Maydare Volume 3 Chapter 7 - The Bells of the Two Princes Ring II (Part 3)
…!?
It happened then. An unusually bright female voice rang out.
It seemed that on the hand mirror’s surface, High Consort Alicia appeared, moved, and spoke.
Right now, the two passwords were registered, and the mirror letter was unlocked.
“Gil and Frey, are you both grown up now? Are you fine young men? Or are you already old men? You’ve successfully cleared this game~. Yep, yep, what good children you are. As expected of my kids~~So cool, so cool~”
“...”
Everyone froze.
Lady Alicia, who was supposed to be smiling elegantly, was talking and acting in an unbelievably high-spirited manner, and she was even laughing out loud from the other side of the mirror.
Huh, wait, what? Hold a second.
She was completely different from my impression of the High Consort!?
“Aah…Mother, she’s as bright and facetious as ever…”
“She’s just like the midsummer sun…”
Prince Gilbert and Frey were already moved to tears at seeing the moving and talking High Consort Alicia, and we were surprised as well.
But for both of them, this Lady Alicia must have been their perfectly normal, unchanged mother.
Thor and I just froze and made eye contact with each other.
Mm, yeah. Let’s just watch quietly for the time being.
“Mmm, but since you opened this letter, I think you two are probably fighting a lot~~~. It’s hard to make up after fights when you’re adults, right? I requested that this letter be delivered at a time like that. Your mother can easily tell this kind of thing. Because I’m the High Consort. Don’t underestimate me!”
Y-Yes. Hooray for the High Consort.
“But, you did remember your passwords.”
Suddenly, Lady Alicia’s tone became softer and calmer.
“Then you’ll be fine. You have grown up to be good and honest children. ——That’s why you’ll be fine.”
Lady Alicia smiled a gentle and mature smile, and her tone of voice also changed to one filled with the affection and dignity that made her the High Consort.
This was probably everyone’s image of this country’s High Consort.
She surely played her two roles of ideal mother and High Consort admirably.
And now, she was speaking as the High Consort. To those looking into the mirror.
“Gilbert. From a young age, you were brave, single-minded, hardworking, and a little stubborn. You loved the legend of the Savior which I used to tell you. But I know that you used to cry secretly because you couldn’t use magic like your big brother or little brother. You thought that even if the Savior descended upon our world, you wouldn’t be chosen as their Guardian. But, Mother has a premonition. Aren’t you a Guardian now? Your mother’s intuition is often right. Do not forget the yearnings and resolutions of your childhood.”
As she spoke through the mirror, it was as if she was speaking with her eyes fixed on Prince Gilbert right now. Even though this was a mirror letter she left behind seven years ago.
“And Frey, I’m sure I must have hurt you deeply before my passing. You were a very talented, kind, brave, but also fragile and sensitive child. You were also very lonely and hungry for a mother’s love. The sight of you always snuggling up to our backs, and timidly presuming upon our kindness was both heartbreaking and adorable. That’s why, I had to protect you…I didn’t want you to be taken advantage of by evil adults, so I had to drive a big wedge between us.”
Lady Alicia closed her eyes, and then slowly opened them.
“But as of today, all my words and promises are null.”
Clap——
She clapped her hands together on the other side of the mirror. The sound of release, as though to clear any hints or suggestions.
“I wonder what the Kingdom of Ruschia will look like by the time you read this letter?”
I wondered what the late High Consort was thinking at the time she left those words.
From the look of melancholy on her face, I thought she even anticipated the dark clouds that now covered the world.
“Whatever the world may look like ahead. From now on, you must choose your own path. Be who you want to be, even with the title of prince on your shoulders.”
Lady Alicia smiled like the sun.
“As long as you live, keep on ringing the bells. Even to the point of shattering your bodies.”
At that moment, the bells of Diemo Cathedral rang to announce the hour of midnight.
The sound of the bells of fate, as if rang by the High Consort——
It surely resonated strongly in Prince Gilbert and Frey’s hearts, rocking their souls.
Tears quietly streamed down the princes’ faces.
“And so, this is the final game. There are five princes. How can they protect this country? The two of you must work together to solve this——”
On the hill where the buttercups bloom
Ring the bell with all your strength, until it shatters
I later heard that in the town where Lady Alicia was born, there was a church on top of a hill where buttercups bloomed.
Lady Alicia was a fervent Vabelist, always visiting the church and listening to the sound of its bells, and she had resolved herself to the fact that she would eventually go to the royal capital and live as a queen consort. From the time she was born, she was destined to eventually become the High Consort of the Kingdom of Ruschia.
The High Consort who kept ringing the bells with all her strength while she was alive.
She continued to think of this country and the princes until her life was shattered at the end.
I now understood why Lady Alicia was respected by so many people.
She tried to be this country’s High Consort in every way and at all times.
Anyone would be dazzled by her. I understood what Frey said about her being like the sun.
