Chapter 74

“The gunpowder never got there, you say?” Adolphus, who was visiting the castle, sounded uncharacteristically befuddled. “…What happened?” “It seems the boat that was supposed to arrive never got there…” Kyle Hughes was similarly at a loss. Ultimately, the scheme to blow up Saint Mark’s Square never came to fruition, because the Daeg Gallus member who had infiltrated the group of saint worshippers was arrested. The reason for the arrest was rather ridiculous. When the gunpowder the group was counting on didn’t arrive, he scrambled for something to replace it and fell into the net of the Royal Security Force. “How absurd. I thought he was a member of Daeg Gallus,” Adolphus said. “Yes, with a tattoo to prove it. At first, we thought it was some kind of trap, but it seems the gunpowder really never arrived. When we interrogated him, he was too upset to do much more than scream and yell. Never told us any of the key details.” Most likely, the man himself had no idea what had happened. “Well, I imagine a report will come out eventually…,” Kyle said, seeming unsatisfied with his own explanation. And so, on this disappointing note, the fuss over the arsons ended. The details would probably never be made public; instead, the crimes would be passed off as the work of a lone wolf and the links to the extremists suppressed. Kimberly Smith would have a talk with the leader of the saint worshippers, and in all likelihood, the extremist group would be broken up before long. It seemed to have been Daeg Gallus that engineered its formation from the start. There were still too many loose ends to call the matter settled, but for now it would have to do. The fact that no deaths or injuries had occurred was itself a major achievement. Having finished his report, Kyle Hughes sighed quietly and picked up the teacup the maid had brought him, intending to moisten his parched throat. He took a sip of the amber-colored liquid—and instantly sprayed it all over. “Revolting…!” He was coughing and gagging as if it had gone down his windpipe. “Duke, what is this?” he managed to ask. “Ah, that’s lemonade. I made too much by mistake. I tried thinning it with hot water, but it seems it wasn’t to your liking.” “Like I said, it’s not a question of personal taste!” Kyle’s eyes were watering. Adolphus recalled that when Maximilian tasted the concoction, his face gradually turned white and he started to shake, but he’d chalked that up to his son’s poor constitution. A summer cold or the like. Adolphus smiled wryly. In the end, she was the only one who’d ever enjoyed his lemonade. As he looked down at the porcelain cup, an old memory came back to him. Aliénore was lying in bed. She took a sip of freshly made lemonade and burst out laughing. “W-why does it taste like this…?!” she exclaimed. “You have a kind of gift, I think!” “I have a feeling that wasn’t a compliment, but for future reference, may I ask what it tastes like?” “The closest thing I can think of is mud from the bottom of the Canal Grande.” “…I think I’ll stop using the herbs.” Aliénore always talked nostalgically about how the lemonade in her hometown was made with herbs, and he’d gotten the idea in his head to reproduce it. Sage, thyme, rosemary—he had made a decoction of all the herbs he could think of, but apparently it wasn’t right. Aliénore wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and giggled. “Adolphus, do you remember what I told you about Carnival?” He was unable to reply for a moment, then smiled as if it were nothing. “…The festival on the island where you were born, you mean?” How could he not remember? It was the festival to celebrate the return of the dead. “Yes. I always wondered why everyone wore masks to the festival. After all, with masks on, you can’t tell who anyone is.” Can’t you? Adolphus thought that he would be able to recognize Aliénore no matter what she was wearing. But he didn’t think that was the answer she was looking for, so he kept the thought to himself. “But it doesn’t matter,” she went on. “What do you mean?” “It doesn’t matter if you’re able to meet a dead person or not. That festival is for the people left behind.” She smiled a little sadly. “It’s meant to soothe those mourning the dead. That’s why they have the masks. Imagine the shock if you were expecting to meet a certain spirit, but then you didn’t. That’s why everyone has a mask on. The point is to make people think their loved one might be behind one of the masks.” She snorted and jerked her face away. “How absurd. It makes me so angry; I’d never join their dance. I’d give them a reproachful look and ruin their fun.” She was talking as if she were already dead. As if she knew her time in this world was almost over… Adolphus never knew how to react when she got like this. He was as bewildered as a lost child. “You’re going to the festival, then?” That was why he always acted like it didn’t bother him. His heart pounded uncomfortably in his ears, but that didn’t matter. He knew it was what she wanted. “In that case, I’ll stay here and think of you.” “Even if I’m not around?” she pouted. Adolphus nodded. “After all, isn’t Carnival a day for the living?” Aliénore, who had said as much herself, wore a lonely smile. “If that’s so, then I’m not going,” he said, meeting her jewel-like eyes. Aliénore was a persevering woman who rarely complained, but sometimes he wanted her to understand that it was all right to do things another way. “I’ll stay here and think only of you.” He would make a day just for her, not on the island where she grew up, but here. He would make a place where his complicated wife could laugh freely. “…Is there any point in that?” “I make a point of not doing pointless things.” “……Sometimes you are a hopeless fool.” Although her tone was exasperated, she smiled bashfully. He would be a fool all the time if it meant he got to see her smile like that. “All right, then, while I’m back on my island, what do you plan to do?” she asked. “Let’s see… I think I’ll get myself some out-of-season lemons and try perfecting my recipe for lemonade with herbs. And I’ll think of you dancing in a far-off land.” Aliénore smiled as if she thought this was the funniest thing in the world. Kyle Hughes was gone. Adolphus brought the lukewarm cup to his lips. He took a sip, then blinked. Ah, I see his point, he thought. Unable to fully suppress the laughter that bubbled up within him, Adolphus’s shoulders shook. “It is revolting.”