Hakushaku to Yousei Vol 5 Chapter 8

P. 256

    Therefore Lydia had no memory of her father, whose character was normally described as extremely gentle, highly carefree and hated to start confrontations with others, snagged her limp body away from Edgar without allowing any claim or objection from him and immediately rushed home.

    On the third day, her fever finally went down and she was able to let some soup go down through her throat, but all of the troublesome memories and worries were completely gone from her memory and she didn’t bother to wonder what had happened after that.

    When her father had rushed into the palace, Edgar had secretly slipped it off and had Nico take it home, which also unknown to Lydia, and she was only glad that it had finally come off.

P. 257

    As she was gazing at that, Kelpie suddenly appeared at her window.

    He lowered himself to slide through the window to enter her room.

    “I’m fine now.”

    “So your temperature has come down.”

    It cooled her down and she was filled with peaceful relief.

    “Oh, I remember, I was saved thanks to you weren’t I. Thank you, Kelpie.”

    “You think?”

    That was because she knew she couldn’t show any weakness towards Unseelie Courts like Kelpie.

    Lydia was in a completely vulnerable state.

    As Kelpie said, ‘well, it is all right,’ he combed up his black wavy hair in an unusually embarrassed manner.

    “Everyone, huh.”

    Lydia was glad that everyone was all right from the bottom of her heart and gave Kelpie a childish, pure happy smile.

    “Eh?”

    “Just because I helped that annoying earl, you go and make a much happier face than when I said I would give you the diamond.”

    “Well, I guess it’s all right. Since I feel like I wanted to see you smile anyway.”

    And then, just like that, he disappeared.

    The housekeeper who opened the door made an unusually respectful, courteous bow.

    The duchess came here herself?

    “Oh, Lydia, please remain comfortable as you are. If I made you get up and move about, then there would be no meaning for me to come and wish you well.”

    In the end, Lydia remained sitting up-right in her bed and made a bow to greet the guest.

    The duchess seated herself gracefully down in the chair that was pulled back by the housekeeper.

    Lydia raised her head and wondered if Edgar had said something unnecessary to the duchess.

    “Huh, it wasn’t like I was taken in… There happened to be a mistake.”

    Oh, so it was made so that it was a gas pipe that did it, thought Lydia as she gave a nod in reply.

    Even Lydia was feeling cold sweat coming out of her.

    It meant that she wouldn’t be able to go into marriage.

    “My father, came to you?”

    “Uh, what exactly was it that my father came for your advice about…”

    “However, since your feelings is also an important factor in this…”

    She thought she heard her father and Edgar’s voice.

    Even though she was in the middle of a conversation with the duchess, Lydia went walking over towards the doorway.

    “I heard that the earl is paying your house a visit everyday. However, he said that Professor Carlton wouldn’t allow him to speak his turn.”

    In that spot, the two of them fell silent to hear what was being spoken.

    It was quite rare for her father to be this stubborn, and because of that, it made Lydia realize how graze and serious ill effects the rumor of the harem might fall onto her.

    “Her temperature has finally gone down. So there is nothing more for you to worry about.”

    She wasn’t able to see the two of them from the second floor but could catch sight of two dim shadowy figures casted up against the wall, but from that, she could tell that Edgar had bowed his head down to her father which made Lydia be filled with an indescribable feeling.

    “No, there was fault on my part as well.”

P. 263

    “Yes, I would like to apologize about that as well.”

    “Professor, I give my word to you that I have not done any shameless act against her.”

    “Yes, that may be so. This is just my imagination. No, you may be considering this as dishonorable. That is why I said I may say something rude…. Ahh, let us stop now. There is no meaning for the two of us to continue talking.”

    “I trusted Lydia, I trusted she wouldn’t be caught with your baits of sweet words and that’s why I hadn’t butted my mouth in what was going on. But if things like this happen, I cannot help but think that Lydia is still a child and her awareness is naive and that you are still too young to think about other’s positions.”

    No, that’s not it, it isn’t Edgar’s fault.

P. 264

    Just like her father said, Lydia was just a child and she was thinking about everything too simply.

    “Please don’t say anything more. I don’t want to hear it and don’t want to think about it. It is difficult for me to trust you.”

    To bring up such a topic in this situation was just going to backfire.

    “Please let Lydia take rest from work.”

    “I will return her to Scotland. Lord Earl, is Lydia facing danger only as a fairy doctor?”