What a great person. I guess that was why Consort Lara was jealous.
They say that even though she was most loved by the king, he would never be a match for her.
“......Eh?”
Suddenly, I felt my eyes meet the High Consort’s in the mirror.
I felt like she looked at me.
It was as if we were facing each other head-on and exchanging gazes…what a strange sensation.
That shouldn’t be possible.
This mirror letter itself was a record from seven years. This was a video in the mirror.
But I thought this felt the same as my current existence being pierced through and observed.
I remembered this strange feeling of discomfort.
It was similar to what I felt when the librarian stared at me before…
“Ah…”
I see. I suddenly realized something.
In addition to the mirror letter function, a special spirit magic was cast on this mirror. There must have been a magician who helped Lady Alicia leave her image and words in this mirror.
I had an idea who that magician was.
And so I finally figured it out. It all connected in my mind.
Something I was always curious about.
About the mystery of that hand mirror being thrown away at the magical dumping ground.
This happened right afterward.
A deeper exploration of the hand mirror revealed that it not only preserved the words of the High Consort Alicia, but also information on numerous relics that were too much for the princes of the time to handle.
As was typical of the game-loving Lady Alicia, the map was handwritten and included hints in the High Consort’s own voice. Her belongings, diary, dresses, and accessories given to her by the king were hidden here and there in the palace and her villa.
Prince Gilbert and Frey had to search for them through the night based on the information left in the mirror letter, as if this was a treasure hunt, but even this must have been one of Lady Alicia’s schemes.
The two princes working together to accomplish something.
The High Consort was surely watching over them from heaven with a smile on her face.
I was sure that she had been waiting for this moment. The time when the princes would grow up to be old enough to make their own decisions without being misled by others, when Prince Gilbert would establish his own position, and Frey would return to the palace.
The relationship between Prince Gilbert and Frey was still somewhat strained, and to be honest, it was difficult to say that they had actually reconciled, but this might be the impetus for a gradual change. Time might resolve it.
At the very least, they had rung the bells.
Now everything else was up to the two princes.
It was noon the next day when Frey and I were able to return to Lune Ruschia Magic School.
Walking along the sandy beach of the school island, we headed towards our usual glass bottle atelier.
I accompanied him all night for High Consort Alicia’s treasure hunt game, but for some reason, I didn’t feel very sleepy.
“What are you going to do now, Frey?”
“Well, I don’t know yet. But…who I want to be, huh.”
Frey, walking next to me, narrowed his eyes with a serious expression on his face.
He had seriously taken Lady Alicia’s words to heart.
“I think I understand Lady Alicia’s thoughts. I probably can’t escape my fate as a prince anymore. …But, I don’t wanna go back to the palace right away. And I can’t even think about marriage yet. I don’t want to quit school.”
“Oh, that’s surprising, you not wanting to quit school.”
“Hah? Of course I don’t. We’ve been getting good marks for our team assignments…”
After saying that much, he made an “Ack” face, and his cheeks turned a little red from embarrassment.
Frey mumbled as he clasped his hands behind his neck. It was a little funny.
“Fufu, that’s good, isn’t it? If school is important to you, then that’s fine.”
I think that was where Prince Frey’s “who I want to be” was lurking.
I’m sure he will find something only he can do at the end of his days at magic school…
Also, I didn’t think there would be any problems with Frey continuing to go to magic school.
I was sure that the person who set this matter up would allow that.
Frey scratched the back of his head.
“Thanks, Leader. For helping me with everything.”
He was embarrassed, but he thanked me earnestly.
This might be first time I’ve ever been thanked by him.
So I smiled and swept my hair behind my shoulders as I briskly said, “It’s fine. I’m always taking care of you.”
We stayed up all night and didn’t even eat dinner last night, so my stomach was grumbling and I looked like a mess.
“Oh, Frey, Makia. Welcome back.”
“Welcome back, Mr. Frey. And Makia, thank you for your hard work.”
“...”
When we returned to our glass bottle atelier, Nero and Lapis were there like always, and like always, they told us “Welcome back.”
Frey’s mouth was half-open, so I clapped him on his hunched back.
“Don’t worry, Frey. If being a prince gets tiring, you can talk to the guys in Garnet Team 9. Even if you don’t have any supporters, you have good friends. Nero, Lapis, and of course me. You can rely on us as much as you want!”
With a straight face, Frey looked at me, then at everyone in the atelier, then let out an obvious snicker.
“Well, sure. I guess it’s better than not having anyone.”
In contrast to his charmless way of talking, he looked very happy. I can’t hate that about him.
I was glad that Frey was back here properly.
As expected, the four of us had to be together. That was my precious Garnet Team 9.
“Excuse me, Professor Ulysses!”
I saw Professor Ulysses in the school hallway and called out to him.
He turned back at me and smiled his usual smile.
