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THE next morning, Ernest neglected his duties and headed for Yuuri’s shop. He had been acting on the King’s orders to investigate, so it wasn’t as if he were skipping work and thus had nothing to feel guilty about.
Ernest threw open the door, prompting Yuuri to pop up off the couch and find herself eye to eye with him. She had been napping on the job again, certain no one would be dropping by. He suspected the reason someone as conscientious as her was always napping was because, like she had told him, the bright sunlight made her sleepy. Having superior night vision was usually characteristic of nocturnal creatures. Ernest suspected that Yuuri’s ancestors were also creatures of the night.
“Hey! It’s been about a week, hasn’t it, my little witch?!”
“I-I th-thought you wouldn’t be coming around for a while...!” she accused in a daze.
Ernest’s shoulders drooped. He thought she would be happy to see him. “Yeah...I have something to ask you about.”
“What might that be?” She checked her hair to make sure it wasn’t messed up, likely remembering the first day they met. She cleared her throat then sat up, making room for him on the couch. He took his usual seat beside her.
“I’m on a secret mission right now, investigating an illegal gambling ring.”
“Uhm, please don’t tell me about your secret mission, I don’t want to get caught up in anything dangerous.”
This would be the second time she was being dragged into state secrets. This time, Ernest had prior permission, but Yuuri’s face clearly showed her disdain.
“It’s all right, you’re already involved,” Ernest said and then dove into an overview of everything that had happened up to that point.
“Those paintings stick out to me for some reason. Maybe they’re some sort of password hint or hiding a hidden door or something? I feel like I’ve seen something similar offered by the Watoh Company. It’s a painting on thin paper that can be rolled up and stored away.”
“That’s a hanging scroll. Both Hinomoto and Xingka have them.”
Ernest had several sheets of paper on the table to show Yuuri. He had drawn pictures of what he had seen the night before at the marquis’ second home.
“Are these supposed to be...a rough wave and a sunrise?”
“It’s supposed to be the sun and a field of barley.” Ernest’s quick pen sketches weren’t successful in replicating what he saw. After all, what Yuuri thought were waves was supposed to be barley dancing in the wind.
“And is that a dinosaur?”
“No, it’s a bird! And this is the face of a mole peeking out from the grass.”
Ernest was an even worse artist than he thought. He needed another way to get his point across.
“Lord Ernest, you’re a terrible artist! Hehehe!” Yuuri laughed, unable to hold back any longer.
It was actually the first time he’d heard her laugh so openly.
“Why does that make you so happy?”
“I just think it’s endearing to actually see you showing some weakness.”
In other words, she needed to see he was human. He decided not to voice his discovery and let her enjoy the moment a little longer.
“So what do you think about these pictures? I tried to draw what I saw on the scrolls at the gentlemen’s club. Do they mean anything to you?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think Hinomoto has barley fields. I believe rice is far more common. And I’ve never seen any paintings of dinosaurs except in museums.” Maybe she was just that amused by Ernest’s art skills, but it was rare for her to do something as silly as keep calling the bird a dinosaur.
“Hey! I told you, it’s not a dinosaur! It’s a bird with a red head!”
“Bird with a red head? That’s likely a crane. They’re seen as good omens back east.”
“All right, how about these flowers that look like roses?”
Yuuri stared at the pictures. “It seems like a chrysanthemum or something similar...but the shape of the flowers makes me think of peonies. Peonies are common on kimono. In fact, I think I have one. Wait a moment.”
Yuuri disappeared off to the second floor and returned a moment later, carrying a haori he had seen her wearing back when the weather was colder.
“Ahh, that’s it, that’s it!” Ernest exclaimed, looking over the haori with large red flowers. The flowers looked exactly like the ones Ernest saw in the salon.
“Cranes and peonies are treasured motifs in Eastern art. So I can’t really say if these pictures alone offer any obvious hints.”
He couldn’t say for sure if there was anything other than the peonies and the crane. And he could find nothing else of note in those two pictures.
“Miss Yuuri, would you be willing to have a look at the scrolls? I tried to draw them, but it seems that won’t be sufficient.”
“P-Pardon? Well, if it’s just to have a look...”
“Yes, just have a look. You’d be all right with that, wouldn’t you?”
The problem was how to get a woman into a gentlemen’s club. Ernest looked Yuuri over from top to bottom.
“What is it?”
“Yes, I think this will work out just fine... I’ll come for you at 2 o’clock, the day after tomorrow. I’ll have everything you need then. All right?”
“All right.”
There was a way after all. But if he told Yuuri what that was, he knew she would refuse. So for the time being, the deceitful count kept his plan to himself.