Chapter 38: Volume 6 - CH 2

P. 44

*

There had been times in the past when Lydia felt awkward around Edgar, but she couldn’t allow that awkwardness to make her skip work.

Just like normal, Lydia came to work on time today.

Because she was accompanied him to Windsor yesterday, she couldn’t continue her work, now she needed to quickly investigate about the troubling changeling case. 

“Miss Carlton, this area seems to be the problem.”

The butler Tomkins spread out a map over the table.

She was reluctant to ask Edgar about this, so she decided to ask the butler’s help instead.

She felt terrible for giving extra work to Tomkins, who took care of all the business affairs of the Ashenbert family and managing all the household servants, and open up his schedule for her, but he show any unpleasantness and gathered all of the necessary paperwork Lydia needed.

The land was a small town located on a hilly area on the coasts of Yorkshire.

P. 49

“Is it a very particular place?” she asked.

Since most of the Blue Knight Earl estates in England were put in the family’s care because they couldn’t be managed under a human lord.

Most likely, this place had many fairy clan residents as well, and those residents were the cause behind the troubles, but that might not be the only reason.

“Fluorites are mined here. Blue Johns are the most heavily mined gemstones in England, and these are a reddish-purple. The ones called Freya are rare gemstones with a shine within them like the flame of a fire, but there is no record of them being mined for the past three hundred years. It seems they are an extremely hard find.”

“So normal gems can still be found. But there hasn’t been any shipments of them for more than ten years,” said Lydia as she read the records.

“Every year, it is decided to mine only a limited amount. But lately, I hear that even when they mine, good quality gems that could be put on the market are not found. The number of miners has also decreased. They must be in the city factories where they can make more money.”

“Why is there a limit on the amount that can be mined?”

“That was decided by a previous earl who made a trade with the fairies. It is a minimal amount that wouldn’t starve the town residents even in the year of bad 

harvest. You couldn’t call it a wealthy town, but it hadn’t suffered from any famine. If they were allowed to extract as much as they pleased, I’m sure that the stones would have dug out long ago, so that could have been the cause of discord between the fairies.”

P. 50

However, a changeling happened in this town.

And ever since Lydia had been employed, she was also surprised that this was the first contact from this town asking for help.

There hadn’t been any issues all this time, and yet, how could there be a changeling happening all of a sudden?

While Lydia was in deep thought, the door slammed open and Nico came racing in.

“Ahhh, I said stop it!” he cried.

Even if he was in a panic, Nico hadn’t forgotten to run on his hind legs.

“I said it would be fine if I could use just the tip of your tail.”

The one who came following in after him was Edgar. And for some odd reason, he had the merrow’s sword in his hand.

“Don’t kid me. I would never allow my beautiful tail be chopped off!”

As Nico cradled his fluffy tail in his arms, he went diving under the table cloth.

“Come out, Nico. I’ll give you anything you want to eat.”

“I will never trade my tail for food!”

“Won’t it just grow back?”

“I’m not a lizard!”

P. 51

Giving no mercy, Edgar pulled up the table cloth and stood ready with his sword.

“H-help me! Lydia!”

At Nico’s scream, Lydia made a sigh and stood herself up.

“Edgar, please don’t go waving around a weapon in my office.”

He let the sword drop to his side and looked over to Lydia with his usual gentle smile on his face.

“Good morning, Lydia. How was your injury from yesterday? Does it still hurt?”

They had bickered just yesterday, and she wondered if Edgar had ever felt awkward. 

No, most likely not. He is not that kind of man.

“I already investigated the background of the two men who tried to harm you. Nothing to worry, I’ve made sure they got a good taste of their medicine.”

Huh? What are you thinking?

“Please don’t go and go get revenge. ….I’m not bothered by it anymore.”

“Then will you forgive me as well?”

That’s a completely different matter, she thought.

When Lydia fell silent, he made a little troubled face and tilted his head.

*

It was a book illustrated with beautiful pictures about a fairy story.

The painter Paul had let her borrowed saying that although it is an illustration book made towards children, it’s a typical fairytale.

Edgar thought it was unbelieveable childish of him to learn about fairies from a picture book.

However, it couldn’t be helped since there weren’t any books that seriously researched about fairies.

