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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Epilogue-To the Blue Country; Scene 3

Praeludium of Red, page 247-251

♣ Yukina ~On the HMS Victoricia, “Sleeping Quarters"~

The ship's hold under the main deck was being used as sleeping quarters. While I was on my way to the gun deck to observe Marlon's newly made artillery while I had the chance, I ran into Gumillia.

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked. Gumillia made a quick, deep nod.

"I am not, pushing myself. Right now I am, a little tired."

Gumillia had two hand mirrors clutched in her hands. One was the one that Gumillia had had from the outset, and the other was the one Kyle had owned.

"What are you going to do with that mirror?"

"For now, I will keep an eye on it. I have only done simple sealing of it, but I don't think there'll be any problems. The demon dwelling inside, itself, is no longer there."

"You've vanquished the demon?"

"No--I said so before, but you cannot destroy a demon. I only blew it away somewhere else."

"Where did you send it to?"

"To a world of a different, dimension from ours, or else…to the far off future, perhaps. I don't know, where it went."

"Then is there a chance it might come back?"

"It might. But I think we are safe for now."

I looked towards the hand mirrors she was holding. From the decoration to their size, the two of them were entirely identical.

"They look a lot alike, don't they? Is one of them a fake and the other the original?"

"Both of them are genuine. I think, perhaps originally there was one. There might still be, other similar ones around."

"I read in a book that there were seven vessels of deadly sin. So does that mean that there are seven mirrors in all?"

"No, the vessels of deadly sin each have different forms, for different vessels. Like I said, the 'mirror' vessel of deadly sin, was originally one, and was divided up by someone."

"Who in the world would have done something like that…?"

"I suspect it is, the one who gave it to King Marlon."

"You mean the Empress Dowager Prim? …Why would she…?"

"Don't know. We can only ask the lady herself, directly…I imagine that Ney, will also be nearby."

At that moment, someone screamed inside the guest room.

"She's escaped! After her! Don't let her off the boat!"

Immediately afterwards, the guest room's wooden door was violently flung open. A swordswoman dashed out from there--Germaine. She cut to the left of me and Gumillia, and sprinted for the staircase leading to the main deck.

Several men in black suits chased after Germaine. They were the retainers Shaw had brought along.

"Please wait! Lady Germaine!"

"Nooooo! I'm not riding in any boat!"

Germaine tried to climb the stairs, but right before she made it to the main deck, she collided with something and went tumbling down the steps.

"…Ow. What's with you? Get out of the way!"

The one standing in Germaine's way was an enormous man from Shaw's entourage. As one might expect, it wouldn't be a simple matter for Germaine to push aside a giant man who was over two meters tall. Shaw leisurely walked out of the guest room after her.

"Ms. Germaine. My father told me to make sure I took you with me along with Ms. Gumillia. Please come with us quietly."

"No way! A boat's just--a boat's--…A bundle of wood and iron like this can't possibly cross the sea!"

"What time period are you from? This boat is a Marlon warship. To think that it might sink in the first place…"

"It doesn't matter, I hate booooats!"

Somehow the men in black suits managed to tie Germaine up as she was carrying on, and brought her back to the guest room.

"…Looks like this is the first time Miss Germaine's ever ridden on a boat," I said in surprise, Gumillia smiling a little bit.

"You've been to Marlon once before, so you've ridden in a boat, haven't you?"

"…To be clear, before now, I've gone to the country of Marlon twice. With this it's three times."

The first time was when she'd visited my home five years ago. And after that apparently she'd gone to Marlon one other time. I imagine that time must have been with Elluka.

"Is that so? What did you go there for?"

"Looking for something. But it was there that I was separated from Elluka."

"What in the world was in Marlon?"

"…Abyss I.R. Her…"

Gumillia looked more grim than I'd ever seen her. And then on that note, she fell into silence.

It seemed that hundreds of guns had been loaded onto the HMS Victoricia. And I'd been boastfully told by a gunner that all of them were cutting edge cannons.

I had little interest in weapons, but even so I could feel a little bit of the dramatic nature inherent to the words "cutting edge". When I started taking notes in my notebook while gazing over the brand new artillery, I could hear shouting from the direction of the main deck.

When I passed by the guest room where Germaine was bound hand and foot with rope and headed up there, I found someone there that I hadn't seen in a while.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Epilogue-To the Blue Country; Scene 2

Praeludium of Red, page 245-247

♣ Yukina ~On the HMS Victoricia, “Stern Deck"~

The sailors were engaged in their work on the stern of the ship. Among them, there was a boy gazing at the sea, leaning heavily on the handrailing.

He wore blue breeches with suspenders. Of course, he was not in the navy, nor was he a sailor.

"Shaw~"

When I called to him, the boy turned around with an unabashedly sullen expression.

"…I'm really upset right now. Please don't talk to me."

"How cold! Is that how you greet your big sister who you haven't seen in ages?"

"Think of my feelings, getting stuck with coming all the way out here to Lucifenia for you!"

His name was Shaw Freezis. He was none other than my little brother.

It seemed that my becoming a wanted person after the incident at the palace had reached my father's ears, as expected. According to Shaw, my father had been in such a state at hearing about it that he could hardly look at him.

But my father was extremely busy, and unable to leave Marlon. Or rather, apparently he'd actually attempted to drop everything and come right over to Lucifenia, but he was stopped by my mother and his executive staff.

And so the one that he appointed as his messenger was Shaw, currently studying to be his heir. It also had the aim of broadening Shaw's knowledge with this opportunity, him being such a homebody and all.

Of course, there was no way my father would let his precious eldest son go to another country all on his own. He had sent along with him eleven fellow travelers as attendants. It was extremely overprotective.

Thus, having made my reunion with my little brother after a year and a half, I was now being somewhat forcibly brought back to my home in Marlon. It couldn't be helped, considering how tumultuous things had gotten, but I couldn't help but be disappointed at having to accept my journey ending like this.

"Sigh~ And I'd been evading Papa's pursuit so well up until now, too~"

"…You're the only one who thinks that, sis."

"Wha!? What does that mean?"

"Don't take Dad's information network lightly. After you ran away from home, he found out where you were immediately. He knew your whereabouts up until you were around Retasan at least."

"It can't be…Then…"

"Dad respected your wishes in his own way. Although naturally he was supporting you secretly. You had some idea of it yourself, didn't you sis?"

"Not at all, I had thought that--that there wasn't any…"

I did have some memory of that. The closest thing I could come up with was having met up again with Bruno by "accident" in Rucolebeni. Thinking on it now, he had still had his ties to my father after all.

"Well, you better prepare yourself for when we get home. …Not that I think you'll be scolded, but I think he's certainly going to cry first."

"Ugh…Not looking forward to that."

"You need to apologize properly to Mom too. She doesn't show it as much as Dad, but I know she was worried about you this whole time too."

"…Okay."

When our conversation was over, Shaw ran off to the stairs that were on the main deck.

Levianta, Asmodean, Lucifenia, Beelzenia, and Elphegort.

At some point I wanted to tell Shaw about the various events I had encountered on my journey.

Because, while there were times when I was scared, that didn't change the fact that all of them had been valuable and incredible experiences.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Epilogue-To the Blue Country; Scene 1

Praeludium of Red, page 244

♣ Yukina ~In the Former Lucifenia Territory, “Port Town"~

The weather was fine today.

A port on Lucifenia's western coast. Anchored there now was Marlon's esteemed warship, the "Royal Victoricia".

A bearded sailor was shouting angrily down at the people below him from an observation deck built into one of the ship's three masts. You could see similar scenes all over the deck.

According to the Victoricia's captain, Admiral Dylan, such was commonplace. Land troops were nothing compared to the crudeness of a sailor's temperament.

We still had quite a bit of time left until departure. The admiral had advised me to rest in town, but I wasn't going to do that during an opportunity to ride in a warship. Since I was already up there, I decided to look around the place until departure time.

"Even though you'll just look around whether I want you to or not once the ship goes out anyway. You're a curious one."

