Hakushaku to Yousei Volume 21 Chapter 4 Part5

If Lydia was still merely Edgar’s fiancée from her standpoint, then perhaps the two of them wouldn’t have been able to get married.
Although it was only obscure, Lydia thought in that manner.
She didn’t doubt Edgar’s love, but with regards to him, Sylvainford was the greatest concern.
She even believed that rather than becoming the Blue Knight Earl, Edgar should be able to obtain happiness by returning to Sylvainford.
If he wished it as such, then what would be best for Lydia?
The Prince’s memories couldn’t be brushed aside, and Edgar himself understood this point the most. If he wanted to solve it, then he must obtain everything of the Earl family, and in order to step into the mysteries of the Earl family, Lydia would also stand by his side.
But if even this problem was resolved, Edgar would then be able to obtain freedom, and Lydia would no longer need to be his wife.
If he could be completely protected from suffering the damage of the Prince’s memories, Lydia would be able to leave after that.
No, he wouldn’t want that.
Yesterday, he sincerely wanted to have Lydia, and with regards to each other, they were irreplaceable companions. Someday, she will definitely be able to walk alongside the Edgar who bid farewell to Sylvainford and the Prince.
When Lydia said this to herself, she was in Kathleen’s room, sitting beside the table that had refreshments.
Lydia was thinking about this since yesterday, whether or not it was better for her to not get too involved with Kathleen.
If she and Kathleen were to get close, then the chances of Kathleen and Edgar meeting will increase. Lydia felt that it would make her feel sad.
Whenever Edgar sees Kathleen, he will be compelled to be aware of Sylvainford’s existence.
But, Lydia didn’t think that Edgar actually wouldn’t object to her accompanying Kathleen for a chat.
Was he planning on severing his relations.h.i.+p with Sylvainford? Lydia wasn’t able to believe this.
After all, Kathleen was in love with the current Edgar; how did he think that Kathleen want to be friends with Lydia?
If he wished for the two of them to become friends, then wouldn’t it be because he didn’t want to make Kathleen feel lonely? Was it because he truly sympathized with Kathleen, who was under the same circ.u.mstances as him?
The more she thought as such, the more Lydia thought that it would be hard to become friends with her.
But nonetheless she arrived at Kathleen’s room.
She originally wanted to refuse, but when she was chatting with the three Roden sisters on the terrace, Lord Grandy appeared and asked her directly if she would be able to go to Kathleen’s room.
When Lydia was still hesitating, the three sisters agreed.
Soon after, she was excitedly pulled into the room by the three sisters, and Kathleen happily welcomed them in.
“Hey, Miss Kathleen, are you raising any pets?”
The three sisters’ topics were mostly about this. Today, it was only an enthusiastic chat about the hares in the forest. Kathleen didn’t seem to feel bothered about it.
If they were chatting about this subject, Lydia also felt more relaxed.
“Aren’t you all interested in marriage?”
But Kathleen had changed the subject, and Lydia stiffened her body slightly.
“Although I’m not interested, there will be a day when I will get married. That’s what weddings are all about, right?”
The eldest daughter, Ann answered.
“After all, our marriage candidates seem to have already been decided.”
“If it’s troublesome rejecting, then even the wedding date will be set.”
“Miss Kathleen, you’re the same as well, right?”
After the second daughter, Meg, spoke without the least bit of restraint, Ann rebuked her.
“Meg, that was too rude, Miss Kathleen and Lord Grandy decided to get married after falling in love at first sight.”
This was probably fabricated in order to cope with the surroundings. Even so, Kathleen still smiled and nodded, perfectly concealing the heartfelt words that she told Lydia yesterday.
If a young lady were to speak her mind in accordance to her desires, then it would be quite humiliating; she must have been quite used to this sort of att.i.tude.
She still told Lydia her true thoughts, but why exactly?
“If possible, wouldn’t everyone want to marry the person they liked? Right, Madam Lydia?”
Kathleen asked with a grin across her face.
“Well...... yes.”
“Lydia did you fall in love with the Earl at first sight too?”
Out of the three girls, Beth raised a sharp question.
“Umm...... at the beginning, I felt very suspicious of him......  ah, no, how I probably didn’t feel that way.”
“Oh my, if that person is your destined partner, wouldn’t you be able to tell at first glance?”
Kathleen revealed an astonished expression; did she overlap Edgar with the Sylvainford boy, then overlap herself with Lydia?
Due to this, she tried to know Lydia, and talk about herself, was she hoping that she would become a special friend?
The longer Lydia stayed here, the more she believed herself to be a cold wife.
Kathleen didn’t do anything wrong. The lonely lady, who wasn’t able tell anyone how she truly felt, wanted to make friends, and this was merely the case.
However, because she was a survivor of Sylvainford, Lydia was worried that she would s.n.a.t.c.h Edgar away.
Lydia thought to herself that although Kathleen was a good person, she couldn’t be friends with her.
I’m sorry. She apologised to Kathleen in her heart.
“Speaking of Earl Ashenbert, it’s simply a common occurrence for other people to fall in love with him at first sight, which is possible for everyone to feel that it was destined.”
After Meg said that, Ann and Beth smiled in agreement, but Kathleen looked troubled.
“Madam Lydia, can you help me hold the teapot?”
“Ah, yes.”
Kathleen’s sprained leg still seemed to be painful, so she wasn’t able to move too much sitting on a chair. If she tried to reach out towards the table, she would have to move her leg, and it seemed that even this was uncomfortable for her.
