Two Years' Reunion
"How long has it been? A year or two, I'd say?"
Bayul and Derrick were face to face for the first time in ages. Having hung up his rain hood and shaken the wet strands from his hair, Derrick looked almost exactly as Bayul remembered him. He was still tall and broad-shouldered, and the kindly face he'd inherited from their uncle was unchanged.
"Two years, I believe. We haven't met since Bail passed."
"…!"
At Bayul's blunt remark, Derek flinched so visibly that the whole room could see it. He knew better than anyone that so much as uttering Bail's name had long been treated as taboo.
"…I did hear you'd enrolled at Carrington Academy. Judging by the fact that you're here, I take it it's the holiday?"
Nothing worked better for awkward moments than changing the subject. Derek forced a smile and asked how Bayul had been faring.
"Yes, it's been good. And how have you been, Brother?"
"Me? Same as ever—father keeps me so busy I hardly know which way is up."
Most of Hamilton was barren land, but the territory was so vast that there was far more than one or two places to manage. Derrick, twenty-four this year, had been helping his father Liam with the duchy's affairs as a member of House Randert.
"So? How do you like the Academy?"
"I like it very much. I'm enjoying my studies."
"Your complexion does look a great deal better than it used to. I suppose that explains it."
"Are Milika and Lilith doing well?"
Milika was Derrick's older sister, already married off, and he'd heard that Lilith, the youngest of the siblings, was in the thick of her bridal lessons.
"I miss them all terribly. It's been so long since I've seen their faces. Father and Uncle have agreed that we'll all dine together once they return from the imperial palace."
"…Even us?"
"Yes. Do come visit, just as you used to."
You needn't worry about Bail ever again. Father and I have decided to be different from the way things were. So come whenever you like.
Bayul's smiling words carried a great deal of weight beneath them.
"Milika might be hard to see these days, but Brother Derrick and Lilith you could visit as often as you liked, if you set your mind to it. It happens to be the holiday, so I have plenty of time on my hands for a while."
Something in Derek's gaze shifted strangely. He hadn't laid eyes on Bayul once in two years, but he hadn't been starved of news, either. He had heard that after his twin brother Bail's death, Bayul had been so shattered that he shut himself inside the castle, refusing to see anyone, until even his already frail body began to fail. The young man before him was a far cry from those rumors.
How to put it—the air about him had simply become self-assured.
Confidence radiated from his voice and his eyes alike.
Having seen so much of his weakness in the past, Derek found it hard to adjust.
"That aside, what brings you here? This rain is heavy. Are you feeling all right?"
"It seems you haven't heard yet."
"…Haven't heard? Heard what?"
"That I've made a full recovery. You worried a great deal about my health all this time, didn't you? Well, everything is fine now."
"…You have? I had no idea. This is the first I'm hearing of it…"
"Uncle must be so busy that it simply slipped his mind. Or perhaps Father hasn't gotten around to telling anyone yet—it hasn't been long since I recovered."
"I see. Well then, congratulations. Honestly, that's the happiest news I've heard in ages. Not that we ever said it aloud, but we truly did worry about you."
"Did you, really?"
"It wasn't just me—Mother, Milika, and Lilith were all worried sick. After Bail left us the way he did… you were the only child Uncle had left. How could we not worry?"
Since Bayul had been the one to raise the subject of Bail first, Derek felt he too might safely speak of it. But the subject had remained a taboo for so long that he couldn't help glancing about uneasily as he spoke.
"I'm sorry for all the worry I caused you. And thank you for telling me that."
"What's there to thank? You're healthy again—that's all that matters. I do hope this is the version of you I'll keep seeing from now on."
"I'll do my best."
Bayul smiled briefly before continuing.
"By the way, Brother Derrick, what brings you here, exactly? Did you come because you'd heard the mine had collapsed?"
"Of course. I got word late, but I was so startled I came running straight here."
Bayul's castle and his residence were a considerable distance apart. By location alone, Derrick should have arrived at the mine first. Moreover, for someone who claimed to have rushed over the moment he heard the news, his hair and attire looked remarkably neat. It was also strange that he'd come by carriage.
"I'm so grateful you got here before me and handled the rescue. But I do find myself wondering why you came all this way in person…"
"I heard that a large number of the workers were trapped in the tunnels when the mine collapsed. Naturally, I thought I had to help them."
"Right—well, that's entirely reasonable, from where you stand."
"…Is there somewhere I shouldn't have come?"
Derek's face had an oddly strained look, and it seemed to say just that, so Bayul tilted his head.
"That's not what I mean. Only that there was no real need for you to come out to such a rough place. It doesn't suit someone raised as gently as you. If you were to hurt yourself, think how heartbroken Uncle would be."
"I live in the dormitories at the Academy, and I went camping just recently. You needn't worry about that at all."
"Everything that happens at the ice mine is my responsibility, so worry is only natural. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't be able to face Uncle at all."
"…Your responsibility, Brother?"
Bayul was hearing this for the first time. As far as he knew, the ice mine had always been managed directly by his father, going back generations.
When had such authority been handed over to Derek?
"You know as well as I do that the adults are away in the capital. Wouldn't it naturally fall to me, then?"
"Did Father entrust the work to you specifically?"
"Not exactly, but whenever he's absent, I've always handled things in his place."
"Ah, I see. So in the end, he never actually said so?"