The admiral was surprised, but he granted me permission to observe everything on board. I just wasn't allowed to touch the artillery.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 4-Time and a Forest and a Song; Scene 3

Praeludium of Red, page 216-241

♣ Yukina ~In the country of Elphegort, “Millenium Tree Forest/Tree of Held"~

No matter where you went in the forest, very little of it looked that much different than the rest. This was especially true for an outsider like me, and I often thought about how Gumillia never get lost. If I were to stray from her, it would probably be extremely difficult for me to get out of the forest again.

Moving forward had become far less difficult in itself. The trail had gradually widened out. There were traces that people had passed through scattered on the ground. Perhaps this road was used by the locals for picking fruits and plants and such.

After going on a ways, we came out to a space that was more open than anything previous. At the heart of this place that was a little bit like a plaza, there was an enormous tree.

This plaza wasn't man-made. It felt almost as though the vegetation had avoided growing in the vicinity, as though in paying respect to that enormous tree.

"Is this big tree the lord of the forest?" I said without thinking.

Germaine made a bemused expression, but Gumillia answered with a straight face.

"Well, that's the gist of it." After setting the bag she'd been carrying on her back to the ground, she murmured towards the tree, "I'm home, Lord Held."

I see, so this was the fabled "Tree of Held". As I recall, I had once read in a book somewhere that this was a sacred place for the Held sect of the Levin religion.

Gumillia bent down by the Tree of Held's side, and appeared to be saying something quietly.

When I looked closer I saw the subject of her gaze--a tiny sapling growing right next to the Tree of Held. It was so small I'd overlooked it before.

Germaine sat on the bare ground and started resting. Unlike Gumillia and I, she was wearing armor--not heavy, albeit, but still. The journey up until this point had probably been wearing her down.

After a minute, Gumillia stood.

"As expected, this is the place."

"You mean Kyle's been staying here?" Germaine asked her, still sitting.

"Mhm. But he's out right now."

"He's sure to come back eventually."

"Yes. This is ideal, let us prepare right now."

Gumillia opened the bag that she had set down and laid out its contents.

Candles, drinking cups, cards, disks with a coat of arms painted on it…It was a display of things I barely recognized. If my collector of a father saw it he'd probably be ecstatic.

Before I knew it, the sky was dyed in orange. The sun was setting.

"Truthfully, I would have liked to, settle things before the day was out," Gumillia said, arranging her tools around the vicinity.

Normally, the spells that Gumillia and Elluka used were able to display their full potential on nights where the moon was full. So, whenever she was going to cause something, if possible she'd pick a day when the moon was full.

The time we visited the palace was no exception. Gumillia had acted on a full moon that day as well.

"Will we be alright when it becomes nighttime?" I asked, driven to anxiety as I remembered what had happened at the palace.

The night of a full moon--we'd sure kicked up a hornet's nest then. A full moon could make magical spells stronger…but at the same time it also heightened the magical power of a demon as well.

In addition to King Kyle becoming emotionally unstable, in the end it resulted in the demon inside of him growing out of control.

Gumillia replied, after looking up at the sky once, "No problem. Tonight should be a crescent moon."

"Is a demon's magic weaker during a crescent moon than a full moon?"

"Honestly, the time of a new moon is most ideal. However at that time, I would also be unable to use, most of my magic."

"So I guess then that a crescent moon is the best, if you're thinking about balance."

"Ah, yes. The time to win against a demon is the night of a crescent moon. Elluka taught me that, but I'd completely forgotten."

I figured that in a way it was understandable. Like Germaine and I, she had never actually confronted a demon up until now.

"Frankly, Elluka's absence has been trying," Germaine touched on the topic of the sorceress who was Gumillia's mentor, taking her rapier into her hands. "If she were here, she'd be able to lend us her power in some way."

The missing sorceress, Elluka. What was she doing right now?

It was three hours later.

The sun had gone down, and the only light source left was the fire from the candles that Gumillia was preparing. Outside of the clearing it was pitch-black.

"Take care that the fire doesn't spread to the trees around us," Germaine pointed out. "It'd be no laughing matter if you started a forest fire."

A forest fire...I remembered the color of the sky that I had seen from my mansion in Elphegort five years ago, stained red.

"There was a forest fire here five years ago, too."

"Indeed. Though to be specific, it wasn't the Millenium Tree Forest that it happened in, but rather the 'Forest of Bewilderment' on Lucifenia's side. I worked pretty hard at trying to put it out back then." Germaine nodded several times, as though remembering something. "Come to think of it, that's when I first met you, isn't it Master Gumillia?"

Gumillia gazed up at the night sky without responding to Germaine's question.

"Master Gumillia~ Don't ignore me."

"…He's here."

The subject of Gumillia's stare was black wings flying in the air.

Naturally, it wasn't a bird.

The black-winged animal closed the distance in the blink of an eye, and finally descended down to the clearing where we were…or so it seemed, but then it quickly changed course and charged straight for Germaine.

"…--!"

Before I could cry out, the winged demon's sharp claws drew close to Germaine's throat.

In that moment.

A metallic clank echoed through the area.

"…Ouch."

Germaine had fallen on her back, holding her rapier in her right hand.

A dark figure stood in her way, holding her left hand still with its right hand.

"You repelled me with your sword pretty quickly, huh? You're much more skilled than you were five years ago, aren't you?"

Germaine quickly stood, and readied her rapier.

"I've come to be good friends with a certain master swordsman on my journey, so they've given me a bit of training... Man, you really do look like a demon, don't you?" There was a red glint in his eye. His fangs and claws were sharp. Germaine spoke her mind before the demon, having seen it up close for the first time. "Do you still have some human consciousness left?"

"Consciousness...? I have always been me. No more, no less," the winged-demon-turned Marlon King--Kyle--said with a loud laugh.

"That's not very persuasive, with you looking like that. What do you think, Master Gumillia?"

"I can't say. He might have the consciousness of the king, it might be that of the demon, or it could be that both of them have 'blended together'…"

Gumillia was on guard, keeping her distance from Kyle.

When I rushed over to her side, I stood at the ready towards him just like she was.

It might not look it, but I had learned at least a modest degree of self-protection.

This might be Mister Kyle, but if push comes to shove I'll try to floor him with a kick!

Kyle glanced at me and Gumillia, and then curled his lips into a grin. "You don't need to be so afraid. I wouldn't lay a hand on you, Yukina."

His voice was gentle, unlike how he'd spoken before. Conversely, it sent a chill down my spine.

"I'm the one you want to kill, right?" Germaine pressed, and Kyle cracked his knuckles as though to display his power.

"And the sorceress, eventually. But first you, Germaine."

"That's how it seems to me, so you two back off. I'll carve out the will of this king so determined for revenge that he turned into this monster."

"Don’t make me laugh. With this form I'll win easily against the likes of you!"

Kyle spoke with such a bloodthirsty tone that I could tell that wasn't an exaggeration.

Gumillia spoke up a little. "Germaine. There's no need to hesitate. He might be a demon, but when it's not a full moon he shouldn't have, any significant strength to him."

"How much power does he have, specifically?"

"Hmm, around as much as a slightly ferocious bear, or lion, or such."

"…Those are pretty dangerous on their own as it is."

I caught a glimpse of cold sweat run down Germaine's left cheek.

Gazing at Germaine as she prepared herself in front of him, Kyle made a slightly peculiar expression.

"Going to face me one on one…? You must think me an easy mark. Very well, in that case--" Kyle drew a broadsword from the scabbard affixed to his hip. "I shall beat you fair and square as a Marlon gentleman."

Germaine looked a bit surprised at seeing Kyle readying a sword. "Wow, that's unexpected…"

"I told you, didn't I? I have always been me."

"Thanks for that, then. …Gh!"

Before she was done talking, Germaine thrusted the rapier in her hand towards Kyle's throat.

Another metallic clang.

The blow of Germaine's rapier was caught by the blade of Kyle's broadsword.

Kyle let out, without even a twitch of a change in his expression, "…That was sudden."

"Payback for earlier." Kyle pushed back on the rapier, and Germaine drew back. "Well then, shall we begin our duel, King Marlon?"

"Duel, huh? …Alright. Well then, how about we let Yukina be an observer of this duel?" Kyle smiled at me. There was no sense of the tragedy of a man hijacked by something evil in his expression. "A destined showdown between the king of Marlon and the hero of the revolution…Good material for a novel, yes?"

