My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 75
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 75
I blurt out the question to him, but to my dismay, the door is closed.
"Viscount..!" I open the door, calling him back down the corridor, but he's no longer in sight.
He ran away.
I click my tongue.
I would love to chase after him right now, but he's a mage first, and he can turn into an animal and sprint away if he wants to. It's pointless to chase after him now. I'll have to ask him another time.
…Does he know who the mage who cursed me is?
No way.
Although his response indicates that he knows something, I'm frankly dubious.
There are only so many red-haired, middle-aged female mages in the world. And in the Hebnia Kingdom, where everyone is born with magical powers, the number must be many times greater.
There's no way I'm going to be able to find her based on such a short description.
With these thoughts in mind, I sit in a daze on the sofa. It's not until half an hour later, when Phoebe comes in to blow out the candles, that I rise slowly and make my way to the bathroom.
* * *
It's exactly nine hours after 'that incident' at the Marquise Garnett that Lancer pays visits.
"Rachel likes."
"What?"
I doubted my ears, having been curled up in bed reading since early morning after forfeiting all my work.
"What did you… say now?"
“Rachel likes.”
"You were confessed to by Rachel?"
A horrible scenario flashes through my mind.
Rachel falls in love with the youngest master, whom she loved and cherished like a son all his life. And is now in forbidden love with him….
Hmm, how horrible.
I want to open my head, take out my dirty mind, wash it in clean water, and put it back in.
Luckily, Lancer seems more surprised by my words. "Oh, no. Rachel said she liked my gift."
Ah. That's it. "Use a proper object in your sentences."
Lancer smirks at my rebuke. He sits down on my bed and tells me the details of Rachel's reaction to the gift.
At first, when she received the amethyst from Lancer, she was stunned.
“Are you really giving me that?”
“Yes.”
“Really? You're not mistaken, are you?”
She asks Lancer about five or six times if it was really for her before taking it with trembling hands.
Rachel nearly fainted when she saw the certificate of authenticity that Lancer held out.
“I can't believe you bought me something so expensive!”
“I only got it because I thought you'd like it, do you not…?”
“No! That's not it! It's just that… it's not a special occasion, yet you're giving me something so expensive…. It makes me feel bad.”
“Rachel, you've always been nice to me, even when it's not a special occasion.”
Tears welled up in the corners of Rachel's eyes at Lancer's words.
“Youngest Master….”
Rachel hugged the amethyst like she was holding a precious child. Tears trickled down the corners of her eyes.
Needless to say, Lancer was puzzled.
“Why, why are you crying? Have I done something wrong?”
“No.”
Rachel hugged her gift tighter, and her tears didn't stop.
“I'm just so happy. I'm so touched that the youngest master thought of me and bought this for me. I'm so happy right now….”
My eyes burn. I can feel Rachel's emotions from just listening to the story.
"I first realised that people cry when they're happy."
"You didn't realise until pretty late."
At my exasperation, Lancer scratches the nape of his neck. "I mean, no one had ever cried in front of me because they were happy."
"Ah."
"Come to think of it, Skyla, you've never done that either."
"...I don't usually show my feelings, you know that."
"That's true, but... still, do you think one day you'll be so happy that you'll cry in front of me?"
"...."
I don't know how to respond to that, so I only press my lips together.
Being so happy that you'd cry.
I remember a story my parents told me. My mother told me that she cried so much at their wedding and her make-up was ruined that the portrait painter had a hard time doing his job.
I wonder if I, too, would be swept up in such overwhelming feelings of happiness that I would cry when I married someone someday. Although I don't know who will be the other protagonist at my wedding, I wonder if that day will come.
If only you could be by my side then, Lancer. How I wish you would like me the way I like you. I hope you don't just like me because I'm your only friend, but because I'm the only one of many.
Of course, that day may never come…, but—
"That's why I want to give you a gift, too."
Lancer's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
"A gift?"
"Yeah. Brother Hubert is always kind to me, so I thought I'd give him a gift to thank him. What do you think?"
"That's not a bad idea."
That's a good sign.
Lancer, who rarely pays attention to anyone but me, is slowly becoming interested in others. You have to paddle fast when the water comes in like this.
"What are you going to get him? Will you go to the market again?"
"No, I've decided on the gift."
"What is it?"
Hubert dreams of becoming the best knight in the kingdom, so maybe he's got something to match. A new sword or gear?
But out of Lancer's mouth comes an answer that's not at all what I expect.
"Lady Artberry."
"Lady Artberry Younger…?"
Why is she suddenly mentioned?
My eyebrows arch.
He said he was going to give Hubert a gift, and now he's talking about Lady Artberry out of nowhere?
…No way, he's gonna give her to Hubert?
