"…Ah!"
The girl awoke with a start.
She looked all around her. The room was still dark; it must have been
the middle of the night. She used a hand to wipe her sweat-drenched
forehead.
As she did, a much larger hand came from next to her and stroked her
hair. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
"…Oscar," she whispered.
There he was, the man who had suddenly appeared at her window one
day. He who claimed to be from four hundred years in the future. Although
he was staying with her, it felt like it had been a very long time since she'd
seen him. The girl was so overwhelmed she couldn't speak.
She looked down at her small, juvenile body. "I think… I had a weird
dream. One where you were gone…"
"What? I'm still here," Oscar said.
"Yeah…"
He was right there with her, as he should be.
So then why did she feel so intensely anxious? Tinasha was unable to
extract herself from the dregs of that hazy dream, and Oscar offered her a
gentle smile. "It's all right. I'm here. You should go back to sleep."
"Oscar…"
He held his arms open, and Tinasha went to lie down again in his
embrace. She closed her eyes, wishing fervently not to lose sight of him
even in her dreams. "Stay with me. Don't go anywhere while I'm asleep."
"I won't. You can relax," he assured, patting her back comfortingly,
rhythmically. It sounded like a heartbeat, and it lulled Tinasha back into a
gentle slumber. She didn't want to sleep; she knew that if she fell
unconscious, she would return to that world devoid of him. Unfortunately,
Tinasha was powerless to resist the call of exhaustion.
Her eyelids were so heavy she couldn't keep them open, and Oscar
whispered something like a lullaby to her. "No matter what happens, I'll
protect you."
There was no questioning that he had kept his promise.
Tinasha woke up, alone in her own bed.
The lights of the city twinkling from beyond the castle windows were
gorgeous.
A dark-bluish blackness tinted the night sky; Tinasha gazed out at the
spectacle with some loneliness in her eyes.
The vista was of Tuldarr, her homeland. Nights weren't all that different
between countries, but unlike Farsas, Tuldarr had magic lights of every
color hanging on the street corners.
Tinasha thought of something and brought her hands together softly,
then breathed into them.
When she pulled her fingers apart, a spray of golden light poured from
them. All at once, it flowed from the open window into the dark sky.
Tinasha watched it go yearningly.
Then a young man spoke from behind her. "What are you doing?"
"The city lights are so beautiful, I thought I'd add a bit of color," she
answered, turning around to look at Legis, the prince of Tuldarr. He had
light-blond hair and mild features that exuded nobility. Tinasha recalled
how Tuldarr's line of succession had changed to follow lineage rather than
raw power. A strange mood settled over her.
She was staring at him intently, and Legis smiled. "What is it? Do I have
something on my face?"
"No. I was just thinking of how many things have changed," she replied.
Tinasha had returned to Tuldarr to gather up some materials for her
curse analysis, but searching for them had taken awhile. In the end, the
royals had encouraged her to spend the night.
Since she was there, Tinasha took the chance to explore the palace.
Despite its long and storied history, there were quite a few things that had
changed in four centuries.
One such difference was that the detached wing she spent her childhood
and early adolescence in had been torn down and rebuilt as a true part of the
castle. After hearing of this, Tinasha felt an intangible sense of loss.
The ache slowly spreading through her heart did not come from losing
the place where she had spent the vast majority of her younger days.
It was because her memories of the all too brief time together with him
had been there.
Of course, Tinasha could see him again upon returning to Farsas.
However, she still held her memories as separate and precious.
"…Nark and I are now the only ones who know who he was…," she
muttered, closing her eyes before they could well with tears.
The days she had spent with him four hundred years ago after he
appeared out of nowhere were not particularly eventful or lengthy. They had
only lasted as long as they did because it took that long to rescue her. Had
Tinasha listened and left Tuldarr with him right away, he likely would have
vanished sooner.
He had managed to stay with her right up until she had faced certain
tragedy. If that wasn't luck, then what was?
Tinasha remembered that after he had vanished, and she dragged herself
back to her room, she had found Nark and burst into tears. Nark wasn't the
one to use the magical orb, and the dragon had escaped being erased
because it was separate from Oscar, its master. Oscar had left Nark for
Tinasha, now that she was alone.
This dragon that Oscar had brought with him from far in the future was
now the sole witness to a lost story. Nark would never speak a word of it,
however, and Tinasha didn't mind that.
Tinasha suddenly remembered where she was and forced a smile. "It's
very strange to be in a different time. I was talking with Mila about how my
own era is now called the Dark Age."
"I imagine it was given that name because it was a period of horrific
wars. Fortunately, Tuldarr survived and endures to this day. That's thanks to
you," Legis replied.
"You give me too much credit. I was only queen for five years," Tinasha
pointed out.
"Even so, you've survived for four hundred years in a magic sleep.
While that's possible in theory, I can only count on one hand the number of
mages capable of accomplishing that," said Legis.
"Surely that's because not many people would think to attempt it. If you
don't have a solid objective in mind when making the attempt, you'll only
wind up lost," Tinasha explained, with some degree of internal selfderision.
A solid objective. Did she have even one?
All Tinasha had was her feelings for him.
How much had she wished to grab his hand on that night long ago when
he vanished? She had elected to spend four hundred years waiting to get
ahold of him again.
What sort of cruel trick of fate was this to give someone like that the
throne for a second time?
Tinasha's emotions were strong and complicated as she gazed back at
Legis. She decided to ask him directly about something that had been on
her mind. "Forgive me for prying, but do you not have any resentment
toward me because the throne returned to me once I awoke?"
