Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 8

2011-04-20T21:07:14Z

67.244.2.247: Typo correction.

Chapter 8 - Deliverance II

That night, just as Claudius was about to fall asleep, he heard a noise amidst his slumber.

"Who's there?"

Opening his eyelids, Claudius quietly requested a confirmation of identity. He couldn't be careless. It was when he was careless that he was most vulnerable.

"Do you realize you're in the room of the prince? If you take another step into my quarters, you'll be put under a curse by this country's greatest magicians."

Even so, if the person had come this far prepared to throw away their life, they wouldn't have any problem harming the prince. As an alarm bell rang silently in Claudius's heart, Claudius strained his eyes in the pitch-blackness.

There was a small, human figure.

"Sorry for coming so late at night, Dia."

The slight voice was like a small, round bell being rolled gently across the floor.

"... Mii? Is that you, Mii?" Claudius asked, bewildered. He thought he felt her nod.

"Yeah. Sorry, during the day, they had me under watch, so I wasn't able to come until late at night."

"You were being watched...?"

"Sort of. They didn't say I couldn't go anywhere, though. The guy at the bottom of your tower let me through."

"I see..." Claudius responded in a complex mental state. Several different words said by various people ran about in his mind. "Mimizuku... I was waiting for you."

"I know. Thank you."

Mimizuku seemed to nod. She also seemed to be smiling, just a little.

"Andy and Orietta came here and told me about you. I thought you wouldn't be coming to see me anymore."

"Why?"

Hidden in the cloth of his bed's canopy overhang, Claudius couldn't see Mimizuku's face, and thus was unaware of just how much Mimizuku had changed since retrieving her memories.

He closed his eyes in the darkness. Nothing changed. Whether his eyes were open or closed, the world was still the same color.

"... The king came by today. He said that the last ceremony in the destruction of the King of Night is being held tomorrow, and that I have to come... He said I had to participate, as the next king."

Claudius had understood what the king meant.

The day before, Ann Duke had come and told him. He knew of the whole situation. Ann Duke told him of Mimizuku's situation, of the meaning of the seal on her forehead, and the reason why she had scars on her wrists and ankles.

And then, Ann Duke told him this: ''"You're going to be called for a ceremony two days from now, Claudius. Burn my actions that day into your memory. However... if you can, please don't tell Mimizuku about this."''

Ann Duke had worn a sad smile as he said those words.

''"I figured I'd become notorious and hated eventually, anyway. It can't be helped..."''

Claudius had asked what he could do to help.

Ann Duke simply smiled. He smiled as if he was holding down what he truly wanted to say.

''"Dia, you might be able to move your arms and legs soon."''

''"I don't care what happens to me,''" Claudius had said. Ann Duke patted him on the head.

''"Don't say things like that. The king wants you to be able to move your arms and legs freely so that you'll have more confidence in yourself."

Confidence in himself

Moving his arms and legs would give him confidence? Could he become king just by moving his arms and legs?

"You know, Claudius," Mimizuku said in a trembling voice. Claudius opened his ears so as to not let any of her voice escape him. "You know..." Even in the dark, Mimizuku's silhouette was small.

Even though he was close to gaining free movement of his limbs, Claudius could only think of Mimizuku.

''Is Mii crying?'' he thought.

Then, in a trembling voice like a whisper, Mimizuku spoke.

"What would you do... if I asked you to help me?"

Claudius smiled before he could say anything.

He knew what his answer would be long ago.

A tricolor bell rang with a pristine sound. As he heard it ring, Ann Duke thought of the dead queen's funeral.

That time, Ann Duke had not yet been chosen as the Holy Knight. He had watched the endless procession absentmindedly of people in black dress from the top of a tree in the garden in his mansion.

Even though he was high up, he couldn't see the inside of the coffin from among the procession. He was disappointed, as it had been said that the queen was a rare beauty.

However.

Ann Duke raised his head, and gazed upon Fukurou, who seemed to create a throne of his own with his outstretched wings.

Two moons had passed since he had been captured. Since then, he was given nothing to eat or drink, simply hung as if to dry and wrung completely clean of magic power.

However... his figure, eyelids lowered, thin and withered, was still coldly beatiful.

Before such ghastly beauty, even the Holy Knight shivered.

"Holy Woman! Bring the sword here...!" King Dantes said in a low voice. Without any wasted effort, Orietta kneeled down beside Ann Duke. She closed her eyes, and offered the Holy Sword to her husband.

He didn't think she would come.

That was what Ann Duke had truly felt. Since he told her that he was to wield the sword on the last day of the demon king's suppression, she hadn't listened to a word he said.

However, Orietta could not say no in the end either.

"... Are you okay with this?" Ann Duke whispered the moment he grabbed hold of the sword.

Orietta sighed, her eyes still closed.

"I live as one with the sword..."

Hearing her answer, Ann Duke made a pained facial expression. If he could do anything about it, he didn't want Orietta to be forced to say such things.

He grasped the hilt of the sword, and unsheathed it in one swift movement.

Two magic lamps reflected the light of the full moon onto the Holy Sword, causing to give off a dim aura. The thing that shined the most brilliantly in the ceremony was the crystal surrounded by the magicians. It was a bit larger than a human head, and a burning blue flame flickered inside of it.

There was no magical power left in the King of Night at this point.

The crown said to be for the next king gave off an intimidating air.

"Bring me my prince...!"

At the order of the king, Claudius arrived on a sedan chair many times larger than his body held up by several men. Covered by a canopy even as he was taken underground, Claudius's lips were pursed. He looked first at the king, and then at Fukurou.

The magicians stepped forward. From here they would, using the magical power of the demon king, perform the largest magical undertaking in the history of their country.

Their aim was the complete resuscitation of Claudius's unrestrained use over his arms and legs, all the way to his fingertips.

It was right when the magicians took their stances with their rods.

"Please wait."

Having not made a sound up to this point, Claudius broke the silence in the empty air with his high voice. Ann Duke unthinkingly turned to look at him.

"Your Highness," Claudius said clearly, meeting eyes with the gray-haired king. "I would like to see the demon king clearly with my own eyes."

"... What?" Dantes growled.

However, Claudius, unabashedly and buried in his chair, raised his voice again.

"Before he is stabbed by the Holy Sword of the Holy Knight Ann Duke, I wish to be allowed to burn the shape of this future symbol of our kingdom's magic power into my eyes..."

The gray-haired king glared fixedly at his son. However, Claudius did not lower his gaze. Dantes wondered when his son had become so courageous. He felt like Claudius was not the same son he had always had, who always looked up at him coweringly.

"... Alright." The king nodded. "Bring Claudius forward!"

The men brought the sedan chair holding the prince forward. They placed him gently on the straight, red carpet. The prince then stared carefully, though from a distance, at Fukurou. He stared at the body, the wings of which seemed to be held up by invisible threads. The figure had not lost its majesty.

He looked at it as though searing its shape into his mind.

Just as Dantes was about to continue on with the proceedings, Claudius suddenly shouted something.

"Mimizuku, now...!"

Nobody there could deny the sound that entered their ears. They simply stood wide-eyed in amazement. The cloth at the bottom of Claudius's sedan chair had been ripped open.

Then, a shadow jumped out from inside.

"Mimizuku!!" Ann Duke yelled. Like the time when she was just skin and bones with one thin cloth over her, Mimizuku jumped out like a bullet and ran.

"Stop! Stop that girl!!" Dantes' voice boomed like cannon fire. Taken aback, the magicians took fighting stances. However, they were the same magicians who had already set up to perform the revitalization of Claudius's limbs. It would take time for them to cast another spell.

Ahead of everyone else, Ann Duke ran toward Mimizuku.

However, his arm was suddenly pulled on from behind.

"Urk!"

He looked to his side. There, with a strong look in her eyes, was his wife.

"Let me go ahead, Andy."

"What are you going to do!?" Ann Duke said.

"I'll show you. Watch my back!"

Orietta's words were strong. Her grip on Ann Duke's wrists was tight, making it hard for him to refuse her.

Impelled by his impatience, Ann Duke looked at Mimizuku.

Mimizuku ran. Wholeheartedly, she ran. To Fukurou, the beautiful King of Night.

"Fukurou!!"

She called out his name with her whole heart.

She grasped a knife, holding its radiant silver hilt to her chest.

Orietta stood at the entrance in her full priestess uniform, looking at Mimizuku. She saw that she had exchanged her old clothes for a thin, white cloth.

"Mimizuku..."

"Orietta, I'm sorry," Mimizuku said. "I have to go."

"... Go ahead, Mimizuku," she said, smiling and crying at the same time.

Looking at Orietta's teary face, Mimizuku also felt like crying.

"You know..." Tears began to parcel out of Mimizuku's eyes. She didn't continue her words. Orietta embraced her compassionately.

"... If I had a daughter, I think this is how things would probably turn out, don't you?"

She had given up on having a child of her own. She had previously cried and apologized to Ann Duke for it. Ann Duke loved her, and she loved Ann Duke, so she apologized whenever she cried to him. Ann Duke didn't blame Orietta. He was fully aware of what she had been through.

They weren't able to take a child from the orphanage, as they were to consider the country their child.

"I'm sorry, Orietta."

"You don't need to apologize," Orietta said, wrapping her arms strongly around Mimizuku's back.

"You know, I... I... I was happy wearing the pretty clothes I got. Everyone's cooking was delicious. The bed was soft and fluffy, and everything made me really happy.

It wasn't a lie. Her feelings were definitely real.

"... That's right..." Orietta's affirmation seemed brimming with all the affection of the Holy Mother.

''She's just like a real mother,'' Mimizuku thought.

''I don't know, I don't understand, but it must be something like this, right? This is what having a mother is like...?''

Even so.

"But, even so... I want to go home." She had a place to return to. "I want to go back to Fukurou's forest... I must be an idiot..."

''I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Even thought you were so kind to me.''

''Even though everyone was kind to me.''

At those words, Orietta tenderly swept her hand across Mimizuku's head.

"You know, us girls... we all become idiots when we fall in love," she said with a mischievous smile.

