Hakushaku to Yousei Vol 2 Chapter 4

P. 126

        The water agate that was said to have the holy water at the time of the Creation of the Universe. There was an old legend that said the demons who touched this water agate would be sucked inside the crystal and so the one who possessed it would not be harmed by evil spirits, or in other words it was believed to be a charm stone to ward off evil. 

        “No mistake, this is the one,” whispered Lydia as she compared the water agate in front of her and continued to read the inscription in a book.

        It was found out that this agate had sealed within the demon that had once shaken the city, and it was believed that it would be disastrous if it fell into the hands of the enemy country.

P. 127

        According to one legend, it was said that the royal family had custody of it. That sounded reasonable, but unfortunately there was no proof that it was pasted down till now. 

        “Father’s articles are sure sentimental for a scholar.”

        She wouldn’t be able to tell if there really was a demon hiding inside this water agate in front of her by staring at it. 

        Lydia didn’t know what had happened to his family, but at any rate she guessed that Edgar was kidnapped when he had this stone with him and sold. 

P. 128

        They probably weren’t real fairies, but it must have been two girls in clean, pretty dresses that made him think that they were. If they were real fairies, then they wouldn’t break the promise they made with an exchange. 

        (Oi, give me back that stone.)

        “All right, why don’t you take it?”

        (It’s useless to try to trick me with that. You’re going to bring it to me.)

        A holy stone that warded off evil. She wondered why this bogey beast went through the trouble and hanged around Rosalie who had this.

        She wondered if Rosalie being the owner of this ‘fairy egg’ had anything to do with that.

P. 129

        “Shall I return it to the one who dropped it?”

        (Who, don’t come this way.)

        (You b.l.o.o.d.y woman! If it was my lord, he would have you immediately…)

        (No-nothing. Hurry up and come outside. My lady is waiting for you in her carriage. She came all this way to have her possession returned to her.)

        Then I’ll have to met her and solve my unclarified questions.

        “The Arab servant of the earl had said that he handed my stone to you.”

        “Yes, I have it. But Miss Rosalie, do you have any idea what that is?”

        The carriage started to move.

        “To a place where we can talk quietly. Miss Carlton, isn’t there something that you wished to say to me?”

        “Could you first return the stone to me?”

        “Say, how long have you had that fairy? Let me guess, since you obtained that stone?”

        Even if it was called the ‘fairy egg’ it was impossible for a fairy to be born from a water-sealed agate. Because the thing inside it isn’t able to get out on its own.

        At any rate, the bogey beast knows something behind this agate, and approached Rosalie. The fairy was plotting something that had to do with the ‘fairy egg.’

        To her question, Rosalie made a troubled face.

        “…..What are you trying to say?”

        “I just think that the ‘fairy egg’ isn’t something that would grant the wish of his owner, and so I wanted to ask about the previous owner.”

        “Stole it? Really?”

I        t was turning to dusk, and the fog was coming out again. The place where the carriage stopped was somewhere near the harbor and there were old buildings lined up around them. 

P. 132

        Opening a door to a small room, Rosalie stepped in and stopped in its open, empty s.p.a.ce.

        “Eh, wait just a moment. How could you determine that…”

        Lydia was appalled at how she could just illogically jump to such a conclusion, but for a young lady who thought the world revolved around her, there must have been no other way she could have thought of it. 

        “Did the boy get angry?”

        So the one who was with her was Doris. 

        Two young girls dressed in clean, pretty clothes in a dirty warehouse. They appeared like two little fairies….

        She reached down to touch the floor covered in dust.

        If she was able to reach out through time to the deep, foggy darkness, then she would.

        And then a thought came to her. If it was Edgar who was lying here, then how would he think of the two girls who wondered into here.

        Either way, he handed the water-sealed agate to the girl. 

P. 134

        But he wasn’t rescued, and it took many years to finally escape. 

        If he found out that the two girls who took away his water-sealed agate was actually Rosalie and Doris. 

        Was that why he stuck his business into the disappearance case of Lady Doris? And told Lydia about the fogman and the ‘fairy egg’?

        If that were so, then what is Edgar planning to do? What if he had no intention of helping to look for Lady Doris and…..

        “Lady Rosalie? What are you doing? Stop fooling around.”

        “Open the door!”

        “Honestly speaking, you’re a nuisance. You don’t suit the earl at all, so don’t get close to him.”

        “Since my fairy says that this is the best way to make you understand, I’m going to have you stay here for a while.”

        “See? I knew you were jealous.”

        “Well, farewell, Miss Lydia.”

