229 – Black Footprints (4)
When the appointed hour arrived, my eyes opened naturally. After working as a maid for several months, my body had adjusted.
Lyria stretched and lit the candle. The Silverin mansion where she was staying had been remodeled from an old castle, so there was much to take care of.
Last week, a hornet’s nest was discovered on the first-floor balcony, and a wizard was hired to take care of it. This week, they were repairing a place where rainwater was leaking.
Damian had been too busy with his studies to manage the mansion, so the butlers and maids had to take care of everything.
She sat on the bed, brushed her hair, and changed into her maid’s uniform.
Then, she opened the window to start her day. She let out a small exclamation when she saw something unexpected outside.
“Huh?”
A carriage was parked in front of the main gate. It meant that Damian had gone out and returned to the mansion.
“…Master Damian!”
Excited, she pushed aside her other tasks and ran straight to Damian’s room.
***
“Ugh. It’s hot…”
Cecile, suffering from a hangover, took off the clothes she had been wearing in her sleep out of habit.
Her body was covered in sweat, and she kicked off the thick blanket, but the heat didn’t go away. Annoyed, she threw off her top as well. It was a habit she had developed while at home.
Then, Cecile slowly opened her eyes, feeling a strange sense of discomfort.
“…Where am I?”
High ceilings, rough stone walls. Curtains and rugs brightened up the otherwise cold interior. The horizon stretched out beyond the balcony, clear and unobstructed. Everything was unfamiliar.
The fireplace was full of firewood, warming the room.
“Oh, right. Yesterday, I drank…”
She realized that she was in the mansion of the great wizard, Professor Silverin, and got out of bed.
She stretched lightly and took off her sweat-soaked underwear, tossing it onto the bed.
“Whose room is this?”
Then, she rummaged through the drawers of a nearby dresser.
White shirts, white shirts, white shirts.
It was full of men’s shirts.
“Ugh, it’s hot.”
She took out a towel from the bottom drawer, wiped the cold sweat from her chest, and threw it on the bed.
“Is this Damian’s room?”
She approached the desk without wearing anything. There was dried ink and an unfinished letter there.
“To Professor Silveryn…”
The first line was written, but there was nothing after that.
“It’s Damian, all right.”
Bored, she walked to the mirror by the bed. Then, she admired her body. She lifted one leg and twisted her body to look at her side profile.
“What a waste for this beauty to rot away in a lab storage room without even being used…”
Then, she heard urgent footsteps from outside.
The stranger opened the door without giving Cecil any time.
“Master Damian!”
“…?”
Naked Cecil and Lilia met each other face-to-face. Cecil was not flustered at all despite being exposed to a stranger.
After a brief exchange of gazes, Lilia opened her mouth first.
“Who… are you?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Master Damian’s maid. Who are you and why are you here? And in such… an impolite attire…”
“I’m Damian’s friend. Why did you open the master’s door without knocking?”
“Master Damian usually wakes up around this time. And he gave me permission to do so.”
“I didn’t come here on my own either. Damian brought me here. So do what you have to do and leave.”
Cecil didn’t pay any attention to Lilia’s glare and posed in front of the mirror.
“Please… get dressed. This is Professor Silveryn’s mansion, so please be formal. And Master Damian might come back soon.”
Cecil ignored her and muttered while pinching her thigh.
“I think I lost some weight…”
“Excuse me…!”
Cecil sighed deeply and took out a shirt from the drawer, then wore it over her naked body.
“I covered the important parts, so it’s fine, right?”
Lilia said in an exasperated voice.
“If you don’t have any women’s clothes, I’ll bring you a maid’s uniform.”
Cecil ignored Lilia’s words and stood in front of the mirror again to admire her outfit.
“My breasts look a little too… big. If I do this…”
She tightened the clothes to fit her waistline.
“Excuse me!”
Only then did Cecil look back and scan Lilia from head to toe.
“Your clothes are too small for me.”
Lilia answered with a slightly sullen expression.