Had things gone as planned, Legis, an only child and crown prince,
would have become the next king. Naturally, he grew up expecting and
preparing for that eventuality. How did he feel about Tinasha snatching that
away from him?
For a moment, Legis's eyes grew wide and round. Then he gave a gentle
smile. "I didn't have that much interest in ruling to begin with. If the
mystical spirits are the symbols of Tuldarr, then it's only natural that one
who has inherited them should run the country."
"I…see," Tinasha replied.
"To say nothing of who you are. I have no complaints at all. If you're
preoccupied thinking about your coronation, I'd like it if you took an
interest in me instead," Legis admitted frankly.
Tinasha gave a faint smile, gleaning that his intent was for her to fret
less than she needed to. She was aware that, as someone who had come
from so far away, she was different from the rest of them. Tinasha had
accepted that from the outset. It wasn't as if she had done all this to be
loved by Oscar. She was here to help him.
She wouldn't become the wife he had lost. Instead, Tinasha focused on
what she was capable of.
Tinasha smiled as she thought back on the distant past.
The beautiful, slightly sad expression on her face was as anxious as a
child's.
As he put a stack of documents for the upcoming Festival of Aetea into
order, Oscar rubbed at his tight shoulders.
He managed to get outside for exercise every so often, but since the
former prime minister—his uncle—passed away, and Oscar took over his
work, things had been particularly busy. Oscar's father had never liked
paperwork to begin with, and he happily foisted all that onto his son. While
the prince did think of it as good experience, it was occasionally irritating.
What's more, he had recently acquired a new source of ire.
The beautiful princess Oscar had brought back from Tuldarr seemed to
be deliberately avoiding him, probably because she had angered him during
the wyvern incident the other day.
While Oscar did tend to lose his patience whenever he interacted with
this woman he couldn't get a handle on, he felt equally offended that she
was avoiding him. Yesterday, she had even gone back to Tuldarr to fetch
some books.
"If Tinasha doesn't want to see me, she can just stay in Tuldarr," he
muttered despite himself, then scowled once he heard his own words.
He had plenty of things he wished to say to her, but considering their
positions, he couldn't be too harsh. At the moment, Tinasha was the only
one who could fight back against the witch's curse.
If Oscar could at least get to know Tinasha better, he might be able to
tolerate her behavior. Unfortunately, she was making no efforts to reveal her
hand.
Oscar remembered the darkness in her eyes—those beautiful orbs like
something out of a dream. They vexed him, as if Tinasha were always
gazing at a thing no one else could see.
He had a vague idea as to why her eyes bothered him so much, but he
was purposely trying not to think about that. He was better off not going
anywhere near that. It suited him just fine to draw a line between them,
especially since she was a princess from a foreign country.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Lazar came in. "Your
Highness, is now a good time?"
"What is it?" Oscar asked.
"We've received a petition from the shop owners in the south of the city.
Apparently, someone has splattered animal blood on the streets. With the
festival coming up, they want us to step up our patrols."
"Another weird incident, huh? We've got a lot of people coming in and
out of the country right now, so we'd best launch an investigation while
we're at it. I hope this is just a prank, because it could get annoying
otherwise," groused Oscar.
"Wh-what reason could there be for doing something like that other than
a joke?" asked Lazar.
"Who knows? Maybe someone's getting harassed," Oscar proposed,
tossing out a random guess. However, Lazar left the room looking as if he
himself were the one being harassed.
Left alone, Oscar rested his chin in one hand. "…Should I have the
mages look into this?"
Non-mages wouldn't have a good idea of what was likely to be magicrelated. Considering that one of the biggest festivals of the year was quickly
approaching, stamping out anything even remotely suspicious was prudent.
As Oscar wrote out some additional documents, he thought of Tinasha
again.
Maybe her dark eyes reflected something other people couldn't
understand.
If she joined the investigation, would she uncover something?
Despite those musings, Oscar finished scribing the official form without
asking anything of the woman.
One week after returning from Tuldarr, Tinasha's life had become a series
of round trips between her room and the lecture halls.
Overall, she was making fair progress on the curse analysis, though it
was far from rapid. If this pace kept up, she might finish before the half
year she had been allotted.
At the same time, she was laboring to fill in the four-hundred-year gap
in her magical knowledge via a series of books and lessons. This
educational journey, which was akin to bounding through time periods,
brought color to Tinasha's everyday life. If not for Oscar's curse, she might
have spent every waking moment holed up in the library.
One day, Tinasha had attended a lecture on introductory magic as she
often did. She was getting up from her seat once it ended when a woman
next to her called out.
"Excuse me, but I heard that you could identify the maker of a magic
potion. Is that true?" asked a blond woman named Sylvia, looking keen
with interest.
Tinasha smiled and confirmed, "It's true. You might find others in
Tuldarr capable of it, too. The spell is difficult, however, so it's not easy to
teach."
Sylvia let out a sigh of wonder, her eyes taking on a faraway, spellbound
glaze. "I'd like to go and study in Tuldarr someday, but it's pretty hard…
Um, whenever you're free, could you tell me more about it?"
"Of course, if you're all right with that," Tinasha said, giving ready
consent.
Sylvia's eyes sparkled, and immediately she fired two or three questions
at Tinasha. Based on the nature of the inquiries, Tinasha inferred that Sylvia
was an exceptionally creative magic user. On top of her abilities as a court
mage, she had a flexible inventiveness that was fascinating. Impressed,
Tinasha answered all the other woman's questions.
