Himitsu – Kuro no Chikai Chapter 3, Part 2 – Beyond Affection

Chapter 3, Part 2 – Beyond Affection

Tard Region, Kingdom of Calmonde. This continent, which spread out on the other side of the sea east of Velcant, was up of many small countries. Calmonde, rich in nature and surrounded by mountains on all sidse, was also one of these small countries. Due to the difference between hot and cold seasons being much more severe in this continent than in Velcant, along with the fact that the most of the area was covered in mountains and forests, the population here was rather low, in great contrast with the vastness of the land. Most of the residents were farrs, the civilization here was not very developed, and there were even villagers that were entirely self-sufficient. Not many ca from Velcant to spend the rest of their lives in this small country.

Len’s house was a little ways east of the capital of Calmonde. It was an old mansion in the middle of a beautiful forest. The mansion itself wasn’t nearly as spacious as the Cyrinpt mansion, but it was well-kept by its few servants, and its design made it easy to live in no matter what season; it was both beautiful and functional. I had already grown quite accustod to living here.

Half a year had passed since the day I had taken Len’s hand and run away from the wedding. Every day, I heard various news that had travelled across the sea from the newspapers in the neighboring Velcant. The daughter of the prestigious Cyrinpt family had mysteriously disappeared. There were a wide variety of articles, so claiming it to have been a kidnapping, others elopent, and others even saying it was a spiriting away. But as I stared at those flat, printed words, it was if they were about soone completely unrelated to . As I thought about what mother might be doing right now, about everyone back at the mansion, about Mr, Iceburg and all those who had co to the wedding, my chest hurt. My betrayal still weighed down heavily on , and continued to cause my heart pain. Surely, if they were to learn of my current situation, they would be both angry, and saddened.

Even so, I was no longer even capable of regretting that the choice I’d made on that day may have been a mistake. Sothing gained from sothing lost. It wasn’t simply sothing placed on the balance of my heart to keep it steady, but sothing that had beco very precious to .

“Hey, Miku~ I finished peeling the apples.”

“Alright. Then, please prepare the butter next…… huh?”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

The thing that Len was holding in his hand….. had to be an apple. I glanced over at the scattered apple skin on the kitchen counter. No matter which way you looked at them, they were strange. To think that the peeled apple would beco smaller… As I gathered up the thick skins, I said to Len, who was smiling cheerfully.

“……. The apple skins are going to be the main focus now.”

“Eh? We’re using the skins, too?”

“We’re not, so that’s why I asked you to peel them off. And yet…. you shaved off so much of the fruit, too.”

It probably wouldn’t be possible to make the apple pie he wanted with only this amount…… If I rembered, there should still be a few more ripe apples growing in the garden.

“I’ll take care of this part, so please bring two or three more apples.”

“What!? But I want to help too!”

“…… It’s alright. The thought alone makes very happy,”

I said with a smile, and after making a slightly embarrassed face, he cheerfully went to go pick the apples. Although he was able to do most other things so skillfully, for so reason, he was only particularly clumsy when it ca to housework like cooking and cleaning. Just like how he’d peeled the apple skins so thickly, when he’d helped with washing the dishes left by the maids who were on vacation, he had ended up breaking most of them. While he’d said that he had never done housework before, there were many other things about his daily routine that were unusual. I felt that this wasn’t simply because of the cultural difference between Velcant and Tard. He had told that he’d always lived alone, without any parents and siblings, so perhaps he was just a little out of the ordinary.

“Miku~ Is this enough?”

Len returned with a smile, holding an armful of apples.

“You picked so many. Just a few would have been enough.”

“If we have a lot, then we can make a big pie with them!”

“You really love eating, don’t you, Len?”

“It’s because the apple pies you make are so delicious, Miku,”

He said, and hugged from behind. The weight of his chin on my shoulder felt nice. However….. I wouldn’t be able to continue cooking like this.

“Len!”

“…… You sll nice, Miku.”

“…. I can’t keep cooking if you hold like this….”

“Yeah….. I know.”

“If you know, then…..!”