The story of the picture book was a fairytale that anyone would have heard about when they were a child.

The beautiful fairy bride made her husband swear to keep one promise. Something that he must not do, but from some accident, that promise was broken, and the bride vanished, never to appear again.

It was just a small trigger, but Edgar felt that would also take away Lydia from him and he fell depressed and closed the book.

It was his fault for making Lydia’s feelings regress one step back, but rather, Edgar felt that it was Lydia’s fault instead.

Just because that boy had the power of a fairy doctor, Edgar had to be put through melancholy about not being related to in blood with the Blue Knight Earl.

P. 60

He had realized that he wasn’t able to protect Lydia.

He wanted to beat the living daylights out of that man, who at one glance, appeared fifteen or six with an overbearing attitude.

However, he must also be feeling the same thing towards Edgar.

His only worry was that he wasn’t able to anticipate what Ulysses’ movements where recently.

It appeared like he wasn’t in London. But, it wasn’t like he had returned to America.

Edgar felt that he was just keeping quiet somewhere and waiting for the right time. 

For when his master ‘Prince’ would one day come to England.

He didn’t have any information as to when that would be and if they intended to set some sort of trap before that, and so for Edgar, the situation of him not being able to decide and move continued.

That’s why, he needed to set his heart pretty soon.

To how far he was going to battle with Prince.

Even if he were to lose everything he had in order to completely involve himself, he didn’t know if he had the resolve to bring along Lydia all that way and take responsibility.

He didn’t know if Lydia would come along with him all that way.

There was the possibility that the reason he was so fixated on Lydia because he had the naturally indecent attitude that was so deeply soaked into himself like it would be a waste for him to go and distance himself from a woman and there were moments when the thought that it would be easy for him if only Lydia would lose interest in him and go away by herself.

P. 61

But, when the moment something like that were to even be close to happening, he would rush to go and try to stop her, and even he himself thought that it was incoherent.

He tried to turn his focus away by opening up a letter that he had remained untouched. When he read the letter saying something about fairies, Edgar didn’t read all the way to the end and folded it back up.

That was because he knew it was a letter that should be passed on to Lydia.

However, on this day, there was another part of the writing that made him open it up again.

Changeling.

Maybe it was because he was still bothered about what the Cremona Grand Duke had talked about last month.

“….Please forgive me for sending you one letter after another. I was unaware that the Lord Earl had said not to attempt to retrieve your changed child and I became worried if my lord was put through discomfort at my letter asking for help. I had married into this family from another land, hence, I had not learned of the ways of this town, and was only in dismay at having my child stolen away from me. If it was the biddings of my lord earl that all of our town has our trust in, then there must be some meaning behind it that we common people could not imagine, but to have one’s child taken away, as a parent, I feel heartbroken. I cannot understand why I must be put through this….”

Reading up till that part, Edgar was troubled about a certain suspicious part and thought hard.

He had no recollection about saying to leave the changeling alone. He wondered if this town was loyally obeying the words that were spoken by the earl from many hundreds of years ago.

P. 62

However, it writes like it wasn’t the words of the earl from the past but like it was spoken by the current lord of the house.

And, at that same time, he recalled about the Cremona Grand Duke’s granddaughter was taken by the works of a changeling as the bride of the Blue Knight Earl. 

There could be someone who was claiming as the Blue Knight Earl long before Edgar had become earl.

If that person didn’t have the merrow’s sword, he wouldn’t be acknowledged by the nation as the Earl of Ibrazel, but if it was just to use the name, then it was possible.

He thought it was a need to investigate this.

Just at the moment when Edgar was nearly going to stand up, his butler appeared.

“My lord, you have a visitor.”

“Who is it?”

“They would not name themselves.”

From behind Tomkins who had on a completely lost look, Raven came into the room and went to Edgar’s side and whispered something to him. 

Edgar nodded.

“Tomkins, I will have the dirty guests leave immediately, so there is no need for tea. Don’t let anyone approach the drawing room.”

P. 63

“Understood.”

Even if he thought it suspicious, the butler didn’t let that appear on his face and strictly obeyed the instructions he was ordered.

Now, what was left was for Edgar to throw out the uninvited guests.

