36 – Weaving Wishes for the 100th Time
Anxiety emanated from the girl’s inquiry. Therefore, Glen extended a harmless greeting as much as possible.
“I’m Glen. I was invited as a guest to the self-published author’s place today.”
“Oh…! One of the guests coming today?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Phew…
The girl breathed a sigh of relief as if finally reassured.
‘These are interesting kids…’
Naturally, it wouldn’t do for only one person to introduce themselves. However, since the girl hesitated to speak first, Glenn spoke up.
“What’s your name?”
“Echo… Echo Peter.”
“Can I call you Echo?”
“… Yeah.”
A timid consent was given. Echo still had her eyes closed, gently touching the long grass.
Glenn had doubts about the peer of Peter, who hadn’t been introduced to the attic.
Because Glenn remembered Rosalie Peter, who was introduced as the “reclusive daughter of a writer” before leaving the gathering.
But as long as Echo existed, that introduction was incorrect.
Still unskilled in turning words, Glenn cautiously asked.
“Um, Echo. Can I ask why you don’t play together?”
“Because I’m not supposed to.”
“Why?”
“They said I shouldn’t be around.”
“… Who?”
“My mom. And my dad too.”
Echo sat up, uncrossed her legs, and crawled closer, narrowing the distance between them. Then, she held onto Glenn tightly with both hands and pleaded.
“So please keep it a secret. I hope you don’t tell anyone that you met me. It’s a request.”
“…”
“Yeah? You won’t?”
“Got it… Yeah.”
“… Thankfully.”
Echo, stepping back as if hesitating.
In the peculiar atmosphere, Glenn attempted to retreat first from the attic. However, at that moment, Echo grabbed Glenn with a new sound.
“Uh, um…!”
“Echo…?”
Even with his eyes closed, Echo seemed to sense Glenn’s intentions and kept a close eye on him.
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“Could you stay a little longer? It’s my first time talking to a friend rather than an adult, and I just…”
Unable to refuse the girl’s request, which seemed to conceal some kind of story, Glenn couldn’t bring himself to decline.
There was still plenty of time, so going downstairs at the right moment shouldn’t be a problem.
As Glenn hesitated to get up, he sat back on the grassy floor, filled with a gentle fragrance.
“…”
“…”
Although it was Echo who suggested speaking a bit more, Echo had no intention of easily parting her lips. Similarly, Glenn, originally reserved in emotions, was the same.
As a result, the contest of enduring the awkward silence between them continued.
How much the silence swept through the surroundings.
Glenn was the first to reach the limit of patience.
“Echo, you see.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Why is there so much grass on the floor?”
“These things, huh.”
Echo, who received the question, pulled something from behind. Eventually, illuminated by the slanting light, it revealed itself to be a bundle of leaves tied together. Although it was unclear how many leaves were tied together, it stretched like a snake and a rope.
“I needed the leaves to make this.”
“Yeah, I see.”
Even though Echo showed the result, it didn’t quite feel like a proper answer from Glenn’s perspective. It seemed like a useless thing in the world to Glenn, who had no knowledge of Echo’s circumstances.
“What’s so good about making that?”
“You can make a wish. Yeah, someone told me that if you succeed in connecting the leaves without them breaking a hundred times, the gods will grant your request.”
“Really?”
Glenn was taken aback.
Because Glenn had never heard such words even while living with Harthe, who was closest to the gods.
But Echo smiled bashfully and nodded.
“Yeah, it’s true. Because I’ve already succeeded in connecting the leaves a hundred times.”
“… Did you fulfill your wish?”
“Yeah. I had several wishes in mind, and one of them was to make a friend. But then Glenn appeared like this. How about that, isn’t it amazing?”
“I guess…”
Even though he went along with the conversation, Glenn didn’t believe it. It was the appropriate mindset, as it seemed like a sham ritual to anyone. If there were several wishes considered, there would eventually be a time when one of them aligned.
“What are your other wishes?”
“Well, for my mom and dad to come find me? But actually, that’s cheating. Because it takes two wishes to make that happen.”
“Two wishes?”
In response to Glenn’s question, the girl pointed to her narrowed eyes with her finger.
“Do you see me closing my eyes? Actually, I can’t see. I’ve been blind since I was a baby.”
“… So that’s why.”
“Yeah, since I can’t see, my mom and dad always have to hide me. That’s why they wanted us meeting to be a secret.”