“We have adult-sized ones too! And you’re acting like an adult even though you don’t even have any hair!”
“You think I’m a child just because of my body?”
Then, hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Damian had finished his morning practice and returned to his room.
He stood at the door with his upper body drenched in sweat.
“What are you doing?”
“I…”
“Oh, Damien!”
Damien’s gaze turns towards Cecil.
After confirming her appearance, he snatched away Lilia and closed the door without a greeting.
Slam!
Then he spoke to Lilia in the hallway.
“Lilia, among Professor Silveryn’s clothes… there’s a one-piece dress she doesn’t wear because she spilled wine on it before.”
“Oh… yes.”
“Please bring that to me.”
Lilia’s face was deathly pale. There were even faint traces of tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? What did my friend say to you?”
“…Yes. No, no. Rather than that, I… came to give you this.”
Lilia belatedly handed Damien the black letter she had taken from the fireplace.
“Did this arrive torn like this?”
“No… I accidentally ripped it while I was cleaning… I’m sorry.”
Damien skimmed the contents and spoke.
“Is that why you were sniffling?”
“Oh, no. Well, that’s…”
“Then did you have a fight with my friend?”
“No. That’s not it either…”
“I understand. You don’t have to apologize. If it weren’t for you, Lilia, I wouldn’t have found this letter in the first place. You’ve done something truly important, so I should be the one thanking you. I don’t mind the tear, so go on.”
“Yes, I will.”
After Lilia left, Cecil opened the door and peeked her head out.
“Damien, I found something strange in my room.”
“Right now, the strangest thing in my room is you.”
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“This. I found this really long white hair under my bed! Whose is it?”
“It seems like a guest I don’t know came by.”
“Really? How absurd. Oh, that little girl, does she work here?”
“Yes.”
“She’s cute.”
“It seemed like you two were quarreling.”
“No, nothing happened. She’s cute.”
“You didn’t fight?”
“Why do you keep asking?”
“I’ll bring you the clothes, so wait inside.”
“Does the shirt suit me?”
“I’ll bring you everything you need. Stay inside.”
Cecil spoke with pride.
“You probably don’t have any underwear that fits me.”
“I do.”
“…What? Who is that? A maid?”
Damian avoided Cecil’s gaze.
“No? Then…”
Cecil trailed off, sensing something.
“I have an art club meeting. I have to practice again in the afternoon.”
“Do you really need to be so diligent with the art club? It’s not like you’re going to fall behind if you skip it. Let’s play a little longer. Okay? I’ll even show you around the mansion!”
“No.”
Damian abruptly stood up.
Cecil shouted at Damian, who was leaving.
“How did you know the professor’s size!”
Damian’s footsteps quickened. Cecil muttered to herself with a blank expression.
“…Was it real?”
***
After reading Amarilis’s letter, I was in shock for a while.
Priscilla was actually the soul of a magician named Nocturne.
I also told Callius about this fact. Priscilla’s identity. And the story about Mayhen and the City of Fog.
Callius skimmed the letter for a few seconds and handed it back to me. It was a reaction I had expected. I asked, feeling strange.
“Did you know?”
“No, I didn’t. But I had a vague feeling.”
“Then it’s not true that a human soul entered her?”
“No, you don’t know why the Land of the Dead is called the Land of the Dead. Priscilla is not human. Long before she became a demonic sword, she had become an existence that could hardly be called human. There are no humans who live and breathe normally in that land. That unidentified woman, Amarilis, is probably the same.”
“…”
“I emphasize this, but don’t think of Priscilla as human. Once she becomes a demonic sword, it’s irreversible forever. You can’t save her either. She is a partner who will rely on your life, but sometimes she is also a consumable that you will have to abandon or sacrifice as needed. The moment you think of a sword as a human. You may hesitate, and because of that momentary gap, you may lose your life.”
Thinking carefully, Callius’s words were not wrong. Priscilla is not human, and she was not human even before she became a demonic sword, and I cannot save her. And the demonic sword functions as a tool to protect my life. My sympathy for the pitiful girl, Nocturne… Unfortunately, it is best to bury it.
