Hakushaku to Yousei - Volume 14 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 ♦ The choice which draws near​

Raven was waiting next to the shattered smoky quartz standing stones, in accordance to the prior agreement.
He brought Edgar’s horse as well as Nico, who had been set free from the magic. As soon as he saw Edgar appearing holding onto Lydia, he broke away from the battle with Fergus and the others and hastily rushed over.
“Lord Edgar!....is Miss Lydia injured?”
“I don’t know, she suddenly collapsed.”
“Lydia!”
Panicking, Nico jumped onto Edgar’s shoulder.
“What happened? It can’t be that she’s been hit by an Aurora fairy’s blade, right?”
Nico spoke while examining Lydia, who was pale.
“An Aurora fairy’s blade? That’s right, I remember that there was an explosion of light and it grazed her.”
“Ahhh... this is troublesome...”
“Nico, what should I do?”
Nico crossed his hands over his chest, thinking.
“If it’s just a scratch, then you might be able to take out the Aurora’s crystal.”
“Lord Edgar, we should get out of here now. The McKeel clansmen might come after us.”
“I understand, let’s hurry.”
In any case, getting to safety was the priority.
Edgar helped Lydia on board the back of a horse. Because she seemed to lack the strength to hold on to Edgar, he tied her to his own body. They then rode forward as much as possible, their destination being the closest Connaught clan village.
Even so, when they arrived at the village, the brief night was already over.
This area was a small fishing village, and the old landlord, who was related to the Connaught clan, welcomed Edgar and the others into his residence.
The old landlord said he had already heard the chief’s instructions from a messenger and immediately prepared a room for Lydia, but the village didn’t seem to have doctors.
“If something happened, we would call a doctor from the neighboring village, but that area is the McKeel clan’s village.”
The old landlord had a troubled expression, he seemed to know that Edgar had taken his fiancée back from the McKeel family.
“There are no other villages that have doctors? As long as they are a surgeon it doesn’t matter, the wound needs to be cut and the foreign material inside must be removed.”
“At the port town there’s a doctor from the Connaught clan, it’s just that it will take you two hours by carriage.”
Riding in a rickety carriage would hurt Lydia’s body more. The shaking from it would make her wound ache.
It was the same when riding the horse previously, whenever she came to, the severe pain made her suffer and struggle and she almost fell off the horse.
Edgar had made her take opium so she could be brought there in a trance. Even so, her body would still stiffen from the pain occasionally.
“I’ll go call the doctor.”
Kelly had appeared at the doorway.
“What are you doing here?”
“The clan chief said that if you came here, you would need a woman to look after your fiancée, so I came.”
Dawn came earlier in the summer, and although the sky was already turning light, it was still early for people to be awake. She originally should have been resting. Although the chaos may have already woken her, she was dressed properly, and looked ready to start at any time.
“Is that so... however, a round trip takes four hours, correct?”
“It’s impossible, Earl.”
Nico came over hurriedly, saying:
One can’t last that long having been stabbed by an Aurora fairy’s blade, the pain will become more and more severe... Lydia will die!”
Edgar headed towards Nico, then kneeled down and looked at him.
“Can she be saved as long as we remove the Aurora’s crystal?”
“I don’t know. But that sort of thing possesses magic, it will be really painful for Lydia.”
Edgar nodded thoughtfully, and then slowly stood up.
“There’s no time to call a doctor, so I will do this myself.”
Everyone was still taken by surprise by this when Edgar began to calmly give instructions.
“Please boil some hot water, and we will also need strong spirits and a clean cloth. Raven, disinfect several knives and bring them to me, and Kelly, I want you to stay here and help.”
Raven headed quickly out of the room, and the old landlord stood up nervously. As the sound of him calling his servant resounded through the house, Edgar said to Kelly, who remained behind:
“Please help remove her clothes.”
“Uh, yes.”
“I can’t watch this anymore.”
Nico rubbed his eyes as if wiping away tears, and stumbled out through the window.

Lydia was lying face down. Edgar moved the oil lamp by his hand and brushed the hair away from her shoulder.
Normally, he would have been tempted to touch the snow-white skin before him, but this time, he was completely unwilling to look.
He checked the wound and found no serious bleeding, as the blood from before had already begun to dry. It was hard to imagine that the shallow wound just underneath her shoulder was causing her to suffer like this.
In spite of this, he put his hand above the wound and felt an unusual heat, as well as a hard object buried deep in the wound.
“Kelly, help me hold down Lydia.”
Although she had lost consciousness, sudden movement would not be a good idea.
For Edgar, it was not that he inexperienced in this sort of situation. There were times when he had extracted a bullet out of his comrade’s abdomen. However, because he knew the one lying down before him was his lover, he was to be expected, nervous.
If it was possible, he didn’t want to leave unsightly scars on her body. He thought that, even though her life was more important, he couldn’t stop thinking about how he would be able to endure it if he saw Lydia anxious over her scars after recovering.
Ahh, before I worry about that, what does the structure of the human body look like? There doesn’t seem to be serious problems with the blood vessels in this area.
It’s not a problem, Edgar thought. Although he had to cut the wound, just having to cut such a small area was considered lucky. He treated the wound carefully.
Lydia unexpectedly kept still, and although she occasionally made a painful expression, she did not have the strength to struggle.
It wasn’t expected that the foreign material in the wound was quite small and quite similar to the blood clots, thus it took a lot of effort to search for it.
Even so, the foreign material had finally been removed from the wound, with very little bleeding.
Not much time had passed, but Edgar felt like it had been several hours.
Lydia’s pained expression finally faded, and she fell into a deep sleep.
After completing the treatment, Edgar breathed a sigh of relief, but he still didn’t want to leave, so he stayed in the room.
The old landlord urged him to rest in the other room, but he wanted to stay by Lydia’s side.
This material, which had previously been buried in the wound and was said to be an Aurora crystal, was later found to be a fragment of a bloodstone after washing the bloodstains away.
This was the soul of an Aurora fairy, as well as its magic crystal.
The Northern Lights were shimmering in the dark night. While they were sacred, they could demonstrate frightening powers.
Even when confronting Brian, who was from the same clan, the magic of the Northern lights didn’t hesitate to kill him.  At that time, Edgar did not understand this magic very well.

