Hakushaku to Yousei - Volume 14 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 ♦ Fiancé and Brother

Soon after a week, abiding by the terms of the arrangement, Edgar came to Scotland.
Lydia noticed the sound of the carriage stopping in front of the main gate. She looked out of the window, then immediately turned and ran towards the entrance.
She arrived outside the door, passing through the courtyard.
Edgar stood by the entrance, beside what was actually a simple wooden door. He saw her and smiled, holding his arms out.
Oh, what should I do? Should I hug him?
Lydia’s footsteps came to a halt as she thought about it. Obviously it was only a natural action upon reuniting with a lover, but she still felt the usual self-consciousness, and strengthened her defensive heart.
Perhaps being fully used to her response, Edgar strode towards Lydia, who stopped a few steps away, not knowing what ought to be done, and then embraced her without hesitation.
“Just when I thought you would come running into my arms.”
Lydia heaved a sigh of relief.
She always acted awkward and clumsy, but luckily Edgar fully accepted her like this.
Recently, Lydia had even thought that perhaps she was lucky that Edgar was an unrestrained philanderer.
“Lydia, I really wanted to see you.”
“Yes, well...”
“You too? Did you want to see me too? How much did you want to see me?”
“Uh, well...”
“Would you think about me several times a day? Did you say “good night” each night in the direction of London? Have I appeared in your dreams?”
Still, a little restraint would be better.
“Lydia, let me take a good look at you.”
He smiled happily, touching Lydia’s face with his hand. After a closer look at his glistening blond hair and ash-mauve eyes, she felt her heart bubble up with unspeakable joy.
As she gave Edgar a frank smile, he gently narrowed his eyes and said:
“In the short time we were apart, you’ve become more beautiful.”
“Oh, no I haven’t changed.”
“No, you have changed. If you aren’t becoming more beautiful, then I’m a failure as a fiancé.”
“Wow, you two are quite close.”
Surprised by a sudden voice, Lydia panicked and quickly separated from Edgar.
As if he had suddenly disturbed them, Brain laughed as he stood behind them.
She had almost forgotten that currently, the Carlton house had a headache of a guest.
“Uh, Edgar, this person is...”
“You are Earl Ashenbert? So this is Lydia’s fiancé. The type is quite different from what I had imagined, do you seriously want to marry her?”
“Of course I’m serious. And who are you?”
Edgar turned to face him, using a slightly threatening tone to ask.
“Oh, my name is Brian, I’m Lydia’s older brother.”
“Older brother...? This is the first time I’ve heard of this.”
This was merely a matter of course, Lydia saw Edgar give her a perplexed look, as if to hoping that she would explain.
“Uh, Brian, that...”
“You should call me onii-sama. Didn’t I say that?”
“Lydia, what’s going on?”
“Well... something happened. ”
“Yeah, to sum it up, we are going to be brother in laws. Pleased to meet you, Edgar. ”
Saying Edgar’s name in an over familiar tone, he extended his hand. Refusing to shake hands with him, Edgar kept his hands tied behind his back and so Brain awkwardly shrugged.
“Even if you’re a noble, you shouldn’t look down on the fiancée’s family.”
“If you really were part of Lydia’s family, I would have greeted you properly.”
“Edgar! Uh, you must be tired from the long trip, come quickly into the house.”
Just when Lydia took Edgar’s arm to pull him away from Brian, the housekeeper’s voice came from inside the house.
“Miss, the biscuits will burn!”
“Oh no, I forgot! Um, Edgar, could you wait for me?”
“I can show him around the house instead.”
“Um, Brian... onii-sama could you..?”
Edgar and Brian exchanged a small smile, while appearing to be glaring at each other, thus Lydia was worried about whether or not she should have left them alone together.
“Let him show me around. You should hurry and go, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to eat the biscuits that you especially made.”

Since Edgar was also urging her, she had to comply.
“Then I’ll wait over by the room.”
Lydia hurried towards the entrance.
She anxiously turned around slightly, and saw Raven getting off the carriage, holding the luggage, and following closely behind Brian.

