My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 130
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 130
I return to my room after consulting with my mother.
"Phoebe, I'm back." I open the door and step inside, but no one is there. I walk over to the window and see the shattered glass pieces of the glass gone. Maybe she left for a bit.
I flop on the bed, glancing at the candle she left burning in the room.
"Sigh...." I close my eyes and let my thoughts unravel. There's so many things to think about, so many things to worry about, so many things to care about. But the most incomprehensible thing right now is: Why the hell didn't I hear what Phoebe was thinking earlier?
I lay still on my bed, lost in thought. Keeping my mind open to various possibilities, I ponder each explanation I come up with. And I keep getting loopholes.
I'll never break this curse.
I can travel to the Hebnia Kingdom to meet with the witch, but that'll be useless. She already told Viscount Artisina that I know how to break the curse. It's unlikely that she would give me the answer if I act clueless when I find her.
Let's start at the beginning again.
Closing my eyes tightly, I recall the witch I'd met in the South all those years ago.
What had she said to me then, before she cast her spell?
‘First, bring me the most precious thing you wish to give to Lancer,” she says. “Then bring me the moustache of the Princess’ father.”
Now that's a memory I never want to relive.
I grunt and forward my memories.
We meet in the middle of the night and she asks me, "Do you really want to know what Lancer thinks, Princess?”
What he thinks. His thoughts… his thoughts… his thoughts…. I repeat her words again, slowly, over and over again.
Then suddenly, a thought flashes through my mind like thunder rumbling in the sky.
"Ah!" I jump at the sudden realisation.
No way, the reason I couldn't hear Phoebe's inner thoughts earlier was because…!
Leaping from the bed, I rush to my desk. I grab a fountain pen, pull a sheet of paper from a drawer, and begin to write a letter. When the letter is finished, I stuff it into an envelope before the ink has dried.
"I apologise for the lateness of the hour, but please send this letter right away."
I visit the messenger in charge and hand him the letter.
After checking the recipient's name and address, he looks unsure. "My lady, it's too late to send the letter there now…."
"It's urgent." I urge him, something I would never have done in a normal world. "If you can't get it to me today, make sure it's delivered first thing tomorrow morning. Can you do that?"
"Yes, I can."
"Very well. I want you to make sure that the recipient reads the letter on the spot and gives his response. It's that important." With that emphasis, I thank him and head back to my room.
On the way back, I keep thinking.
Maybe.
Just maybe!
I’ve found a way to break the curse.
* * *
The next morning.
"I have the day off today."
When I open my eyes, I see Phoebe in her casual clothes instead of her maid uniform.
It's not Phoebe, but another temporarily assigned maid, who checks up on me. Standing by my bed, the maid prepares my clothes for the morning, while Phoebe sits on the sofa waiting for me like a guest.
"So, where are we going today?" I ask, sitting up in bed and wiping my face with a warm towel.
We're probably going to the boutique to get a new coat, right?
Just as I think that complacently. "There's a hunting ground just outside the capital," she says.
Huh? Hunting grounds? Wasn't she trying to buy me a new coat? I'm stumped by her reply. I even planned to go shopping in the capital today, with a wallet in hand.
"My lady, there are many animals that come out to the hunting grounds in winter."
Phoebe keeps a serious face and speaks to me in a hushed voice. "Especially wild animals that have grown their fur to prepare for the cold winter months. Whether it's furry squirrels, hares, or foxes… it's a feast of fur."
‘Kekeke, I'll make sure to create the ultimate handmade coat to keep you warm!’
Overhearing her inner thoughts, I can't help but exclaim, “but those poor animals!”
How high a tower of corpses are you going to pile up just to make my winter fur coat? I'd rather go to a boutique that sells them made from the fur of animals that died naturally!
Seeing my horror, Phoebe shakes her head. "No, I wouldn't feel sorry for them. I plan to capture them alive, comb their fur, feed them plenty of food and release them back into the wild."
Ah….
