Maydare Volume 3 Chapter 7 - The Bells of the Two Princes Ring II (Part 1)

 

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I carefully polished the High Consort’s mirror, wrapped it in the dark blue silk cloth my mother had given me and headed for the palace.

It was already evening.

I looked for Frey until the very last minute, but couldn’t find him.

Nero said he never returned to the boys’ dorm, and there was no sign of him at the beach where he and the female upperclassmen had their fight.

“I wonder where he went.”

Well, whatever. Let’s give this to Prince Gilbert first.

Then we’ll talk.

As a Guardian, I had a permit to enter the palace.

However, this was the first time I had ever requested an audience with Prince Gilbert there.

He probably never would have thought that I would visit him. After a short wait, I was ushered into Prince Gilbert’s office, which I had never been in before.

Resolving myself, I knocked on the door. A low voice said, “Come in,” so I entered.

“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.”

I made a ladylike bow, but when I looked up, I was astonished.

Prince Gilbert was at a large desk, fingers steepled over his mouth, glaring at me.

“You have some nerve to show your face before me so openly, Makia O’Drielle.”

Oh, there it is~

He looked as if he wanted to say he hated me, but I couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes, caused by either fatigue or some kind of mental thing.

“You’re the one who gave Airi a mental shock and made her lose her confidence…”

As expected, I was being blamed for that.

Without changing my expression much, 

“I told Lady Airi the truth. If I hadn’t done so, she would have been crushed by the reality that was different from her ideal,” I told him clearly.

Perhaps because I talked back, the shadows and strains on Prince Gilbert’s face became more and more dreadful.

“I-I know you’re displeased with me! But I came here to ask Your Highness to take a look at this.”

I unfolded the silk cloth wrapped around the hand mirror in front of Prince Gilbert.

At first he looked puzzled, but the moment the silver hand mirror appeared from the cloth, his expression changed.

“This…is…”

I could tell just by his reaction. Prince Gilbert did recognize this hand mirror.

“I found this hand mirror in a magic dumping ground. I was told that it belonged to High Consort Alicia…”

But before I could finish explaining, Prince Gilbert slammed his desk hard, spewing a string of indignant words.

“No! That’s impossible! High Consort Alicia’s hand mirror was indeed lost, but to say that it was thrown away in a magical dumping ground…that could never happen! Are you insulting the royal family of this country and its proud High Consort!?”

He didn’t believe me, or he didn’t want to believe me.

Prince Gilbert briskly brushed the hand mirror off of his desk, as if it were a result of some deceptive trick to mislead him.

“Ah…!”

Oh, no. The mirror fell to the floor and broke—

I instantly imagined the worst possible outcome, but the hand mirror stopped in the air just before it fell to the floor.

This was a levitation spell with no incantation.

“Your Highness. Please calm down.”

Before I knew it, Thor had opened the door to the office and was standing there.

Thor used levitation magic to draw the mirror towards him, which he then took in his hand and offered to Prince Gilbert.

“Fixing what’s broken is a difficult task, even with magic. You’ll…regret it.”

“...You…!”

But Prince Gilbert didn’t say anything more than that, only clenching his fists and looking down.

His face was somewhat pale.

He seemed considerably relieved that the hand mirror hadn’t broken.

There was a complicated expression on his face, as though he knew better than anyone else that he was in confusion. He took a deep breath and raked his bangs up.

“...My apologies. I have been acting disgracefully. This is my fault.”

Oh. It was a rare sight to see Prince Gilbert apologizing to me and Thor. Maybe he was still confused in a certain sense.

As I was thinking that, the prince took the hand mirror from Thor and checked it again.

Sadness and nostalgia slowly welled up through the color of his eyes.

The silence continued for a while before Prince Gilbert let out a small sigh.

“A magic hand mirror with buttercup flower detailing made by the Roland Workshop, purveyor to the royal family.,,oh yes, this certainly belongs to my mother, High Consort Alicia. I am sure of it.”

He replied in a calm tone.

He was somewhat unable to hide his shock, but still, I could tell from the sound of his voice and his expression that the hand mirror was something with a lot of memories for him.

This was the first time I saw Prince Gilbert make a face like that.