Mimizuku blinked at her words.

"Orietta... was an idiot too?" she asked, wiping her tears. Orietta looked at Mimizuku and let out a chuckle.

"If I wasn't... how could I become such a good-for-nothing wife?"

Mimizuku laughed involuntarily.

"Take this..."

Orietta then pressed a knife into Mimizuku's hand. It had a simple beauty, and with one look, Mimizuku could tell it was valuable.

"Orietta, what's this?"

Mimizuku's shoulders shivered at the cold weight suddenly placed into her hand.

Orietta smiled at her affectionately.

"Take it. I'm lending it to you. It was given to me when I became the Maiden of the Holy sword. It's been passed down through the temple for generations. It was given shape from a broken off piece of the Holy Sword. If you want to cut the threads holding the King of Night down... you'll need this."

"Is it really okay for me to have it?" Mimizuku asked, assailed by mixed emotions.

Wasn't Orietta Ann Duke's wife? Wasn't she a priestess of this country?

Even so, Orietta continued to smile at her.

"I implore that you take it... my dear Mimizuku," she said.

So Mimizuku took the blade.

Pains from the open air seemed to slice through her body, and she began to feel nauseous.

However, she didn't lose her grip.

''I will fight.''

Up until now, she had always done as others said. She wanted to live for herself now, to give her life direction on her own.

''I knew it, the moment we first met.''

''Meeting you...''

It had been the first choice Mimizuku had made in her life.

''I'm going to take you back. That's why I'll fight.''

Mimizuku prayed to God for the first time.

"Fukurou!!"

Mimizuku cut through the silky thread binding holding Fukurou's body.

"Fukurou, Fukurou, open your eyes...!!" she called out, crying. Fukurou's face was calmly beautiful, as if he had died, and Mimizuku's spine froze, not because of Fukurou's beauty, but because of the fear that he was lost to her.

There were a lot of things Mimizuku couldn't help being afraid of.

Then, slightly, faintly, Fukurou raised his eyelids. Soft moonlight leaked from his eyes.

"Fukurou!"

With his newfound freedom of movement, Fukurou's first action was to grab onto Mimizuku's wrist.

The wrist was slightly discolored, and holding a knife.

"Agh!"

Fukurou's thin fingers had lost much of their vigor, but his grip was still surprisingly strong, causing Mimizuku to drop her knife.

"Mimizuku!!" Ann Duke called out desperately.

Orietta swallowed her breath.

With a dull sound, the knife hit the ground.

However, Fukurou stared at Mimizuku.

"I thought you said... that you hated knives..." he said.

It was the same voice, not changed in the slightest, that Fukurou had spoken with when they had first met.

To his words, Mimizuku smiled.

It was a powerful smile, unlike any one Mimizuku had made before. It radiated from her face, disregarding the single teardrop that had fallen from Mimizuku's eye.

"It's not that important..."

Mimizuku then jumped at Fukurou's neck.

She hugged him tightly. Her delicate, slender arms wrapped around him, as if they were crafted only to embrace him.

Fukurou then narrowed his eyes slightly.

He embraced Mimizuku's body as tightly as he could.

Much time had passed since their chance meeting on that moonlit night. The two finally received each other, arm in arm.

"Andy!!" Dantes called out. Blood vessels were visible on his forehead.

"Holy Knight Ann Duke! Cut down the demon king! The king's life depends on it...!!"

The magicians were also preparing a new spell. Dantes raised his voice, demanding that the Holy Sword be stabbed into Fukurou's heart.

"I don't care if you have to kill Mimizuku as well...!!"

At his mighty tone of voice, Ann Duke shook off his wife's hands from his wrists.

Orietta screamed from behind him.

However, Ann Duke did not turn around. He raised the Holy Sword, higher and higher.

Mimizuku closed her eyes tightly.

She didn't care if she died like this, in Fukurou's embrace.

Repeating the same words in her head over and over, even though a contradiction in them stood before her, she continued to repeat them.

"Andy!"

Claudius was the one who called out the name.

The sword fell.

A distinct sound, like shattering glass, arose.

"!!"

A whirlwind seemed to blow through, and everyone in the room lost control over their senses for an instant.

"Ann Duke, what are you...!!"

A sound like a flowing waterfall could be heard, and the air began to stir.

For a moment, Mimizuku couldn't tell which way was up or down, however her vision eventually began to focus. It had all ended. All that was left in the underground room was Ann Duke, Fukurou, and Mimizuku, still in Fukurou's arms.

Ann Duke had not aimed the blade at Fukurou's heart.

Fukurou's wings, as if taking a deep breath, spread out. He had regained his magic power.

Ann Duke had sliced through the blue burning crystal that held Fukurou's magic power.

"Andy! You..."

The king, who had regained his posture as the magicians at his side supported him, called out the name in a voice brimming with rage.

However, Ann Duke shrugged his shoulders as he always did.

"Sorry, king, but if my wife runs from me, I'll be in trouble," he said indifferently.

His tone was as if he was speaking to an old friend.

"Fukurou, Fukurou, are you okay?" After the sudden discord, Mimizuku had watched Fukurou, worried.

Fukurou did not ignore her; he lowered his gaze to meet Mimizuku's sanpaku eyes.

"Why did you come?" he asked in a low voice.

Mimizuku made a frown that was like a mixture of laughter and crying.

"Why wouldn't I come?"

"Because you finally obtained happiness."

"I did, huh? Warm food, good clothes, soft towels, and a plushy bed. But..." Mimizuku faced the pair of moons. "You weren't there," she said.

Fukurou narrowed his moon eyes.

"You are truly a fool."

"Maybe."

Tears began to drip from Mimizuku's eyes.

"Don't say something so difficult to understand at a time like this. Now that everything's fine, why don't we go home? Let's go home to the forest...!"

"-----..."

Fukurou wiped the tears from Mimizuku's cheek with his clawed, slender fingertips.

"I thought you said you never cried."

"I remembered how." She raised her cheek up. "I remembered how to laugh, too. Do you hate me for becoming so human?"

"No..." Fukurou then combed aside Mimizuku's hair with his finger, so that the symbol on her forehead could be seen. "You... are Mimizuku. And I--... am Fukurou."

That was his answer.

Fukurou flapped his outstretched wings, sending a flurry of magic power and wind into the under ground room. The gray-haired king raised his voice against the King of Night holding the small girl.

"What are you doing? Magicians! Riveil! Quickly, quickly, do something...!!"

However, the magicians were unable to cast any further spells.

With the full moon out, the king of monsters brimmed with power befitting of his name, and, feeling the pressure of his magic power, the magicians could not stop shivering.

"What are you doing!? Quickly, the demon king...!!"

"Please, stop this!!" Claudius said to Dantes as he attempted in vain to rouse the magicians. "Please stop, father. No more...!"

Held closely by Fukurou's right arm, Mimizuku looked at Claudius.

He had smiled when she asked him for help.

''"I'll do whatever you ask, Mii."''

She looked at Claudius, the same boy who had said those words to her.

Claudius's face crunched together, as if he was about to cry, still repeating his plea to his father.

"No more, father...! I'm fine, so please, stop all of this!"

"Claudius..." Dantes said, taken aback. He looked at Claudius. "Claudius... what are you thinking...!?"

"Mii is my friend!" A tear streamed across Claudius's cheek. It was the first time since the death of the queen that Dantes had seen Claudius's tears. "Mimizuku is my friend! If I have to make a friend cry, then it's not worth getting my arms and legs back!"

"Dia..." Mimizuku called out from Fukurou's arms.

However, Claudius turned to face Dantes.

"If you say I can't become king with a body like this, then go find another successor! I don't care! But still, father, still... even though I have this body... I'm still your son...!!" he shouted.

He called out for his father, crying. Ann Duke and Orietta stood looking upon the scene before them.

"Claudius..." Dantes called uncertainly.

"Dia!" Mimizuku shouted out from between Fukurou's arms. "Hey, Dia...!"

Tears running down his face, Claudius looked back at Mimizuku. Then, he looked up at Fukurou.

"Dia, I'm sorry... I'm sorry." She knew it was a meaningless apology, and that she had relied on him to do something very difficult. But even so, she was happy that he listened to her. "Sorry... and thank you...!"

"It's fine, Mii." Claudius smiled, his face still damp with tears. "I received many things from you. I learned from you. So it's fine. Don't worry about it." He gave her a warm smile.

It was a smile that resembled the dead queen's.

Suddenly, a low voice was heard.

"... Young prince."

Whose voice was it? After a split second of confusion, Claudius swallowed his breath, and turned to look up at the owner of the voice.

"King... of Night..."

Fukurou looked down at Claudius with his golden eyes.

"Human prince who wears his limbs as decoration. You may still be able to take the throne with that body."

Mimizuku, surprised at Fukurou's words, looked up at him. Claudius tightened his lips and nodded.

"If my father allows it... No, if I find myself to be suitable for the position, then even with these useless limbs, I will become king of this country."

To the prince's resolute answer, Fukurou flapped his wings several times. He landed in front of Claudius.

"Demon king! What are you doing!?" The kind pushed past his magicians, lunging forward. "Don't touch him! What are you doing to my son...!?"

Ann Duke raised his sword slightly. Fukurou put Mimizuku down, and gently ran the claws of his long fingers across Claudius's arms and legs.

"!"

Claudius gasped. Strange patterns began to run across his arms and legs, and then a faint light began to shine.

When the light dispersed, something strange happened in Claudius's body.

He shook weakly, and felt weak and cold.

However, he slowly lifted up his right arm.

"Ah..."

Dantes stood up straight, looking wide-eyed at Claudius. Ann Duke stood in a daze, and Orietta covered her mouth as tears began to fall from her eyes.

The magicians were also speechless.

Then, shaking like a newborn fawn, Claudius slowly lifted his legs, and stood up, walking down from his chair.

"K-king of Night, this is, I...!"

Claudius, standing, looked up at Fukurou in blank amazement.

Even though he had once thought the King of Night to be fearsome, he had forgotten his fears.

