A tense, frightened Evelyn stood at the start point. Her heart was pounding wildly as she swallowed hard.
This is scary. This is terrifying.
The cries of unknown creatures echoing in the darkness, the rustling of grass, the eerie whistling of wind—it was as though monsters lurking in the shadows were beckoning their pitiful prey.
To encourage Evelyn, whose limbs had stiffened to the point she couldn’t walk, Mamaropa held up the lantern.
“It’s all right, Evelyn. I’m here with you.”
“Th-Thank you,” Evelyn stammered, clinging to Mamaropa so tightly it was hard for either of them to walk.
Mamaropa gave a small nod. “Let’s go.”
“O-Okayyy!”
The two advanced so slowly that even tortoises would’ve mocked them.
“I-I-I-I’m scared, Lady Mamaropa,” Evelyn said, trembling so hard her bones were audibly rattling.
“There, there. I’ve got you,” Mamaropa said, patting Evelyn’s head. “Your mother will keep you safe.”
“Mommyropa...!” Evelyn murmured, sniffling at the sight of her reliable mother figure.
And as the two walked, there was a loud flapping noise.
“Eeeyaaaaaaaahhh!” Evelyn shrieked, clinging to Mamaropa with tears streaming down her face.
She looked toward the source of the sound—a bird or something that had been perched on a branch had just flown away.
Oh. Oh, that was just...
Evelyn let out an embarrassed laugh. “S-Sorry, Lady Mamaropa, that startled me. I thought it was something, but it was just a bird—”
“Guh.”
Sh-She fainted!
Maybe the bird—or Evelyn’s wail—had startled her. The lantern slipped from the unconscious Mamaropa’s hands and fell to the grassy ground. Unfortunately, it broke on impact. The flame went out, and the surrounding darkness swallowed them.
“No!”
It’s over! were the words that immediately crossed Evelyn’s mind. But Mamaropa, caught in her arms, felt warm and solid. Evelyn clung to the duchess.
“Please, Lady Mamaropa, don’t leave me!”
Being left alone in such a dark forest was too much. Maybe it’d be faster to return the way they came, but...Evelyn could no longer tell which direction that was.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Forgetting that she was a grown woman, Evelyn began to bawl.
Two sets of footsteps approached. Evelyn’s throat constricted. Had ghosts finally come for her?
“Evelyn. Mamaropa. Are you all right?”
Kira and Oz emerged with a lantern.
Kira! My hero, always!
Evelyn was so moved that she started crying even harder. “K-Kira! Kiraaa!”
“There’s snot all over your face. What happened?” Kira asked.
“A-A bird! It went FLAP! And then Lady Mamaropa! She went GUH!” Evelyn managed between sobs. Her explanation was far from stellar, but it conveyed the gist of the situation.
“Well then, I’ll carry the guh’d Lady Mamaropa on my back. Kira, hold Lady Evelyn’s hand.”
“Got it. Give me your hand, Evelyn.”
“O-Okay!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Though she resembled a lost child being protected, Evelyn didn’t exactly care. She was just glad to have Kira’s warmth for reassurance.
“I-Is this okay, though? You two were supposed to be scaring us...”
“Now’s not the time to worry about that,” Kira said.
“He’s right,” Oz agreed. “Safety first.”
“But we didn’t even get the stone...” Evelyn lamented.
“I’ll sneak into the shrine later,” Oz assured her. “That’s not against the rules, now is it?”
So sensible!
Now that Evelyn thought about it, she had Lady Mamaropa, Kira, and Oz. What a formidable trio of sensible people.
Though Lady Mamaropa fainted!
Thus, Evelyn and Mamaropa escaped the forest with the help of their kind scarers.
✦ ✦ ✦
Mary, lantern in hand, let out a sigh.
This game is so pointless...
If not for the fact Karin had asked her to take part, Mary would’ve been back at the inn already. Sure, the night forest was somewhat scary, but not scary enough to freeze her in her tracks. She kept walking, if only to finish quickly and get to her comfy bed.
Ugh, but I have to do the scaring thing too.
Seemed she was stuck playing along for a while.
“Ms. Liar, are you all right? Aren’t you scared?” Karin asked.
“I’m fine. What about you? This must be scary for a little kid.”
“I’m more scared of neglected hangnails than the dark,” Karin said with unwavering conviction in her eyes.