        “Oh, no, I should have brought along Nico.”

        “Oh, he really isn’t reliable when you need him.”

        She raised her voice and yelled for help. But she recalled this area being only empty buildings.

        She wondered if Edgar was also feeling this way. He was still a young child, and yet he was left weak and alone in such a place. Just imagining it made her feel out of breath and unbearable.

        And then, there was the sound of a crack, and the door frame fell out of the hole in the wall and Lydia went flying out and crumbled down with the body of the door on the outside floor.

        But just because she was able to escape that small room, the door of the warehouse itself had a lock on it. This door was made of steel, so there was no way she could break it down.

        Now that she thought about it, Rosalie had the key to this warehouse and opened it up herself. 

        Lydia decided to search inside the warehouse for a different exit.

        But, if that were so, that means the one who had locked the boy up here, would be a member of her family. 

        She gradually became confused in her own thoughts.

        Most likely, Edgar knew quite a lot about what was going on. He knew, and he was plotting something.

        “Oooooh, and he said he wasn’t hiding anything, the liar…., ahhhh!”

        When she tried to get up, she heard a faint, whispering voice.

        It was the voice of a young girl.

        “I’m sorry, uh, I, my name is Doris Worpole.”

P. 138

        “Yes… Um, if it isn’t rude of me to ask, would you be able to help me out? If you are not a member of those bad men.”

        When Lydia lifted up the latch, the girl who came out from inside came falling into Lydia’s arms.

        “Yes…., my strength went out after I felt relieved so suddenly.”

        “Oh, my, then Uncle also brought you here?”

        With her hair let down and the plain clothes she wore, she didn’t resemble a n.o.bleman’s daughter at all, but the girl with the worn-out face must have become disappointed from the realization that she wasn’t saved and went over in a tired way to sit down on a wooden box.

        This warehouse belonged to Lord Graham who had a s.h.i.+pping business and she and Rosalie had sneaked in to explore inside in the past. 

P. 139

P. 140

        “To tell you the truth, I had found out that my uncle had been using the Worpole family fortune. And so I decided to ask for help by writing a letter to my tutor in the past, but he found what I was doing… For a while, I was locked up in a room in a house that apparently belonged to one of my uncle’s men. But this morning I was thrown into here, and was told I was going to be sold off to somewhere overseas. It seemed like he had doing that sort of practice from the past, ….I can’t believe that not only had he put his hands on our fortune but committed such an atrocious crime….”

        “Bogey….?”

        “Miss Marl came to you? Um, but, then you are…”

        “…..The Earl Ashenbert…”

        “I was indeed fearful of fairies. I had made a pledge with Rosalie when we did a fortune-telling game and promised hold secrets against one another, but I, I couldn’t tell her the truth about our uncle. Because it was such bitter news…. And Rosalie got along well with our flamboyant uncle, and seemed like she trusted him, so I couldn’t say anything without any proof. But she realized that I was worried about something and looked depressed, and so I angered her.”

        “Well, yes… But I don’t think she was serious. Rosalie does say hurtful things often, but she isn’t cruel at the core…. And besides, I have been afraid of the fogman up till now, but I think that humans are more terrifying than fairies.”

        The inside of the warehouse grew darker. When it turns night, they were sure to be engulfed in pure darkness. And it will grow colder.

        Because there was a possibility that Graham’s men might come to carry off Doris. 

        “But, what should we do?”

P. 142

        Just then, she heard the strange crackling laughing voice. When she looked above their heads, she saw the bogey beast sitting atop one of the beams.

        (Fairy doctor, you’re in our way.”

        The bogey beast jumped up from the beam and dropped down on top of the wooden boxes that were pilled up.

        “What are you plotting to do?”

        “Um, Miss Lydia, is there something there?”

        “Yes, the fairy that’s hanging around Rosalie. You can’t see it?”

        (That girl is a dull one. Since she can’t even see me when I’m making myself appear like this. That baron daughter seemed like she would useful for Master, but since she’s useless, I decided to use her cousin.)

P. 143

        (Huh? Don’t make fun of me. Why would I serve a messily human?”

        It appeared by Rosalie who had gotten the water-sealed agate.

        “….A demon….?”

        (Master doesn’t like to be called by that. Master doesn’t want to be put in the same group as them. Because Master is much stronger than a demon, a great fogman!)

        Satisfied with the shocked look upon Lydia’s face, the bogey beast was elated and got carried away and started to ramble on.

        Just like her father had written, n.o.ble blood must have been protecting the ‘fairy egg’ all this time.

