Chapter 22
Fortunately, there were no more attacks from Black Fairies after that incident. However, Regina, who had tossed and turned all night in fear of another Black Fairy attack, stepped off the train looking as wilted as blanched spinach.
“Have we finally arrived? Is this Epola Viscounty?”
After setting down her luggage and rubbing her stiff shoulders, Regina asked the question. Noah nodded lightly in response. The quiet afternoon train station seemed deserted except for an elderly station master napping and Noah and Regina themselves.
“Yes, we’ll move right away. Pick up your luggage and follow me.”
“Ugh, I don’t think train travel suits me at all.”
Grumbling, Regina picked up her luggage again and followed Noah. As soon as they exited the station, she gasped at the vast plain stretching before them. Even though Evelyn’s territory wasn’t particularly developed, it wasn’t this empty with nothing in sight.
“Wow, there’s nothing here. It’s such a wide field. I can’t even see a forest!”
“Hoho, you can’t see it from here, but there’s a huge forest near the Epola Viscount’s estate.”
“Oh my! Ah, hello. Good afternoon.”
Regina, who had been shielding her eyes from the sun to look around, was startled by the sudden unfamiliar voice and turned to her side. There sat an old man on a chair, puffing on a worn-out pipe as he looked up at them. She hadn’t noticed him right away because he was sitting in the shadow of a fence.
“Good afternoon to you too, miss. You two heading into town? I can give you a ride for three coins.”
When the old man tipped his shabby hat slightly in response to Regina’s greeting and asked his question, Noah nodded and took out some coins from his pocket to hand over. The old man stretched out his hand to receive the money, then slowly got up and walked behind the train station.
“Wait here. I’ll bring the horse.”
As the old man walked away with a chuckle, Regina peered in the direction he had gone. When she saw the old horse and cart he brought back, her expression became ambivalent.
“…It’s not a carriage?”
There was even a pile of dry straw on the wooden cart. Regina pointed at the cart and looked at Noah, but he just shrugged, walked over to load their luggage, and sat down. The old man, hunched over in the driver’s seat, said nothing but waited for Regina to climb aboard.
The aged horse, as old as its owner, snorted impatiently at the brief wait. Regina hesitated, then sighed softly before awkwardly climbing onto the surprisingly high cart.
“There we go. Let’s set off. Away we go.”
As Regina turned around, smoothing out her crumpled skirt from climbing up, the cart slowly started moving. Judging by the leisurely pace of the horse, she doubted they would reach town by nightfall.
“What brings you two to this empty place? It’s a village that even travelers just pass through, with nothing to see.”
At the old man’s question, Regina naturally looked towards Noah. However, he was already lying down on the straw pile, using his arm as a pillow and sleeping. Looking down at Noah with his eyes closed, Regina had no choice but to answer instead.
“We’re looking for some people. A young woman with red hair and a man with brown hair, named Rose and John. We heard they were spotted in this area, so we came to look. Do you remember seeing anyone like that?”
“Well now. My memory’s getting fuzzy these days. Besides, nine out of ten folks have brown hair, so that’s not much to go on. But a young woman with red hair… Now that’s rare.”
The old man slowly blinked his seemingly closed eyes, lost in thought. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he slapped his knee.
“Ah, that’s right! There was a red-haired maid at the Viscount’s mansion.”
“A maid! Yes, that’s right, a maid. Do you mean the Epola Viscount’s mansion? Is she still working there? Where did you hear this?”
Brightening at this unexpected information, Regina leaned towards the driver’s seat. However, the old man tilted his head and said something strange.
“No, I heard she died. The red-haired maid working at the Viscount’s died, but her body disappeared? There’s a fellow who does odd jobs at the Viscount’s mansion for money, and he said it was a ghastly business and he wouldn’t go near the place for a while.”
“…She died? That can’t be!”
“Could you tell us more about that story?”
Regina was startled when Noah, whom she thought was sleeping, suddenly spoke up. The old man cleared his throat and slowly continued.
“Hmm, about a month ago, was it? I was having a leisurely drink at the pub when the fellow next to me, completely drunk, suddenly started talking.”
The story was simple. A maid at the Viscount’s had died in an accident, and she had red hair, but her body had disappeared. No one knew the maid’s name, her origins, or how she died. And no one seemed to care.
