Chapter 44
On the day Vieta arrived in Ahan, she skipped dinner and went looking for the castle's highest roof.
When she reached the top, all of Ahan spread out before her. Lights floated at regular intervals over the distant sea, while Ahan Castle itself was ablaze with activity thanks to the tourists enjoying the festivities.
Despite the beautiful night view, thoughts of Laura kept dragging Vieta's mood down.
As soon as they arrived in Ahan, Laura departed for her hometown.
Since they couldn't even know when they would meet again once they parted, Vieta barely changed clothes before going to find Laura. She managed at least to say goodbye.
It would have been nice if Laura could have traveled comfortably, but to save money, she boarded a freight wagon crammed with people. The thought upset Vieta terribly.
“I’ll be going now. Take care, Vieta.”
“You take care too, Laura.”
Sweating profusely amid the throng of people, Laura kept smiling at her until the very end.
Vieta waved back with a smile on her face until the very end as well.
And so, their brief farewell came to an end.
“Phew, what am I moping around like this for?”
As Vieta scratched her head vigorously to soothe her unsettled feelings, she remembered Laura stroking her hair and grew even more depressed.
***
Why did things keep getting so tangled?
Vieta went to Fulcare's room early in the morning and let out a sigh.
Her head was already aching over Blanc, and the official letter from the marquis that had arrived this time irritated her even more.
“What? A ghost?”
Sitting on a cool mat woven from dark brown tropical tree bark in a room far more luxurious than the maids' quarters, Vieta asked Fulcare several times, thinking she might have misheard.
“Yeah. A real ghost, just as I said. The marquis got thoroughly trounced by Blanc at the banquet last night, so he told us to catch a ghost.”
The document in Vieta's hand crumpled.
At the very top of the document, the words ['Ahan's Ghost' Arrest Cooperation Request] were written in elegant script.
“That’s ridiculous. You want us to catch a ghost? And why on earth did Blanc accept this without telling me?”
“He had no choice. If he loses this battle of wills, the marquis will push him around from now on.”
Fulcare's voice was calm, but Vieta felt as though Blanc were drawing a line between them, leaving her feeling utterly stifled.
They hadn’t known each other for long, but Blanc had always consulted her about everything, no matter how trivial. Yet he was trying to handle such an important matter involving the marquis on his own!
‘You said you wouldn’t bring that matter up anymore. How could you act like this a day later? Surely when you said you wouldn’t bring it up, you meant you were drawing a line between us?’
While she tried to compose herself, Fulcare spoke in a calm voice.
“For now, if you have time, let’s go see Blanc. He could probably handle this on his own, but either way, we should meet and talk it over. If even the marquis is involved, it must be important, right?”
At Fulcare's well-reasoned words, Vieta quietly nodded, suppressing her hurt. Her problem with Blanc was a personal one.
Whatever the circumstances, she had a duty as Blanc's escort to protect him and help him become Crown Prince.
***
Vieta and Fulcare began gathering information around Ahan.
They went to find Blanc, but unfortunately had to turn away from his door.
When they arrived, an attendant told them that Lady Marlene was meeting privately with Blanc.
At Fulcare's urging, Vieta waited a little longer, but since Lady Marlene showed no sign of coming out, the two of them eventually investigated on their own.
“We haven’t found much.”
Vieta kept fanning herself with the fan Fulcare had made, while Fulcare handed her a drink he had bought from a street vendor.
“Right. When that maid told us about it, she said nothing about a white girl wandering the sea, didn’t she?”
They asked at the street stalls and several other places, but everyone merely repeated stories similar to what Laura had said.
The only new addition was a ghost dressed in white.
“There definitely seems to be something going on, but it’s vague.”
Fulcare clicked his tongue once with a 'Tsk' and then took a refreshing gulp of iced coffee.
“Can’t we use magic to conduct a comprehensive search above and below the sea?”
Vieta asked, thinking of radar.
“It’s possible. But if I did that, Ahan might be thrown into chaos.”
