Chapter 15: Volume 3 - CH 1

P. 8 

***

The place that Paul Foreman, who was wearing the best clothes he could rent, was stepping inside a place for the first time was a salon that was open to the fashionable social circles.   

P. 11 

There were many remarkable individuals who were attending this exhibition held in this high-class club which was a common place for the upper-class society members to attend. 

The numerous paintings that were being hanged up on display in the spacious hall were in the currently popular styles and were selected one after another by the Royal Academy . All shared a central theme on being based on a romantic story, and the design of the early period of the Renaissance was delicate and graceful with a fragile beauty and was hailed as befitting to the reign of England ’s beautiful Majesty the Queen. 

However, there were also paintings from young painters who were unheard of. If one of their works was able to catch the eye of any of the ladies or gentlemen, then they could have a chance to step out into the world of art. So, because of that, Paul and his works that were just starting out were put in a brilliant frame prepared by the art dealer and was hanged out with the rest of them under the grand chandelier. 

However, as of the moment, there wasn’t any gentlemen who stopped to stand in front of his painting. 

He was told that it was a little too simple and nondescript. He was well aware of the taste of the upper-class, but he wasn’t able to change his style that easily. That’s why he wasn’t expecting all that much from this display. 

More than that, Paul’s attention was hooked onto something else inside the salon. 

There was a young blond-haired man who stood out in the center of a crowd who were currently in a lively conversation. 

He had the picturesque beauty that could blur over the beautiful men and women in the paintings. When he moved, the air around that area also moved. It was like the light was following where he was going, making the shadows move as well.   

P. 12 

But it wasn’t that that Paul had his attention on. 

He reminded him of someone. It was like he was the future grown-up image of a young boy from his memories. 

A young boy who had supposedly died. 

“Paul, what are you daydreaming about. This is your chance.” 

The young painter snapped back into reality and finally realized that the young man his eyes were following was standing in front of his own painting. 

The art dealer quickly pulled him. When the two of them came up to the young man, the art dealer spoke up in a deferential gesture like an art dealer would. 

“How about it, my lord. Don’t you think it is a marvelous painting?” 

The name of the young earl, who was the hot subject of the ton’s gossip, was Edgar Ashenbert. He was said to have returned from overseas just this spring. 

“Indeed. Is this Titania?” 

“Yes. The motif is the fairy queen from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.” 

From the shadows of a primrose, the moon fairy was lying asleep. The earl’s eyes that were glued onto the painting looked as if he had fallen in love with her. 

It wasn’t the power of the painting. Paul was surprised to learn that just having the earl gaze at it, it made the painting seem like it was starting to radiate a glowing light.

P. 13

Just like how the earl’s softly fitting goatskin gloves, or the knot of his necktie, and even the sheen of his fine evening coat appeared like it was a piece of art. 

It even gave the illusion like there was the faint aroma of a flower that was drifting out from the painting. 

That aroma was from a noblewoman who had approached them, but it was long before any of them could realize that it was so. 

“Isn’t this theme a perfect match for my lord?” said the noblewoman wearing a blue dress. 

The art dealer didn’t waste the opportunity to sell. 

“Why, of course, the lord earl would know more about fairies than anyone in the ton. Even I, myself had chosen the best piece of work from the numerous paintings of fairies.” 

And then, the art dealer turned around to look at Paul. He hurried to introduce him as the one who created this painting. 

The earl who was said to run an estate in the world of fairies looked over to Paul and gave him a pleasant smile. 

He was told that the young earl was only just past twenty. He was younger than Paul and yet those eyes of his that concentrated onto the fledgling painter appeared like that of a generous patronage. 

He worried if it was the foolish attempt to try to win the favor of the earl. Though feeling a bit of diffidence, Paul was nudged by the art dealer’s elbow and so he managed to give his greetings as best as he could. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you. Lord Ashenbert.”   

P. 14 

“Do you frequently do fairy paintings?” 

“Ah, yes. I really like imaginative literature on fairies such as Drayton and Spencer.” 

“Have you seen one?” 

“Huh?” 

He was being asked if he ever witnessed a fairy before. However, Paul was taken aback and confused if that question was a joke or serious. 

His name, Earl of Ibrazel (Fairy world) was indeed romantic that it roused the interest of people, but Paul thought it was just a name. There were other peers who had titles to estates that didn’t exist. 

“My lord, it isn’t nice of you to play fun with an innocent artist,” said the noblewoman. 

“Why, my lady. Do you not believe in the existence of fairies?” 

“If you saw you can see them, then I’ll will say I’ll believe them.” 

“Yes, I’ve witnessed one. A fairy that possess ethereal beauty that no woman on this earthly plain can match that could cast a spell on anyone to captivate them. I wonder if I’m seeing a dream to be able to talk to someone like you?” 

“How flattering.” 

If the conversation of the two of them went on a roll, it seemed like they would forget that Paul and the art dealer were even standing right there next to them. 