It was unusual to see a man with waist-length hair draped over his shoulders. 
Not only that, but under the few rays of sunlight shining through the clouds, Brian’s body looked as if it was faintly emitting light. Was this an illusion?
Is he...... human? Edgar hesitated for a moment, and then went up the the Carlton household’s stairs under Brian’s guidance.
“Is the professor not home?”
“He went out for a walk. Well, this is the guest room you’ll be using, and valet-kun’s room is on the first floor, so please wait and ask for Mrs. Cooper. ”
Although the room wasn’t large, it was tidied very neatly.
Apparently his disposition wasn’t nasty enough to lead Edgar into something like a storage room, but in Edgar’s eyes, this man who was claiming to be Lydia’s brother was enough to make him feel irritated.
“The dining room is at the end of the corridor downstairs. Do you have any other questions?”
It also displeased Edgar that he acted like this place was his own home.
“Where is Lydia’s room?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I want to be able to find her in the middle of the night.”
Brian fell silent, speechless for a moment. Then he smirked and gave Edgar a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“It’s that room in front of the staircase.”
“Thank you, but that is the Professor’s room.”
Brian clicked his tongue, and Edgar quickly separated himself from him.
“Why weren’t you fooled?”
What kind of idiot would have been deceived by a lie that was so easy to see through?
“Your skepticism is quite heavy, were aristocrats educated to be like this? Or have you suffered misfortune?”
Edgar deliberately did not answer, but Brian casually asked again.
“Oh that’s right, Edgar, what is it that you like about Lydia? As her brother, I should be asking this, shouldn’t I? I want to know if you’re not a man who truly understands my sister, or else I won’t be able to approve. You understand, right?”
Going so far to consider himself as her older brother, there wasn’t anything more suspicious in comparison. Edgar was sure that he had ulterior motives. Still daring to disapprove of him, and the matters between him and Lydia, by no means did he need the interference of this youngster.
Edgar wanted to hurry up and get rid of him, so he turned to the path that he was already lead to, yet he remained in the room with Brian and said:
“If there’s anything, I’ll call you.”
After he finished speaking, he threw a coin, to which Brian promptly received, cocking his head to the side in confusion.
“What is this?”
“A tip.”
He thought for a moment, and after appearing to have understood the meaning, he clenched his fists and shouted angrily:
“Hey, I’m not a servant!”
“Oh, is that so? I forgot.”
“Wasn’t that on purpose!?”
“There’s a fool who would seriously forget things.”
“...You really are an horrid guy!”
“I could say the same to you.”
“I don’t think you’re suitable for Lydia!”
“Wait, please don’t fight!”
Lydia burst into the room, frantically intervening between Edgar and Brian.
“Lydia, I can’t acknowledge this kind of man as your fiancé!”
“Brian, at any rate, you should leave first.”
Lydia tried to push him out.
“You have to call me onii-sama!”
“I know that.”
“I also won’t acknowledge this guy as my brother in law.”
“Edgar, be quiet!”

After driving Brian out with great difficulty, Lydia heaved a sigh of relief.
She felt quite worried; as expected, Edgar confronted the men who approached Lydia, and wouldn’t seem to treat them with any leniency.
And so he acted so childish in this odd place.
Lydia thought that at least the other man was claiming to be her “older brother”, so there was no need to be jealous.
Lydia gave Edgar a reproachful look, but he smiled like nothing had happened and walked towards the window.
“The view is really good, and it’s a very wonderful room.”
The room that Edgar was brought to was the best room of the Carlton house, but it still couldn’t compare to the mansion of a noble.
“The room is a little small, please bear with it. ”
“No, there’s a wide view here, and it isn’t crowded like London. ”
On the other side of the flat wheat fields, the hills could be seen. Lydia stood next to Edgar, overlooking the green hills covered with lush greenery.
As she did so, Lydia’s mood finally settled down, and began to actually feel that Edgar had arrived at this house.
She smiled naturally.
“On that hill, once it’s midnight, you can see fairies dancing in a circle. That fairy rath seems to be a relic from the past or something. There are many small fairies living there, and they will come out whenever it’s a quiet night with a clear atmosphere. When that happens, there are also many star like lights shining together, it’s very beautiful.”
Lydia regained her composure and found that Edgar wasn’t looking at the hill, but instead staring at her as she was talking.
“......What is it?”
He shot an excessively passionate gaze at her, making her heart race.The wind blowing from the window had ruffled Lydia’s hair, and so Edgar reached out a hand to comb through it.
“As long as fairies are mentioned, you seem to be most happy. It would be nice if I could see the world through your eyes.”
“Even if it’s invisible, it will be fine as long as you imagine it, that way, it’s just like seeing it.”
“I see... is the meaning the same? Then Lydia, from now on would you be willing to share the many stories about the fairies that you see with me?”
Just those words reminded Lydia that their time together would increase from now on, making her a little bashful.
“Alright.”
His fingers played with the hair draped over Lydia’s shoulders. Although she felt embarrassed, lately she had began to accept this, and did not hurriedly pull her hair back like before.
“By the way, what’s going on with that older brother from just now?”
“Ah, I forgot to say... in fact Brian is a half-fairy, so then......”
Edgar listened to Lydia’s explanation with a serious expression.
“In other words, he claims that he is your older brother by blood, and that you were a family member who was a changeling before coming to this family?”
“There is no evidence for it.”
“You’re not a changeling.”
Lydia nodded while thinking.
“Of course I believe what Father and Mother said, that I am their real daughter, but...”
“You’re convinced, yet you consider him as your brother?”
Lydia vaguely believed that perhaps Brian didn’t know that his sister had died during his childhood. After all, regardless of whether she was his blood-related sister or a changeling, for him, he chose to believe that Lydia, who was still alive, was his sister.
He was both human and fairy, but did not belong on either side, so would he think that before he fully became an aurora fairy, he wanted to meet his sister living in the human world to confirm that he was part human?
The idea of being a changeling made Lydia feel uneasy. Brian may also have felt uneasy about having ancestry on both sides.
“He’s like my mother, who was a McKeel family member born in the fairy realm, so he’s also considered to be my relative. However, he said he wanted to leave the human world. If he simply wants to experience the feeling of having a human family, then there’s no harm in me acting as his sister.”
Seeing Lydia once again being kind-hearted as usual, Edgar let out an exasperated sigh.
“I know. But Lydia, regardless of what anyone says, you belong in the human world. It was like this before, and it will be like this in the future.”
Lydia nodded, and Edgar pulled her closer, his lips coming close.
At that moment, the sound of coughing could be heard. Flustered, Lydia moved her head, looked over Edgar’s shoulder, and saw her father’s figure.
“Welcome, Earl.”
For a moment, Edgar revealed an expression of being bothered towards Lydia, but he immediately turned his head, grinning towards her father.
“Professor, I am in your care.”
“I apologize as I wasn’t able to come and greet you, I went out for a walk and relaxed until I lost track of time.”
“You can relax a bit again... no, please don’t mind, don’t say I’m a guest, but really, you can treat me like a son.”
“As long as he heads to the riverside, Father will pick up stones to the point of ecstasy.”
In order to cover up the embarrassment of nearly being kissed in front of Father, Lydia cut in and spoke.
“Yes, Earl, I apologize, you just arrived here, yet there’s a matter to trouble you with immediately. The host, Mr. Barrett is holding a ball tomorrow, and he said that he hoped to ask the Earl to attend...”
“Father, this is very sudden, haven’t you refused?”
Looking troubled, her father scratched his hair, which was already very messy.
“Well, as I was walking, I met Mr. Barrett, and he asked me once.”
Once Lydia returned to her hometown, the news that she was formerly engaged to a noble had spread all over the town in a day.
In the past, if it were not for Lydia and her father coming across special circumstances, they would not have been invited to the party. Therefore, it wouldn’t be hard for the Barrett family, who usually had connections with the Carlton family, to invite them. It’s just that this time, they seemed to be very persistent.
“Since this is the countryside, they think the matter is worth congratulating and that everybody must celebrate together.”
“Isn’t that great? I don’t mind.”
Edgar shouldn’t be bothered by the party. After he readily agreed, Lydia’s father sighed in relief.
Perhaps he felt like it, since it was rare for Mr. Barrett to make such a strong request, he really could not refuse.
“Then, I will let the host know. Lydia, it’s only natural that you have to attend.”
“What! But, Father...”
Father knew that Lydia wasn’t willing to attend, so he quickly left the room.
“Uh, Edgar, the townspeople want to get to know you, so I...”
“You weren’t planning to go? That won’t do, I want to see the disappointed men after seeing you being formally engaged.”
You wouldn’t see those kinds of people.
Lydia wanted to go to the banquet less and less, but her father and Edgar wouldn’t approve.
“Well then, Lydia, let’s go.”
Edgar said brightly, as if wanting to end the subject of the banquet.
“What? Where are we going?”
“Well of course, I will be giving my respects to your mother. Since, we came for that purpose.”