When Lydia woke up, she found herself lying on a bed.
This was a simple room, the wooden framework of the beams on the ceiling were not covered, but directly exposed.
What is this place? She wondered as she turned her neck and saw Edgar in a chair next to the bed.
He was leaning back in his chair, as if he was asleep.
He wasn’t wearing or a coat or tie, and his sleeves were rolled up. Rather than looking like he was resting, it looked more like he was exhausted.
Lydia reached out a hand to touch his hands that were folded in his lap.
His golden eyelashes moved slightly as he stirred. Slowly opening his eyes, Edgar had a surprised expression at first, but then it became a dazzling smile.
He narrowed his ash-mauve eyes as he gazed at Lydia, leaning over to gently stroke her cheek.
“Good morning, how do you feel?”
Lydia tried to sit up.
She noticed something when the blanket fell from her body.
She wasn’t wearing anything other than her underwear.
“K-kyaahh!”
She let out a shriek and pulled the blankets up to her chest, suddenly pulling away from Edgar, who was leaning too close to her, but the bed was unexpectedly narrow and she fell off from the other side as a result.
“Lydia?”
Just when she didn’t know what to do because of the pain and embarrassment, Raven seemed to have heard her screaming and rushed in.
“Lord Edgar!”
Then, with a confused face, Raven turned to look at Lydia, who was crouching underneath the bed, and Edgar, who was standing up.
“Ahhh Raven, help me bring that robe over."
After bringing the robe as Edgar had told him to, Edgar went to Lydia’s side and draped it over her shoulders.
“Are you alright?”
“I--I’m ok...”
“Raven, it’s alright, Lydia was just a little scared.”
Lydia took advantage of the moment when Edgar had his back to her, and when Raven also turned, she hurriedly put the robe on.
“Kelly, you too.”
Looking inside from the doorway was the girl who had been sent by Edgar a few days ago. Although she looked worried, she nodded after hearing Edgar’s words and left.
Wearing only a thin robe was unable to make Lydia feel at ease. She pulled the blanket closer to herself and then looked up and said:
“Um, Edgar... when did I become like this...”
“I took it off."
“Eh?! W--why did you...”
“You know, it’s not like I always have secret intentions. I had to take out the Aurora crystal from your wound, Kelly also helped."
Lydia touched the bandaged wound. Although she only felt mild cramps, it would hurt again if she pressed on it.
“I--is that so...... I’m sorry.”
He smiled and held out his hand.
With him pulling her hand, Lydia sat up onto the bed, while feeling apologetic for her own shriek as if she had come across a pervert.
Edgar stayed aside and held Lydia’s hand, then raised it to his lips.
“But Lydia, I’m your fiancé, this shouldn’t be such an unforgivable thing, right? Besides, don’t you think it’s too late to cover up?”
“What?”
“Because you had nothing to hide last night."
Lydia was once again red in the face and had tears in her eyes. Seeing her reaction, Edgar couldn’t help but panic.
“Oh no, I was kidding, I was so worried at the time that I didn’t have the capacity to think about many happier things."
“Didn’t think about many...?”
Then he thought a little bit? And what did he mean by happier things?
“That sentence, can you pretend that you didn’t hear that?”
He smiled slightly, and let out a breath that brushed the hair on her forehead. Lydia closed her eyes, feeling his lips against her forehead.
This lover’s touch was the same as usual, and could apparently make what happened yesterday seem like a little dreadful nightmare.
However, it had been reality.
Edgar had appeared in the sacred land, and that was proof that he became the Prince.
Brian had died, and the Prophet disappeared.
In the end, Lydia was left with matters she did not understand.
“....Why are you the Prince?”
He left a kiss on her cheek, brushing his lips as light as a feather. He stopped at a distance and stared straight at Lydia.
“I am the Blue Knight Earl, I just happened to obtain the Prince’s memories...”
Edgar said bitterly, and drew back from her.
“Obtained his memories?”
“From the very beginning, the Prince has relied on transferring memories to another person and inheriting the same abilities and responsibility as the original ‘Prince of Calamity’. They would destroy the personality of the next person chosen to be the Prince, and then use a magical gem to transfer the memories, creating a person identical to the first Prince."
Lydia had heard a little about these things before.
Edger was forced to become the next Prince by the Prince’s organization, but he fled from there and vowed to seek revenge on the organization. To them, Edgar was a failed attempt.
“Did the organization forcefully transfer the memories onto you?”
Edgar slowly shook his head.
“In order to kill the Prince, who took everything away from me, and in order to stop new Princes from being born, I took the initiative to steal the gem. Ultimately, I seized everything from the Prince, and then it became mine.”
As long as the essence of the Prince; that is, the “memory” continues to exist, regardless if several Princes die, a new Prince can still be created. Edgar probably wanted to sever this cycle.
If Edgar had the Prince’s “memories”, Ulysses and the organization’s members would no longer be able to rebel against England as long as he was unwilling.
On the other hand, Lydia remembered something.
“If you inherit the powers of the Prince, there will inevitably be a day where you will want to accomplish his goal.”
She remembered Patrick saying this.
“Does this mean you know everything about the Prince?”
“I’ve been trying to not touch the memories. As long as I do not access the details, I may be able to continue like this."
....Although there are some things I know. Edgar mumbled. Lydia vaguely understood that Edgar had found out something from the Prince’s memories.
It was the way to control Unseelie Court magic.
Because of this, Edgar was able to extract the star ruby’s powers which were sealed in the sword, and was also able to manipulate Unseelie Court magic.
Moreover, this was in order to save Lydia, who was nearly taken away by the giants.
“Are you afraid?”
Although he said this, he did not let go of Lydia’s hand. This was just like the usual Edgar.
He wasn’t the Prince, but a man who loved Lydia and who would love her with all his heart in the future.
“No, after you told me about it, I was relieved."
Even if Edgar is the Blue Knight Earl and the Prince, or he isn’t both of them, I still love him. Lydia thought so with this frame of mind.