"As a cursed prince, you may have been despised," Fukurou said in a dull, low voice.

"If you are willing to live even with limbs cursed by the demon king, then you should live, human prince."

Claudius opened and closed his fists several times.

Like a dream, he could move.

The brilliant patterns on him could certainly send one who looked upon them into a state of shock.

"Dia!"

With her eyes sparkling, Mimizuku extended both of her arms out to Claudius and hugged him. "Those patterns... they're so pretty!" Mimizuku giggled. "They're all so pretty!"

"Thank you, Mimizuku." Claudius also smiled from the bottom of his heart. With his newly freed arms, he hugged Mimizuku back. "Thank you as well, King of Night..."

However, Fukurou didn't seem to hear him. Turning away as if having lost interest, he flew up into the sky. Back to the forest from whence he came.

"Oh! Oooh! Fukurou!" In a panic, Mimizuku tried to grab onto Fukurou. "I'm going too! I'm going back home with you!"

"..."

Not making a sound, Fukurou glared down at Mimizuku.

"If you're going back, then take me too! You can't just leave me here; even if you do, I'll just follow you! The forest isn't far from here, so don't try to run away!" Mimizuku said, putting her hands on her hips.

"..."

Fukurou breathed a small sigh, and then turned around, grabbing Mimizuku's arm.

Mimizuku shrieked with delight.

"Mimizuku!" Ann Duke called out.

"Oh... Andy, Orietta...!" She leaned forward from her position in Fukurou's arm. "Hey, hey, hey...!"

She felt like there were many things she had to say. Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you.

''Would just those words be enough?'' Mimizuku thought.

Even thought they had taught her to use them at times like this.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that they wouldn't be enough.

"Hey! Heeeeyy...!"

Tears spread across her face. Why? Why was she so sad? Why was she so regretful? Mimizuku couldn't understand.

Orietta looked at Mimizuku and smiled.

"... You're welcome back anytime," Orietta said, disregarding the tears in her eyes. "I'll be waiting." She smiled compassionately, as she always did.

Beside her, Ann Duke also smiled.

"If life in the forest doesn't suit you, then come right back! We'll go to the market together again!"

Mimizuku made a strained facial expression and nodded rapidly.

There was a comfortable lifestyle, and kind people. But still, she could only make one choice.

To her, the choice was clear.

"... King of Night." The next one to speak was Dantes, standing behind Claudius. The gray-haired king wrinkled his brow as he always did, and made a stern face. "I won't ask you to forgive me, King of Night," he said slowly. "But still..." Dantes took a deep breath. "I thank you, from the bottom of my heart," he declared.

"Father..."

Claudius looked up at his father and gasped.

Fukurou didn't seem interested in responding. He outstretched his wings wide, and turned to disappear into the darkness, but suddenly turned around and faced Dantes.

"... If you are a king who chooses his country, then try to build a wonderful country with your own hands."

At that moment, Mimizuku remembered something.

''Oh, that's right, Fukurou as well...''

Fukurou might have become a human king as well at one time.

Thinking of this, Mimizuku remembered a feeling she couldn't put into words, and clung tightly to Fukurou's neck.

Whenever she couldn't express herself, that was the best thing to do.

Just like Orietta had done for her. Mimizuku felt like she finally understood how to use her own limbs.

Fukurou made an annoyed face at Mimizuku coiling about him, but breathing softly, he gently moved his arms so as to caress Mimizuku's head.

Seeing this, Ann Duke and Orietta looked at each other and laughed.

And then, Mimizuku and Fukurou melted away into the darkness.

A gust blew through, and the next moment, the two had disappeared without leaving a trace.

It was as if a storm had passed through the castle's basement.

"They left..."

Ann Duke sighed.

"Oh well," Orietta smiled, holding out the scabbard of the Holy Sword to Ann Duke.

With a beautiful movement, Ann Duke returned the Holy Sword to its scabbard and gave it to Orietta.

"Well then, we've got a lot of cleaning up to do, don't we?"

"Indeed," Ann Duke simply said.

"You're taking responsibility. Get to work at once, Andy," the gray-haired king said, returning to his usual gloomy tone of voice.

"Huh!? Hey, wait a second! What about you, the king!? Why me!?"

"It's to be expected. Why don't you try working for once? Damned homestay."

Ann Duke drooped his shoulders, and Orietta chuckled beside him.

"... Your Majesty..." Claudius said, looking up timidly at the king. "Um..."

He knew he had to be punished, as he had disobeyed the king.

"Dia."

"Y-yes!?" Claudius answered, his shoulders shaking. His father's gray eyes looked at him. He had a stern face, and an austere light in his eyes. However, Claudius did not look away. He did not cast his eyes down as he had always done before. Pursing his lips tightly, he faced forward, looking straight at Dantes, his father.

He planned to take his punishment gracefully. He had no regrets. Even so, he didn't think he would be hated by his father for it. He simply did what he had to do, for both his own sake, and for the sake of the country.

Dantes looked down at Claudius, and opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it and narrowed his eyes.

He then took a step forward, and tightly embraced Claudius's body.

At his father's sudden action, Claudius's emerald eyes flew wide open.

"Your... Majesty...?"

Dantes did not say anything. He simply hugged his son, his eyes closed tight, and his shoulders slightly quivering.

It was a strong embrace, and it hurt Claudius. He was a hapless old man who didn't know how to be gentle.

However, Claudius closed his eyes.

He had always wanted this.

The hug was instantaneous. The moment that Dantes let go of Claudius, his face turned to that of the stern king.

"... From here on, I will teach you many things. If you have the spirit required to be king, then follow me, even if you cough up blood!"

At those words, Claudius's eyes sparkled.

"... Yes, father!!"

He was the prince that would one day be called "The Ornate Sealed King."

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| Forward to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Epilogue|Epilogue]]
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Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 7

2011-04-20T20:43:46Z

67.244.2.247:

Chapter 7 - Knight and Maiden

It happened soon after the Holy Woman of the Sword had been inaugurated, at the end of the queen's funeral.

It was on a path through a grassy field leading to the castle. The sky was clear and blue, just like the old pastoral songs would describe.

"Do you want to be free?"

A boy grabbed the arm of a beautiful girl in a broken carriage.

"Right now, you're stuck in a cage. Do you want to be free?" the boy asked.

The girl laughed. She twisted her lips as if to ridicule the boy's naïveté and lack of restraint. It was an unbecoming laugh for the Maiden of the Holy Sword.

"If I could be free, I would have done so long ago."

Ann Duke was at first taken aback by her response. But then he smiled and nodded.

It was just a single chance meeting.

In that moment, his kindness gazed upon the future, and her strength pulled it closer.

In the stone hallway connecting the castle and the temple, a shadow proceeded straight through.

"Get out of the way!!"

With this single exclamation, the soldiers on duty stood down and opened the door. The shadow continued into the dark room, lit only by a magic square, without hesitation.

"Lady Orietta...!"

"What is the meaning of this!?" she shouted loudly amongst the magicians making a stir. Her hair was a mess due to lack of sleep. Her face was deep with the color of fatigue. However, the light in her eyes was strong.

"Explain this! Who started this disgusting activity!?"

"It was the on the orders of the king."

Riveil was the one who spoke up.

"Sir Riveil! Are you telling me that even you supported this!?"

"We were simply acting on the king's orders."

"Forget about him, then! Stop this horrible undertaking immediately!"

Orietta entered the center of the magic square. Several of the magicians could be seen shivering. The Holy Knight Ann Duke and the Maiden of the Holy Sword Orietta were given special privileges due to their social status. They were occasionally given more authority in certain matters than the king's closest retainers.

The only one amongst the magicians who could speak to Orietta as an equal was Riveil.

"Please stop, Lady Orietta! The magical technique is still being executed. If we stop the procedure, then some unfortunate reaction might occur in Lady Mimizuku's body due to the roughness of our knowledge regarding the matter," Riveil said in a reserved tone, though hoarsely enough to make one feel that it was dignified.

Orietta's index finger stopped.

She was seemed to be running it across the reflective surface of the magic square.

"Lady Orietta... please understand! We, as the ones who carried this out, will take responsibility of..."

"Would you not complain if someone stepped across your memories?" Orietta asked. Her obsidian eyes had tears floating in them.

"... Please understand. This too was for the country's sake..."

Riveil lowered his head deeply.

"Get out."

With her long, slender finger, Orietta pointed at the door.

"I will deal with you later. If you don't want to incite the rage of my husband, get out of this room immediately!"

The magicians could not oppose those words. Everyone bowed to Orietta, and then left the room.

Only Orietta remained in the room. She stared at the shining surface of the magic square as if clinging to it.

Orietta remembered her reason for coming here. When Mimizuku had suddenly lashed out, there was a faint presence of magical power in her. Orietta had been a top grade student of magic arts at the temple, and her genius in magic allowed her to sense the slight fluctuations of magic around Mimizuku.

Someone, somewhere, was reading Mimizuku's memories.

Mimizuku's memory itself was like a kaleidoscope, changing the scenery several times.

Orietta pursed her lips and made certain of what she was seeing.

Whatever was going on, she would put a stop to it.

If she loved Mimizuku, then that was what she needed to do.

After hearing that Mimizuku's memories had returned, Ann Duke ran back to the castle again.

When he opened the door, the first thing that leapt out at him was Mimizuku, screaming bloody murder.

"Where's Fukurou!?" Mimizuku yelled, grabbing at the attendants around her.

"Fukurou! Where's Fukurou!? What are they doing to him!?"

Ann Duke stopped without thinking upon seeing her menacing look. With her eyes wide open and her hair spinning wildly about in her corybantic rampage, she looked like a feral beast.

"No! Give him back! Give Fukurou back!!"

Mimizuku didn't seem to take any notice of what was around her. She simply called out for someone named "Fukurou" and thrashed about.

''" The Mimizuku whose memories have returned may be a completely different person from the Mimizuku we know now..."''

Ann Duke remembered his own words.

He thought that her mind might have slipped off into some far off emptiness, but still...