    She didn’t think before dashing down the stairs.

    Lydia’s legs were about to wobble underneath her and she nearly fell down, but her father rushed to steady her.

P. 265

    Lydia desperately appealed to her father.

    “Ahh, all right, Lydia. But now you should acknowledged that you are still inexperienced, haven’t you? Even if you continue your job as a fairy doctor, if you are going to put people through worry and cause them trouble, you’re still a child.”

    “My lord, you would think the same, wouldn’t you? You would want Lydia to grow up a bit more, and then work for you.”

    Lydia walked over towards Edgar. Her mind was in chaos. She was emotional unbalanced and didn’t know what she was crying about.

    “Edgar, you don’t need me anymore? Are you saying that I should go home? Well, yes, I am inexperienced. And I caused you trouble. If Kelpie wasn’t there, then everything wouldn’t have turned out all right, and the jewel had ended up being broken. But I did my best. …..Don’t say you don’t need me.”

P. 266

    His fingers brushed against Lydia’s cheek and dried away her tears. She didn’t feel like it was wrong to have him do that.

    “There are endless numbers of adults who become so concentrated with their work that they are unable to pay any attention to other things.”

    The duchess kindly smiled over to Lydia and Edgar.

    He looked over to Lydia, who was peering up to him nervously and he loosened up the tightness in his cheeks like he was relieved and took her hand into his.

    Maybe because she was relieved, Lydia felt the strength go out of her body. As she leaned up against Edgar’s arm, she started to think that maybe she might have said something that was completely out of place. 

    “I would feel bad if Miss Carlton’s fever came back again. Lord Earl, would you mind letting her get some rest?”

P. 267

P. 268

    Her father nodded back in a somewhat dazed manner, and Edgar offered his arm to Lydia and helped her walk up the stairs.

    The duchess giggled like she found it hilarious.

    “Anyone would become malicious. To have your own daughter cry like that, it’s like I’m the villain.”

    “That’s…..quite an earache.”

    But, fallen in love? Lydia and the Earl? Carlton thought he couldn’t acknowledge that.

    “That may be true. For now.”

    "I apologize for ruining it even though you came to me for advice in how to make her end her job in working for the earl as peacefully as possible.”

    As Carlton said that, he looked over to the stairs that the earl was walking down.

    This was a country where the average height was different according to the classes. Normally, nobles were all thin and smart, but he was exceptionally different.

    I want to be with someone like father, she says?
    It wasn’t like he completely believed her words, but Carlton couldn’t help but think that that was just an illusion.

P. 270

    To tell the truth, the more Lydia’s health recovered, the more she was filled with regret at the extremely selfish and childish things she said to Edgar. 

    She wondered if Edgar remembered what she said. She hoped that he excused it as blabbering nonsense from a recovering, sick patient.

    However, after Lydia had locked herself in her office, she let out a heavy sigh.

    The Coblynau spoke to her in a nonchalant tone.

    Oh, and just when the cause of all the problems was because of you little fairy.

P. 271

    Nico held out the newspaper for her to see.

    Before she knew it, it seemed like the Coblynau had become his tea-drinking friend as well.

    “It’s the Times.”

    Lydia couldn’t help but inspect it.

    In the letter delivered along with it, a confession was written from the culprit who stole the jewel during that transportation, and it read that the culprit had a personal grudge against the Duke of Sylvainford who was entrusted with the duty and responsibility to bring back the diamond to England. 

    An explosion while he was cleaning his hunting rifle? That was impossible.

    Perhaps Edgar had already made a bargain with the marquis. 

    When he controlled people, most likely, he turns himself into a king, or a god.

    She wondered if it was a good idea for her to remain here.

    “Good morning, Lydia.”

    Since Nico made her look at this article, she wasn’t able to put on her normal face that she had been practicing all morning long, and so Lydia turned around with an expression that obviously revealed that she was taken aback to see him.

    “Y-yes…” she replied.

    “It was so much pain that I couldn’t see you for so long.”

    “Let me see your face more closely.”

    Wait a minute; he sure isn’t holding himself back than he usually does today?

     “My Lydia, thank you for coming back.”

    She was so embarrassing, that she turned her eyes away.

    Oh, he did remember. Or more like, this man would never let that kind of remark fly by.

    He placed his arms around Lydia’s waist and peered down to her intimately close. She didn’t know how she should respond, and didn’t want to touch his body as much as possible, so she was only able to hold onto his morning coat.