“Would you like another cup of tea? I’ll pour it for you.”
“Really? Thank you.”
Lydia took her cup and saucer from her hand and poured warm tea into it.
Just when she was about to hand the cup over to Kathleen, Kathleen’s hand accidentally moved, b.u.mping into the edge of the saucer.
By the time Lydia suddenly realized that it was falling, the tea had already spilled, and Kathleen shrieked briefly.
“......Oh no!”
Lydia hastily wiped the tea from her hand, and Kathleen revealed a pained expression.
“Use this to cool it down!”
Beth immediately wet a handkerchief with the kettle water and pa.s.sed it over.
Although the handkerchief covered the hand that the tea was spilled on, Kathleen’s pale face seemed to be in a lot of pain.
“I’m sorry, it was me who was careless.”
After Lydia mumbled that, Kathleen shook her head.
“No, I was looking away as well.”
“We had better ask the doctor to come over.”
“No need, this isn’t anything serious. As long as I cool it down a bit then it will be fine.”
Everyone was in a panic, so they didn’t hear the sound of the knock, and it wasn’t until the door opened that Lydia realized and turned around. Lord Grandy with a beard was seen standing there.
He widened his eyes in an exaggerated manner and ran over in large strides.
“Kathleen...... what on earth is going on! Did you get burned? Ahh, your hand is so red.”
“Um, sorry, the tea was spilled.”
“Was it you?”
Lord Grandy looked at Lydia, whose face was guilt-ridden, and revealed an awfully displeased expression.
“Madam Ashenbert, Kathleen isn’t able to walk around freely, how is it acceptable to not be aware of that? Besides..... ahh, if she is sitting on a chair, at least help her prepare a cus.h.i.+on for her to lean on and a blanket to cover her knees, I honestly don’t know why I asked you to look after her.”
Just when Lydia was about to apologize, Meg, who was at the side, immediately stood up and said:
“Lydia isn’t a nurse anyway.”
“Yeah, aren’t you being rude? The reason why the tea spilled wasn’t just Lydia’s fault either.”
“What you said just then simply sounded like you were considering others as maids. Unbelievable!”
The three Roden sisters got up and protested one by one.
“Lydia, let’s go.”
Ann pulled Lydia’s hand.
“Bu--but......”
“It’s fine, this sort of thing needs to be explained clearly and firmly, you’re a countess after all!”
Kathleen opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Lydia was pulled out of the room the same way she came in.

“I think what Miss Roden said was correct. ”
Kelly said to console her, after Lydia returned to her room. Just then, once the three sisters vented amongst themselves about what happened, they left.
“But Miss Kathleen wasn’t trying to give me trouble.”
“Madam Lydia, it was because of Lord Grandy’s request that you kindly acted as someone Miss Kathleen could have a chat with, I didn’t expect him to actually have acted that way. If you continue to a.s.sociate yourself with her, it will affect Madam’s dignity, I think that the Master would definitely say that.”
Edgar went out hunting today as well. Lord Grandy remained in the mansion because his fiancée sprained her ankle.
“.......I guess so.”
After Lydia muttered, she folded the letter in her hand.
Not long after that, a maid from the mansion sent a letter from Kathleen.
It was a letter of apology for what happened before; and it was written that she hoped to be able to have a chat with Lydia again.
The illegible handwritten letter of apology made Lydia feel Kathleen’s pure kindness and thoughtfulness, so she felt very bad.
She was perfect young lady in that extent. If Edgar currently lived in the Duke Sylvainford residence without incident perhaps he would have liked her.
But I shouldn’t think about it again. It’s better to be careful not to get close with her.
Lydia was determined. At that moment, she noticed a commotion outside the window, then got up and walked over.
“The people who went hunting seem to have returned.”
The gentlemen riding horses all gathered at the driveway of the main entrance. It wasn’t raining today, so the hunting activities seemed to be quite lively, and everyone chatted excitedly.
“Madam Lydia, did you want to head to the hall to greet Master? Master would definitely be happy.”
Kelly’s proposal made Lydia a bit shy, but she had no reason to oppose it.
The d.u.c.h.ess was in the flower garden of the greenhouse with the ladies from the salon and the only married woman left that stayed behind was probably Lydia. Silently going over to Edgar’s side likely wouldn’t attract attention.
Lydia’s modest considerations as a wife that were exaggerated by him would always make Edgar happy. Although currently, Lydia was still had a long way to go to take the initiative to think about these things, as long as Edgar was happy, she would feel happy as well.
She felt that the two of them had already slowly begun to have the appearance of a married couple.
Lydia left the room and headed towards the lounge under Kelly’s urge, hoping that she could somewhat comfort Edgar’s heart, which had recently been in pain because of Sylvainford.
“Madam Lydia!”
She was in front of the staircase when she was called.
Kathleen was holding onto the handrail, staggering in the atrium that faced the corridor.
“Don...don’t force yourself, doesn’t your leg hurt?!”
“It’s because I saw you from behind.”
At first, Lydia was about to immediately run to her, but she stopped quickly, and told herself that she couldn’t get any closer to her.
“I’m sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry. Umm, I will call someone to come over, please stay there and don’t move.”
Lydia was planning to leave, but Kathleen reached out and grabbed her sleeve.
“Are you still angry about what happened a moment ago?”
“I’m not......”
She began to speak, then changed her mind. Letting her misunderstand wouldn’t matter either, because even if she were to hurt Kathleen, Lydia didn’t want to lose the future spent with Edgar either.