Once she'd had her fill, Sylvia broke into a friendly grin. "By the way,
Princess Tinasha, what are you going to do at the festival?"
"Huh? What festival?" Tinasha said cluelessly.
Sylvia's eyes grew wide. "Oh, that's right, Tuldarr is an atheist country.
In Farsas, we have a big celebration in reverence to our major god, Aetea!
It's held citywide, and everyone in the castle has been very busy making
preparations for a while now! It's in three days!"
"Very busy…? I had no idea…," Tinasha muttered.
"Oh, and because of all the work that goes into the festival, there's no
lectures starting tomorrow," Sylvia informed.
"I was about to be the only one to show up!" Tinasha exclaimed, feeling
embarrassed at the very idea.
As Tinasha covered her flushed cheeks, Sylvia gave her an innocent
grin. "Since you'll be here for it, why don't you enjoy the festivities and
look around at all the celebration has to offer? Truthfully, I'd love to show
you around myself, but I was suddenly put on the patrol roster…"
"Suddenly? Did someone trade shifts?" Tinasha asked.
"No. A few days ago, a person scattered blood in a deserted alley, and
they still haven't caught whoever's responsible. I hope it's only a prank.
Still, just to be safe, mages were requested to go on patrol," explained
Sylvia.
"…Is that because it might be related to a forbidden curse?" Tinasha
muttered, her voice going an octave lower.
However, Sylvia didn't notice. "A long time ago, apparently that sort of
thing happened a lot. Like people using animal blood to contaminate
magical arrays before using them…"
"That doesn't have any significant effect. What does get problematic is
if someone like that escalates to using humans for catalysts," remarked
Tinasha.
The type of magic known as a forbidden curse universally involved
sacrificing people and bringing about calamity.
The Dark Age in particular, a time when human lives were considered
trivial, saw a disgusting number of attempts at forbidden curses. Thus,
Tuldarr labored to cull the use of these curses.
Tinasha smiled, her dark eyes narrowing. "Call for me if anything
happens. I'll be right there."
"What? This isn't so serious that we need to bother! …I hope it's not
anyway…," Sylvia said, ducking her head awkwardly. She was likely
remembering the recent murder case.
"Well… I am interested in the festival, but I'll stay home in the castle. I
think a certain someone will get mad at me if I go out," Tinasha stated,
cowering as she recalled Oscar's offended expression.
The two of them burst out laughing at the same time.
The day of the celebration, Oscar finished all his work by dusk for once.
While he knew another mountain of post-festival reports would pile up
once it was over, he was free for now.
In the past, he often sneaked out of the castle and went to have fun in
town. But now that he was an adult, the novelty of that had worn off. In
general, he didn't venture off, nor even arrange for guards.
The prince left his study and headed for his chamber to kill some time.
On the way, he caught sight of someone on a balcony looking out at the
city.
Her long black hair fluttered in the wind. It felt like it had been a while
since he'd seen her pale complexion and rare beauty.
The look in her eyes as she gazed into the distance hadn't changed since
the first time he'd met her. Yet now there was a sort of childlike, pure
yearning there.
Tinasha looked like a girl who grew up locked in a castle, pining for the
outside world. As he stole glances at her from the side, Oscar hesitated for a
fraction of an instant. Or perhaps it only felt like he did.
Detouring to head out onto the balcony, he tapped her shoulder. "Do you
want to go out into town?"
Tinasha gave a start, looking at him. Amazement filled her eyes. "Ah,
er… I wouldn't mind, but it's pleasant enough watching from here."
"Oh? So you do? Don't deprive yourself, then. Come along," Oscar
insisted curtly, striding back out into the hallway and setting off. His gait
was much faster than Tinasha's, owing to his tall height, and she had to jog
to catch up with him.
"Ah, um…," she stammered.
"Keep up. If we get separated, you won't be able to get back," he
declared imperiously.
"Where exactly are we going?!" Tinasha cried, nevertheless persuaded
into running after him.
The day of the Aetea festival was a special holiday in Farsas. People from
all over the country, and even some from others, gathered in the city.
Everyone was savoring the festive atmosphere, singing, drinking, and
dancing. Confetti rained down from the roofs of the merchant shops lining
the streets, brilliant against the blue sky.
The din itself was enough to get anyone feeling giddy and intoxicated. A
young mother holding tight to her toddler son's hand made her way along
the moat that rimmed the castle. She checked on her child many times along
the way, but a crowd of people suddenly bumped into her, and she
stumbled. All too quickly, she lost the grip on her boy's hand.
"Oh…," she said, letting out a little cry. Now that he was set free, her
son tore off in high spirits. The blood drained from her face as she watched
him. The woman knew she had to catch him fast, but there were so many
people that she couldn't get through the crowd swiftly. She managed to
catch a glimpse of him through a gap in a wave of revelers—and spied him
peering into the moat.
She opened her mouth to shout his name, but just then, a passing
drunkard bumped into the boy, and his tiny body toppled over toward the
moat.
"NO!" the woman shrieked, but a young man was already reaching for
the child.
He stretched out his hand and pulled the boy up. The mother rushed over
and gathered him to her. "Th-thank you so much!"
"Be careful out there," the young man cautioned before taking his leave.
As she watched him go, the woman cocked her head, feeling a strange sense
that she had seen him somewhere before.
Oscar weaved his way rapidly through the crowds, and Tinasha watched
him as she followed. "Oscar, is this really okay?"
"My work is done, so it's fine," he answered.
