Hakushaku to Yousei Vol 6 Chapter 3

P. 80

    And yet, Lydia was able to understand that it would have been dangerous of her to enter the town alone and that Edgar had planned this seize.

    Standing on the deck, Lydia gazed out into the black-colored ocean just when it was near sunset and lifted up her head at the sound of a presence of someone approaching her through the side breeze.

    Edgar stopped to stand next to her as she was leaning up against the railing. 

    “Well, I don’t want to sleep on the floor at the bottom of a ship. So, we’ll spend the night at some inn and I’m planning on us taking the train. I already told Nico that he can catch up to us on Lota’s ship. We’ll pretend to be passing-by travelers and enter the town."

P. 81

    On the other hand, he had a gentle smile on his face and was gazing at Lydia calmly.

    “…….What?”

    When Lydia remembered, she frowned.

    “Oh, did we?”

    “I only remember that we spent a wonderful night on top of the ocean.”

    “Don’t you feel that that was the start of our destined love?”

    “In time, you’ll think so.”

P. 82

    “Oh, yes, I need to tell you that Betty and I are completely over. Even when she is found, don’t let her bother you.”

    That news frustrated her, like it was a bother, or like it was wrong to feel bothered about it, and she didn’t know what she was suppose to organize those feelings inside her.

    “….If Betty was taken as a changeling, I think it might be difficult because some time has passed.”

    “She might have become accustomed to the fairy world.”

    “You’re quite cold.”

    Although nothing has even started.

P. 83

    “Then, I wish you would become serious about marrying me so that you wouldn’t have to go to the fairy world with Kelpie.”

    Like it was hard for him to understand, Edgar peered down to look at her. 

    “A changeling, often times leave behind a fairy baby in its place. When that happens, the fairy baby is put under a spell so that people couldn’t tell it apart from a human. But, somewhere on its body, there should be something that’s different from a human. In my case, it’s because my eyes are a rare color.”

    Lydia knew that as well. But, it seemed that people were disturbed by Lydia’s eyes that looked golden-green clearly by the different reflections of light.

    “There are times when I think. The real Lydia in the fairy world might be wishing to return to the human realm.”

    "Yes. My father always says that I’m not a changeling.”

    “Because I can’t fit it with the human world.”

    “Am I not enough?” said Edgar all of a sudden, with a look like he was pressurized.

    “Eh…..”

    “I’m sorry, for leaving a scar on a lady’s face.”

    “I was the one who took you there.”

    Even if she felt that it was a different from the kind of light flirting remarks in the past, but it was still difficult for Lydia to believe that that itself was his form of love.

P. 85

    But even still, he held her shoulders so much more gently than ever before. 

    “…..What is it?”

    While she was trying to guess what it was, he slipped on the moonstone ring on her ring finger. 

    He kissed her fingertips and made a smile saying now I can rest easy.

    Even if she felt used to it, that meant she didn’t feel like she wanted to run away or become angered or confused, and up to the part where his lips touched, there was always a lingering feeling like it wasn’t her hand anymore. 

    Oh, I forgot. 

    She did say it just for sake, but as expected, Edgar only made a happy smile.

    Slipping out of the inn in the small harbor town, Edgar walked to a pub alone.

    Just beyond the small partition, he ordered for a beer as he listened to the bustle and clamor of the working-class.

    For a while, he drank by himself, but then Ermine eventually appeared.

    “Did you come to keep an eye on me?”

    “If it’s about what happened just a while ago, then I wasn’t lying.”

    Making a sour smile, Edgar let the beer flow down his throat.

P. 87

    “That’s because it wouldn’t be light.”

    “Really, I feel completely disgusted with myself. Lydia said she feel adjusted with the human world. That gave me the feeling like she might leave to the fairy world at this rate because of my fault.”

    “If it was just having a fun conversation, then you couldn’t consider it adultery, right?”

    “You’re all right if I seduce you?”

    Because Ermine knew that Edgar would never try and seduce her, she was able to let it fly by as a joke.

