Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 234

The garden, bathed in bright sunlight, was filled with deep green hues, befitting the midsummer season. The air, scorching under the intense sun, felt fiercely intent on burning everything around it. Even adults found it hard to endure such days. Yet, the child crouching beneath the small trees showed no signs of distress.

“Young Master! Where are you, Young Master Ray!”

Women in maids’ uniforms cried out, frantically searching. Their hurried footsteps came close, but they failed to spot the child hidden beneath the trees. Their shadows lingered near the bushes for a moment before quickly disappearing. The child—Ray—breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that the maids had moved far away.

“You can come out now.”

Slightly straightening his uncomfortably bent body, Ray looked down at himself and spoke. In response, a small, transparent fairy peeked out from inside his blouse.

“Lynn.”

At the whispered call, the fairy named Lynn smiled brightly. Completely emerging from Ray’s embrace, the fairy was only the size of an adult’s palm. Her upper body resembled a lovely girl made of cotton candy, but her lower body was a fish’s tail.

‘Naiads [water nymphs].’

He had heard that other people called fairies by that name. Although that name was pretty too, Ray preferred the name ‘Lynn’ that he had given her. Lynn seemed to think so too.

“Cold.”

Lynn, resting on his palm, was as cold as ice. But she wasn’t always this cold. Sometimes she was as frigid as a winter river, and other times as warm as freshly brewed tea. Mostly, though, she was just warm enough to keep in his arms. Although it seemed like her temperature changed drastically, there was only one rule to Lynn’s temperature changes: it was all for Ray’s sake. The reason Lynn’s body was cold now was for the same reason. Ray gladly accepted the favor, cooling his flushed cheeks.

“You’re really amazing. How do you do this? Is it because you’re a spirit?”

The man who had told him that Lynn was a Naiad had also said that Lynn was a water spirit. Ray was still young and didn’t know the difference between a fairy and a spirit. But he knew that whenever Lynn moved, droplets of water splashed from her body. ‘Maybe it’s because she has a fish tail,’ Ray thought simply.

Lynn only smiled silently at the innocent question. Lynn hadn’t been able to speak since Ray could remember. She would move her lips as if to say something, but it wasn’t easy to make out the pronunciation. But Lynn’s expressions were so rich that he never felt uncomfortable even without conversation. Ray took out a necklace from his chest. At the end of the necklace was a leather pouch. Inside it was a pretty gold pendant. He kept it hidden so no one else could see it.

“Do you know, Lynn? This necklace… I don’t remember where it came from, but it’s a gift from some noble person. They said that when the time comes, this necklace will lead me to where that person is. They asked me to tell them thank you when I meet them, but who could it be? Do you know them, Lynn? You came out of this necklace, after all.”

Ray was happiest during the time he spent communicating with Lynn. But calling Lynn made him feel strangely weak, so that time always had to be short, about five to ten minutes. Ray always regretted that.

“I’m really proud that you’re my friend. But the man doesn’t like it when I talk about you. He tells me not to talk about you to people, and not to take out the necklace either.”

The reason Ray was hiding in the corner of the garden, away from people’s eyes, was precisely that. He wanted to call Lynn, but he couldn’t do that inside the mansion where many people came and went. Not long ago, he had carelessly taken Lynn out in his room and was caught by the butler, Ruben. At that time, Ray had been called by the man and lectured for quite a long time.

“Why? Lynn, you saved me. You don’t say anything, but I saw everything. When the carriage was about to run over me and Mom, you came out of this necklace and shielded me. If it weren’t for you, I would have died then, too.”

Ray remembered the situation relatively clearly. A carriage was recklessly rushing down a street crowded with people. The people who scattered quickly avoided harm, but it was impossible for the woman walking with the child to avoid that speed. The ensuing accident shook everything in Ray’s life. Overnight, the world changed, and everything that made him who he was changed.

“But the man isn’t a bad person. He took me in when I had nowhere to go and let me live here. He’s a little scary, though. You shouldn’t judge people by their appearance. Someone who is kind to animals and children is a good person… Mom used to say that.”

As he spoke the familiar title, a longing filled his heart. Ray put the necklace back in his chest. He gathered his knees and buried his face between them.

“…I miss Mom.”

He had no complaints about his life here. The house was very large, he had a plentiful meal every time, and everyone was kind. The man who had brought him here was taciturn but always carefully looked after Ray’s condition. Sometimes he would give him sweet things like candy and chocolate.

But the happier he felt, the greater the sense of loss for the existence that was now gone. He wished Mom could be here with him. Even though he knew it was an impossible wish, he couldn’t stop thinking about it, which made it even more painful.

Lynn, by Ray’s side, who was feeling depressed, looked restless. It was when Ray forced a smile at his little fairy, who was feeling sorry for him.

“Hmm, a lost little one? What are you doing here?”

“……!”

A strange voice came from above his head. Ray raised his head and flinched, discovering a blonde man standing right in front of him. He hadn’t felt anyone approaching at all, even though someone was standing so close.

The man was dressed in clothes that completely covered his body, even in this hot weather. Most nobles dressed like that, but this man’s attire was particularly noticeable. The outer garment was made entirely of one piece without seams, and the hem was long, like a dress worn by women. The only decorations were the cloak draped over his shoulders and the red embroidery on the hem of the sleeves and other parts of the garment. His mother had once told him about people who wore this type of clothing: a priest.

“W-Who are you?”

Ray, frightened by the unfamiliar face, moved backward. Conversely, Lynn jumped out in front of him. She was trying to protect her friend.

