“She told me she had a sister...” Aisha said.
“So you have heard of me! I’m glad to hear it.” Analissia stood up from the swing and took a step forward.
“Where is Izuna?” Aisha asked. The weight of Analissia’s cold glare was only making Aisha more forceful.
Analissia laughed politely. She seemed unbothered by Aisha’s rudeness. “Izuna is resting at home. She wanted me to give you a message: she doesn’t want to meet today, I’m afraid. But this is a good opportunity for me, as there is something I have been wanting to say to you.” She narrowed her eyes and looked down on Aisha with palpable contempt. “I would appreciate it if you refrained from involving yourself with Izuna any further than you have.”
“Wh-What? Why...?” Aisha found herself at a loss for words in the face of Analissia’s proclamation. But a second later, her confusion turned to anger. Even if this woman was nobility, Aisha’s temper had its limits. “Izuna is my friend!” Aisha declared. “You have no right!”
“Oh?” Analissia said, cool and composed in the face of Aisha’s anger. “You don’t understand much of the world, do you? I suppose you are a child, after all.” She seemed to be looking down on Aisha as a stupid little girl. “You understand that Izuna is Estollian nobility, and currently a scion of House Rainfiel, no? Someone of her station is not free to associate with strangers, let alone a commoner. Besides, I am her guardian, you know. She’s been depressed ever since meeting you. It’s only natural that I would be worried about her.”
Analissia had made a number of sound, reasonable points, but Aisha could tell that she was lying. Neither Analissia’s eyes, her attitude, nor her words betrayed even a hint of concern for Izuna. Analissia was not worried. She simply wanted to hurt Aisha. Aisha was not about to take it lying down, though.
“You’re wrong!” she said. “Izuna’s just thinking things over! I’m sure that she’s trying to figure out how to move forward even now!”
Aisha had been trying to teach Izuna what Nacht had taught her—the harsh reality of death. She was sure she had gotten through, and that that was why Izuna was in so much pain right now. She was dealing with her own inner conflict. If Aisha didn’t support her now, what kind of friend would she be?
Without Nacht by her side, Aisha was no more than a child. And yet, she glared back at Analissia with all the fierceness she could muster.
“You’re bad at listening too, I see...” Analissia said. “In that case, let me make things clear. You have made yourself an enemy of House Rainfiel. However, I will overlook your behavior so long as you leave the city and wash your hands of this whole affair. I am prepared to pay you a cash settlement if you’ll cooperate.” Analissia’s proclamation brooked no argument. She could tell that Aisha was a commoner—that she had a persistent voice in her head telling her not to argue with nobility. “That is an order from a noble. Understand?”
That was sure to put an end to things. She turned to leave, satisfied that she had no need to bother listening to Aisha’s response.
Aisha stared as Analissia turned to leave, shaking like a branch in the wind. A voice in her heart was telling her that if she didn’t stop Analissia right now, she would never see Izuna again. She wasn’t even aware that she was opening her mouth to speak. “I-I refuse!”
Analissia came to a halt. “Excuse me?” she said, menace creeping even further into her voice. No, the subtle menace had crossed the line to open enmity. She regarded Aisha again, glaring with every ounce of contempt she could muster.
But Aisha refused to give in to fear. What mattered was her friend, who had supported her during these past days. Analissia’s words meant nothing at all. Aisha’s heart had been on the brink of collapse, but by some twist of fate, Izuna had been there to offer her kindness and support.
Aisha cared deeply about Izuna. To help her, she was prepared even to stand against the lofty nobility who ruled the world from on high. Since becoming the servant of Nacht Schatten, she had vied with the likes of dragons and royalty. She was far past letting some haughty noble tell her what to do.
Deep down, however, Aisha was still a villager. No matter what she told herself, she couldn’t help being afraid of the nobility. But doing nothing was much, much more frightening. Keeping her mouth shut would only cause her greater and greater pain.
“You may...” Aisha began with a shaky voice, mustering her courage. “You may be a noble, but that doesn’t make it right for you to separate us! I’m sure my mistress would agree!” That’s right. Aisha had no reason to back down. “Izuna is my friend! You mind your own business!” Suddenly Aisha realized what she was saying and panicked. “Um...that is...if you don’t mind?” she added, weakly. But it didn’t matter. She had said everything she needed to.
Silence filled the air like the calm before a storm. And then, just as suddenly, the silence vanished. “I see,” Analissia said. It seemed like she had decided on a change of plans. “Enough of this, then. Meddlesome child.” Her voice changed suddenly, becoming forceful and yet gloomy, like she was swapping masks. It matched the cold eyes she had been glowering at Aisha with. Aisha understood immediately that this was Analissia’s true voice.
“You are such a brat,” Analissia sighed. “I had hoped we could come to an understanding. It would have been much easier. But I suppose I have no particular reason to want to work things out with you. There’s a much easier way to be rid of problems, you know. Are you prepared to die?”
The atmosphere shifted. The air felt tense. Suddenly, a crowd of dolls—more than a dozen of them—surrounded Aisha.
“Dolls?” Aisha said. “Then...are you the one...?”
“I am,” said Analissia. “Although you don’t know the half of it. Still, you understand the gist, I think. I am the one who made the dolls, the one who gave Izuna her present, and the one who created the special development zone. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
In other words, it was Analissia who had made those dolls in the image of Aisha’s father and Izuna’s parents. Aisha’s anger surged yet higher, like a hurricane inside her. “You!” she shouted. “You’re the one who set those fake parents on us! And now, Izuna—”
Analissia laughed derisively at Aisha’s words. “Hah! You lot really are quite the collection of idiots, aren’t you? Most of your responses have been wildly off the mark. I’m afraid you have no idea what you’re talking about. Really, you must consider the limits of my power. It was your wish that was granted, and yet you intend to place the blame on me? Even for an idiot, that’s quite a feat of stupidity.” Aisha stopped in her tracks, overwhelmed by the verbal assault and the physical threat of the dolls. “Ah...” Analissia continued. “But I must admit one thing. When it comes to Izuna, you have at least some comprehension of the truth. Well done indeed.” She grinned fiendishly, as if giving unwanted praise to a defiant pupil.
“What do you mean?!” Aisha shouted back. “What have you done to Izuna?!”
Analissia’s grin turned cold. “Me?” she said, openly malicious. “Her precious big sister? Well, I suppose I did put myself in that position. She really is a tremendous idiot, loving me as much as she does. It’s almost funny, isn’t it? That the little brat now calls the woman who killed her parents her beloved family? Honestly, it’s hilarious. She has no idea, and it’s because she doesn’t want to know! She keeps running from the truth like she’s noticed nothing at all! It’s all very convenient for me! I haven’t heard of anything funnier in my life!”