Lydia and Raven had already been missing for two days.
Edgar motionlessly sat on the sofa in the study room and pondered.
Nico and Lota weren’t here as well. Their whereabouts were only known up until the pub that Lota frequently went to and where they went to next was completely unknown.
The pub owner said that he didn’t remember anything.
Edgar was suspicious of the McKeel men who appeared at the Carlton household a few days ago so it was only logical that he sent “Scarlet Moon” to investigate them.
Recently, only the black-haired man had entered and left the hotel, and it seemed that the red-haired youth wasn’t seen. The black-haired man was only in a meeting with his clansmen in London and there didn’t seem to be any suspicious activity from him.
What on earth happened?
Edgar closed his eyes, felt irritated in not being able to find a single clue.
His mind appeared to be filled with Lydia trembling while shedding tears.
If he didn’t force her like that, perhaps nothing would have happened. Once he thought of this, regret overwhelmed him.
“Pardon me, my lord.”
Despite him praying that Lydia would miraculously and seemingly return when he opened his eyes, it was only Tomkins before him.
“The doctor has left, the young miss ought to wake up very soon.”
The butler’s words reminded Edgar that he had recently brought back an unfamiliar maiden.
She was at the corner of the street and had suddenly dashed to front of his carriage. Although the coachman had just barely managed to get out of the way and did not cause an accident, the maiden fell to the ground, not getting up.
“Is that so? Luckily, the carriage did not hit her, but because she was frightened and fell down, it seems that she had a slight concussion.”
As a result, Edgar brought her back to the residence, but Tomkins looked at him worriedly.
“As soon as she wakes up, I will send her home as quickly as possible. Her attire is quite beautiful, is it not known which family’s daughter this young lady is?”
“My lord, please allow me to speak, I think it’s best not get too involved with her.”
“What are you worried about?”
“I’m worried that you’ll carelessly flirt with her.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. With the current situation, how would I have the mood to do that sort of thing?”
If you weren’t in this situation, then you would flirt with her, right? From the seemingly distant look of Tomkin’s eyes, it was unknown whether or not he thought that. This didn’t bother Edgar as he got up, saying:
“I’ll go take a look at her situation.”
Edgar headed towards the guest room. Perhaps he was doing this because he wanted to get rid of his fretful mood from waiting and yet not being able to do anything.
When he entered the room, the maid assigned there bowed slightly.
Although the maiden lying on the bed was around Lydia’s age, whether or not it was her brown hair or her features, there wasn’t any resemblance of Lydia.
But when she slowly opened her eyes, they were a faint green.
Those bright green eyes that greatly resembled Lydia’s made Edgar helplessly attracted as he came closer.
The maiden looked at Edgar, who leaned forward and smiled.
That completely unguarded smile made him think of Lydia’s, although she wouldn’t show it often. But recently the smile that was finally revealed to him made him feel somewhat confused.
“Edgar...”
In addition, she affectionately called out and extended her hand.
While Edgar was astonished, he held her hand, at the same time his heart was warning his abnormal self. Even if he was extremely worried about Lydia, it was only because her eye color was similar, and thus he regarded her as Lydia, but it really wasn’t quite right.
As long as he calmed down, then he would understand that a maiden knowing him wasn’t strange at all. For Edgar, unfamiliar women having favorable impressions of him were a frequent matter.
He composed himself and then he placed a simple courteous kiss on the maiden’s hand.
It seemed the maiden had suddenly came to her senses as she was surprised, hastily getting up.
“Hey, you’ve woken up? You almost hit my carriage. I took precautions just in case, so I asked the doctor to come and examine you, but you don’t seem to be hurt. This is truly great.”
She had a confused expression as she looked all around, and then she gazed at the hair that hung down to her chest.
Her expression seemed as if it was the first time seeing herself.
“This is my mansion. Since I don't know who you are, I had no better option but to bring you back first. How do you feel?”
Not knowing whether or not the maiden heard Edgar’s words, she only appeared to be touching her face, spreading out her hands before her and repeatedly doing other ambiguous movements. Finally, she had an expression as if she gave up, and looked at Edgar.
“Um... I-I’m sorry, I seem to have given you trouble…”
“No, our coachman also wasn’t paying attention, so don’t worry about it.”
“But, um... you don’t know…. who…. I am?”
Edgar immediately replied that he didn’t know, after she heard this, she seemingly appeared to be quite discouraged.
“You seem to know me, but unfortunately it’s me who can’t recall who you are. Have we met somewhere before?”
From Edgar’s tone, he seemed used to being recognized by many people and not knowing them in return. This made her look more sorrowful.
“Could you tell me your name?”
