It's a Secret
"It's a secret."
“Haa.” Evan felt his head begin to throb—something that hadn’t happened in a long time—and lay down on the bed. Normally he would still be at his desk, turning the research problem over in his mind, but today he stopped. Any more thinking and his skull felt like it might split open.
‘To think it would give me this much of a headache in a single day.’
Whether in a good way or a bad one, Abaddon had never known change. Nothing was produced, nothing consumed. No one was born, and no one died. A stagnant land. The only thing that ever changed was the subject and progress of the research Evan scribbled down. And even that usually ended with the researcher oxidizing as the price for their sorcery. Because of that, Evan was not accustomed to change.
-Evan-Evan!
The voice still echoed in his ears like a neurosis. Frowning as he anticipated the direct and indirect changes she had already caused and would continue to cause, Evan noticed a presence outside the room. The hesitant pacing, as if the person didn’t even dare to knock, told him exactly who it was.
“…Kaede, I told you to stay in reflection, didn’t I?”
‘Is this the Saint’s influence too?’
He tried to recall if Kaede had ever ignored his orders before.
“Don’t prepare breakfast. I won’t eat it.”
“Still, you must eat, Master.”
“Do not enter the laboratory without permission.”
“Ventilation is important. You must take care of your health, Master. You are already a frail human, and there are no doctors in this place.”
‘More than I expected.’
Evan rose from the bed, thinking that he was connecting everything to Iris. “Come in.”
“Yes.”
Kaede entered with careful steps, head bowed so low it seemed she lacked even the face to meet his eyes.
“I am sorry for disobeying your command. However, I am the only one in this mansion capable of preparing meals for humans, so…”
‘Now that I think about it, that’s true.’
He had forgotten an obvious fact. If it were only Evan, that would be one thing, but the priests were staying here as well. He couldn’t keep Kaede in reflection if it meant starving Iris, the priests, and even the coachman.
“You may end your reflection. The matter from earlier today has already been settled.”
“…Master.”
She knelt, looking ashamed. “It was my mistake. I have caused you trouble.”
“It was my mistake.”
Not bothering to properly understand the relationship between the three of them and jumping to conclusions. Leaving Iris in Kaede’s care based on incomplete information. Feeling uneasy but dismissing it as a trick of the mind and not thinking deeply about it.
“Even now, if you wish to cast me out…”
“The conversation is already over. Besides, didn’t you say it yourself? That you are the only one in this mansion who can prepare meals for humans.”
Evan let out a small chuckle. “Are you telling me to abandon you and let everyone starve to death?”
“……Th-that couldn’t possibly be your intention! It’s just that I am still…”
“Enough. The negotiation with the Archbishop is already finished. And in the end, it wasn’t such a bad deal.”
“May I ask what price was exchanged?”
Evan gave a small nod. He had something he needed to order Kaede to do regarding that matter anyway.
“I agreed to lift one of the curses on the Saint.”
“…Is that all right?”
“If I hadn’t offered at least that much, I wouldn’t have been able to make her back down.”
Kaede seemed to shrink even smaller. Evan spoke with a hint of regret. ‘I wanted to chase her out if possible.’
Rowena had refused Evan’s suggestion with a stiff expression. Her tone had been stronger than simple dislike—it sounded like she genuinely could not do it.
“Instead, I will make it clear. He will not say another word inside this mansion.”
“I’m not convinced that guy will keep his mouth shut.”
“In that case… you may do as you wish.”
“Even kill him?”
“……I will take that into consideration. Provided that Alphonse makes the first mistake.”
Once she went that far, even Evan could not stubbornly insist on driving them out.
“Kaede.”
“Yes, Master. From now on I will be more careful. I will keep my distance from that man, and from the Saint as well—”
“From now on, stick close to the Saint.”
“…Did I mishear?”
“Aren’t you close? You were already calling each other sisters in less than an hour.”
Kaede shook her head vigorously. “That was only because I was following your orders and spending time with her! If you command it, I can bring you the Saint’s head right this instant…!”
“If you fight the Saint, you’ll lose.”
She had been sent flying with a single punch. What head was she going to bring? ‘It’d be lucky if your own neck doesn’t get taken.’
Kaede hesitated, unable to deny it, then lowered her head.
“What I meant was… even if it is impossible, if it is Master’s command, I am prepared to challenge it.”
“Then get close to her. That’s an order.”
“……How close must we become?”
‘I hadn’t thought that far.’
Evan fell into thought. Iris already seemed to like Kaede enough to call her “Jiangshi sis” and even stepped forward to protect her when she was being scolded. What kind of relationship would be the next step after that?
Unfortunately, Evan had never once had a friend in his entire life, so he could not come up with a suitable answer.
“As much as possible.”
In the end, the only answer he could give was vague.
“…I will keep it in mind, Master.”
. . .
As Kaede left Evan’s bedroom, she realized one thing.
‘Now that I think about it, I didn’t ask why I need to become close to her.’
She briefly considered going back inside to ask, but Evan looked especially tired today, so she stopped. If it was necessary, he would tell her later—she thought as she turned around, only to flinch in surprise.
“Jiangshi sis!”
“…Iris-nim? How did you get here?”
She hadn’t sensed her presence at all. ‘As expected, even cursed she is still the Saint.’
Even in a serious fight, the only future Kaede could picture was being trampled without winning once. If someone like this ever aimed for Evan’s life, what should she do?
