“Uh, okay… Well, I’m not sure I totally follow, but if you’re happy, then I’m happy, too.” No, no, no, hold on a moment. ’Tis nice that Hina seems the same as always, but… Something about it was weird. Elisabeth massaged her temples. But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t put her finger on what was so odd. Perhaps it wasn’t just one thing. In fact, if she were to force herself to put it into words, then… “Everything” is odd. “Lady Elisabeth, which one would you like?” “The raspberry and honey tart, I should think!” In that moment, though, Elisabeth ceased wondering. She eagerly extended her hand. With a “But of course,” Hina deftly dished up the tart. Elisabeth peered down at the plate. The tart was piled extravagantly high with raspberries, and the honey gave it a glossy sheen. Looking at it was like feasting her eyes on a mountain of rubies. As Elisabeth grabbed a fork, Kaito made a sly quip. “Man, I can practically see a tail and a pair of ears twitching on you.” “Silence, you. I’m no cat.” “And yet you’re the only one who said anything about cats… Looks like even you realize it.” “If I had to choose between being a cat or a dog, I would be a dog! I’d roll on my back, show Master Kaito my belly, and wag my tail so hard, it would almost fall off! Woof, woof!” “That’s nice, honey. Even without a tail, you’re plenty cute already.” Kaito patted Hina’s head past her soft maid hat. As Hina let out more delighted woofs, Elisabeth joined her hand to the petting. Hina was overcome with joy. Their Hina-cherishing party continued on like that for a little while. Perhaps it was just Elisabeth’s imagination, but the air in the room seemed a bit warmer than it had been before. With the mood suitably lightened, Elisabeth turned back to her plate and spoke with a smile. “Now then, to the tart!” “I do hope it’s to your liking!” “Make sure you slow down and chew it so you don’t choke.” “What do you take me for, a child?” As she shot a complaint Kaito’s way, Elisabeth brandished her fork and sliced carefully through the crust so as not to disturb the cream or the raspberries. Then she slowly lifted the bite to her mouth, and— “…It tastes like nothing.” —with a thud— —all the lights went out. Tick, tock… Tick-tock… Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… Ti-ti-ti-ti— Creeeeeeeeeeak. “Now then, I suppose that marks the end of the first act.” A deep voice echoed through the air, and a lamp lit up in the darkness as though it had been waiting for that very moment. The lamp’s candle cast a white circle around itself. Because it was pitch-black, even that meager light source seemed as blinding as the sun. Elisabeth squinted. She could see a pearl-gray tablecloth extending out from the circle on into the darkness. Silver buffet platters sat atop it, laden with food so colorful that they almost looked like they were made of wax. There were a number of hors d’oeuvres, from a translucent jelled oyster dish and a vividly orange marinated salmon to a broad selection of pâtés. The table was absolutely packed with fragrant foods. However, nobody was partaking in the spread, which looked too good to be true. There was but one person there. The silhouette of a man, sitting at the head of the table. He wore a silk shirt with a cravat, and his coat was decorated with silver thread. Ignoring the buffet platters, he instead ate from a single pure-white dinner plate. Upon the porcelain dish was a slab of meat with blood dripping from it. The raw liver didn’t even look seasoned. The man cut thin slices of the meat and carried them to his mouth with his fork. The darkness was broken up only by the candlelight and the soft sound of dishes clinking. After looking at the man’s crimson eyes, silky black hair, and beautiful features, which resembled her own, Elisabeth spoke. “And who the hell are you?” “Oh, come now, precious daughter of mine. This thing you do where you forget I exist isn’t nearly as endearing as you think.” Vlad Le Fanu put down his knife and fork. Elisabeth merely gave him a scoff. She knew perfectly well who he was. However, her resentment toward Vlad ran deep. The mere fact that she was willing to regard him with apathy instead of outright hostility was a supreme display of self-control. At that point, though, Elisabeth cocked her head to the side. What was it that Vlad just said? “…What first act?” “In a sense, we stand at a legend’s end. The space beyond the fairy tale.” All of a sudden, Vlad began speaking. He lifted his knife and fork once more. As he sliced up his meat, crimson blood trickled forth from it. “This is the stage past the curtain’s fall, the shell of what remains after the final act that was the end of days—but the performance’s end, you see, was nowhere near adequate. With its lease on life renewed, the world continued on. But the bells would eventually toll on a new curtain’s rise.” For that