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“Raven, let’s go.”

Leading him who silently gave a nod, and entering the drawing room, there was a young girl and man waiting for them.

The girl had her coffee-colored hair tied up in one without any intention of looking fancy, looked over to Edgar with her slightly slant eyes and opened her mouth.

“Hey there, Sir John. It’s been a long time.”

“If you don’t mind, call me Edgar. And one more thing, it isn’t Sir, it’s Lord.”

“Ah, is that so. So, your name changed. It seems you’ve gone quite up the ladder.”

The young gal made a smile, and on her cheek there was a cute dimple made. However, with her attitude on taking over the whole sofa and sitting back overbearingly, was far from cute.

Standing next to her with his arms crossed, there was a man who was easy to guess as her bodyguard in one glance. If he could recall, the huge, bear of a man hadn’t shaved himself and had a beard on his face should be Pino, who the girl considered him like her younger brother.     

Setting himself down to sit on a chair, Edgar looked at both of them one at a time.

“Did you come all the way from America just to see me? Lota, you haven’t changed a bit. It looks like Pino has grown quite tall and I could hardly recognize you, you’ve transformed into quite the man.”

The huge young boy, must have been trying to act like he was in a bad mood, as he only replied “Thanks.”

P. 64

Yes, young boy, this tall, huge man should have been still in his teens. If he could remember, he was the same age as Raven.

“Then, what is your business? Such proud pirates like yourselves didn’t come to your old acquaintance just to seep some change from him, right?”

Lota made a scowl like she didn’t want him to make a fool out of her. 

“You can’t figure out why we’re here?”

“I don’t know.”

“You remember Betty.”

“I never forget about women.”

“If I can remember, we first met you just after our old Captain had passed away. Betty, Pino and I, all three of us were raised by the Captain like we were siblings. Although, we aren’t related by blood.”

“I’m aware. Only you were the daughter of the Captain, and wasn’t Betty and Pino children who the Captain had picked off the streets? The two of you would periodically go out to the sea, but Betty wasn’t the type of girl who wasn’t meant to be a pirate. She had stayed in the harbor town and lived while she was left in the care of a hairdresser woman’s house.”

“It would have been fine if that was how things remained. But, she met you, and that corrupted Betty’s life.”

Lota’s shoulders slumped down, and instead, Pino opened his mouth to speak.

“It was best if she didn’t learn about the crest. If she was targeted because she was a princess….”

Edgar remembered the crest that had an eagle and rose carved into it. The golden ring had a red stone, the size of a coin, embedded into it, and by the gifted hands of a craftsman, the crest had been carved into that.

P. 65

Like there was a fire whipping and twirling inside it, it was a fluorite that gave a mysterious yellowish-mixed glow that appeared to sweep out from the darkness.

Just by chance, Edgar had known what family that crest represented. When he was still living in the ducal house in England, he had heard that the dukedom that had that crest had collapsed and as all the family members of that royal family dispersed as they fled the country. 

P. 68

Thinking this was idiotic, Edgar stood up.

“I’m quite a busy man, so you should leave while I can still take it as a joke. I don’t want to make an old acquaintance garbage floating in the Thames River.”

“I’m serious. It was you who told Betty that the one who possessed the ring was a princess. And, on top of that, you’re the Blue Knight Earl? How could there be such a coincidence!”

There was a knife gripped in Lota’s hand. 

In the next second, Raven moved.

Expecting him to go for Lota, surprisingly, he charged at Pino, and punched him and knocked him down with his legs. He pinned down the huge man who fell to the floor and twisted his arm so that Pino couldn’t move.

Edgar gripped Lota’s wrist who had been watching all that happen in shock.

“While Raven was trying to stop you, was your plan to have Pino attack me? How unfortunate.”

He took away the knife from Lota.

“Now that I think about it, Lota, the two of us haven’t even held hands together.”

“Wh-what stupid thing are you talking about….”

“You were always so indifferent.”

“That’s because you were in a relationship with Betty.”

“But I was immediately jilted.”

P. 69

“That’s because you bastard tried to make her drink alcohol that had poison in it!”

"That’s twisting the truth. Let me explain that in detail, in my bed chamber.”