“......I can’t be friends with you, I’m sorry.”
After she finished saying that, Kathleen’s eyes widened and filled with tears.
“Why? It is because I was rude?”
“I--it’s not because of that.”
“You don’t like me?”
“...Uh...um, that...”
She seemed to have suffered a blow, and slowly released her hand from Lydia, whose words were vague. It looked as if she wanted to run away from the scene, but perhaps her leg began to hurt, and so she suddenly lost balance and began to sway.
Just when Lydia thought that it was dangerous, Kathleen, who was unsteady, knocked a decorative table down, and the vase that was on the table swayed at the same time, and fell onto the ground. Lydia saw everything, and couldn’t even make a sound.
After a long time, she seemed to have shrieked.
“......Miss Kathleen......!”
Porcelain fragments scattered in all directions, and Kathleen fell within it.
The men who entered the lobby heard the noise then rushed up the staircase and blankly stood in place, astonished. Fl.u.s.tered, Lydia reached out towards Kathleen.
“Don’t touch me.”
She said with a groan.
“Madam Lydia, you’re mean......”
It’s all my fault, I treated her coldly and hurt her for my own sake.
“I’m sorry......”
Lydia used both of her hands to cover her face and slumped down to the ground.

Without knowing when, Lydia returned to her own room. She felt that she seemed to have seen the men at the scene helping Kathleen up and taking her away.
She vaguely remembered barely getting up with Edgar’s support, but she didn’t even sure whether or not that person was Edgar.
“Have you calmed down?”
Kelly stared at her. Lydia took the cup that she handed over, and after drinking milk with honey in one gulp, her mind finally began to clear up.
She suddenly came to her senses, and nervously asked:
“Kelly, how is Kathleen’s injury?”
“It seems she wasn’t hurt. Although the vase breaking made a loud noise, she had only fallen down.”
The door opened and Edgar appeared.
Lydia felt at ease after seeing him.
As long as Edgar was by her side, it would be all right, no matter what troubles occur. Without knowing when, she began to believe that.
Therefore, she didn’t want Edgar to be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by Kathleen and unintentionally do anything terrible.
“Is that so...that’s great.”
Edgar came over slowly, as if he seemed a little perplexed.
This was understandable as well, after all, what happened just then must have caused an uproar. Furthermore, not only was Edgar the husband of the person involved, the things that Lydia did would become his responsibility as well.
Lydia opened her mouth, intending on providing a proper explanation.
“Uh, Edgar, I’m sorry, things have turned out this way......”
“I heard that there was trouble that happened not too long ago? Lord Grandy came and questioned me, saying that you burned Kathleen.”
“......I’m sorry.”
Lydia felt that she was careless as well, so she felt that she had to reflect upon herself, but Kelly said resentfully:
“That statement is too much! The tea was only spilled accidentally, and yet he said it like the Madam was wrong. The three Roden sisters also stated it was because Miss Kathleen moved carelessly that it turned out that way and as a result, Lord Grandy blamed the Madam one-sidedly, so much so that he treated the Madam as a maid without even an apology.”
“I see.” Edgar murmured.
He stood behind Lydia, who lowered her head, and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Never mind, Lydia, I will go and protest to Lord Grandy, so...... I hope you will tell me truth.”
The truth?
Startled, Lydia received Edgar’s gaze of confirmation.
“Even if trouble occurred with Miss Kathleen previously, you wouldn’t have deliberately pushed her down, who had an injured foot, right?”
Although the tone of his inquiry was very gentle, and it seemed comforting, Lydia felt that his words were like a sharp blade.
“Who...... said such a thing......”
“Lord Grandy stated that it was Miss Kathleen who said this, and it’s already being spread around as a fact amongst the guests. Were you under a panic and didn’t apologize to her? The situation at the time was witnessed by many people.”
Edgar also felt suspicious.
No matter what other people said, he should have been the only one to realize that Lydia wouldn’t do such a thing.
At the thought of this, Lydia couldn’t even retort.
“Lydia, aren’t you going to answer?”
“......I don’t remember it very well.”
Kathleen was merely treating Lydia kindly, and wanted to apologize for Lord Grundy’s insults so she endured the pain in her leg and chased after Lydia.
In the end, Lydia spoke harshly.
Thus, Kathleen was emotionally unstable and fell. Perhaps this was equivalent to Lydia pus.h.i.+ng her.
She definitely did terrible things, so there was no harm in continuing to act as the villain.
Even if I refute to Lord Grandy, it will only hurt Miss Kathleen even more.
“Don’t remember it very well?”
Edgar revealed an expression that were merely a little irritated.
“My lord.”
Kelly interrupted again.
“Kelly, it’s fine.”
After Lydia said that with a firm tone, Kelly closed her mouth. Edgar looked at the maid and Lydia, as if he couldn’t approve of this.
“Lydia, it means you can’t explain it.”
Lydia fell silent again. Edgar sighed, as if he gave up.
“......It can’t be helped, in that case, the best way is to apologize to Miss Kathleen sincerely and ask her for forgiveness.”
“Ask her...... for forgiveness?”
“I’ll go have a look and ask her.”
Edgar knew that as long as he did this, Kathleen’s att.i.tude would soften, and without doubt, he ought to have discovered Kathleen’s feelings for him as well.
“Then, what would I do after receiving her forgiveness? Do I have to be friends with her?”
“Yes, as long as the two of you reconcile, everyone will immediately forget about the trouble just then, and there won’t be anyone talking behind your back.”
“I don’t want to!”