“This disappeared on the day High Consort…my mother passed away. It was a gift from the king and one of her treasures. She always had it in her room, on a stand above her dresser, and she used to look at herself and me in it whenever she had a chance, to affirm our royal figures.”

Prince Gilbert looked up and turned to me, questioning me without shouting or suspecting me.

“Makia O’Drielle. You said you found this at the magic dumping ground. How was it disposed of there?”

I also answered evenly.

“It was there, buried under some magical garbage. It was shining so brightly that it caught my eye, and I managed to pull it out. And then…Frey…” 

I hesitated for a moment before mentioning Frey’s name, but continued speaking nonetheless.

“His Highness Frey told me that it belonged to High Consort Alicia. It weighed on my mind and so I brought it here.”

“...Frey did?”

Prince Gilbert’s eyebrows raised slightly.

It was a situation where both parties were left with lingering discomfort after a huge fight.

“Um, Prince Gilbert, this hand mirror contains a mirror letter left by the High Consort before her death. Apparently, two passwords are required to open it…”

“...Two passwords, you say?”

“Do you have any idea, Your Highness?”

Prince Gilbert fell silent again for a while. He put his hand on his chin, a mysterious expression on his face.

I was sure that even he would want to know the words his mother left behind.

He must be wishing to see her nostalgic figure, moving and smiling, once again.

Thor and I remained silent for a while, waiting for Prince Gilbert’s reply. 

And then, suddenly,

“...’The hill where the buttercups bloom.’”

He chanted, as though whispering.

Buttercups were High Consort Alicia’s favorite flowers…

Perhaps in response to those words, the surface of the mirror glowed faintly, and the words that Prince Gilbert had just recited were displayed in letters. It was indeed one of the passwords.

“Just now…”

“This was a spell Mother had taught me, saying that there was a ‘magic’ that I would one day be able to use, even though I was constitutionally incapable of doing magic. I have never forgotten it for even a moment, but…I never thought that it was a password to open a mirror letter.”

Suddenly, a concerning beeping sound came from the hand mirror, startling everyone.

On the mirror surface, a warning appeared in red letters: “Unlock the second lock.”

And what’s more, huge countdown-looking numbers appeared. This was freaking me out.

“W-What is this!?”

It started from five hours, decreasing second by second.

“No way, a time-limited mirror letter…?!”

“Time-limited!?”

It seemed that when the first password was recited, a countdown would automatically begin. If the second password wasn’t obtained by the time the number reaches zero, the High Consort’s mirror letter sealed in this mirror would be erased. 

Since information related to the royal family was stored there, it wasn’t surprising that it was being so strictly managed…

“W-What is this! This password is all I know.”

Prince Gilbert looked very pale. He was in a panic.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, is this really a mirror letter left behind by the High Consort? Could it be a time bomb utilizing that?”

“Huh!? A time bomb!?”

Only Thor was wary of the mirror letter in a different way. But Prince Gilbert shook his head.

“No…no, this is just the way Mother would have done it. She loved elaborate games with time limits.”

I had an image of the High Consort as being delicate and graceful, but I had no idea she was someone who did such tricky things.

I could feel Prince Gilbert’s strong impatience from his hand gripping the mirror and his expression.

No wonder. It was a memento of his mother’s that appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, there was the possibility that the mirror letter she left would be lost without ever being seen.

I also tightened up my expression and told him this.

“I’m sure that Frey knows the other password!”

“...What?”

Prince Gilbert looked surprised, but he didn’t deny it.

The prince looked at me as though he also thought it must be so. Even now, he still knew exactly what his mother would have done.

Thinking that I should do it now, I asked Prince Gilbert a question.

“Your Highness. Please let me make sure of something. You drove Frey out of the palace to protect him, didn’t you? That was Lady Alicia’s last request to you.”

“...”

Prince Gilbert scowled.

“Where did you hear that from…”

That response was all I needed.

Because if I was wrong, he wouldn’t have said that.

I didn’t ask for any more details and briskly went towards the door.

We had to find Frey before the countdown ends. We had to bring him here.

“Milady?”

“Where are you going, Makia O’Drielle!”

I was stopped by Thor and Prince Gilbert and turned around at the door of the office.

“Beatrice told me. Whenever you and His Highness Frey had a fight, Lady Alicia would always make you two play a game that could be solved by both of you.”