Despite having just arrived, Edgar showed no signs of fatigue as he took Lydia’s hand.
Lydia’s mother had been buried in the cemetery of the town’s church. Although it was a cemetery, if one didn’t notice the gravestones everywhere on the ground, it would probably be considered as an ordinary field.
There were several paths formed by trampled grass, seemingly like a maze, but Lydia correctly chose the path that ought to be followed.
Lydia carried some lavender that she had picked from the family garden in her arms. Whenever the lavender swayed, a refreshing fragrance was emitted.
“It’s underneath that tree.”
As she drew closer, she noticed something crouching in front of the tombstone.
It was a fairy cat covered with soft, grey fur. Nico was hunched over, with his head appearing to be lowered.
He noticed the sound of their footsteps, and turned around to look in surprise.
“Oh, Earl, you’ve already arrived.”
“You also came, were we disturbing you?”
“No, I was just passing by. ”
It didn’t look like he had just been passing by.
Lydia had never seen Nico come to Mother’s grave alone before, but after cautiously thinking, Nico was Mother’s friend in the past, thus it was impossible not to visit.
“Nico, if you were talking to Mother, we can come back a little later.”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s almost dessert time. I was just about to return.”
He yawned as he stood up, stretched his back, and began to walk away using his two hind legs.
“I heard that today’s dinner is haggis*. Mrs. Cooper had an alarmed expression as she helped the cook prepare the dishes.”
“Well, I’ll be going on ahead.” Nico said, raising a paw. He was putting on the same airs as always, but his movements seemed very heavy.
If it was to eat desserts, then he would happily run back. Feeling worried, Lydia wondered what was troubling Nico.
Nico once said that he had not decided where he would stay after Lydia got married. Was he thinking about this?
Could it be that Nico wanted to stay on this land that her mother lay dormant in?
“What is haggis?”
Edgar asked Lydia, who was watching Nico leave.
“Eh, um... it’s Scotland’s famous cuisine.”
“Oh, is it a dreadful dish?”
“Who knows? Look forward to it.”
Lydia smiled at Edgar’s conflicted expression, and then moved towards the gravestone.
“Here lies Aurora Carlton.”
She placed the lavender bouquet before the stone that had these words.
Edgar took off his hat, closing his eyes as if he were in contemplation.
The leaves rustled in the breeze, the grass swayed, tickling their feet, and tiny footprints left by fairies nearby sparkled like animal scales.
“Mother is giving us her blessing.”
The warm presence that surrounded this place as well as the both of them made Lydia feel this way.
Edgar raised his head and gazed at the tombstone with a serious expression.
“Mrs. Carlton... are you really willing to approve of me?”
Edgar was unable to hand Lydia over to the McKeel clan; this was equivalent to intending on disregard the crisis of Lydia’s mother’s clansmen.
This time, Edgar had proposed this trip because he had wanted to receive forgiveness.
If Lydia became the Prophet’s fiancée, the McKeel clan would be saved, but Edgar did not intend to comply at all; Lydia also understood that as long as she considered Edgar more important than anyone else, then she couldn’t sympathize with her mother’s clansmen.
Edgar had asked Lydia’s mother for approval of their marriage, but the issue’s genuine meaning wasn’t only this. In fact, it was more serious compared to what Lydia wanted, however she, without knowing anything, firmly believed that they already received blessings. 
A soft wind blew, and sunlight shone faintly through the clouds.
Lydia noticed a shining object in the grass.
Noticing that it was not fairy footprints, but rather a hard object that reflected light, she bent down.
“What’s that? Did you drop it?”
Lydia held up the object and examined it; it was a glossy dark green stone, mixed with red spots. It was a bloodstone.*
“Nico dropped it.”
Lydia knew that this polished spherical stone belonged to Nico.
“Oh, it’s Nico’s?”
“I heard that he got it from my mother, it must have originally been one of her belongings.”
For Nico, this ought to be like a remnant of Mother. He always put the stone in the gap of his tie and wore it close to his body.
If he was looking at the stone while standing at Mother’s grave, he may have been immersed in deep sorrow at the time.
“This stone doesn’t have a fastener attached, it doesn’t seem to be an ornament. Could it be an amulet?”
“Well, regarding my mother, this could be considered a part of her. Here in Scotland, a bloodstone is believed to be a fragment of the Northern Lights that had fallen from the sky. ”
“Aurora from the Northern lights...... it’s your mother’s name.”
The Northern Lights that fell to the ground. Mother was from the race which was born in this way.
The Aurora fairies in the Highlands used the Northern Lights as an alias. People took the sight of the flickering Northern Lights in the sky, which changed in color and shape, as Aurora fairies dancing in the night sky.
A bloodstone was said to be the Aurora fairies’ blood, which was also their soul.
Thus, Lydia could only speculate how her mother had felt cautiously collecting the stone and taking care of it. 
Mother was a changeling of the McKeel family and Aurora fairies. After descending to live in the human world, for Mother, who wanted to live as a human, was she unable to sever her bonds?
“We should return it to Nico.”
However, the reason why Mother gave the stone to Nico and not Lydia was perhaps because she felt that fairy objects should be given to fairies. 
After all, Lydia’s mother had hoped for Lydia to find happiness in her human identity, as the Carlton family’s daughter.
As they left the cemetery, walking through the fields, Lydia realized that Edgar was holding her hand.
Compared to the proper way of a lady holding a man’s arm as they walked, this way made her feel closer to Edgar.
It was like holding hands walking with parents as a child, and now, she and Edgar were doing the same thing. Once she thought this, warm feelings rushed into her heart.
Since childhood, Lydia was placed between the human and fairy worlds. She was unable to hold onto either sides, and also lacked some traits from both.
But as long as she was together with Edgar, she felt that regardless of which side she was surrounded by, she would be able to obtain happiness.
“One day, I will go to Ibrazel with you.”
Not knowing what was on Edgar’s mind as he abruptly said that, Lydia regarded these words as being in line with her feelings. 
Regardless of whether it was the human or fairy world, she felt that one world revolved around them. 
“...If I can continue being the Blue Knight Earl, one day I will be able to go.”
If he could continue being the Blue Knight Earl... Lydia felt that what he said was a little odd but her heart was full of happiness and was content, and so she was not bothered by this trivial matter.