At that moment, Lydia emotionally began to talk for the first time.
“You think that there’s a way for me to be friends with a woman who still likes you? The reason why Miss Kathleen got close to me was because she really cares about you, and you yourself really care about her, isn’t that so.....?”
“It’s not that I care about her, you don’t have to be jealous.”
And yet, he would always say that he wished for Lydia to get jealous.
“I don’t want to damage your reputation. Amongst aristocratic women, deliberately hurting others is a type of fatal rumour.”
He stroked Lydia’s shoulder. Although Lydia knew that Edgar was trying to gently persuade her to calm her down, it also contained the intentions of wanting her to obey his decisions among it.
“Besides, this is Duke Masefield’s mansion, so causing a commotion will also affect the reputation of the host, and because everyone knows that the d.u.c.h.ess treats you like family, you shouldn’t embarra.s.s the d.u.c.h.ess, shouldn’t you?”
“Embarra.s.s me?”
It was the d.u.c.h.ess. Raven’s hand was on the handle of the room door, which had been opened widely. It seemed that he guided her over.
Lydia quickly got up and curtsied awkwardly in front of the d.u.c.h.ess, but her mind was calm to the extent that it even surprised herself.
“d.u.c.h.ess, my deepest apologies, I pushed Miss Kathleen and hurt her.”
Even if it wasn’t true, Lydia’s resistance of denying it had died out. If Lydia was a terrible woman, it would be more unnecessary to a.s.sociate herself with a young lady like Miss Kathleen, and the surrounding people would definitely stop her.
Even if she was scorned by Edgar, she wanted to keep her distance from her, otherwise she would definitely become an even more terrible person.
Perhaps one day, something would happen that would make her resent Kathleen. Apart from that, if the reason for Edgar scorning her was because of her shortcomings, then it would have been better; at least this way, she would still be able to consider it as an issue between couples.
Therefore, she was mentally prepared to accept the d.u.c.h.ess’ scolding.
“Was it really you that did it?”
The d.u.c.h.ess asked gently, yet apprehensively.
“Yes.”
Lydia lowered her head. The d.u.c.h.ess took her hand, wanting her to look up. The smile that appeared from her round cheeks was the same as usual. The lady asked gently, like facing a child:
“Why?”
“She wants to be friends with me, but I feel that I can’t do that......”
“d.u.c.h.ess, this is surely a mere minor dispute, it’s not as if Lydia had done something bad... as long as she properly apologizes, Miss Kathleen will understand as well.......”
Edgar interrupted from the side, but Lydia also interrupted him.
“I don’t need her forgiveness. I don’t want to talk to her again.”
“Lydia......”
Edgar reached out towards Lydia’s face, trying to comfort her, whose behaviour was becoming stubborn. The d.u.c.h.ess saw Lydia’s reluctant face, thus she gently stopped him.
“Earl, it’s your own mess that you have instigated, and yet you want Madam Lydia to bear the consequences on your behalf? You should apologize to Miss Kathleen for it, shouldn’t you?”
The d.u.c.h.ess spoke very lightly, even though this was a very surprising remark.
“You’re speaking...... of me?”
“Madam Lydia doesn’t want to become friends with a woman who is interested in you, which is be expected.”
Edgar was confused, and the d.u.c.h.ess spoke more strictly:
“Look, you are well aware of the situation.”
“I haven’t done anything, furthermore, I haven’t pursued Miss Kathleen. Besides, she is a young lady who has a fiancé.”
“You brought back a girl who sprained her leg, you ought to be aware and realize that maidens inexperienced with society will misunderstand merely because of that. After all, you, a man with bad tastes, enjoy others being infatuated by you because of your lip service in general social interactions.”
Edgar buried his fingers in his blonde hair. He was lectured to the point of being speechless.
“However, by leaving it to me to apologize, you’re saying there won’t be any problems? You want me to say, ‘My deepest apologies for making you misunderstand, if you get too close to Lydia, she will feel troubled’?”
“Can’t you say it?”
“This is equivalent to pointing out that a lady who has a fiancé is interested in another man, and regardless of whether or not it was truly a misunderstanding, it’s a serious insult.”
“Indeed, that is true.” The d.u.c.h.ess murmured, then she put her hand on her cheek and began to ponder, but it seemed like she wasn’t thinking about anything at all. With her tilted head, she said without hesitation:
“Then, which lady is the one you should be protecting in the end?”
“Of course it is Lydia.”
“But I can’t see you thinking as such.”
After the d.u.c.h.ess said that firmly, she turned towards Lydia and smiled.
“Madam Lydia, I’m going to Alder village now, which is nearby. Rare things can be seen there. Are you willing to come with me?”
The sudden invitation made Lydia perplexed. At first, she had already prepared her consciousness for being scolded, so why would she be invited out for a trip?
“Eh...... but, with me.....and, at such a time like this…?”
Wouldn’t this disgrace the d.u.c.h.ess even more?
But the d.u.c.h.ess happily pulled Lydia’s hand, blissfully wanting to take her away.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, understand? As long I say so here, everything will be alright.”
Then, she turned her head slightly towards Edgar.
“Then, I will ask the Earl to remain here.”

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Lydia brushed past the astonished gazes of the guests, and was unexpectedly brought into a carriage by the cheerful d.u.c.h.ess.
Kelly rushed over and handed over a hat and shawl to her, then gave her big waves and watched her leave.
Lydia wasn’t able to make sense of the situation, and gazed at the mansion, which was getting further and further away. After a while, the house finally couldn’t be seen, and when she turned her attention back into the carriage, she realized that the d.u.c.h.ess and her maid weren’t the only travelling companions.
