My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 141
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 141
Startled, I turn my head in the direction of the sound.
The windows of a room at the far end of the mansion creaks open, one by one in anticipation, and sleepy voices burst out.
"Godd*mn it. Sleep!"
"Let's get some sleep, you bastards!"
"Isn't that Betsy and Dayton out there now? You two know d*mn well you'd die without each other, so keep your late-night lovemaking to a minimum!"
They seem to be the servants. They must have been awakened by the commotion in the garden.
I remember what Grand Duke Sybeta told me in the evening, about how the users' quarters are on the left side of the mansion, and that if I need anything, I should go there.
"My name is not Dayton…," Lancer mutters.
"Just shut up and stay put."
"Okay."
The servants don't know who we are in the dark. They have mistaken us for Betsy and Dayton.
Through the window, I can hear another servant, this one filled with anger at having been forcibly awakened from sleep. "If you're going to have a love affair, do it without disturbing anyone, we don't wanna hear it!"
"What time do you people think it is?"
"Please, do me a favour and get some sleep, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow as I have to serve the Crown Prince another feast!"
BANG!
With those words, their windows slam shut.
"...." Left in the garden,the three of us stare at each other in disbelief. I feel guilty that I unintentionally interrupted the sleep of the servants.
I sigh. "...I'll go to bed, and the rest of you can finish fighting in the light of day."
"...Yes."
"...Alright."
The Crown Prince and Lancer depart. We say nothing to each other as we head back to our respective quarters.
* * *
The next day, we gather in the great hall for breakfast with Grand Duke Sybeta.
"Were you not uncomfortable during the night?" Grand Duke Sybeta asks, dipping baguette bread into steaming tomato soup.
"Everything was fine..."
"Oh, but I heard some shouting at dawn." After the Crown Prince responds, the Viscount interrupts by slamming down the warm soup bowl between his hands. I can see the Crown Prince sitting across from me flinching.
Oblivious, Grand Duke Sybeta who hadn't noticed, turns to the Viscount with interest. "Is that so? I was so deeply asleep that I did not hear it. Do you know who it was?"
"Well, I thought it was just a dream, but when I listened closely, I heard someone shouting from the left side of the mansion. It sounded far away, so I don't know exactly what they were saying."
At the Viscount's words, the Crown Prince relaxes. Fortunately, the others, including Grand Duke Sybeta, are oblivious to what had happened in the night.
I'm exhausted. I sigh inwardly as I pile prosciutto on fresh ciabatta bread.
I thought Lancer and the Crown Prince had at least warmed up a bit, but that looked to be only temporary. The atmosphere between them had only grown more tense. It was as if a thunderstorm was about to erupt in the space where they sat.
And why is the Crown Prince so angry with me? He hadn't spoken to me since the morning. Even if I happened to make eye contact with him at the same table, he would immediately turn his head away.
He had never treated me like this before. He must be angry with me. But why? It can't be because he saw me kissing Lancer.
I don't understand. I had clearly drawn a line with the Crown Prince. So he had no reason to be angry with me.
Unlike me, who's preoccupied with all sorts of complicated thoughts, Lancer seems to think of nothing. "The ciabatta bread is delicious."
He smiles, nibbling on the bread. It's like what happened just a few hours earlier didn't happen. Yeah, eat a lot, I guess.
"If you are not tired, why don't we go see the Ice Flower together this afternoon?" Grand Duke Sybeta asked, turning his head towards me and everyone else at the table.
The unfamiliar name catches my attention at once. "I've never heard of the Ice Flower before."
"And for good reason. The Ice Flower is a flower that grows only in the North." He nods in understanding. "It's an unusual flower that only blooms after a snowfall, and it dies as soon as the snow melts."
"A flower that only lives when there is snow? How does it reproduce?" Viscount Artisina asks out of the blue. I can see the Crown Prince clicking his tongue at him, muttering, "What kind of question is that…."
But Grand Duke Sybeta is unfazed. "According to the research of northern scholars, the Ice Flower scatters its seeds around before it dies, and when the snow melts and seeps into the ground, those seeds also follow through to seep into the soil."
"Oh, I see, I've been wondering about that, thank you for telling me, Grand Duke."
"You're welcome. The Ice Flower is still shrouded in mystery, but I've heard that among the commoners who live in this estate, the Ice Flower is preserved eternally and given as gifts to lovers."
"Preserved eternally?" I ask, my scholarly curiosity piqued. It's the first time I had ever heard of the flower being preserved eternally.
"I don't know exactly how they do it, I think I heard they put the flowers in a glass jar and put a special solution in it…. Anyway, it's become a tradition among the commoners to express that their love will last for a long time, just like the ice flower, even though it dies when the season changes."
Bang!
As soon as the Grand Duke finishes speaking, the table rattles. The Crown Prince's fist comes crashing down like a hammer on the table.
"Oh, no." Realising that all eyes are on him, he slowly relaxes his clenched fist. "My apologies. I got a little carried away."
How?
"An ice flower preserved forever, how interesting."
"In the North, where there's nothing to see but snow, that's all that's interesting." Grand Duke Sybeta agrees with the Crown Prince with a self-deprecating laugh, somehow worried that we'd travel so far yet enjoyed nothing. "Then shall we go see the ice flowers?"
The Crown Prince nods. Lancer grins and says he would like to join.
I don't want to experience the bitter cold outside again, but since Lancer is going, I decide to go too.
Viscount Artisina has no choice in the matter.
* * *
"Have you ever seen an ice flower, Phoebe?" I ask her as I return to my room and prepare to go out.
She was a commoner without a title, so she ate with the other servants. I didn't know what conversations had taken place at their breakfast table.
"Ice Flower… I haven't heard that name in a long time."
Phoebe mutters, as she wears her thick woollen socks.
"Did you see it on your last trip up north?"
"Yes. I've never seen the real thing, but if you go down to the village, you can easily get them in the souvenir shops," she replies. "A friend I travelled with once bought it for me and confessed."
"Really?" For a moment I doubted my ears. I couldn't quite picture it. Phoebe being confessed to by someone else. Someone who had a crush on Phoebe, who never smiled, 365 days a year.
That man has a good eye.
I see. So that's the charisma my maid holds. I continue to ask, "You said you fought with him, and cut him off. What happened to the Ice Flower?"
"I took it back to the souvenir shop and got a refund. The shopkeeper initially said it was non-refundable, so I used a little bit of intimidation and violence to get it back. I used the money to buy something delicious."
Indeed, that's a very Phoebe-like solution.
This story has me thinking…. Phoebe has never been interested in the opposite sex.
Sometimes she would spend time with Ticef, playing cards. I would look at them and think, "They seem to be having fun," but it never occurred to me that they were compatible.
I wonder if she ever liked someone. "...Phoebe, do you have a crush on anyone?"
"Yes. A girl." She answers in a heartbeat.
"I mean, who else besides me?"
"I couldn't possibly be attracted to an extra who isn't even mentioned by name in the original novel. For me, it's all about you."
"...I'm sorry, but what do you mean by extras?"
"There is such a thing." Bluntly interrupting me, she continues to prepare. So, fully bundled up in thick fleece hats, shawls, and gloves, we made our way to the mansion's lobby.
There, Lancer and everyone else has gathered. But for some reason, none of them look happy.
"What's going on?" I ask.
Grand Duke Sybeta sighs. "It has suddenly started snowing heavily, so I don't think we'll be able to set off.”