    “He doesn’t like how he’s still seen as a child.”

    “When he was told by the maids that he looked fifteen, he was feeling quite upset inside.”

P. 88

    “But his subtle expressions aren’t being noticed by anyone.”

    Their small, mindless conversation brought him a small peaceful piece of mind for a short while for them. Because they couldn’t see what was going to happen from now, this kind of time was precious.

    “I’m not sure about that. He might not feel comfortable about my hair and nails not growing and my body that turns cold as water when I sleep.”

    Ermine let the tension in her lips go and even appeared like she was a little lost as what to do.

    “No, I don’t feel anything myself. There are times when I even forget some days that I am a selkie. But, when I come near the ocean like this, I feel like I’m being called by the waves.”

    When the selkie part of herself awakens.

    Did the customers here have a practice where they treated drinks to fairies?

    He didn’t care and tossed over a silver shilling.

    Fairies were by people’s side unbeknownst to them. That fact was revealed to him ever since he met Lydia.

    “I’ll be going now.”

    “I’m not the only one who is watching you.”

    “Ermine, do you think that it will be all right if I stay with Lydia like this?”

    “I treat her with such forcefulness, and yet, when the time comes when she accepts, I’m not sure if I would be able to accept her.”

    “I thought I had the resolve, and yet I’m quick to waver. I have no guarantee that I can protect her, and yet I force her to join my war, and when I imagine something undoable might happen, then I’m afraid I’d might do something that would make her hate me.”

    A means that would ruin everything, just like the fairytale he read in the picture book.

    He didn’t know why he was saying something like this.

    “No. But if Lydia doesn’t hate enough, then I wouldn’t be able to let go of her.”

    However, Edgar looked at Ermine’s hand that he was still holding onto and Ermine did not take her eyes off of his face.

    She always was able to read Edgar’s intentions exactly.

    Feeling Ermine’s tense presence through his fingertips, he thought he must laugh it off as a joke.

    Ermine cautiously let out a sigh.

    Edgar finally let go of her hand.

    “………….”

    “Lord Edgar, you are denigrating yourself too much. Why couldn’t the both of you take each other’s hands and solve your problems together. We are not in America anymore. We don’t have a battle to fight, you should be allowed to walk the path that brings you happiness.”

    “If it was Miss Carlton, I think she is someone who would even try to support her loved one’s weakness and faults.”

    “I will be wishing for that to become true.”

    “I wonder what I want to do.”

    “You have quite the cynical character, Earl.”

    He picked up the large glass like he was carrying a package too big for him and drank the beer.

    “If you had an affair with her, then it sure to hurt Lydia. Since that lady is deeply in love with you for some time, and Lydia knows that as well, so it 

    “I don’t have those kinds of feelings towards Ermine.”

    Nico wiped off the foam on his whiskers with his front paw.

    “I won’t do that, there is no way I could do it.”

    “Both.”

    “Nico, you won’t go and say anything unnecessary to Lydia, will you.”

P. 93

    “All right.”

    Edgar was irritated at his nerve and thought he should stoke and cuddle him all over, but since he knew that he was the one at fault, and so Edgar was barely able to settle down his urge to vent out his anger. 
     Since Nico wouldn’t even want to let Lydia know about this kind of awful thing.

    “Are you a scholar?”

    “I hear you are gathering fairytale stories.”

    Edgar was coming up with one lie after another so smoothly, and he had invited one of the villagers to join them and ride on their carriage and asked to be guided to the only lodging facility that was said to exist in the town of Wallcave.

    “In any place or town, there is sure to be at least one or two. Although, these kind of things are best known by senior residents or women.”

P. 94

    “It’s just a coincidence. I travel unplanned and play it by ear, but I heard that the hills around this area have the most wonderful views, and since I am having my fiancée accompanying me on this trip, then I thought we should go and stop by.”

    As Lydia listened to their conversation, she felt like the villager didn’t want them to touch on the subject about fairytales. 