“Mr. Finn...... you’re here as well?”
Perhaps finding Lydia, who said this, interesting, he smiled slightly.
“I told the d.u.c.h.ess that I had some things to do in the village, and the Madam let me ride this carriage together.”
“In the salon where everyone is gathered, you haven’t been able to have a proper chat with Mr. Darnell haven’t you? Such a man filled with charm will make people want to be monopolized.”
Although the d.u.c.h.ess said that, did she bring Lydia with her so she couldn’t monopolize others?
“Madam Lydia, you as well.”
Although she said that, it was quite clear that it was because she couldn’t continue watching Lydia’s situation that she brought her out.
“It would be fun to see the ladies’ looks of envy, if you can monopolize Earl Ashenbert. Madam Lydia, you should be more expressive to the people around you, that way, you can control the young ladies, who will easily misunderstand.”
“Is... that so?”
Depending on Lydia’s situation, the more she tried to show off, the more she would give the beautiful young ladies confidence.
“However, the Earl just then wasn’t particularly charming. Good grief, to actually try getting Madam Lydia, to apologize.”
“But that’s because it was my fault......”
“You were lying though. If what happened before was your fault, then you wouldn’t have said that there was no need for the other person’s forgiveness. You haven’t done anything, you just didn’t want to talk to her, isn’t that the case?”
The d.u.c.h.ess’ refined and warm tone embraced and thawed Lydia’s stubborn mood.
Lydia could only nod, and the d.u.c.h.ess gently held her hand.
She lowered her head to hide her tears while feeling that perhaps she wanted Edgar to say this.
“It’s alright, you don’t have to worry about anything. The people around me all know that Miss Kathleen had clearly been watching the Earl all along, except for the three Roden sisters.”
Finding this a little funny, Lydia laughed. Although it was separated by gloves, the d.u.c.h.ess’ warm hands cheered her up.
“Men are slow with regards to these sorts of situations, at least for the Earl...... although he isn’t slow to react at all, he’s too used to facing these kinds of pa.s.sionate gazes.”
“How very envious.”
Darnell’s deep, soft voice echoed in the ears, and yet it didn’t disturb the atmosphere in the carriage. Even if he was silent or uttering he mysteriously made people naturally accept the fact that he was there.
Even though in the narrow carriage, she revealed her crying face in front of a man that she hadn’t known for long, Lydia didn’t feel embarra.s.sed.
“Oh my, Mr. Daniel, can’t you see those pa.s.sionate gazes that are cast towards you because of your talent? I’m sure you only have one person in heart that catches your eye.”
“Well, I do wonder about that.”
At the same time he said that, something like an arrow shot by her field of vision in a flash. Lydia was puzzled, so she looked out the window.
“Ah, there are swans flying.”
The d.u.c.h.ess said, followed by the gazes looking out towards the window.
One swan was soaring gracefully in the sky, overlooking the vast, endless plains.
“Is it because the swan festival is no longer held that the swans are decreasing?”
Lydia heard this remark being mumbled, and recalled what the swan maiden said.
Reportedly, the old woman who lived with them in the past said that the festival had to be held again; was that the festival she was referring to? However, the village that the old woman lived in previously was near Wickerbone, and not Alder village.
“That’s right, Madam Lydia, that French man from this morning was truly fascinating, I heard that he is the Earl’s retainer?”
The d.u.c.h.ess spoke, as if she suddenly remembered.
Edgar introduced Francis to the d.u.c.h.ess this morning, and obtained permission for him to stay in the mansion, but Francis headed towards Wickerbone’s village afterwards, and currently should be investigating the “festival”.
“I also heard that the lost maiden he brought is a fairy, is that true?”
“It seems so.”
“You truly are the Countess of Ibrazel.”
The d.u.c.h.ess laughed. She accepted the topic of fairies quite naturally, thus Lydia was able to maintain her mood and pull herself together.
“May I ask what kind of festival is the swan festival that you spoke of just now? I think that this might be related to her memory loss.”
After Lydia asked, the d.u.c.h.ess thought about it seriously, seemingly trying to remember.
“I’ve only heard about it. It was said that the villagers would gather by the lakeside and clean the nearby hills, probably in order to call the swans.”
“Why did the ritual die out?”
“No matter where you are, ancient customs will slowly be forgotten by people. Additionally, there wouldn’t be much of a reason for it. I heard that there are several villages in this area that have similar rituals. It’s a ceremony to pay respects to the  earth, and to maintain its force...... in other words, a festival of praying for good harvest. It was the swan festival that continued on since the beginning, and it seems that barely few people still remember.”
In that case, Wickerbone’s festival had already been completely forgotten.
The old woman, who seemed to know something, had already pa.s.sed away. Was it no longer possible for the swan maidens to regain their past memories?
The perfectly straight path cut across the open country, and wherever someone went, they would see the same scenery, even making them not know whether or not they truly moved forward or headed towards their destination. It was as if the swans were captured by such a  place and were about to be forgotten by humans.
It was the same as the genuine Blue Knight Earl’s family trying to leave behind things for the later generation of this family. By saying that the real family of the Blue Knight Earl and what they tried to leave behind are in this moor, may be the same as them not being anywhere. Lydia blankly pondered that.

                                                                                                                                                  *

The d.u.c.h.ess took Lydia away, and Edgar was sulking, as he was left alone.
