CH 336

Loyalty Worth Two Silvers

Day of the Holy Eve Festival, Seventh Bell (7:00 a.m.)

Rewinding the clock back a bit…

“Good morning, milady Bel.”

“Oh, Miss Lynsha. Hello!”

Bel was so excited on the morning of the Holy Eve Festival that it was clear to see.

Can’t say I blame her. The Holy Eve Festival is something that every child looks forward to, Lynsha thought as she smiled at the excited child.

She didn’t have any younger sisters, but this is probably how it would have felt if she had.

But I do wonder. What is her exact relationship to Mia?

Mia said that they were half-sisters, but Lynsha didn’t believe her.

But they do look a lot alike. Maybe an old family member with a complicated story?

What Lynsha liked most about the girl was that she didn’t need much from her. In general, it was hard to take care of noble children. Their servants had to do everything from change their clothes to give them baths. Bel, on the other hand, did everything on her own.

And it’s not like she’s a bad girl or anything, but I wish she wouldn’t always give money to people who have helped her…

She didn’t like that kind of behaviour. Thanking someone with cold, hard cash felt too much like settling a debt or putting things in order, as if all the goodwill the other person had shown you was done and cleared with this gift of money.

People got to know each other by doing nice things for each other over and over again. If someone did  you a good turn, you should do the same for them. Return kindness with kindness. Love by loving.

Lynsha thought that was how it should always be, no matter if it was between friends, parents, or coworkers.

What would happen if you added money to it? If kind acts were paid for with money? It would mean the end of the relationship because it would turn it into a business transaction. After all, transactions came to an end.

The only people left would be the one who offered money and the one who took it in exchange for something they thought was of equal value. She just couldn’t see how that kind of interaction could lead to long-lasting bonds. What really bothered her, though, was…

It’s almost as if she has a deep-seated fear. It’s as if she thinks she won’t always be here, so she’s always preparing for that possibility by paying back every favour as soon as she can, so she can leave at any time and no one will lose out. And she does this with every relationship…

It might have been a legitimate philosophy in life. Definitely stoic, and maybe even in some ways admirable. No one knew for sure if a person they met today would still be there tomorrow, so they always thanked them as soon as they could. Some people thought this was a good way to live.

The problem is that for her, it feels more like giving up. She acts like she knows she could die at any time and plans her life around that.

All of it felt like she had given up, and Lynsha didn’t like that. She thinks that children should have wide-eyed faith in what the future holds. If not everywhere, at least here on Saint-Noel Island.

And yet…

Still, that’s fine. When it’s time to say goodbye, if she tries to give me money, I’ll just put it back in her pocket. Then I’ll give her a serious talk about how you should thank people with your words, not your money. As a last lesson, that should stick in your mind.

When Lynsha thought about that, she let out a happy sigh.

Day of the Holy Eve Festival, (8:00 a.m.)

“Greetings, Bel.”

Bel was having breakfast in the cafeteria when Citrina walked up behind him. Lynsha looked at the face of the young Yellowmoon and frowned.

Something is wrong with her smile. It’s always so sweet and charming, but today it seems a little stiff…

“Hm? Why are you sad, Rina? You look a little down,” Bel said, as if she had also noticed the difference.

“Down? No, I’m perfectly fine. What’s more, look, Bel.”

Citrina pointed to something small that was hanging around her neck.

“I figured I’d wear it since it’s Holy Eve. How is it?”

Bel was happy about the horse charm she’d made.

“Oh, it’s the troya! Heh, heh, I’m glad you’re wearing it.”

“Yes, that’s right, and I’d like to thank you. Do you have time to go out for a walk with Rina today around noon?”

“Go out?”

“Mmhm. Remember the last time we had a picnic in the woods? I thought that was a lot of fun, so I think we should do it again. There’s nothing to do until the candlelight mass anyway?”

“I’m happy to go, but isn’t the forest closed now?”

“This is where the poisonous mushrooms grow, but we can still get into the clearing near the entrance. I went there not too long ago to check.”

Citrina had the most beautiful smile.

“This clearing is so beautiful, Bel. Why don’t we go see it? Do you not want to go now?”

“Mmm, okay! Then let’s go. Heh, this sounds like fun.”

Bel also smiled.

Lynsha did not. The two girls’ conversation sent a slow chill up her spine. In fact, it had been making its way up her back ever since she met Citrina. She knew the girl’s voice right away.

Instead, she got what it was about. It was a lot like the seductive way her brother Lambert, who was a bit of a troublemaker, talked to people when he was trying to get them to do something.

She spoke up because, deep down, she was afraid.

“If that’s the case, I’ll come with you, miss.”

She looked at both Citrina and Barbara, as if she were trying to scare them away with her eyes.

“That would be very helpful. I just so happen to have plans for the afternoon.”

Barbara made no attempt to object.

Lynsha was shocked by this lack of care.

“Then I’ll leave Lady Citrina in your care,” the older woman said as she bowed her head to show respect.

Day of the Holy Eve Festival, First Bell Second Sequence (1:00 p.m.)

After lunch, Bel and Citrina went to the forest, and Lynsha went with them.

Like the other said, the entrance through the woods was not guarded, so it was easy for the three of them to get to the clearing beyond. She hadn’t been here in a long time, but since then, it had turned into full winter, giving the scenery a frosty look.

Maybe it’s because no one else is here. After all, the festival is the reason why the town is so busy. Today, it’s hard to think of anyone visiting a place like this.