Germaine watched Kyle's profile intently with a chilly stare.

"You're always willfully deciding everything by yourself. Nothing less than I'd expect from a king, to be so extremely self-centered."

At her words, Kyle's expression suddenly grew stern.

"Willfully?" His body was trembling slightly. It seemed it wasn't from cold, or fear, but rather from an anger that was welling up inside him. "That applies to you. Coming into the forest on your own like this…"

I could tell the faint humanity that I could sense from him up until now was withering.

"You--the likes of you--shouldn't go near Michaela!"

Kyle's howl resounded through the forest. It was clearly not human, and if pushed I'd have to say it was closer to that of a beast.

As he screamed, Kyle lowered his sword and charged at Germaine at full speed.

"Arrrrrrgh!"

What terrifying drive. But Germaine quietly lifted her sword and prepared a defensive position, not the least bit overwhelmed.

Kyle brought up his blade, not dropping his running speed, and then he brought it down towards Germaine's brow.

There was a third metallic clang. Germaine blocked his broadsword without fail.

This time neither of them moved away immediately. They locked swords with each other.

"Kyle, is continuing to be imprisoned by your hatred this way how you're going to live your life?"

It was a test of their respective strength. In addition to the innate difference in physique between them as man and woman, Kyle was wielding the power of a demon. Germaine's disadvantage was plain.

"You hated other countries, you hated me, and now you've become this. Are you satisfied with that?"

Kyle merely pushed the guard of his sword towards her with a smile on his lips, not responding to Germaine's question.

"Answer me! Kyle Marlon!"

"Hatred…there is no hatred in me. This is my mission. As the king--as the ruler of a country!"

Kyle shook off her sword with all his might. If that kept up, he would have been able to send flying the rapier that Germaine was holding. But just before he did she avoided that by propelling herself backwards with a backstep.

Germaine alighted back on the ground magnificently, but Kyle didn't overlook the drop in her posture then. He savagely slashed at her.

Even as her sword was cast downward, Gemaine dodged to the right. If her response had been just a second too late, she'd probably have been sliced in half

"Everyone wants a strong country. Without the Daughter of Evil around, life has finally become peaceful. In order to maintain that peace, this country must be secure, with nothing to fear from the threat of foreign nations."

Kyle slashed at Germaine several times. Germaine blocked and dodged all of it, while taking several steps back.

"Revolutionary people who upset the established order touting their ideals are a nuisance to this country now. There's no need for heroes like you. Why don't you get that? Why do you keep butting in at this stage of the game!?"

The force behind Kyle's sword didn't let up. But the blade never cut Germaine's body. He may have had strength, but Germaine could not be outdone when it came to speed.

Just now Kyle had told her that there was no need for heroes like her. Those words reminded me of a certain conversation that my mother and father had exchanged.

"Things are pretty tough for Kyle right now."

"…? What do you mean, dear?"

"It seems things aren't going so well as the sovereign of Lucifenia. Though, being a foreign country I think that was bound to be the case from the outset."

"King Kyle's having a rough time of it, hm?"

"He's been lamenting that it's because he doesn't have any charisma."

"That's what he always says whenever he's feeling fainthearted."

"He's had a complex since he was young. He doesn't have a unifying force inside himself. Perhaps the reason he fell for Michaela was from that, unexpectedly."

"You mean he admired Michaela because she could charm people with her singing?"

"Admiration can change to love. Just like how I was with you."

"Oh stop it, dear."

"However, I'm afraid there are times when his admiration can change to an envious hatred."

"I don't think we have anything to worry about in His Majesty's case."

"I hope so. Well, it'll be suppertime soon. Hey, Bruno, what's on the menu for today--?"

Admiration and hatred for people with charisma.

Assuming that Kyle did harbor a complex towards Germaine, who was beloved by the people.

Assuming he eventually came to despise her, from his envy of her.

With the way his personality was, he would probably be ashamed of himself for that. And so he would never let that show on the surface.

Assuming that, unable to reach a compromise between his real feelings and his public face, he were to have heard a false rumor that demeaned Germaine's character when he was at his most unstable.

If, in order to justify his own meanness, he were to have become convinced that he was taking revenge on Germaine for Michaela's sake--

…That was all just my own theory. But it was hard to imagine that Kyle was completely unable to see that something was wrong with his stance on Germaine being the culprit when even an outsider like me could tell something was off.

--Germaine and Kyle's offense and defense continued. The intensity of it was clear to me even in the dead of night.

"Kyle, how can you not see that the values of your position are bringing disaster to those around you? Because of you even Michaela--"

"Don't you talk about Michaelaaa!"

Kyle made a blow with more strength than he had before. Germaine blocked it with her rapier like she had been up until this point.

But her rapier went flying. It hadn't separated from Germaine's hand. The body of the blade had merely snapped off. Unlike the will of its owner, the sword had been unable to withstand the demon's superhuman might.

"Guh!"

Despite falling to her knees, Germaine wielded the broken rapier. But immediately afterwards, Kyle made another strike.

Unable to bear the blow with a broken rapier, this time the sword separated from Germaine's hand. The rapier fell to the ground.

"It's over, Germaine."

Kyle thrust the point of his sword in front of Germaine's eyes.

"If you have any last requests, I'll hear it now."

He looked calm and composed, convinced of his victory.

"Yes, I have one question. Do you have any idea as to how you turned into this demonic form?"

"Probably…that hand mirror of mine. For a while now I've been hearing a strange voice coming from it."

"Who gave you that mirror?"

"It was from my mother--Hh!?"

The composure left Kyle's face.

"You're being used by your mother. To the end you're nothing but her puppet."

Germaine's merciless pronouncement.

"Shut up! My life is…My life is my own!"

Kyle swung back his sword to cut off Germaine's head.

In that moment, something strange happened.

I looked at my pocket watch. It was currently 9:50. The middle of the night. Actually, with the flame of the candles put out some time ago, it was pitch-black out.

But suddenly, the surroundings brightened in the span of a second. It wasn't the sort of thing that was caused by an intense flash or anything.

When I looked up, I saw that the sky was blue.

--The night had been blown away, and suddenly day had come.

"…What is this?"

Kyle noticed the abnormality, looking stunned while still holding up his sword.

When I glanced at my pocket watch again, I saw that the clock hand had stopped.

Was it broken? That's what I thought at first, but I was wrong.

In the next moment, the hand began to run backwards at an alarming speed.

What's going on!?

"Looks like I was just in time."

I had lost sight of Gumillia soon after the duel had started, but now she appeared from deep in the forest.

"You were really cutting it close. Good grief, I hate having to work as a diversion," Germaine grumbled. "Though, honestly I'm pretty surprised by all this too--what's going on, Master Gumillia?"

"This is--"

Before Gumillia could explain, a figure charged towards her.

It was Kyle. He'd abandoned his sword, trying to bite out Gumillia's carotid artery with his fangs.

"Ggh!"

Kyle stopped moving completely, his mouth still open.

Bizarrely, he remained still, as though he had turned into an ornament.

"A spell that warps time, and space. The 'Clockwork Secret Art'."

Gumillia leisurely moved away from Kyle, and once more began to explain. "Truthfully this is not a spell to do on your own. I was worried, but it seems to have gone alright for now."

"You're amazing, Miss Gumillia, to be able to do such an impressive spell like this!"

"This is my birthplace--if we were not in the Millenium Tree Forest, I might not have been able to."

Germaine stood, and joined together the broken body of the rapier with its handle. "Well then, what do we do now? Kyle's frozen up like stone."

"At present, there is no method for completely destroying a 'Demon of Deadly Sin'. So, we need to blast the demon inside him, into some other dimension."

"Can you do such a thing?"

"I don't know, but I'll try. If I fail, King Marlon might be blown away. Well, pardon me if that happens."

"What!? H--hold on Miss Gumillia, please wait!"

Gumillia began to launch into the spell aria without heeding my protests.

"The Twin Gods Levia Behemo, the Great Land God Held, with the divine protection of you who are above me, I--"

Kyle didn't move, still in his demon form.

I and Germaine watched over Gumillia's recitation, at wit's end.

The way things are now, we have no choice but to pray for the spell's success!

Finally--Gumillia uttered the final words of the incantation.