    Even the wheat fields that was surrounded by a fence, at this time of season where the harvesting should be over, there should be mountains of straw piled up, but they were only filled with withering weeds.

    She wondered if the people were living on just the money sent in by those working out of town.

    “Is the lord of the manor not living in it?”

    “When was the last time he came?”

    Hearing that, Edgar gave a glance over towards Lydia.

    “Please wait for just a moment.”

    “You must be the Viscount Lord Middlesworth. If you would follow me, I shall guide you immediately.”

    It seemed that the only lodgers were going to be only them.

    “Eh.”

    “She is still just my fiancée, so would you make our rooms separate. I think it’s best to have a waiting room for a maid attached to it. Although it would be even better if there was the view of the ocean.”

P. 96

    Hiding the fact that she was a fairy doctor, and even if there was a need to enter the town, she sort of felt like she was being used to Edgar’s advantage.

    “Martha, then would you escort the lady,” said the older woman, to which the younger woman nodded in reply.

    “Lydia, see you later.”

    As Lydia was escorted into another room, she spoke to the woman.

    The woman was the quiet type and also gave an impression like she was very depressed, so that made Lydia worried if she might be the mother of the changeling.

    “Do you have children….”

    Then, she might not be the one. But, according to Edgar’s story, it seems like the whole town is saying to give up on the changeling to all the village members, so she might just be saying that she doesn’t have any children.

    “Are there any other husband and wives who had just gotten married?”

    “Eh? Ahh, umm,”

    Ermine gave her a helping hand, and Lydia thankfully let her heart rest easy.

    Regret? Because your child was put through a changeling?

    Putting aside Lydia who was in surprise, the young woman guided them through the room in a businesslike manner.

P. 98

    Leaving the nodding Ermine in the corner of her eye, the young woman was quick and crisp in her movements in opening up the curtains and when she was done, she looked like she was going to leave, so Lydia rushed and tried to stop her.

    The young woman turned around with a suspecting look.

    Suddenly, the look of her face changed, and she spoke up.

    Leaving with just words that sounded like a threat, the young woman sped out of the room.

    “The whole town might be threatening her not to leek out the word about the changeling occurring.”

    But then, why are the mothers not allowed to retrieve their changeling child, she wondered.

    Outside the window, the sound of the wind kept endlessly blowing. Even if she was inside the room, a building with no fire lit was completely chilled and cold, but she didn’t feel like getting her coat, and so Lydia remained as she was and sat down on the sofa.

    In the end, the reason why Nico decided to ride the train might have been because he was worried about Lydia and wanted to keep his eye on her. Getting up, she opened the window and he hopped down from the window and came into the room.

    The reason the number of people were low must have been because nearly all left town to work in the cities, but now that she recalled, it was strange to not see any fairies at all.

    “Whose that? Your friend, Nico?”

    Nico turned around and held up his tail and found a small brown-colored fairy there, and placed his paws on his hips and turned his body to face it.

P. 100

    (Huh? Oh sorry….. I just thought you were an unfamiliar cat.)

    (Whaaat)

    (Now that you say that, you’re right.)

    It was a female fairy that wore and skirt and cloth as a hat. She looked closed to a brownie, but from the looks of how weak her brain is, she might be more of a dobby.

    The small fairy turned to face her, and as soon as her eyes met with Lydia’s, she went rushing back to hide behind Nico’s tail.

    (What, are you able to see me?)

    (A fairy doctor!)

P. 101

    (Please help my child!)

    (My child is being put in a pot. If they left my baby like that, they’re going to boil my baby!)

    There were times when fairy parents would leave behind their own fairy baby who they put magic on to make it look like a human baby in place of the baby they stole. In those cases, if humans put the fairy baby through something terrible, then it would reveal its true form and the magic would be undone, and it was said that the fairies would give back the baby they stole.

    It didn’t guarantee to have your baby returned, and because of that, there were times when the stolen human baby would be treated horribly by the fairies.

    “Your baby, is it the changeling that was exchanged with one of the villager’s baby?”