Her body was probably exhausted, as she soon fell into another deep sleep. Although she had a slight fever in the afternoon, it wasn’t a big deal.
As long as she rested, she would be able to recover quickly.
I want to go home soon. I must forget everything that happened on the island and get in shape for the wedding.
Lydia was thinking these things while taking a nap.
The door opened slightly and someone came in.
It’s Nico...... ah, the magic was undone.
Lydia turned around, Nico came over and looked at her.
“Oh, you’re awake."
“I’m sorry Nico, I caused you to suffer many hardships.”
“...Didn’t I tell you to not go to the sacred land?”
Although he narrowed his eyes, discontent, he patted Lydia’s head as if treating her like a child.
“However, it’s all my fault things got screwed up. I eavesdropped on Fergus speaking with Brian and told you the things I heard, which was discovered by Patrick.”
“The one who cast magic on you really was Patrick.”
“We can’t ignore that boy, he will do anything for his clan, but he’s also quite proficient in magic.”
“It seems that way.”
However, they had nothing to do with her anymore. The prophet is no longer in the sacred land, so they ought to have given up on Lydia.
As long as they don’t pursue Edgar, they probably wouldn’t meet again.
“Hey Nico, can you contact Father? Before I went to the sacred land, I asked him to go to the port town, that town does not belong to any clan, right? I don’t plan on returning to the McKeel clan.”
“I understand, I will ask Raven.”
After Nico’s soft hand left, Lydia suddenly felt very lonely.
Nico said he’d stay on this island, had this idea not changed, even now?
Although she wanted to get out of here sooner,  this meant that she had to part with Nico.
Lydia was going to spend her life at the side of Edgar who inherited the Prince’s memory, she was not in the position to ask Nico to stay by her side.
Although Nico was like a human in many ways, he was a fairy, and was certainly unable to trust Edgar, who had the strength of the Unseelie Courts.
However, Lydia did not want to think about separating with Nico now, she was even afraid to ask whether or not he would leave tonight. He also said that he would be accompanying her before she left the island.
Nico hadn’t said anything.
“Hey, is there anything you want to eat?”
“Every time I caught a cold, Mother would ask this."
“Ahh, that’s right, I remember that you had medicinal herbs in milk porridge every time."
“That......  no matter what I said that I wanted to eat every time, mother would only let me eat milk porridge. She said chocolates would make people unable to sleep, buttercream sandwiches would cause indigestion, and salted olives will make people thirsty or something.”
“Wasn’t this all in consideration for your body?”
“You don’t have to ask."
Nico found it amusing and laughed out loud.
“That really is something Aurora would do. I had always thought that you really liked to eat milk porridge.”
Lydia also laughed.
“Yeah, I really like it.”
If Nico wasn’t here, Father was the only one left that she could talk to about Mother.
Nico was different from Father, who usually wasn’t home due to work, as he was a friend who lived his daily life with Lydia and her mother.
Lydia sat up slightly, reaching over towards Nico. Although he usually hated being touched, even if Lydia buried her fingers in his soft fluffy fur, he narrowed his eyes as usual and did not move.
“Excuse me, Miss Lydia.”
Raven’s voice was heard. He entered the room without waiting for Lydia’s response, and quickly headed towards the window and pulled up the curtains.
“What’s wrong?”
Before Raven could reply, she heard the sound of hoofbeats outside the window, which stopped in front of the residence.
Judging from the mixed noises, there ought to be several people.
Not long after, the sound of a knock at the main door resounded throughout the residence.
“It’s someone from the McKeel family."
Edgar came into the room, quietly closing the door.
“Could they be looking for us?”
“They probably believe that they can’t let me escape at least. It looks like they don’t intend on letting me go no matter what.”
If you provoke me, I will not hold back – Edgar had made this declaration to Patrick, but on this island which could be said as the McKeel clan’s stronghold, he and Raven couldn’t do anything alone.
In short, they could only hide and think about how to secretly leave the island. Naturally, the McKeel clan knew this, so they must have thought that now was the chance to eradicate the Prince.
“But it doesn't matter, they can’t cause disorder on the Connaught clan’s land.”
“Is the owner here willing to help us hide?”
“Yeah, that isn’t a problem, I’ve already bribed the Connaught clan head.”
“Bribed?”
“I promised to provide them with financing. Since my safety and the fate of the clan are related, they should be happy to help out, it’s just that they have to lie to the McKeel clan a little.”
He absolutely wouldn’t sneak into the enemy camp without a plan with just him and Raven.
Lydia looked up at Edgar, feeling more surprised than impressed.
Edgar smiled, and then pulled the curtains by the window slightly and peeked outside.
“Look, they’re heading back.”
“However, they might come again.”
“Well, as soon as your physical condition is okay, we can decide on the safest way to leave the island.”
“I’m fine, it doesn’t matter even if I have slight fever, I can take a carriage or boat.”
Lydia rose from the bed. She wanted to go to Edgar, but her footsteps suddenly became unsteady.
Edgar promptly held out his hand, and Lydia held onto him.
“Don’t force yourself.”
It was strange, her whole body suddenly had no strength, even being unable to stand up. Dizziness washed over her, making her feel quite unwell.
“Lydia, you still have a fever.”
What’s going on? She even felt that her exhaled breath was very hot.
“No way...... I felt fine just a moment ago......”
“At any rate, you should rest.”
Edgar helped Lydia lie down on the bed, then covered her with the blanket. He ought to have noticed Lydia trembling.
In fact, Lydia suddenly felt a chill.
“Raven, please ask them to raise the fire in the fireplace to make the room a bit warmer.”
“Yes.”
“Sure enough, perhaps just removing the crystal wasn’t effective ......”
Nico mumbled from under the bed.
“What did you say?”
“I’m not too sure either, but it should be like a poison to the human body.”
“Bloodstones are poisonous?”
“That’s a bloodstone of an Aurora fairy, as long as a bit of power remains, the magic will try to eliminate the enemy.”
“......Lydia couldn’t have been targeted.”
Edgar said angrily, as Nico looked at him with a sneer.
“Earl, isn’t it because you’re by her side?”
Because Edgar is by my side? So my body is getting worse?
Edgar painfully gazed at Lydia. Once she opened her eyes, her gaze met his head-on.
“Meaning it is better for me not to be by her side?”
“Edgar.”
I don’t want this, there can’t be such thing.
Lydia struggled to prop up her body.
“Please stay here. If the Aurora fairies are targeting you, then that’s the same as targeting me... isn’t that right, Nico?”
Her body’s condition was bad enough to scare her. This was the first time it had occurred, and she did not know what would happen next. But the more she felt uneasy about this, the more she wanted Edgar to stay by her side.
“Ah.... yes, that’s right. It’s the same.”
Nico answered for Lydia. But Edgar looked increasingly worried. He pushed Lydia, who was trying to get up, back into the blankets.
“As long as she sleeps for a bit, she will feel better again.”
“I’ll go to sleep, so please stay with me."
“Yeah, I’ll come back to see you soon, I asked Kelly to keep you company."
When Edgar finally left the room, Lydia’s headache so severe that she couldn’t even lift her head.