"Krowkolc fo stelses eought!"

Immediately afterwards.

"GCK--GAAAAAAAH!"

A sudden scream resounded from Kyle's mouth. While he was still frozen in place. Only his voice welled up from his lips.

At first the cry sounded like a man's voice, but then after a while it became a high-pitched woman's voice--next it was an elderly sounding wail, and even further after that it transformed to the roar of a beast.

Something unbelievable was happening in Kyle's body--that was obvious.

"I-is he alright?"

There was no one present who would answer my question. Gumillia and Germaine were both watching what happened, holding their breath.

The screaming went on for close to a minute, perhaps. Eventually his voice grew quieter, until I could no longer hear it.

Having been in the same position the entire time, finally Kyle moved. Or rather, he collapsed on the spot as though he was crumbling.

There was no change in his appearance. He still had the claws and fangs and black wings.

"Let's keep an eye, on things," Gumillia said, sitting down on the spot. Even just that one spell seemed to have used up a considerable amount of her strength and willpower. If it failed, then we'd be at the end of our rope.

At some point, the sky had returned to night as it had been before.

It didn't take much time at all for Kyle to start waking up.

After glancing around him, Kyle fixed a stare at my face.

"Mister Kyle. Do you know who I am?"

Kyle grinned wide. It was a little frightening, with those fangs of his.

He leisurely made his way towards me.

And then opened his arms wide--

"Graaaah!"

He brought his sharpened claws down towards my eyes.

"Gah!"

"Yukina!"

On the spur the moment, Germaine grabbed me and rolled in a somersault.

The claws slashed at empty air.

"Grrrrrr…"

Kyle growled like a wild dog.

"D-doesn't he seem like he's gotten a bit worse than before?"

The Marlon king arched his back, drool dripping from his mouth.

Looking up at him from my position sprawled out on the ground, there didn't seem to be a trace of lucidity left in him.

Gumillia closed her eyes and turned her face to the heavens. "It's no use. I failed."

"It can't be!"

Kyle gradually made his way towards us, as though he was stalking prey. Gumillia who had used all her strength, Germaine who had broken her sword, and me--paralyzed with terror and unable to stand.

It seemed there was nothing we could do now.

<…>

<Michaela, you must sing.>

<Huh!?>

<Don't be a square. You yourself got involved when you were a human. In the end, settle this dispute yourself.>

<…Okay.>

<Come, sing. Your last song on this land.>

...

...?

What are these voices now?

The voice of an old man that I don’t know, and the voice of someone I’ve heard before.

I could hear their conversation coming from somewhere.

A conversation that seemed to echo directly in my mind.

Eventually—

I came to hear a singing voice.

A familiar, beautiful voice I had heard when I was a child.

It seemed I was not the only one who could hear it.

Germaine made a confused expression. This was the first time I had ever seen Gumillia look so surprised.

And, even Kyle, closed his eyes and listened in.

Shockingly--

Soon a trickle of tears ran down his cheek.

As it did, a dazzling light enveloped his body.

“AA...AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH”

I didn't know whether that voice belonged to Kyle, or the demon.

But unlike his anguish-filled scream from before, it seemed to me from the tone of his voice like he was healing…like he exuded some sort of euphoria.

I could tell from a glance at Gumillia that it wasn't her spell. But then, if that was the case what was going on right now?

I soon got the gist of the answer.

The "Clockwork Secret Art" had showed me a shocking spectacle, but what was happening right now was perhaps an even greater miracle.

The singing voice continued.

Ah, it made me so nostalgic.

The sky had become brighter. It was still too early for dawn. I knew that again this was generated from the distortion in this place's time and space.

The light covered Kyle. It was emanating from his chest.

Is that--a seashell pendant!?

The light became all the brighter. To the point where I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

I was inside an indescribable pleasantness, the singing voice and the strong light interweaving.

At some point, I blacked out.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 4-Time and a Forest and a Song; Scene 2

Praeludium of Red, page 212-215

♣ Yukina ~In the country of Elphegort, “Millenium Tree Forest/Old Well"~

After moving on a little ways farther, Gumillia stopped in front of us.

She was quietly gazing to the left in front of her. She was staring at something that looked like a small well.

"There's a well in a forest like this?"

Passing by Gumillia as she stood still, Germaine drew close to it.

"Did someone live around here a long time ago?" She peered into the well. "It's pretty deep…Huh? There's a ladder here. We can go inside with this."

Evidently, Germaine had an endless interest in this different structure that had suddenly appeared in the forest.

This was my first time coming here. But I knew what sort of place this was. My father had told me about it when I was little.

I observed Germaine for a little bit. And then I gained a surge of confidence.

So this was the first time she had visited this spot after all.

"This was used by the Freezis Family in emergencies, as a hideaway," I explained to her, walking up to the well. "When you go down the ladder there'll be an iron door. That door leads to a hidden room."

"Hold on a sec. If this is the Freezis Family hideaway, then that means this is…"

It seemed Germaine had realized the significance of this place as well.

"Yes. This is where my family's former servant, Michaela, spent her last moments."

When Lucifenia invaded Elphegort, Michaela had escaped to this place that my father told her about.

And here she was murdered by someone.

"Yes, here is where…"

Germaine faced the well and quietly closed her eyes.

Having watched the two of us from a distance, Gumillia came over.

"There is a slight presence, left here," she said, while looking into the well.

Germaine's expression became faintly grimmer.

"You mean that he's here?"

"No, he's not here now. But there is evidence that he stopped by."

Germaine put her hand on the well's ladder.

"I'll investigate a little just in case. Maybe I'll find some clue."

Before she'd finished speaking, she descended down into the well using the ladder.

Thirty minutes later, Germaine came back up and shook her head.

"No good. There was nothing important down there."

Gumillia roused herself, having been resting against a tree in the shade.

"Let's go. I have another, idea."

At her words, I stood up from where I had been sitting near the well too.

After taking in a big breath I shouted, in order to convince myself, "Yeah, let's go! We'll find Mister Kyle, wherever he is in this forest, and exorcise the demon in him!"

I didn't know if we'd really be able to or not.

But like Germaine said, we had no choice but to do what we could.

"Sigh~ this place was a wash," Germaine muttered as she walked along.

"Oh no, I wouldn't say that," I replied, walking behind her.

"Did you learn something, Yukina?"

"Yeah. I know now without a doubt that you didn't kill Michaela, Miss Germaine."

Michaela had been killed near that well. But Germaine hadn't known about it until now.

I found a gravesite in a place not far from the well.

It was probably the grave of a soldier who died during a battle. Written there was:

Here lies the heroic swordsman, Ayn.

After praying before the gravesite for the soldier's happiness in the afterlife, I hastened along.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 4-Time and a Forest and a Song; Scene 1

Praeludium of Red, page 208-212

♣ Yukina ~In the country of Elphegort, “Millenium Tree Forest"~

There was a vast forest between Lucifenia and its neighboring country to the north, Elphegort. There was no maintained road in it, so it was dangerous for people unused to it to venture in unprepared. It was said that, assuming you weren't looking to get yourself killed, you ought to have a guide with you who knows the area.

Fortunately for me, Yukina Freezis, my companions for this journey were both acquainted with this forest.

"That being said, I'm only familiar with the Lucifenian half," Germaine Avadonia, the red-armored swordswoman, said with a shrug inside this forest that was dark even during the day.

I looked towards the signboard in front of me. The crude wooden sign buried in the weeds had a sentence that indicated this was the border between Lucifenia and Elphegort.

"I will lead on, from here. This way."

My other companion, the sorceress Gumillia, led us through the trees without hesitation. The wounds she'd sustained two weeks before hadn't fully healed yet, but she didn't show that it hurt in the slightest.

I had no fear of getting lost, but even so there was another problem. Unaccustomed to the forest as I was, traveling on this roadless path was extremely harsh.

I had been bitten by bugs all over, and my clothes were torn from being caught on branches. Frankly, I was starting to regret coming along with the two of them.

Though there was no way that I could stay behind in the Lucifenian palace, the way things were.

The king of Marlon, Kyle Marlon, had vanished from the palace after that night… Naturally, having caused such a ruckus in the palace at that time, we were the subject of suspicion. To make a long story short, Gumillia, Germaine, and I all ended up becoming wanted people.