“I’m Ly…! Ly, um… uh, Liz.”
First, she energetically opened her mouth, but later became hesitant.
“So you’re called Liz. Where is your home? I’ll send you back, your family will be worried.”
Edgar thought of Lydia and Raven, who were suddenly missing, thus he sighed quietly.
As he sighed, he thought to himself that it would be good if it were only a small mishap that happened to them, and that there would immediately be a messenger informing him that they were back safe and sound.
Edgar waited for Liz’s reply, but Liz was suddenly silent. As a result, Edgar gazed at her face.
“What’s wrong? You don’t want to go back?”
“Um, I...”
“However, we will contact your household first…”
“Um, that…. I can’t remember!”
Displaying an action of pressing my forehead as if I have a headache will make it somewhat awkward.
“I wonder where I came from?”
In addition, this sentence was like a thought-up line.
“You can’t remember anything?”
“It seems that way. ”
“But you called my name just now.”
“Ah, y-yes... I don’t know why... I feel as if I know you.”
Liz lifted up her head once more, she seemed very worried, as if she was going to cry at any time.
“That’s why, um… I thought that you would recognize me.”
Is that true?
Edgar was a little suspicious, as this might be a maiden who liked him and put on a small act in order to approach him, but there was a possibility that Liz really didn’t remember.
It’s just that the maiden had a genuinely confused, embarrassed expression, and as long as Edgar recalled Lydia’s unknown whereabouts and how she may be really worried, he couldn’t bear to drive this maiden away.
“I understand. For the time being, have a good rest for today. Perhaps you will remember tomorrow.”
*
Lydia stood in front of the mirror and carefully examined her appearance once again.
The person in the mirror was a brunette with a maiden’s gentle features; there wasn’t a trace of Lydia at all.
Even if one night had passed, Lydia had of course still maintained the appearance of an unfamiliar maiden.
Kelpie used changeling magic on an item, which was a porcelain doll that Edgar gave to Lydia. Edgar said that the doll’s eye color was like Lydia’s, so he bought it.
Lydia thought that the doll’s features were like that, but she felt that the doll was more beautiful than herself.
In short, Lydia used this kind of method to return to the human world, but once she began, she racked her brains thinking of how to get close to Edgar.
After all, with regards to Edgar, she was a strange woman whom he’d never seen before.
Although she paced back and forth in the mansion’s vicinity, she couldn’t suddenly pay a visit. She pondered whether or not there was any natural way to see Edgar, but because she couldn’t think of a way, she sank into despair.
Finally, when Lydia saw Edgar’s carriage, she ran forward, but even she was surprised that she came out unscathed.
Afterwards, she was brought back to this mansion, which was practically an unexpected outcome.
Furthermore, even before knowing who “Liz” was, it appeared that she wouldn’t be driven away.
However, the problem had only just begun.
Edgar only needed to come and meet her, then he’ll certainly realize that she is Lydia.
Lydia needed to get power that could replace the Moonstone ring’s power to pull her back to the human world, so there was no other way.
However, was this really possible?
The more she looked in the mirror and was even unable to recognize herself, the more she felt that there would be challenges in making Edgar recognize her.
“No --- it’ll be alright. Edgar also said that even if he closed his eyes and touched someone, he would know who it is.”
Even if her appearance was puzzling, as long as there was the opportunity to touch each other, then he will know.
The changeling magic had only changed her appearance. Regardless of the figure or her complexion, with their hands touching, he will intuitively feel that she is Lydia standing before him.
(Oh my, Miss Lydia, why are you in disguise?
Someone used the name “Lydia” to call her. Shocked, she turned her head.
Sitting by the windowside was a bearded petite goblin with a triangular hat --- Coblynau.
“You...recognize me?”
(This is changeling magic, correct? Is this the Earl’s hobby?)
How is this a hobby?
(Goodness gracious, although the Earl wanted to dress the young lady in various kinds of dresses, I didn’t expect him to even want to change your hair and appearance. But overall, this case compared to being interested in other women is better. If, by using this as a pretext, this can change the mood and alleviate the Earl’s fickleness, then this can’t be any better.)
I have no choice but to match the things Edgar does one by one for his fickleness. Lydia thought as she sighed.
Since the changeling magic was a type of weak magic that only changed her appearance, Coblynau was able to recognize her true identity. In addition, he seemed to think that this kind of magic was equivalent to Lydia changing her dress or hairstyle.
“Coblynau, I’m telling you, this isn’t a game, you can’t tell Edgar that it’s me.”
Despite Lydia trying to warn Coblynau, he seemed to misunderstand.