“As I listened to him talk at the bar, I thought it was strange. Red hair is rare, you see. In such a small territory, for a maid with such distinctive hair to die and no one knows her name or where she’s from – that doesn’t seem right, does it? Well, that fellow is known for his tall tales, so everyone who heard just shrugged it off.”
“If she died a month ago, then she’s not the person I’m looking for. The timing doesn’t match up.”
“Hoho, that’s fortunate then.”
“Haha…”
As Regina sighed in relief, the old man laughed as if pleased. However, Regina couldn’t genuinely smile back and only managed an awkward grin.
At that moment, Noah, who had been silently listening to the old man’s words, sat up. He took out more coins from his pocket and handed them to the old man.
“Would you take us to the Epola Viscount’s mansion instead of town?”
The old man looked down at the money Noah was offering, chuckled, and reached out his wrinkled hand to take the coins. He slowly turned the horse’s direction to the left. When Regina looked at Noah with a puzzled expression, he was already taking out his pocket watch from inside his jacket and opening it.
He held the watch towards the faint moon hanging in the sky, and a very pale blue light appeared. Then suddenly, the stopped hour hand ticked once and stopped again.
“…Found it.”
Seeing this, Noah smiled, curving his red lips.
“…”
Regina’s fingertips trembled at the sight of that smile. It was the same smile he had when he tried to kill her. Regina sat quietly, holding her breath, then slowly turned her head to look at the vast plain.
The cart was still rolling along at a crawl. However, the territory no longer seemed as peaceful as it had moments ago.
There were Black Fairies here too.
* * *
Whether due to the slow pace of the horse or the long distance, it was dusk by the time they arrived at the mansion. In the darkening night, the black forest surrounding the mansion swayed in the wind, making eerie sounds. For such a remote location, it was a luxurious mansion.
“Wow, it’s an incredibly large mansion.”
“It’s the largest mansion in this territory. Hoho, well then, until we meet again.”
“Yes, see you again. Thank you!”
Regina looked up in amazement at the size of the mansion, having to tilt her head back to see it all. The old man, who had been watching Regina as if she were a cute granddaughter, tipped his hat slightly in farewell and urged his horse back the way they had come. After waving goodbye to the departing old man, Regina turned to Noah and asked,
“Can we visit when it’s already dark? Shouldn’t we at least send word ahead that we’re coming?”
No matter how remote or humble the noble family might be, there were still minimum courtesies to observe when visiting a noble house. Moreover, Regina was already in a situation where she couldn’t use the name of Viscount Evelyn. While it might work with commoners in the capital, using a dead person’s name when dealing with nobility carried a high risk.
Noah glanced down at Regina’s worried face but gave no answer as he knocked on the mansion’s door. As he grasped the lion-head shaped knocker on the huge iron door and rapped it, the loud metallic sound brought a gatekeeper running from somewhere in the distance.
“Who goes there?”
“We have an appointment with Viscount Epola. Say we’re from the Royal Constabulary in the capital, and he’ll know.”
“…The Royal Constabulary from the capital? Oh! My apologies, sir. Please wait a moment.”
The gatekeeper, who had been eyeing Noah and Regina suspiciously for their sudden late-night visit, widened his eyes at the mention of the Royal Constabulary and hurried back inside.
“…Try to control your expression.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
Regina, who had been staring at Noah with eyes as wide as the gatekeeper’s, startled at his admonition and collected herself.
“Did you use the power of illusion again?”
“Not this time. Either play along or stay quiet.”
So he had just lied outright. Regina was rather taken aback by Noah’s brazen attitude, but before she could process it further, the gatekeeper came running back and hastily opened the door.
“Oh my, I’m truly sorry. Sir, I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please, come right in.”
As they passed by the gatekeeper, who kept bowing with a pale face, they entered to find several people gathered in front of the mansion. Among them was a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes, who at a glance appeared to be the master of this mansion, Viscount Epola.
“Welcome. It seems there was a miscommunication due to an error by one of my staff. I am Miguel Epola.”
Viscount Epola, who had rushed out at the mention of the Royal Constabulary, raised an eyebrow when he actually saw Noah and Regina. The combination of a young man and a girl who looked barely twenty seemed quite suspicious to him.
