Hakushaku to Yousei Vol 1 Chapter 3

P. 89

    The uninhabited shack that was near crumbling, and its wood hinges made creaking sounds every time the wind hit it.

    “Hey, Lydia, shouldn’t we hurry up and run out of here?” said Nico, who appeared on the stone hedge that surrounded the well.

    “I was following after you with no problem. Although I did make myself invisible.”

    “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

    Lydia let out a sigh, and sat down next to Nico.

    Inside the shack, Edgar might be keeping an eye on them, but he is injured. Maybe she could manage to run him out.

    Most likely, he must have anticipated that Huxley was going to go after the carriage.

    It wasn’t like she was chained, but in the end Lydia decided to follow after Edgar.

    That’s right. He was a criminal.

    “...Looks like it.”

P. 91

    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.

    “But he called the money he stole compensation. And it sounded like the Gossam family were doing something against the law as well.”

    “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.

    “Listen, that’s because if something were to happen to you, he wouldn’t be able to find Lord Blue Knight’s jeweled sword.”

    “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.”

    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.

    “What is it?”

    “Hm. …..You’re right. The chance to escape is now when Raven and Ermine isn’t here.”

    There really was something wrong with me.

    Clutching the pill in her fist, Lydia stood up.

    He looked so bad, like if he appeared like a exhausted wounded man, then she might hesitate to try to escape.

    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.

    Looking up, he tilted his head as if surprised and wondering why she returned after she went outside.

    “I just lit a fire.”

    “Does it hurt?”

    “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.

    “You found them even in this darkness.”

    “Ahh…., the charge for the medicine.” From one of the cuffholes on his shirt arm, he took off a cuff that had a garnet in it. In a carelessly way, he tossed it over to Lydia.

P. 94

    “Is there someone outside?”

    “Well, you certainly overcharge for some common garden leaves.”

    Edgar stared down at the slightly dried, limp leaves, and then he suddenly started chuckling and laughed out loud.

    “What. Are you saying my fairy talk is absurd?”

    “You’re saying you can’t believe them with just this?”

    Seeing him with that kind of weak attitude it made her feel like she was the bad one trying to escape.

    She reassured 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

    But like this, it was undeniable that there was a part of her that was hesitant about it.

    Lydia, moved a few feet away from Edgar and sat down on a creaking chair.

    “The spell’s been broken.”

    Even now, she could be remaining here because she couldn’t resist the dangerous charm he released.

    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.

    And yet, why would he defend and get injured for her.

    In the first place, Lydia’s action at that time was too rash and thoughtless and it was completely unpredictable.

    But was they the magic that he used on her as well.

    Taking off his frock coat, he hesitated for a moment, but answered her question: “Edgar, that was my first name.”

    “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.”

    “Yes, alive. …..I know I'm in the presence of a lady, but excuse me.”

    Eitherway, the spot where he was was far away from the fire, and so Lydia didn’t mind him.

    “But, it wasn’t like I was rescued. When I came to, I was in hell, 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.”

    Even this story, it could be a big lie.

    “Rumors tend to get exaggerated as it’s passed on.”

    “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.”

    “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 noble.”

    “However I’m just a man who has no name or identity 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.”

    “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?”

    The offended part of her must have shown up on her face, because he smiled amusingly at her.

    How he could say such a thing, when the conversation was so depressing, was beyond her.

P. 99

    “I won’t do it anymore.”

    “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.”

    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.

    “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.”

    “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.”

    “That’s an interesting remark.”

P.100

    He used his unraveled necktie as bandage, and tied it around his wound, how he did that looked like he was used to it.

    “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.”

    That’s why, she would never fully be able to understand his person.

    “You are a fortunate girl. However, humans are creatures that able to do any kind of atrocity.”

P. 101

    He was a man who just reached his twenties, yet like he said everything he had was taken, his name, his identity, 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.

    “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.”

    “Still my only option is getting that jeweled sword.”

    Bending down just barely, he lowered his face down to Lydia’s.

    “Nn, Now what?”

    Stepping away from Lydia, he sat back down against the wall in the corner.

    What he told Lydia, couldn’t be sure to be true.

    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.

    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.

    He may be thinking he could manage one girl, even if he handed her his stick.

    It was best for her to make him drink the sleeping pill before she needed to see such a side of him.

    “It may not be fancy as tea, but at least this will calm you down.”

P. 104

    But Lydia sensed something sharp behind that smile and she suddenly felt her back turning cold.

    “What did you put in?”

    “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.”

    “If I let go, you’ll run.”

    “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.”

    “I would never dare. If I did, then I wouldn’t find out where the sword was hidden.”

    “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.”

    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.

    “….You’ve felt despair like that.”

    Maybe she said something that could have angered him.

    Just as she thought that, Edgar left go of her.

    Eventually, he said “that’s right” under his breath.

    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.

    “Please don’t go.”

    “If you say you’re going, then I’ll kill myself.”

    “If my hope will disappear, then I’ll just suffer if I keep living.”