is the way bells and curtains are. Ting. After cutting his meat, Vlad dinged his knife against the plate’s surface. Then he slowly looked up at Elisabeth, his mouth curling into a smile as he went on. “Preventing the play from ending. The three races, unified. A noble sacrifice. It’s moving, don’t get me wrong. A tale well worth telling. But what about the story that follows it?” “…What story?” “Revolution. Revenge. Betrayal. Any and all of these require diving deep into the actor’s psyche and motives. And that means the story that follows can hardly be told. Eventually, all of it will be buried beneath the black veil of history. And with no regard paid to those who fought so valiantly… Although, of course, it’s entirely too early to tell if there’ll still be a world where one could tell it in the first place. Things are starting to look a little grim.” Deftly moving his fork, he brought a taut slice of liver to his mouth and laid it atop his tongue. Then he popped it into his mouth, almost as though hammering home his statement to Elisabeth. The meat’s crimson blood painted his lips a slightly darker shade of red as he let out a casual laugh. “Nobody’s going to like this. Even seasoned veterans will want to avert their gazes. That’s just the way it’s going to play out.” “Vlad, don’t tell me… Did you hit your head or something?” “You know, your concern might well be touching if it weren’t always so insulting!” On hearing Elisabeth’s reply, Vlad set his utensils back down. In an unusual turn of events, it sounded like he was being relatively serious about what he was talking about. But what of it? Elisabeth frowned. For her part, there was a fretfulness eating away at her so intensely, it felt like her neck was burning. Something is off—I’m certain of it. Her vision wavered. Vlad’s description was unpleasant, but more than that, it was disquieting. There was something lurking just below the surface, something she mustn’t lay eyes on. However, Elisabeth couldn’t even figure out what it was. Every time she tried to think about it, she was obstructed by an intense headache. “What…is this?” Elisabeth pressed down on her forehead. Vlad went back to eating. After elegantly making his way through the meat, he wiped his lips with his napkin and looked up. “Caught your attention?” “What?” The question came out of the blue, and it was notably lacking a subject. However, Elisabeth didn’t get a chance to ask him to elaborate. Vlad nodded all on his own, then snapped his fingers. Darkness and azure flower petals filled the air. When they cleared, all that remained on the table was a single bowl. It was deep, and filled to the very brim with water. The water’s surface, flat as a mirror, was projecting an image of somewhere else. Elisabeth’s eyes went wide. She gasped. “Kaito, Hina…” Kaito and Hina were sleeping, huddled up together with peaceful expressions on their faces. They looked almost serene. It was just beautiful, nothing more. There wasn’t anything odd about it. Everyone knew they were married, and it was perfectly normal for married people to sleep together. However… It seems so…distant. That calm, gentle scene was farther away than the world’s end. Elisabeth was overcome with a crushing sense of isolation. She knew that the image on the water was just that, an image, but that alone didn’t explain why she felt the way she did. It was like the entire space they were in was cut off from her by some sort of transparent wall. She gazed wordlessly at the two of them. Vlad laughed a low, booming laugh. Ignoring him, she reached out, even knowing there was no way she’d be able to touch the scene atop the water’s surface. After all, it wasn’t real. There was nothing there to reach. There shouldn’t have been anyway. And yet. And…yet? …Splash! Tick, tock… Tick-tock… Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… Ti-ti-ti-ti— Creeeeeee— —eeeak? “Hey, Elisabeth, what’s going on?” “Are you all right, Lady Elisabeth?” “……………………………Hmm?” Elisabeth slowly opened her eyes, only to have them immediately seared by a dazzling light. At some point, the room had brightened up. She could still see the pearl-gray tablecloth stretched out atop the table before her, but the silver platters and waxy-looking food were nowhere to be seen. Neither was Vlad, for that matter. In fact, Elisabeth had even swapped places with him and was now sitting at the head of the table herself. And the silver bowl with the image of Kaito and Hina had been swapped out for something as well. It was some sort of strangely majestic container. Elisabeth peered intently at the newly appeared object. I know this. ’Tis… It was something she herself had once created on Kaito’s request. It was an earthenware pot. What in the world was it doing there? No, no. There was something more pressing to consider. Namely, the fact that Kaito and Hina were standing right next to her. After