“Is Evan-Evan mad?”
While Kaede was worrying about such things, she felt foolish. There wasn’t the slightest trace of ulterior motive on Iris’s face. Pure innocence. If that word were shaped into a person, it would probably look exactly like the Saint before her.
Iris fidgeted with her fingers as if anxious, kept avoiding eye contact as if sorry, then looked back again.
“I said something bad to Evan-Evan, so I came to apologize… is he still angry?”
Kaede slowly shook her head. “He is not angry.”
“Really?”
Her expression brightened like the sun.
“But he has only just gone to bed. Wouldn’t it be better to apologize properly tomorrow?”
“…Evan-Evan is sleeping? He hasn’t even eaten dinner yet?”
“Skipping meals is part of Master’s daily routine. Even when I prepare dinner, he often doesn’t eat it.”
“…He must be hungry. Can’t we at least leave him a snack?”
Looking into Iris’s sparkling eyes as she gazed up at her, Kaede felt that staying vigilant was completely meaningless.
“Why do you care so much about Master, Iris-nim?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“It is not disallowed. But I am curious. Why do you treat both me and Master with such kindness?”
‘If her mental age has regressed because of the curse, the first criterion she uses to judge others is probably appearance…’
Even as flattery, neither Evan nor Kaede had appearances that would create a good first impression. Kaede was taller than the average adult male. Combined with the pale skin characteristic of the dead, she naturally looked intimidating, and her innate reverse eyes carried an ominous quality that made people avert their gaze. Evan was slightly better, but after spending long years in sunless Abaddon he had sickly white skin, and the frequent all-nighters and chronic fatigue from his research had carved deep shadows under his eyes, ruining any handsome features he might have had.
“Actually…”
Iris cupped both hands around her mouth like she was sharing a secret, stood on her tiptoes, and lowered her voice. Kaede lowered her head to offer her ear and waited with intense curiosity for Iris’s answer. Just what did the Saint see in the two of them that made her show such unhesitating goodwill?
“Evan-Evan and Jiangshi sis are both pretty.”
The answer was exactly what Kaede had expected. Appearance. Though it was hard to believe.
“…Pardon?”
But when she saw Iris’s cheeks flush the same pink as her hair in embarrassment, it didn’t sound like a lie.
“It’s a secret from Evan-Evan, okay? Jiangshi sis.”
“Yeees… understood.”
“Promise! Hehe.”
Kaede could not hide her bewilderment after hearing the Saint’s bizarre taste. ‘Pale… no, perhaps she likes skin that looks like corpses or patients…’
“There aren’t many pretty people in the Holy Kingdom, so I really like it here.”
“…I see.”
If Iris’s preferences were truly like that, it would indeed be hard to find such people in the Holy Kingdom. How often would a patient or a corpse ever get close to the Saint?
“How long have you been with Evan-Evan, Jiangshi sis?”
“Mm… that’s…”
Kaede wondered whether it was all right to tell Iris about the past, but then she remembered Evan’s order. ‘He told me to get as close as possible.’
The fastest ways to become close were sharing secrets, finding common interests, and romance.
“It has been about ten years.”
“Then do you know what Evan-Evan likes?”
“Of course I do. Shall I tell you?”
“Yes! I want to become friends with Evan-Evan!”
“In that case, I will teach you Master’s favorite dish. It is dinner time, so we will need to use the kitchen.”
“Good!”
Kaede led Iris toward the kitchen, completely unaware of the enormous disaster this decision would bring.
. . .
The next morning, Kaede was kneeling before Evan.
Evan stared at the purple soup that looked like watery porridge and lifted a spoonful. Sizzle— Smoke rose from the spoon. Could this even be called “food”? It would be more accurate to call it a high-grade mass of curses.
“Kaede. Is this a rebellion?”
“…I have no excuse, Master. There was nothing I could do with my abilities.”
Kaede pressed her forehead neatly to the floor in a bow, as if she no longer had any face left to show.
Evan set the spoon down and sighed. “You taught the Saint how to cook last night, and every single ingredient in the kitchen ended up cursed like this.”
“……Yes. My power was not enough to purify it.”
Just what kind of curse was on that Saint that it could contaminate surrounding objects? Evan had moved past disbelief and was now simply fascinated. He lightly sniffed the soup that had become a lump of curses and fell into thought for a moment.
‘Purification isn’t impossible.’
It wasn’t a curse of such terrible quality as the ones on Iris’s body. However, from Evan’s experience, even if the curse on food like this was lifted, the taste would be horrendously bad. He expected it would feel like drinking rotten mop water.
“What about the Saint and the priests?”
“They said they will make do with the preserved rations they brought.”
Since the one who caused the problem was the Saint, he had no intention of listening to complaints, but they seemed to be handling it well on their own.
“The merchant company we trade ingredients with on a regular schedule?”
“Considering the cycle, they should be nearby, but……”
That was fortunate. Or so Evan thought, until Kaede’s next words made him grimace.
“The coachman who purchases the ingredients from that company and delivers them to Abaddon’s border… is currently staying in our mansion.”
“……Haa.”
“I am sorry! Master!”
“It’s fine.”
Evan roughly tossed the cursed soup out the window and stood up. Between a bit of effort and the time he would have to endure drinking rotten mop water, the scale tipped easily.
“Prepare to go out.”
…It’s been a while since I’ve gone quite far.