“Ahh….. I’m so happy~……”

Happy. Len’s charming, high-toned voice seed to lt into my heart. His arms around were gentle. Ever since I’d co here, every mont was filled with these warm emotions.

“I’m happy too,”

I turned to face him, and t with kind, sympathetic eyes. I caught a glimpse of curiosity in them, and smiled softly. He lifted up his left hand to stroke my cheek. The taste of apples lingered in our kiss.

* * *

After finishing with the late brunch, I read the newspaper while drinking coffee. When I had been an angel, coffee had been too bitter for my liking, but after reincarnating into the male human, Len, it seed that my tastes had changed considerably. And it wasn’t only my tastes which had changed. I had beco interested in knowing the major trends in society all the ti, and although I hadn’t had any interest in them before, I now checked the current events every morning, without fail. Today, it was written in the headline, “Mysterious massacre at the church! Unable to find a single lead, the police force struggles!” Church, massacre, not a single clue—the first thing that ca to mind was that incident. It was the demon faith that I had investigated when I had once been an angel. There was no “proof” in the dispute between angels and demons that could be understood by humans. Even with the involvent of the police, it was useless. Although in reality, the ones that suffered damage were neither the angels or the demons, but the humans. As I thought about these indescribably ironic things, I finished the rest of my coffee in one gulp.

Last night, Miku had said that a new maid would be arriving, and therefore, the servants in the mansion were all excited since this morning. I didn’t know the details, but when I had gone into town the other day, I had heard that a female maid had co from Velcant in search of employnt. Seeing as how she was also from Velcant, and furthermore, already had experience as a maid, it seed that the offer had been accepted after only two correspondences with the diator. Occasionally, I saw Miku behave as if she were hosick, so if she had soone from the sa country close by, perhaps she wouldn’t feel as lonely anymore. Also, it was a woman around her age, so they would have things in common to talk about. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of person they were.

It was right then that one of the maids ca to call , seeming panicked. It was still a bit early for it to be the arranged ti, but perhaps they had already arrived. As the master of the mansion, I checked to see that my outfit was in order, and hurried down the staircase that led to the entrance hall. On the small, reception sofa in the hall sat a sleek, slender woman with long, beautiful blonde hair. The shape of her eyes was sharp and slanted upward slightly, and the blue color shone with certain defiance. All in all, she gave off an air of confidence.

…… I couldn’t help but feel like we’d t sowhere before. No, it had to just be my imagination. Looking at her from a distance, I felt a sudden pain in my head. I walked up closer to her, and our eyes t.

It would seem that it hadn’t just been my imagination.

“Lily!”

Miku ca running in from the rear. And with that montum, she ran up and hugged the woman nad Lily.

“Lily……! I missed you……!”

“Lady Miku,”

The two of them stared at each other with misty eyes, overco with emotions. For the while, the silence went on. The other maids put away their premature, welcoming mood for now, and returned to their respective duties. In reality, they were won that knew how to read the atmosphere.

“I was worried about you, Lady Miku. However, I am glad to see that you’re doing welling.”

“…… I’m so sorry!”

“Oh, my. You never used to let see your crying face back at the mansion. It seems….. that you’ve beco much more honest with yourself.”

“……!”

“Ufufu. I’m sure there is much to talk about, so why don’t we have tea? Together with the master, as well,”

She smiled in my direction as she spoke. This was our first ti eting. Right now, I was a young, freewheeling nobleman with a small amount of land in Calmonde. I had to act my part. Smiling in nostalgia, I welcod my guest, who I was eting for the first ti, to the hall.

“Ah…… Then, Lily, did you leave the mansion right after I disappeared?”

“Yes. Well, to be exact, it was a month afterwards.”

“…… But, won’t that look suspicious? For the ones at the mansion to disappear as soon as I had…… Lily, what if you’re suspected as being my kidnapper…..?”

“It’s alright, you needn’t worry about . Despite my looks, I have quite a bit of confidence in my strength!”

Saying this, she proudly flexed the biceps on her right arm and turned around.

“Certainly….. There doesn’t seem to be much to worry about,”

As I looked at her strong arms, I muttered this out loud.