“Lynn!”

Ray shouted in surprise, but Lynn didn’t back down. The man in the priest’s robes wore an interesting expression at the sight of the little spirit being so wary.

“A lower spirit? This is quite surprising. A child who isn’t even ten years old is already a spiritist…”

The man, his face full of interest, reached out as if to stroke her. It was when Ray closed his eyes tightly without realizing it.

“Ray?”

A voice of salvation came from an unexpected place. Ray hurriedly raised his head. The familiar figure of a man was visible behind the priest. It was Duke Caribdis, the one Ray always called ‘Uncle.’ Relief soared as he saw his face. Tears seemed about to spill, so Ray quickly tried to call him. But the priest was faster to acknowledge him.

“Unc…!”

“Long time no see, Pylon. How have you been?”

“……!”

Ray looked back and forth between the priest and the Duke with a surprised face. But the one who was most embarrassed by this situation was Caribdis himself. Because the man he never expected, and moreover, the man who shouldn’t be here, was standing in the place he had come to find the child. At first, he wondered if he had seen wrong, but there couldn’t be two people who looked like that. He was also the only one in the world who called him by a title he only used privately.

Yukarte Ranne Swalt. The Grand Duke of the Empire, the Regent King, and the man who was his only sky. Caribdis sighed as he looked at the Grand Duke, who was smiling with a clean face.

“…What about your escorts?”

“You ask the obvious. I’m safer traveling alone. Having escorts would only attract attention clumsily.”

“Even so…”

“Oh, come on. Are you going to start nagging as soon as you see me? Aren’t you curious why I came?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but Your Highness didn’t have to come in person. If you had called, I would have come to see you.”

“Yeah, I guess so. But I wanted to see it in person.”

“What…”

“I thought you wouldn’t bring him if I called you together, given your personality.”

The Grand Duke’s gaze turned to Ray, who was still sitting between the trees. Caribdis realized the meaning and immediately hardened his face. The rumors about the child he had brought had already reached the Grand Duke’s ears.

Caribdis looked once at Ray with sunken eyes, and once at the water spirit hovering next to him. He felt even more depressed when he realized that the thought, ‘Why now?’ had flashed through his mind. He never thought he would feel such emotions toward his lord. It was something he had never thought of in his life.

That’s not the only thing that’s changed. In the past, when the Grand Duke suddenly came to visit, he was worried, but he only felt happy. But now, he felt more embarrassed than anything else at his unannounced visit. Even though it had really been a long time since he had seen him, as he said.

Or, had it been that long? Caribdis was a little surprised as he mentally calculated the date. It had already been well over a month since he had last entered the Imperial Palace. In recent times, the Grand Duke had not been receiving his audience, so it had been almost several months since he had properly seen his face. But until he counted the days himself, he didn’t even realize that so much time had passed.

Since becoming the Grand Duke’s sword, he had always kept himself tense so that he could move at any time when called. It was a natural routine to stand in the place where his master’s gaze reached, waiting like a stone statue for a call. But over the past few months, he hadn’t been waiting for the Grand Duke’s call at all. It was also the first time that he hadn’t been anxious even though there had been no call for so long. Caribdis attributed all of those things to his own dishonest behavior.

One of the reasons was right there. He stared at Ray with complicated feelings. The child who possessed a necklace with the Imperial Family’s insignia, who might have had a connection with the Emperor. Originally, the only reason he had brought Ray was that: he was going to take him to the Imperial Palace to investigate and find out the detailed circumstances. Of course, he was going to show him to the Grand Duke first.

…But why couldn’t he take him?

Caribdis bit his lip without showing it. About the Sword of Wind, Bluster, and about Ray, he had been hiding more and more from the Grand Duke. He knew that this behavior was unlike him, but he only thought about it in his head and couldn’t control his actions. It was the same now. He should tell the Grand Duke the truth since he had been caught with the child, but he couldn’t open his mouth. Instead, he reached out his hand to Ray.

“…Ray, come here.”

Ray, who had hurriedly gotten up at his gesture, hesitated and approached. Caribdis bent down and carefully brushed off the grass and dust on the child’s body.

“Say hello. This is His Highness the Grand Duke.”

He continued with a bland remark that would be made when introducing someone to a high-ranking person. Ray looked around hesitantly, then only bowed his head. Caribdis apologized at the child’s innocent behavior.

“I haven’t taught him etiquette yet, so he’s very clumsy.”

“No, it’s okay. Being like this reminds me of when I first saw you. Do you remember? You were worse than that child back then. You glared at me as if you were looking at a thug, like a baby hedgehog with all its quills raised.”

“…Well, I don’t remember.”

“Haha, so you can make jokes like that, too.”

The Grand Duke, laughing cheerfully as if he was enjoying himself, didn’t seem to be upset. But even in the midst of that, his gaze was scanning Ray as if he was exploring, and Caribdis knew that fact as well. It was a soft yet sharp, strange atmosphere. “Go to Ruben,” Caribdis said quietly to Ray. It was like welcome rain to the child, who was very uncomfortable in this place. After quickly nodding his head, Ray immediately turned in the direction of the mansion.

“See you next time, Ray.”

At that moment, a quiet voice stuck to his ear like something sticky. Ray shuddered. He just called his name normally, but goosebumps rose all over his body. When he glanced back, the Grand Duke was smiling softly and waving his hand. It was a kind face that would be liked by anyone, but that appearance felt strangely scary. Ray tilted his head and hurried away.