“…I understand.”
“This is a good sign. You figured out who sent you the demonic sword, didn’t you? Take your time and slowly absorb the information that woman gives you.”
“Is there no way to find Amarilis?”
“That’s why I’m telling you to become close with Priscilla. There is no map of the Land of the Dead, and it cannot be made. Humans who set foot there have all their senses disturbed, so it is impossible to go to the intended place. Humans in this land can’t do anything just because they know the name Mayhen.”
“…”
“But Priscilla is different. Since she came from the Land of the Dead, she’s like the best guide. The only one who can lead you to Amarilis is Priscilla.”
“…Did you say nothing to the professor?”
“Did it seem to you that Priscilla and I got along well? I can finally breathe now that I’ve handed over the trouble to you.”
Looking back on the time when Callius disguised himself as a demonic sword hunter and fought, his body had always resisted whenever he used Priscilla. Not to mention Gale.
“Priscilla almost broke your arm.”
“My arm won’t break with just that. Of course, it was a burden. Anyway, she doesn’t get along well with me, but isn’t she quiet in your hands like a spoiled young lady? No one but you can handle that.”
“When I can communicate with Priscilla… I guess I’ll have to go to the Land of the Dead.”
“If it’s really necessary. If what you can gain there is worth your life. At that time, you will have to choose whether to go or not.”
“…”
“Well then, let’s begin. Just because you’re practicing leisurely doesn’t mean that something will happen right away. And I don’t think Eternia will send you alone to the Land of the Dead.”
“Will anyone volunteer to accompany me?”
“No one in the world goes there because they like it. They only go because they have to.”
“…”
“Now, let’s focus on clearing your mind again.”
And Callius began to pick up more stones to throw at him.
“How long will it take to get to the next step?”
“It will take dozens of years for some, and there are many who can’t do it even after devoting their entire lives to it.”
“…”
“Is there no way to shorten it? I can’t keep doing this until I graduate.”
“If you were a born genius and all the conditions were met, it would take three years.”
“That’s a long way off.”
Callius said with a sigh.
“I know, right? I wish you had met me sooner.”
“…”
Damian sat on the floor and closed his eyes. And he focused on his breathing again.
“Honestly, I have high hopes for you.”
“…What do you mean?”
“The kind of record you’re going to set.”
“…?”
Callius threw a stone with killing intent as usual.
Damian still didn’t react.
He waited a few seconds, holding his breath, and then threw the next stone.
“Hmm.”
Callius narrowed his eyes with a serious expression. He had caught Damian’s eyebrows twitching slightly when he exhaled the killing intent.
“Hey, did you hear that?”
When he asked, Damian slowly opened his eyes and said with an innocent expression.
“What… what sound?”
***
Cecily returned to the Upper Drop Hall dormitory after finishing her afternoon classes. She had finished all her studies for the day, but she still had something to do.
All the clothes and underwear she had borrowed were Seribelle’s. Cecily was not the type to be easily intimidated, but she was not comfortable taking the belongings of a great wizard like Seribelle without permission.
She changed into her everyday clothes and folded the clothes she had borrowed from the mansion and put them in a basket.
Then she headed to Damian’s room at the end of the third floor of the Upper Drop Hall. As she was about to leave the basket in front of the door and turn around, she heard someone’s voice.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, my goodness!”
Luna was standing in the hallway, staring at Cecily as if she had appeared out of nowhere.
“What… what is that?”
“What do you mean? If you’re curious, take a look for yourself.”
“…What did you do with Damian yesterday?”
Cecily frowned. It seemed like Luna was crossing the line, meddling in other people’s dates.
“What do you think happens when a man and a woman go on a date, get drunk, and go home together? Think about it.”
“…”
Luna’s pupils shook greatly. And then, as if her breath had stopped, she froze on the spot.
Cecil ignored Luna like that and passed by her.