It was obvious that she was the lady who should be protected the most compared to anyone else, and yet Edgar’s behavior didn’t make it look like he was protecting her. Being told this by the d.u.c.h.ess made him feel slightly shocked.
In his mind, he felt that he did think about Lydia. He felt that he couldn’t let the d.u.c.h.ess and the surrounding ladies consider Lydia to be a terrible person, so he tried to settle what happened properly.
Lydia practically didn’t deny the pus.h.i.+ng in the first place. Edgar thought that if this was true, then Kathleen ought to be appeased and be reconciled with even more, but Lydia strongly refused.
In the end, what should be done? Edgar felt anxious because he was completely clueless, thus he meaninglessly paced around the room.
He stopped beside the window and sighed heavily.
When the near-dusk sky was dyed slightly with a captivating red, bringing the earth to a slumber, the country landscape invoked nostalgia within his heart.
Sylvainford and this land were located in a country, and it wouldn’t be strange even if the color of the sky, the sound of wind, as well as the presence of the unique customs that England possessed were the same as that place.
On the other hand, he couldn’t imagine what kind of place the fairy kingdom, the Earl family’s homeland, would be like. Therefore, Edgar couldn’t help but reminisce about Sylvainford.
He knew that these feelings were meaningless.
If it was just meaningless, then it would have been fine; to him, it was a rather unnecessary emotion, but why would he be so deeply attracted to it?
Even if he tried to change his frame of mind, regret would always remain in his heart; was it because of this that Lydia felt uneasy about Kathleen’s existence?
“Lord Edgar, can I report to you concerning the matters of Wickerbone now?”
Raven stood at the door.
He went with Francis to investigate this morning. When he led the d.u.c.h.ess in a moment ago, Edgar looked at his face and remembered, but afterwards, he simply didn’t have the time to ask about the results.
When it came to Edgar forgetting to call for him, Raven would observe the situation and ask afterwards.
“Ah...... yes. By the way, where is Francis? He still hasn’t returned?”
“Yes, actually there were originally three people that were looking at the village outskirts, but we didn’t find any structures similar to the old woman’s house. Mr. Francis said that it might have been because we were together, so I came back first.”
“......Well, perhaps there’s that kind of possibility as well, just go with his wishes.”
Prior to setting off, he complained, saying that he couldn’t get along with Raven. He must have really wanted to be away from Raven as soon as possible, who seemed to play the role of surveillance, but if he brought a girl along, it wouldn’t be too likely that he would be enjoying the pleasures of life at a pub either.
“Among the villagers, there isn’t anyone who has an impression of the festival, and the village chief’s old records over there have already been burned.”
“In other words, there’s no way to look into it. However, aren’t there people in the village who are similar in age with that old woman?”
“Although there are, they don’t remember anything about the festival. It’s just that the old woman married over from another village, so perhaps the swan maidens and festival were memories from before she was married.”
“Indeed... I recall that she encountered the swan maidens when she was young, and then they disappeared without a trace, so she was really worried.”
Finally, Edgar slowly turned his attention away from matters concerning Lydia. He sat down on the armchair, intending to focus on the result of the investigation.
“Where is the village that the old woman came from?”
“Alder village, which is within Duke Masefield’s territory. It isn’t far from here.”
It was the village that Lydia left for.
That way, there was a reason to catch up with her.
As he came up with this idea, he felt disgusted at himself thinking about Lydia again.
He clearly cherished her, yet why did he cause her to reveal such a sad expression?
Even if he caught up, the current Edgar didn’t know what he could do for her.
Although he said that he had already forgotten about Sylvainford, she couldn’t believe him.
“Was it because of me? Lydia isn’t a woman who would hurt others because of jealousy, but I made her do such a thing......”
He couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
“Madam Lydia could not have done that.”
Raven suddenly spoke. Usually, he wouldn’t answer Edgar’s mumbles at all.
Surprised, Edgar gazed at Raven’s face.
“Raven, why do you think so?”
It appeared that he obviously didn’t agree.
“Madam Lydia is not jealous. She only doubts your feelings.”
“What? Meaning that she isn’t jealous at all, rather she doesn’t trust me?”
“Yes.”
Raven answered firmly.
Indeed, Lydia wasn’t jealous often. If that was the truth, then she was offended by Edgar’s fickle behavior, and wouldn’t be jealous of other women.
“Then why did she want to take Kathleen and......”
“Therefore, Madam Lydia could not have done such a thing.”
Raven stood motionless and said firmly. Edgar looked at Raven, who was like this, and suddenly felt horrified.
“......Ah, yes...... you’re right.”
*Please read this at Daydream Translations
Right now, Edgar felt like he was being slapped in the face. He powerlessly held his head with both hands.
Lydia didn’t do anything.
She couldn’t have deliberately pushed someone.
Edgar hadn’t seen a girl as fastidious as Lydia before, but he was shaken because of what Kathleen said. He thought that Lydia was in a place to explain herself so he pressed her for the facts.
A place to explain herself? Why was he going to completely believe what Kathleen said?
Lydia insisted on not apologising or reconciling with her; she wanted to attest that she didn’t do anything wrong.
She didn’t deny what Kathleen said, and this was the sympathy that Lydia would have. Kathleen got close to her kindly, but she refused her; perhaps she felt that she also needed to atone for it.
The d.u.c.h.ess saw through her, so she stated that Lydia wasn’t wrong.
Regardless of what others said, even Lydia admitted to her own mistakes, but only Edgar ought to have believed that she didn’t do it.
