The Star's Story (2)
What exactly had the Star's Story been? Edgar swung his wooden sword through the cold morning air, lost in thought. He almost wished he had never heard of it. Ever since last night, that pointless curiosity had been gnawing at the back of his mind.
Should he ask Lady Helene? The idea seemed reasonable enough, yet he quickly shook his head and banished the thought. Ariel had mentioned that Helene had given her some kind of warning, so it was clearly meant to stay secret. Asking the person who had imposed the silence would be pointless.
Maybe it was from a fairy tale book in the library. After turning the question over again and again, that seemed the most plausible guess. If the story came from some book or fairy tale rather than something Helene had made up herself, perhaps he could find it.
Whoosh. Whoosh. The wooden sword sliced through the air with a satisfying sound. After a few more swings, Edgar finished his usual quota, let out a long sigh, and flopped down on the spot. The icy ground, chilled by the long exposure to cold air, welcomed him, but he had long since grown used to it.
“Ah, I completely forgot to bring it.”
Helene had given him that sword yesterday, and he had wanted to try channeling mana through it, but his mind had a habit of forgetting the important things. It was not urgent, so he could put it off until tomorrow. If possible, he wanted Ariel’s advice as well. After all, when it came to magic, he was little more than a complete novice.
The real question was whether Ariel would even be good at teaching. “She picks things up fast, but teaching… she’s probably terrible at it.” Most geniuses were like that, he suspected. They would explain something once, and if the other person could not do it right away, they would just tilt their head and ask, “Why can’t you do it?” Of course, that might only be his own prejudice.
“You are awake, young master. You are quite diligent.”
“Yeah. Good morning, Shephy.”
He greeted her cheerfully, yet Edgar still felt awkward speaking casually to Shephy. Nearly ten years had passed since he had come to this world, but the old habit of using honorifics toward anyone older than himself lingered. The same went for the strange awareness of social rank; it still felt unnatural.
“Has Ariel woken up yet?”
Ariel’s mornings tended to be a little slower than his. For someone her age, she slept quite a lot. In exchange, Edgar liked taking naps, while Ariel never napped at all.
“As a matter of fact, the young lady has been making quite a fuss since morning, saying she failed to show you magic last night. Did you not see her?”
“I must have left right after waking up.”
Now that she mentioned it, that had happened. Yesterday Ariel had suddenly burst into tears, and he had rushed off to show her the stars, completely forgetting about the magic. Maybe he could use that as an excuse to ask her to teach him today.
“As expected, the young lady becomes far more diligent when you are around, young master.”
“Really? What is she like normally?”
“At the main estate she wakes up much later than this. That is why the lady of the house scolds her so often.”
Edgar let out a short, impressed sound at the new information. Still, he wondered what connection there could possibly be between Ariel waking up early and his own presence. He was not some human alarm clock. As he tilted his head in confusion, a faint chuckle from Shephy tickled his ears.
“Heehee… Ah, my apologies. That was rude of me.”
“It is fine. If something is funny, you are allowed to laugh.”
Or perhaps she had simply swallowed too much air. Feeling her gaze on him made him oddly self-conscious, but Edgar decided to ignore it. Finding Ariel was the priority. She was probably wandering the mansion looking for him, so entertaining her was only proper hospitality toward a guest. Though if the guest in question was that particular young lady, the hospitality had probably been discarded long ago. It was probably just his imagination.
“Ah, Lady Helene.”
As Edgar headed toward his room, he spotted the familiar noblewoman. Helene, her black hair still damp, paused at the sound of his voice and greeted him with a warm smile.
“You are up early, Ed. Were you training?”
“Yes. I still have a long way to go.”
Helene noticed the wooden sword at his waist and gently patted his head. Her gaze toward him was even softer than usual.
“Do not push yourself too hard. Katria was worried as well.”
“I will not. Please do not worry.”
After the birthday party yesterday, Helene had given him permission to speak more casually, so Edgar had decided to try. More accurately, he was supposed to speak “like a child.” The way he used to address her had been stiff enough that even he had felt awkward using it.
“Um, Lady Helene. Have you seen Ariel by any chance?”
“Ariel? She is probably on the terrace.”
“The terrace?”
Why the terrace? Had she gone out to look at the garden? At the unexpected answer, Edgar blinked like a goldfish. Helene gave him a mysterious smile and tapped his shoulder.
She leaned down and whispered as though afraid someone might overhear.
“Do you know what you can see from the terrace?”
“Well… the garden, I suppose?”
