Epilogue
“WOOOW. So that’s what was running through your mind back then.”
“Hmph. I can’t believe you hid such thoughts from me.”
Several months had passed since the revolution. Rae and I now led a modest but peaceful life in the outskirts. Today she and I found out we both kept diaries, so we gave each other’s a read out on the chairs of our house’s terrace.
The past year or so from her perspective was quite a bit different than mine. I had only thought of her as a complete nuisance around the time we first met, but she was already head over heels in love with me. I wanted to curl up into a ball of shame just reading how I acted back then. I’m impressed she put up with me for so long, honestly.
“So, what’d you find most unexpected?” she asked.
I took my time to think before answering. “Your plan with my father, I suppose. That wasn’t even that long after we met.”
“Oh yeah, that. Man, it was a lot of fun plotting behind your back.” She grinned like a mischievous little rascal. The two of them had kept their master plan a secret from me, but given how I was, I could hardly fault them for it.
“What about you, Rae? What was the most unexpected thing from my diary?” Rae said she had a way of seeing the future, including things that concerned me, so there was a chance there was nothing unexpected at all for her in my diary.
“Hmm, there’s too much to narrow it down to just one thing.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Like for instance, you weren’t ever really that much of a villainess, even when we first met.”
“Oh…? Is that right?” It seemed she expected me to be more heartless and cruel, not the caring, upright noble lady I was.
“And I guess I’m surprised to learn Lady Pepi and Lady Loretta weren’t just your minions.”
“Of course not. The two of them are my dear friends, and don’t you mistake it.”
“My bad.”
Some of what happened to Pepi and Loretta was also written in my diary. Rae didn’t have a high opinion of the two, but that seemed to have changed slightly after reading my diary. It would be a problem if she couldn’t get along with my friends, so it was best we cleared up her misunderstandings sooner than later.
“What you wrote around the time of the Amour Ceremony was pretty interesting, Miss Claire.”
“Excuse me? I told you not to read those parts!”
“And by that you meant you actually really wanted me to read those parts, right?”
“How does that make any sense?!”
The Amour Ceremony ultimately pulled Rae and I closer together, but the whole ordeal was still embarrassing. I couldn’t even recall the events without blushing.
“But, wow… You were already all over me back then, huh? I had no idea.”
“Honestly, it’s a wonder how you couldn’t tell. Just how dense are you?”
“Sorry.” She smiled a bit sheepishly. “Oh, right. Seeing how much you grew as a noble through your diary was pretty interesting.”
“Ugh. I was such a child when we first met. Just thinking about it brings me grief.”
There was a time I only thought of commoners as people to be ruled over. I even looked down on children for panhandling. Oh, how immature I was. Such was not befitting a lady of House François.
“But you grew. People are even calling you a hero of the revolution now, aren’t they?”
“You embarrass me. Most of what I did was secretly arranged by you and Father. I’ve hardly done anything worthy of praise.” I would not claim the accomplishments of others as my own. It didn’t matter if I was no longer a noble; I still had my pride.
“There was one entry in your diary that I found strange, though,” Rae said.
“What’s that, then?”
“Did you have a roommate?”
“No? I’ve always lived alone at the dorm.” Presumably, I was given special treatment as I was a duke’s daughter.
“That’s what I thought. But according to your diary, you had a roommate: a noble lady you’ve known since you were a child.”
“Pardon?” That couldn’t be right. There weren’t that many people I’d known since I was a child. There was only my family, the head maid, Lene, and maybe a few others.
“It was definitely written in your diary that you had a roommate named Catherine Achard.”
“Catherine Achard… So she was a lady from House Achard?” The name was unfamiliar to me, but for some reason hearing it made my heart race. I racked my brain trying to remember when a voice spoke up.
“Catherine? Oh, that girl?”
“Sister!”
“Hey, Claire. You two look like you’re doing well.”
It was Manaria. We hadn’t met her since she helped us during the revolution, so it’d been a few months. But there were more pressing matters that came before celebrating our reunion.