“......d.a.m.n it! I’m so useless, what on earth am I doing......”
Although he was angry at himself, it was already too late.
Why didn’t he even realize this, which was something that should have been obvious?
However, he vaguely knew the reason.
It may be because he didn’t want to hate Kathleen.
He didn’t know what kind of person Kathleen was at all, but since she carried the Sylvainford family name, Edgar hoped that she wasn’t a foolish woman.
This reason really was absurd; he made Lydia suffer for the name of the family that he had already lost.
He should immediately rush back to her side. Despite Edgar thinking that, he wasn’t able to act.
“Lord Edgar. ”
“Raven...... thanks to you, I’ve come to my senses. But please leave me alone for the time being. ”
Edgar said while his head still hung low.

                                                                                                                                                 *

The white sheep were leisurely grazing around the private houses, which were haphazardly covered with straw roofs.
“Well, Madam Lydia, would there be a possibility of sheep fairies being amongst them?”
The d.u.c.h.ess took a stroll in the quiet village, as she cheerfully asked. After getting off the carriage at the entrance of Alder village, Lydia and the others walked along the paths that crossed the fields for a while.
“About that, I am not sure either. But it seems that there are fairies raising fairy sheep in their realm as well.”
“Oh my, would the size of those sheep fit in the palm of a person’s hand? I really want to take a look! But if Ann and the others see it, then it will be terrible.”
After Lydia laughed aloud, she cheered up a little.
“Is Lady Ann your granddaughter, d.u.c.h.ess? She possesses rather intriguing interests.”
“Did those children hold it for you to see, Mr. Darnell? I’ve told them that they could only show such things like snakes or reptiles to open-minded people, I’m glad it was you that saw it.”
“It was simply a mere house pet that just happened to escape in front of me, that’s all. She said that I was the second man to have seen her beloved pet, may I ask who the first was?”
“It is Earl Ashenbert.”
Even if Lydia tried to change her mood, it would make her heart skip a beat heavily when Edgar’s name was mentioned.
“I see. Madam Lydia, your husband is an open-minded person.”
......He’s very narrow minded.
Although Lydia thought that, she couldn’t help but think about whether or not he would continue to put up with her possessiveness.
The reason why Lydia was able to become the special woman in Edgar’s heart was because she understood his pain.
From the moment he lost his family, he was no longer a child. With regards to him, who merely lived by depending on displaying the disciplined pride of an aristocrat up until now, it was very difficult to express his own pain to others.
However, what if there was a woman that existed who could understand his pains more than Lydia?
Edgar returned alone with Kathleen, so perhaps he already found out.
He might have already realized that his destined partner wasn’t Lydia.
“Well then, I will be leaving first. I have an appointment with someone.”
Darnell said as he stopped walking, and Lydia suddenly came to her senses.
He nodded indifferently and turned to walk away, heading towards the path within the forked road that lead to an area filled with buildings. For some reason, Lydia felt relieved. While Darnell was nearby, she couldn’t help but be concerned about his gaze, thus she tried to s.h.i.+ft her attention elsewhere.
The d.u.c.h.ess took Lydia and headed towards the direction of the hill.
“It’s that, you can see it.”
Not long after, the d.u.c.h.ess pointed towards the hill in front and spoke.
“What..... is that?”
Underneath the western sky where the sun was about to set, there was a large shadow. Lydia fixed her eyes on it.
“That’s a hot air balloon.”
The d.u.c.h.ess said joyfully, and then she quickened her pace.
After getting closer, Lydia could also see it. The basket was in front, and the limp balloon was placed flat behind the meadow.
The pure white balloon covered the hill considerably, as if only that place was covered in snow.
There were several people busily working in the surroundings.
Among them, there was someone who noticed them walking over and greeted the d.u.c.h.ess with familiarity, then explained that the gas was about to be injected into the balloon.
He was a scholar, and it seemed that he often did experiments in this village. The plan this time was said to be making it fly to a higher place than before.
“When the time comes, please be sure to come and visit.”
“Wow, I really want to see it. But I actually want to try riding it for a bit. Right, Madam Lydia?”
“What! You......you want to ride it? Flying in the sky is well…”
“Ha ha! You truly are brave, d.u.c.h.ess.”
Although the gas that was injected into this huge bag was lighter than air, several days would have to be spent filling it up.
Knowing that it was impossible to ride it immediately, Lydia was finally relieved, but the d.u.c.h.ess seems to have an unstoppable curiosity and continued to ask questions.
Lydia left nonchalantly and walked past the work area to try and have a look at the surroundings. Someone amongst the workers gathered there waved their hand.
“Oh? Lydia? Isn’t that Lydia!?”
Originally she thought it was all men, but in the end there was a woman amongst the crowd. Her coffee coloured hair that was tied into a ponytail swayed as she ran over.
“Lota!”
Lydia saw her close friend, who originally should have been in London, and ran towards her in surprise.
“Oh my, what are you doing? Why are you here?”
“It’s because Paul said that he was going to help investigate the s.h.i.+p, and so I came along. As soon as I arrived at this village, I found something strange, so I came over to look around.”
The two of them breathlessly shared their excitement of meeting each other, and Paul came running from behind.
“Mr. Paul, weren’t you busy preparing for the art exhibition?”
“Um, yes, but I have encountered a bit of artist’s block, and tried to say that I could change my frame of mind......”
He had his sketchbook under his arms, and exposed his usual good-natured smile.