Both had changed into more casual clothes, and they zipped through the
throngs. All around them, people were riding high on festival excitement, so
no one paid them any mind. That said, some people could probably
recognize who he was if they looked closely.
The heir to the throne had sneaked out of the castle with Tinasha in tow.
Oscar suddenly stopped and bought some pastries from a nearby street stall.
They were made by mixing flour and water, then adding sliced fruit to the
dough and baking it. They were only seen in Farsas on holidays. Oscar
handed her one wrapped in paper and said, "Here, try this."
"…Thank you," Tinasha replied, taking a bite. The sweet yet sour tang
of the sugary glaze coating the exterior melted on her tongue. It had a
delicious, unfamiliar flavor, and she broke into a pure, natural smile.
Oscar stared at Tinasha while she grinned so innocently. Eventually, she
felt his gaze on her and looked from the pastry, confused. "What is it? Don't
tell me this was some sort of trap?"
"What would I have to gain by setting a trap for you?" he retorted dryly.
"A distraction from the worries of daily life, maybe…"
"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to, but unfortunately you're a royal from
our neighboring country," Oscar reminded.
"I'm very sorry about that. You'll have to wait for your next chance,"
Tinasha stated placidly, then took another bite of her pastry. She carried the
status of a royal and could overwhelm opponents with her mage abilities,
yet at this moment, she was an ordinary girl. Her looks, personality, and
powers were all out of balance.
Oscar's impression of Tinasha was ever-changing, and he found himself
unable to look away from her. Suddenly, the prince snapped back to his
senses and frowned.
Initially, he took her from the castle purely because he wished to show a
foreign guest around the city. He also wanted to demonstrate his gratitude
and provide her with a break, considering all the work she put in regularly
toward undoing his curse. There was nothing more to it, really. At least,
there shouldn't have been.
"Let's get going. I'll give you a tour," Oscar said, offering a hand. It was
all merely basic courtesy, but a smile rapidly bloomed on Tinasha's face.
She took his hand excitedly, not bothering to hide her pure affection for him
in her gaze. The young woman's elation left Oscar considerably
disconcerted.
However, he tamped down those emotions and set off, matching
Tinasha's walking pace. She practically skipped along at his side, munching
on her pastry.
With such a beautiful woman in tow amid the bustling crowds, Oscar
undoubtedly made the ideal customer for the stall owners. He brushed off
the calls and cries from the stands they passed and continued along until he
stopped in front of a booth selling hair ornaments. "Would you like me to
buy you anything?"
The question had come purely from impulse. Tinasha wore a Tuldarr
mage's robe day in, day out, and Oscar never saw any jewelry on her. She
looked lovely anyway, of course, but he did desire to view her in something
different every once in a while, for variety's sake. There could be no
admitting to that, however, for he knew Tinasha would suggest they get
married if he did.
Tinasha's eyes grew very wide at his fickle curiosity… But right away,
she gave a self-effacing shake of her head. "Thank you. But you're already
doing so much for me daily, so it's really enough just that you've taken me
out to see the city."
She had no greed at all; that was evident in her statement. Yet Oscar
noticed that, at the same time, she squeezed his hand a little tighter.
It was likely an unconscious action. As Tinasha walked next to him, she
let slip a sigh of relief.
What could she be worrying about, even though she was such a
powerful mage? Sometimes she looked as uneasy as a lost child. And the
worst part was that she didn't appear to be aware of it at all. If you asked,
she'd just smile and say, "I'm fine."
Oscar watched her with narrowed eyes, but she remained unawares and
partook of the festival sights. Suddenly, Tinasha seemed to remember
something, and her eyes widened. "Oh, but if you're going to grant me a
request, could we go see this place I heard about?"
"From who? Where?" Oscar questioned. There were lots of famous
spots in the Farsas castle city, including gorgeous fountains and a white bell
that was rumored to grant wishes. Oscar envisioned many such places a girl
would love to visit.
Tinasha flushed, looking a little shy. "The place where animal blood got
splattered."
"…"
With great difficulty, Oscar stayed calm and didn't yell the outraged
retort that was on the tip of his tongue. He only asked tersely, "Why do you
want to go see a place like that?"
"I heard they didn't catch whoever did it and have been patrolling the
area. I want to check if there are any tracks left, just to be sure," she
answered.
"That's not your job," he stated flatly.
"But it's bothering me!" she protested stubbornly.
Tinasha really was a handful and a half. There was nothing more
annoying than accompanying her.
But since he was the one who took her out of the castle, he should take
responsibility for it. "…Fine. It's nearby."
"Thank you!"
"Also, you're really a disappointment as a woman," Oscar added.
"Where did that come from?! Is that your way of distracting yourself?"
exclaimed Tinasha, but the prince ignored her. Unusual though her request
was, she could pick up on a clue of some kind if she got a look at the crime
scene. If this would satisfy her for the moment, then fine.
Oscar led Tinasha along and turned the corner into the alley. Not many
people were hanging around this back street lined with back doors, though
the buzz from the festival was still audible. Oscar lifted a casual hand to the
soldier on guard at one end of the alley. "Has anything happened?"
"Y-Your Highness?! No, nothing in particular," answered the flustered
soldier, glancing curiously at the woman accompanying his crown prince.
She paid the guardsman no mind, however, slipping past him.
Tinasha stopped before the spot covered in black stains and looked all
around. "Is this it? It does seem to be spread pretty widely around for a
prank."
"Based on the volume of blood, they think about two horses or cows
were used," Oscar informed her.