                                                                                                                 *

Fergus arrived before the the room of his father, the clan head and paused, as he heard the voice of Patrick coming from inside.
“Earl Ashenbert and Miss Carlton’s whereabouts are still unknown, is that correct?”
“The search area is expanding. But isn’t there a possibility that they could be in the fairy realm?”
“Taking into account their safety, perhaps they quickly returned to the human world? Furthermore, the passage from the fairy world leading into this island isn’t so easy to reach, so they are still on this island."
This wasn’t a matter that should be eavesdropped on. Although Fergus had joined the McKeel clan’s full mobilization of search operations earlier, he was still unable to obtain news of Lydia and Edgar.
However, he was doubtful about this situation.
It wasn’t the Prince’s organization that had appeared in the sacred land, it was only the Earl and his valet. Although this was because the Earl was the successor of the Prince, this meant that the Prince’s organization hadn’t taken Edgar as a hostage from the beginning.
If the Earl, as the young girl of the Connaught clan had said, tried to take Lydia back from the McKeel clan, it meant that Patrick had lied to Lydia and brought her to the Hebrides.
Moreover, Brian had died in the sacred land. Although Patrick said that the Earl had killed him, the wounds covering Brian’s body made Fergus remember an old legend he once heard, which was related to the Aurora fairy’s dreadful blade.
Even though he couldn’t imagine that the Aurora fairies would have killed Brian, who was one of them, he didn’t think that the Earl killed him either.
The only thing that he could think of was......
Was it possible that because Brian and Patrick had deceived Lydia together? If he were to assume from the pang of conscience that he felt….
Fergus wasn’t surprised at all, at the thoughts that suddenly emerged.
Although with regards to Brian, Lydia was the reason that caused his blood-related sister to die, but after corresponding with her, it was probably very difficult to continue hating her.
Brian might have saved Lydia. Or, if he tried to save her fiancé for her...
Patrick and Fergus’ father had clearly twisted the facts into a favorable direction for them.
Thinking about it, it was also inevitable that Fergus would care about Patrick and his father’s conversations.
He stood still, holding his breath.
“Did you see Professor Carlton?”
“Yes, he is currently staying at the port town. He said Miss Carlton won’t be returning to the McKeel clan. If receives contact from them, he would probably leave the island. Since the professor is still in the town, that is evidence that the two are still on the island."
“Hmm, so, although the prophet was not in the sacred land, if he had already awakened, then he will appear as our savior."
“That is the duty of the Prophet. I believe that he will definitely save the island. However, he still needs a fiancée who is in charge of assisting him.”
“There is none other than Miss Carlton.”
“...That is true. Since her lifespan hasn’t been reduced to awaken the Prophet, she really isn’t on the verge of death, and might be the best partner to draw out his powers.”
Reducing lifespan? The one who awakened the Prophet would face death...?
Fergus suspected that he had misheard.
No, Brian had let it slip once before, he said that they had to sacrifice Lydia or something.
Then, if the Prophet was in the sacred land at the time, Lydia would......
Patrick had repeatedly said to Lydia that it wouldn’t be dangerous, and Professor Carlton accepted as a result, but in fact, it was a dangerous act that would reduce Lydia’s lifespan.
If he had told the truth, she would certainly not have agreed.
If it was a woman from the clan, they may have been willing to make that sacrifice for the McKeel family, but Lydia was different.
Even so, could they go and take everything from her for the sake of this island?
Although Fergus had been uninformed about the situation, he was the next clan head and rushed about everywhere to find Aurora’s daughter. In the end, he found Lydia.
He himself was one of the people responsible for destroying Lydia's happiness.
When Patrick was about to leave, Fergus quickly hid, watching as he left the room.
However, he immediately followed behind Patrick.
When Patrick walked out of the room, Fergus caught up with him from behind and moved around to block him.
“You lied to Lydia, didn’t you?”
Fergus stared at him, yet he was motionless and not even frowning.
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“You also lied to me.”
“Because the clan head said it was not necessary to tell you everything.”
Fergus angrily grabbed Patrick’s lapels.
“Fergus, you have to get rid of your emotional bad habits, no matter what the affair, the clan head must take the clan’s interests as priority.”
“Interests? Killing the Earl and forcing Lydia to obey are the clan’s interests? If things turn out to be like this, how would it be possible that she’d help us!”
“It depends on how you persuade her. In short, the most important thing now is to find the two of them. The clan head is also looking forward to your abilities.”
What he meant was that Fergus must find and bring them.
Fergus didn’t know whether or not his father had expectations of him, but Patrick truly did.
His anger towards Patrick lessened, and he released the strength in his hand. Patrick took his hand away from his clothes in his accustomed manner.
Where is Lydia hiding now?
This had nothing to do with abilities, he was just purely worried about Lydia.
If the Earl was the same, then it was also unreasonable for Fergus to worry.
But if they were found by someone from the McKeel clan, he didn’t know how they would treat the Earl, who was confirmed as the Prince.
“Returning to the main topic, where did they actually hide? There is no information in any village.”
No matter which clan it was, it would be difficult to imagine that the neighboring village would help conceal outsiders, thus his father expanded the search to the wilderness.
But at that time, Fergus thought of one thing.
The Connaught clan.  The Earl seemed to be very close with the Connaught clan, furthermore, the only McKeel clan member who discovered this should only be Fergus.
Because only Fergus knew about that day where the Connaught girl came here, hoping to share herbs, when in fact she was sent by the Earl.
The islanders had no reason to hide outsiders, let alone the British, who are being pursued.
Bringing that up, the islanders originally despised the guys from Britain who came and bought land, as well as the British officials who suppressed the Highlanders everywhere. The McKeel clansmen also thought this from the beginning.
However, I don’t know how the Earl made the Connaught clan his ally.
Fergus turned around in silence, leaving Patrick seemingly in anger.
He didn’t intend on telling Patrick about it, but he didn’t know what to do.
The Prince will bring disaster to the island, was it really okay for him to let the Prince escape?
But if he captures the Earl, with regards to Lydia, the McKeel clan will be an enemy of her fiancé.
Although he didn’t know what ought to be done, he couldn’t stay still.
Where is the Connaught village, which is closest to the sacred land? As he thought, he went to the stables.

