The topics Kirix brought up often sounded close to fiction to Ayesha’s ears. Of course, there was a chance he was joking. But when faced with his serious demeanor and way of speaking, one could not help thinking that he must mean it sincerely. Well, after all, even his claim of being tormented by an evil spirit lacked any sense of reality.
Ayesha took up the conversation so that the atmosphere would not grow awkward.
“I do not know about past lives, but I have sometimes heard from people around me that my face looks a little exotic, and they ask whether I have a foreigner among my ancestors.”
“Not a foreigner—a fairy, surely.”
“Pardon?”
“Because Ayesha looks like a fairy.”
“……Pardon?”
No, but why on earth has this man been doing this to me since a while ago?
What am I supposed to do about this awkward and embarrassing atmosphere?
“……Uh, wow. So this whole area around here is Eseldor land, correct?”
Hurriedly turning her gaze out the window, Ayesha changed the subject. Fortunately, Kirix readily followed her attempt.
“That is right.”
The carriage carrying the two of them was racing swiftly along the road.
It was a scenery she had looked out at only because she had nowhere else to rest her eyes, but her admiration at least was genuine. The world spread vast beyond the carriage was truly a sea of gold. Over the ears of wheat ripening yellow before the harvest, swaying in waves, the sunlight broke softly and poured down. It was dazzling, yet she could not tear her eyes away. Ayesha shaded her eyes with her hand and thrust her head out to look around.
“It is truly beautiful. I suppose I should have come outside long ago instead of staying only inside the manor.”
“It seems Langfield Manor must be very uncomfortable for you. I never knew you found unfamiliar places so difficult.”
“No. What I said earlier did not mean that…… Besides, Langfield Manor is famous far and wide for being beautiful.”
Ayesha hurriedly shook her head.
“If an opportunity like this had not come, when would an ordinary person like me have been able to set even a toe inside Langfield Manor? And thanks to your careful attention, my lord, I am living a luxurious life I never even dreamed of.”
“I am glad. I am hoping Ayesha will stay a long time. It would be even more appreciated if you would regard it as your own home and make yourself comfortable.”
“But if I stay long, doesn’t that mean the situation is not good? You must want the evil spirit matter resolved quickly, my lord.”
“Strangely enough, ever since Ayesha arrived, that thing has been quiet.”
She had not known that.
No wonder—after the man who had poured out his fear at their first meeting, saying his life depended on it, had since then gone about at his ease without any particular urging, she had thought it strange.
So the evil spirit had been quiet.
She felt relieved, and at the same time found it bizarre.
Was this a good sign, or a bad one?
“It seems that thing knows how to read the room as well. It must be thinking that with a spirit medium right nearby, it had better be careful.”
Or perhaps, because so many self-proclaimed spiritualists had been slipping in and out of the manor, that evil spirit was simply crouching for a while, probing.
Thanks to that, she had fortunately gained time to write her article, but no one could know how long this calm would last.
“I think Ayesha’s arrival has also played a part in putting my heart at ease. Because I know that if anything happens to me, Ayesha will notice at once and come running. Isn’t that so?”
“……Uh, yes. Of course.”
He was relying on the name of spirit medium to this degree—how utterly dumbfounded would this man be if he learned she was a fake? He would be so absurdly shocked that he would be angry. Or would he simply think she was one of the incompetent practitioners who had passed through the manor, as the other spiritualists had been, and forget her quickly?
She wished that, since the evil spirit had hidden itself, it would not appear for a long, long time. The moment it showed itself, his faith in her would be betrayed.
Holding a secret she could not bring herself to speak, Ayesha secretly prayed in her heart.
“So Ayesha, do try to grow attached to Langfield Manor as well. I intend to hold on to you for a long, long time.”
“I have been away from my hometown for quite a while already, anyway. I must have been born with the fate of wandering.”
“Now that I think of it, where is Ayesha’s hometown?”
“It is a place where the hydrangeas are incredibly beautiful. But it is a remote country village, so you probably would not know it from the name alone…… That’s right, I heard House Eseldor’s symbol is also the hydrangea. I thought that was amazing—ah!”