"Mimizuku!!"

Ann Duke raised his voice.

Even though Mimizuku had not been here for long, the days they had spent together were definite. In those few days, Mimizuku had smiled and felt happiness, and nothing could take that away.

Riding on a sliver of hope, Ann Duke called her name out.

Her motions stopped all at once. The attendants, worn out from being bitten and scratched, gazed at Ann Duke as though they received salvation.

"Mimizuku, it's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of," Ann Duke said in the quietest voice he could muster, slowly walking toward Mimizuku as if pacifying an injured beast.

Mimizuku, in a daze, stared at Ann Duke. She slowly blinked two or three times.

There was a sudden sparkle. Her expression had gone through innumerable changes. It was a mix of sadness, happiness, and pain. She then made a disjointed, disfigured face, as though she were making an impossible decision.

"An... dy..."

"Yes, what is it?"

Ann Duke then slowly ran his hand through Mimizuku's hair, drawing in close. It was at that moment.

In a more subdued action than her rampaging, Mimizuku flung off Ann Duke's hand.

Ann Duke, taken aback, closed his eyes dejectedly.

Mimizuku looked up at Ann Duke, glaring with her whole eye from the brow down. In her eyes was an unmistakable will. It wasn't hate. It was an amalgam of regret and misery.

"Leave," Mimizuku declared clearly. "Leave, Ann Duke."

"Mimizuku..."

"Get the hell out! I don't want you, or anyone else in here! Just leave me alone!"

The face of the one who said those words was not someone that Ann Duke knew. The Mimizuku that Ann Duke once knew was in a fleeting dream, with her innocent smile and her docile surprise.

He never thought she could have made as strong a face as she was making now.

"Mimizuku... should I leave you alone?" he asked, still unsure. Mimizuku pouted her lips and rolled her hands into fists.

"Please, leave me alone."

"I understand... I'll go."

Upon gently saying these words, Ann Duke made the attendants bow and leave. Ann Duke looked behind him one more time and spoke to Mimizuku, who was standing starkly in the center of the room.

"Mimizuku, please don't forget one thing."

No matter what kind of memories Mimizuku had, no matter what kind of world she lived in.

"We love you."

''Don't forget it.''

Hearing those words, Mimizuku cupped her face in her hands and turned away. She turned as if trying to shake off the memories of Ann Duke and the others.

Making a dull, quiet sound, the door closed behind her.

With that sound, Mimizuku collapsed onto the floor and gave a tiny, tiny sigh.

"... I love you too... Andy..."

''Ooh...''

These warm drops were tears.

"But I can't forgive you."

''I love you, but I won't forgive you.''

"I will absolutely never forgive you for burning Fukurou's painting..."

''Where are you?''

Sighing to herself, Mimizuku cried, thinking only of Fukurou.

That night, Mimizuku turned on the lamp at her bedside and sat down in her bed. There had been food delivered to her, but she didn't feel like eating, so she just drank water.

Mimizuku thought. She got lost in thought. Mimizuku hadn't used her brain often throughout her life, but for the sake of Fukurou, and for her own sake, she thought. She thought of what she had to do.

On top of her bed, she sat down neatly on her knees. She wiped her tears. She didn't want to be seen with such a pathetic face.

She then clearly spoke.

"Come out, Kuro."

She waited for several seconds. There was no response.

However, Mimizuku did not have any doubts.

"Kuro...!!"

She simply called out his name.

''Poof!''

Kuro's small form, quivering before her eyes like a flame, appeared with a small sound.

His form was different from how Mimizuku had always seen him in the forest, as his body was translucent and his existence could only be felt faintly. However, the way he scratched his cheek with his upper right hand and the crunching sound it made confirmed him to be Kuro.

"... It's been a while," Mimizuku said, still with slightly teary eyes.

"... I did not think that we would meet again. Mimizuku."

The way his voice rattled her eardrums, that was definitely Kuro.

"Why?" Mimizuku asked tremblingly.

"It is up to the world in which we live," Kuro responded indifferently.

"Is it because I lost my memories?"

"You could say that."

"Don't mess with me, Kuro."

Mimizuku's voice was low, and her words were heavy with accusation.

Then, as if opening a dam, Mimizuku leaned toward Kuro and let loose her thoughts.

"Ugh!! Why did Fukurou do something so idiotic!? I can't, I just can't believe it!! Was I really that much of a bother to him!? I know I was annoying! I know it, I know, I know, but... to go that far...!"

Small pools of tears began to form in Mimizuku's eyes.

"Am I really... that... unwanted? Was I... really... that much trouble...?"

Mimizuku had known how impudent and brazen the things she that day in the forest were. Mimizuku had known a lot ever since long before, since before she had even come to the forest.

She had felt as thought the pain would rip her in half.

She felt that if she remembered the past for even a moment, her mind and body would be torn apart by the pain.

However, she couldn't fall. She couldn't shed off the world she lived in, now matter how much she wanted to.

Because she had to see Fukurou again.

Kuro didn't answer Mimizuku's question. He simply stared up at her with those eyes whose expression was impossible to read.

"... You know, Kuro," Mimizuku said weakly as she wiped her tears.

"Fukurou's been captured. What should I do? Fukurou's been taken away from me..."

"I have indeed heard that the king has been captured by human hands."

"Yeah, that's right. Aren't the other monsters going to help him?"

"They cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Look at this body, Mimizuku."

Kuro then spread his four arms out wide. His body was dim and quivering, and Mimizuku could see through it.

"Right now, a strong spiritual barrier has been erected around this country. In the castle as well. Around the underground area where the king is held as well. I have managed to slip in through a hole in the web, but I cannot remain here for long."

"... So the monsters can't come here?"

"Aye." Kuro nodded. "However, that is not the immediate reason."

"What do you mean?" Mimizuku responded.

Kuro opened his pomegranate-like mouth.

"You humans underestimate the power of the Lord of Moonlight!" he said as if shouting. He shook his bat-like wings, but they did not make their usual flapping sound.

"Even if he is captured on the night of the new moon, when his power is weak for a short period of time! Who do you think he is!? The king of the Ieri, the King of Night! When the full moon appears, even if he is held down, he could burn this town, this entire country, to the ground!"

There, Kuro suddenly stopped moving.

"... However, the Lord of Moonlight did not do that."

"Y... yeah..."

Even Mimizuku understood what Kuro meant. From the very beginning, she had mulled over the fact that if Kuro wouldn't eat her, what monster would?

"This country being here right now. That in itself is the will of the Lord of Moonlight, and no matter what the Ieri wish, they cannot bend that will..."

"Then they've abandoned the King of Night!?" Mimizuku yelled without thinking.

Kuro lowered his head as if to escape Mimizuku's vision.

"... The King of Night is indestructible."

"But...!"

"Even if the current king is killed, allow time to pass, and magic power will gather in the earth, bringing about the birth of another king. That is how it is arranged."

"Then you ''are'' abandoning Fukurou!"

Kuro didn't answer.

As the flame in the lamp flickered, a fitting silence spread through the dark night. The moon from outside the window was large to the point of imbalance, but beautiful.

Finally, Kuro spoke.

"... There is nothing that I can do."

Mimizuku bit her lip at his response.

''Well then,'' she thought.

''What can I do?''

From the start it was wished that she would do something. Wished for by her own self, who had had her memories erased. Even if she thought and acted for Fukurou, she would just be neglected again, right?

''Neglected...''

Mimizuku finally understood what the word meant. Curling her hands into fists against her knees, she bared her teeth and thought.

The old Mimizuku in the forest would have never thought like this. She would live without thinking of the contents of others' hearts, and simply did what she wanted, which was to be told to do things by others. Mimizuku, who had come to know what it was like to be loved, was now afraid of not being loved, and she had come to know herself better because of this.

''Understanding so much... it's sad...''

Even so, she didn't think to go back. She didn't want to go back to that time, when the only thing she understood was pain.

She wanted to rescue Fukurou.

She wished to go back, but with all her knowledge of happiness and sadness and tears. She wished to go back to the forest together with Fukurou.

''Even so...'' she thought.

Even so, her memories ran about her. The ones of the forest, the ones of that village, and--the ones of this country.

Ann Duke caressed her kindly.

Orietta embraced her gently.

Claudius became her friend.

In this lifestyle, everyone was kind to her. Who would it help for her to turn around and kick sand in the faces of all these people?

Even Fukurou might not wish to be saved. She might be rejected again, even if she went and saved him.

If Fukurou rejected her again like he had in the forest, would her current self really be able to handle it?

Living here, eating the delicious food, being treated kindly, being happy.

"... That's right, Mimizuku," Kuro said, gently interrupting Mimizuku's thoughts. Startled, Mimizuku looked up.

"One moon ago, on the orders of the Lord of Moonlight, went to retrieve this. Hold out your hand. Mimizuku."

"Huh?"

A single strand of hair fell into Mimizuku's outstretched hand. It was somewhat dull, red hair.

"What's this...?"

She felt like she had seen it somewhere before. But where?

"I confirmed it on the orders of the Lord of Moonlight. This is proof. The man whose stomach you stabbed... still lives.

"Huh...?"

Mimizuku opened her eyes wide with surprise.

''What does he mean?''

Mimizuku looked at the strand of hair in her hand. This color was definitely it. That's right. The man inscribed on the last page of her bloodstained memories of the village.

He lived.

She hadn't known if it was true or not. If she were to doubt it, she would have had no proof, and if she had lied to herself, then she could have brandished a weapon as much as she liked. However, Kuro had confirmed that the man was alive for her.

Mimizuku hadn't killed anyone.

And Fukurou had made the order.

"Ah..."

Mimizuku tightened her grip on the hair, rolling her hand into a first around it, and placed it against her forehead.

How difficult to comprehend. How easily defeated were her notions, how unskilled.

And yet...

''He had always treated me kindly.''

Mimizuku understood.

''He had always, as much as he could, treated me kindly.''

She understood it now.

Warm drops of water began to fall. She wasn't sad, but they still fell.

"I must go. Mimizuku."

"Oh... Kuro...!"

