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YUURI was particularly active that day, invigorated from drinking Ernest’s blood. She finished preparing her orders for Watoh Company and even had lunch at a restaurant before delivering them.
She told them in advance that she was coming, so there should be no reason she couldn’t just leave everything with an employee and—
“Miss Yuuri, your mother is here today,” one of the senior staff members informed her.
The two of them could barely handle seeing one another. That’s why she always picked the day she came in advance and, if her mother planned to be in that day, she would change her plans,
Isn’t this why I always ask Simon or Father to make these arrangements for me?
“I see. Then I shall be on my way.”
Even just hearing about her mother caused Yuuri’s hands to ball into fists and sweat to break out on her forehead. She turned to make a hasty retreat.
“She commanded me to bring you to see her should you come by, m’lady.”
Her mother wanted to see her? If she wanted to reconcile, why didn’t she just say so? Yuuri tried to think about it logically, but dared not take a step.
“…And what of my brother and father?”
“They have business away from headquarters today, I’m afraid.”
She would have felt better if one of them were with her. But she understood. If the two of them had been there, they would have tried to prevent this meeting. Her mother was only asking for her because they weren’t there.
“I can’t! I’m sorry…I’m in a hurry, so I really must be going.”
“I see. Then I shall inform her.”
“I’m sorry, but I have a private matter I must attend to.”
Her mother was unlikely to be mad at the employee for failing to stop Yuuri. But still she apologized for mixing business and personal matters.
“Understood. Please allow me to prepare a carriage for you.”
Yuuri was on the verge of making her escape when—
“Miss Yuuri.”
Just as she was taking the stairs down toward the building’s entrance, a woman’s cold voice called her name. Yuuri didn’t have to turn around to know that it was her mother.
“…!”
“It has been awhile, my dear.”
Her mother was stone-faced. For Yuuri, that was still better than the usual anger and disdain with which her mother normally treated her.
“Y-Yes…”
“I have just one thing to tell you.”
“……”
“I’ve heard you’ve become close with a gentleman. And that the two of you attended a dinner party together.”
“I have. Is there a problem with that?”
It was considered improper in Hylant for an unmarried woman to be running around with a man without her father’s express permission.
But Yuuri’s own mother was the reason she had been living on her own and beyond their sphere of influence. Yuuri strengthened her resolve. If her mother was going to pick Ernest of all things to suddenly complain about, then she would give it all right back to her.
It was the first time she had ever felt like she could stand against her mother.
“I see. Well, that isn’t what I really wanted to speak to you about. …While I was at a tea party with some members of the nobility, Duke Harcourt inquired about you. Do you know him?”
“No, I’ve never met him. The only members of the nobility I’ve interacted with are Count Selden and his acquaintances.”
All of the members of the upper class who Yuuri had interacted with were those she came to know through the cases Ernest had brought her. If this man had business with Ernest’s witch girlfriend, he should go through Ernest.
“You stand out far more than a pureblood Hylantian. Remember that,” her mother warned in clipped tones.
“……”
“I haven’t accepted you as my child. And I never will. But that is due to my own intolerance. Your father and Simon are well aware of that. Even so, some things can never be changed. But if you are happy where you are, and keep your distance from me, then I will not attempt to intercede.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you need to be cautious. You have made far too much of a spectacle of yourself as it is.”
“I see. If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be on my way,” Yuuri said, turning her back toward the woman who gave her birth and walking as quickly as she could to her carriage.
Even after she was in her carriage and then the comfort of her own home, Yuuri still couldn’t calm down. That was likely the last time she would ever speak to her mother. And she was angry with herself for letting the opportunity slip away.
Perhaps her mother’s warning had been out of genuine concern. If that was the case, she wished she had been a little kinder to her.
But then her mother said she could never accept her. Yuuri had been foolish to ever expect otherwise.
Yuuri’s mother had taken hold of her mind. No matter how she tried to distract herself with reading or housework, a sense of malaise swept over her.
The sound of a bell caught Yuuri’s attention from the back of the shop. There could only be one man who would dare visit her. She rushed to the front to greet him. In his letter, Ernest said he wouldn’t be back for several days, but she had no idea why.