"It'd be difficult to bring those in…," Tinasha mused, staring at the
ground. Oscar could tell she was concentrating from the way her pupils
dilated like a cat's. People passing by paused to gawk out of curiosity, and
those living in the houses nearby popped their heads out of windows.
More and more folks started to loiter, causing a scowl to mar Oscar's
fine features as he leaned against the wall. He kept feeling eyes on him. His
escape from the castle might need to come to an end soon.
Just as he was straightening up, Tinasha glanced over at him. "Thank
you for taking me, but there's nothing here."
"Nothing? Really?"
"Nothing, magically speaking. I'm sorry I caused you some trouble," the
young woman reported, trotting back over. It occurred to Oscar that Tinasha
might be tricking him like last time, but it didn't seem that way. The guard
soldiers bowed to their prince as he and his guest exited the alley to plunge
back into the heart of the festival.
As they navigated the crowds, Tinasha asked, "Why do you think
someone did that?"
"It was likely just a prank. We've got no other clues that suggest
otherwise. Besides, now that I've seen it in person, I realize it happened
pretty far down that alley," Oscar answered.
"There are people who do strange things. Maybe it was someone who
has an uncommon obsession with animal blood," proposed Tinasha.
"I really don't like the idea of a guess like that, so knock it off. Anyway,
let me show you around some more. If you're going to be queen, you need
to get a proper tour of your neighbor's capital city."
"I appreciate the gesture, but I do wonder how you're so familiar with
the town. I thought that, in general, royalty almost never left the castle. Do
you regularly sneak out of—? Ouch!" Tinasha cried, annoyed as Oscar
tugged lightly at her cheek.
Tinasha had hit the nail on the head, but Oscar went on as if she hadn't
asked anything. "Since we're already here, I'll take you to the lookout
tower. The view's great from there."
Ever since he was a kid, Oscar had climbed the lookout tower on the
ramparts at the edge of town whenever he wanted to be alone.
Looking out from there gave him the fleeting sensation of freedom,
while also reaffirming the importance of the burdens laid on his shoulders.
An ordinary woman probably wouldn't think anything of it, but Tinasha
was a fellow political policymaker, so she might have had a different
impression. Oscar glanced over and saw her gazing up at the paper birds
flying through the sky. She turned to smile at him. The expression was so
radiant it overtook the light of the sun. "I can't wait to see it. Thank you."
Her voice was as clear as bells tinkling, laced with a sense of ephemeral
independence.
Come three hours later, Oscar had shown her the highlights of the city. At
some point, night had fallen. Magic lights twinkled in the distance,
illuminating the castle as seen from the lookout tower.
Tinasha hung out from a stone window, gazing down at the glow
pouring from the townscape. "Wow. It's like the city is overlaid with a
fabric made of light."
"I'm glad you're having fun, but don't fall," Oscar warned.
"If I fell, I'd just fly. I'm fine," she asserted.
Oscar thought of tugging on her cheek again but unfortunately couldn't
reach. For her part, Tinasha was still absorbed with taking in the glittering
nightscape. Just as Oscar decided he should retrieve her, a soldier called to
him. "Your Highness, we have a barrel of wine here for the festivities.
Please have some if you'd like."
"Ah, thanks," said Oscar. A barrel of wine and some glasses were set out
on a nearby table. He picked up a glass and asked the woman with her head
still stuck out the window, "Do you want some?"
"I can drink, but my magic goes the tiniest bit haywire if I get drunk,"
she answered.
"Got it. No wine for you," Oscar responded. There was no way
Tinasha's "tiniest bit" was actually tiny in any sense. If she slipped up, she
might cause an incident much worse than spilled animal blood.
Giving up on offering her a drink, Oscar came to stand next to her
instead. "You've been staring out there nonstop. Is it really that fascinating?
What's different from a vista in Tuldarr?"
"A lot… But this is my first time looking out over a city from this close.
So many people are living their lives right in front of my eyes… Thinking
about that is so moving, and it has a sobering effect," Tinasha explained.
"…"
She looked utterly innocent as Oscar beheld her. Yet at the same time,
there was an undeniable weight and dignity of a royal on the throne in her
eyes. Oscar sighed, unable to comprehend the duality, and swallowed the
emotions that he himself couldn't distinguish. "We should get back.
Everyone's going to worry."
"You're right. Thank you so much for taking me around. It was very
fun," Tinasha said, grinning at the prince with a heart-melting smile.
Her jet-black eyes were enough to captivate anyone; Oscar narrowed his
own and averted his gaze, feeling that he shouldn't look at her head-on. "So
long as you had fun, I'm satisfied. Although, I really didn't expect us to go
look at the bloodstained alley."
"Why not?! Anyone would be curious about that! It's so obviously a
fishy story, especially after someone suspicious was just sighted on castle
premises! I'm not going to be able to rest until I figure out their goal,"
declared Tinasha.
"Goal?"
An uneasy feeling suddenly gripped Oscar.
It was like he had something undigested deep within him. He knew this
sensation well. Apprehensiveness welled up, sending the prince's mind
whirling. "But there weren't any magical traps or anything, were there?"
"No, but spilling that much blood around clearly took planning. If their
aim was just to get attention, that's fine. However, it could be something
more, and not knowing if that's the case makes it challenging to act,"
Tinasha reasoned. She had a point. Whatever the culprit's motive was, they
had only created a situation where everyone was on edge and extra-cautious
—possibly for no reason.
But if these exact circumstances were part of the culprit's plan, then they
were waiting for…
"…Are they after me?" Oscar muttered. The instant after he did, a white
light flared up at the corner of his eyes.
