The Crybaby of House Edfolk (3)
Rachel hopped down from her chair and planted herself in front of Yelich, looking down at her.
The room went silent all at once. Every eye turned to Rachel, to Yelich standing before her, and to Yulia, who had no idea what to do with herself.
"Yelich Serge. Don't you even know your place?"
"...No."
"Then greet Yulia properly."
The voice was hard to believe in a girl of ten—imperious, and carrying real force behind it.
Yelich looked as though she would rather die. Even so, she had no choice. She bowed her head to Yulia.
"I am Yelich Serge."
"Mm... all right. Let's be friends..."
"Yes."
But Yulia's eyes caught the way Yelich's clenched fingers trembled.
Even a girl who had lived her whole life in a world as kind and untroubled as hers could tell that Yelich hated this moment, and that whatever she felt toward Yulia was nothing good. It was the first malice Yulia had ever been shown, and it struck her like a blow to the chest.
A little time passed. The children split off again and fell to chattering noisily among themselves, while Yulia crouched in a corner and turned the moment over, and over, and over once more.
The malice Yelich had shown her was like the first stain ever left on her life. The way a splash of soup on a white dress is all you can see, Yulia could only ache at the flaw that had already been made.
No matter how she thought about it, she hadn't done anything wrong. All she had done was come in and say hello.
Grief welled until the tears nearly spilled. There were too many people in the room, though, and she forced them back.
That was when Julbert came over.
"Yulia, we're stepping outside for a bit. Want to come?"
"Huh? Outside for what? Are we playing hide-and-seek?"
"Hide-and-seek? Haha, you're joking. Rachel and Rokan are sparring, and we're going to watch."
"S-sparring? No. I'll stay here. I told Father I would."
"All right. See you later, then."
She had chosen to stay because watching a spar seemed far too frightening. Not long after, she had no choice but to regret it.
The moment Julbert, Rachel, and their circle of higher nobles went outside, the air in the room changed sharply. Until they left, the children had only stolen glances at Yulia. Now they looked down on her openly, and in sly, sidelong tones they began to gossip about Julbert and Rachel.
"...Rachel's so annoying."
"She already thinks she's a knight or something."
"And Julbert keeps showing off. I can't stand the sight of him."
The voices kept finding Yulia's ears. Among them, Jessie—the girl with ash-gray hair standing beside Yelich—even shook her head as she spoke, her voice thick with irritation.
Uneasy under their notice, Yulia turned her face the other way, afraid of meeting anyone's eyes, and fidgeted with nothing but her ivory silk dress.
Should I... should I go say something, the way Rachel would? I just... I wish everyone could get along...
Not knowing what to do, she twisted a lock of her long navy hair.
Marchen, her maid, had been watching her sit alone like that for some time, and it weighed on her. She came over quietly.
"My lady, would you care to step outside with me for a breath of air? On the way in, I saw the red roses in the garden. They were blooming very prettily."
"Mm... yes. That might be better."
Yulia sighed and was just rising when the door burst open. Aurora came into the side parlor with a bright smile, her hair a rich white cloud, abundant as wool.
"Hello, everyone!"
At the sight of her, every child's face lit up at once, and they rushed over in a flock.
"Big sister Aurora!"
"Aurora!"
"Oh my! You're all so pretty I feel as if I've walked into a flower garden! But where is Lady Rachel?"
"She went out to spar with Lord Rokan! The others went with them."
"Hmm, is that so!"
"Big sister! Can you show us some magic?"
"Of course! That's what I came for."
A white magic circle bloomed in her hand, and from it came snow-white birds, each the very image of a chickadee, fluttering all through the parlor. Every child cried out in wonder.
Yulia, who had been about to leave, stopped where she stood and slipped in among them to watch the beating of wings.
...They're beautiful. If you're good at magic, you can do things like this.
On a whim she reached toward a bird flying over her head. One of them, passing by, settled lightly on her palm and let out a soft peep.
"Marchen! Look, look! It's really, really cute!! Right?"
"Oh my, it is. Such a small, darling little bird."
While Yulia chattered with Marchen, still more birds poured from Aurora's circle. They perched here and there, tipping their heads in tiny, charming motions, or flew about together in little flocks. Before anyone noticed, the parlor had grown bright. A few children raised their hands and called out.
"Big sister! Big sister! Please look at my magic too!"
"Mine too!"
One after another they showed Aurora what they could do. Someone summoned enough water to soak the floor. Yelich, who had traded words with Yulia earlier, called up a fire whose heat could be felt at once.
Yulia, who until then had been playing with the birds, went still at the magic children her own age were raising before her. For a moment she even forgot to breathe.