looking down at her from both sides, they spoke. “No response. It looks like she’s a corpse or somethi— Mmph!” “Come now, Master Kaito! I love you dearly, but you mustn’t make rude jokes like that about women! Lady Elisabeth is a sensitive soul!” “Y-yeah, you’re right. My bad… Seriously, though, Elisabeth, are you okay?” “Well, I am a tad worried about the way Hina sees me.” Elisabeth frowned. From her perspective, she thought of Hina like a little sister, yet for some reason, it felt like she was the one being pampered. “Hmhm!” Hina puffed out her chest in an inexplicable display of pride. A half beat later, though, she hopped into the air with a start. “Whoa! Why, Lady Elisabeth responded!” “Whoa! What’s going on, Elisabeth? You were totally spacing out there.” “Spacing…out? No, I was just… Vlad was…” “Did you not want your purin?” “…Purin?” On hearing that, Elisabeth looked back over to the earthenware pot. Its lid was still on, but now that he mentioned it, she could definitely make out the pleasant aroma of eggs, milk, and sugar. It was, without a doubt, packed full of wobbly, pale-yellow goodness. Elisabeth instinctively reached for its lid, but she then stopped and shook her head. “No, wait, the raspberry tart… What became of my tart?” “Hmm? A tart? Would you have preferred a tart, Lady Elisabeth?” “No, no, that isn’t it. It feels as though I can’t tell up from down.” Assailed by another headache, Elisabeth pressed down on her forehead. Now that she thought about it, everything was just downright bizarre. Her memories felt like they flowed into one another, but there were no logical links among them. They seemed to defy not just time, but space as well. As they watched her start brooding over the subject, Kaito and Hina exchanged a glance. They stepped back from the table. Then they crouched down and started whispering to each other. “Did she say that she wanted a tart, and not purin? Am I just misremembering it?” “If I may be so bold, I’m quite sure she said purin… But you have to remember, Lady Elisabeth is a growing girl. It’s not strange for her tastes to change from day to day. Not to worry, though—we have plenty of apples, so I can go start making a tart right this moment!” “Wait, what? Elisabeth’s still growing?” “Oh yes! Why, she’ll probably end up being as big as me!” “Are you talking about my chest or my height over there?” At that point, Elisabeth couldn’t help but cut in. It was a matter of some interest to her. Kaito leaped in place. “Oh God, she could hear us.” Hina cheerfully raised her arm up high. “Your height!” “Very well, then!” “Huh? Wait, but if Elisabeth grows as tall as Hina, won’t that make me the shortest one? This is bull.” Kaito began quietly grumbling. Elisabeth considered poking fun at him but quickly thought better of it. She didn’t want Hina scolding her and telling her that it wasn’t nice to tease guys about their height. And besides, this was no time for snark, not when she still didn’t know what was going on. Elisabeth turned back to the earthenware pot. Its lid seemed to have a sort of larger-than-life presence. EAT ME, it was saying. This is what appeared in the silver bowl’s place… Elisabeth reached out again, but this time, she actually took off the top. When she did, the jiggly yellow purin within came into view. With the lid removed, the sweet smell of milk, eggs, and sugar was free to permeate the air unobstructed. Kaito and Hina started loudly chattering. “Hey, looks like it came out pretty all right.” “Just what I’d expect from you, Master Kaito! Your powers of creation rival even God’s!” For some reason, hearing that comment filled Elisabeth with annoyance. That aside, though, purin was food. A dessert. That was an undeniable fact. And as such, it would be absurd for her not to eat it. She slowly picked up her spoon and plunged it into the purin’s soft surface, scooping up a spoonful that was syrupy and droopy on the sides. Its texture was as splendid as always. She carefully lifted it up. Then she popped it in her mouth. “Hey, she ate it.” “Hooray!” “Mm, mm, mm, mmph.” What Elisabeth had tried to say was Why are you two getting excited? Due to the spoon in her mouth, though, the words came out all muffled. This time, she could taste it like normal, and its sweet flavor filled her mouth. The dish had a full-bodied aroma, just as it was supposed to. Its deliciousness had a rustic simplicity to it, yet at the same time, the way it melted in her mouth was unlike anything else she’d ever eaten. It was hard to believe that such a sublime dish had come from such a foolish servant. Now that she thought about it, though, she remembered that purin was the only thing Kaito had been able to make properly. Wait, had been? Not was? Elisabeth raised an eyebrow a smidgen. However, she didn’t let her discomfort stop her from moving her spoon. For whatever reason, Kaito and Hina were watching