It came from a little bell tower in the middle of the city. The moment he
realized the underside of the bell was glowing, he picked up Tinasha in his
arms.
"Get down!"
At his shout, the soldiers behind them rushed to crouch.
Immediately after, the light that flew in burst open against the window.
The heat emanating from it singed Oscar's neck.
However, nothing more came for them. Tinasha's voice was muffled as
she spoke up from within his arms. "Oscar… What was that? I set up a
barrier right away, but…"
"So you're the one who guarded against it. We were just shot at. I'm
glad you're safe," the prince replied.
"That magic just now was meant for us?"
"Probably whoever spilled all that animal blood. They were on the
lookout close to the crime scene watching for me to show up," Oscar
explained grimly.
While the crown prince was ordinarily inside the castle, if some bizarre
incident occurred, chances were very high that Oscar would investigate it
personally. That was due to his personality and—more than anything—
because he was the master of Akashia. Until today, he'd been too busy
preparing for the festival to do anything but send the mages out to guard.
After lying in wait for Oscar to make an appearance, the culprit must have
tailed him.
With Tinasha still in his arms, Oscar fixed a sharp eye on the tower that
the attack came from. "It doesn't look like they're going to shoot again…
Did they get away?"
"I won't let them," Tinasha declared in a shockingly cold voice. She
slipped easily from his arms and had one foot up on the window frame
before Oscar grabbed her by the collar.
The young woman was so light that she was well on her way to toppling
backward. "Ah!"
"Why are you like this? Don't go straight to luring them out!" Oscar
scolded.
"B-but…," Tinasha protested as he supported her back so she wouldn't
fall. With one hand rubbing at her tense neck, her other hand pointed
outside the window.
"Mark it with a seal."
As she spoke, a little red line shot through the air. It headed right for the
tower's belfry, then dispersed like a ghostly specter.
Oscar commanded the guards behind him, "The belfry on the three-story
tower in the southern district. A mage is there, so be careful."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the soldiers chorused, rushing off. Oscar steadied
Tinasha upright.
After glaring out the window, she gave a little shake of her head and
then faced him with her head cocked like a kitten's. "It's just for a short
time, but I set up automatic tracking and prohibited any teleporting away. If
the guards make it in time, they might be able to catch the culprit."
"You can do that?"
"It's simple. That said, it's still likely that the felon will escape. They
chose a long-range attack, which means they already have an established
getaway plan," she explained.
"Probably, yeah. Driving them away is a good start, however," Oscar
said.
Tinasha made a face. "I don't think so at all. In cases like this, you have
to chase them down as far as you can and stamp out the issue entirely."
"Did you grow up in the Dark Age or something?"
The young woman's cheeks were all puffed up with anger, and Oscar
patted her on the shoulder. "Come on, calm down. We're going back to the
castle. Although, it'll take a while because the streets are so crowded."
"…That doesn't matter. I'll take us back," Tinasha declared, reaching
out to place an ivory hand on Oscar's cheek before reciting a short
incantation.
Oscar looked down at himself; nothing had changed. "What did you
do?"
"I applied a glamour, because I think we'll get scolded if anyone finds
us."
Tinasha took the prince's hand and sat down on the window ledge.
Oscar was about to ask what she was doing when their bodies suddenly
lifted up lightly into the air. Once they slipped out the window of the
watchtower, they floated even higher, only stopping when they were high
enough to look down at the spire.
Dumbfounded, Oscar gazed at the townscape below. "Amazing."
"It seems like you're comfortable with heights. Let's fly back," Tinasha
said, and her words appeared to be the cue for them to start gliding along.
The lights of the city glittered like glass beads inlaid in black silk.
Pressing down her hair as the wind tossed it, Tinasha looked fondly from
one light to the next.
By her side, Oscar gazed intently down at the same view.
Oscar directed Tinasha to the balcony outside his chamber, where the two
touched down. The door was locked, but they woke Nark, who let them in.
After dropping off Oscar, Tinasha lingered for a while on the balcony,
gazing at him as he stood by his bed. When he turned around and caught
sight of the somewhat lonely look on her face, he scowled. "What's with
that expression?"
"…I thought you hated me," she admitted.
"I do."
"Urgh, I knew it," grumbled Tinasha, shoulders slumping with dejection.
Oscar boggled at her. Why was she asking him something so obvious? If
it was enough to upset her this much, maybe she should reflect on her
actions.
Looking away, the prince began to doff his jacket. "I hate that you act on
your own without telling me anything. I don't know if I can trust you, and I
feel uneasy looking at you. If you're so confident…and if you don't want
me to hate you, then open up a bit more."
At the end of the day, Tinasha had yet to reveal anything about herself.
Why had she been asleep underneath the castle, and why had Oscar's
arrival roused her?
He didn't know why she had become the next queen of Tuldarr—or the
true extent of her power. And yet she kept trying to fly off somewhere, as
she had just shown. Feeling fond of such a mysterious, inscrutable woman
was all but impossible.
That was much too rude to say to Oscar's honored guest from a
neighboring country, of course. If his words ended up offending her,
international relations might very well break down on the spot. With a sigh,
Oscar bit back all he wished to lay plain.
Tinasha, on the other hand, beheld him with surprise. "I wasn't
attempting to conceal anything… But I did fail to mention it. I'm sorry."
Bitterness tinged her voice. When Oscar turned around, he saw that
Tinasha had come inside and shut the door to the balcony. Then she
straightened her posture, faced him formally, and reintroduced herself.