Citrina looked around and said, “Hmm, it seems a little more lonely here than the last time we were here.”

She groaned.

“It’s too bad. What do you think, Bel? Let’s go a little further into the forest.”

“Hm? Deeper? But if one of the patrols finds us, won’t we get in trouble?”

“Don’t be afraid. We will be okay. We’re not doing anything wrong, right?”

Citrina grabbed Bel’s hand and pulled it. At first, Bel was hesitant, but she finally agreed with a smile.

Lynsha was excited as she watched the two people run towards the woods. She took a small sigh of relief and thought, “That’s more like it.”

The faces of children should always look like that.

She told the two girls to come over.

“Milady, Miss Citrina, don’t run too far away now. It’s—”

The whole world shook.

She felt the pain in a split second. Whatever had hit her in the head was heavy and made her weak. Her knees buckled.

“Ah… Ah…”

She couldn’t even scream before she could no longer see anything.

“Miss Lynsha!”

Bel’s voice seemed to come from very far away.

“Milady…run…”

Even though she tried with everything she had left, she could only manage a hoarse whisper. It slipped out of her mouth and fell to the ground, where it was much too weak to reach Bel.

“I won’t let you kill Miss Lynsha!”

The voice that Lynsha heard was still Bel’s. But it came from right above her, and it was sharper and fiercer than anything else she had heard from the girl.

Then there was a second voice. It was a dismissive laugh of an old woman.

“Ha ha ha, you won’t let me? Who do you think you are? A princess? Think you could just tell me to stop?”

The old woman laughed in a quiet way.

“Silliness. Such silliness. What’s the point of not killing her, hm?”

The voice had a squeezing, thick quality to it. It wrapped itself around the listener like a tar worm. Bel’s, on the other hand, was as clear as a bell.

“…If you don’t kill Miss Lynsha, I won’t make a fuss and will go with you. You’re not trying to kill me, right? You want to use me as a pawn to get to Miss Mia.”

“…Oh? Little Miss Bel, you’re smarter than I thought.”

“Right now, if you kill Miss Lynsha, I will fight you with everything I have. Then what do you plan to do? You can knock me out, but I think that would cause you other problems…”

The voice of the old woman cackled.

“Very smart indeed. In fact, it’s too much. You surprise me. The original plan was to drug you, but it’s true that if you helped us get out of here, it would be much easier.”

After a short pause, she went on, but all her words did was beat Bel’s conscience.

“Very well. This girl will be okay. At least for now. She can’t move or call for help because of the wound. She is probably going to die anyway. The harder she tries, the worse her pain gets. Right now, a quick death might be a mercy, but if that’s what you want, too bad. What a shame. If she hadn’t gotten involved with you, she wouldn’t be in such a mess.”

A deal had been made, and Lynsha thought she heard Bel crouching down next to her.

“…Thank you, Miss Lynsha, for everything.”

Then she felt something being pushed down her collar and heard a light rustle of fabric.

It was freezing. Metallic.

She immediately knew what it was.

Two coins of silver.

“This is…all the thanks I can say right now. I apologise. I really feel bad about this. That this is how it had to end. I really hope everything will be okay.”

The sound of footsteps got fainter as they got farther away.

Then, the last bits of her consciousness left as well.

“Freaking hell, that stupid girl and her stupid coins…”

When Lynsha woke up, she heard herself cussing. She didn’t know how long it had been since she left.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her eyes to open. And the pain. The dried blood that had run down her forehead had stuck her eyes shut. Pain kept coming back.

Her head hurt, which made her clench her teeth.

She tried to force herself up to her knees, but as soon as she did, she felt like she was floating. She then fell back down onto her side.

She tried again, but when she fell, it hurt even more.

On her third try, she got up, but three steps later, she tripped and fell hard.

She realised that trying to move was making things worse as she lay there confused and with more bruises. She might do better to wait until someone comes to find her. To keep an eye on the poisonous mushrooms, patrols were set up. There was a good chance that someone would see her when they switched shifts.

That wasn’t fast enough, though.

So she moved forward. She dragged her body along the ground and kept going.

She steadied up the thick root of a tree, but mostly she crawled. She sat on it, out of breath, and felt anger rise up in her chest.

“Give…thanks? To hell… with your thanks… If you want to thank me… do it the right way… I’m not interested…in your silver… I didn’t…take this job to get your money.”

The anger hit her in the chest and pushed her forward. Her consciousness kept coming and going. She growled at it, and it stilled, as if scared. She could only go on because of anger, so she fed it.

The anger grew. Bel, yes, but mostly at herself for not being able to protect her. She kept going.

“I was… there with her… but… it still happened…this way…”

Even though she was supposed to be the guardian, it was Bel who kept her safe. To be taken care of and paid for her trouble…

It made her mad. She laughed without any humour all of a sudden.

“Well…but…then again…it’s my fault.. I’m the one who… let her get taken… Maybe… I’m worth exactly two silver coins…”

She bit her teeth together. Even though her head was spinning and her jaw hurt, she did not stop.

She dragged herself along the forest floor, inch by painful inch, driven by a fierce loyalty to her young mistress. It wasn’t love, but it was just as strong.

“So… you’re telling me… that my loyalty… is only worth two silvers… Okay… I’ll show you… what you can buy… with two silvers in this business…”

She slowly disappeared into the thicket and headed for Saint-Noel Academy and help.

Translator’s Note:

Couldn’t stop myself from adding that pic. Bel at her finest moment.