    She caught the smell of a freshly washed shirt.

    “But that was what you meant, didn’t it?”

    He wasn’t mistaken, but he was wrong.

    Oh, this is bad. If she allowed him get carried on, then it wouldn’t be long before he made a barrier wall around her so she wasn’t give any way to escape. Lydia fell into a panic and put all her strength in pushing him away.

    “You don’t remember? That you said you wanted to marry me and cried to your father that if he didn’t allow our marriage, then you would elope with me. You already offered me your lips, so you won’t be able to find another man to marry you….”

    “See, you do remember.”

    “…..I never allowed you my lips. You were the one who said that wasn’t a kiss.”

    She thought her fever might come back again.

    “I’m sorry, please don’t get angry. It wasn’t like I was teasing you.”

    “At that time, when you defended me and said I wasn’t to blame, I wanted to believe that perhaps, maybe, even for a little bit, that my one-sided feelings for you wasn’t one-sided.”

    “Was it my complete imagination? If it wasn’t, then at least, would you forgive me and allow me to kiss a lock of your hair.”

    Even as Lydia thought that, she remained still even as Edgar, who was peering down into her eyes, had scooped up a palm of her hair.

    He should have achieved his goal just as he hoped, but to Lydia’s eyes, Edgar appeared hurt and painful the more he fought.

    At Lydia’s sudden remark, Edgar tilted his head to the side slightly.

P. 276

    He smiled, in a lonely, but peaceful way. Lydia felt her heart thump a loud beat, but she continued on so that it wouldn’t distract her attention.

    “I should have been the one to realize it. But to tell you the truth, I was relieved that he wasn’t a helpless child who was captured by Ulysses.”

    But just because he pricked at what she had a complex about and that resulted in her not being able to make a rash decision, proved that she was an inexperienced fairy doctor and take some time to reflect about that.

    “But Edgar, the thing I’m a little bothered about is even though the black diamond is gone, there still is a chance the Nightmare spirit is still alive. There are times when creatures born from a jewel that stowed up power would continue to live on as a spirit.”

P. 277

    “Yes, I’m sure,” replied Lydia.

    The white diamond ‘Daydream’ will surely be safely stored in the Royal Family’s Jewel House. However the demon from the black diamond might fall into the hands of Ulysses. 

    Again, he played around with a lock of Lydia’s hair.

    When she thought hard, she realized that the incident she just went through should have been the golden chance for her to escape from Edgar.

    And yet, Lydia wasted that chance on her own.

    Why….

    Prince had sent Ulysses to England, and apparently tried to start building a foundation for himself in the field of magic.

    But if it became top priority, to go against Ulysses - who is able to control fairies - then Lydia’s help and support was going to be absolutely needed from now on. 

    Since he didn’t have any ability to counteract or fight with fairies and magic.

    Fairy doctors are professionals who win the aid of fairies by constructing a trust-based relationship in order to solve all kinds of different problems. Lydia described herself as inexperienced, but she was a girl who had an alliance with a kelpie, so wouldn’t that mean she was a remarkable fairy doctor?

    However, it was also true that he was started to feel hesitance in continuing to rely on Lydia.

P. 279

    Edgar, who was thinking to himself alone in his office, asked Raven who happened to enter to deliver a wad of letters.

    Raven was listening in the same spot he was standing in, and was just as lost as Edgar on his feelings that Edgar himself wasn’t able to figure out.

    Edgar gushed out all of his feelings, regardless if Raven was able to understand or not. 

    “When I thought Lydia might have started to grow a little bit of romantic feelings towards me, I was happy but also scared. Because I realized I hadn’t been considering my responsibility as a man for Lydia all this time.”

    At Raven’s unexpectedly reply, Edgar lifted his face up in surprise.

    “Now that I think about it, there might have been a time when you did. Did you not give up falling in love with someone so that you would be able to fight? If you were to give up Miss Lydia, then that would be the same.”

    “All of them did not last long.”

    As he said that, the reason he had been repeating the same relationship pattern, might have been because there was a part of him which felt relief when his lover would leave him.

    “Ohhh-,” breathed out Edgar, letting out a deep sigh.

    Why, the only one who isn’t able to grow up at all might be Edgar. 
    He looked down through the window to see Lydia, who had stepped out into the garden and started to pick some herbs, which made Edgar, now of all times, realize that he was starting to feel apprehensive in getting her involved.

End of Book 5

Chapter end