“Lota!” shouted Pino, as he remained pined down by Raven.

“If you dare to do something to Lota, our crew isn’t going to remain silent about it!”

“Lord Edgar, I’m afraid there isn’t any time to be playing around.”

The voice who interrupted them was Ermine.

What? He asked, still gripping onto Lota.

“It seems Miss Carlton has departed to Yorkshire on the first morning ship.”

He immediately let go.

“Yorkshire? Why did she go to such a place?”

“It seems she was asked for help in regards to a changeling case from a town called Wallcave.”

When Edgar realized that that was the small estate mentioned in the letter earlier, he felt a strange panic.

“Only the butler knew. He claims that he had mentioned it to Lord Edgar before.”

“I didn’t hear about that. Besides, there is no way that I would allow Lydia to go there by herself.”

“It seems Mister Nico is accompanying her.”

“Can you count him as one person?”

P. 70

Its one animal, he strongly thought. 

And it was a cat that only had interest in his fur coat, whiskers and necktie or thinking about food.

Lota went running over to Pino and tried to help him up.

Watching that out of the corner of his eye, Edgar thought if there was a connection between the Blue Knight Earl who kidnapped Betty and the Earl who ordered the townspeople to remain silent about the changeling that happened in the small town of Yorkshire. 

When Betty disappeared, a wooden doll had arrived to the hands of the Grand Duke just accordingly to the changeling tradition. If there were to be a meaning behind that, then there might be a connection between the Blue Knight Earl who said to the townspeople to leave the changeling alone. 

“Tomkins! Do you have documents in regards to the town of Wallcave?”

When he called, his butler came dashing into the room with the papers in his hands. 

“Their local products are fluorites? Occasionally, there are rare red and yellow colored stones that are dug up?”

“That’s the crested ring of the Grand Duke family……” murmured Lota.

“It seems like that mining vein has dried out presently. More importantly, my lord, I have remembered that I didn’t have a good impression when it came to this town. At the time when I had sent out word that my lord would be inheriting as the Earl of Ibrazel, there was no reply from only this town.”

Even if they had a lord of the manor, it was a lord who they didn’t even see the face of. Especially, in the case of the Ashenbert family, the family would be absent in periods of hundreds of years, and on top of that, the lord of the house must have hardly ever visited his lands.

P. 71

Even for Edgar, there were still many estates that he hadn’t visited yet. 

And yet, since almost all of the lands returned a happy, friendly reaction towards Edgar must probably be because they were lands that had many fairy residents, and so the Wallcave town must have been a problematic land from the beginning.

And it was there, that Lydia was heading to.

As the fairy doctor of the Lord of Ibrazel.

What would happen if she were to come in contact with the Blue Knight Earl that kidnapped Betty?

“Tomkins, you said Lydia departed by ship?”

“Yes, since Mister Nico dislikes railroads, she said that if it wasn’t that seriously inconvenient, then she would use a ship. Since, well, fairies do loathe iron.”

“Which ship did she get on and what time did it depart? Can you verify its route through the ship company?”

Tomkins hurried and left so that he could find that out.

“Where is your ship?”

“At the bay of The Wash. Since the Thames River is managed with a strict entry code.”

“Good timing. It’s your turn. You are pirates, so you wouldn’t be riding on some slow ship, right.”

“Huuhh? Don’t make fun of us. Even a clipper couldn’t catch up to it.”

P. 72

“I doubt it.”

“Shut up!”

“Oh, well. We’re not going after a clipper. If you want to find out about Betty, I think it’s best if we join forces.”

*

It was a ship that bore a flag she never saw before.

An eye on a black field; how creepy. And it was unbelievably fast.

The narrow neck of the thin ship went ripping through the waters, like it was gliding on top of it.

Just when she thought that, in a matter of seconds, it had shoulder-to-shoulder with the ship that Lydia was riding.

She could see the tiny crew members in the distance as they moved about accurately to move the sails so that they wouldn’t miss any gust of wind.

“Hey, Nico, it doesn’t look like an England ship, does it. It doesn’t have a national flag; I wonder where it came from.”

“Isn’t it a pirate ship?”

“What, surely not.”

And, just when she giggled, there was the blast of a gun that ran through the air.

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