Hakushaku to Yousei - Volume 26 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 ♦ ​The imprisoned fairy doctor

The hearty breakfast was spread out in front of her, such that Lydia was almost unable to turn around.
In order to break out of the crisis, lying in desperation about being pregnant with Edgar’s child was merely a matter from yesterday.  The result was a great change in treatment all at once. The warm room was furnished with a soft bed, she was given clean replacement clothes, and Lydia's identity became similar to that of a guest. 
Even so, the door of the room was locked and the windows couldn’t be opened either; in other words, Lydia was still imprisoned. Furthermore, it was only a matter of time before the pregnancy lie was exposed, so she had to escape before that. However, it wasn’t so simple of a matter.
In addition, the food was also a problem.
Would it have been poisoned?
This place has Teran, who once tried to get rid of Lydia. At the thought of this, she lost her appetite. In fact, since yesterday, Lydia didn’t even eat a grain of rice.
But if this continued, she would collapse from hunger before the lie gets exposed.
Guessing that white boiled eggs wouldn’t have any problems, Lydia reached out to take one, and when she was carefully confirming that there were no cracks on the eggshell, the sound of a commotion outside the door could be heard.
“Well, hurry up and get out of my way.”
It's a woman's voice as well as other sounds echoing.
“Please wait a moment, Lady Kathleen.”
Kathleen?
Lydia guarded her body in reflex, and at the same time, the sound of unlocking was heard. As soon as the door was opened, Kathleen strode into the room.
For a moment, Lydia glimpsed at Ermine’s figure, which seemingly wanted to stop Kathleen from entering, but as if to block Ermine, Kathleen closed the door behind her. She hurried towards Lydia, and her face suddenly revealed a warm smile.
“Lydia, you're all right! That's great, it wasn’t you.”
“What…… what’s the matter?”
“Just now, someone saw a woman covered in blood being carried out of the residence. And before, somebody heard you were caught and believed that it must have been you after being interrogated by Teran.”
Although Kathleen sighed in relief as if it took a huge weight off of her mind, couldn’t it be due to regret? Lydia thought suspiciously.
But who, and for what reason did they go as far as to encounter such a tragic matter? Lydia was more concerned about this. After hearing such a thing, her mind thought “so the organization is a place like this” and felt frightened, but Kathleen, who had been temporarily living here all along, didn’t have this kind of thought? 
“Furthermore, the people who heard that you unexpectedly ran here were truly shocked, even if you were left behind, you still chased him without letting go?”
It seemed that in Kathleen's head, this was the reason that Lydia appeared here.
“And then I say… although it definitely isn’t something commendable, I really sympathize with you as a woman, to go as far as to conceive a man’s child that isn’t your husband’s.”
“......It is my husband’s.”
Being attacked by Kathleen’s barely concealed criticisms under her feigned intimate behaviour, Lydia still refuted.
“Yes, suddenly being abandoned, not being able to accept it all at once, I can understand. But didn't he say it? That he wasn’t married to you or anything.”
Indeed, Lydia herself heard Edgar say that to her. The man known as “Edgar Ashenbert” had already no longer existed.
However, whether it was the validity of the marriage or the law, it didn’t matter to Lydia. They were united as they had wished for and to both of them, this was a once in a lifetime marriage, so Lydia wasn’t ashamed of it at all.
“I don't care about what other people say, I am fine. Because we are truly married and love each other.”
That's right. A person that was more enamored with her and craved her more than Edgar probably didn’t exist. Lydia even felt that even if she was truly abandoned by Edgar, just the love that she threw herself in up until today has been more than enough.
“Well, we aren’t strangers to each other, so I'm not going to do anything bad to you. Just tell me alone, you’re lying, right? Being pregnant and whatnot.”
Holding Lydia’s hands, who didn’t reveal a wavering expression at all, Kathleen showed a coaxing smile. But perhaps because she was impatient, her eyes didn’t reveal the least bit of a smile.
“Otherwise, an extremely major incident will happen. Teran will arrange for midwives.”
“What?”
Lydia couldn’t help but be alarmed, and Kathleen's restlessness suddenly disappeared.
“His Majesty is the monarch in this organization. Do you understand? If it's a lie, it won’t be forgotten so easily. The previous king sent mistresses that were a hindrance to the guillotine, so if this continues on, you will turn out that way as well.”
For a while I think I should avoid being suspected by Teran and fight for time.
If he calls the midwife over and asks a lot of specialized questions, Lydia would definitely be asked to the point of speechlessness after a short while. Because with regards to Lydia, she has almost no knowledge about pregnancy.
Perhaps Lydia showed a worried expression, as Kathleen smiled more and more proudly.
“Hey, Lydia, I am His Majesty’s fiancée, and I am the only one who can persuade His Majesty to be lenient with you.”
“......It is the same with me. During this period, if you don’t make use of your value, you will be killed.”
