Chapter 47

 

 

 

Chapter 47

 

A delicious smell came from somewhere.

The smell of steamed wheat reminiscent of the meat and bean buns Yuki bought and ate on the way home from school stimulated her nasal cavity. Her stomach suddenly remembered its hunger and began contracting.

“…Nngh.”

Yuki had fallen asleep in the chair at the bloodied table. The realization she had lost consciousness yet again frightened her. The lasting effects of extreme drowsiness weighed on her eyelids and tempted her back into the folds of sleep.

“Oh no. Did I wake you?”

Something slipped from her shoulders and coldness came with its absence. Out of her partially cracked eyes, she saw a blanket slip and wrap around the chair’s armrest.

“Good time to wake up though. I brought your food.”

“…Selena.”

Selena sat opposite of Yuki. The servants must have cleaned up Rhad’s blood because it was gone and Selena didn’t act like she knew about it. When her eyes met Yuki’s she laughed.

“Silly, Yuki. There’s a red mark on your forehead from sleeping with your face pressed against the table!” Her light-purple hair tied in a high ponytail shook with her laughter. Yuki vacantly stared at her.

…She acts like nothing happened. Yuki rubbed her forehead and smiled derisively. No, Selena is acting as she always has. The one who changed was Yuki. She knew what she hadn’t before.

“I brought your food. Would you rather get in bed and sleep? Or eat in bed?” Selena asked, worriedly peering at Yuki’s tensed face.

Yuki forced her lips to move into an awkward smile. “Either way ends with me in bed.”

“It does. Because whether you’re talking to me or eating, you still fall asleep midway. Want me to help you to bed?”

Yuki shook her head. “I’m not going to sleep. I’ll eat at the table.”

“If that’s what you want,” Selena conceded and placed the food tray on the table in front of her. She picked up a steamed roll and offered it to Yuki.

“Thanks.” Yuki accepted the roll and bit into it.

Trust… Rhad’s words clung to her mind like tar. I shouldn’t trust her?

Selena watched her eat with an almost motherly smile. Yuki had been with her and Vigo for months now. The trip to the capital was about the only time she had been separated from them.

Why did they keep my power a secret? Why didn’t they tell me? We had plenty of time alone together. Yuki looked questioningly at Selena who tilted her head in return.

“What’s wrong, Yuki? Does it taste bad?”

Yuki gave her head a small shake.

What if I ask her and she tells me it was because I would be a more efficient tool by not knowing? What if once they know I’ve found out, they change their attitude toward me?

Things might not stay as they were should she confront them about their silence. Their attitude and kindness toward her could drastically change. If those were the options, she preferred not to know the answer. Ignorance was far more blissful when knowing might reveal they were using Yuki all along.

Why did he have to say that?

Rhad warned her about it after careful consideration of what the situation meant for Yuki. He interacted with her honestly, laying out where he stood and what he wanted from her. She should be grateful to him for telling her and not angry because she didn’t like what he had said. Rhad literally put his own flesh and blood on the line to give her undeniable proof she had powers. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him. But she wanted to believe in Selena and Vigo too.

Because if I don’t, everything until now will become a lie.

Yuki stuffed her mouth with the steamed roll. She tried to swallow a whole chunk without chewing and it got stuck in her throat. Tears misted her eyes as she choked it back. Selena rushed out of the room to get her a glass of water.

Everything they did for her until now had been for her valuable power.

The way they treasured and cared for her was all because they would be inconvenienced if their useful tool became unusable if she hurt herself. They yelled and got angry when she took action alone and started controlling and limiting how much she could go out. Out of concern? No, because they feared her learning she had power and value. They feared others learning of her power and using her instead.

Just as Selena came and made sure she properly ate and didn’t choke to death—it was all to make sure she could still be put to use. They were going to squeeze every last bit of energy out of her until she curled up and died. Isn’t that what Rhad said others would do if they found out?

If they were using her for those reasons, caring for her to use her, then….

I couldn’t bear it.

Tears ran down her cheeks and salted her roll.

***

IS it supposed to be a happy occasion when you realize you have powers no one else does? Yuki wished she had lived out her life without ever knowing. She lay with her chest sprawled on the table and her butt firmly planted in the plush chair that had become her rotting place.

“Yuki, is it just me or are you extremely out of sorts today?”

The sound of china clattering against the table and the subtle fragrance of tea nudged at her to pry herself from the table. “You…think so?”

Selena was absolutely right. Yuki was aware of the truth of those words too—not that she would admit it. No longer could she interact with patients the same way she had until Rhad’s revelation. Were she capable of interacting with the patients the same way, it would have activated her powers in the most natural form. However, once made aware of the existence of her power, the natural way in which she interacted with the patients escaped her.

“Well, it’s a given you’d be feeling flustered,” Selena said, speaking of a different source than the one affecting Yuki. She stroked Yuki’s hair. “You still feel under the weather, don’t you? You should prioritize getting some good rest in.”

Selena’s long fingers ran through her hair, rousing the sleepiness in her.

“…Unfortunately, it looks like she won’t have time to rest,” came Rhad’s voice. Yuki lifted herself from the table. Rhad knocked on the door left open for fresh air.

“Why’s that?” Selena asked.

“Good news came.” Something squeezed Yuki’s heart. “You have been summoned to the castle, Lady Yuki.”

She jumped out of her chair. A terrifyingly amused expression lit Rhad’s face.