(Ahh, what if there’s a chance that you are suddenly made to run away from the mansion because of this? Ohh! you want to secretly change into a beauty that the Earl would like, and then satisfy his fickleness a little?)
“Eh, no that’s not what this is...”
What do you mean, “a beauty that he would like.” ? Saying this made it seem like Lydia’s appearance wasn’t within his range of preferences.
(I see, it is said that a good wife has her husband wrapped around her finger. It’s only logical that unfaithfulness cannot be forgiven, but excessively restricting them also isn’t too good. If the husband goes out and plays without telling his wife, he would certainly cherish his wife afterwards due to a guilty conscience.)
...Is that what is known happen?
In the time that Lydia was worried, she had already forgotten to retort, so Coblynau no longer felt doubtful regarding her so-called transformation.
(That being the case, then I, Coblynau, will support the Lady, so please don’t worry.)
“Eh, wait a minute!”
(I won’t tell the Earl, and please do your best.)
Just like that, his presence disappeared.
Oh no, what am I going to do? But it seemed that he wouldn’t tell anyone, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
At any rate, if this appearance could truly attract Edgar as Coblynau stated, then the chances of Edgar touching her will increase. Liz’s true identity was Lydia, so this wasn’t considered as cheating.
Up until now, Lydia thought to herself very optimistically, that if Edgar liked “Liz”, then he should discover that she was actually Lydia.
“But..... would my attitude from yesterday be too plain…”
“What was too plain?”
Lydia looked back, surprised, and saw Edgar standing by the doorway.
“Liz, you seem to have recovered.”
“Yes, um, thanks to you.”
“You still don’t remember anything?”
“...I’m sorry. ”
Liz lowered her head, and Edgar walked over and stroked her hair.
Although Liz was shocked, Edgar answered with a perfect smile.
She recalled that when Edgar did these kinds of actions, there wasn’t any particular meaning to it. However, if the both of them didn’t take a step further and touched, perhaps he wouldn’t discover who Liz was.
“If you feel better, then would you like to head out together?”
“Eh, where to?”
“A tea party of an acquaintance. Maybe someone there will know you and looking for you, or perhaps they will hear about you through rumors.”
Despite Lydia believing that there was very little possibility, once she thought of possibilities like the opportunity to approach Edgar, she nodded in response.
Not only do I have to hurry and make him discover my true identity, I must also hurry and rescue everyone from the giant. Lydia felt considerably anxious.
However, Edgar didn’t look at Liz very frequently. Although when they took the carriage and left for the destination, or when they arrived at the mansion where the tea party was held, Edgar was escorting politely. Yet because the both of them didn’t seem to frequently have eye contact, she felt that it was odd.
Before, Lydia never noticed that he would look at her frequently when they were alone, but she knew that whenever she looked towards Edgar, he was certainly gazing at her.
It can’t go on like this. She had to make Edgar more interested in her. But even though she thought that, she couldn’t figure out a good way to.
It goes without saying, Lydia had never taken the initiative to attract Edgar’s interest from the very beginning.
But expectedly, it was Edgar who showed his passion every time causing her to be mindful of herself as she was still a maiden, thus she had to keep an appropriate distance from him.
In the end, how would she be able to take the initiative and shorten the distance between them?
During the time she was worried, the tea party had begun. The host was some baroness.
Although Lydia was introduced as “Liz”, Edgar seemed to want to offer extra cabaret for the party. Deliberately not speaking of which family she was from, he planned to grab everyone’s attention.
He had a smile across his whole face like a mischievous child, proudly inquiring whether or not there was someone who knew Liz’s identity.
However, as Edgar’s gaze left Liz, his smile completely disappeared from his face. Lydia thought that he ought to be worried about Raven and herself.
Although Lydia didn’t know what the situation with Raven was, she really hoped that she would be able to explain the situation to Edgar as soon as possible.
If he knew that Lydia was in front of him, at least he would receive a bit of comfort. However, Lydia was unable to speak this fact out, and this made her feel impatient.
Despite that, regardless of who spoke with Edgar, he would show his usual flawless smile.
Lydia knew that he was good at hiding his true feelings, but because of this, she wouldn't understand how miserable he felt with the secret he was harbouring. Thinking this, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed.
At that time, Edgar cried for help towards her, and Lydia also really wanted to save him. However, perhaps he felt that Lydia was unable to handle that secret, so he didn’t bring Lydia to step over that boundary of what she considered as “lovers”.
“My, you must certainly be a foreigner.”
Lydia heard someone talking to her and came back to herself.
“Are you Eastern European?”
“No, I’ve seen young ladies with very similar mannerisms like you in Rome.”
When Lydia noticed, no, when she noticed as Liz, she was already surrounded by several men.