This time, Lydia was genuinely sympathetic with Kathleen. Probably for Teran, whether it was Lydia or Kathleen, both were merely pawns, and even wanted to control Edgar in his hands. In order to attract Edgar’s attention, he took advantage of Kathleen from the Sylvainford family, whose heart was strongly attached to Edgar from the beginning.
If possible, it would be better to take the opportunity and escape without delay. Although she wanted to say this, Kathleen seemed unable to contain her anger from listening to Lydia’s words, and grabbed her shoulders roughly. 
“The same, you said?! You and I?! We definitely cannot be the same……”
She didn’t raise her hand, and unintentionally glanced at Edgar, who was standing behind the opened door.
“Your Majesty……”
Panic-stricken, Kathleen hastily let go of Lydia and hid her hands behind her back, like a child making a mistake.
“Kathleen, this isn’t a place where a lady like you ought to be.”
Edgar said calmly. Rather than realizing that she had been insulted, Lydia was simply astonished.
“It is as you say. However, even if she is an indecent woman, she isn’t someone that I don’t know, I just wanted to comfort her.”
Kathleen lowered her gaze. Edgar approached Kathleen, tenderly placing his hand on her shoulder.
“You truly are gentle. But it really isn’t necessary for you to worry about her. Lydia is a fairy doctor, someone who knows how to use magic, isn’t that so?”
“Magic, you say? Oh my, how frightening.”
Kathleen spoke in this way, while acting coquettishly to Edgar, as if to show off.
Lydia couldn’t help but look away.
Rather than being treated coldly by the changed Edgar, the situation of him whispering sweet nothings to another woman in front of her was more painful.
“Come, Kathleen, leave quickly before you get cursed here.”
Edgar urged Kathleen and brought her out the door. At first, she thought he would leave like this, but she didn’t expect that he would remain alone and turn around to face Lydia.
Even if Edgar was like this, Lydia wouldn’t expect anything. Granted that it turned into the two of them being alone, Edgar was no longer like before, where he would surround Lydia with many sweet words. This, she knew from personal experience.
“I won’t use magic nor curses. You should know a lot about fairy doctors.”
This man, who should have understood Lydia better than anyone else, has already changed now. With a feeling of remorse, Lydia couldn’t help but speak critically.
“I know very well that you don’t have any magical powers at all. In addition, I know that your little life is in my hands now.”
Sure enough, not a hint of love could be felt in his behaviour. Even the smile that had always been shown to Lydia no longer appeared.
“Yes, it is precisely as you said.”
Lydia gritted her teeth and answered in a low voice.
Approaching Lydia from the side of the door, Edgar put one hand on the table, glanced at the breakfast which hadn’t been touched, and frowned.
“Why aren’t you eating? You probably haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
“Because I don't want to eat.”
“Are you planning on starving to death?”
“I will not choose such a painful death.”
With regards to Lydia’s request of Edgar to “survive”, he had kept his promise, so Lydia decided that even if the inevitable result was that he would be contaminated by the prince, she would endure it no matter how sad she felt. 
“Then you should eat.”
“I cannot trust the food here. It might have been poisoned.”
Edgar grumbled and sat down on the chair to the side.
He reached out toward the already cold breakfast that was prepared for Lydia. A piece of bread, a sip of black tea, a piece of fried fish, potatoes and ham all went into his mouth, and then he looked towards Lydia without the slightest bit of a smile.
“How about this? Still feeling uneasy?”
Edgar unexpectedly tried the poison himself. If Teran really added poison to the food... Lydia stared blankly, then panicked.
“How awful, are you okay? Do you feel unwell?”
Lydia leaned out and gazed at Edgar, as if to check on his complexion. At the gaze of Lydia in this way, there was a split second where it seemed that the corners of Edgar’s mouth suddenly relaxed, could it be an illusion?
Edgar’s face immediately became serious again as he turned away from Lydia and stood up; his tough tone of voice seemed somewhat fidgety.
“In short, you need to eat properly for me. You are pregnant with my child, if you harm it, I won’t forgive you even if you are the mother.”
“......I understand.”
It wasn’t to provoke Edgar’s anger at all. In addition, Lydia endured her hunger to the limits.
This time, Lydia no longer thought it over, and put a piece of bread in her mouth. Edgar, who confirmed it afterwards, sighed as if he was relieved. This might have simply been a mere sigh.
Then, he turned and left the room.
When the sound of the door being locked echoed in her ears, Lydia pondered over an issue. Could it be that Edgar didn’t have any doubts regarding her pregnancy excuse?
No, he would definitely have doubts. However, he didn’t ask Lydia if she wasn’t the Prophet's fiancée, nor did he ask Lydia to prove the authenticity of her pregnancy.
Having this slight point, Lydia felt that Edgar now seemed to be hinting at her. If she actually wasn’t pregnant, killing her at any time was a very easy thing, so now, he was merely pretending to believe in her.