    “If this were to be poison and I were to die, then it still wouldn’t hurt you at all.”

    “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 passionate love.”

P.107

P. 108

    He gave the shocked and gaping Lydia a hurt, yet perfectly graceful smile.

    Even if it was in a joking tone, when he said it, it sounded like an honest love proposal.

    Immediately he sank into a deep sleep, and Lydia stood looking down at the defenseless site of Edgar.

    “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.”

    “Now, let’s hurry up and go Lydia.”

    The voice that never disappeared from his memory, still tormented him even in his sleep. 

P. 109

    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.

    There is no way that that will happen.

    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 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. 

    But, once in a while, Edgar would become fearful.

    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

    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.

    Trust could not be formed in a master-servant or charismatic-follower relationship, but only when two individuals stood parallel to each other. But that wasn’t easy, it couldn’t be formed between anyone.

    And he had no other choice so he used options just for the spur of the moment. After all, nobody could understand the pain that Edgar and his friends went through. He rationalized that he’d just used them as he pleased.

    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.

    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.

    He would make her listen by violence.

    You’ve felt despair like that.

    Edgar became confused as to how he appeared in those golden green fairy-like eyes of hers.

    He couldn’t believe himself for spilling out his deep, honest feelings for wishing her to not leave him.

    But it didn’t matter to him anymore.

    A simple sleeping potion gradually drained the power of sleep over him, and brote him to his awakening.

    Edgar slowly opened his eyes.

    Oh, morning has come.

    “Meow.”

    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.

    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.

    “Eat it,” said Nico, in a purposefully arrogant way.

P. 113

    “Hmm, so you can comprehend what I’m saying.”

    “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 bloody villain, if you do anything to Lydia I’ll never forgive you.”

    “Ah, so you are worried about Lydia,” said Edgar, looking back over to Lydia.

    “Who knows.” To Nico, that was a major dissatisfaction.

    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

    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.

    That’s why she couldn’t come to hate Edgar that she could leave him to die.

    “That’s impossible.”

    The sunlight reflected on her hair brightening its reddish brown shine.

    “Are you saying I can’t? I’m just going to touch her a little, so overlook it just this once.”

    Ignoring the hiss, he reached out his hand. He touched the smooth hair that was hanging down across her cheek.

    The sunlight reflected off her golden green eyes she saw fairies with.

    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.

    “Nothing really. Since your cat was guarding you.”

    “Hey Lydia, I brought you some scones, let’s have breakfast.”

    “I thought you had already hated me, so I’m happy to meet you again.”

    “But you decided that you wouldn’t abandon me.”

    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.”

    “...More like it’s my policy.”

    “Edgar, are you listening to me?”

    “...Well, that is your real name isn’t it?”

    It looked like he was his old self again. Lydia leaned back when he held her hands.

    Of course he didn’t, said Nico.

    “All right, now let go!”

    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.

    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.

    “Of course that doesn’t mean your daughter was the one that was taken,” added the police officer.

    “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.

    He ran his fingers through his hair which made his straggly hair even more disarranged.

    “What if there’s no contact? You’re not going to start looking for my daughter now?”

    Being told that businesslike and after the police left, Carlton sank down onto the sofa and dropped his head into his hands.

    “Professor, what happened? Are you sick?”

    Carlton pushed up his round spectacles and thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up.

    “What! Really?”

    “Please just wait a moment. How are going to search and where?”

    “There wasn’t any word from your house over there, right? And you do have any clues to follow?”

    There was no way that one person could search for what the police couldn’t.

    “Please calm down. I’ll have the maid make some tea. And then let’s think what we can do.”

    But to his students that didn’t lower his quality as a professor.

P. 120

    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.

    But then, what if she was involved into some sort of trouble.

    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 burglar that broke into the Gossam residence…wasn’t it? If it was true, then it really is a strange connection, isn’t it?”

    “What connection?”

P. 121

    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.

    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.

    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.

    “Do you really believe it exists?”

P. 122

    But how could that be related to Lydia disappearing?

    Just when something was going to connect in his mind, the maid made another announcement.

    “What?” The professor ran out of the drawing room and personally invited in the guest.

    “Is it about the merrow’s star?”

    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.”

    “And father found out that your daughter had taken up the fairy doctor business and was just about to ask for her help.”

    “And you told him that Lydia was a fairy doctor.”

    Even if his apprentice said so, it wasn’t like Carlton was hiding his daughter so it wasn’t his place to blame him.

    “Regrettably, yes. So there is a possibility that your daughter may be in the hands of the criminal.”

    Giving out a heavy sigh, Carlton dropped his head. It was the worst situation.

    “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.”

    “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 bastard into finding the jewel, then would you know if there be any place your daughter may be heading in that direction?”

P. 125

    “You know much more than we do, more importantly the safety of your daughter is at stake.”

    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.”

    “So professor we’d like to ask you to accompany us in order to save your daughter.”

    “Yes, but the heading.”

    It was the first time for his apprentice Langley to witness Carlton making decisions so rapidly other than for his work.

Chapter end