I've been treating her like she's a bloodthirsty murderer. I'm sorry, Phoebe. I thought you were an animal abuser, but it turns out you're just an animal farmer….
After changing out of my pyjamas, I join Phoebe for breakfast. This morning's menu is Phoebe’s favourite, buttermilk pancakes. The maple syrup drizzles over it a sweet and fragrant flavour.
"Eat a lot, Phoebe."
"I will." Taking my words as a command, she nods and stabs her fork into the pancake.
Her mind races like a balloon in the sky.
'Delicious! This fluffy texture! The sweetness that bursts on your tongue! The softness that can't be contained in your mouth!’
She's quite descriptive when it comes to food, I think. I take a bite of the blueberry on the side of the pancake.
I wonder if the letter has been delivered.
I glance at the clock on the wall. It's currently just after eight in the morning. Most buildings start delivering letters at 7, so it should have arrived by now. I'd just have to wait a little longer.
"Eat more, Phoebe." I slide another fresh slice of pancake onto her plate.
After thanking me politely, she asks, "What kind of animal's fur do you like, my lady?"
‘My lady placed a pancake by hand for me, whoa, whoa! My heart flutters!’
"Um… the animal you're talking about is the one that gets combed, not the one that gets hunted, right?"
"Of course."
‘Don't worry, my lady. I wouldn't kill anything in front of you.'
Wait, to put it another way, you would have shot all those animals with your crossbow if I hadn't been there?
Feeling a chill run down my spine, I shrug awkwardly. "Well… maybe foxes?"
"Is that so, and do you mind if I ask why?"
"Well, foxes are bigger than squirrels and rabbits, so they'd have more fur to collect at once, wouldn't they?"
"That's certainly true, but foxes are harder to catch alive because there aren't as many of them in the hunting grounds."
"Hmm, I see."
So, instead of foxes, we should probably catch squirrels.
At the thought of squirrels, I suddenly remember Viscount Artisina. He waited for me for days in the form of a squirrel. Where could he possibly be now? I wonder about his whereabouts, whom I haven't seen in a long time.
"My lady." There's a knock on the door, and Austin's voice comes through. "There's a guest for you from the Imperial Palace."
"Let them in."
Hearing that, Phoebe turns her head toward me. She didn't expect me to bring a guest so early in the morning. "Do you have any urgent business to attend to this morning? I hope I'm not taking up your time…."
"No, it's not official business." I reassure her, who's worried she's being unreasonable. "He'll just be joining us today."
With those words, the door opens.
Standing in the open doorway is…
"It's been a while, Princess!"
Viscount Artisina, who I was just thinking about.
"My lady….” Phoebe's face hardens.
'Why in the world… are you planning to marry that assh*le Viscount...?’
I greet him while trying not to pay attention to her.
"The letter was rushed, yet you read it immediately."
"Of course, I haven't had a very busy day!"
‘Actually, that bastard Dandelion made me work a sh*t ton. But to hell with him! I'm off to play with the Princess!’
Viscount Artisina, with his trademark cheerfulness, instantly lightens the mood. The beauty from his royal blood also plays a part, as the maids who just appear to help Phoebe with her meal blush at the sight of him.
"Wow, you just happened to be having breakfast, can I join you? I love pancakes, they're so good!" Viscount Artisina flops down in the chair across from me, and asks with a smirk. Without a word, I motion to the maid to place a meal in front of him.
Phoebe glares at him. Whether or not he notices her stare, he simply smiles and enjoys his pancakes. "Wow, these pancakes are really good! I think the person who made them should be allowed to sell them!"
"I'm glad you like them, eat up." I offer him with a smile, clasping my hands together and resting my jaw on them.
"Wow, really? I'll have some whipped cream, too, and some fresh strawberries and orange jam!"
He's so fussy for a prince. Clicking my tongue, I order the maids. "Do as he wishes."
As Viscount Artisina joins me for a delicious breakfast as soon as he arrives, he seems to be in a good mood.
Yes, eat up. I think to myself, as I look at him happily munching on his pancakes. Because I have a lot of questions coming for you today.