"My name is Tinasha As Meyer Ur Aeterna Tuldarr. I was born four
hundred years ago…and I woke up in this era after a magic sleep. I was
queen once before."
"…What?" was all Oscar could say at this revelation out of the blue. But
he quickly realized who she was. "You're the Witch Killer Queen?!"
"Apparently I have been called that, yes," she admitted, somewhat selfdeprecatingly.
It was all too ridiculous of a tale. Everything fit together when he
thought about it, however.
Tuldarr's treatment of the woman, her confidence, her power—all of it
aligned with a queen so mighty she was remembered centuries later. When
Calste received Oscar at Tuldarr Castle, he had said no one had been invited
or allowed beyond that door in a very long time. Still, Oscar would never
have imagined that referred to a time span of four hundred years.
Yet, after he cleared away his wrong impressions and assumptions, it all
became clear. Angry with himself that he hadn't realized the truth all this
time, Oscar's face twisted bitterly. "…I understand."
"I'm really sorry," Tinasha offered, her slender body shrinking back a
bit. She looked like a scolded child. Witnessing her as such cut a strange
contrast with her more imperial traits.
With a deliberate shift in attitude, Oscar sat down on the bed and looked
up at his guest ruefully. "I understand, but don't go running off on your own
to do dangerous things. You can rely on me."
His message was succinct, and it signaled a simple and clear end to the
conversation.
But Oscar didn't miss the way Tinasha's eyes turned very hollow upon
hearing that—or the way they soon filled with a heartrending sorrow. All at
once, she was watching something distant.
It was those eyes of hers that kept nagging at the prince, the orbs she
turned on him from time to time.
Looking at them felt like a thousand little knives piercing his heart. He
averted his gaze. "Stop it with that look in your eyes. It gives me the
creeps."
"Wha…?"
"You're always peering through me to the other side. It's rude, and it
makes me uncomfortable. If you're going to look at me, look at me," he
insisted.
Tinasha's eyes would glimpse some place that wasn't quite here. Oscar
had caught her like that multiple times since they met. The young woman's
beautiful dark eyes would be trained on something just past him.
While her attention and her heart seemed to be present, they weren't.
What would be the point of getting to know someone like that?
Now that he'd laid things bare, Oscar wanted to slap his forehead for his
tactlessness.
Those were his true and unvarnished feelings, but it brought him no
benefit at all to confess them out loud. Still, he'd said it anyway because he
understood Tinasha wasn't aware of her expression.
When he glanced over at her, he saw that she looked as vacant and
helpless as a lost child. "Oh…"
After several moments of appearing stupefied, Tinasha tried to smile and
failed. Her red lips only twisted crookedly.
"I-I'm sorry…," she muttered, covering her face with one hand. Her
eyes were squeezed shut, but tears dripped out of their corners.
Upon witnessing this shift in behavior, Oscar wanted to beseech the
heavens. He hadn't meant to criticize Tinasha, but of course she took it that
way.
Tinasha bit her lip hard, ashamed of her tears.
Unfortunately, she couldn't stanch the flow. Finally, she broke into quiet
sobs, as if what she had held back unconsciously was bursting forth from
her.
As she cried silently, Oscar watched her with a sour face. "What is even
going on here…?"
He shouldn't have brought it up after all. This must be a part of her she
kept very close to her soul, without being aware of it—some sort of
incredibly soft and childish emotion. For someone else to point it out was
going much too far.
Yet even so, Tinasha had always looked so lonely when she turned that
faraway, almost nostalgic gaze on him.
Thus, Oscar had wanted her to feel like she could smile more freely,
without all the shadows over her expression.
With an inward groan over how much of a pain this was, Oscar
beckoned her over. "Come here."
Timidly, Tinasha trotted before him. He took her hand and pulled her
onto his lap. "Seriously, what is going on? Is it something you can't discuss
with others?"
The young woman shook her head furiously, then wiped her tears and
smiled at him.
That grin was very childlike and oddly adorable—at odds with her
mature beauty.
Once Tinasha composed herself, she stared at her hands. "I told you a little
bit about it before, but when I was young, someone saved my life. Yet by
doing so…he ended up losing his past and future—everything. Even
knowing that would happen, he saved me. And I…can't do anything to pay
him back for that."
"Is he similar to me?" Oscar guessed.
Tinasha nodded.
It was like listening to a child tell a story. A part of Tinasha's heart must
have still been juvenile. That was why her eyes kept searching around for
the person she lost. She knew that the past was just that, but she still longed
for days long gone.
"I didn't realize I was looking at you like that… I'm sorry. I guess, in
the end, I haven't changed. I didn't get even the tiniest bit stronger…"
Tinasha sighed into her knees.
Very sullenly, Oscar grabbed a cloth folded up next to him and started to
scrub roughly at her face. "I get what happened, but that's no reason to stay
stuck in the past. If this person saved your life, then you need to make full
use of it. Hold your head up high and look straight ahead."
"…Oscar," she murmured, staring right at him. A weary frown cast a
shadow on his fine features.
The prince looked identical to the man who had rescued her, but his
expressions were entirely different. That made sense, since he was a
different person. He handed Tinasha the cloth he'd wiped her face with, and
she stared down at it.
It was only slightly soaked with tears and still fresh.
She curled her hands into the soft cloth. "I'm sorry… It really is as you
say."
"Honestly," Oscar muttered, patting her on the head before climbing
onto the bed. No report on the sharpshooter had come in yet, which meant it
would be tomorrow before they had the full picture. Until then, it would be
best to grab some sleep.