Mimizuku looked up and saw that Kuro's figure was quivering unstably.

"I am sorry, but there was a limit from the start. If I use any further magic power, I may be detected."

And then, Kuro hesitated for just a moment. Mimizuku thought she saw him smile.

"Now, Mimizuku. If fate allow is... let us meet again.

"Wait! Wait, Kuro! Please, just tell me one thing!"

She told herself not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop fast enough.

''I wish I could burn Kuro's shape into my eyes more clearly, more strongly...''

"Just tell me one thing! Kuro... is Fukurou important to you!? Or... or is he just important to you because he's your king, and not because he's Fukurou...!?"

Kuro's form was already paler than the morning mist, but he still answered Mimizuku clearly.

"That is right."

Mimizuku's face twisted.

"It is just as you say, Mimizuku."

That was how Kuro answered. However, Kuro's form had already disappeared, and his true last words remained in Mimizuku's ears.

''"However... the paintings drawn by the king... are incomparably beautiful. That is what I think."''

Those were Kuro's last words.

Alone, remaining in silence with only the light of the lamp, Mimizuku sat quietly, and finally wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She looked up out of the window at the moon.

It was as beautiful as Fukurou's eyes.

That day, Ann Duke went to the king's office. As he entered, the king did not stop his hand or look up from his documents.

Ann Duke slammed his palms down on the king's well-made, lacquered desk. It made a low thump.

His eyes burned blue, and his face had lost some color.

"Release the King of Night this instant!" Ann Duke said in a deep voice.

"I can't do that."

The king didn't look up, and his response showed that he knew everything that had happened.

"Why!? You've known the whole time, haven't you! You've been receiving reports from your magicians, right!?"

Overcome with impatience, Ann Duke grabbed the king's collar.

"... Let go of me."

The king's voice was also deep, and cold.

"Try raising a hand against me in this place. I have something that I cannot let go of as well. If you take your wife and leave this country, I will round up your remaining family and have them all beheaded and put on display as a warning. Are you prepared for that?"

Ann Duke felt a lump in his throat, and make a sound. He knew that the king was serious, and not merely tossing an empty threat.

He slowly removed his hand. The king still did not look up.

"... What reason could you possibly have for imprisoning that monster when he's done nothing to hurt us?"

"Monsters are monsters, and thus evil. That in itself is the reason."

"You can't be serious!!" Ann Duke shouted.

His wife had returned home late the night before and told him everything without wiping her tears. There was no way he could have stood by without doing anything.

The path Mimizuku had walked up to this point was nothing short of heroic.

"Between the degenerate humans who hurt her, and the King of Night who cared for her, tell me, which one is really evil!?"

"You are the one who carried out the subjugation of the demon king, Sir Ann Duke.

Ann Duke nodded. He was ready to accept his sin.

"That's right. That's why I'm the one telling you now, let the King of Night go free!"

However, the king did not give in.

"I cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Too much time has already passed. At the next full moon, in just a few days, the mummification of the King of Night will be complete. If we released him now, he wouldn't live long."

"Then shouldn't you give him back his magic power!?"

"Are you sane, Ann Duke?" The gray-haired king lowered his eyelids and shook his head. "Try it. If the demon king gets his power back, he will bring all of his monsters to this country and attack."

"... The King of Night isn't just an ordinary monster. If you speak with him, maybe you'll understand..."

"What a naïve thing to say. Ann Duke, with that kind of thinking, you'll expose this country and all of its citizens to danger."

Being bored through by the light of the king's sharp eyes, it was Ann Duke's turn to lower his eyelids.

"I'll protect them," he said, gritting his teeth.

He dropped the palms of his hands onto the desk, hanging his head.

"I'll protect all the citizens... and this country..." he sputtered out, although with a strong tone of voice.

The king thought it would be overdoing it to reject those words. He looked straight down at Ann Duke.

Since long before, the MacValen name had been famous in this country. When the youngest brother pulled the Holy Sword from the scabbard, his elder brother immediately complained to the king. "'My younger brother is to kind to hold that sword!'" he had said. The oldest, who was head of the MacValen household at the time, had declared that "'My younger brother is too rigid to hold that sword!'"

The king now knew that neither of them was wrong. He was both too kind, and at the same time too rigid, when wielding the sword.

His sword was a sword that did not balk at the act of murder, and he himself was not one to let his heart go out to the life that he had cast away.

Even so, the Holy Knight was able to become a "symbol" of this country, because he found something that he must protect. The wife he loved, his family, and his country.

So the king placed his hand firmly on Ann Duke's shoulder.

"... The king of this country... is me," the king declared, as if pressing for an answer.

"Let us recognize that there was a misunderstanding. Even so, there is no way to undo what has already been done. The subjugation of the demon king is something that we have been seeking for a very long time. In order to bring about prosperity for this country, we must make clear our magic power, and for that, we need a large amount of magic. All of this is for the sake of the country."

Ann Duke ground his teeth together. The king's words were not without meaning. The king was a man who placed the country before everything else. That was why he was king, and why the country was where it was.

"... With the King of Night's magic power..." Ann Duke said in an accusing tone, "Do you plan to heal Dia's arms and legs?"

He had always known. But he couldn't say it. He knew though, that if the king were to obtain such a large amount of magic power, Claudius would be his utmost priority.

"It's for the sake... of the country." Immediately after speaking, the king shifted his gaze. "I do not plan to give up the throne to anyone but Dia. However, if I died, I'm afraid with that body of his... he wouldn't be able to protect the whole country. If I can do anything at all, then I will do it. I've developed an army, and pushed for agricultural and commercial growth. However, with that body... with his arms and legs, I don't know if he can stand the pressure of the throne."

Ann Duke could not criticize the hapless king any further.

The king could not help but love his own son. Even Ann Duke, who had no children of his own, understood how painful it was.

"... What will become of Mimizuku?" Even so, he could not give in. "Even now, that girl is still crying, looking for the King of Night. What will become of her?"

What would become of Mimizuku, who cried out in pain just remembering the King of Night?

The king let out a single sigh.

"... Ann Duke. You're telling me that if the King of Night was to be freed, and he went back to that forest with her, Mimizuku would be happy? If Mimizuku returned to that forest, she'd be happy? Is that really what you're losing your patience over?" At those words, Ann Duke's face became dim. "Do you really think that that monster would want a single little human girl to be happy?"

"But...! Even so..."

The king turned his back to Ann Duke, who would still not give in.

The king looked down at the town from his office window.

"You raise her, Ann Duke. If you do that, then that girl will have no more troubles in her life. Give her happiness by your hand," the king said in a somewhat gentler tone.

Because the king's back was turned to him, Ann Duke wasn't able to see what kind of face the king had when he said those words.

"..."

"A person's happiness lies in other people, Ann Duke," the king, who had one child of his own, said.

Ann Duke bit his lip. He closed his eyes tightly.

He wanted to bring Mimizuku happiness. If he could, he would do it by his own hand. She had been reborn before Ann Duke as a nameless girl with pure-hearted eyes. Maybe it was fate. Maybe she appeared for the sake of his love and affection.

He thought that he would teach that poor, small girl of a brilliance many times greater than merely living. He thought that it would be wonderful if he could save this girl, who didn't even know the meaning of tears.

But who would understand?

Why are others able to limit the happiness of a single human being?

"... You will be attending the ceremony on the next night of the full moon, Holy Knight Ann Duke," the king said in a voice teeming with severity. "The one to finally stab the demon king's heart... will be you."

Ann Duke closed his eyes tightly upon hearing those words. He curled his hands into fists just as tightly.

"... As you wish..." he answered in a cracked voice, as if he were spewing blood. "... My king, Dantes."

That was the seldom spoken name of the king.

"I wanted to be a friend to you... Ann Duke."

Ann Duke then turned his own back to the king.

He never turned back.

The one who brought Mimizuku her lukewarm soup that day was not the usual attendant.

"Mimizuku, how are you feeling?"

Mimizuku kept her back turned to any guests, but she reflexively turned around upon hearing that familiar, gentle voice.

"... Orietta..."

It was Orietta, who was smiling and holding a tray.

"Why are you making that face? Do you want to get even thinner?"

"..."

Mimizuku looked down without answering. Interposing the large, canopy-affixed bed, she turned away.

Orietta smiled as if sighing, and placed tray with the soup bowl on it at the side of the bed.

She then turned around and sat down on the bed. Mimizuku had her back turned to Orietta, but she could still feel the vibration.

"Hey, Mimizuku," Orietta said in the gentlest voice she could muster, as she always did. "Would you like to become our daughter?"

Mimizuku blinked several times at Orietta's words.

"You know, I don't have a daughter, let alone one as big as you," Orietta said, giggling. She then lowered her eyelids a little. "My body can't have children."

Suddenly, Mimizuku's heart rang out.

''It hurts,'' she thought. Something inside of her hurt badly.

Orietta slowly began to speak, as if she were telling a small child a fairy tale.

"It can't be helped, but that's how it is. I'm the "Maiden of the Sword." I, along with the sword, am offered to the chosen hero--nothing more."

While listening to her words, Mimizuku thought of Orietta.

Orietta's indigo eyes resembled the night sky. Mimizuku found them very nostalgic.

They were the same color as Fukurou's hair.

Orietta continued to speak, as if singing.

"Whether I live or die is up to the hero. I'm no different than a slave!"

Mimizuku shivered at the mention of the word "slave." A cold sweat ran across her back. ''Now,'' she thought. ''Why now?''

Orietta chuckled. It seemed like she did, at least.

"But Ann Duke told me that... he told me, all the fortunes that he received from being chosen by the Holy Sword as the Holy Knight... he would give them all to me."

For some reason, Mimizuku's world began to waver incessantly.

Before Mimizuku's eyes expanded a scene of some happening long ago. Specks of flame. Two moons in the night sky.

"'Go wherever you like. You're free now,' he said."

''"Go. Girl who names beasts. There is no reason for you to be here anymore.''"

It was him.

He was the reason she had been there from the start.

"You're free."