The vessels of deadly sin, and demons…I had proof that they existed. I had seen it with my own eyes. I had seen the man who was my father's best friend, a kind-hearted king, change to having swarthy skin. I had seen him grow sharp claws and fangs. And I had seen him sprout black wings from his back.

My thirst for knowledge had been satisfied. But even so I was pretty depressed.

"What's wrong? If this is too much we can rest for a little bit?" Germaine asked as she walked ahead of me, likely worried at seeing the dark expression on my face.

Farther on ahead, Gumillia kept going in defiance of the vegetation that stood in her way.

"…No, I'm fine."

"According to Master Gumillia we'll come out to a more open place a little ways further, so just try to make it until then."

As though to back up her words, I came to see a brighter spot up ahead where the light was shining through. A sign of a place where the density of the trees blocking out the sun was lower.

"…I just hadn't really wanted to see someone that I know turn into a demon."

I wasn't saying that to anyone. Only murmuring to myself. But evidently Germaine heard me.

"So that was really Kyle after all?"

Germaine hadn't been in the stables, so she didn't see Kyle's transformation. But she had witnessed his grotesque form as he was flying away somewhere after she had managed to shake off the Special Maneuvers Task Force and escape the palace.

The monster had headed northwest--she'd told me he was flying for here, the Millenium Tree Forest.

"…Yeah. There's no mistake--that demon was Mister Kyle."

"Good grief, there's still some things in this world that I have trouble believing," Germaine muttered as though talking about someone else's problem, pushing her way through the foliage. Hearing her tone, I grew miffed.

"That's a little cold, don't you think!? Didn't Mister Kyle fight with you once, long ago?" My tone abruptly turned harsh.

"--Sorry, sorry. That's not what I'm trying to say. It's just…The way things have gotten, if I think about it too seriously, it'll all start feeling futile."

"Futile?"

"Doesn't it feel that way? Dealing with demons… We've already gone well outside the scope of my understanding. So I've come to think that I'll just leave all the specifics on this whole thing to Master Gumillia, and do as she says," she remarked, chuckling.

I had wanted to see a demon. But I hadn't wanted to see an acquaintance become one.

I knew that was a selfish complaint. But if, for example, there was a person who wished to know about "death", then would that person wish for the death of themselves or a relative?

I had gone on this journey wanting to know more about the world. Even now I didn't think I was wrong in my decision. However, maybe there were some parts that someone like me ought not to experience.

"Are we treading in a domain that we shouldn't?"

By that of course I didn't mean the forest we were walking in now.

"Maybe we are. But in the end--it's clear we have to do what we can do, isn't it? We have no choice, yeah? You and me both. …Oh, looks like we've come out to the clearing."

There was a break in the vegetation, and my view for up ahead opened up. Seemed we'd come out onto a more spacious path. I could tell it would be an easier walk from here.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 8

Praeludium of Red, page 200-205

✥ Kyle ~At the Lucifenian Palace, "The Stables"~

The secret passage led out to the stables.

Standing in there was the Almoga Mobarez--that other masked servant--and Yukina, who was looking my way in surprise.

Had Germaine been stalling to give them time to steal the hand mirror and escape?

Once I confirmed for myself that Yukina was gripping it in her right hand, I leapt at her.

"Gah!"

I stole back the mirror.

Give over everything.

Give over everything to your feelings.

--I calmed down.

It was alright, I was not mistaken.

"You look a bit out of sorts, Mister Kyle."

"It's a serious illness. His heart is, totally dependent on the demon," the masked servant--her true identity probably being Gumillia--murmured with a scornful voice.

I asked her, "A demon? What are you talking about?"

"You haven't even, become aware of, the existence of the demon? You are a hopeless fool, as ever."

And she had her rude behavior, as ever.

"There is a demon, here. And you, are being taken over by it."

"What nonsense are you…I haven't been taken over by any demon!"

Yukina looked my way as though she was going to say something. Her elbow was a little skinned--perhaps because she'd fallen when I leapt at her just a minute ago.

"Are you okay, Yukina? Sorry for being so rough there." Thinking that I could have a more constructive conversation with Yukina than that just-shy-of-being-a-fake sorceress, I spoke to her instead.

"You look unwell. Your skin looks a bit swarthy."

"It's nothing…Rather, I feel better than ever."

"Mr. Kyle…I myself don't really know whether or not demons exist. But I think that you've still…changed a little bit over these five years."

"Nothing's changed. I am as I've always been."

"The old Kyle did not favor dispute. You weren't the kind of man who would recklessly start wars with other countries for territory expansion…Who would take these sort of political measures."

That wasn't true. And this was just a trend of the times. This was a period when I had to make my country stronger. Yukina was still young, so perhaps she didn't understand that.

"Are the policies currently in Marlon really your own will, Mr. Kyle?"

Of course. They were things that I decided.

It wasn't anyone else. It wasn't the will of a demon either.

I'm--I'm the one making the decisions. I am correct. I am just.

…I felt sick. I was losing my composure again.

The mirror.

I have to touch the mirror.

Give over everything.

Give over everything to your feelings.

Yes. I'll give over everything.

Everything, to my feelings.

Am I dependent on a demon?

No, I don’t think so.

It's the opposite. The demon is dependent on me.

I will take over the demon.

When I do, I’ll be able to become my true self—

“Ah...Aaah...”

Yukina was stunned. What was surprising her like that?

Was she afraid at the sight of me...?

"--! Things have taken a bad turn."

Gumillia was trying to do something.

Was that a spell? Was that her favored magic?

No, you need to mind your own business!

I waved my right hand. As I did so, Gumillia’s body flew into the air.

I quickly waved my left hand this time. Gumillia's body struck against the ground.

Oh, wonderful. When did I get a power like that? How interesting. Let me try something else.

I waved my right wing. A strong wind blew, and Gumillia was thrown against the wall.

...Wing?

I have wings now. Wings attached to my body.

Perhaps now, I can fly through the sky as well?

I experimentally flapped my wings, and my body gently floated upwards. I gradually, steadily moved higher.

This is wonderful. I'm flying!

Ah, Yukina. Don’t look at me with those eyes, please. Don’t look at me with those frightened eyes, as though you’re looking at a monster.

I feel good today. I’ll fly somewhere far away.

Where am I going?

Right now maybe I can go to where Michaela is.

There was a beautiful full moon tonight.

On a night like this a demon flying through the air wouldn’t be out of place.

Flying to somewhere far away.

Far away.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 6

Praeludium of Red, page 189-199

✥ Kyle ~In the Lucifenian Palace, "The King's Room"~

Two guards were sprawled out on the floor in front of my bedroom. They seemed to be alive, but stunned. Had they been attacked by the burglars, or surprised by the explosion? That would be pretty shameful if the latter.

As expected the door to the entrance was destroyed, but the inside of the room appeared to be fine.

Looks like we'll be able to settle this without messing up my sleeping quarters for tomorrow on.

Inside the room, a wooden-masked servant was surrounded by five women in iron masks.

The cloak the servant was wearing had been torn off, and I could see red armor exposed underneath. In her right hand she wielded a rapier that I recognized.

"Special Maneuvers Task Force, Clive, leave her to me," I ordered.

The members of the task force took several steps back, but they did not break their circle around the servant. Clive also made no move to leave.

"…Alright. I want to talk to this burglar a little bit. Don't hurt her yet," I said, standing before her. It was the servant who had spoken to me the other day.

"What dangerous pets you have, esteemed King Marlon."

I had heard her voice before.

There was no mistaking it. This was the woman I had searched for these five years.

"Take off that mask. It doesn't suit your pretty face."

At my words the woman removed her mask, and tossed it to the floor.

"Long time no see, Germaine. Unbelievable, that you would come to me like this."

The hero of the revolution, Germaine Avadonia. The woman who killed Michaela.

"I decided to quit running away."

"What a laudable attitude. You mean you've come to repent for your crime, and let yourself be killed?"

Germaine smiled faintly. “Crime? What sort of crime are you saying I committed?”