When she gave him a puzzled look, Fulcare elaborated.
“As far as I know, Ahan’s sea has many magical devices installed in it. Even ordinary fishing boats use them. If my mana were forcibly imposed on them, it could cause confusion.”
Ahan’s sea was blue, but rough.
Because the waves were so rough, the water grew deep after only a short distance, and people entranced by the sea often drowned because they couldn’t gauge how deep it was.
For that reason, countless magical devices had been scattered across the seabed to prevent drownings and every other kind of accident or disaster that could occur at sea.
“If a device that reacted to my mana malfunctioned and set off an alarm, dealing with the aftermath would be even more troublesome. Besides, there are plenty of rumors about that ghost, but it doesn’t seem to have caused any actual damage, right?”
Vieta recalled the document she had read in Fulcare's office. It had indeed stated that there was no significant damage.
If that was true, it felt questionable to tamper with the city's smoothly running systems just to catch a ghost whose very existence was uncertain.
In the end, would they have no choice but to go around checking everything one by one?
As Vieta sucked on a mouthful of ice and pondered, someone tugged at her clothes.
When she turned around, she saw a girl with black hair reaching her waist, holding a basket.
“Pretty lady, please buy this.”
The shabbily dressed girl held out a single flower to Vieta.
“…Is this flower here, too?”
Vieta recognized the flower the girl held out at once. She couldn’t remember its name exactly, but its white base and purple patterns that grew darker toward the tips were striking.
It also had the ability to purify demonic energy, making it a flower that could only be found at the boundary between the Demon Realm and the human world.
“It's pretty, though. It's been a long time since I've seen one.”
While Vieta admired the flower, Fulcare approached the girl and bought all the flowers she had left. The flower seller bowed deeply to Fulcare, then disappeared into the crowd.
“Huh? Wouldn’t one flower as a souvenir have been enough? It is nice to see one again, though.”
“Wait. The captain worked hard all day, so I should at least give her a present.”
Fulcare put on a serious expression and pulled out a handkerchief.
The handkerchief, embroidered with gold, became a ribbon wrapped around the flowers in an instant. After arranging the bouquet a few more times, Fulcare held it out to Vieta with a formal air.
“Here, a present.”
“Huh? You’re giving it to me?”
To think I'd live to receive a bouquet.
Vieta gave an awkward smile at the sudden gift.
“You’re not disappointed because it’s not something to eat, are you? That girl looked pretty thin….”
Only then did Vieta understand why Fulcare had bought every flower in the basket.
And that he was trying to foist the troublesome flowers off on her.
“I’m not particularly fond of it, but in consideration of your effort, I’ll graciously accept it.”
Vieta crossed her arms and straightened her back, mischief dancing across her face.
“Why, thank you.”
Fulcare drawled, playing along with Vieta's teasing.
At the Archmage's uncharacteristic banter, Vieta burst into a bright, innocent laugh.
The white flowers gave off a wonderfully sweet fragrance.
***
Blanc, working in the temporary quarters, set down his pen, exhausted by the heat that made his entire body clammy.
Though he had the cooling device Fulcare had made, Ahan's heat was not something that could easily be shaken off.
On top of that, his fight with the two of them kept bothering him.
“…I’m going to die like this.”
Blanc let out a deep breath, wishing he could unburden himself of his tangled feelings. Even then, the suffocating feeling did not ease, and just as he was about to rise for a drink with ice floating in it, someone spoke to him.
“Your Excellency, you seem quite fatigued. Would you care for some cool tea?”
Startled by the presence, Blanc turned his head and saw Lady Marlene sitting at a separate desk set up in one corner of the room.
‘Why is Lady Marlene here…?’
Blanc couldn’t believe his eyes. As he stared at her awkwardly for a long while, Marlene lowered her head shyly.
“If you push yourself too hard, the heat will make you ill. You’ve been doing nothing but work since morning, haven’t you? I’ll have a maid bring ice and tea, so please wait just a moment.”
When she finished speaking, Marlene pulled the bell cord with an elegant motion.