                                                                                                               *

Edgar stood under the gloomy sky where the sun had already set. Lydia found his back, and thus came out from the residence.
His blonde hair was fluttering in the wind. The surrounding air was clearly dark gray, yet his hair seemed to contain a faint light.
In spite of his overcoat being blown up by the wind, he stood motionless, staring at the sea.
As Lydia looked at Edgar, she suddenly felt that he was very far away, so she was uneasy.
She thought, even though she was used to seeing that slender back, but if he turned out to be someone else, then what would she do?
If Edgar was no longer Edgar...
Her heart was afraid, so she hurried over.
Although Edgar promised not to let this happen, Lydia really could not imagine what kind of “Prince” existed in Edgar’s body.
“Lydia?”
He noticed the sound of footsteps and looked back; it was the usual Edgar. In order to not make Lydia run, he quickly walked towards her.
“Is it okay for you to be up?”
“Yeah, the fever is gone, and I don’t feel dizzy.”
He reached out and touched Lydia's forehead to confirm, and seemingly heaved a sigh of relief, yet he hastily withdrew his hand and stepped back a little.
Sure enough, Edgar was very concerned, he thought that it was because of him that the Aurora fairy’s blade brought pain to Lydia, so after that, he no longer visited Lydia’s room.
Lydia took the initiative to shorten the distance between them, she wanted to believe that this wasn’t caused by Edgar.
Despite being puzzled, he no longer avoided her.
“You have to rest more, you practically haven’t eaten dinner, right?”
“I’ve been waiting in the room all along, but you didn’t come, so...”
So I got out of bed.
Although Lydia was still unable able to say cute words such as “I wanted to see you”, Edgar smiled regardless.
His fingers wrapped around Lydia’s wind-blown hair, then he used his hands to embrace her cheeks and kissed her.
“The wind is quite strong here, let’s go back to the mansion.”
“No, it’s all right here.”
“Then let’s go to the side of that house, where there are benches.”
Edgar was the same as usual. However, since knowing that he inherited the Prince’s memories, the anxiety harbored in Lydia’s chest became greater as time went by.
It wasn’t a big deal. She had been preparing for the wedding without knowing the circumstances these few months, and never doubted his feelings during this period.
However, if the “Prince” appears, then what should I do?
If Edgar disappears, what should I do?
No, I don’t want to see him like that.
“What’s wrong?”
Lydia’s golden green eyes were suddenly wet. Edgar peered at her, worried.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Once she stepped away, she felt dizzy again.
Edgar reached out, surprised, but Lydia desperately pretended that it was nothing.
“I’m fine, I just accidentally stepped on my skirt.”
“Lydia, it’s best you return to your room, your condition had finally improved, if you get worse again because of me......”
“No, it’s not your fault, it’s because of the Aurora fairy’s magic.”
Lydia ran to the bench and sat down, Edgar had no choice but to sit down with a look of helplessness.
“Edgar, you won’t leave by yourself, right?”
“No way.”
“We can return to London together, right?”
“.......Yeah.”
He paused a little before answering, Lydia couldn’t help but feel sad because of this, and her heart was filled with a bad premonition.
Lydia did not know what to do, so she reached for Edgar. Edgar embraced her after holding her hand, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If it was like usual, Lydia would definitely be shy to the point of wanting to escape, but now, even if Edgar held her body tightly, she even felt unsatisfied.
Lydia didn’t find out that the reason Edgar hadn’t relaxed his strength was because she was clutching him tightly. She began to speak:
“It always feels like we haven't seen each other for a long time.”
“Yes, almost nine hours, right?”
“It’s even more. We hadn’t seen each other in a week.”
“I feel like it’s been a year.”
“When we were separated, I dreamed about you.”
“You finally like me enough to dream about me?”
“I dreamed that you and Raven were gardening, the greenhouse was full of flowers, and there was a very beautiful flower bed."
“Ohh, I mentioned the same thing to Raven before. I always did not want to miss out on decorating you with flowers.”
“Did you want to plant flowers?”
“Do you prefer to dress up with gems?”
“No, I like flowers. I want to grow flowers everyday to decorate you with, and brew tea with Raven for you...... this is much more wonderful than a ball.”
Lydia finally loosened her strength and was able to smile.
Although her feelings had already calmed down, she once again felt her whole body ache, but she endured it, as she wanted to stay a while longer.

