Thank You, Fairy's Tail
I never imagined that Fairy's Tail, a drug that only appeared in the latter half of the original story and shook the entire empire, had originated in the Floverhart Territory.
Shaking off the memories of the original novel once more, I continued speaking.
“There’s a ghost story that says if you follow the glowing light of a fairy’s tail floating through the forest at night, you’ll lose your life.”
In truth, this wasn’t entirely wrong. Fairies might sound like small, cute creatures from the name alone, but that couldn’t be further from reality. Fairies survived by feeding on the residual mana left in human corpses. If you became entranced by a fairy’s tail and followed it, a predator lurking in the shadows of the forest would be waiting for its next human prey.
Anyway, the reason the drug was named after them was simple. Once you consumed Fairy's Tail consistently, it became an addiction impossible to escape through ordinary means.
I stared intently into the eyes of the baron and baroness as they desperately tried to hold onto their sanity, then let out a small sigh.
“The alcohol you both drank contained the drug known as Fairy's Tail.”
To get straight to the point, they weren’t addicted to gambling. They were addicted to the drug. Having become hooked on the substance mixed into the liquor, they had unknowingly kept returning to the gambling den. In other words, the order of events had been completely reversed from what I initially thought.
“Judging by the withdrawal symptoms you’re showing, it’s a little late… but still.”
What made Fairy's Tail so insidious was that no noticeable symptoms appeared until full addiction set in. This was precisely why the empire had launched a massive crackdown on the drug. Or perhaps…
They might still be aware of its existence even now.
That wasn’t my problem to judge, so I moved on.
“I believe now is the time for both of you to focus entirely on treatment.”
Like most drug addicts, the current state of the Baron and Baroness Floverhart was far from normal. The one positive aspect was that they hadn’t become completely addicted yet. It would take some time, but their addiction to Fairy's Tail could still be cured.
…Of course.
The most important factor was their own willpower. Drug addiction could only be treated if the person truly wanted to overcome it.
“I-is that really true?”
“It is an undeniable fact.”
This was exactly why the Descartes gang had been able to act so boldly against the baron’s family. Relying solely on a contract would never have given them such confidence. At first, I thought those back-alley thugs were simply too stupid to realize it, but after hearing what that underling had to say, I understood that wasn’t the case.
Serena looked at her parents with trembling eyes after hearing my confident answer.
“At first, they lost weight. Then their hands began to shake.”
It would have been easy to assume these were simply the results of being consumed by gambling—skipping proper meals and staying up all night. Even they themselves probably didn’t realize they were addicted to a drug. The withdrawal symptoms would only appear once they left the gambling house, and their minds would constantly drift back to it. It wasn’t unreasonable for them to believe these effects came from the gambling itself rather than the alcohol they drank there. After all, Fairy's Tail wasn’t widely known.
“That’s how the addiction slowly takes hold.”
“…How could this be.”
“Baron Floverhart. And Baroness.”
Serena quietly murmured as she rubbed her face. The fact that the Baron and Baroness Floverhart had become addicted to drugs essentially meant that drugs had been released into the Floverhart Territory.
Seeing Serena handle the revelation with more composure than I had expected, I felt relieved and continued.
“If you think of yourselves not as nobles, but simply as a mother and father to your family…”
“I hope you will temporarily step down from your position as head of the house and devote yourselves fully to recovery.”
My role here was finished. If the baron stubbornly refused to relinquish his position, I could force him out, but there was no need to go that far.
Before leaving the drawing room, I glanced at Serena.
She’ll handle it well on her own.
Probably.
It didn’t seem necessary for me to get more involved.
@
Fortunately, the baron and baroness decided to receive treatment for their addiction. I had already known they wouldn’t resist like other addicts, so I wasn’t particularly worried. Still…
Can’t they just send me home already?
The problem was that I hadn’t been able to return home for several days. I wasn’t needed for any of the follow-up matters, and there was nothing more for me to do by staying here.
“Big brother.”
“Yeah?”
Still, it wasn’t so bad to laze around without worrying about others’ opinions like I did at home. Even so, I couldn’t completely slack off in front of Felix and Anya. It felt too awkward. I gently stroked Felix’s head as he casually climbed onto my lap and nibbled on a cookie.
“Big brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to marry our big sister?”
He had been asking this a lot lately. It seemed I had raised Felix and Anya’s favorability toward me way too much.