    Since fairies don’t like iron, they considered it cruelty to put a fairy in a pot in place of a baby cradle. The young woman, Martha, who they met just now, must have heard that method from somewhere and tested it.

    “Then, you better return her baby back to her.”

    The female dobie wiped her tears with Lydia’s skirt.

    (You say everyone, so do you mean your kind? Why won’t they let you?”

    Wyrm? That was a dragon that had the enormous body like a snake. There were times when they didn’t have any legs like a lizard.

    “There is a Wyrm here?”

    It was said that this place mined up precious fluorites by the name Freya.

    (Wyrm wants to eat human children. And it orders us to go and steal them. We can’t fight back, so we ended up doing changelings… But, I don’t want it if my baby is going to be put through pain. Please save my baby, Fairy doctor!)

P. 103

    “Then, was the human baby already eaten?”

    However, if it still hasn’t happened, it would be difficult to retrieve the baby.

    “Excuse me, Dobie, but wasn’t it recently that the Wyrm began to want human children?”

    “Then, we need to think of a way to put it back to sleep.”

    A new earl, there was no mistake that he was the one who was making the villagers endure about the changelings.

    (An imposter? Then if the real Blue Knight Earl would come, then would he defeat the Wyrm for us?)

    There was no way that Edgar could possibly defeat an enormous dragon like how the old Blue Knight Earl would have. Which means that she couldn’t go around claiming that the real one was here.

    “All right. Take me to there.”

    The lord’s manor was located a distance away from the community. Lydia left there and was walking pass scrub brushes.

    (Where did my baby go? Just a moment ago, there was a pot right here.)

    (My baby looked so cold and I couldn’t bear to see my baby like that, so I filled the pot with potatoes.)

    At Nico’ voice, Lydia quickly hid herself behind one of the pillars.

    In the pot, there was water filled so high that the potatoes were all sunken in it. When Lydia hid and watched, the woman placed it atop the heath fire.

    Lydia went jumping out from behind the pillar shadows.

    “W-who on earth are you?”

    The woman knit her brows together and her eyes went back and forth between the baby that Lydia was holding and the pot.

    She took her eyes away from the baby and balled up her back and sat down in a chair.

    If your own baby’s face suddenly turned into this, then any mother would become suspicious that a changeling might have happened.

    The female dobie seemed to be in shock that her own child was going to be put on the fire, and was slumped down on the dirt ground and bellowed in tears. Of course, Lydia was the only one who could see that. 

    “Um, Madam, you mustn’t treat it so terribly just because it is a changeling. Please change it into some clean baby clothes. And don’t put it to sleep inside a pot.”

    “Who are you again?”

    “A fairy doctor? Humph, a person who says they can see fairies put themselves all on the fairy’s side. They only concentrate on getting the good favor of the fairy.”

    “Then, why don’t you get our baby…”

    Perhaps, it could have been because she was told over and over not to go and retrieve her changeling grandchild.

P. 107

    “But….”

    “Why is that? Because the lord of the manor said so? But, that lord is an imposter!”

    The woman changed her expression immediately and stood up.

    At that time, Lydia noticed the presence of someone standing and blocking the passage through the kitchen door.

    “So, you’re a fairy doctor. I thought it was strange for vacationing travelers to come to this town,” said one of them as he glared at Lydia.

    “I wonder if that’s true. Didn’t someone invite her here? Anyways, we’ll need to have a talk with the head of the town.”

P. 108

    This should be the place to investigate for clues so they could find out about the person who claimed to be the Blue Knight Earl who appeared here two years ago.

    In recent times, there weren’t any nobles who carried swords with them unless they were in the military, but he was required to keep it with him at all times, so it couldn’t be helped.

    Edgar sneaked into a room that looked like a gentleman’s room, and stood in the middle to take a good look around the room.

    Edgar walked over towards it. When Raven lit a fire on the candlestick, the light helped make the shape of the red and purple statue be seen clearly.

    Raven didn’t agree or deny him, but Edgar didn’t want a reply from his in the first place. When Edgar stepped away from the statue, he searched atop of a desk.