"If you want to split hairs, no."
"When Father left for the capital this time, he entrusted the territory to me. So this time, at least, I'd like to see the matter resolved—after all, I'm his son."
"…You mean you'll handle it yourself?"
"Yes. You've been working hard all this while—why not leave it to me and get some rest? Even if it's only for the holiday, I'd like to help."
Bayul meant every word. Derrick was a grown man with plenty of duties beyond the ice mine, and since he was already here, Bayul wanted to see the work through to the end himself.
"…I know what you mean, but there's no need. It's the holiday—enjoy yourself for once. Once you go back to the Academy you'll be buried in your studies anyway. You deserve to relax a little, even if it's only here in Hamilton."
"No, it's the work Father assigned, so I have to do it. You should be the one taking the holiday, Brother Derrick. I'm happy to lend a hand."
Not noticing how Derek's expression had stiffened, Bayul pressed on with a question that had been on his mind.
"That said, there is one thing I'm curious about. Why were the workers working at four in the morning? Did you know about that, Brother?"
"…Four in the morning?"
"Master Derrick, Master Bayul. Your tea has arrived."
Just as Derek found himself unable to answer Bayul's question, a savior appeared. It was the voice of Belgofsky, the mine's overseer.
"You've come at just the right moment."
While Bayul welcomed his appearance, Derek's face went rigid. The stare he fixed on Belgofsky seemed almost like a silent command.
"I was just trying to find out why the workers were at work at four in the morning. Would you tell me yourself, Master Belgofsky?"
Bayul had intended to ask tomorrow morning, but under the circumstances, it seemed better to settle it now.
"I-I…"
His reaction was similar to before. Offering no real answer, the man could do nothing but steal glances at Derek.
What is this? Is there really something going on?
His manner looked for all the world like a man begging Derek's permission to confess the truth. Bayul couldn't help but grow suspicious.
"Did I ask something difficult?"
"Oh, no! No, sir! Not at all!"
The denial came far too emphatically. As Bayul's eyes narrowed at this, the overseer's face flushed scarlet, as if sheer panic had seized him.
"Bel, are you quite all right?"
Derek finally spoke, his voice laced with concern.
"Oh, of course—he must be worn to a bone dealing with the aftermath of the accident. Bayul, let's leave the details for tomorrow. It would be best to let him rest for now."
The words were clearly spoken out of worry, yet strangely, in that instant Bayul had the distinct impression that Derek was raising a shield in front of him.
What on earth is going on?
Why does this feeling keep coming back?
The image of Belgofsky's peculiar anxiety earlier, outside, when Bayul had first run into Derek, resurfaced in his mind. Something about it felt ominous.
―Hee, Bayul's in a bad mood?
Something about the crease between Bayul's brows must have displeased her, because Spinel, who had been resting in the fireplace, suddenly darted out and glared daggers at Derek and Belgofsky.
―Why are you making Bayul upset!
Bayul had no chance to stop her. Without warning, the flames of the candle lifted from their wicks and floated into the air, circling the two men.
"Wh-what is that!"
"Aaagh!"
Derek leapt to his feet in alarm, and Belgofsky shrieked, flailing his hands wildly about.
Spinel, what are you doing!
Bayul was flustered beyond all sense. He had never imagined that Spinel, whom he'd always known as sweet and gentle, could turn so abruptly.
―They made things hard for Bayul! So I'm going to punish them!
'No, stop it! Don't!'
Bayul moved to restrain her at once. The attack amounted to nothing more than a few small flames hovering about their heads—but if the goal had been to frighten them, it was more than sufficient. There was no physical damage, but the psychological shock looked considerable.
"F-fireflies! Fireflies, of all things, out here! How marvelous!"
At Bayul's declaration, the flames vanished in an instant. Spinel was still glaring at the two men as though they were her mortal enemies, but she did nothing more.
"…Fireflies, you say?"
Derek had seen it clearly enough. Flames had peeled away from the candle and swirled around him as if ready to pounce at any moment. He'd been so startled he'd nearly wet himself in secret.
"If they weren't fireflies, what would they be? Surely you don't think flames sprouted wings and just flew around on their own?"
"…That's not exactly possible, but…"
"Master Belgofsky, if you'd like, you may head out and rest. As Brother Derrick says, you should take it easy tonight."
The man's already sallow complexion turned even darker. Seizing on Bayul's order as if it were a lifeline, he hurriedly excused himself.
"I was too hasty. That gentleman must be exhausted as well, and I failed to consider it. I'll take his report tomorrow morning."
"…A sound judgment."
"I understand that not once while Father was here did an accident like this ever occur. There must be some reason for it."
"Is that so…?"
"Yes. I fully intend to find the cause. By the way—have you had dinner yet?"
"Do you think I was in any state to eat? The moment I heard the mine had collapsed, I dropped everything and ran."
"Then you'd best satisfy your hunger first. You should eat before it gets any later, and then sleep."
"Right, I know. I'll head off now, then. I always have my own lodgings when I come out this way."
"Of course."
"It was good to see you, Bayul."
"It was good to see you too, Brother Derrick."
"Let's make an effort to see each other more often from now on. Sleep well, and don't be late tomorrow morning."
Derek bid Bayul farewell in a voice considerably more at ease, then headed for his own quarters. And Tempesta slipped quietly after him.