“What’s going on? Are you making more sachets?”
“I-It was for a consultation with a new client!” Lacey said irately, with her voice raised louder than usual and tears in her eyes.
“A-All right.” Although he was a little confused, Wayne went along with it.
Lacey was relieved that her excuse had worked. For the moment, she frantically fumbled over the table to hide the evidence of what she’d been doing. One of the petals fell onto the floor, and Wayne picked it up.
“A red flower, huh? That reminds me of that one nursery rhyme. There’s a song about divining whether someone loves or hates you by plucking flower petals one by one.”
“I-Is there?”
“Yeah. Never tried it myself, though. I don’t think you would’ve either since you don’t know the song.”
“Well—”
She couldn’t bring herself to tell Wayne that that was exactly what she’d just been doing. She flapped her mouth open and shut, rendered mute.
“Well, on a different subject...”
So she forcibly diverted the conversation. She desperately racked her brain for something else to distract him with. “Who sent you that letter you got before?!”
She was referring to the letter Wayne had received on the night of the popcorn party. I mean, I’ve been curious about it, but is this really the topic to switch to? Lacey internally lamented her own poor choice.
“Letter? Oh, you mean the one from Dana.”
“What? It was from Dana?” She was surprised. Both by the fact that Wayne had told her so easily and by the unexpected sender. “Why did Dana send a letter to you, not to me?” she impulsively asked with some vanity.
Lacey and Dana had been periodically exchanging letters since their reunion. Since Dana was keeping contact with Lacey, it would be perfectly normal for her to be doing the same with Wayne, as her fellow companion on the quest.
“It was Dana, though? Huh...”
“Wait, hold on! Just for the record, that was a special case. We’re not regularly in touch with each other,” Wayne added, suddenly flustered.
“Mm-hmm...?”
It being a “special case” raised even more questions, but Wayne didn’t seem willing to tell Lacey anything more than that.
∗ ∗ ∗
The two of them cleaned off the petal-littered table and decided to enjoy their customary teatime together. However, they quickly found that there weren’t any tea leaves. Thus, they went to buy more in the village and bought some food while they were at it before returning to the mansion.
As they strolled back along the road, Lacey looked up at the white clouds stretching across the winter sky. She said she’d carry half of the shopping baskets, but Wayne was holding on to all of them instead.
“Say, Wayne, are you not going to use concealment magic anymore?”
“Nope. Everyone knows already.”
“Your face twitched a little when the shopkeeper called you ‘hero’ earlier. You did reply, though.”
“I’m not really good with that stuff. But I guess they don’t mean any harm by it. It’s like a nickname.” Wayne had gradually become accustomed to the way things were in Plume Village as well. Everyone had agreed to keep it a secret that the hero visited their community.
“Hey, are you sure the villagers will be okay?”
“How so?”
“I only come around once in a while, and you never know what threats might come from outside.”
Wayne was aware of the incident with Lomigos. That’s probably why he’s asking, thought Lacey. He’s concerned about them.
“They were all grinning at first, but I think that at heart they were still a little scared. Lately, it feels like they’ve been getting back their real smiles, little by little. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
Peace was a wonderful thing, but they couldn’t let that be an excuse to avoid reality.
“I think it might be a good idea for me to talk with Duke Fylachtó personally.”
If Lacey’s magic artifacts attracted bad actors, then she would have to ask for protection from an even greater personage. Lacey had already escaped the fetters of the nation, and this was like asking to be chained up again. But weighed against the well-being of the villagers, she was ready and willing to sacrifice her freedom.
“The duke already knows about you. He knows that you’re making those Aster-branded magic artifacts too.”
“Huh? What?! I did have an audience with him when I moved into Plume, since I thought I should give him my regards, but he knows about the artifacts too?!”
“I told him about it, although I didn’t really want to step on your toes. Things would’ve gotten problematic if you’d been the one to tell him, plus I was in a bit of a hurry. Sorry to tell you after the fact, I forgot to mention it.”
“No, it’s okay, I’m grateful to have one less thing to worry about...”
If the Dawn Witch petitioned the duke for protection, that would be equivalent to getting new chains clamped on her. Thus, Wayne had acted as an intermediary and arranged for just Plume Village’s protection. He had carefully considered Lacey’s desire to live freely.
Wayne made it all sound simple, but, in reality, it had been tremendously hectic. He’d learned from Dana’s letter that there was a noble named Lomigos who was acting suspiciously, attended the social event to find out more, then personally gone straight to the duke to request an audience and negotiate things—and that was in addition to his regular duties. But he had no intention of telling Lacey about this, and he hadn’t said anything until now because he wasn’t sure how to break the news.
To sum it up, he had done a lot this time.
“That’s good. That means the duke’s given explicit approval for my magic artifacts too, right?”
“Yeah, he’ll back you.”
Lacey recalled that he was a man with an impressive beard that suited him well. It might be difficult considering her status, but Lacey internally said to herself that she’d like to thank him one day.
“Wayne, I’m sorry.”
“You haven’t done anything to apologize for. If you feel like you benefitted, then you should use the opposite expression.”
“Thank you. I’m really grateful.”
“All right, I’ll accept that.”
She smiled a little.
They went up the slope and approached the mansion. It was as though they were approaching the sky itself. The closer they got to the endless expanse, the warmer her body felt, until the coldness of her breath no longer bothered her.
A frosty wind blew across Lacey’s cheek. At the same time, it lifted the brim of her hat and swept through her long black hair.
“Agh, it’s getting all tangled!”
“Hold on, you’re trying to comb it out, but that’s just making it worse. Wait a second.”
Wayne, who was walking a little ahead of Lacey, turned back. He set the groceries on the side of the road and the two of them sat down together on a convenient log.
Wayne’s hands were much larger than Lacey’s, but they deftly ran through her hair. Before, she’d been completely fine with him arranging her hair, but this time, she had her eyes squeezed tight. Wayne was just too close. The sound of her heartbeat was deafening.
“All done,” Wayne told her.
There was a weird sensation, though. Something was stuck to her hair. Wondering what it was, Lacey opened her eyes and stretched up her fingers to feel it.
“Darn, you noticed?” His face had that occasional mischievous look. Wayne took it off and showed it to her. It was a hair accessory with sparkling blue gems.
“It’s for you.”
He handed it to her. Lacey rested it in her palm and tilted her head. She looked at it blankly, apparently deep in thought. Wayne, who was sitting stoutly next to her on the log with his arms folded, looked at the accessory along with her.
A bird flapped its wings in flight overhead. Clouds moved across the sky and vanished.
“...Why?!”
“Took you long enough to react,” Wayne said with exasperation.