"You… don't think that Lady Artberry is something that can be wrapped in gift wrap, do you?"
I hope that my only childhood friend, no matter how much common sense he lacks, is not such an immoral person as to view human beings as objects.
Fortunately, while Lancer lacks common sense, he's not without morals. "No, I don't mean to give Lady Artberry to him. I'm giving him the chance to meet her."
"It would've been nice if you said that first." That's much better. Communication matters. So, second question. "Why Artberry?"
I push myself out of bed and crawl over to sit beside Lancer. He offers me a glass of water from the bedside table.
"Well, Skyla, I thought you said gifts should be something the recipient would like."
"I did."
"And I've been thinking all night about what Brother Hubert would like."
"And what did you come up with?" I urge him on, taking the glass of water from his hand and quenching my thirst.
Lancer grins. "Big Brother likes younger ladies. At the last ball, he kept chasing them around asking them to dance. He seemed sad that they all turned him down, so maybe if I introduce him to Lady Artberry, he'll like her."
There's no malice in Lancer's voice as he speaks. On the contrary, his eyes are shining brightly. It's as if he wants to be praised for his thoughtfulness.
It makes me feel even more sorry for Hubert.
"...."
Lancer… was that all you could come up with after racking your brains all night…? Don't you feel a little sorry for your brain…?
But he has no idea where his plan has gone wrong. "What do you think, Skyla?"
"...."
How do I explain this?
Inside Lancer's head, It certainly doesn't seem like a bad idea. But from an absolute social standpoint?
"It's a gift that will make Brother Hubert miserable…."
"Huh?"
Lancer cocks his head, having caught my mutterings.
I let out a shallow sigh and set my water glass on the bedside table. "Listen, Lancer, it's not bad that you're thinking about Brother Hubert, but I don't think this is right."
"Why?"
"Well, meetings are supposed to happen when the parties want them to, so if you're going to set them up, you should at least ask their wishes."
Lancer chuckles, as though to tell me not to worry unnecessarily. "You heard yesterday, Skyla, that Lady Artberry wanted to meet Big Brother."
"When? I don't remember hearing that…."
The dark history that Artberry had left behind yesterday flashes through my mind.
I remember how she had tried to make amends with Lancer, who had listened to her rant about Hubert while not knowing he was Lancer's brother.
“I've always wanted to meet someone like Lord Hubert!"
"Ooh, the truth is, I like to say bad things about people I like, it's a weird thing to do, but it's true! Ha, ha!"
"I'm a little bit like that! Spitting on my favourite cake so no one else can touch it but me, ha, ha, ha!"
That nonsense of a big fuss.
Oh, wait.
No way.
"......Lancer, you don't think that Lady Artberry is in love with Brother Hubert, do you?"
I slowly turn my head towards him. His face, as pure as white lilac, came into view. It's angelic and gentle.
And with that angelic face, Lancer smiles innocently. "Hmm? It's right, isn't it? Didn't Lady Artberry say she wanted to meet Big Brother?"
"No. That's not it." I hastily grab Lancer's shoulders with both hands. "Lancer, don't you know, that yesterday, Lady Artberry was talking bad about him!"
"She was talking bad about him?"
"That's right!"
I began to explain to him the details of what happened at the tea party yesterday.
It's funny that I have to retrace my memory and go back to the same place and at the same time what was happening. But if I don't explain it, he will never know how ordinary people talk and behave.
"So, what you're saying is that sometimes you shouldn't take what people say at face value?" Lancer asks for clarification after my elaboration.
I take back my water glass and gulp it down, wiping the water off with the back of my hand to exclaim, "Yeah!"
"Then how do you know when people don't mean what they say?"
"I have to look at the situation, and it helps to know if the person is being friendly or belligerent towards me."
"That's difficult." Lancer flops back down on the bed. It's a common occurrence, so I don't call him out. "I don't know how to handle it, so I'll just make it easy. I'll just pretend that everyone is nice and kind. Even if they're not, I'll just pretend that they are, so that if they change their minds one day and are nice and kind to me, I'll get what I think I deserve, right?"
"Do whatever you want…." I blurt out and flop down next to him.
I can't bring myself to tell him he's wrong. It's his creed, and I don't want to shatter his last hope.
I recall what he told me one day.
"Skyla, it's my heart that likes you, and you can't do anything about it, because my heart is mine.”
Yeah.
You're right, Lancer.
My heart is mine, too. And I'll do what I want with it.
I'm going to think you like me, and even if you don't, I'm just going to pretend you do. And then maybe one day you'll actually like me, right?
When that day comes, I'll be everything I think I am, right?
I stare at the ceiling, the pure white of it accompanies the warmth of Lancer beside me.
The chill of autumn flows through the room, but I don't feel cold.