“Thank you, everyone, for gathering here today for the Evelyn Test of Courage,” Lady Europa said to all those gathered around her.
Watching her treat this test like the grand opening for a party, I let out a heavy sigh.
Why do I have to participate...?
After the bonfire event ended, Lady Europa had caught me trying to sneak away, and I’d been dragged into participating in this terrifying competition.
I counted thirteen participants. Present were myself, Kira, Lord Theodore, Lady Europa, Lady Mamaropa, Karin, Lord Jackson, Mary, Prince Alex, Prince Igna, Prince Oz, and the high priest. It was late at night, and the surroundings had grown quite dark. The woods around the lake were shrouded in shadow, and I couldn’t see an inch in front of my face. There were several lights hung near the forest entrance where we were gathered, but they were dim at best, glowing eerily among the tents. That only made things even more unsettling.
Likely to create the right atmosphere, Lady Europa was grinning wickedly as she explained, “In this test of courage, we will all form two-person teams. Six special stones with the Mark of Evelyn have been placed in a small shrine deep in the forest. To clear the mission, you must obtain a stone. Lastly, team assignments will be done by lottery.”
“Wow. That’s quite authentic,” Prince Oz said, seeming enthusiastic about the whole thing.
As royalty, perhaps he longed for such common amusements. Me? I’d been scared from the very beginning of the introduction, so I didn’t even have the wherewithal to ask what the heck a “Mark of Evelyn” was supposed to be.
Also, to prevent any incidents, Prince Oz had stationed knights all around the woods, and priests were positioned near the shrine.
“Each team will be given one small lantern to explore,” Lady Europa said, bringing forward and holding up a small lit lantern. “Hee hee hee. Be careful not to drop it...”
“That light is pretty small,” Karin muttered.
“You can just wait here, if you’re scared,” Lord Theodore teased.
“I-I’m fine! I’m not scared!”
What heartwarming sibling banter.
“Furthermore, each team will not only explore but also be tasked with scaring another team,” Lady Europa continued. “The fifth pair scares the first, the sixth scares the second, the first pair—after finishing their own task—scares the third, and so on...or something. To prevent the pairs from running into each other in the woods, knights will be guiding those in scare roles.”
Weren’t they working the knights too hard?
“We’ve arranged for a full set of costumes and props for scaring. Everything else is flexible.”
Apparently, alongside the many other things that had kept her occupied since last night, Lady Europa had also been preparing for this event rather thoroughly.
No one objected, and no one asked any questions.
Lady Europa cleared her throat and brought out a transparent bag. “As the organizer, I took the liberty of setting up the lottery. Within this bag are twelve cards with numbers from one to six written on them. People with cards bearing matching numbers will form a team. Well then, Lady Evelyn, please draw the first card.”
“Okay...”
I wasn’t at all enthusiastic, but I couldn’t back out now. Just as I was about to reach for a card, someone pulled at my clothes from behind. Curious, I turned around to see Kira standing on the tips of his toes.
“Evelyn,” he whispered, “do you actually trust her?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t think she set up a fair lottery, do you?”
I gasped. Now that he mentioned it, I couldn’t imagine Lady Europa leaving things up to chance. Knowing her, she’d definitely rigged the lottery to team up with me. It would’ve been completely out of character for her not to do so!
“Lady Europa, may we inspect this lottery?” I asked.
“Huh?!” she exclaimed, her face stiffening. “Wh-What might the matter be, Lady Evelyn? Are the rules unclear?”
“No, they’re quite clear. But this lottery might be rigged.”
“A-Absolutely not! This is just an ordinary lottery! No seeding or trickery involved!”
“Then there should be no problem with me inspecting it,” I pressed, more boldly than usual.
The woods at night were scary enough on my own, but if I were teamed up with Lady Europa, the scare factor would shoot up! For my own future, I could not concede this.
“L-Lady Evelyn, look into my eyes. Do they look like the eyes of a liar?” she stammered.
“Yes.”
Her eyes were darting around wildly. Even dragonflies would have been aghast at that level of erratic flitting. Lady Europa’s devotion was so absolute that she couldn’t bring herself to lie to me. Her light purple irises, which had always looked straight at me, were swimming with guilt.
We quickly examined the bag’s contents and, unsurprisingly, found that Lady Europa had indeed rigged the lottery.
“Look, the bag has a false bottom,” Kira, who had actually conducted the inspection, said. “The person holding the bag can control one pair’s combination.”