But Lydia still couldn’t understand.
Perhaps he merely felt quite amused about Lydia's futile struggle, and nothing more.
Lydia quietly ate the food that Edgar tested for poison, as her mind was filled with Edgar.
In the days that the two spent together, breakfast was Lydia’s most relaxing time. Although the noon and evening were not all social banquets, only in the morning could she hide in the bedroom, enjoying her food while spending time leisurely.
Before her eyes, the scene of Edgar putting food into his mouth hadn’t been seen for so long. At that moment, Lydia had an illusion that the past Edgar was in front of her, and the two of them were having a meal together. 
Even though they were separated by a long distance, it still wasn’t difficult to believe the love between the two of them.
But now that they are so close, Lydia slowly felt that she was becoming colder. From her fingertips, she began to gradually freeze, and her heart was so cold that it was creaking.
I won’t forgive you if you harm the child. Edgar said as such.
If he became aware that there was no child at all, what would he do to Lydia?
He won’t forgive her?
Lydia swallowed her food in one bite like a machine, tears dripping down her face.
She gradually became nearly unable to believe in Edgar.
She was clearly so close, yet she wouldn’t be able to touch his heart again; this feeling was so real that it was extremely difficult to bear.

​
Please read this chapter at Daydream Translations
“Lord Edgar, Miss Kathleen is waiting for you in the parlor.”
Leaving Lydia’s room as if to run away, Edgar shut himself in the study. Although he knew Kathleen came to see him, after seeing Lydia's appearance and hearing her voice, the overflowing thoughts of longing for her couldn’t be suppressed now, and he really couldn’t assume an air of cordiality and speak sweet words to Kathleen.
“Let her find someone else to chat with as she pleases.”
Resting his cheek in his hand, Edgar replied to Ermine.
“This statement is not expected to be accepted.”
“Then let her wait. If she feels disgusted it’s because I am not caring enough, then tell her to hurry up and go back to her own country.”
Seriously. It would be good if she hurried back. But Edgar didn’t think in this way because he resented Kathleen.
Kathleen was quite a hindrance, and he didn’t want to contact her again, as he found her to be very bothersome. This frame of mind was proof that Edgar was already at a loss.
In order to suppress the Prince, Edgar used hatred as an armor to wrap himself in, and for that reason, it became even more difficult to quell his anger.
If he couldn't control his mood, the Prince would break through the cage and come out. Edgar could only maintain the dangerous balance while suppressing his feelings. At the same time, it was also because he felt sorry for disturbing Kathleen’s state of mind, as Edgar had simply always dealt with her appropriately.
But now, Lydia appeared.
Kathleen immediately became jealous of Lydia.
For Edgar, he was able to maintain friendly relations with Kathleen, who was neither a drug nor a poison at first, but after she became aggressive towards Lydia, he became unable to control himself.
“Miss Kathleen even ran over to this sort of place, the Isles of Scilly, in order to achieve her goal, I am afraid she won’t return so easily.
“Goal? ”
Stunned, Edgar raised his head, and Ermine solemnly nodded.
“She is waiting for a proposal.”
“......Whose?”
The question of his short-circuited brain was blurted out.
“Of course, it is your proposal, Lord Edgar.”
“Mine? Even if I don’t do so, didn’t she already consider herself to be the fiancée?”
“That's because the surrounding people decided as such. But for women, since they are the fiancée, they will naturally expect a sincere proposal from the other person.”
Indeed, regarding the marriage procedures of aristocrats, the fiancé decided on by the parents must choose the right time to propose in any case. It wasn’t completely unreasonable for Kathleen to expect this sort of thing.
But wasn’t she being too optimistic? In the end, what kind of man is Edgar in her heart?
He was a man who had clearly already been married, yet readily denied it. Previously, he had once humiliated Kathleen in order to protect his wife's reputation, but she got close to him, as if she had completely forgotten that sort of past.
Why would she be so obsessed with such a man?
Suddenly finding it quite ridiculous, Edgar scoffed.
“It would be good if she could meet the woman from this morning. Would she still want to marry me from taking a look?”
While laughing loudly, he recalled the incident this morning with slight regret.
If Lydia became aware of it, she would definitely see him as someone else. 
“Apparently it was already seen by her, the woman covered in blood.”
“Oh, and then?”
“So only then did it become like this. She still wants to hear that she is special from your mouth, and above all, now that Madam Lydia has appeared, she feels even more anxious. Especially after being so proud of herself today, she will not leave so easily.”
Edgar still laughed incessantly.
“Do you think that out of every generation of princes, there was one that honestly proposed? Ermine, bullying a feeble woman is this guy’s greatest pleasure. Perhaps I have already become like that.”
With a dejected expression, Ermine looked at Edgar, who laughed while having to make this kind of statement, and she spoke.