Just buying them cookies and desserts raises their favorability? This is way too easy mode.
“I’m in favor of it.”
“…Hmm.”
Anya, who had been quietly eating cake beside us, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and spoke up. Hey kids, isn’t it a bit much to sell off your sister for cookies and cake?
“Well… I’m not so sure about that.”
When I answered the children’s questions with an awkward laugh, Anya widened her eyes and stared at me.
“Why not?”
“…Huh?”
“Our sister is really pretty, isn’t she? Any man would like her.”
“Uh… that’s true, but…”
Serena was the protagonist of a romance fantasy novel. It was a fundamental rule of the genre: the female lead always possessed world-class beauty. While I had noticed that appearances in this world were generally elevated across the board, Serena stood out even among them.
“Then why are you hesitating?”
“Marriage isn’t something you decide based on looks alone…?”
“But our sister cooks well, she’s pretty, and she takes good care of us too?”
“…Haha.”
I had no idea why they were pushing me so aggressively. Haven’t you kids seen how I just loaf around in this house every single day? Marrying someone like me would make her life exhausting, you know? Of course, marrying Serena would probably exhaust my life too.
“She’s far too good for someone like me. That’s why I have to be even more careful.”
Since I couldn’t tell the children the truth, I tried to soothe them with reasonable-sounding words.
“I think big brother is fine too. You’re kind, and you’re really handsome.”
“…Thank you.”
“I like you too, big brother! You’re cool!”
“Thank you too, Felix.”
Somehow, I had neatly resolved the original purpose of my visit—the engagement issue—and unintentionally solved the Floverhart family’s problems as well. Since I had taken care of everything I needed to handle here, it was finally time to head back.
Although my stay had dragged on longer than expected due to the many issues Serena had to deal with.
I couldn’t keep imposing on them any longer.
“Young master.”
When I turned at Dell’s call, I saw someone standing far behind him.
“The young lady of Floverhart is looking for you.”
“Got it.”
With a small grunt, I lifted Felix and gently set him down on a chair, stroking his head once more before walking away. It looked like she finally had some breathing room. Still, it had been comfortable here—no one scolded me for lounging around, and I didn’t have to worry about my father’s gaze. The only downside was that I had grown strangely close to Serena’s family, which felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Lady Serena.”
“Lord Kallion.”
When I approached and spoke to her, Serena somehow hid her face behind her hair as she replied.
“…Is something wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Ahem. After clearing her throat at my puzzled question, Serena took a small breath to compose herself, then slowly lifted her head. Her neck and cheeks were slightly flushed.
Did she catch a cold?
She must not have had any time to take care of herself with so many family matters to handle lately.
“Thank you so much. I ended up owing you far too much.”
“…Well, it wasn’t exactly intentional, but I’m glad everything worked out.”
This was the honest truth. When I first came here, I had no intention of solving these problems. Of course, even if I had known about them, I wouldn’t have touched them if I wasn’t confident I could resolve them.
Even though my words were the unvarnished truth, it seemed she didn’t take them that way. She smiled softly, her eyes curving beautifully as she tilted her head slightly.
“Shall we leave it at that?”
“…Yes.”
It didn’t look like she would change her mind no matter what I added, so I nodded awkwardly. For some reason, she seemed especially delicate today. I was almost afraid to touch her, worried something big might happen. It was like my instincts were telling me to avoid it.
As I was thinking that, Serena spoke again.
“You’ll be returning now, won’t you?”
“I should. It’s about time.”
“…That’s a shame.”
Whoa, hold on. Our farewell was supposed to be clean and without any lingering feelings. Why was she looking at me with eyes that practically dripped with regret?
“I wanted to get to know you a little better.”
“…Well, we’ll meet again in the future, won’t we?”
It was fortunate that her gaze wasn’t a romantic one. Faced with her genuinely regretful eyes, I slightly averted my own and answered quietly. After all, the engagement would remain in place until she met the male lead, so we would inevitably have to interact from time to time. That was what I meant by my answer, but—
“That’s true. We’ll be seeing each other again soon anyway.”
For some reason, Serena nodded with a bright smile that looked as if she had just watered a wilted flower.
…What is this?
Her expression caused another wave of anxiety to surge within me, but I tried not to show it.
“The carriage has been prepared.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“…And I, truly…”
Serena smiled as she spoke.
“Thank you.”