                                                                                                                     *

Nico sat on the slats of the fence, rested his chin on his paws and sighed.
Although it was deep into the night, the sky was still faintly bright, and even the distant skyline was clearly visible.
Returning his gaze to the front, he could see ranks of goblins passing by his feet.
Nico ignored the familiar fairies that spoke to him, and looked at the bloodstone on his lap, sighing once more.
During dinner, Lydia gave it to him, saying he had dropped it.
The stone originally belonged to Aurora, thus Nico had intended to return it to her. He didn’t expect it to be returned to his hands.
Nico thought it must be Aurora’s will.
“Aurora, do you mean you want me to continue to stay by Lydia’s side?”
Aurora had asked Nico to help take care of Lydia before she became independent. 
The bloodstone would emit a light of an unspeakable and comfortable feelings, one that probably only a fairy could recognize. Because Nico really liked it, Aurora gave it to him. Although this in no way a response to Aurora’s request, whenever Nico looked at the stone, he would feel that with him being able to teach fairy matters to Lydia, whose mother had an untimely death, was done for Aurora.
Of course, he had been very happy watching Lydia grow up.
However, shouldn’t he more or less fulfill the promise he had made with Aurora?
Even though he thought this, he was gradually unable to make a decision. As he was clearly worried, he placed the bloodstone by Aurora’s side.
“Mr. Nico, the bread pudding still remains.”
He turned around to see Raven lowering his head, looking his way.
“No thanks, I have no appetite today. ”
“Is that so? You ate three servings just now, so I thought you would like to eat it.”
Raven never spoke sarcastically, he would only speak facts. Perhaps he wanted to cheer Nico up.
......Was that right? Nico got a glimpse of Raven’s expression, but the young attendant was always expressionless, thus it wasn’t too clear as to what he was thinking.
“Hey, Raven, for how long do you intend to serve the Earl?”
“Until I die.”
That was a stupid question.
Humans could spend a lifetime together, but that was impossible for a human and a fairy.
Nico sighed again.
At the same time, Raven seemed to have heard some activity and looked in the direction of the Carlton house.
Brian came out from the back door, walking to the darkest area of the plants, as if to hide himself, and headed towards somewhere.
“Where is he going this time?”
“I want to take a look at the situation.”
Nico for some reason, followed behind Raven. For Nico, he was also concerned about the sudden appearance of Brian.
Although he said he wanted to see his sister, was it really only like that? Besides, was Lydia really his sister?
Even if Brian was a half-fairy that had blood relations with the McKeel clan, other than in the case of changelings, they usually would never come into contact with humans and shouldn’t be able to enter and exit the human world freely.
Since the McKeel clan wanted to contact the child that was brought to the fairy world as a changeling, they could only take advantage of the night that the moon descended closest to the south, which was once every nineteen years.
Raven eliminated the sound of his breathing and footsteps, shadowing Brian.