“It ought to have been Teran’s idea this morning. It might have been to sway your mind, deliberately sending a woman covered in injuries into your room. You...... definitely didn’t do that sort of atrocious thing.”
Edgar suddenly stopped laughing and whispered.
“I don’t need you consolation.”
Regardless, getting drunk to the point of losing consciousness was truly him losing his self-composure, which gave Teran a chance to sneak in. With such a careless attitude, was he still planning on suppressing the Prince?
With regards to Edgar, compared to resentment and desire, the strongest feeling was his longing for Lydia. However, love became a weakness in his battle with the Prince.
Edgar had to constantly defeat the Prince in his own body, and did not need the persona of Edgar. His mind bore the longing for Lydia, yet he had to assume the behaviour of pushing her away, perhaps this contradiction will always exist from now on.
But even if it will always exist, he had no choice but to continue on in this way, because by entrusting his entire body to the Prince, he was unable to protect Lydia even more.
“Bring Lydia out to the courtyard. This way, she will be refreshed.”
He waved his hand, as if to drive Ermine away.
“Ah, under the premise of not affecting her health.”
Edgar added this just in case. Continuing to pretend to believe that Lydia was pregnant, under this circumstance, Teran wouldn’t go as far as to dispose of her so easily.

This courtyard, although it was a space surrounded by houses in a literal sense, it was essentially fairly vast. The Southern-style flowers and trees were arranged quite artistically.
Although she was being monitored as usual, Lydia felt as if she was alive by being able to go outside and breathe in the fresh air.
In the places where the sun shone on, the air was warm, and all kinds of spring flowers bloomed one after another. The seasons change much earlier here compared to London, as it had the slight feeling of summer already.
It might also be because there were plants in the courtyard that resembled coconuts which were shining green with vitality.
The daily clothing without unnecessary decorations that she asked Ermine to prepare was very light and easy to move around in. If she wore a heavy dress in the enemy’s territory, she won’t be able to move freely, which was sheer idiocy. For this reason, even a petticoat was very plain.
In such a lightweight dress, Lydia still walked very slowly on purpose. Along the edge of the flowerbed, she cautiously took steps like that of a pregnant woman.
Ermine followed along Lydia’s side. What position was she in now? Lydia wasn’t absolutely sure. But rather than saying she was monitoring Lydia, it seemed more like she was protecting Lydia.
“Say, the two of us being together like this, it’s the first time since the sea kingdom.”
Previously, she and Ermine spoke for a little bit in Ahés’ country, which belonged to the fairy realm. At the time, it was kind of like meeting in a dream, and now, it truly has been quite a long time that she was able to carefully look at Ermine’s face in the real world.
Ermine leaving the Earl family was something that was already decided prior to Lydia and Edgar’s marriage.
At that time, Lydia was hesitant when facing Edgar’s proposal directly, and believed that the unbreakable bond between Edgar and Ermine were feelings of love. She felt that she couldn’t be compared to Ermine and was endlessly disheartened.
But now, from all kinds of actions, it seemed that Edgar always viewed Ermine as an important family member; his feelings for Ermine had never exceeded this boundary, nor had it ever been reduced. Lydia understood their friendship and no longer had any doubts.
It may also be because now, whether it was love or romance or matters between men and women, Lydia understood a little.
If Edgar had regarded Ermine as a woman in the past, then regardless of how large of a difference in status they had, their relationship would be equal. Then, Ermine wouldn’t have still remained loyal to Edgar up until now.
To Ermine, Edgar was still acting as her master, so despite continuously taking actions that appeared to be betraying Edgar later on, Edgar accepted Ermine’s loyalty without a shred of hesitation.
“I still believed that you had escaped from Ulysses and arrived at a safe place. But why did you return to the organization?”
“Because the possibility of Lord Edgar coming here and becoming the Prince was very high.”
In other words, Ermine followed someone’s orders to arrive in an area where Edgar ought to appear later on. 
“The person who said these that, was it Francis?”
Although Francis was unwilling to tell Lydia the genuine details of the conversation he had when he was in contact with Ermine, she gave a definite answer without the slightest hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Was it him who wanted you to facilitate the freeing of the Prince’s memories within Edgar?”
“Precisely. But Lord Edgar himself made the same decision. He seemed to think that he could only carry out this method. Whether it was Mr. Finistere or me, the matter of Lord Edgar infiltrating was nothing more than preparations for clearing a road-block.”
There was a small fountain in front of the flower bed, and a white granite pond received the sprinkled water.
“Ermine, you said this before, that you might take away important things from me. Is this what you're referring to?”
Ermine nodded silently.
“Edgar will become the Prince. Because it was unavoidable, you threw yourself into the organization under Francis’ instructions. Before I married Edgar, well, no, it should have been before Edgar obtained the Prince’s memories that you had already been acting for that purpose.”
“My deepest apologies.”
