My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 85
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 85
"Nothing happened," I blurt out.
"So you didn't do anything?"
The truth is, we're planning on going to a play together the following Wednesday, but for some reason, I don't want to tell Lancer. A thorn in the side of my heart aches it.
So I say something like this instead. "Well… we just talk about this and that."
At my simple response, Lancer blinks before breaking into a wide grin.
"What are you smiling about?" I ask, running my fingers through his golden hair.
"Because you're pretty."
"I know." I snap back. The corners of my mouth twitch upward, but I force them back down.
Whether he sees it or not, Lancer continues. "In my next life, I want to be born into the mirror in your room."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Then I could see you every morning!"
"You see me every day now."
"But I'd also like to see you when you've just woken up."
"Why would you want to see that?"
"Just because. I thought it would be cute to see your face all puffy and swollen in the morning."
"If you want to see that, go watch the bread bake in the oven."
Resolutely dismissing Lancer's affectionate remarks, I pinch him lightly on the cheek.
He smiles and keeps staring up at me. "Skyla, you have really nice nostrils."
"...What?"
"Yeah, you have the prettiest nostrils. They're tiny and round and cute and everything."
"Are you crazy?"
"Come to think of it, you're pretty everywhere. Why do you look so pretty? Next time I see your parents, I'll thank them."
"...."
I stare down at him, at a loss for words.
This guy….
He's saying more and more weird things, and I can't help but notice….
"...Are you sleepy?"
"No, I'm not sleepy. Look, I'm fine…." Lancer doesn't even get to finish his sentence before he closes his eyes.
"...."
Dumbfounded, I stare down at him.
…He must've had a long day.
His morning must've been busy with getting the house ready for a guest, another couple of hours showing them around the mansion, and then a courtesy tea.
I watch for a moment as Lancer fights an uphill battle with his eyelids before offering him a glass of cold water.
"Oh... thanks."
Once he finishes drinking the water, he yawns and stands up.
"I can't believe how late it is already. You should go to bed, Skyla. I'm going home."
"Did you come by carriage?"
"I'm faster than a carriage."
"Yeah, but…."
"See you tomorrow!" Lancer hastily bids me farewell, as though he feels bad for keeping me up so late, and then he’s gone.
I stand frozen in the place where Lancer has disappeared.
"...He should’ve taken a carriage ride."
He always goes with his teleportation spell.
If he had taken a carriage home, I could have at least given him a proper send-off.
At least then I could have spent a little more time with you.
* * *
The next day, the Crown Prince sends a messenger to me as he promised.
"My lady, are you going to the theatre with His Highness on Wednesday?"
"Yes. He has even sent me a ticket."
What he delivered to me via messenger was a theatre ticket. It’s shiny, a high-class theatre frequented by nobles. The ticket glimmers under the sunlight.
This can't be real gold, can it?
I pick it up and wave it around.
"The performance will be on Wednesday at 8 p.m. I'll tell the maids to prepare a thick coat, as the weather can be chilly."
I hold out two fingers to Phoebe. "Two."
"Yes?"
"The Crown Prince sent me a ticket for you as well, and since you're coming along, I’ll need two coats."
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask again, just to be sure. Are you saying I’m invited, too?"
"Uh-huh." I hold up the other ticket toward her. "You're my maid, so of course you'll be at my side."
"Okay, well, I don't really like theatre that much, but… if His Highness said so, then I can't help it. I'll get ready to go out with you."
‘Kyaahhhhhhhhhhh!’
Despite the dreary words of Phoebe, her inner thoughts were screaming.
Why is she so different on the inside than she is on the outside, I wonder.
"I don't know if you're going to like the play, though," I say, forcing back the laughter that threatens to burst out at any moment.
"What's the name of the play?"
"My Husband and His Childhood Friend's Wedding as a Funeral."
Hearing the title, she frowns slightly.
‘What? I'm pretty sure I've read a novel with that exact title before….’
Wait, was this a play based on a novel?
Intrigued, I glance over at Phoebe. "I hear this is a play based on the novel of the same name. Have you ever read the original novel?"
"Yes. We used to borrow it from each other when it was all the rage."
I’m a little surprised to hear that. I thought it was a cheesy, improvised play written by a bunch of playwrights aimed at middle-aged ladies, but it turns out that there’s an original novel.
It must have been a popular novel, because it was read not only by Phoebe but also by other servants.
Well, if it was made into a play and performed in front of the nobility, it must be very famous.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to skim through the novel before watching the play. At least knowing the plot would give me something to talk about with His Highness after.
With that thought, I turn to Phoebe.
"Who's reading the book now?"