P. 109

    Opening up every drawer, he checked everything inside. However, they were mostly empty.

    They must have disposed or hidden the documents, which they didn’t want anyone to see, were supposed to be here.

    However, in a minute his eyes fell down to something on the carpet on the floor.

    He turned over the carpet and picked up the paper that had apparently been tucked under it. 

    “It looks to be a part of an account.”

    It listed the percentage of output of the account.

    “Lord Edgar, someone is coming.”

P. 110

    The people who became suspicious of the vacationers must have come to investigate the lord of the manor’s estate.

    “There is no reason for us to run or hide. Let’s hear what the people here have to say about themselves.”

    At the same time, the door slammed open and a number of men came stumbling into the room.

    Lydia was told by an old man who said he was the mayor of the town to follow him and had returned to the lord of the manor’s estate.

    She was worried if her revealing that she was a fairy doctor without asking if it was a good idea to Edgar might cause him trouble, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

    The mayor nodded and he motioned for Lydia to follow and they went further up the stairs.

    “Gentlemen, it would be polite of you if knocked and then entered if you had business.”

    “What are you doing in this kind of place.”

    “Of course there is, this is the room of our lord!”

    The mayor entered into the room as he called out to the group of young lively men in a tone like he was giving them fatherly advice. Lydia’s back was pushed by a man behind her and so she entered the room.

    The mayor immediately left Lydia’s side, however before he opened his mouth, he stood in front of the doorway as if to not allow them to escape.

    “What, no! I was trying to save that baby. If you ill-treat a changeling, the human baby won’t return. You have to take the right measures…”

P. 112

    That was the same thing that Lydia was arguing about at the mayor’s house.

    Ignoring Lydia, the mayor faced Edgar.

    “Unfortunately, the thieves here would you all of you. Since, it would be troublesome if the police got involved.”

    This was the Edgar that was the most dangerous Lydia knew. He was thinking about how to completely knock out his opponents.

    “This house is my estate, everything here belongs to me. Whether I take it out or break it, it’s my freedom.”

    At the disturbing sound of glass breaking, one of the young men, pulled out a knife in reflex and in the next second was knocked down by Raven, and ended up flying back into the wall.

P. 113

    “Understood.”

    “Do you know who I am?”

    It was the merrow’s sword, and while Lydia watched patiently, he pulled out the sword.

    “The master of you all, I am the Earl of Ibrazel.”

    They probably didn’t have a chance to see the sword that proved the identity of the Blue Knight Earl, but they must be aware of the star sapphire that was called the merrow’s star.

    All of them clearly weren’t hiding the look of surprise on their faces.

    “…..I have met the lord of this estate a number of times, and so I know him. You are not him.”

P. 114

    “And it would have been for the best of you all if you had just gone with the story that you were all deceived by him. So this makes all of you his accomplices. It couldn’t be helped if society considered that you took his hand and were tricking me.”

    “In regards to ‘my’ fluorites that are mined in this land, you had reported to the earl family butler that the mining vein was draining, when in reality, the amount that was being dug up had drastically increased compared from the past. Oh, goodness, really, which one of us is the thief.”

    “So, mister major, you’re dividing the money that was earned by the fluorites that you illegally channeled to yourself with the rest of the members of this village? Which means a hidden market route exists. Since, the fluorites here have a unique coloring that is only mined here in England. You weren’t able to lie about where the place they were dug up and distribute them. And so, why not I have you all talk about the thief who claimed to be the Blue Knight Earl and is 

    “The mining vein of the fluorites has depleted,” said the mayor stubbornly. 

    I see, said Edgar with a smile like he found something fun. The perfect smile that his perfect looks wore carried a heartless presence behind it.

    “So, even if things were made public, you’re still going to act like you have nothing to hide. If you intend to go against the lord of your manor, then you must be quite prepared for this.”

    “You have angered me. I will have you all sent to the fires of hell,” stated Edgar in a cold tone like a tyrant in the past.

Chapter end