The terrace had been built precisely to overlook the garden and the rest of the grounds. It was the obvious answer. At his reply, Helene chuckled the same way Shephy had earlier, glanced down the hallway, then leaned in again to whisper.
“Anything else?”
“Uh… I do not know?”
What was this, twenty questions? When no clear answer came to mind, Edgar tilted his head. Helene bent closer, winked, and offered one final hint.
“When Ariel comes back, ask her where she went. Then you will know.”
“O… kay.”
Had she not just said Ariel was on the terrace? Still, there was no harm in listening to Helene, so Edgar accepted it despite his lingering doubt. After giving him that last clue, Helene turned to leave. Edgar suddenly remembered something and called after her in a hurry.
“L-Lady Helene!”
“Yes? Is there something else?”
“If it is not too rude to ask… could you tell me what the Star’s Story is?”
“The Star’s Story? Did Ariel tell you about it?”
When Edgar nodded silently, Helene made a face that clearly said, “What are those two up to?” It was a mischievous expression he had never seen on Helene Robeheim before. The way she covered her mouth with her hand while laughing reminded him strangely of Ariel.
“Hehe, I cannot tell you either. It is a story passed down through our family. I am only allowed to tell it to two people in my entire life.”
“Only two people?”
“Yes.”
Why only two? Just how important was this story? The fact that it had been handed down through the family made it sound almost like a legend, which only made him more curious.
“By ‘family,’ do you mean the Robeheim house?”
“Mm, I mean my original family.”
“Then you have already told it to Ariel and one other person?”
“That is right.”
Who was the other person? If they were that precious, they had to be at least a blood relative or a lover. His head was starting to hurt, so Edgar decided to stop thinking about it. Ariel had said “not yet,” so maybe he would hear it someday.
“Thank you, my lady. When the chance comes, I will ask Ariel directly.”
“Oh my.”
“……?”
Helene looked as though she had just heard a bold declaration of war. She covered her mouth in surprise, then smiled brightly when her eyes met Edgar’s, as if nothing had happened.
“I hope that day comes soon, Ed. Ariel is looking forward to it as well.”
“Yes.”
With that, Helene bid him farewell and disappeared down the corridor. At the same moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the far end of the hallway.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap.
The steps were light, more like a rabbit than a person. There was only one person in this mansion who made footsteps like that. An unconscious smile tugged at Edgar’s lips.
“Ariel, where have you been?”
“Huh? Th-there… I just went to the dining hall for a second!”
“The dining hall?”
Why the dining hall? Had she not been on the terrace? The contradiction with Helene’s testimony made question marks pop up over Edgar’s head. Ariel fidgeted with her hands as though she had been caught doing something wrong. On top of that, a girl with a poor appetite had gone to the dining hall for no reason? Everything about her behavior was suspicious.
“Weren’t you on the terrace?”
“T-terrace? Why would I be there?”
“Why would you…?”
Had some new rule been made that said no one was allowed on the terrace in the morning? At Ariel’s absurd answer, Edgar stood there blankly. Watching his reaction, Ariel spoke up.
“What did you do this morning?”
“Me? I just did my usual training.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Why was she asking about something so ordinary? Her tone and gestures were exaggerated, as though she were trying to pretend she had not known. While Edgar puzzled over it, he remembered the flower he had seen in the garden during training and decided to bring it up. It had looked like the kind Ariel would like, so he thought she might want to see it.
“By the way, did you see the flowers blooming in the garden? One of them looked just like the kind you like.”
“Ah, the one you were crouching down to stare at?”
“…What?”
How did she know whether he had been crouching or standing? The unexpected answer short-circuited Edgar’s thoughts. Before he could even ask how she knew, Ariel’s body went rigid. Realizing her mistake too late, she stayed silent for about three seconds before her face turned bright red. Heat rose from below, rushed through her head, and escaped with a soft pop.
Finally she blurted out, “I-I’m going to go take a nap! Sleep well, Ed!”
“What? Hey, you never even take naps, so why—”
Why was she suddenly claiming she wanted to nap when she had never done so in her life? Had she had a bad dream? But if that were the case, why had she woken up so early? “She must have seen something really nice from the terrace.” A dragon, maybe? No, if she had seen a dragon, he would not still be alive after training in the garden. Shaking off the silly thought, Edgar slowly shook his head.
In the end, he had learned nothing about the Star’s Story, nor about why Ariel had gone to the terrace so early. It had been a completely fruitless morning.