Brian passed through a hidden alley, walked into the woods, and finally stopped in front of a small pond.
Raven and Nico stopped immediately afterwards, hiding in the shadows of the trees. As the sky had finally started to darken, the woods were also quite dim, and they likely wouldn’t have to worry about being discovered.
But it also meant that they couldn’t see Brian’s expression.
Regardless of Brian for the time being, the bigger issue was that they couldn’t see the other person ahead. 
From the silhouette, they were barely able to find out that the person was male, however, the age wasn’t known. It was a thin and tall man.
Regardless, it seemed that Brian had come here to meet with this person.
The two of them began to speak, but because their voices were too quiet, Nico couldn’t hear clearly.
“Raven, can you hear them?”
“Yes. ”
“What are they saying?”
“I do not know, it is not English.”
“Could it be Gaelic? But that’s a language from the Highlands... alright, I’ll lean over a bit and eavesdrop some more.”
“Please be careful.”
After replying confidently that it wasn’t a problem, Nico crept closer towards Brian on all fours.
Using fairy magic to hide would be futile against a half-fairy like Brian, so Nico could only hide himself physically. However, the visibility range surrounding the pond was too high, so he wasn’t able to proceed much further.
Right! Nico suddenly thought of a way, then jumped up to the tree on the side, thinking to himself that by climbing up the tree, then following along the branches, he should be able to head right above them.
Nevertheless, jumping between the branches would make noise, thus Nico cautiously and softly ran across the branches.
He turned and glanced at Raven, who was looking back at him anxiously.
To signal that there was no problem, Nico waved and then continued to crawl slowly along the branches above the pond.
He heard Brian’s voice.
“You’re saying... to kill the Earl?”
Kill the Earl?
These unexpected words made Nico stop.
“It’s only logical that Lydia’s fiancé might be a hindrance... but... in any case, he is also the Blue Knight Earl.”
After Nico caught a glimpse of the other man’s face, he let out a gasp in astonishment.
It was Patrick.
He was a relative on Lydia’s mother’s side, that is, the fairy doctor of the McKeel family. This man had previously appeared in London, stating that he wanted Lydia to return as the Prophet’s fiancée, and now he was having a private discussion with Brian.
They knew each other? Carefully thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising. Brian was a fairy that had blood connections to the McKeel clan, and since it was the same clan, Patrick was the fairy doctor. It also made sense to get in contact with clansmen staying in the fairy realm for certain matters.
Patrick went on to say:
“It’s possible that the Earl Ashenbert has connections with the Prince.”
.....What?
“The Prince you’re speaking of, is the Prince of Calamity who is an enemy of the Prophet?”
“That’s right, the Earl used unseelie magic to kill the Trow. He was suddenly able to manipulate magic, the only possibility I can think of is that the Prince granted some kind of magic to him.”
At this moment, Nico’s foot slipped.
Without enough time to shout out, he fell into the bushes below. Brian turned around after hearing this.
“Who is it? What are you doing here?”
Raven was hidden behind the trees, but Brian was heading straight towards the bushes that Nico had fallen in.
This is bad.....!
Nico stiffened, his entire body breaking out in a cold sweat.
Compared to killing the Earl, the substance of the conversation was shocking. The Prince’s name confused Nico even more.
The Prince and the Earl were in correspondence? 
No, they must have made a mistake, they completely misunderstood the relations between Edgar and the Prince.
As Nico thought this, his heart was restless, as he had always been unable to comprehend why Edgar could kill the Trow.
Regardless, according to the present situation, they won’t let Nico, who was eavesdropping, get away. Things would definitely end badly if he was caught. Anxiously, Nico looked all around.
Just as Brian wanted to peek under the bushes, Patrick suddenly yelled out.
“Watch out! Brian!”
A huge shadow from the bushes jumped out.
It was a demon dog, covered in fur and baring its teeth.
Brian had been knocked down by the demon dog, both of them falling together. Patrick held a knife and ran, planning to help Brian.
But there were more demon dogs, and they sprang out in all directions from the bushes to attack the two men.
One demon dog that was pushed away by Brian fell towards the pile of bushes where Nico was staying.
Its glowing red eyes ferociously glared at Nico. The hair on Nico’s back raised, and ran out from the bushes, flustered.
But once he left the bushes, numerous demon dogs burst into the area where they were fighting with Brian, and sharp claws suddenly flashed before Nico’s eyes.
It’s too late! Just as Nico closed his eyes, his body was suddenly raised.
“Raven...”
Raven had jumped into the pack of demon dogs and grabbed Nico.
Although Raven had taken a defensive stance against the demon dogs, they abruptly stopped barking and completely fell silent.
Just as he thought that, they slowly backed away, and after retreating some distance, they bent down on the ground. 
Bewildered, Brian and Patrick stood motionless. Then, a huge demon dog slowly walked out from between the trees.
Nico saw the figure; it was a black demon dog under Ulysses’ control -- Jimmy.
Then he looked at Raven and said:
(Mr. Raven, did you know? These two have been talking about killing your master. If you wish, we can get rid of them for you.)
“....I have no authority to decide.”
Raven said only these words, turning his back to the demon dogs while holding Nico, and then left the scene.
Despite the sudden start of an uproar behind him, Raven left the woods at a rapid pace, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
Nico, whose mind was racing, suddenly recovered at that moment.
“Hey... put me down.”
Raven stopped and put Nico down on the ground in accordance to his wishes.
He stood properly on his two hind feet, hastily tidying his disheveled fur and necktie, then raised his head to look at Raven.
“What on earth is going on? Ulysses’ demon dog didn’t attack you, and it also said that it was going to get rid of those two for the Earl.”
Raven was silent.
“You and the Earl are hiding something from us, right?! The Earl cooperating with the Prince’s organization, isn’t that so? Brian and Patrick were saying that.”
“That is not the case.”
“Then what is it? Explain!”
“Forgive me, right now I am unable to explain to you.”
Nico impatiently messed up his fur once more, which then quickly and properly groomed by Raven.
“Lydia really trusts the Earl, and said that she was going to get married, what am I going to do?”
Nico walked alone to leave Raven.
“Mr. Nico......”
“Don’t come here! I... don’t want to see Lydia get hurt.”
Raven stood still, seeming to have given up.
“I want to be alone for a while. Tell Lydia that I’m going home.”