In truth, Echo’s situation of living in the attic was not simply due to hatred towards disabilities. If you really wanted to analyze it, it was because Peter the writer was a nobleman who had gained authority through his mixed bloodline.
Officially, Peter the writer had three sons and one daughter. And both the sons and daughter were renowned in the social circle for their exquisite beauty.
With the addition of Peter the writer’s wife’s tearful dedication to education, her sons, except for the eldest, became sons-in-law in a household overflowing with wealth.
Of course, the eldest son’s marriage was just as successful as the Marquis’s favor.
In the midst of all this, a beautiful daughter – Roséry Peter – and twin Echo Peter were born.
Roséry, who was lovely from infancy. On the other hand, Echo was born with a serious illness and had nothing in common with her family.
The writer was in a crisis.
In the case of nobility, bloodline is a grave matter. Just because Luminael the Marquis had an abnormal way of thinking.
If the noble family found out that there was a defect in the bloodline, they would surely voice their objections. The possibility of Roséry, the twin sister, having difficulties in marriage could not be ignored.
So, the Peter couple made a decision.
To treat Echo as if she didn’t exist, hiding her.
They claimed that their daughter was only the lovely Roséry.
To rid themselves of guilt, they self-imposed silence.
Upon learning the rough circumstances, Glenn bit his lip tightly.
“So that’s why there wasn’t a single light in the attic…”
After all, she was blind from the beginning.
She had lived a life unaffected by the light.
Echo’s world must have always been in the night.
“…But it’s okay not to open your eyes, actually. I just wish that my world would change when I weave the grass.”
Abandoned right after birth, Echo’s family is unaware. What is seen in those eyes that cannot project objects.
“It would be nice if the whole world could just be black…”
What those eyes project is not a form but essence.
Even the right to distinguish between heaven and earth was stripped away from those eyes, and the hearts of others were revealed.
Describing the emotions contained in Echo’s eyes in human language was impossible. However, it could be expressed with tongue and lips to some extent, that it was terribly ugly and made me sick.
So Echo just closed their eyes altogether.
Even afraid to peek into Glen’s heart, who unilaterally became a friend, Echo didn’t open their real eyes.
When Echo felt guilt about this fact, Glen spoke.
“…Should I help?”
“With what?”
“Weaving the grass… making knots.”
“Thanks. But it’s okay. If someone else does it with me, they might not grant the wish, you know, calling it cheating.”
Echo faintly smiled.
Continuing the conversation, Echo constantly tied knots at the tips of the grass leaves. However, whenever it seemed to succeed smoothly, inevitably, snap! The grass leaf was cut.
Even if the eyes could see properly, it would be a difficult task. Watching Echo, a blind person, repeat it, Glen keenly felt Echo’s longing.
As skilled as it is, it will be desperate.
In desperation, it will also be swayed by superstition.
Glen wished that Echo wouldn’t despair.
“Echo.”
“Did you call?”
“Yeah, it’s about time I start heading back.”
“Oh, I see…”
Echo bid farewell with a voice dripping with regret.
“Take care, Glen. Be careful going down the stairs.”
“… You take care too, Echo. I hope your herbal binding goes well.”
“Thanks.”
As Glen was about to bend down to leave the small attic room, a faint cry from Echo reached him from behind.
“Glen! Our meeting here is a secret! Got it?”
“I’ll never tell.”
“Phew, thanks…”
After descending from the attic, Glen looked out the window at his private garden. In the distance, the setting sun brought a red glow, elongating the shadows.
No children were visible in the garden, perhaps tired of playing. They were likely enjoying their time inside the mansion, taking naps or playing as they pleased.
“Echo… she’s probably still working on the herbs.”
Glen descended the stairs, reminiscing about the unexpected encounter.
It was the conclusion of the parenting group.
◇
About a week after the parenting group, in the afternoon at the Luminal Duke’s residence.
I was strolling with Elphesia in the Duke’s garden, engaging in conversation.
“… Glen seems strange these days.”
“Oh, you felt that too, not just me?”
“Elphesia, did you notice too?”
“She was always quiet, but lately, it’s quite noticeable.”
Indeed, Elphesia.
She observes Glen more diligently than anyone else while pretending not to care. So, I should stop making excuses and approach him first.
“He’s tearing apart and tying knots with strange words he heard somewhere.”