It didn’t really matter. The only one who could lift her spirits was Ernest.
But Yuuri’s hopes were immediately dashed.
It wasn’t Ernest standing in the doorway, but a redheaded woman around twenty with her hands on her hips. Her face tightened into a scowl when she saw Yuuri.
“You’re not ‘The Witch Who Preys Upon Misfortunes’ are you?”
She made no attempt at hiding her displeasure in either her expression or speech. Most people first addressed Yuuri with that old nickname, but few ever did so with such resentment.
“I don’t care for that nickname! Who might you be?” Yuuri asked, giving the girl a scowl of her own. This girl clearly wasn’t a potential customer. And it was clear from her clothing that she wasn’t a member of the nobility either. Yuuri did not have many connections or political power, so she was unlikely to get in any trouble if she returned this woman’s hostility with her own.
“Does the name Rosie ring a bell?”
“I don’t recognize that name. Rosie who?”
“Dan’s fiancée, Rosie, that’s who!”
“Dan who…?”
Yuuri was even more confused than ever. This was her first time ever meeting this woman and she had never heard the name Dan.
“Don’t play dumb! You homewrecker!”
“Homewrecker? I’m sorry, but could you come back another day when you’re in a better place to calmly explain what you’re talking about? I don’t know who you or Dan are. …And I don’t deal with people who can’t listen.”
“Hmph! V-Very well… If you insist, I will spell it out for you.”
Rosie kept her scowl fixed on Yuuri the entire time as she moved to the sofa, where she helped herself to a seat.
“Not there. Wait a second.”
Yuuri felt that seat belonged to Ernest and Ernest alone. So she grabbed a chair from the dining area and set it at the counter.
“Here.”
“Fine.” Rosie was clearly displeased with the fact that she was being forced to sit on a hard, wooden chair when a couch was right there. She pouted, reluctantly settling into the seat.
This woman wasn’t a customer, merely a nuisance to Yuuri, so she cared little for her displeasure.
“You might think Dan is your lover, but he and I are engaged!”
“…Like I said, who is Dan?”
The idea suddenly pulsed through Yuuri’s mind. What if Dan was an alias Ernest used?
Lovers—? Yuuri wasn’t sure exactly what she and Ernest were, but he was certainly the closest thing she had to a lover.
Still, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t picture him being with this boisterous woman. Ernest seemed to prefer more subdued women.
“I’m talking about Baron Thewlis’ chef, Dan!”
“Oh. What does he look like?”
“His hair is brown, as are his eyes.”
The only two brunettes Yuuri knew were Simon and her father. At the very least, she could breathe a sigh of relief knowing this woman wasn’t talking about Ernest. While hair color could be changed, eye color could not.
“He does not sound like anyone I know.”
“Lying trollop! Dan said he was leaving me because he was seeing the witch who lived here…”
“He just told you that? Do you have anything other than his words for proof?”
“Are you saying he lied to me? Why would he do that?!”
As she watched Rosie, Yuuri began to suspect Dan had another reason for leaving her. Still, she lamented the fact that someone so hardheaded would come to her.
“…I can’t speak for someone I don’t even know. Why don’t we do this? Ask this Dan when exactly he met me. Get exact dates and times. If he gives you ten and I can prove even one of them was a lie, then perhaps all of it is, right?”
“Are you stalling? Trying to run away?”
“Run away from what? This is my home. I have nothing to prove here. I’m merely offering to help you because I don’t like people suspecting me of wrongdoing.”
“You certainly are cocky. Fine, I’ll be back soon.”
“I’d be just as happy if you didn’t come back.”
Just when she was hopeful that she finally had a genuine customer, it turned out to be unwanted trouble. Perhaps because yesterday was such a good day, today had to be bad to retain the balance.
“‘Life is a balance. We must take the bad with the good.’ I believe there’s a proverb like that from Xingka.”
Her mind mired in depression, Yuuri couldn’t be sure. Overcome with exhaustion, she leaned back on the couch and heaved a sigh.