“Don’t try to mess with me! I know that you killed Michaela!” Despite my indignance, Germaine didn't move a single eyebrow. "Germaine, you knew that you wouldn't be able to pull off the revolution with just the resistance alone. So you turned your eyes on Michaela. Somewhere you learned of her relationship between Keel and I, and then you hatched a plan."

"A plan, huh?..."

"You joined forces with Elluka of the Three Heroes and killed Michaela in the forest. And then you pinned that crime on the princess--Riliane. You assumed that once you had, Keel and I would join in the revolution!"

I glared at Germaine, but all she returned was a gaze of obvious pity.

Why? Why was she looking at me with those eyes?

Germaine opened her mouth with a sigh. "There are various retorts I could make to that…But first, what proof do you have for this theory?"

"It's clear that you were colluding with Elluka. There's someone who spotted you two meeting when the Forest of Bewilderment was set fire."

"…Ah, yes I do remember that happening."

"And there's one other thing. Of the people who knew that Michaela was hiding in the well in the forest, there was just me, Keel, and Elluka and her apprentice."

Germaine silently listened to me.

"Keel was imprisoned in Lucifenia at the time. Taking that into consideration, the only ones I can think of as the culprit are Elluka and Gumillia, who carelessly appeared behind me when I found Michaela's corpse, and you, Germaine--you who was communing with them!"

Even I could tell that I had started talking much faster than normal, likely because I was getting so worked up.

Germaine kept aiming her pitying gaze in my direction.

"I want to say that I appreciate your reasoning, but it's all little more than conjecture isn't it? And…you know too, don't you? About Allen."

Allen--I would never forget. That servant who had been executed in Princess Riliane's place. Yes, when I'd confronted Allen while he was imprisoned in the dungeon as the princess, he had certainly told me something. That he was the one who killed Michaela.

Hm, I see. Was that your excuse, Germaine?

“Allen Avadonia, I fear...did not kill Michaela.”

“What!?”

For the first time Germaine's expression shook.

"Keel was the one who told Allen where Michaela was, as he'd been in the dungeon at the time. The night Michaela died, I’m told Allen appeared at the prison where Keel was being held, and while crying said, ‘When I went to the well, Michaela had already been killed by someone’.”

“Impossible…”

"A short while after the revolution I heard it from Keel himself; there's no mistake. And Allen didn’t have any reason to lie to Keel. So why did he tell me he killed Michaela?”

Germaine said nothing, listening to me talk.

“Simple. He was trying to protect the real culprit. His adopted older sister, Germaine Avadonia!"

“...Allen didn’t kill Michaela...”

She seemed to be distracted.

"What is it? Are you at a loss for words, for how well I've hit the mark?"

And then suddenly Germaine's expression returned to a smile.

"Thank you, it's good you told me that. That makes me feel a little better."

"…? What on earth are you talking about--"

"First of all, I said it before--but it's the truth--I didn't kill Michaela. That's a fact."

What are you saying, this late in the game?

"Are you telling me I have to believe you?"

"It's more that I can't understand why you don't believe me. Though it was only for a brief time, we did fight together didn't we?"

"That doesn’t mean that I don't have any basis for thinking that you didn't kill Michaela."

I grasped the hilt of the sword at my waist.

"Feels like you don't have any basis for thinking I did, either. Based on this conversation."

"…Any further excuses you have, tell them to the Master of the Hellish Yard in the land of the dead." I drew my broadsword. I pointed the end of my blade at Germaine.

"Or perhaps is there a reason for you to not want to believe me?"

"…What is that supposed to mean?"

"Like something that would cause you problems if I wasn't the culprit."

It wasn't like that. I was simply pursuing revenge--revenge.

"If you won't believe me, then do as you will. But stop thinking about revenge. It'll only bring you emptiness. I was the same way."

Don't compare us. I'm not a weak person like you.

‘...How trivial.’

I could hear that voice again.

Be silent. I am not trivial!

"--Revenge is an empty thing. And in a worst case scenario, you'll end up finding a new enemy just to fill that emptiness."

So you're saying that I've picked a new target of my revenge, a new enemy, to fill up my sense of nothingness?

You’re wrong. That itself is conjecture on your part, isn't it? Ney told me that you were the culprit. My mother told me to expand our country. I've just been obeying what everyone's told me.

No. It wasn’t everyone. Me, I made those decisions. I am right. I am just.

"Let's look towards the future after this, together. It's more constructive to pursue your dreams and objectives than to let yourself be imprisoned by revenge."

Dreams? Even I had dreams. I had wanted to become a painter. But I had to give up on that. Thanks to the interference of Nikolay and my mother. So I lost my dreams.

Ah, it’s true. I don’t have dreams. I don’t have anything. I’m a boring, trivial man who has nothing...

Obviously that wasn't true, wasn't it? Even I had dreams. I had wanted to become a painter. But I had to give up on that. Thanks to the interference of Nikolay and my mother. So I lost my dreams.

Ah, it’s true. I don’t have dreams. I don’t have anything. I’m a boring, trivial man who has nothing...

"--What's wrong? You're looking a bit peculiar."

"--You! What have you done to the king--!?"

"--Just a second I haven't done anything--"

Germaine and Clive were arguing about something.

……

It was no use. My thoughts were too disordered.

In times like this--I would touch the hand mirror, and my heart would calm down.

That mirror--where had my mirror gone off to?

"Give me back…my hand mirror…"

My chest ached, and I could hardly speak.

"What? Well that's out of the blue. I don't have any hand mirror."

What? Then where? Where was it now?

Give over everything.

Give over everything to your feelings.

I could hear that voice from somewhere. That voice that always resounded from my hand mirror.

It wasn't in this room

It was nearby. It was in the room next to this one.

"Clive…"

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

"You and the Special Maneuvers Task Force--kill Germaine…She's the woman who defeated the master swordsman Gast Venom….Take caution with her. I'm going to leave."

Clive leapt towards Germaine in my place.

"Oh dear, I guess now is my moment."

Germaine moved back and then dashed for the nearby window.

And then, she threw herself towards it full tilt.

Clive yelled, "She's escaping! After her!"

At his signal, the Special Maneuvers Task Force headed after Germaine, but she broke through the window just a step too soon and escaped outside.

Clive and the Special Maneuvers Task Force moved through the broken window and leaped out after her.

I left the room by the door rather than the window, and headed for the room nearby--the one that once belonged to Princess Riliane.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 5

Praeludium of Red, page 187-189

✥ Kyle ~In the Lucifenian Palace, "Corridor"~

The Hall of Mirrors, the Hall of Sounds, the galley, the garden, the servant's quarters…

We searched all the locations the burglars could have run to, but didn't find them.

"It seems none of the other soldiers have discovered them either."

Clive returned, clad in his armor.

"Where haven't we looked yet?"

"There's the rooms of the high official ministers. They're all still sleeping, so we're in the middle of waking them up, one by one."

There was the explosion earlier, and there was the ruckus the soldiers were making. Could anyone really sleep through that?

"Maybe they're pretending to be asleep."

They probably didn't want to get involved in any disputes. What damned goldbricks.

"At any rate, it's hard to imagine they'd be sheltering the burglars."

"We can't be too sure. She's Keel's daughter, so maybe…hm."

The servants who apparently still couldn't quite grasp the situation were anxiously inquiring into the state of things from the room. That was understandable. We seldom had burglars entering the palace. The last time the palace had been invaded--Yes, that's right. That had been when those two sorceresses had suddenly appeared in my bedroom.

Elluka and Gumillia--back then, they'd come here seeking the mirror that I--

I see. So that's how it is.

I recalled the conversation I'd had with Yukina in the garden.

"Do you always carry that mirror around with you?"

"Aside from at night, when I'm sleeping."

That mirror was not currently on my person.

I had left it in my room.

"Have you checked my bedroom?" I asked Clive. He shook his head.

"No. There's always guards stationed at the entrance, so they wouldn't be able to just enter Your Majesty's room on their own…"

"Let's go. The burglars are probably--"

Boom!

Before I could finish speaking, another explosion rang out. It was coming from the direction of my room.

"…Seems the iron masked women have realized it as well."

"Indeed. Sounds like my bed is going to be pretty singed, too."