                                                                                                                         *

During the carriage ride to the Barrett family’s banquet, Lydia had been restlessly looking out the window.
Nico wasn’t here anymore. She heard Raven say that Nico was going home, but she didn’t understand the reason at all.
By going home, did he mean returning to Mother’s homeland on the island?
Lydia previously thought that Nico had perhaps intended to live in this small town, but she hadn’t expected him to want to go to such a distant place.
She wasn’t sure if Nico would come back. Thinking about it, Nico had lived for a very long time before meeting her mother. Despite Lydia not knowing since when he had been staying in the Hebride islands, for Nico, it wasn’t strange that the place that he should be returning to is that island, and not this small town where her mother was resting.
“Cheer up, Lydia, Nico will return.”
Edgar, who was sitting by her side had tried countless times to console Lydia, who was brooding since morning.
“Did he really just disappear like that on his own? There’s also a possibility that even if he wants to come back, but he can’t or something.”
The person who said this was Brian, who sat opposite to Edgar. He was wearing Father’s old suit and easily looked exactly like a member of the Carlton family.
Edgar and Brian were acting more sour towards each other compared to yesterday.
“Since humans are beings who lie.”
“I see. You have human blood too,  thus you can also lie.”
From the start of the morning, as long as the two were near each other, they would assume an attitude of testing each other.
“How should I say it, after all, he’s a valet brimming with elusiveness, emitting a very strange aura. For example, perhaps Nico had discovered valet-kun’s secret? In what way? Imagination is also a privilege of humans, correct?”
“Raven and Nico are friends, don’t be ridiculous.”
Then, Edgar looked towards Father, who was sitting across from Lydia.
“Oh that’s right, Professor, do we really need to bring him along to the banquet?”
“He said he wanted to go.”
“It’ll be okay Father, because I will properly behave courteously like a human.”
Father sighed quietly and appeared to have already given up.
“Brian... onii-sama, I will introduce you as my cousin at the banquet, so don’t say anything unnecessary.”
“Alright.”
Although Brian’s attitude was quite playful, he would occasionally glance at Edgar and find him exuding a tense atmosphere.