Mary found herself wondering about something.
The first time she’d met Karin—a daughter of House Manilas—was at the Summer of Evelyn Festival. Since hangnails were something she could actually handle, Mary had been running a booth, the Hangnail-Healing Squad, and the cross-dressing Karin had stopped by as a customer.
Karin, who was extraordinarily preoccupied with hangnails for some reason, had nitpicked and found fault with Mary’s apparently immature healing magic, her youthful appearance belying her harshness. Frustrated though Mary had been, she’d used that experience to fuel her own determination and set out to travel the land improving her healing skills.
All of that considered, she felt within her rights to ask, “Karin, why are you so particular about hangnails?”
“Well...” Karin’s tone dropped lower. “Once, at my previous school, my classmates invited me to play in the mud.”
Mary listened, wondering where this was going.
“The next day, I had a hangnail on my right index finger. The kids who saw it laughed hard at me and said, ‘The fancy boy from the fancy family lost to a puddle of mud! What a loser!’”
“Playing in mud does increase the odds of suffering hangnails due to stimulation to the fingertips,” Mary remarked. She’d become quite knowledgeable about hangnails.
“So I thought...anyone making fun of hangnails would never notice the pain in people’s hearts. That’s when I decided I wouldn’t overlook even the tiniest hangnail.”
Mary hummed, narrowing her eyes pensively. So that was why Karin was so gung ho about hangnails. That explained why she’d gotten mad about Mary’s sloppy healing magic.
Mary huffed. “If I’d gone to school with you, I’d have sent those bullies packing.”
“Hmm. I feel like if you’d been in my class, Ms. Liar, you’d have been one of the bullies.”
Mary choked on her words. It was true that, given Mary’s personality, she would’ve relentlessly bullied a well-bred, quiet, cross-dressing girl like Karin.
“I-I wouldn’t do that,” she lied. “I’d protect you. And if you got a hangnail, I’d heal it.”
“Really? Thank you.” Karin managed a small smile.
The adorable expression made Mary’s heart do a thing—but it clenched at the same time. She’d known this from the moment they’d first met, but still, hearing Karin’s story had confirmed it.
“You only want me for my healing magic,” Mary murmured quietly. She didn’t think Karin would hear.
But in the quiet of the night woods, her voice carried easily.
Karin blinked, then gently shook her head. “That’s not true. You don’t look like it, but you work hard, Ms. Liar.”
“Huh?!”
“So I wanted to see you improve.”
Mary had had no idea Karin felt that way. Mary’s cheeks grew hot, and to hide her embarrassment, she stuck out her tongue. “Wh-Whatever! Flattery will get you nowhere!”
“Hey, Ms. Liar?”
“What?!”
“You only lie sometimes these days, so I think I shouldn’t call you Ms. Liar anymore.”
Mary was flustered at the sudden barrage of nice comments. Surely Karin was toying with her.
She gritted her teeth and managed to keep her composure. “Th-Then just call me Mary like a normal person.”
“Ms. Mary?”
After a small pause, Mary nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. Then, Ms. Mary, you’re on a journey to heal hangnails, right? So you’ll travel to various towns?”
“Um, yeah.”
“But can you come back here during winter?”
“Winter? Why?”
“It’s dry, so I get hangnails easily. I’d feel safer with you here.”
Mary was about to mention that Evelyn could handle healing hangnails, but then she closed her mouth. Karin’s ears, illuminated by the lantern, looked somewhat red.
Seeing that, Mary said brightly, “I-I guess I could be magnanimous and come back since you’re begging. But no promises!”
“No promises?” Karin echoed, looking up anxiously.
Mary felt her heart do another thing. “Fine! I promise! Pinky promise! There! Happy?!”
“Yes. I’m happy.”
“Bru-wah!”
Alex’s face suddenly emerged from the dirt with a strange cry!
“Ah ha ha ha! I conquered my fears and waited in the hole Theodore dug! Man, I nearly soiled my pants. Good job making it here, Mary!”
“Oh, Ms. Mary! You have a hangnail on your pinky,” Karin pointed out.
“Oh no! Really? I have to heal it.”
“Show me how much you’ve grown.”
“Hmph! Prepare to be amazed!”
Not noticing Alex at all, the two girls chattered away as they continued toward the shrine.
The prince, buried in the dirt, was left behind.