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 4

Praeludium of Red, page 185-187

✥ Kyle ~In the Lucifenian Palace, "Guest Room"~

The Lucifenian palace had several guest rooms prepared for visitors who would arrive from far-off places. Back before Lucifenia was under Marlon's rule--in the time of the Lucifen dynasty--I too had stayed here as a guest several times.

The commotion was going on in one of those rooms. Several soldiers had already arrived there before us when we got there.

Among them was Clive. He was wearing pajamas instead of his armor, as though he'd been sleeping.

Wearing pink pajamas, of all things...That's something I didn't need to know.

Even so, I could praise him for noticing the disturbance and getting here so quickly.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

He replied, puzzled, "It looks to be the work of those masked people."

"Which masked people? Ours? Or the guests?"

"The ones of our country."

"The Special Maneuvers Task Force? Where have they gotten to?"

"By the time I ran here they were already gone. According to one of my subordinates, they were pursuing the resident of this room."

When I glanced at the room, the insides were in a terrible state. Had they used gunpowder? There were black scorch-marks in various spots. But there were no corpses or injured people inside.

I had granted them freedom to act, but not to lay waste to the palace like this.

What in the world are those women doing?

What they were doing…upon consideration, I realized my own thoughtlessness. The identity of the one the Special Maneuvers Task Force was pursuing…It was obvious if I just recalled what their mission was.

Even so, assuming that was true, why was Yukina working with these people?

"What of Yukina? This was her servant staying here."

"One of our servants visited Yukina's room after the explosion, but there was no one in her room. It's the same with her other attendant."

"Wake all the soldiers! Bar all the exits, let no one leave the palace. Find and capture Yukina and her two servants. …And make sure you don't hurt her."

"What about the servants?"

"You need not go easy on them. The both of them are likely skilled opponents. Depending on the situation, you can kill them on the spot."

"What of the women in the iron masks?"

"Let them do as they like. If you see them, tell them my orders."

The soldiers scattered in all directions."

"Clive, you come with me. I'm joining in the search."

"Can we do that after I've gone back to my room first? I need to change clothes."

Ah, that's right. He was still in his pajamas.

"Well, I suppose you oughtn't go out in such a fancy getup."

"…Sorry."

"I understand. Make your preparations."

"Yes sir."

Well then, you blasted mice. Where in the world have you run to?

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 3

Praeludium of Red, page 181-184

✥ Kyle ~In the Lucifenian Palace, "Corridor"~

I was in the great corridor linking the Hall of Mirrors and Hall of Sounds. The various golden furnishings set up in there never lost their shine even in the dead of night. Perhaps that was a result of the moonlight coming in from outside the window.

There was a beautiful full moon tonight.

On a night like this a demon flying through the air wouldn’t be out of place.

On nights of a full moon, a demon comes out--I recalled hearing such fairytales when I was young. Had it been my wet nurse who told them to me, or my mother, who always favored stories like that? I couldn't remember, even upon pondering it for a little bit. Memories from childhood were always fuzzy.

There were quite a few paintings on the ceiling. Like the one in the Hall of Mirrors, these were all painted by Nikolay Tolle. To live surrounded by the works of the man who shut my future as a painter was like a cruel irony, wasn't it?

I would like to get rid of all of the paintings. However, despite the fact that I harbored a resentment for Nikolay Tolle that made me want to spit on anything related to him, at the same time I admired his work more deeply than anyone.

There was no doubt that the group of paintings put up in the Lucifenian palace was some of his best work. As someone who had once sought to become an artist, I could never bring myself to end such fine art pieces by my own hand.

Nikolay had committed suicide six years ago. The one who could paint those pictures was no longer in this world.

Even though it was midnight, not everyone was asleep. As I walked around the corridor, a young guard spotted me and started to speak to me.

"Do you need something this time of night, Your Majesty?"

"I just couldn't get to sleep. I'm taking a midnight stroll."

"Try not to wander about too carelessly. Things have been a bit dangerous as of late, so don't let anything serious happen."

The armor he wore was brand new. Seemed this was a new recruit.

"Isn't that what you guards are here for?"

"You're quite right…By the way, I heard during the shift change that right now we have Miss Yukina Freezis here in the palace."

"Yes, she's staying here tonight. Is there something wrong with that?"

The guard hesitated, as though he was reluctant to speak, before finally cutting in, "Do you think she might…give me her autograph?"

"…Ask her yourself in the morning."

It was right then that I heard a loud boom from the room on the opposite end of the courtyard.

When I looked towards the noise, I saw that the room's window was broken.

"Well, before getting an autograph you better do your job. Looks like something's happened," I prompted the guard.

He hurriedly headed for the room. Watching him go, I realized something.

Wasn't this the room that Yukina's servants were staying in?

The Almoga Mobarez. Those strange servants wearing masks. Hopefully nothing unusual had happened.

"Oi! Wait a second!" I called to the guard from earlier.

"Yes sir! What is it?"

"I'll go with you. Escort me."

"Looks like there's been some trouble. It looks dangerous, so please leave this to me, my king."

Even if he hadn't told me directly, I could tell that there was some trouble just by looking.

"That is a room that guests are staying in. It would be a disaster if they were to get injured. No, I'll step back immediately only if it turns out to be fine."

"But if something happens to you…"

"Don't you lecture me. It's your job to make sure that doesn't happen."

Taking along the reluctant guard, we headed for the room that the servants were in.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 2

Praeludium of Red, page 176-181

✥ Kyle ~In the Lucifenian Palace, "The Heavenly Yard"~

That night, I finished with all of my work and went to the garden for some relaxation.

The garden in the Lucifenian palace boasted a size unlike any kind seen in the whole of Evillious. You could say that it was a symbol of the power that the former Lucifen dynasty held.

Come to think of it, what's happened to Yukina?

After our meeting I had caught glimpses of her occasionally in the palace. She looked to have been writing something down in her notebook while exploring various areas. Had she already gone back home?

Though if that was the case, she ought to have given me notice that she was leaving, me being the king.

Right then, I heard a shout from behind the largest fountain in the garden.

"THIS IS A DRAMATIC FOUNTAIN!"

Speak of the devil; there she was. So she hadn't returned home yet after all.

"You're quite spirited, Yukina."

"Ah--Mister Kyle! I mean uh, Your Majesty!"

"Just 'Kyle' is fine. We're not in public."

"Oh goodness, the palace is so large that I completely missed how late it was getting while I was exploring it!"

Perhaps because of how much she was enjoying herself, Yukina spoke innocently, as though having lapsed back to when she was a child. She suddenly started writing in her notebook, seeming to have remembered something.

"Are you making a note on some idea you have in there?" I asked, pointing to the black notebook that she held.

"Yep. My mom gave me this for my ninth birthday. It's a treasure I value more than my own life."

She treasured it, huh? …I couldn't tell from her speech whether or not that was because she'd gotten it from her mother, or because it had so many good ideas in it now.

"Treasure, hm? I have plenty of those."

"What I'd expect of a king. Of course you'd have lots of treasures. You should show me some, if you want."

"Ah, alright. First, how about this one?"

I took out my hand mirror from my pocket and showed it to Yukina.

"That mirror doesn't look all that valuable, for something a king would own."

"Ha ha ha. Nothing less than I'd expect of Keel's daughter. Being able to ascertain the price of something at a glance must be your strong point."

Yukina flushed, likely embarrassed at having made an appraisal of someone else's property so quickly.

"What an uncouth thing for a lady to say…My apologies."

"Well, you aren't mistaken in that this is a cheap mirror. Even so, it's a treasure to me."

"Why is that?"

"It's just like your notebook. My mother gave it to me when I was young."

I might have been young then, but it did seem a little inappropriate to give such a cheap hand mirror as a present to a boy--and the prince of a country, no less. But my mother was a sophisticated woman, so she probably didn't pay much mind to little things like that.

Even so, I valued this hand mirror. Even after my animosity towards my mother had strengthened, I couldn't part with it.

If I were to throw it away, then I would lose the last connection between me and my mother. Though I refused her, though I had wanted to get away from her, I couldn't go against my fear of losing that connection. If I might say so myself I thought that they were rather contradictory feelings.

"I see…Do you always carry that mirror around with you?"

"Aside from at night, when I'm sleeping."

"Yes, I'd think it would be pretty terrible if you were to roll over in your sleep and crack it."

