✤
Using the school broadcasting system had the hidden goal of making anyone who heard wonder if something was going on with Lady Saeko and Matsuri. That was all part of Lady Angelica’s scheme.
Assembled in the Sky Salon now were me, Himeko, Lady Angelica, Lady Sakura, Sara, and the two girls in question.
“What’s the point of this?” Lady Saeko asked, indignation clear in her voice. Since she and Matsuri had both been called here, she no doubt had a general idea of what this related to.
Ignoring her sullen glare, Lady Angelica stepped forward, ushering Matsuri with her. “Allow me to explain. You see, not long ago, Matsuri broke a vase on the third floor of the Societal Arts wing.”
Lady Saeko shifted her glare to Matsuri. “What did you do?”
“I’m so sorry.” Matsuri bowed down in an apology so deep that her head practically reached her knees.
“Don’t blame her. She was just making sure the interior stayed spotless while no one else was cleaning it over vacation. Breaking the vase was nothing but an unfortunate accident, of course.”
“If so, then everything’s fine, but I don’t see what it has to do with me.”
“Think about it. Even if Matsuri can’t really be blamed for it, the fact remains that she broke the vase.”
“Are you suggesting I should take on the costs that fall to Matsuri? The insurance would cover all that—wouldn’t it, Himeko? And if you’re asking Matsuri to pay the deductible, I’m sure she can cover that on her own now that she’s no longer in debt.”
Himeko stepped forward to take over from Lady Angelica. “You’re right about that. We could use the insurance to pay for the broken vase. However, that’s not the issue at hand. This incident could be very bad for you, Saeko, which is why we wanted to bring both of the relevant parties together as quickly as possible.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” Lady Saeko replied, folding her arms bad-temperedly. One thing was clear: she was not happy.
“There are witnesses to Matsuri breaking the vase, so it won’t be long before word spreads.”
This was a lie. No one had been there apart from us. However, Lady Angelica and Himeko had agreed to these embellishments beforehand.
“That alone wouldn’t cause a big fuss, of course,” Lady Himeko continued. “There have been plenty of things broken by accident before.”
“I would assume so, yes.”
“However,” she continued, saying it loudly for emphasis, “the timing is quite bad. As of now, nobody else knows that you’ve dissolved Matsuri’s Seraph contract. However, news of this accident will start spreading fast from today. By contrast, the news about you canceling the contract won’t spread until after school starts up again, I imagine.”
Deep ridges appeared on Lady Saeko’s forehead. She didn’t say a word, but it was clear that she’d understood what Himeko was getting at.
“What do you think the other students will think after vacation when they hear that Matsuri is no longer your Seraph?”
Lady Saeko remained silent.
“I’ll tell you what I think. They’ll think you dumped Matsuri over a careless mistake.”
“I can just explain what really happened. Dropping Matsuri’s contract had nothing to do with her breaking the vase. I honored my contract, as I should have done after she worked hard to pay off the debt.”
“Wishful thinking. Everyone here knows all the background, but the rest of the student body doesn’t. They’ll see you as someone who dissolved Matsuri’s contract—something that was supposed to be guaranteed job security for her future—because of a trivial mistake. They’ll see you as some kind of ogre.”
“Himeko, don’t you think you’re exaggerating slightly?”
“Perhaps a tiny bit. I think a healthy majority of the student population will see it in that light, though. Imagine if you were told a story like that. A Domestic Arts student broke something, and then she lost her Seraph contract. You wouldn’t believe any of the fancy justifications you heard afterward, right? They’d just sound like excuses.”
No words came from Lady Saeko’s lips. She knew that Himeko was right. When there was good news, plenty of people doubted it, but people tended to believe bad news when they heard it.
“As a result, you wouldn’t be seen as a trustworthy person who honors your contracts. Quite the opposite; your name would probably be raked through the mud. True or otherwise, you’d be the person who breaks contracts on the slightest of pretexts.”
Lady Saeko gritted her teeth in frustration. That kind of stigma could cause her serious damage. It would be the exact opposite of what she’d been trying to achieve.
Is this actually going to work?
Himeko took another large step forward. She looked pretty fired up at this point. “In any case, breaking a Seraph contract is fundamentally prohibited at this school. If there’s a chance the contract might be broken, the student shouldn’t be made into a Seraph in the first place. That’s what Exousia contracts are for. What you’ve done has the power to shake Amanotsuka Academy down to its very foundations. As deputy chairman of the board, I cannot allow it.”