"I believe Ticef was the last to read it, and after he finished, he put it on the bookshelf in the servants’ common room."
"Okay. Thanks."
"I can get it for you if you want."
"No, I'll just do it. I don't have anything to do anyway."
I’ve been lazing around in my room for the past few weeks. It’d be better for me to move around than get a busy Phoebe to do it.
Kaerun Duchy has a separate room set aside for his servants to rest. Here the servants would sit in threes and fours, gossiping or playing cards, each doing their own thing. Perhaps it’s here that Phoebe and Ticef had picked up the habit of playing cards.
There’s no one in the common room. Maybe because it’s at a busy time of day.
I’m glad I didn't have to disturb any of the servants.
The bookshelves are filled with an assortment of books. They’re all zigzagged together in no particular order, from the old and tattered to the brand new.
It’ll take me long to find the book I wanted.
I start at the top of the shelf and begin reading the titles one by one.
Some of the titles are literary, recipes, gardening, or holiday destinations, but the majority are novels for entertainment.
‘The Secret of the Knight and the Lady.’
‘The Murders at Bedina Abbey.’
‘The Tomboy Saint from the South.’
They read a lot of different things.
The titles of these books are interesting to me, who usually only read books for study purposes.
As I read the titles one by one, a strange title caught my eye.
‘The Magician's Third Leg.’
What kind of title is this?
I frown and pull out the book. It’s unusually tattered and worn at the corners.
I flick through the pages, skimming the contents, and am stunned.
This is a rated r book?
Who in their right mind would bring such an unscrupulous piece of writing into the Kaerun Duchy!
It's not my business what my people do during their breaks, but this is just not it. Some of the servants were teenagers who hadn't yet reached adulthood.
I'll have to throw this away.
I make a mental note to tell Austin to be more vigilant in the future when it comes to screening belongings brought into the mansion after a night out.
I begin to sift through the other books on the shelves. Soon, I find all the other problematic books lurking like poisonous mushrooms in the stacks.
In the meantime, I found the novel I originally intended to borrow.
I'll burn these strange books tonight.
Grabbing the bundle of books, I take them up to my room.
If I order the servants to burn them, I'm sure they'll steal them again.
And I don't want Phoebe to know I have taken them from the common room.
Where do I hide them?
After a moment's thought, I shove them under my bed.
The carpet under it only gets cleaned once a week anyway, so I'm in the clear for a while.
"Phew."
With that out of the way, I flip open the original novel for the play.
‘My Husband and His Childhood Friend’s Wedding as a Funeral.’
Looking at it again, it's a powerful title.
The plot goes like this.
Once upon a time, there was a duchess named Asilia.
Her husband, the Duke of Desirune, was a not-so-bad husband.
By "not-so-bad" I mean that he treated her with respect, made sure she was well provided for financially, and fulfilled the minimum conjugal duties, such as eating and sleeping with her every day.
Asilia liked everything about the Duke of Desirune, but there was one thing that bothered her.
He was too close to Serena, his childhood friend who was a girl.
Even after their marriage, the Duke of Desirune often invited Serena into the duchy. He would take Serena out to the countryside with her instead of his wife Asilia, or he would sit Serena next to him at meals.
'Duke, why are you so close to Serena? Are you….'
'No, Asilia. Serena and I are just childhood friends!' That's how the Duke of Desirune refuted whenever Asilia suspected them of an affair.
At first, she was sceptical, but eventually, she decided to believe him.
So whenever Serena came to the Duchy to spend time with Duke Desirune, she tried to understand their relationship. Not only that, but she tried to befriend the lady and get to know her.
Then one day.
Asilia overheard a conversation between Duke Desirune and Serena.
'Desirune, when are you going to divorce her?
'Just wait a little longer, Serena. In a year, just a year, I'll leave her and marry you.
As it turned out, the Duke of Desirune hadn't forgotten Serena, even after they were married, and was planning to marry her.
Overhearing the conversation, Asilia is devastated and runs away, only to lose her footing and fall off a ledge to her death.
A year later, the Duke of Desirune remarries Serena.
Everyone feels sorry for Asilia, who died in an unfortunate accident, but Duke Desirune needs an heir, so there's no point in pointing fingers at him for marrying again.
But here's a little twist.
The woman everyone thought was dead, Asilia, wasn't actually dead.
To be precise, she had become a ghost and watched their wedding.
Since then, her ghost has been out to get her revenge by turning Duke Desirune and Serena's wedding into a funeral….
Thud.
I close the book immediately, unable to read any further after that.
This… feels familiar.
For some reason, Lady Serena, the Duchess of Desirune in this novel, strangely reminds me of Lancer.