Soon after, the carriage arrived at the Barrett house.
Escorted by Edgar, Lydia entered the residence.
This was the town’s largest house. When Lydia was a child, it had looked like a castle through her eyes. Although this place was too imposing, making it difficult to approach, she didn’t have this feeling as she was together with Edgar. 
Even if it was the first time visiting this place, he was able to assume a dignified manner without any awareness of it.
He greeted Mr. Barrett perfectly, and the host smiled widely, who immediately became fascinated by Edgar. 
“My my, nevertheless, Mr. Carlton, your daughter agreeing to marry such an amazing partner like the Earl, you laboriously raising a child alone as a man wasn’t in vain.”
“You are very kind, but I haven’t done anything.”
Lydia’s father had been quite laissez-faire regarding her education, so he scratched his head awkwardly.
“Moreover Miss Carlton, it has been so long, I didn’t recognize you. You’re resembling your mother more and more.”
“Oh, is that so?”
This was the first time anyone had said that to her, so Lydia was startled. Perhaps it was because she just happened to wear her mother’s evening dress today.
As she didn’t have a dress suitable for the banquet, she decided to wear her mother’s clothing.
The salmon pink satin texture really suited her mother’s transparent white skin and pale blonde hair, but Lydia lacked both of these qualities.
She initially felt that the outfit didn’t suit her and planned to rent a dress to wear, but under Edgar’s heavy persuasion, she decided to wear this dress.
Even though it was an old dress, the latest trends for formal clothes in the rural area were still very peculiar. In midst of having a seamstress make alterations, Edgar proposed many suggestions to the dress. This was presumably because the dress would only match with ribbons and flowers, creating a fresh and pure atmosphere that would match Lydia’s style.
“Even if a family lacks a son, a capable daughter will be able to return the favor.”
Sensing the subtle courtesy in his words, Lydia’s father smiled wryly.
Lydia recalled that because the Carlton family was without an heir, her father was always advised that he should remarry. Father, who was obstinate in refusing to remarry, was a stubborn eccentric in this small town.
“Ah, you wouldn’t want to let your nephew inherit the family property, right?”
“Uh, no, that......”
“That’s right, in order to become a scholar like Uncle, I plan to study hard in the future.”
Brian got carried away and began to speak, making Father flustered.
Edgar, as if wanting to leave this conversation circle, pulled Lydia’s hand.
After entering the hall, the people among the masses gathered and simultaneously looked towards them.
“It’ll be alright. Tonight, you are the most beautiful in the world.”
Although Edgar praised Lydia in this way, the one who was attracting all the attention was surely him.
Even amongst London’s glamorous society, he was very conspicuous. In this countryside’s banquet, it was as if a swan had already mistakenly flown into a flock of geese. 
Lydia wasn’t even a goose, but rather a lost black thrush that was wandering aimlessly in a human village.
Many people had already gathered in the hall, and when they had the first dance in the middle of the crowd, voices could be heard from everywhere. Things like “it’s that eccentric...” and “is she really the fiancée?” were said. 
“...Hey, surely you’re feeling disillusioned? You’re considered as someone who’s engaged to a strange woman.”
“What? What are you saying? Everyone is captivated by you, aren’t they?”
“You don’t need to say that kind of lie that can easily be seen through.”
“You really are too slow.”
He gave her a look of surprise and then burst out laughing.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Since you didn’t notice, I will overlook the men who had passionately glanced your way.”
The prelude to the music began, and the sound of dancing echoed throughout the hall.
While dancing, Lydia hadn’t realized when she was getting better at it. 
In Lydia’s heart, she always saw herself as an inconspicuous country girl. Even so, as long as she remembered that Edgar liked her, she somehow no longer cared about the staring and the malicious gossiping by others around her.
This was why she was able to keep calm when Edgar was asked to dance by daughters of the wealthy families, one after another.
After leaving the hall, Lydia went to a small room for drinks. Despite that some people who were acquainted with her, they had only asked about Edgar and what ‘magic’ she had used to capture him. She was fed up by how she was still viewed as a witch like in the past.
The reason Edgar praised Lydia was really because of his own preferences.

“You’re really good at dancing, Lydia.”
Brian was sitting on chair by the corner and picked up a glass of Scotch.
“Brian... onii-san, will you not dance?”
“I find human dancing with restricted movements weird. Aurora fairies prefer dancing freely.”
Speaking of that….Lydia thought as she walked over to him.
“If you did fairy dancing, you would surely dance better, because you’re my sister.”
Lydia shrugged.
“Initially I wasn’t really able to dance......I was much like Father.”
Not knowing whether or not Brian noticed Lydia’s intention to deny that she was a changeling, he changed the subject.
“Did you only dance with Edgar? Just then, the gentleman was trying to request for one and yet you left as if you were running away.”
“What! Nobody would ever ask me to dance. They merely spoke a little but they would suddenly pause within conversation and it made me feel awkward... They shouldn’t force themselves to talk to me. If they wanted to get acquainted with Edgar, it would be better t to introduce themselves personally to him.”
“I see, now I seem to understand why your fiancé is a shady philander.”
He said, laughing.
Lydia didn’t know why she was being laughed at, she merely believed that it would be great if Brian was able to enjoy life in the human world.
“Hey, do you want to dance with me? If it’s me, I wouldn’t be surprised by you dancing freely with the Aurora fairy dance.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea.”
He stood up and took the initiative to lead the way to the hall. It was surely because he was itching to dance.
“Lydia, the humans in this small town don’t really believe in fairies.”
As they held hands and gently danced, Brian spoke. Was it because he casually brought up the topic of fairies just a moment ago, that he was laughed at?
“Yes, now that I can still sense the people with fairies beside them, it truly is very little. In the Highlands it might be different, but in this small town and London, people gradually considered things that were invisible to the eye as non-existent.”
Brian led Lydia, gently twirling in this hall that was so crowded with people that they would nearly bump into each other.
“Hey, you possess human blood, so when you were staying in the fairy realm, didn’t you feel out of place?”
“When in the fairy realm, people like us will be raised in the fairy way; when in the human world, they will be raised in a human way, so I never felt that I was out of place.”
“But you wanted to get to know the human world, right?”
“I wanted to see my little sister.”
“That kind of feeling is what humans possess.”
“......Oh, that is true. For companions who also possessed human blood, I’m probably a little different. No matter where I went, I always took my little sister for a walk. She was very dependant on me, and would cry if I wasn’t there. It was cute.”
He looked into the distance, as he reminisced. 
“So, although my sister was already gone, I was always worried about her and obstinately kept asking my parents and adults around me.”
Lydia hoped that she wasn’t a changeling. But she thought that if she really wasn’t Brian’s sister and only felt like his real sister a little, she would feel lonely. 
Brian’s steps was that of an Aurora fairy dance, Lydia began to feel immersed in the liberating feeling.
His long hair was emitting a soft light and trailed along the path they had danced, but surely Lydia was the only one who could see it.
“How does it feel to see your sister again?”
Perhaps because she had taken the initiative to call herself his sister, Brian unexpectedly looked at her wide-eyed, and then smiled softly.
“Being able to come here is truly great. You seem quite happy, as if you like the human world.”
“Yes, thanks to Father and Mother... and Edgar.”
The dance came to an end. Brian, who stood there, looked at Lydia as if he were thinking about something.
Just when he was about to say something, there was the sound of an “um...” interrupting.
“Congratulations on your engagement.”
It was the pastor’s son, Andy. For Lydia, he was merely a neighbor who pulled pranks on her in her memories. 
It was unknown whether Brian assumed a brotherly attitude as he casually left. And so, Lydia was forced to face Andy.
He appeared to be a boy with a bored looking face, and so he still hadn’t changed even if they haven’t seen each other for a long time. 
“Apparently the matter of having a fiancé isn’t one of your delusions.”
From the beginning, Andy felt that Lydia was insane and kept his distance from her, and yet in order to say some sarcastic remarks, he deliberately approached her. This too was the same as in the past.
“Yes, thank you for your blessing.”
“It doesn’t look like you are very compatible with him, you’re not deceiving him, are you?”
“It is none of your business.”
Seeing Lydia sharply turning around, offended, he had a strange expression as if he felt that her getting angry was almost unthinkable.
Then he fell silent.
Nevertheless, he did not leave, thus Lydia felt quite uncomfortable. How many times has this situation happened today? Why does everyone who clearly have nothing to say, try to find me and talk to me?
“Um, well then, I’m going...”
Lydia tried to leave, but Andy, as if he made up his mind, called out to her. 
“Will you dance with me!”
“What!”