“If this continues, Lydia will die!”
Nico stormed into the reception room where Edgar and Raven were.
Lydia fainted again and was bedridden. The situation still hadn’t improved the next day.
She suddenly had a fever, then the fever broke as if nothing happened, and she practically hadn’t eaten anything.
Moreover, it really seemed that as long as Edgar was beside her, her condition would worsen.
“Every time that happens, her body won’t be able to hold on.”
It was only natural that Edgar was really worried.
“Nico, as long as I am a little farther, will Lydia get better?”
“I think the problem doesn’t lie here, besides, if we leave this island, the situation might become worse.”
“What did you say?”
Nico worriedly sat on a chair with a wooden elbow rest.
“I don’t know the details either, however, only the magic of the Aurora fairy can purify its blade. This island has their protective magic, so we can only stay here and let the wound heal over time.”
“...Which means you want me to leave Lydia behind?”
Although his emotions were mixed with anger, Edgar vaguely had this feeling for a long time.
Perhaps Lydia also felt it.
She asked Edgar whether he would leave by himself. She didn’t hesitate to hide the fact that her condition was worsening, and didn’t want to leave Edgar’s side.
Lydia’s heart had already become increasingly close to Edgar, yet now, he was honestly unable to feel happy about that.
In the end, how long would it take for the Aurora fairy magic to disappear? How long must I separate from her again?
The situation already exceeded his expectations, forcing him to be confronted with a tougher choice.
The matters began to change with screams coming from outside.
“Please...Please stop!”
It was Kelly’s voice and another man talking to her.
“You are the woman the Earl sent before, right? Why are you here?”
“Let go of me!”
Raven immediately ran to the window and opened the curtains to confirm.
“The person who came is Fergus McKeel.”
As he reported, voices came from outside once more.
“As expected, after all, Earl Ashenbert is here, correct?”
Edgar also went to the window, and he remembered the red-haired man wearing a kilt.
Kelly struggled to shake off Fergus’s hand and escape, resulting in the basket falling from her hands.
She had gone out to pick medicinal herbs for Lydia. A red and black object fell out from the basket with the herbs.
Fergus curiously picked up the object to look at it, and Kelly took the opportunity to flee the scene.
“Ah! Hey, wait a minute!”
She had already ran into the mansion, and Fergus clicked his tongue in discontentment.
Then he looked up at the mansion and loudly shouted:
“Hey, Earl, can you hear me! I am Fergus McKeel! Come out if you hear this, I have something to talk with you about!”
The landlord arrived at the room where Edgar and the others were, and asked them how he ought to reply. Edgar asked him to wait a moment, then observed the situation by the window.
Fergus continued to speak alone to the mansion, which made no sound.
“I came by myself, and I haven’t told anyone the matter of you having relations with the Connaught clan.”
“He seems to be alone.”
Edgar whispered.
“Did he truly not speak of it?”
Raven took a cautious approach.
“......If you don’t come out, I will have to return and tell the clan head everything!”
At this moment, Nico spoke, after contemplating from the beginning.
“The McKeel clan might be able to save Lydia."
“Nico, is that true?”
“The McKeel family had always conducted exchanges with the Aurora fairies and intermarried, if even the McKeel clan is unable to handle this kind of matter, it means that they really are hopeless.”
“It seems that I have no choice but to have a chat with that boy.”
Edgar looked around as if seeking approval, then opened the window.
Fergus immediately turned his attention to this window.
“You say you’re alone? How courageous, if that’s the case, I can’t let you return.”
Fergus was shocked, as if he didn’t expect the risks in doing so. His eyes briefly shifted around nervously, but his mood immediately revived, refusing to accept defeat and said:
“If you can do it, try it! That’s right, isn’t Lydia ill? Since you’re still alive and kicking, then there must be something wrong with Lydia. I may be able to save her!”
“What are you talking about?”
Although Edgar calmly responded, Fergus was quite sure that something was wrong with Lydia.
“I saw the Connaught clan’s housemaid picking medicinal herbs just now, but other than the herbs, she had to have gone looking for this thing."
He picked up the black lump that had fallen from Kelly’s basket.
“This is a seal’s liver. When fairy magic enters the human body, this is used to detoxify. It’s an Aurora fairy’s magic within Lydia’s body, isn’t that right? And it’s the same magic that killed Brian in the sacred land at that time, right? If that’s the case, this kind of thing has no effect at all.”
Fergus’s hand crushed the dried liver.
“Very well, it seems that it wasn’t a complete waste of time speaking with you.”
Edgar turned away from the window sill.
Raven intended to follow, but Edgar told him to stay, and then left the reception room. After Edgar walked out to confirm the surroundings, he found that Fergus was really standing alone in place, waiting for him.
“How’s Lydia’s situation? Is it very serious?”
Fergus had once threatened that Lydia originally should have been his fiancée, so Edgar felt irritated at his inquiry.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
As long as Fergus confronted Edgar, it seemed that he would get nauseous with anger. He immediately raised his eyebrow and said:
“Oh is that so, but you don’t understand anything when it comes to fairies, right? People who are associated with Unseelie Courts like you staying by her side ought to bring her a lot of pain.”
Sure enough, Edgar’s presence had made Lydia’s situation worse.  He took a deep breath, trying not allow the anxiety show on his face. However, his mood still hadn’t calmed down.
“So, does the McKeel clan have medicine that can treat a wound caused by an Aurora fairy’s blade?”
“We don’t.”
“Then I have nothing to say to you.”
Edgar prepared to turn away, and at this time, Fergus quickly added:
“Wait a minute! Although there is no medicine, there should be a way to eliminate the magic. In the McKeel clan’s land, there is a region where it’s hard for fairy magic to bring out its effects.  Although the cure for Lydia is dependent on the situation, it can surely make her recover. As long as she can stay for two or three years......”
“Three years!?”
He couldn’t help but interrupt Fergus’ words.
“You want me to be apart from Lydia for that long?”
“If you don’t want to, then there’s no other choice but let her die.”
Fergus put his hands on his hips as if showing off that he had the advantage.
“The condition to saving Lydia is that you must leave this island. If you agree, I won’t send troops to pursue you until you escape safely."
“You really are somewhat kind."
“If you were caught and killed by the McKeel clan, Lydia would hate us.
If it came to that, perhaps she will worsen from the powerful magic inside her that could come loose. Of course, I hope you don’t take a step closer to the island. If you return to the island again, we would have to battle with the ‘Prince’ anyway.”
“Are you still planning to take Lydia away from me here, in a situation where you’re not being hated? Even if the means to do so is tough, this is also an opportunity to make her yours."
“Looking down on me, how could I force her! I pledge this on the McKeel clan’s name! However, I’ll say this upfront first, I will make Lydia forget about you!”
Which meant that he had plenty of time to make it possible.
On the other hand, this was very detrimental for Edgar.
Having to be apart from him for such a long time, would Lydia be willing to wait for him?