“Ah, Miss Makia. Thank you for the other day. I see that you were able to mediate between Gilbert and Frey.”
“There was almost nothing I could have done. It was only thanks to the fact that the High Consort was such a great personnage.”
“I see. Lady Alicia was indeed a great High Consort. She was also a good friend of my own mother, who came from the Royal Magic Institute. She was always concerned about me as well…She was a bright and wise person.”
Professor Ulysses looked somewhat nostalgic, perhaps remembering the late High Consort.
“Um, Professor.”
I looked up at him and asked a certain question.
“Professor, it was you who put Lady Alicia’s hand mirror in that magical dumping ground, am I correct?”
“...”
Professor Ulysses’s countenance suddenly changed.
I felt a sharpness in his usual gentle smile.
“Why do you think that?”
“I’ve always had my doubts about the hand mirror being in a place like that. There was a line in Lady Alicia’s mirror letter that bothered me.”
It’s hard to make up after fights when you’re adults, right?
I requested that this letter be delivered at a time like that.
“I’ve heard that the hand mirror was lost after Lady Alicia’s death, but I thought that she must have entrusted it to someone. I thought that perhaps the person who Lady Alicia trusted and could do what she asked was you, Professor Ulysses.”
It was hard to believe that Lady Alicia, who was the High Consort and raised Frey, had no interaction with the other princes.
Besides, it was Professor Ulysses who told me about the two’s fight beforehand.
Someone who was in a position to detect the signs of a fight between the princes and, on top of that, was able to get me to take action.
I couldn’t think of anyone else except for Professor Ulysses.
Also…
“This hand mirror was imbued with special spirit magic. This is just a speculation, but I think it is the work of Rieracoton, the cotton flower spirit in your service.”
I met her once at the library, so I was able to perceive that.
The presence of the cotton flower spirit who protected Lune Ruschia’s library in the form of a librarian.
“Fufu, you are correct. Lady Alicia and I are accomplices. It was me who placed the hand mirror in the magical dumping ground.”
Professor Ulysses readily admitted it.
“It was just when Gilbert was telling Frey about the engagement, I thought, ‘Ah, this is going to be the big fight that Lady Alicia was fearing. But I’d expect nothing less from you, Miss Makia, to trace this back to me.”
Though the professor praised me, I must still have a face full of questions.
“You’ve noticed that my spirit, Rieracoton, was involved in this case. The cotton flower spirit, Rieracoton, has the power to protect the histories and records that have been spun. We couldn’t let Lady Alicia’s mirror letter be damaged by some unlucky accident.”
“Oh, I see. That’s why she’s protecting the ‘library’ where important records are stored.”
“Precisely.”
Professor Ulysses’ explanation made many things add up.
But there were still some things I couldn’t figure out.
Why did Professor Ulysses take such a roundabout approach?
“Why did you not give the hand mirror directly to Prince Gilbert and Frey, but left it in a place like a magical dumping ground? There was a possibility that we wouldn’t be able to find it. And Garnet Team 3 was there too.”
There was a lot of information contained within the hand mirror. Even if passwords were required, there was a high risk of misuse if others found it.
But Professor Ulysses narrowed his eyes and spoke in a striking tone.
“No. I believed that you were the only one who could reel in and find the threads of magic.”
Those words told me everything.
Professor Ulysses used the hand mirror to once again create a game to test my abilities.
“Incidentally, Miss Makia. Have you noticed that Lady Alicia, though it was weak, had the ability of future sight?”
“Future sight, sir?”
I shook my head. I heard that future sight was a gift only women could possess, but it was a considerably rare power. I hadn’t noticed that Lady Alicia had it at all.
“Lady Alicia’s ability was not as accurate as that of the Holy Land’s〈Green Priestess〉, and it was nothing more than a hunch or premonition, but…because of her power, she knew the outcome of her illness, Frey’s future, and the future of the Kingdom of Ruschia.”
“...”
Was that why she tried to keep Frey alive…?
“And it was that very hand mirror that served as the medium for Lady Alicia’s future sight. Miss Makia, this time you have come in contact with the magical primitive item called a ‘mirror.’”
“Mirror…”
“Mirrors are the ‘doors’ of the magical world. If you open those doors, you can go meet not only someone in the present, but also in the past and future. Sometimes, they will also connect to another place. The magicians beyond the door are there as well.”
——The magicians beyond the door.
I was pretty sure I heard those words in an old folk song.
What was Professor Ulysses trying to tell me?
Perhaps there was something he wanted me to be aware of through this incident involving the High Consort’s hand mirror?
“Now then, Miss Makia, I must head to my next class, so if you’ll excuse me.”
But Professor Ulysses didn’t always give me the answers.
He gave me time to think about it myself. He was the epitome of a kind but strict teacher.
Kind? That was seriously sus, he's treating his fellow princes more like pawns than family.
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