They had been jostling along in the carriage for two hours that morning. The Weir domain—that is, Nival Weir’s hereditary land and imperial stock farm—sat to the north of the capital, past quite a few hills and dales. While the capital was the center of fashion and trends, a two-hour journey was enough to reach another world. All around were green mountains and pastures dotted with grazing cows and sheep. Just the sight of it was relaxing, and she opened the carriage window and felt the cool breeze on her face.
“Miss Brigitte!”
“Miss Brigitte!”
Noisy voices interrupted her reverie. Evidently, Kira had arrived before her. As Brigitte stood to climb from the carriage, blushing from this warm welcome, Nival offered his hand. She took it gratefully, and he broke into a grin.
“It’s lovely to see you both!” Brigitte said. “Nival, thank you for inviting me to your estate.”
“No, Miss Brigitte, thank you for making the long trip here. Welcome to my— Wait, what are you doing here?!”
He pointed accusingly at Yuri and took a step back from the carriage. Brigitte glanced over her shoulder to see a profoundly irritated Yuri.
“What am I doing? Accompanying Brigitte, obviously.”
“I don’t see why she needs accompanying!”
“I wrote you a letter telling you I was coming.”
“You think I’d read a letter from the likes of you?!”
Ignoring this clearly good-natured feud, Brigitte turned to Kira.
“Miss Brigitte, have you been well?” Kira asked.
“I have! You look well, too.”
Brigitte couldn’t help smiling as Kira’s dark eyes twinkled, like a night sky full of stars.
“You cut your bangs! It’s a lovely style for you,” she said.
“Oh, Miss Brigitte…!”
Kira’s blushing face wasn’t hidden by long hair anymore, and Brigitte thought the change suited her perfectly.
“First things first, let’s go to the house so you can bring your luggage in,” Nival said, his spat with Yuri apparently over. Brigitte started walking to the carriage to take out her luggage. But before she had a chance, Yuri picked it up, clutching their two heavy-looking bags in his arms.
“Oh, Sir Yuri, you don’t have to…”
“It’s fine,” he said, before walking off toward the house, and Brigitte hurried after him.
Why is he so dashing…? No, stop!
She chased away the unwanted thoughts. If Nival and Kira caught on to her, they were sure to think she was strange.
She hadn’t seen Nival or Kira since school let out, and she hadn’t seen Yuri for two weeks. The cottage carriage wasn’t very nice, so she was grateful Yuri had offered an Aurealis carriage. But since neither Sienna nor Clifford was coming with her, she had been alone with Yuri for two hours. He had been unaffectedly considerate the whole time.
He asked me how I was feeling and how my spirit was…
If she wasn’t imagining things, he seemed to worry about her a lot. Thanks to her happiness and embarrassment, she wasn’t sure she’d managed to answer very coherently.
Funny that Blue didn’t show up the one time I could have used the help. Yuri had said the sassy spirit liked to sleep in, which reminded her that according to Sienna, Blue been a late riser when staying with them, too.
In any case, it had been all Brigitte could do to keep from blurting, “Oh, cows!” “Oh, sheep!” “Oh, goats!” every time she spotted an animal on the ride to the Weir domain.
They went inside the three-story mansion, which at least from the outside looked magnificent. The furnishings were simple but elegant. Nival said his mother had redone the interior about ten years ago when the house was renovated, and Brigitte could tell she had good taste. At the moment, none of his family was at the vacation home, but five servants welcomed Brigitte and Yuri warmly.
“Please make yourself at home on the second floor with Kira, Miss Brigitte. Yuri and I will be on the first floor,” Nival announced.
“I’ve already put my things in the room on the right. I hope you don’t mind…,” Kira said.
“Brigitte, is the room next to Kira’s all right?”
“Yes… Thank you, Sir Yuri.”
He nodded and strode up the stairs with her bag. Noticing how weighed down he was, Nival shouted, “Let me help!” but Yuri didn’t even pause.
Brigitte looked at Kira and smiled wryly.
“By the way, Kira, how’s Lisa?”
Kira’s face clouded over. “Actually…I heard she hasn’t left the dorm, even after the summer holiday began.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but my parents asked me to come home, so I haven’t been able to see her.”
She looked down helplessly.
The baron’s daughter, Lisa Selmin, had been close with Brigitte’s former fiancé, Prince Joseph. He had broken off their engagement after Lisa claimed Brigitte was bullying her, but she must have hated Brigitte just as much after that. Lisa had made Kira steal her pen during the written exams, followed Yuri around, ridiculed Brigitte in public, and even chased her with a torch during the magic-stone hunt. The memories of the harassment alone were awful. In the end, she’d been suspended from the academy of magic, but no one had seen her since, even after the suspension was over.
“But, Miss Brigitte, Miss Lisa isn’t the type to be that reckless,” Kira said earnestly. Their families were close, and the two girls had been childhood best friends, or close to it.
Kira had admitted to Brigitte that she was the one who stole her pen, but Brigitte guessed Kira had simply been following her friend’s orders. She hadn’t asked for the details. Kira had promised that she and Lisa would apologize together, and Brigitte believed her.
“I think she must have some reason. Please…”
“Kira, it’s all right,” she said, shaking her head. “I know she must have had a reason for what she did…and there’s something else that strikes me as odd.”
Come to think of it, Kira should know the answer.
Brigitte decided to ask her the question that had been bothering her.
“Do you know anything about Lisa’s contracted spirit?”
“Yes. It’s a third-class wind spirit… Why?”
“…No reason. Thanks.” She’d suspected as much.