"Why?" Orietta said, gazing at Ann Duke. She acted brave, straightening her back.

It was the second time the two had spoken. It had only been a few days since the incident with the carriage.

Ann Duke was still young, and Orietta was still small.

"I'm yours."

That was how she had been raised. Born as an infant, raised in an orphanage, and handed over to the temple after her genius with magic had been discovered, she underwent rigorous studies in the magic arts in order to become the priestess to defend the Holy Sword. In the process, she lost the ability to have children, but she thought little of it.

"If so, then go beyond the horizon. I won't do anything about it."

"Why?"

Orietta's face grew twisted.

She didn't know what kind of face to make.

"Why are you telling me something like this?"

"You told me before. 'If I could be free, I would have done so long ago.' Since I can, I'm releasing you from your birdcage."

"But you don't gain anything from it..."

Ann Duke shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't lose anything either. I'm the good-for-nothing son of a knight family. --Actually, there is one thing I'm losing. By letting you go, I'm missing my chance with a beautiful girl... But even so, I want you to smile. So that's that."

And then, Ann Duke looked deeply into Orietta's eyes.

"If it forces one woman to become a sacrifice, then the Holy Sword is not so holy anymore, is it?"

At those words, Orietta's shoulders slumped straight down.

''Oh, I see...''

This was without a doubt the man "chosen" by the Holy Sword.

"Where should I go?"

"Eh, as if I knew."

"I see. Well then, where do you live?"

"Huh?"

Ann Duke left his mouth hanging half-open. To that miserable look, Orietta struck a daunting pose.

"I asked you where your house is. I've always wanted to cook and clean on my own. If it's alright with you, please hire me."

"... Are you serious?"

"Completely. Of course, only if your mansion is fairly comfortable."

Then, Orietta gave a hearty smile.

"I don't care if you hire me or give me up."

"Orietta..."

Mimizuku gasped.

"Even though you were free, why didn't you go anywhere?"

Orietta turned around and faced Mimizuku's small, rolled up back.

"Well," she said, "even if I choose not to go anywhere, isn't that a choice I made freely?"

Mimizuku covered her face with her hands. Tears began to drip from her eyes.

She thought of Orietta.

She thought of Fukurou.

She thought of what Orietta said, about how not going anywhere was a choice you can make freely as well.

''Fukurou.''

She called out his name.

''Hey, Fukurou.''

''Where did you tell me to go?''

''That time, I would have chosen to stay by your side.''

''Is it alright for me to stay by your side?''

No, that's not right. She didn't need permission from anyone. Hadn't she made the decision that day? Among the rustling of the Forest of Night.

''Even if you don't allow me, I'll be by your side. Eat me, King of Night.''

She knew what crying was. She had been taught. She remembered.

"... Uuu... uuu..."

For some reason, her chest felt tight.

Her throat felt like it was burning, and she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, gently, she smelled a serene scent.

She was being embraced softly from behind by Orietta. She gently caressed her head, and she understood that Orietta too was crying.

Mimizuku wanted to shake her off. She had to shake her off. However, Orietta, quivering, spoke.

"... You've done so well..."

Orietta's arms were warm.

"You've done so well... to live up to this point..."

Those words broke the dam. Mimizuku cried, and cried.

"It wasn't that bad..." she said, sobbing uncontrollably. She had never thought it had been so tough.

Even though she lived the life she did, she never thought it was difficult. And then, every day she had spent since coming to the Forest of Night had been enjoyable.

"Hey... hey, Orietta..."

"... Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Orietta asked, patting Mimizuku on the back.

"When I received all those pretty clothes, and all those good things to eat, and when everyone was nice to me, what was I supposed to say to all that?"

Orietta smiled at Mimizuku's question.

"At times like that, you're supposed to say 'thank you.'"

"Thank... you..."

That's right, there was a word for that. Mimizuku held on to Orietta's hand and said it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Orietta."

She cried as she spoke. She had to say it. She had to say it.

''Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...''

Her thoughts overflowed. Her words overflowed.

"Mimizuku...?"

"Uuu... ugh...! Th-th-thank... y-you... Kuro... Fuku... rou... thank you...!"

Mimizuku then collapsed, and wailed as if lost in a dream.

"Thank you! Thank you...!!"

She was happy.

She was incredibly happy.

''Even though you didn't do anything for me...''

''You listened to my story.''

With his cold eyes, beautiful like moons, he looked at Mimizuku.

''I existed in those eyes.''

It was the first time she knew she was alive.

''Thank you.''

"I... I miss yoooooouuu...!"

''There's something I have to tell you.''

Orietta, as though she had made a decision, embraced Mimizuku more tightly.

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| Back to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Forward to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
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Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 6

2011-04-20T20:08:20Z

67.244.2.247:

Chapter 6 - Seal of the King of Night

Claudius asked Mimizuku to sit on the carpet next to him. Mimizuku responded to his request without hesitation. Ever since she began to live in the castle, sitting on carpets was one of her favorite things, though she was often chided by the maids for doing so.

Here, however, there was no one to tell her off.

Sitting down directly onto the carpet, Mimizuku looked up at the boy prince, who seemed small even to her. Claudius was sitting in a chair much larger than himself, seeming to drown in its plush exterior.

"Show me your mark," Claudius said, just moving the end of his mouth.

Mimizuku obediently removed her hat and showed him her forehead.

"That's a really strange pattern..."

"Eheheh!" Mimizuku laughed.

"Show me your wrists and ankles."

Just as she was told, she extended her arms to show him her wrists, and stretched out her knees to show her ankles.

"They're really discolored."

"Orietta said they can't make it go away."

"So you were in shackles?"

"Yeah, that's right. They were rusted away, or they said something like that."

"Don't you have trouble moving?"

"Trouble? Hm... they don't hurt, so I guess they don't give me any trouble?"

"... I see."

With that, Claudius gave a light smile. It was a smile of a certain kind that Mimizuku had not seen much. Mimizuku couldn't even tell if he was smiling in the first place.

"If that's the case, then I'm even worse off."

"Okay?"

"Aren't my arms and legs disgustingly discolored?"

"Yeah."

Mimizuku nodded frankly. She didn't know what "ugly" meant, but they certainly were a color that she had never seen before.

"This is how I've been ever since I was born. I haven't been able to move my arms and legs, ever."

"You can't move them?"

"That's right. Even though I went so far as to take my mother's life to be born... like this, I'll surely cause grief to the kingdom."

Saying those words, Claudius averted his gaze from Mimizuku and cast his eyes downward.

"It's as if my body is cursed. Like this, I can't be seen by the citizens of the kingdom. If they say I'm crippled, everyone will get scared. Therefore, ever since my birth, I've been kept in this room, almost never leaving."

Mimizuku opened her mouth wide in amazement, causing Claudius to smile, in that same way that she couldn't tell if he was smiling or not.

"So, you would say I'm unfortunate, right?" Claudius asked.

Mimizuku slanted her head to the side.

"Unfortunate?"

"That's right."

Unfortunate is when you're unhappy. ''Since the prince called himself unfortunate, maybe he really is?'' Mimizuku thought.

''But why is he asking me?''

"So, how was it? You, being captured by the King of Night, I mean. Do you think you're more unfortunate than me?" Claudius said, glaring at Mimizuku with a spiteful expression on his face.

"Um..."

Mimizuku wasn't taken aback by Claudius's appearance.

"I'm happy? In this castle, I'm happy, I think?" she spoke absentmindedly.

Mimizuku's words seemed to stab a hoe in Claudius. He opened his dull emerald eyes wide.

"I was told it's thanks to His Majesty, but I suppose you had a part in it too," Mimizuku said with a smile. Claudius looked away.

"... I don't have any authority at all."

Mimizuku, who didn't know what "authority" meant, suddenly stood up. She didn't receive permission from Claudius, but the view of the sunset from the large window was so beautiful to her.

"Wow! Incredible!" Mimizuku shouted with joy.

"Incredible, incredible! There's such a great view from here! Hey, you can even see the market!"

"Mimizuku, I'm not finished ta--!"

His words disappeared unfinished into Mimizuku's shouting.

"Hey, hey! The baked fruits in that stall over there are so delicious! Have you ever eaten them?" Mimizuku asked insouciantly. Claudius's face twisted.

"I already said...! I can't ever leave here!!"

"So you haven't? Alright then, I'll buy some for you! I'm good friends with the man there!" Mimizuku exclaimed, beaming.

Claudius opened his mouth to say something to her, but he closed it, hesitating.

"... You'll... buy me some?" he asked meekly.

"Yeah! I'll buy you some! They're really good. There are also lots of beautiful and fun things there too." Mimizuku nodded several times. She felt very content. She remembered how happy the man at the stand was when she said the fruit was delicious.

Claudius looked up at Mimizuku. It was a forlorn gaze, as if he was clinging to Mimizuku.

"You..."

"Yes?"

"Don't you commiserate me?"

"C... commiserate?"

Mimizuku cocked her neck like a bird.

"Wouldn't you say I'm pitiable?"

"Um... you're pitiable?"

Claudius blushed in an instant and looked away. It seemed that having his question reflected back at him caused him embarrassment.

"I've been called pitiable too, though I don't get what's so pitiable about me," Mimizuku said, smiling broadly. Claudius stared at her face timidly.

"... Hey, Mimizuku."

"Yes?"

"Tell me about what goes on around the castle. Of what's outside, tell me what's beautiful, what's interesting, and what's wonderful," he spoke, his voice like a whisper.

Mimizuku lightly nodded her head at his request.

"Yeah, alright! I'll tell you all about it. And I'll bring you something delicious! There are lots of surprising things in the town. And then there are lots of pretty things too!"

"..."

Claudius was silent, and he hung his head far downward.

"Uh... Mimizuku?"

"Yeah?"

"... Will you, um..."

The ears poking out from between strands of his hair turned red.

"Will you... be my friend?"

Mimizuku grinned at his question.

"What's a friend?" she responded innocently, refreshingly.

Claudius looked up and gave an uneasy laugh. It was the first time Mimizuku had seen him laugh.

