re worried about me.”
    “...More like it’s my policy.”
    “Let’s work together and get the sword.”
    “Edgar, are you listening to me?”
    “Ahh, you’re going to call me by that name.”
    “...Well, that is your real name isn’t it?”
    “You"ve made me so happy, Lydia.”
    It looked like he was his old self again. Lydia leaned back when he held her hands.
    “You weren’t really planning on dying, weren’t you….”
    Of course he didn’t, said Nico.
    “I’m alive thanks to you. You saved my life.”
    “All right, now let go!”
    This man maybe more troublesome than a merrow, mumbled Nico as he worried about the road ahead.

P.117
    When the Scotland yard visited the residence of Professor Carlton in London, it was just after he asked for the help from a police acquaintance of his.
    The letter that arrived from his daughter Lydia several days ago had the date of when she left the house, but even when it came the day when the s.h.i.+p reached London, she didn’t appear.
    She didn’t give him any notice after that and he became worried, and even though he sent a letter asking what happened to this house in Scotland, he couldn’t stand waiting for a reply and asked about it to the police just in case.
    According to the police officer that came to his London home, there was no sign that she used the cabin room of the s.h.i.+p that was bought under the name Lydia Carlton. And the day that that s.h.i.+p left Forth harbor, there was a witnessing of a man who resembled the burglar behind the robbery at the Gossam estate at the same harbor, even a report that he kidnapped a young girl.
    “Of course that doesn’t mean your daughter was the one that was taken,” added the police officer.
    “So was there any news from then? Like a contact from the kidnapper or a randsom note…., even if it isn’t anything direct, something like a report of someone suspicious walking around or something that you’ve picked up.”

P.118
    “Nothing has happened, and we don’t want anything to happen and that’s why I contacted the police.” Even Carlton, who was normally calm, couldn’t stop from panicking when it came to the only precious daughter of his.
    And the chance that she could be kidnapped by a criminal, that’s terrible!
    He ran his fingers through his hair which made his straggly hair even more disarranged.
    “Then, if there’s contact from the kidnapper, please let me know immediately.”
    “What if there’s no contact? You’re not going to start looking for my daughter now?”
    “For now, we are searching for the rumored burglar, and the search is only within England. And it may be the case that the kidnapper has left the country, and so the connection between your daughter could disappear. Please understand that can mean searching for your daughter only would become highly difficult.”
    Being told that businesslike and after the police left, Carlton sank down onto the sofa and dropped his head into his hands.
    Only after being shaked on the shoulder by his a.s.sistant at the university did he snap out of his blank state of mind.
    “Professor, what happened? Are you sick?”
    “Ah? Ah, it’s you Langley.”
    Carlton pushed up his round spectacles and thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up.
    “I know I shouldn’t be sitting around. My daughter could be kidnapped.”

P. 119
    “What! Really?”
    “That’s why I’m going to go search for her. Langley, I’m leaving my work up to you.”
    “Please just wait a moment. How are going to search and where?”
    “I’m going to check my Scotland residence, and then…” As he spoke, he went into his bedroom and opened up a suitcase. Opening the closet, he starting throwing in his clothes.
    “There wasn’t any word from your house over there, right? And you do have any clues to follow?”
    “...No.”
    There was no way that one person could search for what the police couldn’t.
    Carlton dropped his shoulders and sat down on his bed.
    “Please calm down. I’ll have the maid make some tea. And then let’s think what we can do.”
    Langley was used to handling the professor. His daughter described Carlton as largely useless besides his research, and even his a.s.sistant could see that. His body was on the thinner side, and he didn’t care about his clothing or hairstyle, he even would walk around the campus grounds with a book open and get his foot caught and crash into a tree and be attacked by a dog.
    But to his students that didn’t lower his quality as a professor.

P. 120
    “Ah, yes. You’re right. I’m sorry for panicking like that.”
    Becoming a little calmer, Carlton thought that if it wasn’t something major like a kidnapping and she came into some sort of trouble, then if he just waited then everything would be solved eventually.
    Lydia was a daughter who could take care of herself, and that’s why he wasn’t that worried about living away from her. After some time he’d get word from her, or she was sure to pop up.
    But then, what if she was involved into some sort of trouble.
    If it was a burglar, then the kidnapper would contact him for a random. Till then, he couldn’t do anything.
    Or if the kidnapper wasn’t after money, and using her as a hostage till he could escape, then would she be released after he was done with her, or…..
    The more he thought about it, the more he became terrified. The tea with brandy in it didn’t help to calm him down at all.
    “The burglar that broke into the Gossam residence…wasn’t it? If it was true, then it really is a strange connection, isn’t it?”
    At his a.s.sistant’s words, Carlton brought his head up.
    “What connection?”