There was another reason I carried it around. Once, before--it was probably around four years ago by now--some burglars had invaded the palace looking for it.

Those burglars had sought nothing else but the mirror. Normally I would just laugh them off as fools with no taste.

But thinking on that strange voice that I could hear from it, and the true identity of the burglars--those two women--it seemed that this mirror could probably have some special secret to it.

"What other treasures do you have?"

"Ah, I have another one--actually I'm wearing it right now. It's a treasure I value even more than the mirror."

"Sounds exciting. What in the world is it?"

Yukina looked at me with eyes full of anticipation.

"However, I can't show it to you, Yukina."

"You're terrible! Making me wait after making such a big deal about it!"

I felt the slightest bit of pity, watching Yukina splutter with indignation, but even so I resolved to not elaborate on what the other treasure was. I would show her when she had become a little more mature, and when I was able to put my own feelings in order.

I gazed at the western sky, and saw that the sun had dipped half below the horizon.

I abruptly asked Yukina on something that was concerning me.

"By the way, where do you plan to stay tonight? Are you living at the Corpa mansion?"

"No, I've rented a room at an inn back in Rolled, so I was going to go back there."

"Rolled, hm?... Public order hasn't been very well maintained over there as of late. I wouldn't advise staying there for a daughter of the Freezis family, of all people."

"Don't worry. I'm already quite used to it."

"You're used to it?"

"Ah! I mean, uh…"

Yukina flusteredly shut up, probably because she'd just been careless in her speech. With the way she was carrying on now it was a wonder she had been able to travel safely for the past year.

"Since you're already here, you can stay at the palace for tonight."

"I can?"

"We have a plethora of rooms here, in any case. I'll have some prepared for you and your servants."

"I'm glad! Well then, I graciously accept your offer, Your Majesty."

I ordered the servants to prepare rooms for Yukina and her guests.

They silently bowed their heads, and each went to their respective rooms.

And that night, an unusual event occurred.

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doe-praeludiumofred · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3, Section 2-Full Moon Visitor; Scene 1

Praeludium of Red, page 170-176

✥ Kyle ~In the Lucifenian Palace, "Hall of Mirrors"~

The next afternoon, Yukina came to visit the palace just as she said at the banquet.

"You've traveled quite a long ways to get here, huh?"

I looked down on Yukina as she bowed to me. It was natural, considering our respective statuses, but seeing this girl who was once so innocent that she caused her father trouble respectfully adhering to etiquette like she was now made me feel quite severely the passage of time.

The two servants behind her bowed as she did. Their entire bodies were concealed with cloaks, and they wore wooden masks. It was hard to think of a fourteen year old girl going on a journey by herself, so perhaps they were people hired on as bodyguards? Even so, they were dressed quite strangely.

Honestly, I've been just surrounded by masked people lately.

"It is good to finally talk to you again. It has been quite a while, has it not? I am increasingly delighted to see that you are in good health, Your Majesty. Today--"

"That formal address is more than enough. I don't mind if you face me." At my words, Yukina raised her head. "I think your features have come to resemble Lady Mikina."

"My mother? I don't much think that way myself, but…"

"I disagree, I think you look just the slightest bit more like Lady Mikina than Keel. …Well then, is it alright if I ask you something before we go into the main topic?"

"What about?"

I pointed at the servants behind her.

"These people behind you. They have a very interesting way of dress, don't they?"

"Ah, them…they're Almoga Mobarez."

Almoga Mobarez? I had heard of them. If memory served me…

"That's the name of those few citizens of Asmodean who work as mercenaries."

"That's right. The very same. I met up with them during my journey."

My personal bodyguard standing next to me--Clive--took a step towards them.

"Oi! You lot. You're in the presence of royalty. Take off those masks."

One of the servants responded to that in a very faint whisper, "According to our laws we cannot expose our real faces to other people. We beg your pardon."

"Laws!? I've never heard of that. In this country you follow our rules--"

I put an arresting hand on Clive's shoulder as he threatened them, his face red.

"It's alright. These are the company of none other than Yukina. We can let it slide."

"…As you will."

Clive reluctantly stood down.

Even so, she's brought some very strange people with her.

I couldn't believe it so suddenly, but it seemed that the talk of Yukina running away from home and traveling to several countries for the past year was true.

"I don't really mind. Actually it's appropriate--there are people like them in the palace right now."

The Special Maneuvers Task Force…They still hadn't found the 'witches' yet. For the moment they had returned to the palace.

I readjusted my position on the throne.

"Well then, shall I hear your business here?"

"Right. I've come here as Keel's representative today."

"In Keel's place?"

Yukina began to speak, putting a bit more strength in her manner of speaking than she had before.

"Your Majesty has put an embargo on the country of Elphegort recently, yes?"

"It's not a complete embargo. Trade with Marlon is still permitted. I had thought it wasn't putting Keel at a disadvantage?"

The embargo towards Elphegort both functioned as a punishing measure on the government and the king of Elphegort who wouldn't make his position clear on the situation with Marlon, and at the same time had the goal of advancing my economic rule by enforcing trade with my country.

"My father oversees the flow of trade in the whole Evillious region. Even if it brings him a temporary benefit, he's concerned about the possibility that if this embargo continues it'll result in a stagnation of the marketplace."

I listened to Yukina's claim, nodding along.

However, there was a big inconsistency in her story. I decided to press her on it.

"But wasn't it Keel who suggested the embargo in the first place?"

"Huh!?"

A look of panic crossed Yukina's face.

"I-is that so? Sorry, I'm just here as a messenger so I don't…"

"This is an economic matter as well, so why are you here? Isn't the plan for your little brother Shaw to inherit Keel's business?"

Yukina had a twelve year old brother named Shaw. I'd heard that Keel had been considering making him his heir, so Shaw was currently in the middle of studying about trade at his father's side.

"Sh-Shaw is still just a kid! So I came this time…

…She's not making a lot of sense.

But, well, I could get the gist of this scenario. Apparently Yukina thought that I hadn't realized that she'd run away from home.

I knew that she wasn't Keel's messenger, but rather she was just dropping by during her journey. However, she was worried that I'd find her out and contact Keel. …Fairly certain that was it.

She talked about her little brother as being just a kid, but she was after all just a fourteen year old girl herself. She probably wasn't thinking about such a minute detail.

Would it be kinder to keep pretending that I haven't figured her out?

Yukina continued making excuses, sweat dripping from her brow. I interrupted her.

"Well, understood. I'll just talk to your father directly when I get the chance."

"R-right. You'd really be helping me out by doing that…"

I would end up feeling bad for Yukina, if I continued the conversation any further. I switched topics. "By the by, is this the first time you've been to this palace, Yukina?"

"Now that you mention it, it is. My father never took me along when he was attending the banquets here."

One could call Keel's judgment prudent. If he had brought Yukina back then, she'd probably get beheaded by that displeased Riliane. I'd heard rumors that she had even executed children younger than her without any mercy.

"While you have the opportunity, you should look around the palace. There are a lot of interesting things here. Maybe you'll find some inspiration for your novels."

"R-really!? I can!?"

In the space of a second Yukina's eyes began to sparkle.

I see, perhaps the reason for her braving the danger of Keel finding out her location to come here was because she'd wanted to inspect the inside of the palace.

"Indeed, I don't mind. Aside from the armory go anywhere you like. I'll tell the soldiers."

"Then I'm gonna go!"

Before she'd even finished speaking Yukina darted out of the Hall of Mirrors with her notepad in hand.

My my, grown up though she may be, some things haven't changed.

The masked servants that she'd left behind slowly stood, bowed to me, and left the room.

"Clive."

"What do you need, my king?"

"Make sure to tell everyone that Yukina is to be allowed to move freely within the palace. And then…send a carrier pigeon to Keel."

"A carrier pigeon...?

"Tell him Yukina's come to the Lucifenian palace."

"Is that what you wish?"

"I do want to aid in her adventure. But Keel is an extremely doting father. He's likely to die of loneliness if she makes him worry too much."

And that really wasn't much of an exaggeration.

"I understand, I'll get on it."

"It's Keel, so perhaps he'll be able to grasp the situation in his own way."

After Clive told something to his underling soldiers, they began to walk off in separate directions.

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