“Oh, my my, but I am still but a frail maiden~ It was really quite troubleso making my way here! After carefully investigating any sighting of Lady Miku in Alphine, I crossed the ocean, traversed fields and mountains, and at last, I made it to the depths of this forest! Other people would have never been able to find their way here!”

I had escaped into the depths of this forest where I would never be found, in accordance with the intricate contract that I had ford with the demons. And yet, just what part of her information network and vigor was “frail,” to have been able to find this place, hidden from even angels’ eyes, in only half a year? If soone knew, then I’d sure love to hear it.

“Len! Lily isn’t so strong that she could defeat the great threats that dwell in this forest, you know? That was a terrible thing to say just now.”

And then, Miku said sothing to that I didn’t quite follow. Before two won, a man’s opinion is equivalent to a small boat in a storm. I continued to speak, in a way that wouldn’t anger them, if possible.

“I-I apologize. Um, Miss Lily,”

“Just Lily is fine, Master Len. You are the master of this house, after all.”

I often would forget that I was the master of this mansion. Despite the fact that I had already been living here as a human for half a year, I still wasn’t quite used to it.

“Lily, then. I’ll be counting on you, starting today. Since you’ve worked as a maid before, I think you’ll get used to working here before long. Ah, I’ll be counting on you to look after Miku, too.”

“….. Understood. I look forward to working here, Master Len,”

Lily simply said this, and imdiately went to extend her greetings to the maids from earlier. It seed that she had co all this way in search of Miku out of concern. And although she had now found her, she showed no intention of bringing her back to Alphine. On the contrary, her behavior seed to suggest excitent in starting a new life in this distant, foreign country. I felt so of the weight lighten from my chest after seeing her positive attitude. Even if she weren’t about to start working at this mansion from now on, she showed absolutely no accusation towards for deceiving Miku and kidnapping her from the wedding to live here in secret.

“Lily! I’ll show you around. First, I’ll show you where your room is……”

I had already long thrown away my identity as Rin. From now on, I wanted to get along with her, who respected Miku so much, as “Len.” Even if it was to be a deceitful relationship.

“Oh, my! To think that Master Len himself would be giving a tour! …… Could it that that you have been chard by my good looks…..?”

“No, that’s not it at all.”

It would seem that, starting today, my life would be much livelier than it had ever been thus far.

“Well, we’ll be going now.”

“We’ll be waiting here for you to return with souvenirs~! Oh, and also, have a safe journey.”

“…… Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“““Have a safe trip—!!”””

After being sent off by the lively maids, we left through the front door. It seed like our skin would quickly beco flushed in this scorching hot sunlight. Carrying a large trunk, we got into the carriage. There was no coachman. Starting today, it would be just the two of us for about a week. We would be going to a lake in the neighboring country for the sumr. In the small carriage made for only two people, called a cabriolet, we sat next to each other. Miku had been looking forward to this trip for a long ti. Just seeing her face, filled with anticipation, was enough to make smile.

“We’re here.”

Passing through the forest, descending the mountain trail, and taking several breaks, we arrived at a small villa on the banks of a beautiful lake after about half a day. Since I had begun living here in Tard, I was soon able to occasionally travel to neighboring countries for leisure trips, thanks to the relationships that I had slowly built up with other nobles. In fact, this villa had been lent to by a good friend I had t two months prior at a small dinner banquet I had held. He had suggested that here was a nice place to take a trip to once it beca sumr.

I stored the carriage away into the shed, and took out the luggage. When I opened the door, I saw that the interior was very well-kept; the servants must co to take care of it frequently. It was a simple, wooden-structured ho, and well-furnished in each room. It was neither too gorgeous, nor very rustic at all; a house of very good taste.

“Len! Are there fish in the lake?”

“Hm……? Fish….. He did say that he goes fishing often, so I think there should be.”

“Fishing? Oh, that sounds like fun! I’d love to try it!”

“Sure. After I put away the luggage, we’ll go fishing.”

“Yes, let’s have a competition to see who can catch the most fish! The loser will have to fulfill one wish of the winner.”

“Oh…. Sounds good! I accept your challenge, young miss.”