Himeko stopped for a moment. For some reason, her gaze lingered on me for a second.
“If you’ve made a student into your Seraph, you need to take full responsibility for that person. If you can’t, you shouldn’t make her a Seraph to begin with.”
It sounds almost like she’s telling herself that rather than Lady Saeko.
With sweat dotting her forehead, Himeko lacked her usual elegant poise.
Falling silent, Lady Saeko cast her eyes down at the floor. For a short while, no one spoke.
At last, Lady Saeko looked up with a soft chuckle. “I never expected to hear that from you, Himeko. Not after how little effort you’ve been putting in. What’s brought on this change?”
Himeko’s face flushed. “This isn’t about me.”
“If you say so. Anyway, you’ve got me. This has the potential to cause me serious problems.”
On the verge of tears, Matsuri clutched her hands together in front of her chest. “I’m so sorry, Lady Saeko. It’s all my fault.”
“Yes, that’s true. I’m in quite a bind, and it’s all down to you.” She came closer and wrapped her hands tightly around Matsuri’s. “I think I was just insecure. I couldn’t let go of the idea that you were only serving me because you were trapped by the contract. It never occurred to me that you might keep working for me even after you paid off the debt. Matsuri, will you stay by my side?”
“That’s what I’ve wanted all along—now and always. From the day I met you, I’ve wanted to be by your side forever.”
“You’re such a fool. I’m not the kind of mistress you think I am. When you make mistakes, I punish you—physically, even.”
“That’s only natural if I do something worthy of punishment. I’ll accept any treatment if it’s at your hands, Lady Saeko.”
“I don’t understand why you’d put up with that. Someone as skilled as you could find a mistress who treats you with gentle affection. Still, if you say it’s what you want, I’ll believe you. Stay with me, Matsuri. I’ll train you even more strictly than before.”
“Yes, milady!”
Pressing their foreheads together, they made a fresh vow to each other. The mistress and Seraph who nobody knew had parted ways exchanged a new Golden Contract before anyone had a chance to learn what had happened.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’m so glad those two are back to normal already,” I said to Himeko.
“I quite agree.”
How long had it been since I’d last been in Himeko’s room? I was pretty sure it had only been a few days, but I was feeling quite self-conscious about it. I didn’t think this was just because I’d been gone. It was also because her words at the Sky Salon had left an impression on me. The speech she’d delivered to Lady Saeko had been directed just as much at herself.
Which means that with me, she—
My thoughts were interrupted by the telephone ringing with a call on the internal line. It was rare to hear the in-room phone ringing.
I picked it up. “Yes, this is Himeko Amanotsuka’s room.”
“Oh, Misaki, it’s you.” Lady Angelica was on the line. “Is Himeko there?”
“Yes, just a moment.”
Getting a call from her on the internal line was very unusual. It had to be a pretty urgent message.
“Lady Angelica for you, milady.”
“How odd. I wonder what she wants.” Himeko clearly had no more idea than I did. “Hi, it’s me.”
She paused while Lady Angelica spoke.
“What? Really?”
Whatever it was, it clearly was urgent.
“Yes, I’ll be fine.” Another pause. “All right. Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Then Himeko put down the receiver. Before I could even ask, she told me what she’d just heard.
“Angelica’s going back to her home country tomorrow.”
“That’s sudden,” I replied, immediately thinking about Lutia.
“What is her home country, anyway? It’s not springing to mind.”
“She’s from Ireland, isn’t she?”
“Yes, that was it,” Himeko replied, acting as though she’d known this and had just momentarily forgotten. “That sounds right.”
Did Lady Angelica use her powers to make her forget so she could hide her true identity more easily?
“She said that before she leaves, she wants to have a meeting to confirm our plans for the immediate future and make sure everything’s in place to continue without her.”
“That sounds like a lot of work.”
“She wants you to come with me, apparently. It’ll be one last chance to see you before she goes home, and a chance for you to put in any requests for souvenirs.”
“It would be nice to get something from her homeland. What’s Ireland famous for?”
“I believe they drink a lot of tea there, don’t they?”
“Sounds great. I can never have too many kinds of tea!”
I knew she was going mainly to try and deal with the vampire hunters, but I wondered if she’d feel like doing any sightseeing alongside that. Given how little threat Lutia was, I doubt she’ll be all that busy.
In my mind, I was so casual about the whole thing. I could never have imagined what was really going to happen.