The art dealer badgered him on from behind to hurry up and appeal his art more, but Paul was born an inarticulate man.   

P. 15 

He wasn’t able to find a moment to remark and was feeling lost but the earl turned his attention back to him like he suddenly remembered something. 

“I would like to see some of your other works, Mr. Foreman.” 

“Eh…..” 

“Have you taken a liking to it?” Pushing aside Paul who had gone frozen at the unexpected turn of events, the art dealer clambered forward. 

“Yes…., this Titania here, reminds me of a woman I fancy.” 

“Oh, my, that sure is inexcusable. Is she your lover?” 

“No, it’s my one-sided feelings.” 

“Impossible, I couldn’t believe it.” 

“It seems I’m not able to understand a woman’s feelings, so I quickly anger her.” 

“There is no way you wouldn’t be able to understand a woman’s feelings?” 

“It’s true, my lady. So much that I would be grateful if you would teach me.” 

“If you are all right with me, then I would be more than happy to.” 

Paul couldn’t guess if he really did take a liking to his art or that he was just using it as an expense to woo the noblewoman, but he remained standing still as he saw the two of them walk off. 

*

If you sleep under a grafted apple tree, or imp tree, fairies will capture and take you away. 

If it was a beautiful young man or woman, then they have to be particularly careful when they pass under a tree. A fairy’s magic can make anyone fall asleep. If they suddenly felt drowsy and sat down by the tree trunk to take a nap, then most likely, they wouldn’t be able to wake up ever again. 

And like that, those who disappeared are said to become the bride or bridegroom of a fairy. 

“Long ago, there even was an ancestor of the Blue Knight Earl who had unthinkingly taken a nap under a granted apple tree,” said Tomkins. 

This butler of the Earl family was sitting behind a desk in one of the rooms of the earl residence and sealing one invitation after another that were stacked up on his desk. 

When he said Blue Knight Earl, he meant the master of this house, the one the fairies called Earl Ashenbert. The name came after an ancestral figure who was called Lord Blue Knight. 

For the present-day Britons, that name was only a figurative character from a fantasy novel that was written in the 16th century, but those who knew, knew that figure was modeled after the earl family ancestor. 

“And what happened after that?”

P. 17

Lydia was also helping out with sealing the envelopes as she was enjoying a conversation about fairies with Tomkins.

“It was said that he was taken away to the beautiful fairy queen.”

The bloodline of Lord Blue Knight, who was said to possess magical powers as the lord of the fairy lands long ago, had perished. However, in Tomkin’s family who had served the Blue Knight Earl, generation after generation, they were episodes of the earl relating to fairies that were also passed down.

“Did the earl marry the fairy queen/”

“It seemed like he nearly had to make his vows. But the earl knew of a magical spell. Using that, he managed to be released and returned safely back to the human realm.”

“I know what that magical spell is.”

“Oh, is that true? Just what one can expect from a fairy doctor.”

Lydia was a young girl who was hired as a fairy doctor to this earl family.

A fairy doctor is a specialist in fairies and was able to see and talk with fairies. They even knew the traditional and proper way to socialize and deal with fairies that was nearly forgotten in the present-day 19th century. 

From the very start, a fairy doctor’s job was to lend their knowledge of how humans and fairies should properly coexist and undertake the task of trading and bargaining with fairies.

Taking over after her deceased mother, Lydia had just started this job, and she was still an inexperienced fledgling, but she thought she had the motivation and pride of an expert.

P. 18

“So, Miss Carlton, what kind of spell is it?”

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“Oh, Mr. Tomkins, you don’t know it?”

“Yes, that part wasn’t pasted down in the story. And so, I have always been curious to what it was.”

“I’m also curious. Tell me too, Lydia.”

The voice that jumped in was Edgar, the current Blue Knight Earl. He strutted into the room and placed a piece of paper on the table.

“Tomkins, this is list of additional guests, all right.”

“Will this be everyone?”

“Most likely. Will the food preparations make it in time?”

“I will have it taken care of.”

Tomkins took the unreasonable challenge that was thrown at him by Edgar like he was picking up the gauntlet. Well, undertook, really. It seemed like he thought saying ‘I can’t do it’ would be like waving a white flag as a butler.

The Season had started and so every day in London there was a banquet party or ball held somewhere. It was natural that Edgar would come up with saying that he would be hosing a soiree, but the date he chose was much too soon.

But, Tomkins preparation was even more faster than that, so Lydia was surprised in awe.

“Oh, and yes, Lydia, you’re also one of my guests. There should be an invitation arriving to your father soon, so make sure not to forget.”

P. 19

What, gasped Lydia, stopping to pause in her task of sealing the invitations.

“No, a ball is much too impossible for me!”

“Don’t worry, it isn’t just peers that will be attending.”

Even if he said that, if a middle-class member of society was going to attend a ball, then they were surely some wealthy family.