“I’m not blaming you, uh, in other words, Francis had already foresaw that Edgar would merge with the Prince? Or did he think that there was a trend in things?”
Ermine didn’t say a word. It wasn’t that she couldn’t speak, but that she herself wasn’t very clear either.
“At the time, Francis brought me to Lyonesse and led me to see the fairy who guided the Earl family’s path. However, Edgar is already no longer the same as before, and I have been caught by the organization. So with this, Francis’ plan’s couldn’t be achieved. Or……”
“For all I know, Francis has two goals. One is Lord Edgar gaining the Prince’s strength, and the other is Madam Lydia reaching the fairy kingdom, Ibrazel, unharmed. I’m afraid that the other things are probably a mere course of events for him.”
In other words, Francis only paid attention to the result, so as long as he could achieve his goal, he didn’t care about what would happen midway?
“In that case, it doesn’t matter even if Edgar is controlled by the Prince. It’s as long as he can obtain the power to control Unseelie Courts?”
“I think that although he expects Lord Edgar won’t be controlled he also believes that nothing is more important than obtaining strength.”
Lydia sighed as she stopped beside the fountain.
“But with the situation now,  I can’t go to the fairy kingdom.”
“The organization now has plans to take the fairy kingdom under its belt. Although Teran has a lack of interest in the matter, Lord Edgar has this intention. I think that he will take you there, Madam Lydia.”
That is, if the lie about the pregnancy wasn’t exposed, it would come to that.
“So in other words, the current state isn’t considered the worst situation for Francis.”
“If Teran no longer takes action against you...... However, Teran is quite dangerous.  Because Lord Edgar was not the first Prince that he had originally expected, he seemed quite dissatisfied, so the possibility of violating Edgar’s orders exists.”
Edgar used Lydia’s pregnancy as a reason to prohibit Teran from doing something to Lydia, but even so, he couldn’t be careless against Teran.
So because of this, if she recklessly escaped from here, granted that she could conceal herself, he would disobey Edgar’s orders and have a good reason for Teran to kill her. 
“Are you tired? Would you like to sit down on the bench?”
Ermine pointed to the pavilion beside the fountain. Although she wasn’t particularly tired, she didn’t know whether or not there were people in the surrounding buildings spying on her. In order to portray the image of a pregnant woman, Lydia agreed to Ermine’s suggestion.
A wooden bench was placed on the side of ivy-covered pillars. As Lydia was about to sit down, a sound came from the bushes behind her.
Lydia turned around to look, wondering what it was, and suddenly made contact with the face of a man who abruptly emerged from the foliage.
“Eek---!”
As if to appease Lydia, who shrieked and turned pale with fright, the man revealed a gentle smile and slowly stood up from that place.
“Pardon me, I seemed to have frightened you.”
He had long, uncut hair and clothes that were far from being clean and tidy. On top of that, with a tanned face, the man looked exactly like a lowly servant, but his hand was filled with golden rings and bracelets, as if to show off.
“Could this be the Prince’s harem? If so, then I am someone who accidentally broke into this place, will I be captured and castrated?”
Lydia and Ermine glanced at one another, and shrugged.
“Don't worry, this is just the courtyard.”
“That's great. In other words, staying here for a little while longer is no problem, right?”
After stroking his own chest excessively, showing that he was relieved, he shamelessly sat down beside Lydia and used an even more impudent gaze to look her up and down.
“But you’re probably not a maid. Then are you the Prince’s wife? Or a mistress? But I've heard that the prince doesn't seem to have a wife yet, in other words... Ahh, you really are a beauty.”
Casually deciding on the answer, he then laughed and aimed a glance at Lydia.
“And you are?”
“Ned Torrey.”
“The second son of the Torrey family. As a force using South England and Wales as its core, the family operates a smuggling organization and has a long-standing cooperative relationship with the Prince. It is estimated that in the future, the Torrey clan and our organization will continue to maintain an important alliance, so today, he ought to have come to greet the new Prince.”
To Lydia's vacant expression that sought help, Ermine replied cautiously.
“Oh-- as a maid, you understand it quite clearly.”
Chuckling, Ned pretended to adjust his sitting position and leaned closer to Lydia. Ermine hastily stood in front of Ned, as if to restrict him.
“Compared to that, Mr. Torrey, what are you doing here?”
He was pressed down by Ermine’s imposing manner, and lifted both hands up as if he was surrendering.
“I’m looking for something that fell. It’s a brooch that my mother left behind, which fell from the window over there.”
“Oh my, that’s terrible.”
Hearing that it was a remnant, Lydia unconsciously raised her voice.
“If possible, please let me help you find it too. Did it fall near here?”
A statement of completely forgetting that she was a prisoner. Nearly crouching down by the shrub roots in the blink of an eye, Ermine hurriedly spoke to stop her.
“Miss Lydia, wait a moment and please let the maids find it.”
“Ah... y--yes.”