“Wish” ….. The ring of that word stirred my heart. Already thinking about what I would ask for after winning, I excitedly set off in search of my friend’s fishing equipnt.

“……”

“Ohh—!”

“……….”

“Woah!”

“……………”

“Caught another one! Aaand, there we go—”

At my feet, the bucket that I had prepared was already overflowing with many fish. I had never eaten river fish very much, but just from the look of it, I imagined it would be refreshing and delicious. After I had learned of “dining” upon becoming a human, I felt that I had beco quite the gourt. Especially when you get so hungry that anything you eat tastes wonderful; that ti in particular is pure bliss. Just thinking about dinner made hungry now. It was nearly evening, so it seed a good ti to dine soon.

“Hey, Miku……”

“…… Not yet.”

Miku said this while glaring so hard at the water’s surface that it was terrifying. It seed that she still wanted to fish. However, the sun would be setting soon, and the results of the competition were clear.

“Ah~ …… Um, you know…”

“Not yet, I said……. I still haven’t caught a single one……!”

“……”

Her eyes were glistening just a bit. Were those tears of frustration? I would have never thought that she’d take this competition so seriously. With earnest eyes, she stared at the end of the fishing line. I found her face to be very cute, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Wh…… What’s so funny!”

“B-because…… aha….. You’re staring so hard at the water but….. Not a single one……”

“Stop laughing~!”

“……ahahaha!”

“……. Y-you’re so an, laughing at like that! Stupid Len—I hate you……!”

“Sorry……! Haha—”

I must have teased her too much. Miku’s face gradually lost its composure, and she looked like she might burst out crying at any mont. Even as she made this face, I wanted to monopolize her even more. I found myself thinking these inappropriate thoughts.

“I’m sorry,”

I pulled her into an embrace. She started squirming like a child, so I pressed my hand against the back of her head and forced our gazes to et. With a wrinkle at her brow, she glared at from point-blank range, but there was no strength in it at all.

“You look cute when you’re angry, too.”

“……”

“Co on, cheer up. Please?”

“……”

“Rember? The loser has to grant one wish of the winner—is that still not enough to make you do it?”

“No! I won’t really be happy even if I do so……”

She turned her head away again. Her entire upper body was twisted away from .

“That’s botherso……”

“….. You hardly look bothered at all!”

“But I am?”

“…. See? You’re laughing!”

“Am I? I always look like this.”

“No you don’t! You usually look much more handso…”

“…… Eh?”

“……!”

She seed to be embarrassed by what she’d said and tried to stand up, but I strengthened my grip to stop her.

“Let go of , please!”

“No way. I won’t let go.”

“Len, please……! Huh……?”

I’d been seen. Surely, my own face was as red as the sunset right now. She seldom complinted by saying I that was handso, or anything of the sort. My heart was pounding noisily.

“…… Co now, it really is going to get dark soon, so let’s go back.”

I pretended like it was nothing, and stood up.

“Len…… your face—”

“If you say any more…. I’ll make you have the sa face as ,”

As soon as I said this, she seed to imagine sothing, and beca tongue-tied, her face pink. She stared at with eyes that seed to expect sothing, and my heart sprang forward a bit in mischief.

“Co to think of if, the winner of the competition is , so…. About my wish…..”

I whispered this softly in her ear. Her face quickly reddened.

“~~~!”

As she stood still, unable to say a word, I took her hand, the bucket in my other free hand, and started to walk. She glared at again, looking slightly rueful, but as before, there wasn’t any strength in the expression.

“Ah~ I’m so hungry…… I’m looking to dinner.”

“……. Right.”

Contrary to the now-heavy bucket, my gait was much lighter on the way back than when we’d co.

When it beca night, we decided to make a simple al with the fish that we…… well, the fish that I had caught. I excitedly pulled out the cooking utensils, but after being told by Miku, “Len, you don’t have to help out, so just relax,” with a no-questions-asked-smile, I was suddenly left with nothing to do. Each ti I tried to help the maids with so kind of household chore, too, they nervously told that I didn’t have to since I was the master. I was hardly making any progress.