That day, when the king had finished his governmental affairs, he headed to the reception room to find Ann Duke lounging on his sofa. This was what greeted him after a day of exhausting work. He thought of lighting a fire and sticking it to the nose of Ann Duke's sleeping face, but he considered that he was up against someone who lived by the sword and thought better of it. He couldn't get careless.

"You, over there, homestayer. If you don't want to lose your job, get out of here right now," he said in a deep voice.

"Alright, alright..." the lounger said in a drowsy voice, lifting his body from the sofa. The ill-mannered Holy Knight had always found this sofa to be particularly snug.

"What are you even here for?"

"Just taking a nap."

"Get out."

"Yeah, sure. I was about to go home anyway. If I'm home too late, my wife gets mad, you know?" Ann Duke said in a relaxed manner while standing up. He then suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, have you heard the talk that Dia and Mimizuku are getting friendly with one another?"

"... I have."

"Hmm? So it was your suggestion?"

"Claudius is the one who said he wanted to meet the 'captured princess.'"

"Heh... he didn't get what he bargained for, as usual. Actually, nah, it's okay. I was a little surprised when I heard that they met, but I think it's a good idea too."

The king turned his cold eyes toward Ann Duke, who was stretching out like a cat.

"So, what are you trying to say?"

Ann Duke made a troubled face as if he was searching for the right words, and then slowly opened his lips.

"... Shouldn't you look after Dia a little more? Stop keeping him locked up in that place. If you stopped hesitating over suddenly exposing him to the public, he'd be in a nice boarding school somewhere by now. Do you know Remit Island? It's an island far from the border, but the schools there are supposed to be excellent."

Whether the king was listening to Ann Duke or not, he did not look at him.

Ann Duke sighed, and then continued.

"... Hey, even though Dia has a body like that... he's very smart, you know."

"..."

The king responded with silence.

Ann Duke heaved another sigh, and changed the direction of the conversation.

"How's the Demon King Mummification Plan going?"

"Ah, yes. No delays so far."

"I see... Well, that's good, I guess."

The king had lifted the sluggish paralysis of the previous conversation, changing the tone of his voice.

"What do you want to say?"

"Well, it's just... I think this whole thing is going a little too smoothly, I mean we are dealing with the demon king, after all."

He was the king that had had ruled the forest of monsters for a period of several hundred years. It was oddly unbecoming of him to fall into human hands so easily.

Even when they were subjugating him, they had felt that way.

"That is simply because this country's Magician Brigade wields a great amount of power."

The king's response was firm.

"Then that's fine, right? By the way, what do you plan on doing with the magic power that you squeeze out of the demon king anyway?" Ann Duke asked with a light tone of voice.

"... It will be put to use for the sake of the country."

"I see."

Ann Duke nodded to the king's unenthusiastic response, and after a single farewell, left the reception room as he always did.

As the king listened to his footsteps grow farther away, he closed his eyes tightly and let out a small sigh.

"Aileidia..."

It was a beautiful name. As he spoke it, its owner, a stunning woman, became reborn in his mind. The only portraits of her were in the reception room and the bedroom. There, smiling at him now, was the deceased queen. She was a fine woman who, even though her body was weak, loved both king and country. Rather than living for even a second more, she chose to bring forth new life. She had only one answer to those who disrupted her in childbirth.

"I want to become the one and only queen of this country."

She was dead now, and she was the only queen ever since.

The prince also had to bear the burden of the country all by himself.

"Prince! Look at this, I picked it up at the edge of the country."

"What is this?"

Claudius looked at the transparent, yellow lump that Mimizuku held out to him.

"It's a liquid that came from a tree, and then became solid. Look, that's a bug in there, isn't it?"

"It's true..."

Claudius squinted at the lump.

"It looks kind of like honey. It thought it would be sweet, so I licked it, but it turned out to be not so tasty..."

"I wouldn't do anything like that."

"I see, I guess that's just you," Mimizuku said, chuckling. Once every three days, Mimizuku visited Claudius in his room. There were times when there were others, like teachers, already in Claudius's room, but the moment he saw Mimizuku's face, he bid them to leave.

"... Mimizuku, I will give you the honor of calling me by my own name."

"Huh?"

"As thanks... for everything. You don't have to call me prince, Claudius is okay..."

Being told she could call him by name, Mimizuku blinked with surprise. However, she thought that Claudius's name was too long and hard to say.

She called Andy as such because Ann Duke was too hard to call him by.

"Alright, since you're Claudius, I'll call you Kuro--"[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Mimizuku_to_Yoru_no_Ou:_Translator%27s_Notes_and_References]

She stopped talking suddenly, and became completely still.

''Huh?''

Something seemed to ring inside of her head.

''Ku... ro...''

''That's wrong,'' someone in her head was saying.

She couldn't call him by that. Not that name.

Not that name.

"Kuro? Don't shorten my name to something seedy like that. If you want to... you can call me 'Dia' like Andy and the others do," Claudius said, his face becoming dim.

"Dia?"

"Yes, that's right. Dia. This is... the name I received from my mother."

"Your mother?"

Claudius cast his gaze downward.

"... After having me, she died. I killed her."

"You... killed her?"

Mimizuku tilted her neck to the side.

"Yes, that's right. I killed her. My mother's body was weak. She didn't have any resistance to magic power. Her body was put under pressure by the growing magical power in this country. The truth is, her body was never fit to have a child at all."

''Hmph,'' Mimizuku thought. ''How does that mean that Claudius killed her?''

"But didn't she want to have you, Dia?"

"... If that was the case, then it would have been fine, I think."

Claudius's face grew deformed as he spoke.

"However, I have this kind of body. The king too, he neglects me..."

"Neglects?"

Mimizuku turned her head to the side. She didn't know the word.

"... It means he hates me, Mimizuku."

"Eh? I really don't understand, though..." Mimizuku gave a hearty smile. "Even if you're hated, I think it's still best to live. And also, I don't hate you, Dia!"

Claudius narrowed his eyes painfully at her words.

"... Mimizuku, have you been hated too?" he sighed.

"Umm..."

Mimizuku looked down, slightly, meekly.

"I don't remember."

Claudius thought that her faced seemed to look as if she were crying.

One day, Ann Duke came into Mimizuku's room to find her with her elbows on the windowsill, engrossed in gazing up at the sky.

"Mimizuku? Is there something interesting outside?"

"I was just thinking, there's no moon," she said faintly, not turning around.

"Moon? It's still noon, you know."

"Yeah. White. I want to see it. Gold is fine too."

"Hm. You really seem to like the moon, huh Mimizuku?"

For some reason, as he said this, Mimizuku's face became gloomy.

"Yeah, sort of. It's somehow... nostalgic," she whispered as if letting out a deep breath.

"Hey Orietta, I've been thinking..."

Returning to his own mansion, Ann Duke, throwing his feet up, sat down on the sofa and began to talk.

"Yes?" Orietta replied, continuing her work in her account book.

"I've been wondering if Mimizuku is happy, not having her memories."

"..."

Orietta's hand stopped.

Ann Duke closed his eyes and continued.

"I've been wondering if it's good for someone to forget a difficult past so frivolously. For example, doesn't happiness come from seeing that sparkle rise above after tears and toil? Isn't that where human strength comes from?"

"... Hey, Andy," Orietta said in a faint voice.

"Hm?"

When Ann Duke looked up, Orietta had stood up and was pulling a document off of the bookshelf. It appeared to be a very old transcript.

"I've been quiet about it, but I can't help myself. I tried taking a look through some of the old books in the temple."

In the temple's underground library, there were documents easily several hundred years old securely stored. They were not meant for the eyes of the general public, but Orietta, as the Maiden of the Holy Sword, had a strong influence in the matters of the temple, and was able to enter the underground library.

"What do you mean, 'took a look'...?"

"The symbol on Mimizuku's head... I tried to figure out just what kind of magic spell was cast on her."

"Did you figure it out?"

Orietta moved quietly beside Ann Duke, bending down on her knees and lowering her long eyelashes.

"It's the sign of the end of the waxing and waning of the moon."

She slowly opened the aged text. There, on the yellowed parchment, drawn out in cracked up ink, was without a doubt the symbol on Mimizuku's forehead.

"That is, the seal of memory imprisonment."

Ann Duke opened his eyes wide. He covered his mouth, disbelieving, and then his face transformed into a scowl.

"How insidious!! Those monsters captured Mimizuku, and then erased her memories!?" Ann Duke spat.

"No."

Orietta firmly denied his speculation.

"No, that's not what it is. The sequence of events is strange. Mimizuku also forgot what happened in the forest. The magic spell was invoked the moment she left the forest..."

Ann Duke suddenly remembered.

The forest had been burning. There, there was a girl cowering in the middle of it all.

There was a loud cry of pain.

She had called out for someone.

His hand covering his mouth, his eyes wandered downward as he sighed to himself.

"To the monsters... would there have been any convenience in sealing them off?"

"I wonder... We don't know the true intentions of the demon king. We only know that Mimizuku losing her memory was not of her own will..." Orietta said, closing her eyes.

"Is there any way to get her memories back?" Ann Duke asked.

"I think there's value in attempting to do so. However, I don't know if it's really for the best. Her body was malnourished, and she has those marks from the chains on her wrists and ankles... It probably wasn't the most enjoyable life for her. On top of that, we're dealing with the king of monsters... that's not something that we can oppose naturally. But if she wishes for it... then probably, it will be up to Mimizuku's will if everything works out or not."

"What do you want to do?" Ann Duke asked frankly.

Mimizuku made a confused facial expression.

Ann Duke smiled at her to relieve her hesitation.

"It's okay if you don't want to do it. This is your life, after all. Even if you've lost your memories, you can still become happy, right?"

However, Mimizuku was worried about something completely different.

"If they dispel the magic, will the pattern on my forehead disappear?" Mimizuku asked nervously. Ann Duke raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, it'll just erase the effect... Unfortunately, I don't think it'll get rid of the seal..."

"Alright then! I'll do it!" Mimizuku replied quickly. She smiled, her eyes sparkling.