H-how is everyone so good at magic?
Yulia had learned magic in her lessons too. But unless it was the most basic spell, hers had never been cast properly, and even those usually collapsed before the circle could hold. Set beside the circles the children were kindling now, her navy circle—always crumbling away—made her feel small, and her shoulders sank.
Aurora, having looked over everyone's magic, clapped and called out brightly.
"Oh my! You've all improved so very much!"
"We have a new magic teacher at school, and she teaches us really well!"
"Hmm. You're all attending Noble School, aren't you?"
"Yes!"
"Is that so? Then everyone who goes to Noble School, let's see those hands."
Hands shot up in a rush. Yulia flinched.
Noble School—the school most noble children attended before the Academy. She had heard from Julbert that such a place existed, but this was the first she knew that everyone else was going there together, and she alone was not.
Aurora swept her eyes over the children, their arms raised as if they might come out of their sockets, and smiled. She drew a finger along her chin.
"Hmm. I'll be done graduating from the Academy soon anyway. Maybe I should go teach there."
"Wow, then you'd be our teacher?"
"That would be amazing!!"
The children answered Aurora's playful words with delight. Then someone tossed out a remark that sent a ripple through the room.
"Yulia doesn't go."
"...Hm?"
In an instant every gaze turned to Yulia, standing a little apart behind them. Her heart dropped. She shrank in on herself, not knowing what to do, and lowered her eyes to the floor to escape theirs.
"Yulia doesn't go to Noble School."
It was Jessie again—the ash-gray-haired girl who had been standing with Yelich.
Aurora seemed to think for a moment, then asked in a gentle voice.
"Ah, I see. Lady Yulia doesn't attend?"
"N-no...! I study at home, with my tutor, Sir Hanver."
The moment Yulia answered, soft snorts of laughter drifted through the room—laughter that, for some reason, felt as if it were dismissing her. Startled and sick at heart, she felt her pulse hammering when Aurora nodded once and spoke again, brightly, so everyone could hear.
"Well, there's no rule that everyone has to go to Noble School."
"Big sister, doesn't Lady Yulia have any mana?"
"Hmm... let me see. I think she does..."
"Of course she does! Her father is the famous Marquis Deschamps Edfolk. The Deschamps. One of the 6 Great Mages."
Yelich, who had barely spoken to her since earlier, said it while glaring straight at Yulia.
Yulia's vision went white. Cold sweat ran down her back.
But the moment Aurora heard the name Deschamps, she started and came closer, eyes full of curiosity, her voice bright with excitement.
"Oh—of House Edfolk! Lady Yulia, have you ever learned magic? I'm sure the Marquis taught you himself!"
"A little..."
"Is that so? Then could you show us a spell? I'd love to see it, and I think everyone else is curious too!"
Before she knew it, every eye was on her, and Aurora was watching with an expectant look. Unable to refuse, Yulia barely managed to lift her plump little hands.
C-calm down. The easiest spell will do.
But whether from nerves or not, her magic circle appeared only faintly, then vanished at once.
The children looked at one another and began to whisper.
"What was that?"
"Is she joking?"
Seeing how red Yulia's face had gone, they realized it hadn't been a joke. They bit their lower lips, trying not to laugh. A few couldn't hold it in, and their shoulders shook with the laughter they failed to swallow.
Aurora, who at the time had no idea that the daughter of one of the 6 Great Mages was still taking her first unsteady steps, was startled and hurried to change the subject.
"Um, it seems Lady Yulia hasn't been studying magic for very long!"
"Big sister! But they say the earlier you learn magic, the better it always is."
"Oh my, Yelich, you know all sorts of things, don't you? Well, there is a theory like that. Haha—shall I show you all some flame magic?"
"Yes!"
The children glanced at Yulia once each, then crowded in around Aurora together. Yelich looked at her and laughed as if the whole thing were absurd, then leaned in and whispered into Jessie's ear.
"She's not just stupid. What even is that?"
The strength went out of Yulia all at once. She went to Marchen, who stood behind her, swallowing dryly.
"Marchen."
"Y-yes, my lady."
"Let's go."
"Yes. I'll lead the way."
When the door opened, the scattered voices inside cut off. Yulia walked out, her steps without strength.
Out in the garden she took the air and looked at the roses blooming red, and little by little her mood grew lighter.
...That's right. I didn't do anything wrong.
I'll go back in, greet them brightly, and that will be enough. Father told me to be the one to reach out first!
Thinking it over so kindly, Yulia spoke carefully to Marchen, who had been watching her with worry.
"Marchen..."
"Yes, my lady."
"Do you think there are cookies, or something like that? It would be nice to share them with the others..."