To kill ti, I walked aimlessly around the garden by myself. The heat from the afternoon had subsided a bit, and the night air felt nice. As I continued walking like this for a while, I noticed that the area around my feet had suddenly gotten brighter. Wondering what it was, I crouched down and saw that it was a bug. I didn’t rember seeing this kind of bug during the day. Leaning in to have a closer look, they seed to be flying while emitting a soft light from their body.

I felt a sense of affinity towards creatures with wings. Perhaps it was because I had once been an angel, but I felt that these bugs also shared the hardships and troubles as others that had wings. As I stared listlessly at this beautiful, flickering bug, I heard her calling for from within the mansion. I’d have to tell her about this unusual bug. With quick steps, I followed the delicious scent of food that had drifted into the garden.

“Hey, Miku. Earlier, I saw this strange bug in the garden.”

“A strange bug……?”

After we finished dinner, and I was rejected again when offering to help clean up, I relaxed by myself on the sofa. I suddenly rembered about the bug that I had found earlier, and started to tell her about it. She told that she’d like to see them for herself, so we went outside again. The garden was glowing brightly. Many of those glowing bugs, many more than earlier, had gathered.

“Woah…. There’s more than before……!”

“Fireflies! So pretty……”

“Fireflies?”

“Yes, they’re called fireflies. They live where there’s clean water. Lately, there aren’t too many in Velcant anymore, but…… It must be because there’s so much nature around here.”

“I see……”

Clean water, huh. Until I had co to live in the human world, I had never really realized that there were so many different lands and cultures. Heaven was the origin of everything. I rembered once telling her this. Although she probably didn’t rember that now…… Velcant and Tard differed greatly in its people, culture, climate, and practically everything else. Now that I was a human, I was very happy that I was able to see these large differences.

“Wow…… The fireflies are pretty, but so are the stars.”

“You’re right…… Ah! Miku, watch out!”

“? ……kyahh—”

As she walked slowly, looking up at the night sky, her foot stumbled into sothing. I embraced her body suddenly to prevent her from falling, but I also lost my balance, and we both tumbled to the ground.

“…… L-Len, are you alright?”

“…… I’m fine. Are you?”

“Y-yes, since you protected …… I’m sorry. …… Thank you.”

“You’re welco.”

I was glad that she wasn’t injured. I decided that I would clean up this garden a bit, first thing tomorrow. I was sure that she must have stumbled on so trash or sothing. Rolling over, we remained lying there on the grass, and looked up at the sky.

“It’s so pretty…… Both above and below, everything’s glowing.”

Before we noticed, there were fireflies floating around where we were lying down, as well.

“……. Both the stars and the fireflies are pretty, but Miku’s the one that glows the brightest.”

“Ah……! Y-you always say things like that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“…… Don’t say those kinds of things to other people.”

“…… Are you jealous……? That makes happy. But you know, I’ve never said them to anyone besides you, Miku~”

“I-I an from now on……!”

“…… Alright. I promise.”

“It’s a promise, alright?”

“If you’ll stay by my side forever, that’s enough. I don’t need anything else.”

“Mm…… too. If you’re by my side, that’s enough.”

“……”

“…… Ah! It’s a shooting star!”

“Eh?”

For a split-second, a star streaked across the sky with a sparkle.

“Oh, another one! Hey, Len, did you know that if you make a wish on a shooting star before it disappears, your wish will co true?”

“Really? …… Alright, here I go! Ah…… It disappears a lot faster than I thought it would.”

“It’s rather difficult. A long ti ago, my father also made a wish on a shooting star, and it ca true.”

“Oh? …… What kind of wish was it?”

“He wished that his love with my mother would grow stronger, and right after that, they really did grow closer and beca lovers.”

“Oh…? Your father sounds like he was an interesting man.”

“Doesn’t he? It’s so romantic……”

“…… I’ll make a wish too, then. But… I don’t have too much faith towards the stars, so is it alright if I make the wish directly to myself?”

I gazed up at the starry sky, staring at nowhere in particular. Getting into fights over trivial things, and then making up and laughing it off. I felt so much happiness from that kind of frivolous play. I simply wished that these peaceful days would continue forever.