"Mimizuku... do you like that symbol?"

With a pure hearted smile, Mimizuku laughed.

"Yeah! It's pretty, after all."

Ann Duke knocked the door. He received the expected "Who is it?" replying with "It's me." As usual, he immediately received permission to enter.

"Hey, it's been a while."

Ann Duke raised his hand and smiled, causing Claudius to crack a smile as well. It was difficult to say if it was befitting of someone his age or not, but it was a small token of a smile.

"You don't have any teachers this time of day?"

"Yeah, none."

"I see."

"Hey, Andy."

Claudius, who usually simply listened to what Ann Duke had to say, took hold of the conversation in a rare moment.

"How is Mii?"

"Mii?"

Ann Duke tilted his neck for a moment, but quickly realized whom he was talking about and smiled.

"Ah, you mean Mimizuku?"

"Y-yeah..."

Claudius nodded, his cheeks turning slightly red.

''Even this boy can make such a rich facial expression,'' Ann Duke mused quietly, growing a bit excited.

"It seems like you've become good friends. Did Mimizuku visit you today?"

"Yeah. She said they're trying to dispel the magic enchantment laid upon her. Will Mimizuku's memory come back?"

"... I'm not sure. At this point, Riveil and the others have been working on her for a whole day. My wife's accompanying them too."

"I see..."

"So you've really been getting friendly with her, huh?" Ann Duke said, unable to hold in a wide grin.

Claudius averted his gaze downward.

"That girl is so strange. She has absolutely no shame, and no pity. She's always smiling."

"... Dia. Do you want to be pitied?"

Claudius raised his head quickly to respond to Ann Duke, but it seemed like his throat was clogged with words, so he closed his mouth.

Then, the words slowly began to drip out, bit by bit.

"I don't understand. Mii says that she's in no way unhappy. When I see that, I... I..."

It seemed like he couldn't say anything more.

Ann Duke quietly drew closer, and gave Claudius a couple of gentle pats on the head.

Ann Duke, Orietta, and the gray-haired king were the only people who could lay a hand on the prince in such a way. When Ann Duke first met Claudius, he was still a baby with crimson hands. He had watched over him as he had grown. Claudius had a special significance to a couple like Ann Duke and Orietta, who had no children of their own.

"If Mimizuku's memories return..." Ann Duke said gently, "she may not be the same Mimizuku that we know now."

"Huh...?"

Claudius looked up, slightly taken aback.

"A person's memory is the one definite substance of their character. The Mimizuku whose memories have returned may be a completely different person from the Mimizuku we know now..."

"I don't want anything like that!!" Claudius shouted unthinkingly.

Ann Duke smiled as if to pacify him.

"But still, I think it would be good for you to make the new Mimizuku your friend as well. Isn't that right?"

"That is... yeah..."

Biting his lip, Claudius nodded. Ann Duke, nodding heavily, continued to talk.

"If Mimizuku's memories return, and she still wants to stay in this country with us... I think I'll make her my daughter."

Claudius's eyes grew wide at Ann Duke's words.

Ann Duke smiled somewhat shyly.

"Of course, only if Mimizuku is okay with it," he added.

"... I want to too..." Claudius looked down and muttered.

"Hm?"

"I wish I could have been born as your and Orietta's child..." he cried out in a tiny voice, like a mosquito's buzz. Ann Duke gave him a strange look.

"You hate your father?"

"I don't hate him!" Claudius yelled. "It's not that I hate him! But for a prince like me to be born like this, I'll only bring unhappiness to the country! For someone like me, who came into this world by killing his own mother..."

Ann Duke smiled and slowly shook his head.

"Don't put your parents on a pedestal like that."

"But..."

"Hey, Claudius."

Ann Duke took a step toward the windowsill, turning his back to Claudius.

"Do you think things would be better if you could move your arms and legs?"

"... Yes. That's what I want. But no matter what this country's magicians do, there's no way they can make my arms and legs move."

"Are you certain of that?"

"Is there a way!?" Claudius asked, clinging to Ann Duke's words.

"... If we had a strong magical power... there could be..." Ann Duke said quietly without turning around.

"Where could anyone get magical power like that!?" Claudius shouted, biting his lip.

Ann Duke turned around and patted Claudius's head once more.

"I'll come again," he said softly.

Even after Ann Duke had removed his hand, Claudius continued to face downward.

"... If I could meet Mii... I'll wait for her to come... Tell her..." He spoke in fragmented sentences. He seemed like he was going to cry, but he was a boy who resisted the urge to shed tears.

After all, he couldn't wipe them away.

"I promise I'll tell her," Ann Duke nodded, exiting Claudius's room.

"Mimizuku, how are you feeling?" Orietta asked Mimizuku, who had just finished a full day of treatment for the purpose of dispelling her curse.

Ann Duke looked on from beside her.

As expected, the King of Night's seal could not be completely dispelled.

''"Frankly, we just can't break through the last wall,"'' Riveil, the head of the Magician Brigade, had said.

''"However, the seal is on its last legs... From the tear we have made in it, there is a possibility that her memory will be reborn."''

Buried in her bed, Mimizuku sluggishly closed her eyes.

"My head hurts..."

"Are you okay?"

With her small body, it was undoubtedly a heavy burden to bear.

"Yeah. I had a dream."

"What kind of dream?" Orietta asked.

Mimizuku opened her dry lips.

"Some one was speaking to me. Forget. Forget. I didn't want to. Don't screw around with me, idiot. Why do I have to forget?"

Seeing Mimizuku say such harsh words in monotone made Orietta smile.

"You don't seem like the usual Mimizuku."

"It's definitely me," Mimizuku answered clearly. "That was my voice."

"Don't screw around with me, idiot..." she said once more, as if to confirm it was really her.

The next day, a rare guest was summoned to Mimizuku's room in the castle.

"Ah, it's been a while. Yep, it was definitely you."

With great humility, he stepped timidly onto the castle's carpet, and couldn't help but crack a smile when he saw Mimizuku. With his plump body and simple clothes, his appearances seemed quite unnatural against the castle's white walls.

"I wonder if you remember me. You and I met in the forest."

"Huh?"

Sitting in her bed, Mimizuku tilted her neck.

Orietta, who had brought the man with her, stepped closer to Mimizuku.

"Mr. Shiira, please tell her in detail what occurred that time."

"Yes, Lady Orietta."

The man called Shiira placed his hat upon his chest and deeply lowered his head to Orietta, then turned to Mimizuku.

"I was in trouble, lost in the forest, but then you suddenly came and spoke to me. I thought you were a monster, and I became very unnerved. But then... you called me 'Grandpa.'"

"Grandpa," Mimizuku parroted back.

Shiira smiled and nodded several times.

"That's right. You then gave me directions. 'Go straight down this river,' you said. Thanks to those words, I was able to get out of the forest."

"Straight down the river..."

"I asked, 'What about you?' But then you misunderstood and answered with your name. I asked in a sense of 'What are you going to do,' but you said 'I'm Mimizuku.'"

"I'm... Mimizuku..."

Something in her head rang out.

''Hm? I'm Mimizuku!''

That voice. Who's voice was it?

"Then I asked, 'Aren't you going to come with me?' But you were delivering a flower, so you said you couldn't. You were holding a very red flower. You gave me the stamen, saying it would ward off monsters."

As Shiira followed his memories, he carefully described the scene.

"Very red..."

"Your hand was soaked with blood. It was an incredibly red flower, like nothing I had seen before."

"Red... flower..."

Sweat began to run down Mimizuku's back. Her heart began to beat faster.

"You said something like... yes, yes, now I remember. You said you had to bring that flower to Fukurou. Mimizuku and Fukurou are associated with each other, so I remembered what you said well."

"Fukurou."

''Alright! Fukurou! I'll call you Fukurou!''

The night was deep.

The darkness was thick.

The moon, was beautiful.

"Fukurou... Fukurou..."

"Mimizuku? What's wrong? Are you okay, Mimizuku?" Orietta asked from beside her. Mimizuku didn't respond, she simply muttered the name to herself over and over.

"Oh? Excuse me, but it seems like the pattern on your head has changed, hasn't it?" Shiira said, taking a closer look at Mimizuku.

"What was there before!?" Orietta asked, surprised.

"Um... when I saw it, it wasn't a pattern, but numbers. Three... 333? No, it was different. It was 332, I think..."

''"I'm number three hundred thirty two!"''

''That was mine.''

''My number.''

"No... no..."

Mimizuku's eyes flew open, and she placed her hands over her ears.

Orietta called her name. However, her words never reached Mimizuku's ears.

"Noooooooooooooooo!!!!"

Mimizuku shrieked in anguish, as though she were dying.

Just like she had on the day she had separated from Fukurou.

Mimizuku vomited. As she cried, she vomited until she was expelling nothing but gastric juices. Orietta held onto her back, but she continued to vomit.

As the muddy waters of her memory engulfed her, she continued to vomit.

She recalled all of her memories once more. She remembered where and when, what she felt, and what she killed.

She couldn't deny her memories. The pain, the suffering. Now, she understood. She understood how closely she had skirted death when she lived in the village. It had all come back to her again.

She couldn't turn away from it anymore. She couldn't abandon her memories any longer.

As she recalled, she searched desperately.

''There had to be a time when someone was kind to me.''

When was it? Surely, it was somewhere.

''I was... treated kindly.''

''Two moons...''

Silver. And then, gold. Moons.

The jangling sound of her shackles. The sound of Mimizuku's world.

''Fukurou.''

She yelled it out into the recesses of her heart.

"How could I forget..."

Mimizuku rolled her hands into fists and screamed.

"Don't just selfishly erase people's memories like that, Fukurou! You idiooooooooot!!"

And then, beside Orietta and her pared eyes, Mimizuku lost consciousness and collapsed.

Meanwhile, underneath the castle, Fukurou, who's vitality and magical power were being squeezed out of him little by little, gave a subdued sigh.

"The idiot is you. Foolish girl..."

It was a small utterance, and no one was there to hear it.

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