✤
I panted heavily, short of breath. How did I end up in this situation?
When I turned my head, I could see her. There was no mistaking it. Lutia was coming after me.
She was baring her teeth and holding up what looked like a cross and a string of garlic. I wanted to shout “I’m not a vampire!” but I knew she wouldn’t listen.
It had happened when I was on my way home from the Sky Salon. There had been no one around. Sure, I should have been more careful, but I’d never really believed she’d make me her target. I definitely made an easier mark than Lady Angelica, being an ordinary human, but surely researching me properly would have revealed that I wasn’t a vampire at all?
How much research could she really have done about me anyway? She’s not in a position to have access to my student records or anything. It’s more likely she just asked a few other students what they knew and counted that as “research.”
None of that helped right now, of course.
Learning from our last encounter, when the bats had gotten in her way, she hadn’t attacked right away when she saw me. Instead, she’d kept herself concealed and led me right where she wanted me.
That place was the new school building—specifically, the Societal Arts wing that was essentially its own building. Before I knew it, I was running into the building, having been ushered into her trap.
Now that I was inside, Fruitington III and the other bats wouldn’t be able to come to my aid so easily. It would be harder for me to contact them too. She’d clearly thought about this.
Well aware that it was completely improper and violated the school rules, I ran like hell through the building. Thankfully, there was no one else in sight to judge me.
“You can run, but you can’t hide, Misaki Hotaru. I’m going to use you as bait to draw out Angelica, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
While reeling off lines straight out of a villain’s playbook, she ran behind me at a distance of about twenty yards.
“I’m telling you, this has nothing to do with me!”
I didn’t know if she could even hear me, but I had to try.
Maybe Fruitington III is still somewhere nearby. She must have been watching me, right?
I charged up the staircase to the second floor and then kept running. Through the window, I saw a black shape.
“Fruitington III!”
Squeak! she replied.
“Please, you have to go get Lady Angelica!”
Having maybe decided she couldn’t come inside the building, she immediately turned and flew off instead. But will I be able to stay away from my pursuer longer enough for help to arrive?
The new school building had four floors—no, five if I could get up onto the roof. Sadly, I didn’t think my legs would get me that far. I wasn’t athletic in the slightest, and Lutia was rapidly closing the distance. At this rate, she would reach me on the third floor—and I’d be toast.
“Ha ha ha! You’re pretty slow for a vampire! Are you some kind of vampire dropout?”
I was too out of breath to say a word, but she made up for it by being free and easy with the disparaging remarks. I made it past the second floor and onto the next set of stairs, but by now Lutia was right on my tail. She caught up the moment I reached the top of the staircase. I turned my head and there she was, closing in on me with a jubilant expression.
Suddenly, I heard another voice. “Misaki?”
“Huh?”
I looked in front of me, and there she was. Matsuri.
My panicked reaction came far too late. I collided with Matsuri at high speed and knocked her sideways. I would have fallen backward down the stairs if I hadn’t just barely managed to grab onto the railing.
I only had a brief moment to feel relieved before Lutia grabbed my shoulder. That same instant, there was a loud smash as an expensive-looking vase fell to the floor.
“Oh no,” said Matsuri, deflated. Her hand was reaching out to the spot where the vase had just stood.
Because I’d bumped into her, she’d knocked the vase.
“Hah, now you’ve done it. I bet that’s worth a small—”
Before Lutia could finish commenting, a gust of wind blew past. It felt like something, or someone, had rushed past me with tremendous force, and suddenly Lutia was gone.
“Huh?” I exclaimed slowly.
I don’t know what just happened, but at least Lutia’s not here anymore.
“Matsuri, are you all right? I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault! It only got broken because I crashed into you!”
Although I hadn’t expected anyone to be there, Matsuri was cleaning the school building again, as she had been every day, all to distract herself from the loneliness of not being by Lady Saeko’s side.
“What? No. It wasn’t your fault at all, Misaki.” She looked empty inside as she stared down at the shattered vase.
“How can you say that? Clearly it only happened because of me.”