“Where did you meet Edgar?”
“Umm that...”
“Is it a secret? You want us to try guessing, right?”
“Perhaps she’s a close person to Earl Ashenbert, such as his fiancée’s relative.”
“Ahh that’s possible, bringing a female friend to take part in this kind of social party, if his fiancée knew, she would certainly have suspicions.”
“Indeed. The last time he brought his fiancée, he truly seemed to be charmed by her as his eyes were shining, yet glaring at us and not letting us approach.”
Eh, was it like that?
Contrary to what one might expect, Lydia hadn’t noticed at all. She then remembered that regardless of whichever party she attended previously, she never seemed to have been surrounded by men like now.
“The Earl’s fiancée couldn’t come because she had urgent matters, right? Since you’re replacing her attendance, you are surely are a relative of the Earl’s fiancée.”
“How about that? Did I guess right? Or are you Edgar’s relative?”
It can’t go on like this, I didn’t come here to make friends with them.
Lydia painstakingly left their conversation circle, but this time she wanted to approach Edgar, once again using her efforts.
Girls gathered around him in large numbers.
When Lydia went to banquets as herself, iit was never like this, so she was a little surprised.
Sure enough, Edgar was very popular.
Witnessing this scene made her feel more restless.
According to this situation, even if Lydia apparently wasn’t present, he could immediately find one or two comforting women.
I don’t want this. Lydia shook off this idea, and planned to approach him. But she was deliberately bumped into by people, and the girls having a conversation in front of her also obstructed her way.
Edgar didn’t notice Liz at all.
Everyone alternately spoke with him uninterrupted, so he seemed quite busy.
At this time, there was some individual pulling Edgar’s arm wanting to bring him out, seemingly inviting him to head towards the balcony.
Lydia was blocked by the tables and the crowd, simply unable to move smoothly.
Moreover, she wore a dress with a crinoline, and was unable to pass through from behind the crowd.
Not knowing why, she felt a little dizzy.
“Edgar.”
Lydia couldn’t help but call out, and as a result, everyone’s gazes simultaneously shot towards her.
People looked at her with an astonished expression, as loudly calling another person in social occasions was quite discourteous.
Embarrassed, Lydia wanted to break into a run, but even moving her body was endlessly challenging.
She didn’t know what to do, and could only stand here. Edgar nimbly passed through the gaps between the ladies’ dresses and came to her side, and for her, this really was a kind of salvation.
“What’s wrong?”
“There are many people here, I don’t feel too well.”
“Then we’ll go to the flower garden, you should rest a little.”
Lydia breathed a sigh of relief, was lead to the flower garden by Edgar, and sat on the pavilion bench.
This place had a vast flower garden, it was truly a mansion that was worthy of being built on the outskirts.
A pond could be seen from within the pavilion, and on top was a supported wooden bridge. The wide field of vision made her feel quite cheerful.
“Wait for me for a bit, I’ll go and get a cold drink.”
Lydia nodded.
Her stomach discomfort was able to settle because she was far from the sounds of the crowd and had escaped the hot and stuffy indoors.
Originally, Lydia revealed that she wasn’t very able to adapt to parties, but since the engagement, the opportunity to show her face had suddenly increased. Be that as it may, when she was together with Edgar, she never once felt that attending parties were a tormentous thing.
She thought to herself, Edgar truly protected her in all respects.
However, when he really needed to be rescued, she couldn’t do anything to help.
Lydia couldn’t help but loathe her naiveness.
Compared to protecting the person precious to her, could it be that respecting the world’s etiquette and common sense were more important? This was simply wrong.
Unable to say “I love you”, Lydia, who always expressed an embarrassed attitude, in fact she truly didn’t understand the meaning of love.
Lydia heard a sound from the thickets, and raised her head.
At first, she thought had Edgar returned, but appearing in front of her were actually the girls who had surrounded him a moment ago.
They were laughing.
The girls snickered while approaching Lydia.
Lydia was still sitting on the bench, and among them, one person put their hand on her shoulder.
“W-what is it?”
The girls didn’t reply, silently pushing Lydia down, not letting her get up. Then, they grabbed her feet and took off her shoes.
Afterwards, they took the shoes and broke into a run.
“Wait a minute, give it back!”
Although Lydia chased after them barefoot, and when she almost caught up, they threw the shoes towards the pond.
“Ah….!”
Her shoes landed on a small island in the middle of the pool, but thinking about it, it wasn’t a simple matter at all.
The girls saw Lydia’s extremely perplexed expression and sneered once more.
“Why must you do such a thing!”
“Are you not ashamed of running in front of the Earl barefoot?”
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