“N-Ngh, how vexing! I had this custom-made for today,” Lady Europa lamented as she collapsed to her knees and started crying.
Way to play the victim!
Already exhausted before we’d even started, I called out to Prince Oz, “Your Highness, could you set up a new lottery?”
“Me?”
“You’re the most fair and impartial person I could think of...”
“Ah. Well, in that case, I’d be happy to do so right away.”
He went on to reuse Lady Europa’s system, changing only the bag, so it didn’t take much time at all.
Holding the bag with the cards, Prince Oz looked around at the participants. “Now then, once more from the top. The rules will be the same as those Lady Europa outlined. There’s only one new rule: You may not exchange cards once you’ve drawn your lot.”
I knew I could count on him!
Prince Oz had foreseen that certain people would attempt to trade cards to team up with their preferred partners and added a rule to prevent the simple-yet-effective tactic. Smart!
With their schemes blocked, Lady Europa and Prince Igna were both pounding the ground in frustration.
“Now then, the order doesn’t matter. Anyone can step up and start drawing.”
People without any preference, such as Lord Jackson and Kira, began to draw their lots one after another.
“Please be Evelyn, please be Evelyn,” Lord Theodore chanted over and over as he drew a card.
“Europa, Europa, Europa,” Prince Igna muttered, his intentions equally undisguised.
“This is it. This is the most important moment of my life,” Lady Europa said, her spirit soaring to tremendous rights. “Rise to the heavens and roar like a dragon, my right hand!”
Though cheating was no longer an option, there was still a chance that I’d end up on the same team as Lady Europa, so I was on edge.
And that’s not the only risk! Princes Alex and Igna are participating too...
I did want to team up with Lord Theodore somewhat, but my desire to not be paired with any of those three was overwhelmingly stronger.
Please, please, anyone but them! I prayed fervently while holding my card with trembling hands.
And then the results finally came out!
Pair 1: Kira & Oz (scarers: Pair 5)
Pair 2: Theodore & Alex (scarers: Pair 6)
Pair 3: Evelyn & Mamaropa (scarers: Pair 1)
Pair 4: Mary & Karin (scarers: Pair 2)
Pair 5: Europa & Jackson (scarers: Pair 3)
Pair 6: High Priest & Igna (scarers: Pair 4)
Each person joined their partner to exchange greetings.
“Honestly, I’m surprised by my own luck here.”
“That’s kind of you to say, Kira. May fortune smile upon us both.”
“Hello, Prince Alex.”
“O-Oh, wow, um, that smile of yours sure is giving me chills for some reason...”
“I-I’m so happy to be paired with you, Lady Mamaropa!”
“Hee hee. I feel the same. Let us do our best, Evelyn.”
“I-I’m with Karin? I mean, I guess that’s fine. Just don’t hold me back!”
“I won’t. And you’re shaking, Ms. Liar.”
“Wait, mother is with Lady Evelyn again?! Ugh! I want to switch places!”
“Ha ha ha, young people these days sure are blunt...”
“H-Hmph! You wanted to team up with Rupy, I bet!”
“Oh, what a disappointment, to have to team up with a decrepit old man...”
Y-Yay...!
I never imagined I’d get to team up with Lady Mamaropa. I’d likely used up all my luck for the rest of the year.
Lady Europa was gnawing at her handkerchief as she watched Lady Mamaropa and me hold hands and rejoice.
“Wait, but it’s Lady Evelyn who will scare my team!” she said. “I’m fortunate! The heavens themselves may have forsaken me, but Lady Evelyn would never!”
Oh. That’s true...
Not exactly cause for celebration as far as I was concerned, though I wasn’t surprised she was excited. I’d managed to avoid the worst-case scenario of teaming up with her, but Lady Mamaropa and I were responsible for scaring Lady Europa and Lord Jackson’s team. That made me extraordinarily anxious regardless.
Lady Mamaropa, meanwhile, was smiling innocently. “Since it’s our role, we should take this chance to really scare Europa,” she said.
“O-Okay!”
“We can do this!”
“We can!”
Sh-She’s so good at making me feel better...!
Right! I wasn’t alone. The great Lady Mamaropa was with me. Under her watchful eye, Lady Europa couldn’t try anything outrageous.
That means ghosts are a bigger threat than Lady Europa!
Who knew what lurked in the dark woods, after all. I’d just have to gather up all my courage, find that stone as soon as possible, and book it back.
Now feeling a bit more motivated, Lady Europa announced, “Now then—may the Evelyn Test of Courage commence!”