Although Lydia realized that this wasn’t what a lady ought to do, Ermine probably didn’t stop her for that reason, because Lydia certainly didn’t need to be treated as a lady here.
With great difficulty, Lydia eventually acquired the slight demeanor of a lady recently. However, when she finally felt that she was united with Edgar, he had revoked the marriage. And yet, she had the mindset of behaving as a dame. She looked like a fool. 
Ned grasped a strand of hair from Lydia, who lowered her head in dismay.
Suddenly, as if to pull Lydia closer, Ned pulled her hair forcefully.
“You are so kind. Do you want to think about being mine? That guy, the Prince, has a heartless personality to say the least. Not only will he not love a woman, I also heard that he abuses women for fun. You’re only obeying him because you were threatened, right?”
How foolish. Edgar no longer cared about Lydia being lobbied by unfamiliar men using this kind of tone. With such a thought, Lydia couldn’t even get in the mood to escape.
At this time, Ned, who wanted to reach out and grab Lydia, touched her cuff, and the serpentine bracelet immediately swung in the cuff.
“If you agree to be my woman, I’ll take you out of here…”
Lydia, who was suddenly startled, slapped Ned’s hand away.
“How rude. I am Edgar's wife.”
It was fine even if Edgar one-sidedly denied it, but Lydia couldn’t go and abandon it. As Countess Ashenbert, she had finally begun to cultivate the pride of the nobility, and it absolutely couldn’t be lost. Lydia grasped the bracelet hidden in her cuffs.
“Eh, how unexpected. The Prince unexpectedly likes this kind woman, it seems that we are quite compatible.”
He leaned forward, unsatiated and wanting more, and just when Ermine was about to push him back, Ulysses’ voice echoed.
“If you steal His Majesty’s things, even if you are from the Torrey clan, you won’t be regarded as such.”
Ulysses headed towards the pavilion, and Ned immediately pulled away from Lydia.
“How could I possibly dare? I just wanted to cheer up a woman who looked quite bored.”
“If that’s the case, it should almost be time to head back to the parlor, right?”
When he simply stood up, Ned glanced at Lydia.
“Not a mistress, but a wife, huh.”
“His Majesty is still unmarried.”
Ulysses answered and cast a profound look towards Lydia. Ned left the pavilion.
After watching his figure disappear into the building, Ulysses turned around to look at Lydia in annoyance.
“The Torrey clan is our important business partner, and provoking their anger is out of the question. If circumstances require it, turning you over could be an inevitable matter.”
“Even if someone mistakenly admits that the Prince is afraid of them? The matter of handing Miss Lydia out, I’m afraid Lord Edgar won’t allow it.”
Although Ermine refuted, Ulysses still snorted disdainfully.
"Because she's pregnant? This sort of thing can only be resolved in one night, right?”
He still looked at Lydia disdainfully from the corner of his eye after speaking.
“Listen well, what His Majesty wants is a child who continues his bloodline, and not you. If you do not obediently do as you’re told, I will not be so forgiving.”
After ruthlessly threatening Lydia, Ulysses sighed.
“Furthermore, the pregnancy is genuine, right? If you are lying, it would be better to tell me alone for your own sake.”
“Of... of course it’s genuine! Besides, I never thought I would get any help from you.”
“Hmph. It’s only now that you are hard-mouthed.”
Ulysses was different from Teran, as he thought over how to make use of Lydia. If it was only limited to life, Ulysses would truly lend a hand, but to Lydia, they were actually similar.
Even if she wanted to turn to him for help again, Lydia would do her utmost to restrain herself from this idea. As a fairy doctor, and as a member of the Blue Knight Earl family, if she lost this pride, she wouldn’t be able to save Edgar from the Prince any more.
Lydia painstakingly maintained this imposing manner, calmly watching the back side of Ulysses, who turned and left.
It wasn’t until his figure was gone that the tension was finally lifted.
Ulysses wasn’t frightening at all. Teran as well, although he was a frightening existence, it wouldn’t bring about despair in Lydia.
For Lydia, the scariest thing was...
“......If it's a lie, will Edgar be really angry? Will he kill me?”
She endured the trembling all over, but she couldn’t restrain this question as it spilled out.
“If the time comes, I will protect you.”
Ermine spoke in this way.
In other words, by that time, Edgar would already no longer be Edgar. Ermine only obeyed the will of Edgar who became the Prince to protect Lydia.
“Hey, Ermine, we can become a family, right? I can relax my guard against you now, right?”
For a moment, Ermine revealed a surprised expression, then slightly narrowed her jet-black eyes and lowered her head.
“It’s almost time to go back.”
Holding Ermine’s outstretched hand, Lydia stood up. Ermine’s hand, which became cold after becoming a Selkie, now had a very warm feeling.

“Hey--- it's Kelpie, Kelpie came!”
Hearing Nico shout, Kelly stopped her sewing work and hurried out of the deck.