P. 144

        Not unlike the newly formed Worpole family, but old blood that continued from the Middle Ages, had the latent power to ward off evil forces.

        At a child’s age, people are more able to spot fairies, but recently, that hasn’t been the case. Perhaps because the existence of fairies has become dim, and people weren’t hearing the stories of terrifying fairies, they wouldn’t know what happened even if they were pinched.

        “What has the earl ever done to you two.”

        “Miss Lydia, is everything all right?”

        (The Blue Knight Earl who has been missing for so long has finally returned. Which means all the conditions are met!)

        If that was true, she didn’t know which earl from each era, but there was an earl who aimed to punish the fogman who had been kidnapping people by swallowing them into his fog, and used an agate stone that had holy water sealed in it, and sealed the evil fairy within it.

        For a long time, the fogman had to wait patiently inside the agate that was kept in the watchful eyes of the abbey and the old n.o.bleman’s house, but when the ‘fairy egg’ got into the hands of Rosalie, it seeped out some of his magic gradually from the agate, and started making its move.

P. 146

        It was only a month ago that Edgar Ashenbert, the heir of Blue Knight Earl who had been absent for three hundred years, had appeared. His name had already been known throughout the ton. That means, ever since Rosalie had met Edgar, the bogey beast and the fogman had their eyes set on him as the one to exact their revenge on. 

        And Lydia wouldn’t have the sort of power either.

        It would be all over if the fogman managed to get out of the agate. But what should she do….

        Because it was sealed, it had to resort to the help of others, and the only one who responded to its calls must have been this one.

P. 147

        She looked around to see if there wasn’t anything that could help her catch it.

        She hid it under the hem of her skirt, and pretended to swoon to kneel down. She gently wrapped her fingers around the bottle.

        It was only a bottle. It couldn’t trap the fae in it forever, but it should be able to gain her some valuable time.

        “…..Oh, such a terrifying fairy…., I don’t want anything to do with it…..”

        (Well, even if you were a fairy doctor, if it was a young chit like you, then you would be no match for us.)

        Now! Lydia whipped her hand out and lunged at the bogey beast.

        Before she could react, the bogey beast yanked a hair from Lydia’s head and threw the hair it got into the gla.s.s bottle and capped it shut.

P. 148

        “Miss Lydia, what’s the matter? Wake up.”

        She wanted to trap the bogey beast but failed.
        In turn, the fairy trapped Lydia’s soul inside the bottle.

        When Carlton made a visit to the earl’s house claiming that Lydia hadn’t come home yet, it seemed like he had already went to several places to look for his daughter and to top it off the thought of picking up a hack completely slipped his mind, so he apparently had walked all the way to the earl’s residence.

        When she left, Lydia said she was going out to give back something forgotten to someone and she only had on light clothing that didn’t look like she was going to stay out long.

        When Carlton found out that Lydia wasn’t there as well, he looked like he was about to take off again.

        He had his butler prepare his coat and hat, and called for Raven.

        After the solo recital was over and he returned home, Rosalie made a terrible fuse that she had dropped something. As soon as Raven said that he had handed the thing he picked up to Lydia, the color of her face changed and she sped out of his house.

        That originally was his possession.

        The ‘fairy egg’ was just one of the many artifacts that were on display there.

        He didn’t know that it was an agate, or its other name was the ‘fairy egg’ or the legend behind it and had secretly taken it out off his father’s ‘Wonder Chamber.’ He remembered that he always had it hidden in his pocket. But couldn’t remember when he lost it. 

        The first time he met her was at the seat of a tea party hosted by a certain n.o.blewoman. She claimed that the gla.s.s ball used in the fortune-telling game was a mere child’s play and so Rosalie showed that agate stone to the young ladies there.

        A hazy memory of a cold dark room he was tied up in. Plagued by a horrifying nightmare and not being able to tell dream from reality as he feared the approach of the fogman. The two girls he thought were an illusion. He remembered that he handed over the water-sealed agate stone he always carried around with him to them. 

        From then on, Edgar narrowed down the names of the one who was involved in his kidnapping to Lord Graham who was related to her and started his investigation.

P. 151

        Since he found that out, Edgar wasn’t all that interested in the bogey beast that Lydia was talking about. There was no mistake that Graham was unrelated to that. 

        But Graham was near Rosalie. If he found Lydia, then the situation would turn worse.

        “Everything’s fine. I think she’s just kept back by a little willful acquaintance,” said Edgar in a calm tone like no big deal as much as he could. Since Carlton showed such a worried face to him.