“Is it related to the question I asked you last time?”
“The possibility is high, but…”
The unexpected question from Glen came after returning from the parenting meeting.
[Director, if you weave a hundred clover leaves, will your wish come true?]
It has nothing to do with the scriptures you gave me. Is there a passage that I memorized sweetly without even closing my eyes?
Maybe it’s derived from folk beliefs…
“Did he hear it while playing with the kids? But getting so immersed, it’s excessive for children’s pranks.”
It was when we were strolling near the ceremonial hall.
If my memory serves me right, it was the time when the Duke was having a private session with Glen. However, unlike usual, there was no sound of the clash of gears and metal. Instead, the conversation between the Duke and Glen sounded as faint as the footsteps of ants.
“Duke, if you diligently learn the laws, can you secretly meet people?”
“Well, of course. In my time, I even went beyond the temple walls secretly and had exchanges with the Pope and such.”
“Th-that’s impressive…”
Glen was as astonished as I was.
“No, seriously, that’s impressive.”
I had no idea. Absolutely none. It was a bolt from the blue.
Could it be that the Pope and the Duke secretly had a tumultuous relationship, even in their younger days?
“Thanks to that, I even met the lady. I infiltrated the temple myself and seduced her, and she eventually succumbed.”
Even having an affair in the sacred temple?
This is a bit scandalous.
As a knight of the temple, I felt inclined to reprimand the then head of the Templar Order for such lax vigilance.
“But, damn, the Pope was truly resentful. Despite being in a secret relationship, he didn’t help at all. He was cruel even when the lady was suffering in agony. I tried to seek divine help when she was on the verge of death, but they said divine aid shouldn’t be sought in such matters.”
In the end, Elphesia’s mother couldn’t overcome the pain and took her last breath. Even recalling the distant past, the Duke’s voice carried vivid emotions.
“If only there wasn’t that ‘promise,’ I might have crossed the temple walls again… My youthful vigor has never regretted anything as much as it did then. So, Elphesia is incredibly fortunate. I can’t imagine my son-in-law pretending not to know even my wife’s suffering. hahahaha…”
Eventually, the Duke, noticing Glen listening vaguely to the story, changed the subject.
“Ick, I’ve gone too far with my rambling. You made me remember the old days with your questioning. So, why are you so curious about shooting secretly somewhere?”
“N-no! It’s not like that! I just… was curious, Your Grace.”
“hahahaha, well then. I thought you wanted to fight with the Pope like me… or at least argue with him.”
The Duke seemed to appreciate Glen’s passion for learning and chuckled heartily.
“Fine. For a while, let’s focus on walking and running techniques. In a short period, you should be able to easily handle even a visit to a Marquis’s estate, if not the temple or palace!”
Crazy!
I hope he doesn’t do that.
Please don’t taint our good boy, crazy master.
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Glen, could you please refrain from answering so energetically?
It’s a part that makes me extremely anxious as a guardian.
From now on, do I have to be alert even when sleeping?
“Harte, can you hear what I’m saying right now?”
“…Yes.”
“What did Father say to Glen?”
“Um, well…”
I hesitated for a moment. Should I filter this or not…
But telling a half-hearted lie seemed to only cause more confusion. So I decided to speak exactly what I heard.
“It seems that His Grace is raising Glen to be the greatest thief.”
“What kind of crazy author is this!?”
“…”
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“…”
Elysia, who spews uncensored profanity at my father.
This became an opportunity for Glen to have an additional lesson in character education.
◈
When the night breeze turns chilly, everyone in the mansion falls asleep. Then, only one person in the mansion peeks their head out of the room and looks outside.
Echo walks through the cold, deserted corridors.
Although the world is endlessly murky, the mansion’s layout is familiar, so there are no issues with her senses. She just needs to be careful and feel her way down the stairs.
In the old days, many were injured by accidentally falling, but now things were relatively safe.
When going outside the mansion, be cautious while plucking the grass. Having heard complaints about ruining the landscaping, I delicately plucked the grass near the roots in the corners as much as possible.
Climbing up and down about ten times from the garden to the attic marked the end of the day.
Now, let’s tie the knot.
Weave the grass leaves, weave a hundred times, make a wish.
Hoping that someday someone will love me.
Hoping that someday someone who loves me will appear.
I wish that person reflected in these eyes had a beautiful heart.