Marveling at the goodness of the girl who could say such a thing, Marchen managed a difficult smile.
"Yes, there should be. Shall we go together and bring some?"
"Mm."
"Then let's go. Our young lady truly has a gentle heart."
"No... I want some too, that's all."
Seeing Yulia smile as she said it, Marchen made up her mind, hard and sharp. If the same thing happened again when they went back in, she would step forward herself and take those children of noble houses to task. She was among the youngest of the maids inside, and a maid's station was a maid's station, with no escaping it. But watching this kind, gentle face go stiff, the guilt and shame of not having stepped in felt far too large to bear.
Fortunately, the adults they met on the way to fetch the cookies all smiled brightly at the sight of Yulia.
"Oh my, isn't this Lady Yulia Edfolk? How lovely you are!"
"Your eyes are the very image of your mother's!"
Hearing praise like that, her expression improved a great deal from before, and soon her small hands were holding a bag packed full of cookies shaped just like little people.
"I hope everyone likes them."
"Of course they will. I had a little taste earlier, and they were truly delicious."
Smiling from ear to ear, Yulia headed for the parlor—and on the way she ran into Rachel's group, returning with a battered, wounded Rokan. Julbert tilted his head when he saw her.
"Hm? Yulia, I thought you were staying inside."
"No, I just wanted some air."
"Yeah? What's that in your hand?"
"Cookies. I was going to share them with everyone. I'll give you some later too."
"Hmm... well, if you're giving them..."
Julbert and the other children were looking at her as if she were something curious when, from inside the parlor, laughter spilled out—and with it, words that should never have been heard.
"—So Yulia's dad only became one of the 6 Great Mages because His Majesty the Emperor happened to like him?"
"Yeah. Yelich's father and big sister Aurora's father both earned way more merit in the war than Marquis Deschamps. Especially in the North and the East."
"Hmm? Then what kind of magic did Marquis Deschamps even make?"
"They say he developed magic for drawing up water, magic that makes mana stones give off light, magic that heats water with a little mana. Things like that."
"Ehh, that's kind of... His Majesty appointed a great mage like that? That's weird!"
"Yulia's mom is from House Edfolk, right? That's why Lady Karen is a duchess. Lord Deschamps is a marquis."
"Oh, so it was because her mother was from a great house."
"Look at Yulia. She can't even cast a single spell, and Yelich can already make fire!"
"Yeah, the kid does seem a little slow. And that mother of hers—shouldn't someone else have received the Emperor's Four Swords? Didn't she cut in line?"
Then the children's laughter burst out.
From inside came Aurora's voice, a little angry.
"Everyone, didn't I tell you not to say things like that? And who on earth has been telling you this? The great mages and the Four Swords were all designated by the late Emperor himself! I'll show you another spell, so that's enough—"
Thud.
The bag of cookies Yulia had been holding so preciously fell to the floor.
Fire lit in Marchen's eyes. She flung the parlor door wide open.
"Just what do you all think you're saying!!"
Everyone inside went pale and shrank back at the sight of Yulia behind her, and of Rachel's group.
For a while Marchen's voice went on. To Yulia it sounded muffled, as if she had gone underwater.
She had endured it when Yelich first treated her with contempt. She had endured, teeth clenched, the ridicule when her powerless magic failed in front of everyone. It had been hard, but she had held it in.
This third thing, though—spoken without restraint while she wasn't there—was about her parents. And her parents were everything she had.
She had held it in so carefully until now, but this, this alone, was far too much to bear. Yulia, who had never once been angry and had never once said an unkind word to anyone, didn't know what to do when her heart pounded like this and a chill ran through her whole body.
As the result of that unfairness, that burning indignation, her tears began to fall beside the cookies she had dropped.
"Hnn—"
"Ah, my lady!"
"Hic— everyone, you're all so mean. Wh-what did I even do that was so wrong!!"
No one dared open their mouth. Marchen rushed out and pulled Yulia into her arms. Even so, the girl's shoulders would not stop shaking.
"Marchen, Marchen, did I... did I really do something that wrong?"
"No, my lady. F-for now, somewhere else—"
Marchen was at a loss, trying to soothe her, when a voice that should never have been heard reached every ear.
"What on earth is going on here?"
Deschamps Edfolk had come carrying armfuls of candy for his daughter and the children gathered in the parlor. He was looking at his daughter as the tears poured down her face.
"Daughter, what is this...!"
"Hic."
"Look at your father. Just a moment..."
"I want to go home..."
Deschamps, who had gone down on one knee to meet her eyes, turned a hardened face toward the parlor.
Rachel had been watching the whole thing as if it were something amusing. The moment he turned his head, she took an involuntary step back.