Witch Hunt Chapter 4 part4

(Part 4)

“What about today, Michelle?” Lucca asked me the usual question as she selected pastries in the front of the store. It wasn’t to inquire about my current state, she wanted to know what type of pastry I felt like eating.

“Erm, sorry… I don’t have much of an appetite.” Before, when I was trying to sneak out of my church, I certainly was very hungry. However, when I recalled the instructions the twins gave me, I suddenly lost my appetite.

“Oh, is that so? Do you feel unwell?”

“It’s not that, but…”

From what Lucca told me, six months before she had other friend besides me, but she disappeared abruptly. According to the information untangled by the Society, apparently Archwitch Meyrin and Lucca often met, so that unnamed friend was unquestioningly Meyrin.

However, if I directly questioned Lucca about it, she would undoubtedly realize that I was a witch hunter in pursuit of a target. And if she did, Meyrin would learn about my existence through her.
No, beyond that, since she believed I was a nun of the church, the fact that I had lied about my status constituted a huge betrayal. To let her know the true nature of my job was akin to confessing that I had lied to her.

Besides…

“Whenever the season changes it’s easy to fall ill, you have to take care of yourself.”

I approached her in order to gather information about Archwitch Meyrin… Nothing scared me than Lucca thinking that. Her kindness made her concerned about my well-being, and in turn that bound my heart to her.

“Look, this one is called stewed bread, it’s stuffed with vegetables so it’s very nutritious. Even if you don’t have any appetite, you’ve got to eat at least a bit.”

Please stop, Lucca. Don’t smile at me like that.

“You aren’t feverish, are you? If you feel like you’ve caught a cold, I think I have some medicine from my friend, but…”

*Ding Dong*

At that instant, the doorbell of the store chimed.

“Ah, welcome…” As she greeted her customer, Lucca’s face suddenly lit up. It was a different type of smile from the one she directed at me; I even had the impression of seeing flowers blossomed all around her.

“Cougar!” Her voice resonated inside the store, brimming with joy.

“Oh, Michelle is here as well. Maybe I came at a bad time?” I felt his eyes turn towards me, but I quickly averted mine and couldn't even shake my head.

Right now when I'm here, and worse still, taking advantage of Lucca… You… You're the last person I want to see.

“Oh no, you're not a bother.” Lucca made her long hair flutter when she shook her head from side to side. The lace headdress on top of her head followed suit, waving like a bird’s wing. “Oh right, I was about to go out for lunch with Michelle, would you like to come with us?” As she invited him, she gazed in my direction.

Cougar and I are childhood friends; during his last half-year, Lucca learnt this fact, so she likely thought I had no reason to object to her words. Her eyes were basically seeking confirmation of this. Obviously, until then I had never refused an opportunity to spend time with him.

“Of course I’d like to go along, but…” He rubbed his chin princely, just like a grand minister contemplating the matter worriedly. “Is it alright for me to interfere in the meeting of two lovely ladies like yourselves, Michelle?”

No, you're not the one interfering or being bothersome. “Actually, I’m alright by myself. Please go with Lucca.” I wondered inwardly if that voice that reached my ears was my own voice; it sounded like a voice trying hard to sound kind.

“What? But…since you came all the way here…” Lucca spoke brokenly in her surprise.

I wonder why…Curiously enough, her voice which always gave a pleasant feeling whenever I heard it, that day made me feel angry. “I said it’s fine! Just go, you two!” I yelled without thinking.
Lucca and Cougar had never heard scream like that, so their eyes went wide. But the one most surprised by the outburst was me, without doubt.

“Ah, um… I’m sorry. Like you said, I don’t feel well, I have no appetite. Don’t worry about me, just go.”

“If you say so,” Lucca said kindly, as usual. Her concern only pained me further.

“Since you two are going out on a date, that apron look won’t do. Why don’t you go home and change?” As if to punish myself for my anger moments before, I decided to act with integrity towards Cougar and Lucca.

“A date? That’s not true, isn’t it?”

