When I say this, my father’s face lights up. Oh my, he wanted me to come home really badly, didn’t he…? More to the point, it really did seem to bother him that he put me in that cottage in the first place.
“I’m happy for you, Arnold,” Gill murmurs quietly to my father.
Hello, old friend!
I look around my room. It was kept clean while I was away.
“Lady Alicia! Lady Alicia!” Somebody is excitedly calling my name and pounding on my door.
……Rozetta?
“Come on in,” I answer calmly.
The door bursts open. “Lady Alicia! You’ve returned home, I see.”
Rozetta, who hated Alicia in the game, has tears in her eyes as she welcomes me home. I haven’t seen her face-to-face over the past two years, but she brought all sorts of things to the cottage for me.
“Lady Alicia…your eye…” Rozetta’s voice cracks, her hands darting to her agape mouth. “What…happened?”
“I gave it away. To somebody else.”
Right after I say the words, I realize that my father didn’t ask what happened when he saw my missing eye. Had he already received the news? Well…I did figure that the news was out there.
Rozetta presses me no further. She bows gracefully and says, “Please forgive me, my lady, for bursting into your room. I am simply beside myself with joy.”
“It’s all right. Thank you for taking care of me.”
Rozetta smiles at me, her voice shaking as she says, “Lady Alicia…I truly am so happy that you’ve come back home.”
It feels good to be missed.
“Well, I’ll be on my way, then,” she says. “If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ring me. Oh! Also, Lady Alicia, you’ve grown into quite a beautiful young lady.”
Before Rozetta leaves my room, she turns and gives me the softest smile.
“Alicia, you in there?”
I hear Gill’s voice on the other side of the door.
“Come on in.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes, it’s only me.”
After a moment of silence, the door slowly opens. There is a distinct graveness in Gill’s eyes.
“Is something wrong?”
“……I found this at school,” he says, handing me a tiny card.
“Where did you find this?” I take the card from Gill and stare at it.
……This is a trump card. I believe they’re called “royal cards” in this world? They’re often used among the nobility in betting games.
“I found it where the wolf infiltrated the school.”
“Wha—?” I gasp dumbly in reply.
“Are you saying there’s a significance behind this card…?”
“I don’t know.”
It is the four of spades. Which could mean…
“If this card is our connection to the culprit—”
““The nobility cater,”” Gill and I say in unison.
“Aha! So the answer came to you, too,” Gill says.
In the world of playing cards, social class is displayed by the markings. Clubs are farmers, diamonds are merchants, hearts are the clergy, and spades are the nobility. Ones are aces, twos are deuces, threes are treys, and fours are caters, so it can be inferred that the four of spades is the “nobility cater.” It’s either the name of some group or organization, or neither—that, we don’t know.
Besides, it wouldn’t make sense for the culprit to leave behind incriminating evidence.
……Yeah, we’re just making knee-jerk assumptions, aren’t we?
“It might be a trap,” I say.
“True. Somebody from Laval might be trying to frame somebody at the magic academy.”
“We can’t infer anything from this card alone. Seriously, the mysteries just keep growing.”
……At this rate, I really think our fastest bet is infiltrating Laval. But my father would never allow that. He tried to get me to quit being Liz’s monitor, after all.
So maybe I could get exiled…? Yes, I should just get exiled like the villainess I am. Then I would find the evidence I need and bring it back to Durkis. I’m not sure my plan will succeed, but if it does, I will surely go down in history for it.
“Alicia? What are you thinking about?”
“……Being Liz’s monitor.”
“I can’t use magic, but I know a lie when I hear one.” Gill lets out a deep, dubious sigh.
“I was thinking about what my best choice would be for me to become a villainess.”
“……So did you get an answer?”
If I tell Gill my idea as is, he will definitely oppose it. But if I lie, he will see through that anyway… With hesitation, I look at him and say the words slowly.
“Simply going to school…and criticizing Liz…that isn’t enough.”
Gill frowns meaningfully. He understands what I am getting at. Up until now, every time I came within saintly Liz’s reach, drama ensued. And I have built up my villainess cred rather well using that method, but only to a point.
“I was just thinking it’s about time I make things happen, rather than waiting for things to happen to me.”
“I think you’re taking plenty of action already, Alicia.”
“But my sights are aimed higher.”
“How high exactly are you aiming?”
“As high as I can go.”
Gill looks sucker punched for a moment, but soon after, the corners of his mouth lift into a beautiful smile.
“……And I’m coming with you.”
“I appreciate your companionship, Gill…but I have to do this mission alone.”
“Huh? You don’t want me with you?” Gill stares at me wide-eyed. To a boy who revels in my needing him, my declaration must have crushed him.
“Gill, I want you to stay here and be Liz’s monitor in my stead.”
“……I don’t want to.”
This might be the first time Gill ever refused my order. But it is still best that I travel to Laval alone. It wouldn’t be right to rope Gill into that much unknown danger.
“What in the world are you trying to do?” Gill asks me, his eyes dead serious.
I’m trying to get exiled! …Yeah, I can’t exactly say that. But Gill is a very perceptive boy, so he’s bound to figure out what I’m thinking eventually. I need to strike now, before that happens…
“What am I supposed to do?” His eyes beseech me, begging for guidance. But Gill’s life is his to decide, not mine.
“Gill, your mission in life isn’t to stand by my side—it’s to stand at the top of the world, right?”
“But I want to stand at the top of the world with you, Alicia.”
It feels like I am seeing echoes of Gill’s younger self for the first time in years. Lately, he has gotten so obstinate that his innocent sweetness has faded. But Gill seems more like his age in this moment.
“I can give you a golden opportunity,” I tell him. “But that opportunity isn’t for me to seize; it’s for you, Gill. Don’t worry, we’re both aiming for the same destination.”
“And where is that?”
“The top.”
I look up at the ceiling and point. He and I have spent our lives climbing to the top, so even if we part ways, we will always meet up there. Besides, this isn’t an eternal farewell. I am just going on a little journey.
Then again…if I get exiled, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to come back to Durkis in one piece…
“Don’t worry, Gill, you will always have a place on my path.” I gently pat his head.
“……Well, now you’re making it impossible for me to say no. You’ll always have me beat, Alicia.”
With a soft sigh, Gill smiles…and there are signs of adulthood in his eyes.
The morning sun streams through the tiny carriage window. Gill’s hair sways gently as he sleeps in front of me.
I have to start drawing up my Great Exile Plan today. My heart is dancing—it feels like I am about to do something utterly wicked.
……I suppose I should do something terribly disrespectful to the king? But before I do, I want to ask about Will.
“Alicia.”
……You scared me. Gill, who I thought was asleep, is now staring at me intently.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I thought about it all night, and…if you want to go on some quest alone, I won’t try to stop you. I won’t oppose you.” Gill’s eyes remain steady on me. “But…I want you to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Please don’t die.” Gill is so beautiful when he says the words that I am bewitched for a moment. What a manly gaze he has. “And this wish isn’t coming just from me. Duke, Henri, Mel, Carol—we all love you very much, Alicia. A future without you would be too lonely for words—Duke said that once.”