A male who finally dared to ask Lydia to dance with him, was reportedly the son of Professor Carlton’s friend.
When Edgar had heard this, he sensed that in Lydia’s eyes, Andy just ought to be a malicious childhood friend.
Edgar had always known from the start that he was wandering around Lydia, as when other men were talking to her he looked nervous and anxious.
It wasn’t only Andy, but the youth who wanted to ask Lydia to dance and strike a conversation were probably the kind of guys that heckled Lydia in childhood or ignored her existence. Since Lydia had assumed a guarded manner, they could not directly ask: “please dance with me. ”
While Edgar watched from the sidelines, he secretly smiled and believed that it was alright, but that man had unexpectedly asked her to dance with him.
“Having said that, the men in this town are really shy.”
Edgar stood in front of the wide open door of the balcony, muttering to himself.
“It seems like men like you are considered unusual.”
Brian replied, suddenly standing next to him.
“Were you satisfied, being able to dance with your sister?”
“Yeah...... she’s a good girl, really worthy of being called my sister. Thinking about it again, I feel that it’s such a pity that she’s with you.”
Edgar and Brian exchanged a smile. 
“So, when are you going to kill me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you discuss with Patrick about killing me?”
Patrick appeared, wanting to make Lydia the Prophet’s fiancée, furthermore, he also met with Brian. It was only logical that Raven informed him of this matter. They already knew that Raven was at the site of the private discussion, so they of course understood that their intentions had been exposed.
“I didn’t expect Patrick to go as far as to come to this small town, with that said, you are also a member of the McKeel clan, so it’s no wonder that you would be involved with him.”
Brian suddenly had a solemn expression.
“Edgar, are those black demon dogs your subordinates? A descendant of the Blue Knight Earl controlling the unseelie court really is unfathomable.”
“Brian, you don’t want to play house at all with your little sister. In order to awaken the Prophet, who will reportedly save the McKeel clan, you came to take Lydia away, correct?”
“Who are you? Are you a person who, by chance obtained the name of the Blue Knight Earl? If so, why were you able to kill the Trow? Do you intend to let the unseelie court work for you?”
“I could ask the same thing on who you are. If you are Lydia’s real brother, why would you want to ruin her happiness?”
“......I don’t think she would obtain happiness marrying a man who deals with the unseelie.”
Edgar wasn’t sure as to what will happen.
Would he cause Lydia to suffer in future?
His eyes searched for Lydia, who was awkwardly dancing with the pastor’s son. Ah, it’s as if they are incompatible with each other. 
He was the only one suitable for Lydia, and he loved her more than anyone else.
How could I abandon Lydia?
As long as fate wouldn’t convict Edgar, Lydia would belong to him.
Edgar slowly returned his gaze to Brian and smiled at him.
“I will compete with you. You guys have been waiting for the opportunity to attack me all along, and it’s quite troublesome, correct? Moreover, the time left until the day of the full moon is limited.”
As the song ended, the people in the hall stopped moving.
“Well, I must pull that clumsy gentleman out of his wonderful dream.”
Edgar muttered as he walked towards Lydia’s direction.

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[1] Haggis is a traditional Scottish cuisine made with chopped sheep organs, onions, oats and seasoning that is then boiled in a bag made from the sheep’s stomach. 

[2] A bloodstone is a dark green translucent mineral (a variety of jasper) with red spots.