“Actually, Michelle is correct.”

“Eh?”

“Although I do find you beautiful in that apron.”

“That’s…”
After my initial surprise wore off, it was striking how easy it was for an outsider to figure out the feelings of those two.

The man I loved was in love with my friend. My friend was in love with the man I loved.

Suddenly, I was reminded of the first time the three of us first spent time together. It was five months before: at that time, Lucca and I were shopping at En Passant Marketplace. After escaping the palace as usual, Cougar saw us and called out to attract our attention; then, the three of us wandered the marketplace and climbed the Queen’s Hill.

At that time, I realized that they were in love with each other. Even though they didn’t exchange words to that effect, I could sense it in the atmosphere, in their expressions and actions. Although it didn’t seem like they had confessed their feelings to one another, just by watching them it was painfully obvious that they wanted to.

That day lingered in my mind, alongside with the feelings I wanted to be erased.

“Might as well,” Lucca said finally and went home.

After the doorbell chimed, I was left inside the quiet bakery with the prince of this land. Whether he knew there were clients around or not, her boss back in the kitchen didn’t show his face near the counter, since he knew Lucca wasn’t around.

“Michelle, I have something to discuss with you.”

“Discuss? About what?” I tried to appear as uninterested as possible about it.

“It’s been going for several months now, to be honest. There’s been talk of marriage between the princess of Frouvel and myself.”

“Eh?”

Frouvel, the Country of Flowers, was the country beyond the sea where I spent a year. While I was there, I was granted an audience with the princess due to my work; she looked around fourteen or sixteen… It seemed too soon for her to marry, but undoubtedly it was a political arrangement.

The Witch Hunter Society also had been gradually increasing its influence in Frouvel from our headquarters here in Kings; before anyone was the wiser, it had completed laying the groundwork for our plans.

In any case, I knew that someday Cougar would marry a princess from one country or another. That’s why I had never confessed my love to the one I adored. I was a dog of the Society, meant to exterminate witches, and Cougar was a prince. I was quite aware of the extreme difference in our social standing, so I was truly content to be able to even exchange words with him.

I felt bad for Lucca, but if confronted with the possibility of a friend stealing away the man I loved, I felt much happier with the idea of a princess I knew nothing about marrying him. In the end, love between a prince and a commoner was the sort of story that only works out in novels.

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” I said calmly, without showing my feelings. “If the bride is a princess of Frouvel, it will add to your prestige as a prince. You might surpass your brothers and get closer to the position of successor to the throne. Besides-“

“I’m thinking of refusing the match.”

“What?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Why, what’s going on? I suspected the reason, but my mind refused to consider the answer.

“I love Lucca. That’s why I won’t marry.” Cougar always hid behind a smile, but now his face was completely earnest.

Even though I had finally given up on you.

Even though I always held back.

Why?

Why?

“I hadn’t told anyone until now… But finally I come clean.”

“Wait a minute, you said you won’t marry the princess? And you haven’t told anyone but me?”

“You’re the first one to hear it, Michelle. After all, you’re my childhood friend. I wanted you to be the first to know.”

“N-no! You can’t do that!” It doesn’t make me happy to the first one to hear that.

Letting the marriage talks go to waste affected the reliability of the kingdom. If his father the King heard about this, Cougar could instantly lose his opportunity to be the next in line to the throne. Not only that, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was stripped of his rank and chased out of the country.

“Do you realize what you’re saying?!” I realized that my tone had become somewhat scolding, even though I had approached Cougar with similar feelings.

“I’m well aware… But I love Lucca. If I’m with her, I’ll be able to live happily in a strange land no matter where we are, don’t you think?”

“No, that’s completely wrong!”

“I made up my mind!” How many years had passed since the last time I saw the prince raise his voice in anger? I realized that no matter what I said I wouldn’t be able to convince him to change his course of action.

I felt a sharp pain as I squeezed my fists until my nails bit into my skin. A metal taste spread inside my mouth when I bit my lip so hard as to draw blood…

()

Chapter end