“You know about this Catherine, Sister?” I asked.
“I do. That Catherine girl is, well…somebody who met a tragic fate.”
“Oh dear. I’m sorry to hear that,” Rae said.
“Oh, I don’t mean like that. She’s alive. But I don’t think she’ll come see you two ever again.” Manaria knew something, but she seemed to be thinking over whether to tell us. “She made the tough choice to wipe herself from your memories, and I’d like to respect that if possible.”
“What? But—” I tried to stand, but she gestured for me to stay seated.
“I get it, Claire. I wouldn’t want to forget my childhood friend either. But your memory of her includes tragic recollections as well. You might come to hate her if you ever remember again. Would you still want to, even then?”
Manaria’s eyes were sincere. She was asking out of genuine worry. She wanted what was best for me, more than she cared to respect whatever Catherine’s decision was. But even so…
“Tragedy, too, is something that lets us grow.”
“Claire…”
“I’ve experienced a number of tragic events in my life, but there are none I can say I wish to forget. Even the painful memories are a part of who I am. And it should stay that way.”
Memories were precious precisely because they weren’t all of good times.
“I see. Then I won’t argue further. Let me return your memories of her.” She cast Spellbreaker on Rae and me. I felt memories rush back into me like a wave.
“Miss Claire!”
“I-I’m all right. I just felt a bit dizzy.”
Rae caught me as I almost fell out of the chair. The memories I had lost were just that extensive.
“Catherine…why?”
“She did it because she couldn’t forgive herself. You remember now, right?”
Catherine had approached my mother as an assassin, only for my mother to save her at the cost of her own life. The guilt she felt tore at her, driving her to erase herself from my memory.
“I’m going to look for her,” I said.
“I’ll come with you,” Rae added.
“Good grief. I had a feeling things might come to this.” Manaria pulled out a slip of paper.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s where Catherine’s currently staying. She lives out in the Alpes now.”
“Sister! I love you so much!” I hugged her without a moment’s delay, making her smile broadly. Rae seemed a bit displeased, but surely she could put up with this much.
“You better make your move sooner than later. She never stays in one place long.”
“Let’s start packing then, Rae. Call May and Aleah over too.”
“Sure thing.”
A few days later, Rae and I were aboard a carriage to the Alpes. I couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of meeting Catherine again.
“You look happy, Miss Claire.”
“Of course. Catherine is like a little sister to me.”
“…Just a little sister, right?”
“Pardon?” Confused, I gave Rae a look.
She blushed and said, “You wouldn’t happen to have any feelings for her, would you?”
“…Rae?”
“Yes?”
“Are you by chance jealous?”
“You bet I am, gosh darn it!” She began slamming her head against the wall of the carriage.
“Cut that out, you’ll hurt yourself!”
“Ugh… I hate how clingy I am, but…it’s also your fault for being so cute, Miss Claire…”
“You’re talking nonsense again. I think of Catherine as a little sister and nothing more.” Honestly, this girl… What a strange thing to be bothered over. “…Hee hee. But I have to admit, seeing you jealous doesn’t feel all too bad.”
“Sadist.”
“Call me all the names you like. Hee hee. To think you would be jealous of Catherine.” I teased her, making her sulk. “I’m only joking. The only one I love is you, Rae.”
“Hmph.”
“Oh dear… Come on, chin up already.” I put my hands on her cheeks and planted a kiss on her.
“Who do you think I am?! A kiss isn’t enough to win me over.”
“Then what do I have to do to make you feel better?”
“…Gimme a lap pillow.”
“…Very well.” Exasperated, I tapped my lap.
“Yaaaay!” She happily laid her head on me.
“Is something like this really enough for you?”
“But of course! Claire’s lap pillow is a special privilege, and only I have a right to it out of everyone in this world!”
“Well… I suppose that’s true?”
“You better not let Lady Catherine do this, you hear?!” she insisted. She seemed giddy, like a child.
How cute. I watched her slowly nod off to sleep. To think this girl was the one to steal my heart. My, how cheeky for a commoner.