***

 

THE leaves began to change color and fall off the trees—the season had switched to fall. Yuki arrived in Aridol just as the flowers started to bloom across the land—early spring. Being separated from Luca and the others happened as the heat started setting in—the early summer. By the time she realized it, several seasons had come and gone.

With a thin shawl wrapped around her shoulders, Yuki opened the balcony door. Frigid air swept into the room. Fresh air filtered inside the room brimming with her frustration and gloom.

Sighing, she stepped out on the balcony and gazed at the sky dotted by stars. The night sky warped as she looked at it through sleepy, lazy eyes. Drowsiness incessantly beckoned Yuki. Every waking moment was marked by a strong pull to return to sleep. But she didn’t want to sleep.

Someone knocked on the door to her chambers.

“Come in,” she replied without looking. The door creaked as it opened. Boots clacked against the marble behind her. Still, she kept her eyes on the stars. “Sorry for calling you to see me at this hour.”

“Nonsense. I am actually honored to have you summon me. It makes me aware of how much trust you have come to put in me, Lady Yuki,” said a clear, sweet voice.

Deeply inhaling the chilly air, she turned around, putting her back to the stars. “I have something I want to say to you.”

“…What can I do for you? The events of the morrow are already—”

She shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek. What should she say? There was much she wanted to tell him, but vexation niggled at her as the words she sought always eluded her at important times.

“…Rhad, you told me not to put my trust in Selena and Vigo,” she started, piecing her thoughts together as she spoke. “I’ve thought about a lot of things since you said that. What do they actually want to do? What do they want to make me do?”

Yuki’s heart pounded in her ears. An icy breeze whisked passed her as though it were trying to drown out the sound.

“I really did think about it from different angles… Are they actually only using me as a nifty little tool like you said? Even if they are, I can’t say I’m much different when I used them as a method of safe travel from Rvydom to Adolunde.” The wind whipped up her hair and wove its way through her locks and brushed by her ear.

“Rhad, you told me not to put my trust in the two of them, correct?” she repeated, searching for his confirmation.

“I did,” he replied, standing in the balcony doorway.

“I know you said as such out of concern for my well-being. But I can’t do it. Even if they are just using me, I care for them. I want things to remain as they have been forever.”

“…You have an eccentric sense of loyalty and trust.”

Disdain seeped through his smile, but she pretended not to notice. “I’m a master of baseless trust after all.”

“Do you believe the world is devoid of bad people?”

“I don’t,” she answered with a smile. “Papa—my father used to say humans possess good and evil inside them. Just that the scale weighs more heavily on one side for everyone.”

When did Kaito share his advice with Yuki?

Papa said those words when I tried to quit archery.

Participating in tournaments meant standing in the public’s eye. A child whose appearance hadn’t changed for years taking part in tournaments was a source of fear for those who didn’t know better. Cruelty from heartless people eventually wore Yuki down and made her want to quit. They disparaged her as not being human and cursed at her to get out of the limelight. She endured the curses, the bullying, and the poor treatment until their malice escalated to the point of hindering the tournament itself.

“Despite everything they have done, Yuki, you mustn’t hate those people,” Kaito instructed, hugging his crying daughter whose archery bag had been torn to shreds.

“…It is frighteningly simple to hate someone. But nothing good will come of such hatred. So I will remain liking those two. Even if they have ill intentions towards me, I will believe in their good,” she proclaimed. Getting it off her chest was refreshing. “Anyway, even if they are using me, they only did so to help patients infected with the Ten Day Fever. Besides, had I known about my power sooner, I would’ve still wanted to use it for the sick.”

That’s right. Why did I worry so much over this?

Rhad took her challenge with an embittered expression. “Can you still say that when doing so is eating away at your life?”

“Excuse me?”

“The more you use your power the greater the drain on you. You are exhausting your stamina and your lifeforce… Are you still willing to save people you don’t know at the cost of your life?”

His question had a familiar ring to it.

“Die for your country and your people.”

Those cruel words somehow warmed her heart. Pasch loved his people and country so much he thought the guilt and price of sacrificing one person could save them from war. Yuki wondered what he was doing now. She smiled to herself. Things were different now. She had interacted with the people of this world. Their warmth and kindness were things she knew.

“If using this power brings happiness to the people of this world, I’ll happily make use of it. I’d be satisfied even if it results in my death.”

Because I have nothing outside of this power.

Yuki had neither friend nor family in this world who would mourn her death. The people on Earth wouldn’t even know if she died. As it was, they might have already written her off as dead.

“If I came to this land for such a reason—should it be my fate—I’ll happily accept it.”

Because I feel an anomaly like myself will finally be accepted somewhere by doing so.

“…You told me because it’s killing me. Thank you.” Moved by his kindness, her cheeks softened into a smile. “Should I die, be sure to let Selena and Vigo meet Luca. This is a must. Promise me?”

Rhad’s face contorted as a deeper bitterness filled him. Staring at her like she was an unbelievable fool, he spat, “I will not allow you to die until you wake Prince Luca.”

“Then you’d better hurry up and make it possible for me to go where Luca is sleeping,” she grinned and turned on her heel, dismissing him. Once again, she turned her eyes to the stars not unlike the ones seen from Earth.

For the longest time she had searched for the reason she was sent to this world.

To save those afflicted with the Ten Day Fever and…rescue Luca.

Would rescuing Luca lead to him cooperating with Rvydom and putting an end to the wars plaguing Aridol?

If that’s the reason why I’m in this world, then—