Once the prince had gone to lie down, a wave of exhaustion rolled over
him, and he sighed out deeply. Everything with Tinasha took far more out
of him than working at his desk did. He understood he was paying her more
attention than he needed to, but he still ended up doing so.
Rolling over on the bed, Oscar noticed Tinasha was staring at him, at
loose ends.
He debated whether he should say something, and in the end caught up
one lock of her long black hair. "Well… It'd be impossible for you to fix
something like that right away, even if I told you to, so just work on it a
little at a time."
Though it wasn't a notion Tinasha could accept immediately, she could
digest it bit by bit. That was probably what the person who saved her would
want. He would want her to grow to adulthood and live a happy life.
Tinasha gazed at him with wide-open eyes. Her black eyelashes—the
same color as her hair—quivered. Uneasily, nervously, she tugged his
sleeve. "Oscar."
"What?"
Backlit in the dark of the room, her eyes wavered with hazy emotions.
Whenever he looked into those windows to the abyss, he felt as if he could
fall headlong into them; he shut his eyes against them.
Then he heard her whisper in his ear, "Can I stay with you, just for
tonight?"
"What?!" he yelped, bolting upright in his shock over her unanticipated
request.
Her eyes, as transparent as before, bored into him. "Just for this one
night, let me be near you. If I do… I think I'll be all right…"
Her words were sincere; her tone beseeching.
Oscar had a brief notion that there was a lost child pulling on his sleeve;
he felt a headache coming on. He was exhausted, and everything was
quickly getting very aggravating. Sighing, he pulled Tinasha up onto the
bed, not wanting to be bothered any further. The prince threw her down
next to him as if he were flinging a cat. "Do whatever you want."
"Thank you," she muttered, lying facedown on the bed and smiling to
herself.
She was acting utterly defenseless, and Oscar tossed her a cold glance.
"I could have my way with you now, you know."
"Ah-ha-ha-ha. That's true; I'm not a kid anymore… Go right ahead,"
she invited, her giggle like bells pealing. For someone who wasn't a kid,
she was giving him quite the childlike, carefree gaze.
Oscar rolled his eyes before leveling a glare at her. She was toying with
him, any way you looked at it, and it was downright infuriating.
He poked her head irritably. "Enough. Go to sleep. You're behaving like
a child."
"Okay…," Tinasha replied, closing her eyes obediently.
Oscar spent some time observing her. After making sure she wasn't
going to start crying again and that her breathing had evened out, he gently
stroked her glossy black locks.
She would never reach the man she met that day.
However, he had his own version of her with him.
And those two no longer existed. Tinasha and this Oscar were here now
instead.
It was a new story.
Chasing traces of the old one wouldn't do. She would keep him as a
memory and shut him away.
All that remained was to stand on her own, full of gratitude for the life
he gave her.
She would hold her head up high.
Now that she had awakened, she would turn to a new page.
The next morning, Tinasha jolted from her slumber when she detected
someone pinching her cheeks.
Her eyelids were heavy and felt swollen. A dull pain pulsed through her
head.
"You have a real hard time getting out of bed," Oscar commented dryly,
peering down at her with an appalled expression. She could only nod.
He poked lightly at her cheeks, yet she just couldn't manage to get
herself out of bed. Her mind was so sluggish, and she felt only half awake
and still dreaming.
"Oh yeah… What did you come from four hundred years in the past to
do?" the prince inquired casually. His phrasing made it sound like it didn't
matter to him at all.
The answer to that was obvious, however. Tinasha flashed him a smile
that could steal the heart of any who beheld it.
"To see you," she whispered, then closed her eyes again and fell back to
sleep.
While he was blown away by that reply, he recovered and shook his
head as if shaking off a binding spell of some sort.
"That's a good line," he muttered, but it didn't reach the already
dreaming Tinasha.
"Your Highness! Weren't you shot at yesterday? Why did you sneak out of
the castle without letting me know?!" cried Lazar, on the verge of tears as
he rushed over to Oscar the second he left his room.
The prince took the report from his friend and gave it a simple onceover. "So they didn't catch whoever did it. Admittedly, I didn't think they
would. It'd be wise to retreat in that situation if your first shot misses."
"Why are you speaking like this happened to someone else?! Everyone
knows that you, Your Highness, have a tendency to poke your head right
into unusual cases like this, so you really can't…"
"It was Tinasha who wanted to go take a look. I was only accompanying
her," countered Oscar.
"B-but Princess Tinasha is nowhere to be found! Did you leave her
behind somewhere?!" Lazar cried.
"Oh… Right; forgot that would happen."
After she fell asleep the night before, Oscar visited his study briefly to
appraise himself of where things stood. But now that Lazar brought it up, he
realized he hadn't informed anyone of Tinasha's whereabouts at all.
Oscar glanced at Lazar, who was still in a dither, and said plainly, "She's
in my room. I left her there because she refused to wake up."
When Lazar heard that, the color very slowly drained from his face. He
grabbed Oscar's lapels, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Oscar
regarded him with amusement.
"Y-you are such a…," Lazar finally sputtered.
"Relax. Nothing happened. Seriously, I've never met a woman who's
more trouble to deal with than her."
"Is that really true?!" Lazar yelped.
"It really is."
With that cavalier reply, Oscar set off down the hall, Lazar running after
him.
"Are you sure that's the truth?! Look me in the eye and say it!"
"Stop nagging at me!"
The voices of the two men grew more and more distant down the
corridor. The beautiful mage remained sound asleep in bed, where even his
voice could not reach her.