        “My lord, Lydia has her trust in you. A fairy doctor’s job comes with its dangers but if my daughter has chosen to work for the earl family, would you please protect her.”

        He must also have realized that Lydia was involved in some sort of dangerous incident. 

        He did resemble his daughter as a father who also had a soft heart.

        Carlton must have been satisfied with that response and went home.

        But Lydia didn’t trust Edgar like Carlton claimed she was. Of course she wouldn’t

        Edgar himself, couldn’t show all of the cards he had in his hand.

        She wasn’t someone who shared the experience with him in the depths of despair and poverty and even if Lydia was told of someone else’s unlucky past, it would only be troublesome for her.

        “Hmm, so you do have some conscience that condemns.”

        “Nico, where are you going?”

P. 153

        He watched as Nico dashed off outside the door and disappear, but that could have just been the fog that was pa.s.sing by.

        “Lord Edgar, I had just gotten some news from one of our informers.”

        “At this timing, yes.”

        “Yes. The man was called ‘the dog tamer’ and was periodically used by Graham. Graham had also asked around to several hoodlums in the downtown area to go after the Earl Ashenbert’s fairy doctor. The man who previously helped out in slaying psychic girls, clairvoyantes, and girls who sees premonitions, but this time he refused or so I was told.”

        Edgar went silent to concentrate for a moment, then asked Raven again.

        He asked because he saw Raven holding a can that was bent in one spot.

        “Who?”

        He didn’t understand what he meant, but Raven didn’t appear disturbed and carefully placed it in his coat pocket, so Edgar thought he didn’t have to worry about it.

        “…..Yes. I thought there was nothing to worry about once she had returned home so this is unexpected. And it seemed like Miss Carlton was reframing from going out alone ever since the attack at the park.”

        If she went to get the stone she dropped then she should have just knocked the door normally. If there was something she had against Lydia and it was right to think that she called Lydia out, then Rosalie must have thought bitterly of Lydia than Edgar had thought. 

        “I forgotten that you shouldn’t think like you knew everything about women.”

        Indeed, he mumbled, and Edgar got into his carriage.

        The letter that the Worpole family’s maid was secretly asked to take to Rosalie’s room was from Edgar.

        It was usually used by the n.o.bles to stay long periods of time as they lived in the countryside and didn’t have a residence in London, otherwise, it was a respectable hotel that many of the ton members stayed at like their hiding place.

        The blond haired Earl met to greet her. She felt victorious at his smile.

        “Why? You knew that I was completely enamored of you?”

        “But it hasn’t been that long since we parted.”

        It was just like the fairy said. As long as she listened to it, the happiness she was expecting came. 

        That girl named Lydia, she was such a liar for saying that Edgar was dangerous.

        “Actually there was something that I wanted to give you.”

        Opening a velvet case he took out, there was a ruby necklace inside.

        “Do you like it?”

        “Then please tell me where Lydia is.”

        “…..What did you say?”

        Blood immediately rushed to her head. Rosalie felt like she was insulted and threw down the necklace.

        “It’s not me to return it to. That’s a present from Lord Graham to you.”

        That didn’t make any sense. 

        It was a chilling, inhuman smile that she never saw before.

        For example, said Edgar as he stood up and held out a group of papers. Rosalie, who was in a complete chaos, wasn’t able to accept them strongly, so the wad of papers all fell to the floor. 

P. 158

        On a number of the paperwork that were scattered by her feet, she saw that they were signed as if in her handwriting to make it appear like Rosalie had been the one that was doing the expensive shopping. Even the ruby necklace must have been made to look like she bought it. 

        While in her disoriented state of mind, she was vaguely able to understand the actions of her uncle, but Rosalie was more terrified of Edgar in front of her.

        She thought he was the kind, gentle, breathtakingly handsome earl, but now his perfectly sculptured face appeared chilling cold. 

P. 159

P. 160

        “Go ahead as much as you like. There are no other guests on this floor and I already had a word with the manager. To not pay attention even if they heard the sound of a screaming woman.”

        “If something were to happen to me….you’ll never be able to find her…”

        A second after those words had left his mouth, he turned his head and called for someone. 

        For the first time, Rosalie realized that there was an auburn-skinned servant standing in the corner of the room.

        “No, STOP! What are you doing?!”

        Without any hesitation, he grabbed Rosalie’s neck. He pushed her further out the window as she lost her breath from suffocation.

        I’m going to be killed. Rosalie sensed his seriousness and lost control of herself and cried and screamed for her life. Most likely she must have spilled the t