her with bated breath. She couldn’t exactly stop now. Eventually, the spoon met the bottom of the pot. With great vigor, Elisabeth scraped up the final bite. “Ooooh.” “Aaaaah.” “As I said, what in the world is it that you two find so riveting about this?” When Elisabeth shot her quip at them, though, they responded with a round of applause. They clearly weren’t listening to a word she said. It defied explanation. However, it was also kind of nice. She held her spoon up and struck a proud pose. When she looked back down at the mouthful of purin atop the spoon, though, she froze. Sitting on the smooth utensil— —there was something small and white. “…A rabbit?” A white rabbit. The white rabbit had a matter-of-fact look on its face, and it was carrying a pocket watch. Both of the watch’s hands, long and short, were pointing straight at twelve. And Elisabeth knew. The appointed time had come long, long ago. Days gone past would never return. And though the rabbit didn’t look like it was talking, it was. It opened its mouth wide— —and from inside, darkness came— —Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down. Down. Alice fell down a very deep hole. “Welcome, Elisabeth. Welcome to Wonderland.” Elisabeth could hear a young girl. She was saying something about “Wonderland.” But Elisabeth couldn’t see a thing. Everything around her was pitch-black. Lying on her back, Elisabeth cast her gaze in every direction. No matter which way she turned, though, all she was met with was a dark that never seemed to end. The blackness had an oddly stuffy quality to it. It was as though she were surrounded by heavy cloth, like the kind that kept stage wings hidden from the audience. But right when Elisabeth began pondering her situation in earnest, she heard a thump on the floor. The wooden floorboards creaked. Then the noise repeated itself, eventually developing into a sort of pitter-patter. ’Tis the sound of someone running. Specifically, a child’s footsteps. They were innocently running laps around Elisabeth. Suddenly, though, she could hear the heels snap together. The resultant silence was nigh deafening. Elisabeth heard someone exhale, then rattle off a quote that sounded like a monologue from a play. “After all that bouncing around, it’s finally time for my debut, Elisabeth! Now, what act is this again? I haven’t the faintest, you see. But neither do you, right? In fact, things have gone so far off the rails that nobody, not the actors or the director or even the playwright, can really tell what’s going on. And you’re also a spectator, so that goes double for you. Say, Elisabeth, isn’t it sad? Even here, you’re oh-so-very sad… No, actually, maybe that’s wrong. After all, this isn’t a tragedy so much as it is a farce… Wait, Father, where are we going? Huh? ‘This isn’t our place to appear,’ you say? ‘We weren’t called for, so we should stand down’? You’re ever so kind, Father… Hmm? Wait, hey, don’t leave me behind! Wait for me!” With a peeved cry, the girl pitter-pattered off, then leaped. Right above her, the sound of someone’s joints snapping sounded out, and the echo of the girl’s footsteps vanished. It would seem that she was dangling off someone’s shoulder. The other party’s clothes rustled a little as they set off. A short while later, Elisabeth heard a door open in the distance, then close. Silence descended on her once more. Who were those people just now? She didn’t know. What she did know, though— —was that she didn’t trust them one bit. “And then just when you thought the still darkness would go on forever…” “…Hmm?” “…someone showed up with an incongruous hello, hello, hello!” Elisabeth cocked her head. She could hear someone saying something stupid. There was obviously someone new present in the murk. However, she couldn’t see anyone. She strained her eyes and cautiously scanned the darkness. Sure enough, one section of it had an oddly “occupied” feel to it. Yet I never heard any footsteps. It was like they had manifested out of thin air. She frowned. However, her concern went unnoticed by her mysterious guest. Intentional or not, they let out a merry cry. “All righty then, Madam Elisabeth! Time to wake up, hey, hey, hey!” “Wake…up? No, hold on, I’m—” “Up—and—at ’emmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!” “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” A shout that sounded like some sort of strange bird echoed through the air. Sensing danger, Elisabeth leaped to her feet, then rolled forward and opened her eyes. After, she shot a glance backward. Behind her, there was a scaly leg with gleaming claws resting atop a crack in the stone floor. The force of the kick had split open the ground where she’d been just moments ago. The perpetrator of this powerful attack let out a small breath. However, that wasn’t to say Elisabeth actually saw them do so. The thing was, their entire mouth was hidden