Everyone came out one after another and gathered on the deck. Nico, who was wedged between the crowd, scurried to the side of the ship on his two hind legs, pointing in the direction of the sea.
His ears and whiskers rose excitedly. How cute, Kelly’s heart suddenly jumped.
In the London residence, Nico gave the impression that he was Lydia’s pet cat, so whether it was the usual fairy-like part of him or walking on his hind legs, there were never any opportunities to see it. But now, they were living together on the ship, and Nico provided indispensable help as a comrade. After coming into contact with Nico’s usual appearance and speaking with him, mysterious feelings of fondness arose. 
He is clearly a gentleman, yet it truly is great that he can unexpectedly be so cute.
Oh my, now is not the time to think about this.
Carefully looking in the direction of the sea, a dark horse galloping on the surface of the sea towards them could be seen.
It was the aquatic horse, Kelpie. After kidnapping Lydia, all traces of him disappeared, and now he was rushing straight to the ship. However, he wasn’t carrying Lydia on his back.
“Where’s the Madam?”
“Regardless, that guy seems to be looking for us for something. It seems that we can only listen to what he has to say first.”
Although Lota, who was the ship’s captain said that, Raven, who didn’t hide his murderous intent against Kelpie, didn’t lower his guard.
“It is possible that he will attack us.”
“Because Kelpie is being controlled by Edgar?”
“Kidnapping Madam Lydia seems to have been the order of Lord Edgar.”
“But didn’t Kelpie once seemingly try to take Lydia away from Edgar out of his own accord?”
“Unseelie Courts that are under control by the Prince’s magic, it isn’t known to what extent they can maintain their willpower in the end.”
“Then for time being, shall we threaten him? Load the fire arrows in the crossbow!”
Paul took the lit arrows. As Lota raised a hand, Swan’s voice echoed.
(It can be fired at any time. Do you want to aim now? Or wait a little longer?)
Swan, the fairy of this ship, freely swiveled the weapon which was ready to fire.
“Aim at him.”
In a flash, the crossbow was fired. The flame of the torch flew straight to Kelpie, and the dark horse hurriedly hid into the sea to dodge it.
“Hey, stop it! I have something to say!”
Soon after, he immediately surfaced and shouted out.
“How is Lydia?!”
“I have important information about that!”
“Did Edgar order you to come?”
“No, I came on my own.”
(No one else is following close to him.)
Because Swan said so, it seemed that Kelpie really was acting alone.
“Something has definitely happened to the Madam.”
Kelly was so worried that she couldn’t control herself.
“It’s possible. Then the punishment can end here, right?”
No one objected, and the matter was quickly resolved.
The Earl family’s ship under the cover of countless rocky islets from the Scilly Isles, was moored like a traveler.
Although it was somewhere that could barely be seen in Cypress Island, where the organization’s stronghold was located, their ship was hidden in an area where even if a ship came from the side, it would be very difficult to notice the low slopes of the rocks.
Kelpie must have looked everywhere for a long time to find them.
Kelpie, who finally boarded the deck of the ship after much difficulty, changed into a young man’s appearance from the dark horse, and was so tired that he sat down on the spot.
“Lydia was captured by Teran.”
“What did you say!”
“Didn't you take her to the organization?!”
Nico angrily waved a paw at Kelpie’s back with his cute claws. Kelpie didn’t even get angry with Nico, but simply lowered his head in dismay.
“No. I...... although I can’t disobey the Earl, I was originally supposed to bring Lydia far away from the clutches of the organization, but just as I looked away…...”
“Did you confirm that she was taken away by Teran? Where is she now?”
“I didn't go to confirm it, but I got the information from a reliable place.”
“A reliable place? What's that place?”
“That I can't say. In short, Lydia is now on Cypress Island, where the organization’s stronghold is. The Earl also resides in the residence there for the time being. Although Teran isn’t able to take action at this moment, it seems uncertain on what more will happen in the future.”
Hearing this information, Kelly stepped forward.
“I, I want to go there. Now, Lady Lydia must have lost her freedom, and if she is detained in prison, with regards to a lady, she must have her maid!”
Everyone’s gazes were all focused on Kelly.
“Do you know that you’ll be captured as well?”
“Yes.”
“That's too reckless. The current Earl can no longer be counted on. If Teran’s going to kill Lydia, he’ll kill you too.”
Nico forcefully waved his paws in opposition, and his unease for Kelly fear made her heart burst with warmth. But ever since Lydia's absence, Nico ought to have been unable to sleep all along.
He must have been thinking about whether or not there was anything he could do, and just now, he was the first to find Kelpie.
Even though it was for Nico and the comrades here, Kelly thought she had a duty to go there first.

​“If Master can already no longer be counted on, then it is more necessary for me to support Madam Lydia. Moreover, if only I go, the organization won’t be on guard. On top of that, even if it’s Master, he also knows that I don't have magic powers nor arm strength, he would probably allow me to stay by the Madam’s side.”
