Regardless of how much time had passed, it seemed that Watt’s legs still remembered the way to go. He made his way through the complicated streets with no hesitation. The stone pavement was laid out in precise order, but its surface was worn, speaking of the weight of the times it had been through.
The group had made their way to a quiet residential district. It wasn’t just grand mansions likely owned by high-and-mighty nobles; these streets were also home to rows of somewhat plain mansions. The houses in the area were frequently used as second homes for those who enjoyed a certain standing but weren’t based in the capital. Watt had once taken up residence in the corner of the area himself. As a royal knight, he’d walked to work at the palace practically every day.
“It’s so close to how I remember it that it’s scary,” Watt said.
The scenery was just as it had been in his memory, remarkably unchanged. Feeling as if he were walking the streets just as they were seventeen years ago, an indescribable sensation crawled up Watt’s spine.
“Whoa, this place sure looks expensive!” Meddié remarked.
“It’s not expensive by capital standards,” Anna explained. “Some of these are villas for important nobles—and some of them even come with spacious yards.”
“Nope, not the sort of place for me!” Meddié said.
Chattering about as they walked, the girls smashed Watt’s memories of the past to dust. It wasn’t the city in his memories he was walking through—he was walking here, in the present.
“Ah! We’re almost there! Just around the bend, and... Yup, there it is!”
Checking the street name, Watt went past the corner, only to arrive at a home with a quaint yard attached. It was just as he remembered it. The yard she’d bragged about every time she saw him...the manor she’d kept so clean it bordered on the obsessive...it was all just as it had been, as if time itself had come to a halt.
To be quite honest, it had been a sort of gamble as to whether she was even still living there. But one glance was all it took to convince him that the house’s owner remained unchanged.
“So this is where your friend lives, then,” Anna said. “What are they like?”
“She’s a little uptight, but she’s the sort you can count on. She’s actually friends with both Cullina and me.”
“A friend of mother’s...”
Just as he had seventeen years ago, Watt peered into the yard over the hedge. And in nothing short of a pure coincidence, she was right there, tending to her garden, just as she had been seventeen years ago. Everything was exactly as it had been. The only thing that was different, however, was the fact that she’d aged far more than how Watt had remembered her.
Well, guess I can’t be the only one getting older, huh?
The same time had passed for all of them in equal measure.
The woman deftly plucked out weeds from her yard before briskly rising to her feet, only to lock eyes with Watt peering at her from the other side of the hedge.
“H-Heya! Long time no see.”
Drat! Watt hadn’t even thought about what he’d actually say. Right away, he raised his hand in the air as he greeted her the same way a kid might. Freezing in place, she stared blankly back at him—but only for a moment. The woman narrowed her gaze from behind her glasses, as the corners of her eyes rapidly perked up.
“No, it can’t be... Watt... Watt Sears, is that you?!”
“O-Oh, so you remember me, huh? Been a while, Caro!”
The next moment, the woman—“Caro,” or rather, Carome Aestolle—practically leaped across the yard to the hedge before grabbing Watt’s arm with her absurd strength that forced him to remember the old days.
“Watt Sears, wanted criminal on the run...” the woman started, shouting out, “Consider yourself caught!”
“Ugh-yooowch! And just like that too?!” Watt moaned. “C’mon, wait a minute first! I’m an old friend you’re seeing for the first time in seventeen years! Don’tcha think we could spend a bit more time rekindlin’ our old friendship and whatnot?!”
“Can it! I don’t wanna hear it! Not a word! Seventeen years... It’s been seventeen years and you didn’t even send so much as a letter! The next time I heard your name was when I found out you were on the wanted list—I don’t recall ever calling a man like that my friend!”
“Ah, well, sounds like we’ve got a lot to catch up on, doesn’t it?” Watt replied. “Look, I’ll explain everything, but for now, it’d really make my day if you eased up on my arm—it’s startin’ to smart pretty good over here!”
“Explain? Oh, you’re going to explain, are you? Even though you couldn’t bother to explain a thing before you left me...and the other royal knights behind and disappeared? So just what are you going to explain all these years later, hmm?!”
“Well, ermmm... Y’see, I’m terribly sorry about all that.”
“Why?!” she demanded. “Why would you come back...after all this time?!”
Carome’s shoulders sank as she stared at the ground. Watt was overcome with the urge to wrap his arms around her before remembering the situation and putting the idea to rest.
“Sorry ’bout all that, Caro. But for now, I just want you to calm down and listen.”
“I thought I told you...to never call me that again.”
“Ah, well, er, before all that,” he said, “It’s actually hard to come out and say this, but...I didn’t come alone. My daughter and my disciple are right over there.”
Carome’s head perked up so quickly it almost made a snap. Looking around with her now red eyes, she found Anna and Meddié frozen with a look of shock on their faces.
“Ah! No, this...” Carome started to say something right away, curling her lips up before freezing in place.
Caught in the midst of the resulting awkward silence, Anna was the first one to regain her senses. “Um, er... You’re Lady Carome Aestolle of the Royal Knights, aren’t you? I’ve seen you in the castle before. My name is Anna Turris.”
“What, Princess Anna...?” Carome replied. “Needless to say, I know of everyone in the royal family, but— Wait! His daughter? With Cullina...?! H-Hold on a minute, Watt! There’s a whole lot I haven’t heard anything about!”
“Don’t sweat it,” Watt said. “Besides, I just heard about it all around a week ago myself.”
“How could I not sweat it?!” Carome barked back. “You’re on the wanted list! Just what did you even come here for?!”
“Well, it all comes down to how things play out from here, but...from what I can tell, we’re probably in for a fight.”
Looking at the undaunted expression on Watt’s face, the wrinkles splitting across Carome’s forehead nearly doubled.