PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 2
Why, hello. Here we are again.
This is the third…no, the fourth time I’ve run into you here, I believe.
Hmm? Ah, it’s the fifth? Beg pardon. I forgot.
I’m quite easygoing, you see; I’m no good at remembering times and things. Don’t be angry with me.
That’s right, it’s my temperament.
Well, well. You even have a rather fine tea ready for us today.
Such consideration really lifts the spirits. Yes, it’s delicious.
You know, I didn’t think you had it in you to be this considerate.
…Whoops. My apologies. I shouldn’t have said that, even if it was exactly what I was thinking.
Ah, and I see that may have been best left unsaid as well. I do apologize. Don’t be angry.
I tend to say just what I’m thinking, without softening the edges. Yes, that’s temperament as well.
Oh, I see. You didn’t prepare this tea? It was a present?
Hmm. Then you really are… No, never mind.
Now then, you were waiting for me. What sort of story did you want today?
…………
I see. About life, hmm? That’s a rather broad topic…
Is something troubling you?
Oho. You may have found your life partner.
That’s wonderful. My sincere congratulations.
Ah, but you aren’t sure whether you should accept this individual’s suit?
Hmm, yes, that’s a knotty problem.
Life is long and filled with hardship. In order to see it through without regret, you need a partner who’s irreplaceable.
If you choose the wrong one, though… That’s right, it will all come to nothing.
Well, now. Let’s see.
…In that case, why don’t I tell you about several examples I’m familiar with, stories of individuals and their respective partners?
You might not think it to look at me, but observing such people is a hobby of mine.
Use them as references, if you would, to help make your own life a happy one.
All right. Then I’ll begin.
Behold that flower
Blooming in night’s shade,
its petals tinged with blue,
yet noble still…
ONE WEEKEND.
It was after school, and soft sunlight streamed into the library.
Lutwidge Academy set great store by tradition and formality, and none of its students were the type who made noise in libraries. There were many students in the hall, with its rows of stacks, but the only sounds were hushed conversations and soft footfalls, and nothing disturbed the tranquil atmosphere.
Boys wore white swallowtail coats, navy blue vests, and white trousers, while girls wore white blazers and skirts.
The sun-warmed library was filled with the distinctive scent of books.
“You’re borrowing that one again. You really like it, don’t you?”
A boy with one tuft of hair that flipped straight up, right in front, pulled a book from one of the shelves, earning that remark from the shaggy-haired classmate who stood next to him.
The boy drew his eyebrows together slightly, directing a sharp glance at his neighbor.
“…What’s wrong with that? Good stuff is good no matter how many times you read it.”
“The title’s fairly hackneyed.
Holy Knight
.”
“
Classic.
Call it
classic.
”
As the boy argued back, he tucked the book he’d taken under his elbow.
He had no way to see his classmate’s face, hidden as it was by his long, untrimmed hair and glasses. However, after spending two years with him, the boy knew his expressions like the back of his own hand. …He knew he’d be feigning ignorance, straight-faced.
“Don’t be mad. I was just stating my opinion, Elliot. I’m not criticizing your tastes.”
At his classmate’s nonchalant answer, the boy—Elliot—clicked his tongue irritably.
Elliot Nightray, aged sixteen.
He was a son of the House of Nightray, one of the four great dukedoms that held tremendous power in this country, and, at present, he was a fourth-year student at Lutwidge Academy.
He was high-minded, severe, and outspoken.
He had strong-willed eyebrows, sharp eyes, and platinum blonde hair that took on a blue tint when the light hit it just right. All these things combined to make this boy, in his Lutwidge Academy uniform, seem somehow difficult to approach.
Some considered the teardrop mole at the outside corner of his left eye to be one of his charms, but it didn’t do much to soften his sharp appearance.
“Listen up, Leo. See, the Holy Knight series is…”
Elliot began to speak, his voice filled with enthusiasm.
However, his classmate—Leo—briskly put out a hand and cut him off, saying, “I don’t need to hear that again, thanks.”
Leo was also sixteen.
He was from the House of Fianna, a home for orphans operated by the Nightrays.
Two years before, Elliot, who’d been having trouble choosing a valet, had encountered him in the House of Fianna’s bookroom. Immediately thereafter, they’d quarreled at the top of their lungs… Following that worst of all possible first meetings, after several twists and turns and over the objections of those around him, Elliot had chosen Leo to be his valet.
Leo might have been a valet, but he treated Elliot like an equal and did just as he pleased. He never gave a thought to his master’s convenience. He looked calm and collected, but in Elliot’s words, he was actually “touchy and quarrelsome,” and it wasn’t at all uncommon for him to pepper his master with sharp words.
The phrase that best described Leo would have been “incurable bookworm.”
Actually, even “incurable” might have been an understatement.
Leo picked up the sentence he’d made Elliot drop:
“The Holy Knight series is an ode to heroism that sets up an ideal for nobles, knights, and other chosen ones by following the footsteps of the protagonist, Edwin, and is a textbook for ‘how men should live,’ et cetera. You’ve told me a million times, and anyway, I’ve read through it myself, so I know.”
On hearing this, said indifferently and all at once, Elliot looked a bit daunted.
He snorted crossly, then sent a mild glare at the five thick books Leo was hugging to his chest.
“So, what are
you
borrowing? Five of ’em at once…”
“Oh, these?”
As Leo explained, a cheerful buoyancy shone through his unaffected words.
“This one’s a mystery novel,
Festival of the Double Helix
. People say the author’s style is old-fashioned, but his descriptions have real depth, and I like that. This is a classic about logic, this is a biology text about the ecology of reptiles, and then there’s a dictionary of names, and—”
“Hold it. I already know you read crazy stuff that’s all over the map, but what’s the point of reading a dictionary of names? It’s just…names.”
Elliot cut in, looking dumbfounded. Leo smiled.
“It’s interesting. When I’m reading, I think about the names and imagine what sort of lives the people lived. This will keep me entertained for a week.”
“……Book nut.”
Leo seemed mystified by Elliot’s mutter. “What’s odd about that?”
Everything
, Elliot thought, but he grimaced and said,
“Knock yourself out.” The two moved away from the stacks. Leo already had a book open and was starting to read. “Control yourself until we get back to our room,” Elliot warned him.
The two of them went to the information corner and completed the check-out procedures. Elliot finished first, and while Leo was checking out his five books, he stood a little ways away, looking cross.
“………”
Abruptly, Elliot turned back and took a long look at the shelf that held the Holy Knight series.
The volume he’d taken had left a gap like a missing tooth.
“What’s the matter, Elliot?”
Leo spoke to him; he’d finished the procedures. Elliot shook his head, absently.
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
He and Leo left the library.
The corridor was filled with students spending their afterschool hours as they pleased. Unlike in the library, loud, cheerful, lively voices joined in animated conversations here and there. Several students sneaked surreptitious glances at Elliot. Evading them coldly, Elliot began to walk.
Just then, from beside him, Leo murmured, “Oh, that’s right.”
When Elliot glanced at him, Leo was awkwardly balancing his stack of five books, with one hand in the back pocket of his coat. Then:
“Here, this is for you.”
Carelessly, Leo held the object he’d extracted out to Elliot.
It was a deep blue leather bookmark, with a design stamped on it in gold foil.
“………What’s this?”
