But then a hand was offered to Octavia, right before her eyes. “Are you hurt in any way, young lady?” It was the aristocratic youth from before. With the sun at his back, she couldn’t read his expression. Octavia was hesitant, but she felt that ignoring him would only lead to more trouble, so she tentatively put her hand in his. Upon doing so, she was yanked to her feet. “I’m terribly sorry that you were caught up in that.”
“No, I’m fine.” As he apologized, Octavia tried to pull her hand away from the youth, frowning, then stopped. She couldn’t pull away.
“It would seem I was so focused on finally returning to the Royal Capital that I let my guard down,” he went on. “How embarrassing.”
“Aha... Um, your hand.”
“You certainly kept a level head throughout that ordeal. Do you have some knowledge of martial arts?”
Octavia’s eyes narrowed. Was he able to follow my movements? Well, I did think he wasn’t one to be trifled with... Her first impression of him was that of a con man. What was more, no matter how hard she tugged, he would not let go of her hand. Without any recourse, she left her hand where it was and answered him.
“I learned the basics from my grandmother, for self defense.”
“From your grandmother? A woman? How unusual. Was she a soldier? A knight, perhaps? Or possibly a police officer?”
“None of those. My grandmother only said that she had learned it because her line of work demanded it.”
“In that case, might you be the daughter of the House of Reine?”
“How did you know?” Octavia, without thinking, answered him directly.
The youth narrowed his eyes gently and smiled. “From your attire and your belongings, anyone might have concluded that you were the daughter of a wealthy household. And you were standing near the ticket counter, holding a large trunk. If you were looking to board a train right now, it would have to be the overnight train, bound for the Royal Capital. All this means that you are the daughter of a wealthy household, living in an area where you might use this station to head to the Royal Capital. Furthermore, your grandmother was neither a soldier nor a knight, but had a job somewhat resembling a police officer’s. The Lady Detective, the Earl of Reine, is very famous.”
Now that he put it that way, it did seem like he could have figured it out, but they hadn’t been speaking properly for more than a couple of minutes. To think that he had guessed her identity correctly in such a short time struck fear into Octavia, beyond mere shock.
“Octavia de Reine. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“The nerve of this fellow,” Hat cried out from under Octavia’s arm. “How did he even guess your name?! He has to be dangerous!”
In silent agreement with Hat, Octavia pulled back slightly and inquired, “I-Indeed, I am Octavia...but what are you, some sort of con man?”
“Con man,” the young man repeated, chuckling good-naturedly. It made his undeniably noble visage look almost childish. He smoothly drew away the hand that grasped Octavia’s. “I-I have never once been addressed in that fashion before.”
“Am I wrong?”
“In the House of Reine, there are two young ladies around your age. And I happened to see Lady Jessie’s face at the time of her societal debut. After that, it was merely a process of elimination.”
Octavia had heard that at the time of Jessie’s debut, many young women had shared an audience with Her Majesty the Queen. Could he really have remembered all of them?
“You have a good memory, don’t you?”
“I wonder about that. Although I do remember everyone in the directory of nobles.”
“Everyone?! All of the nobility in the kingdom of Angelus?!”
“That’s just essential knowledge in my world. After all, I am a young brat who just inherited the title of marquis.”
Is that how things are in society? Octavia, who still hadn’t been afforded a societal debut, knew nothing about noble society except for the smattering she had picked up here and there. But the creepiness of this conversation could not be dispelled so easily, and Octavia finally started to withdraw entirely. “W-Well, I think it’s about time for me to be leaving.”
“If we’re both headed to the Royal Capital, won’t we be taking the same steam train?”
“Well, no. I wasn’t able to get a ticket. I’ll be waiting for someone to cancel. The only vacancy is in first class.”
“Ah, that is most vexing. In that case, shall we ride together?” Octavia, thoughtlessly turning her face upward, was greeted by a broad smile. “Please allow me to at least grant you a ticket. As an apology for earlier.”
A ticket on a first-class carriage cost a sum that even a nobleman could not call cheap. What was the meaning of this, to purchase one so casually for a woman he didn’t even know? Octavia had heard from her grandmother that, in the present-day Kingdom of Angelus, even the nobility, who occupied the upper class of society, had to become destitute just to maintain their seats in Parliament.
“But, well,” said Octavia, “wasn’t your wallet stolen just now?”
“Ah, right. There was nothing inside it. Putting money in your wallet is like asking someone to steal it, wouldn’t you say?”
He’d told the perpetrator that his very life was the price of that wallet. Now, to find out it was empty? Octavia somehow found that quite chilling.
“So I guess you are a con man, after all...”
“It’s a mystery why anyone would be suspicious of me. As a marquis, isn’t my standing in society above reproach?”
“What if that’s part of your con?”
“Were you chased out of the House of Reine?” inquire the youth in a whisper, abandoning his polite demeanor. Octavia took a step back in shock.
“H-How did you know?”
“It’s simple. Look at the fact that your father, wishing to avoid declaring your mother’s identity publicly—not to mention very existence—chose to present your younger sister over you for a societal debut. Also, the obituary of the late earl, who made the decision to adopt you in the first place, was recently published in the newspaper. Considering all this together with the fact that now you are here, alone, seeking passage to the Royal Capital, the conclusion more or less emerges by itself.”
“If you really aren’t a con artist, then I suppose you’re about to put all con artists out of work!”
“Octavia, I understand what you’re trying to say, but you had better come up with better rejoinders than that,” muttered Hat.
“By the standards of the Royal Capital, where evil spirits run rampant, I’m quite a straightforward fellow. After all, it’s in the capital that the Demonic Heirlooms gather, isn’t it?”
The Demonic Heirlooms. At the sound of those words, Hat, clutched to Octavia’s chest, fell silent. After a spell, Octavia looked up to see the young man putting his hat back on.
“Why not consider this an act of fate, young lady, and join me on a short journey?” The young aristocrat resumed his air of formality and smiled. Octavia felt somehow as if she were being bewitched.
“All right. But dispense with the formalities. How shall I put it? It just gets on my nerves.”
The young man blinked, and then a wry smile made its way across his face. “If you say so. Oh, right. I haven’t introduced myself yet.” Octavia looked up again to see the youth bow theatrically.
“Belatedly, I am Raven L. Osvard. I look forward to our trip together. I’d like you to call me Raven. Marquis Osvard always sounds a bit stuffy.” Perhaps it was this overfamiliarity that had crept out of his facade, but he seemed all the more like a child now. From his bearing and his rank as marquis, Octavia had thought him older than her. Could he be younger than she had thought? Perhaps even the same age as her?