“And, besides, there isn’t going to be a need for acting formal. This isn’t a royal ball. Oh, yes, Duchess Masefield, you remember meeting her at the Opera house, right? The duchess said she wished to talk to you about fairies again. Now that I think about it, did you know that her husband, the duke was cousins of your father’s teacher?”

She didn’t know that. But when she realized it, a wall had been built up around her, not letting her the choice to refuse. 

Even if her father was renowned as a scholar and accepted for his peculiarities, his daughter shouldn’t be allowed to act improperly in front of a peer member that was connected to him.

It was the usual ploy of Edgar.

“But, I don’t know how to dance.”

“Tomkins, when will the dance teacher be arriving?”

Huh?

“In the afternoon, today.”

P. 20

“And, so, Lydia, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

There is a major problem!

Was what she really wanted to scream out, but with Edgar in front of her smiling like that, Lydia was left with her mouth open and lost the will to speak.

“For the mean time, it will be all right as long as you got the form. Because the only one who you are going to dance with is me. Oh, yes, you must not dance with any one other than me. Understood?”

“…..Why.”

“Because I’ll get jealous.”

He said it a matter of factedly, looking straight into her eyes, but Lydia could only feel like he was joking around with her.

Edgar was always like this any time of the day.

Of course, Edgar didn’t have any knowledge in regards to fairies even though he obtained the title of earl of the fairy world and there was a certain background to that matter.

That was why Lydia was forcingly hired as the private fairy doctor of the earl family. 

The seventeen-year-old girl who lived in the outskirts of Scotland, couldn’t possibly refuse it after she received the official stamp of approval by her Majesty the Queen, and so, she finally had gotten used to having an office in a nobleman’s grand house and living in the great city of London in these past three months.

However, she still couldn’t understand what this earl was thinking what so ever.

He would speak sweet, heart-melting words to every single woman he met. He was a man who use his gifted looks and with his calculative mind to play himself up to appear as appealing as he could.

P. 21

Lydia was well aware that she couldn’t seriously take in those kinds of words of his. 

She also knew that those words of Edgar that sounds so appealing to the ears was only just his means to get what he desired from people.

But, what she couldn’t understand was where was the fun in pulling out a country bum like Lydia to a grand party.

If it was his wish to simply want to take around and show off a rare girl who was a fairy doctor, then it should be good time that he would grow tired of it.

“I wish that the moon spell would also work on you,” mumbled Lydia under a sigh.

“Moon spell?”

“That’s right, it’s a spell that wards off persistent fairies.”

“Miss. Carlton, it that the magical spell that was said to be used by the Blue Knight Earl?”

“Yes. To refuse the proposal of a fairy, you have to say ‘Only if you would grant me the moon that continuously phases.’ Since it is absolutely impossible, the fairies are left with giving up and going away.”

“I see, since fairies are known for being loyal to the promises they make. So, our lord was also set free from captivity thanks to that.”

P. 22

Watching Tomkins nod in a deeply moved manner, she watched Edgar walk over to Lydia’s side and leaned up against the desk. He gazed down to her and gave her a meaningful sly smirk.

“I’m persistent, so I won’t give up that easily. I’ll do anything I have to in order to present you with the moon.”

It looked like he was a little annoyed at Lydia calling him ‘persistent.’

“…..I meant that you should only say that to your main love interest.”

“You are my main.”

You mean the woman who is in front of you at the time.

“That’s why I’m a little curious, that would mean you had used that moon spell on someone before, correct?”

“Eh….”

Her heart skipped a beat at his clever intuition.

“You said you wished it would work on me as well. Who did you ward off?”

“A, a fairy.”

“So, you were proposed by a fairy.”

“It wasn’t a real…..”

“I feel like I was beaten ahead. So there was another man besides me who fell in love with you that much.”

“Yo-you’re wrong! It wasn’t like that, he was just a little strange fairy, you see, it wasn’t like he fell in love because of being a fairy, but more like he wanted to get his hands on a human.”

P. 23

P. 24

“Then, were there others?”

“Huh?”

P. 46

Since there isn’t the ‘moon’ to be worried about.

Out of nowhere, Nico plumped down onto the table near-by. Nico twitched his whiskers and then rubbed his nose. 

“I feel something bad.”

After he said that, he looked over to the small rock that was placed on top of the table.

“What is it? Is it about the fairy that tricked Marygold?”

“I’m not sure, but I have a bad feeling. And, besides, this rock has mold on it.”

Mold, a rock that was in water. 

Lydia also had a slightly bad feeling. 

It couldn’t be, she said to herself. 

“My lord, what shall we do about the forgotten item of the instructor.”

At the words of the butler who appeared, her mood went down even more. 

What he left behind: four fingers. The sight of that which was burnt into Lydia’s eyes, that unbearable memory flashed back into her mind.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t come back to get it. Why don’t we feed it to some stray dogs?”

Lydia saw the heartless side of Edgar in that instant, and in that moment, she had the dreadful feeling that everything was going to tumble to a bad direction, and she shook her head fiercely to shake that thought away.

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