by the darkness beneath their hood. The man, concealed from head to toe in a tattered cloak, struck a pose. “Phew… That there was my Butcher’s Knockout Alarm-Clock Kick—and brilliantly executed, if I do say so myself!” “You never possessed any such technique!” Elisabeth couldn’t help but shout back at the top of her lungs. The Butcher just stood there with his bag on his shoulder and his finger pointing at the sky. It was unclear if he’d even heard her. She turned toward his majestic back and gave him a piece of her mind. “And besides, was your aim to wake me or to kill me?! The latter makes the former quite a challenge, I’ll have you know! You’re inscrutable, illogical, and baffling to boot! Cough, cough.” “Willing to even sacrifice your throat to deliver cutting jabs and comebacks… You never fail to impress, Madam Elisabeth. You’re an artist through and through.” “And don’t go accusing people of bizarre forms of artistry, either! Cough, cough, cough.” Elisabeth lapsed into a heavy fit of coughing. It had been quite a while since the last time she strained her voice that much. Before her, a nostalgic figure—the Butcher—hopped up and down in an excessive show of good cheer. Elisabeth sat cross-legged and decided to stop paying so much heed to his antics. The bare stone floor was cold on her legs. Curious as to where she was, she glanced around. It was a small, cramped room with little in the way of furniture save for the bed beside her. The bed had a simple design but was high-quality all the same. Over on the stone wall, there were magically reinforced knives embedded in a map. It was a room she was well familiar with. After all, it was the Torture Princess’s own bedroom. Instead of the bed, though, she seemed to have been lying atop the floor. “Why am I down here? Or no, rather…what exactly is going on?” “Hyah!” “Hmm?” All of a sudden, the Butcher leaped. Elisabeth watched him as he landed on the wall, scuttled across it, and plucked a knife out from the map. He then landed back on the floor, pulled an apple from his sleeve, and began peeling it. There clearly hadn’t been any actual need for him to crawl across the wall. Elisabeth gave him a skeptical glance. “Peel, p-peel peel, peel peel peel.” “…What exactly do you think you’re doing?” “Hoh-hoh-hoh, I’m peeling an apple.” “Well, yes, I can see that.” “Your cough got me worried, Madam Elisabeth! And so I thought, why not serve you this delicious, juicy apple?! And for dessert, I can make you some meat!” “You seem to have your dessert and your entrée switched up there.” Elisabeth was starting to tire of having to play the straight man. The Butcher gave her a wordless thumbs-up. In translation, that probably meant Exactly! The skepticism in Elisabeth’s glance grew, and silence descended on them. Round and round the apple went in the Butcher’s hand as he peeled it. The long strip of red skin traced a path through the air that seemed almost preordained. As she watched it wind like a snake, Elisabeth let out a quiet murmur. “Say, Butcher.” “What is it, Madam Elisabeth? Ah, could it be that you’d like me to cut it into a bunny shape for you?” “Why? Why betray us?” The skin snapped. However, its descent was cut short. As the red peel fluttered in a downward spiral, the Butcher snagged it by the end. He spun it like he was playing with a toy, its red exterior and white interior turning and turning and turning again. “…It doesn’t mean much, asking that ‘here’ and ‘now.’” His voice was a soft whisper. Strangely, though, his tone was calm. He continued rotating the apple skin as he went on. “Asking ‘me’ is no different from turning to a mirror and asking your own reflection. Asking yourself a question meant for another will leave you forever seeking a reply, and asking yourself a question with no right answer is the first step toward having your heart break for good… I agonized over the same thing myself, you know. Why did she appoint me as her apostle?” “…Butcher.” Round and round the spiral turned. Then out of the blue, the Butcher released it, then dropped the apple itself in turn. Its bare white flesh spun slowly as it drifted through the air, silently passing through the space that was separating Elisabeth and the Butcher. He was standing on the other side of that apple. Elisabeth directed a faint smile at that hidden face of his. “That was a falsehood, no?” “How very right. Or at least, just ‘not a truth’… I’m sure even you realize, Madam Elisabeth—the ‘real me’ never agonized over anything of the sort.” “Probably not, no… No, you didn’t, no doubt. What a repugnant thought. You didn’t even bother thinking; you just accepted your lot as a sacrificial pawn. Idiot.” With zero warning, Elisabeth stuck out her arm and snatched the falling apple out of the air. Then with a chomp, she bit into it and began violently chewing its flesh. The Butcher said nothing.
Chapter 124
22 min read