“The matter pertaining to the s.h.i.+p still isn’t quite clear, after all, the one who asked someone to make Diana’s map was the Earl from three hundred years ago. If he hid the boat away, it was because too much time had gone by, so the people that did remember had already pa.s.sed away.”
Lota nodded, crossed her arms at her chest and said:
“There’s no way for humans to have a life as long as fairies. They would soon forget about what happened in the past.”
That’s right. That was why they planned to rely on the fairies’ memories, however......
“This village seems to have held swan festivals in the past, if someone knows about it, then it might be a clue......”
“The swan festival? We heard something similar in the pub a moment ago, right, Paul?”
“What? Is that so?”
Paul looked confused. But at the thought of someone knowing, Lydia wasn’t able to keep still.
“Really? I’ll go and ask.”
Lydia broke into a run. Lota chased after her and said:
“I’m going too. By the way, where’s Edgar?”
“He’s in the mansion. I came out together with the d.u.c.h.ess.”
If she thought of Edgar, Lydia would feel pain in her chest, but she tried to be mindful of not letting her mood show on her face as much as possible. She rarely met Lota, so she didn’t want to make others worry.
“Is that so? Then I should my respects towards the d.u.c.h.ess later.”
“Is it fine leaving Mr. Paul behind regardless?”
“He’s quite interested in the hot air balloon. Plus, it seems that he wants to continue sketching, so I’m not going to disturb him.”
Although the two of them got along very well, it seemed that they still remained as friends as usual.
People couldn’t help but smile at the relations.h.i.+p between them, and Lydia would sometimes feel quite envious. If she and Edgar were friends from the beginning, she probably wouldn’t have felt pain or sadness.
Despite her feeling that it would be very difficult to maintain a relations.h.i.+p as friends if she were to like someone, perhaps it would be better if they could step on the brakes before things became like this.
That way, Edgar should be able take Kathleen away without the slightest hesitation, then Lydia would wish him well and simply provide a.s.sistance as a fairy doctor.
But now, Lydia couldn’t imagine herself like that, because she felt that even if Edgar wasn’t pursuing Kathleen sincerely, she might like him someday.
The pub, which had a narrow entrance, doubled as a hostel. It had been run in this way since the beginning.
When Lydia was about to enter through the back with Lota, she just happened to catch a glimpse of the outer fence. As a result, she found a man that she had seen before, thus she instinctively stopped.
“.......Mr.......Patrick.”
The figure disappeared around the corner, and she immediately tried to chase after him.
“Lydia, hold on.”
The one blocking the entrance wasn’t Lota, rather it was Nico.
His grey silhouette appeared from the edge of the door, then he nimbly jumped down.
“Even if you chase after him it’s meaningless. It’s best not to see that guy.”
“Nico...... you came along?”
“Yeah, you see, it’s because I was really worried about you.”
“But, why is Mr. Patrick here?”
Lydia thought that she had to confirm it for herself,  but as soon as she moved, Nico grabbed her by the skirt.
“He’s meeting with that man. Who is that guy? Isn’t it strange?”
“That man?”
“It’s that violinist.”
“Mr. Darnell? He knows Mr. Patrick?”
“He must be one of those guys, an underling from the McKeel clan!”
Nico said, and suddenly went on four legs, his fur stood on end and hid behind Lydia, pretending to be a cat.
Lydia found it strange, thus she turned her head. Darnell was standing in front of her eyes.
“Have you already visited the hot air balloon?”
He said flatly.
“I heard that your partner is a fairy that takes a form of a cat. I didn’t expect that it would actually be here.”
He said that he could see fairies and approached Lydia, and thinking about it carefully, he ought to have been observing Lydia with hidden meaning.
“You knew me didn’t you?”
“Of course, because you are my fiancée.”
Lydia gasped, and Darnell calmly smiled at her. He wasn’t going to force Lydia to accept the meaning of that and merely fixed his eyes on her, as if he was reunited with the person he longed for.
“What...... what are you saying...... please don’t say something so strange.”
“I am merely speaking the truth, because I am the Prophet of the McKeel clan.”
The Prophet doesn’t exist. When Lydia entered the sacred land, the coffin was already empty, however, this might have been because her mother opened it previously.
This person was the one sleeping in the coffin?
“Liar! Such a thing is simply impossible!”
Nico shouted from behind her skirt.
“Oh? Why is it impossible?”
Nico didn’t say anything. Lydia looked directly at Darnell.
“I believe Nico. After all, Mr. Patrick had always been investigating information about the Prophet before, so if you truly are the Prophet, then there was absolutely no need for him to search.”
“I have just become aware of the duties of the Prophet. I’m still not a complete Prophet. You’re also unaware of what a “fiancee” ought to do, aren’t you?”
“Of course I know. I am the Blue Knight Earl’s fairy doctor, this is my duty.”
“The Earl might betray you.”
“......Such a thing won’t happen!”
She couldn’t help but raise her voice. Darnell revealed an expression of pity towards her.
“Regardless of what you think, fate will not change. It’s no use trying to resist.”
He slowly turned around and left.
“Lydia, what’s going on, why aren’t you coming in?”
Lota opened the door of the pub, extending her head outwards.
“Is someone there?”
“No, there is no one.”
Lydia said as she walked towards the doorway.
“Eh, Nico is here too.”
The Prophet’s appearance seemed to surprised Nico greatly. He could be seen hardly caring that he was in front of strangers, as he staggered into the bar with his hind legs and sat at the counter. He ordered a gla.s.s of Scotch whiskey, and sighed heavily. However, because the owner didn’t notice him, Lota helped him order.