“That’s not true. Admittedly, the shock of you colliding with me did lead to me knocking the vase over. I could have caught it, though. I’m sure I could have stopped it from falling. But my hands wouldn’t move. There was a thought that flashed into my mind just for a moment: if this vase breaks, maybe Lady Saeko will help me again. That made me hesitate.”
She collapsed to the ground.
Lady Angelica approached from the end of the hall. “Neither of you are to blame for this. You can blame her.”
What? When?! How?!
In her right hand, Lady Angelica was holding Lutia by the scruff of the neck. Did that mean the gust of wind just now had been Lady Angelica?!
Lutia wasn’t moving a muscle. She’s only unconscious, right?
“Lutia’s got guts, I’ll give her that. She was determined to keep going after you. I’ll have to give her the punishment she deserves. But first...”
Lady Angelica crouched, then grasped Matsuri’s shoulder and pulled her to her feet.
“Matsuri, none of this is your fault. However, I’d like it if you kept this incident a little vague in your mind.”
Her eyes glimmered bewitchingly as she stared straight into Matsuri’s. Matsuri let out a gasp.
“Erm, is everything going to be okay?”
“Yes, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m just fogging up her consciousness a little to make sure she doesn’t find out about me. She’ll remember everything except for my involvement.”
“Right, okay.”
“Now then,” she said, standing up. It looked like she’d finished putting Matsuri under her spell, or however it worked. “Matsuri, you broke a vase.”
“Yes,” Matsuri replied feebly.
“Even if it was an accident, it won’t change the truth. We’ll decide among ourselves how to deal with it, so until then, stay in your room—or rather, Misaki’s room. Unless there’s a very good reason, just wait there, okay?”
“I will.”
With slumped shoulders, Matsuri started walking. Once she was gone, Lady Angelica gave me my orders.
“Lutia’s actions are unforgivable, but I have to give credit where credit’s due—she really helped us out here. Go and tell Himeko right away.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“We finally have a chance to bring Saeko and Matsuri back together.”
Lady Angelica showed me a smile and a wink.
✦ ✦ ✦
✤
In a meeting room, Himeko exchanged glances with me and Lady Angelica. Frowning, she asked, “Matsuri broke a vase? How did that happen?”
It was a totally reasonable question. Someone as conscientious as Matsuri doing something like that on purpose seemed unimaginable, but the small possibility was there.
“It was my fault,” I replied. “I was coming up the stairs and I didn’t see Matsuri there, so I bumped into her and it made her knock the vase over.”
“Oh, really?” She didn’t quite sound convinced. “Are you both all right?”
“Yes, neither of us were hurt.”
“That’s good to hear. For the vase, we can just buy a replacement. In fact, the insurance should—”
Interrupting with a wicked smile, Lady Angelica said, “Himeko, you’re missing the point. This is a golden opportunity.”
“Oh! Yes, I see what you mean now.”
“It might not be the nicest thing for Matsuri, but we can use this to turn the screws a little.”
“Agreed.” Himeko nodded. “We can’t leave it too long either. Let’s set things in motion right away.”
“Good idea. I’ll use a school broadcast to call both of them to the Sky Salon. I think that’s the best place to draw a line under all this. You two should go there and wait.”
“All right. Let’s go, Misaki.”
“Yes, milady.”
Himeko and Lady Angelica were planning to use the broken vase to pressure Lady Saeko and Matsuri. If it all went according to plan, they’d go back to how they were before.
On the way to the salon, Himeko asked me, “By the way, why were you in the school building to begin with?”
My “Huh?” was more like a scared yelp. That’s a great question. Why in the world would I have been in the school building—especially the part with the Societal Arts classrooms?
“Well, Matsuri told me she’s been cleaning in there lately, so I went to help.”
I’m sorry for lying, milady! I don’t have a choice. Otherwise, I’d have to give away Lady Angelica’s secret.
“Fair enough. I can see Matsuri doing that.”
She seemed to believe me. I mentally apologized again, wishing there was anything else I could do.