P. 121
    “Well, do you remember that Dr. Gossam came as a guest to the university several times? He came to ask Professor about the legendary treasure.”
    Carlton was a professor of natural history, but he specialized in minerals. He especially knew about gems and jewels, and was currently trying to categorize not only the currently existing, but also ones that existed in the past, as well as ones that were in legends and dreams.
    For example, the emerald that was thought to have brought success to Alexander, or Cleopatra’s ruby that was said to bring the downfall of the owner, and to top it off, the mysterious Ca.s.sandra’s crystal, the jasper of Salome, and the iolite of King Solomon.
    This was only an attempt to comprehensively put together a list of the miraculous heritages created by nature, and nothing related to the currently popular occult.
    But he did periodically meet with guests from that area who had questions.
    Carlton remembered the name Gossam who was one of those people. Now that he recalled, that man came asking about the location of the legendary star sapphire.
    “Oh yes, that gentleman who was interested if the gemstone ‘Merrow’s Star’ existed or not.”
    “Do you really believe it exists?”

P. 122
    “Well it is a legend. But apparently it did exist around 300 years ago. A man called Earl Ashenbert was said to have one. However he, well I don’t know if it was him, but in the story “Blue Knight Earl” by F. Brown, it only says that he left it in the care of merrows and disappeared. There’s talk that that book is fiction, so it’s not proof, and there’s record that the Earl remains overseas and hasn’t returned, so the gemstone may have disappeared along with him. For example, if it was on a s.h.i.+p that sunk, it’s now at the bottom of the ocean. The romantic creation of merrows may have come from that.”
    But how could that be related to Lydia disappearing?
    The burglar that broke into Gossam’s house went after Lydia?
    Just when something was going to connect in his mind, the maid made another announcement.
    “You have a guest who says he is the son of Mister Gossam.”
    “What?” The professor ran out of the drawing room and personally invited in the guest.
    The man introduced himself as the third son of Dr. Gossam, and after he sat down on the drawing room sofa, he said “Have you heard that my father was shot by a burglar and is currently in the hospital? I actually came to tell you professor, something about this incident is related to something important to you.”
    “Is it about the merrow’s star?”
    The third son gave a face like he was surprised. But he quickly tightened his face and nodded.

P. 123
    The burglar wasn’t after money, but was also interested in the ‘merrow’s star’. Our father continued looking for the jewel by using the information he asked from you. And finally, he was lead to the mysterious riddle inscribed on the Earl’s gold coin that he thought pointed to the hidden location, but that was also taken by the thief. The riddle contained names of various fairies, and so no one knew the meanings behind them, so just when father was looking for someone who knew about fairies, professor, he heard word that your deceased wife had been a fairy doctor.”
    Oh no, Carlton thought, and sqeezed his sweating fist.
    “And father found out that your daughter had taken up the fairy doctor business and was just about to ask for her help.”
    “Oh, I remember,” interrupted Langley. “I met Mr. Gossam coinsedently on the road just a while back and was asked about professor’s daughter.”
    “And you told him that Lydia was a fairy doctor.”
    “Well, uh, yes, but it was just something that came up in our chitchat…. But then again the last time I met your daughter was some years ago, so even if I was asked her description, I could only remember that her hair color was a rusty iron color,” replied Langley, apologetically.

P. 124
    Even if his apprentice said so, it wasn’t like Carlton was hiding his daughter so it wasn’t his place to blame him.
    “No, Langley, it’s not your fault. ….And so you’re saying that the thief also found out about my daughter.”
    “Regrettably, yes. So there is a possibility that your daughter may be in the hands of the criminal.”
    “Ah, yes, I was told that by the yard as well.”
    Giving out a heavy sigh, Carlton dropped his head. It was the worst situation.
    The third son tweaked his brow.
    “I see. But you cannot rely on the police. Currently my eldest brother had put a description of the thief in the paper all over the country and has put out a reward to gather any information. And so we would like to ask you, professor, for your help.”
    “I’ll do anything I can.”
    “There was a witness report of your daughter and the thief like man getting on a steam train heading west to Scarborough. If she was threatened by the b.a.s.t.a.r.d into finding the jewel, then would you know if there be any place your daughter may be heading in that direction?”

P. 125
    “But I’m not familiar about fairies like my daughter is.”
    “You know much more than we do, more importantly the safety of your daughter is at stake.”
    It was just as he said.
    The third son showed him a paper with the riddle printed on it and a map. He said that the map was marked with places related to Earl Ashenbert 300 years ago who was said to have the ‘Merrow’s star.”
    Where would Lydia have gone if it was her.
    “So professor we’d like to ask you to accompany us in order to save your daughter.”
    “Of course I will come. Will you be leaving right now?”
    “Yes, but the heading.”
    “Let’s think about that in the carriage.”
    It was the first time for his apprentice Langley to witness Carlton making decisions so rapidly other than for his work.

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