“No, I don’t want this!”
Lydia said firmly and seemingly blamed Edgar as she leaned forward and grabbed him by his coat.
“Didn't you say you wouldn’t leave me alone!”
“I don’t want to leave you either, but to continue on like this, your body won’t recover.”
Edgar held her hand, trying to comfort her, but she shook off his hand and turned away.
“......If you leave me, it means breaking off our engagement. Because if we separate, you will most likely fall for other people.”
“Lydia, there’s only you in my heart, I promise I won’t change.”
“The promise you made doesn’t count at all...... besides, I might change.”
“Will you forget me?”
“The Lydia that you like might disappear."
“There will be no such thing.”
However, she firmly shook her head.
“No, if we separate now, we’ll definitely break up!”
“Only I can do that, and furthermore, we won’t break up.”
“Does the McKeel clan really have a way for me to recover? If the Aurora fairy’s magic is really strong, perhaps it’s the same whether or not I get treated, isn’t that so? If that’s the case, I will certainly regret it very much, I don’t wish to die under the circumstances of regret and being apart from you!”
They really had no evidence.
But if we leave the island, Lydia will perhaps......
“Edgar, even it’s for a short time, it doesn’t matter...... please let me stay by your side.”
She pleaded with her golden-green eyes, which were filled with tears, and Edgar’s feelings couldn’t help but waver as well. He caressed her sweet caramel hair and held his arms around Lydia, who was leaning into his embrace.
Yet, the two finally managed to nestle together like this......
He could also surely sense their feelings overlapping with each other. For Edgar, this was the first time he had to be separated from a precious lover, and the situation was extremely irrational.
“Lydia, I don’t want the time spent with you together to be very short. I hope that you stay by my side for a very long time, and if possible, I hope we can be together until we grow old."
“What if while you’re waiting, I pass away......”
Lydia was probably worried about the Prince’s memories within Edgar’s body. Indeed, the Edgar now is not like the usual people in society, he wasn’t just a fiancee who would travel long distance for business matters.
It wasn’t known what impact the Prince’s memories would have on Edgar; moreover, as long as Edgar was the Prince, if he set foot on the island once again, then he must be aware that he would be hunted down by the McKeel clan.
Even if Lydia recovered, it’s possible that she will be unable to meet him again easily.
“I don’t want to wait either......”
Lydia trembled in fear, and shook herself off Edgar’s arms.
“I don’t want to go to the McKeel clan either! The McKeel clan intends to kill you... isn’t that right? Where exactly is the Prophet? As long as I am here, they’ll use me for the Prophet, and then it will be the same as helping the McKeel clan, who want to kill you!”
“I will not lose, whether it’s the Prophet or the Prince.”
Lydia furiously shook her head again.
“If you leave me, I’ll hide. If the McKeel family try to find me, I’ll run away! I’ll be waiting alone until the moment my life is over!”

After having raised her voice, she suddenly pressed her chest in pain, incessantly taking hurried breaths.
“Lydia!”
“Miss, are you alright?”
Kelly ran over to Lydia, wanting to bring her water to drink, but she was unable to drink it smoothly and coughed violently.
“Earl, I’m sorry.”
As long as he was around, it would affect her condition. There was simply no meaning in continuing this.
Edgar nodded and then left the room. 

​
​“That’s too bad... poor Lydia.”
Nico sipped the tea that Raven made while deftly rubbing his eyes.
“Earl, if Lydia goes back together with you, she can only wait for death, but if she remains on the island, it would just be painful. I really can’t watch this anymore.”
Nico was right. Edgar sighed.
“Hey Nico, can Lydia truly recover completely like Fergus said?”
“Since the fragments of the blade had already been taken out, I don’t think it should be too difficult to eliminate it. However, I don’t know how many years it will take, so in reality, I won’t know until we try the treatment.” 
“Lord Edgar, may I ask what Miss Lydia said?”
Raven rarely took the initiative to ask questions. It seemed he was very concerned about the development of the situation.
“Well...... she said that she wouldn’t remain here.”
“Earl, it can’t be that you intend to have let Lydia die?”
“Do you think I should leave her here?”
“If that happens, it will be shameful on her.”
“What should I do?”
“......It’s bad either way.”
Nico sipped tea and rubbed his eyes once more.
“Lydia is probably beginning to give in to despair. The reason why she said that she wanted to return even if she were to die was perhaps because she knew that I inherited the Prince’s memory, so it’s a bit of a hit."
Even while knowing the truth, she had shown that her her feelings toward Edgar did not change, however she felt anxious. There was also hesitation over whether she should marry as things are now. 
For this reason, she was afraid of separation. She was perhaps afraid that their relationship will inevitably collapse if they separated and calmed down.
She was probably thinking that she wasn’t going to live long anyway, and so it would be better to swiftly go along with only her feelings. This was why she was saying such things.
“What? Inherited the Prince’s memories?”
Nico called out, suddenly slamming the teacup against the table.
“Oh...... that’s right, you still don’t know.”
Lydia already knew about the matter, so he felt no need to conceal it.
Nico stood up from his chair, his paws on the table and fur raising up.
“You...... How could you say it so easily!  P-Prince’s memories! What is going on!”
“It’s a long story.”
“This means...... that you’re the Prince?”
“Well, I guess so.”
“What about Lydia? Does she know?”
“She knew about it in the sacred land.”
“Oooh......”
Nico held a depressed expression, with the fur of his head grasped messily by both his paws. Worried, Raven pulled out a comb from his pocket. 
“So Lydia thinks that she will simply come back with me and not know what would happen to me, and be able to die happily.”
Nico didn’t even glance at the comb, leaving his fur a mess as he came down from the chair.
“......I can’t stand this any longer.”
He staggered out of the room.
Raven wanted to chase after Nico, but mindfully looked back at Edgar. After Edgar nodded in consent, he bowed and immediately left the room.