“...”

“You had a big fight with Frey, didn’t you? I heard it was a fistfight. I’m sure Lady Alicia knew everything about it.”

Prince Gilbert seemed like he suddenly remembered something he had relegated to the far reaches of his memory.

I didn’t think it was a coincidence that this hand mirror showed up at this time.

This was a magic hand mirror. It was filled with the strong feelings of the High Consort, so it wasn’t surprising that it was imbued with magical power. 

Surely, the magical power left behind by Lady Alicia was at work to give Prince Gilbert and Frey a chance to face each other.

Before, Bishop Eska told me that magic was the power of strong “desire”...

“If that’s the case…I’ll go.”

Prince Gilbert, seemingly thinking something, attempted to leave the office.

Thor stopped him.

“Please wait, Your Highness. You have dinner with Frezier’s ambassador. If you are going to search for Prince Frey, we will take care of it.”

“No, I must go and ask him. Frey wouldn’t want to come here otherwise. Even if you drag him back here forcibly, I don’t believe he would tell us the password. Because…he utterly despises me.” 

“Your Highness…”

However, Prince Gilbert still had important official duties. He didn’t have the freedom to leave the palace and look for Frey right now. Besides…

“This is absurd.”

I stated bluntly.

“You can’t catch Frey, Your Highness. He is blessed by【Earth】. His escaping speed is first class.”

Prince Gilbert was constitutionally unable to use magic.

It would be more difficult for him than us to catch Frey.

“Your Highness. Please leave it to me and Thor. We will definitely find Frey and bring him back within the time limit. I am on the same team as Frey. We spent a lot of time together at school. I think I know him reasonably well.”

“...Makia O’Drielle.”

Prince Gilbert asked me, a little hesitantly.

“Why? Why do you go to such lengths? I have disavowed you so many times. Even now, I still think you are an existence that causes harm to Airi. You know that. So why?”

It was only when I was told that I suddenly realized it.

Certainly, I didn’t have any reason to go this far for them.

I myself didn’t know why I was trying so desperately to resolve this…

After thinking about it for a little bit, I tried to put it into words.

“My first year at Lune Ruschia is coming to an end. My life at magic school, which I’ve always dreamed of, was very enjoyable. I think it was because Frey was with me as a member of my team and my friend.”

As I spoke, I thought to myself, That’s right. 

“I know that it’s not just me, but also the other members of the team who feel the same way. That is why I am even grateful to you, Your Highness.”

Prince Gilbert’s eyes slowly widened.

I turned toward him again and expressed the gratitude that had been lit up through that footage I caught a glimpse of.

“Thank you for keeping Frey out of the palace and protecting him for all this time.”

“...”

And this gratitude was also extended to High Consort Alicia, the original owner of this hand mirror.

Now, there was no time to lose.

Without looking at Prince Gilbert’s reaction, I opened the door and hurried out of his office.

Thor came along with me.

“I thought you hated Prince Gilbert, Milady.”

Thor came up next to me and got straight to the point.

“Huh? Er, well…I don’t like him, that’s for sure. He said all sorts of harsh things to me. But then again, it’s the same for you, Thor. You don’t have the spare time to get involved in this mess, do you?”

“Absolutely not. I would never let you go to Miladriede alone at night. It’s too dangerous!”

“Oh, oh, so that’s why. I’m glad, but…”

The overprotective Thor seemed to be alive and well.

As for me, I was a little nervous about taking Thor out with me for the first time in a long time.

“By the way, Milady, do you have any idea where His Highness Frey is likely to go?”

I stopped in my tracks. “Ummm, ummm,” I said. “A place Frey might go…wherever there’s a pretty older lady, I guess?”

“...”

Ah, Thor, those empty eyes…

I couldn’t find him at school today no matter where I looked, and Frey was always wandering around, quick at running away, and uncatchable.

“What should I do? I can’t just go around questioning all the pretty older ladies in Miladriede.”

“Why don’t we just try it? We’ll systematically interview people.”

“If you ask, Thor, I’m sure the pretty older ladies will be all over you!”

“...”

Maybe because I said with extreme confidence, but Thor got empty eyes again.

Although after this, we were to run around the capital at night, at the mercy of the delinquent prince’s trail.

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