As the carriage turned onto an uneven road and lurched, she bit her tongue. The conversation broke off on its own.
The carriage kept shaking.
“Oh dear.”
As her body swayed, the back of her hand brushed against his by accident. The feel of firm skin, and a warmth that seemed just slightly hot, passed through the surface of her skin. It was a strangely ticklish yet chilling sensation. Ayesha quietly drew her arm in and shrank her shoulders.
The carriage, having come along the bumpy road, slowly reduced speed and stopped.
Ayesha thrust her head out beyond the window. The scenery had changed before she knew it. The dazzling golden sea was gone, and a street crowded with people came into view.
“Come here, Ayesha.”
Just as when she had climbed into the carriage, Kirix stepped down first and held out his hand to Ayesha. But because of the subtle current between them in the carriage, she did not have the courage to take his hand. Ayesha pretended to place her hand on his and hurriedly leaped down from the carriage.
“Ah!”
Then she twisted her ankle and lost her balance. Her heart had rushed too far ahead, and it was also a problem that, being a carriage of a noble house, the step was higher than the ordinary shared carriages she usually rode, so she had failed to properly calculate the distance.
She was going to fall.
Ayesha squeezed her eyes shut first.
“Careful.”
Suddenly her hand was gripped tight and her body was pulled forward with a sharp tug. Then, as she pitched forward losing her balance, a solid frame wrapped around her and caught her. When she came to her senses, Ayesha was held against Kirix’s chest.
Gasp—she swallowed her breath. It was a timely helping hand, but the embarrassment was greater. Heat rose and her cheeks burned hot. As the startled Ayesha hurriedly tried to right herself, he grasped her shoulder.
“Ayesha, slowly.”
A calm voice settled over her.
“And why did you jump down from the carriage on your own when your ankle is weak? You should have taken my hand properly.”
“I am sorry, I stepped wrong…… But did I tell you that my ankle was not good?”
When did I say that? I did reveal that my right wrist was weak by nature, but I do not think I ever said anything else…….
Of course, her ankle had always been somewhat unstable. Sometimes, while walking absently, when there was nothing at all in the road, her ankle would suddenly turn sideways as if she had stepped on something wrong, and she would stagger. Since it caused no problem in walking or running, she had lived with it, thinking it was nothing, but it was true that it was inconvenient.
“It is only a guess. The body is all connected. If one part is weak, the whole tends to weaken together.”
“Is that so?”
“Especially you, Ayesha—your frame is thin and lean, so you must be all the more careful. Even at a glance, you do not look sturdy. I do not know how you walk about on such slender legs. Walk arm in arm with me. You may lean on me, if you like.”
I am not that frail…….
Above all, she did not dare to take his arm. Setting aside the burden of contact, if a woman dressed as plainly as a servant were seen walking arm in arm with the lord in Eseldor’s own territory—not even elsewhere—there was no telling what rumors would spread.
“I am fine. I will be more careful.”
For now, she declined gently.
“It makes me uneasy to watch.”
But Kirix did not back down either.
“People are watching. They will surely whisper that it is strange.”
“There are probably not many people yet who recognize me. And even if they did recognize me.”
Kirix paused for a moment, then added quietly.
“No one would dare whisper carelessly.”
A chill settled beneath his voice.
Ayesha tried to smooth it over with a smile, then stopped.
For the first time, she understood in her bones. This man was indeed of royal blood. Otherwise, he could not have frozen the atmosphere in an instant with a single sentence.
So he was not a man who was endlessly kind to everyone.
It was a fresh realization. He had shown her only endlessly kind sides, so she must have let down her guard without thinking.
But looking back, Kirix had never been seen mixing in conversation with the manor’s servants. Only when there were necessary instructions—and even then, mostly he replaced them with a nod or a gesture.
It was curious. Rather, from Kirix’s position, the people who ought to feel close to him were the servants who had served the family thus far and would continue to devote themselves to him and the household in the future, were they not?
Then why was he so good to her, whom he had barely seen?
For what reason?