“Hey, Raven, since when did you guys start lying to me and Lydia?”
Nico was outside for a while, with Raven still silently behind him.
Moreover, at Nico’s harsh inquiry, he looked as if he trembled a little.
“After Prince died."
“In other words, the Earl was hiding it from Lydia in preparations for the wedding?”
“Lord Edgar is also quite troubled.”
“What do you think the Earl would do?”
“…… I do not know.”
“I don’t have the courage to see the end. Therefore, Raven, I have to separate from you too.”
Separate. Raven mumbled the word, as if chewing at the meaning.
“I’ve told Lydia before, I’d be sad if I saw her face, so I will leave at this rate.”
“Where are you going?”
“Who knows. Should be a place where there’s no one on this island.”
Nico did not stop and continued walking straight ahead. Although Raven continued to follow him, while he seemingly wanted to say something, he did not say anything.
“You should have already made up your mind to follow the Earl for a lifetime, I really respect you for that. However, you should think of me occasionally.”
​“Mr. Nico.”
“Goodbye.”
After Nico raised his paw and waved, Raven finally stopped in his tracks and stood there for a long time as he saw Nico off. 

Up until Edgar had approached him, Raven was still staring far into the distance, where nothing was moving.
One ought to inevitably feel sorrow and pain from being separated from someone, and this time, Raven should have felt some kind of emotion.  
If possible, Edgar hoped that he could experience the joy of making friends, rather than the sadness of separating from them. Even though he thought this, he couldn’t do anything.
“Raven, I’m sorry.” 
He turned around and looked at Edgar in astonishment. 
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Nico left because I have the Prince’s memories, isn’t that so? So he probably can’t forgive me.”
Raven slowly shook his head.
“Mr. Nico said that he respects me who serves you, so he should also accept your decision.” 
“I see. Nico is extremely just in his judgement because he’s a splendid gentleman.” 
Raven nodded, rummaged around his pocket and took out a bloodstone that had been polished into a sphere.
“I have not been able to return this to Mr. Nico... No, I think that if I return it, it seems that I may cut ties with him.”   
Edgar looked into the distance Raven was staring at before.
“Yes, as long as you have it, one day you will have the opportunity to return it to him.” 
“Will we have the chance to visit this island again?”
If it was to bring Lydia back with him, then it was probably impossible. But Edgar nodded in response to Raven’s question. 
“Yes, I will definitely come back.”  
He didn’t want Lydia to die. If he considered this above all else, there was no room for any other option.
But he will once again deceive Lydia in this way, and she may hate Edgar.
Even so, as long as there was the slightest chance Lydia could be saved, he could only rely on McKeel clan.
“I will always love Lydia. Someday, I will recapture her heart again.”

                                                                                                                *

After nightfall, when Edgar came to Lydia’s room once more, she wasn’t lying on the bed, rather she was sitting on the chair by the window.
And to make matters worse, she was fully dressed to go out. 
“Lydia, I came to say goodnight to you.”
“I don’t want to sleep and I feel better. Now is the time where we can head to the harbor without being seen by the McKeel family.”  
She got up and tried to approach him, but her footsteps were too unsteady.
“You can’t, you need to rest properly tonight. You hardly ate at all, right?” 
Edgar hurried over to help her. 
“…… I’m worried that I won’t be able to eat anything. If we leave the island, then surely I’ll be able to eat.” 
“This is a safe place, there’s nothing to worry about.” 
“As I expected, you refuse to comply with my wishes.” 
Lydia lowered her eyes in despair.
“But I’m not going to change my mind."
At this rate, she’s going to refuse treatment. 
I absolutely can’t let that happen.
Edgar sighed and stroked Lydia’s hair. After a moment, he came to a resolution and said: 
“I understand, let’s return together.” 
“.....Really?”
While surprised, she anxiously looked up. 
“Didn’t I tell you? Only you can make me do exactly as you say.”  
Apart from losing Lydia, he would obey any order.
This was the only thing that Edgar absolutely cannot tolerate.
No matter what method he used, he couldn’t let Lydia die.
Lydia stared into Edgar’s eyes for a while, eventually relaxing her mouth and smiling.
Despite being worried and dejected, Edgar still tried to smile at Lydia, and then embraced her tightly. 
“Lydia, we will certainly get married.” 
“Yes... there’s no time. We must hurry.”  
Kelly came and brought Lydia hot milk, gently placed it on the table and left. Edgar noted this and said: 
“When the long night ends, we will get married immediately.”
After exchanging a kiss as a vow, Edgar helped Lydia sit on a chair. 
“I will go and prepare the carriage.” 
Then, he nonchalantly handed the cup of milk to Lydia.
“Drink this a little to prepare for the trip.”
Raven should have added sleeping pills.
In order to truly hand Lydia over to Fergus and not give her any opportunity to escape, he could only do this.
Lydia carefully held the cup with both of her hands and put it close to her lips.
She ought to completely believe that she could return with Edgar, or did she sense Edgar’s lie? 
Lydia finished the milk, and in the end, he was unable to comprehend what she was thinking from her expression. 
Before the cup slipped from her hand, Edgar gently grabbed onto her.
He placed the cup back onto the table and carried her body that lost all its strength to the bed.
This time, even Lydia who was lenient will not forgive him.
Despite feeling this way, Edgar’s determination did not waver.
“Lydia, please understand, what I hope to obtain isn’t short-term happiness, rather it’s to spend the future with you and build a happy family.”
Even if Lydia couldn’t hear, he still whispered.
“That’s why, we will certainly get married. The next time we meet again will be our dawn.”