Lota, who looked troubled, crossed her arms at her chest. During the time Lydia wasn’t here, Lota was the captain and the leader; it wasn’t known whether or not it was because everyone found this to be expected, as they all waited for her decision.
“I agree.”
This time, Raven spoke.
“Looking at the situation, we have to rescue Madam Lydia now. If Miss Kelly was by Madam Lydia’s side, not only would she be able to judge the situation right away, she might find a way to exchange information as well.”
After careful consideration of this remark, Lota turned to face Kelly.
“Indeed, it would be more advantageous to have one of us by Lydia's side, but Kelly, can you really do it? No matter how outstanding of a maid you are, you don't have to insist on losing your life and persevere with work. So even if you think that it can’t be done, nobody will blame you.”
“If it is Miss Kelly then she can do it.”
Instead of Kelly, Raven replied.
Raven was a perfect attendant who would risk his life for his master, thus Kelly’s resolution to die was regarded as something natural.
Therefore, he said it quite easily.
This kind of tone didn’t feel like he was worried about others, and although it was much like his style, it was still a little lonely. However, taking the initiative to show approval, still made Kelly very grateful. After all, if everyone was against it, the determination to go to Lydia's side would perhaps be destroyed.
“Is it really possible, Kelly?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then I’ll leave it in your hands, Kelly.”
“I’ll prepare at once.”
Feeling tense, Kelly walked towards the cabin.
Raven and Nico immediately followed behind Kelly.
“Let us help pack your bags. What are you going to bring?”
“A bit of daily necessities and a change of clothes for Madam, as well as my sewing equipment.”
Nico nodded and pulled open the drawer of the cupboard.
“What about weapons, like a dagger?”
“Uh… sure enough, it should still be taken along, huh.”
Unease began to bubble up within Kelly’s heart once more.
“It will be taken away, right? And on the contrary, it will make them vigilant. Since there is no use thinking about the outcome, it would be better to not take it.”
Indeed, even if it was brought along, it wouldn’t be used. But Kelly had a little bit of hate for Raven, who said to let her go there unarmed and defenseless.
“Then, how about this? This is a charm Lydia used to ward off evil spirits, a rowan plant with hawthorn fruit, although it doesn’t have any effect on ferocious Unseelie Courts.”
Nico, who stretched his body and buried his face and claws into the drawer to rummage through, took out a small item which looked like something a fairy doctor would use and turned around.
So cute. Kelly’s mood calmed down once more.
“I’m going to bring it.”
“Miss Kelly, you really like Mr Nico.”
Raven abruptly said.
“You have been staring at him in a trance.”
“I--it seems so... Well, probably by looking at Mr. Nico, I find him so cute, it’s as if I’m being cured…”
“Oh, people say this often.”
Contrary to Nico, who appeared to be in a great mood, Raven fixed his eyes on Kelly with what could almost be called a glare.
Could it be that he viewed Kelly as a rival? So only then did Raven cast a vote of approval for Kelly to break into the enemy’s position, as if to drive her away?
As Kelly’s suspicions grew while pondering, Raven said something that was off topic.
“I feel that you and I are quite similar.”
Hey, there’s nothing similar, okay?!
Kelly couldn't keep up with the subject at all. At most, what she had in common with Raven was only the fact that she liked Nico. In other words, wasn’t that a jealous gaze just now?
“Well, Mr Raven... Everybody likes Mr. Nico after all.”
“I’m sorry. I seem to have been quite rude towards you. I've never understood anyone before, but I feel as if I can understand you a little. Because you, as a maid, have courage and pride, and you really like Mr. Nico.”
The words that Raven said ought to have been understood, but it still wasn’t understood. While it made Kelly quite confused, she felt like her heart was ignited with courage.
If she was acknowledged by Raven, without knowing why, it was as if she could definitely do it.
“In other words, it doesn't matter if you don't have a weapon. If anything, I will definitely rush over to help you.”
What do you mean, “in other words”.  Although she didn’t quite understand, Kelly still nodded.
“Furthermore, take this with you. Please hide this in the seams of your clothes.”
Raven stacked gold and silver coins on the table.
The money was always managed by him. Although he often carried his wallet with him in order to carry out his orders here and there, it was because he was the last person to worry about being robbed.
“This much......? I don't think there will be a chance to buy expensive things.”
“It's to bribe people. Even within enemy territory, if it is a trivial matter, you can use this to get around. It is especially effective if you target servants.”
I see. This actually wasn’t something that Kelly thought of, and having this could truly make a person feel much more at ease.
“Thank you very much. I will definitely protect Madam. I’ll show you.”
Although she was rushing in alone, she wasn’t truly by herself. At the thought of this, Kelly couldn’t help but expose a smile, and for a split second, Raven’s face seemed to soften.