PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 2 (3 page)

Having received permission, even as she exuded impatience to begin immediately, the girl took the time to calmly, slowly raise her teacup to her lips. Not a single student complained about this pretentious behavior. All that happened was that the atmosphere of expectation grew stronger.

The girl returned her teacup to the table, drew a breath, and spoke.

“Today, I chanced to witness ‘Master Blue Rose’ sneezing.”

Immediately…

A collective cry of “Oh,
my
!” rose from the tables. On hearing that report, all the girls around the tables began talking at
once. Although perfectly proper and chaste, their voices held delight and enthusiasm.

“But how rare!”

“Yes, it is quite rare.”

“Is it rarer than when his stomach was heard to growl the other day, I wonder?”

“I think it’s a close thing. For myself, I really couldn’t say which is superior.”

“Wait, my dears. The important bit is what came after.”

“Of course, as you say.”

“Yes, the highlight of the stomach growl was when Master Blue Rose blushed.”

“That raised the score significantly.”

“Our spirited Master Blue Rose, and his cheeks were as red as apples…”

“Ah, how I would have loved to be there.”

“Truly.”

“Truly.”

“Truly.”

“—And?”

Josephine, who’d been watching the discussion that seemed set to go on forever, gravely questioned the girl who’d reported the sneeze.

“How was it? What did Master Blue Rose do following the sneeze?”

The girl nodded. The other girls turned their attention to the continuation of the report; no one interrupted.

For a brief moment, silence reigned on the terrace. Then:

“‘The other’ was beside him, and came very near to wiping his nose with a kerchief…”

“Yes?” The girls leaned in.

“…And he swung his fist and warded him off!”

Once again, cries of “Oh,
my
!” rang out. They were much louder than before.

The girls’ delighted discussion sprang to life again. True, the score for a blushing, embarrassed Master Blue Rose was quite high. However, everyone assembled here agreed that, aesthetically, his virtues were his spirit and his pride.

“Then it’s unanimous. No doubt this report will shine brilliantly in the annals of the Blue Rose Club.”

At Josephine’s words, statements of “No objection” and elegant applause rose from every table.

THE BLUE ROSE CLUB.

This was what the group of girls who met on the terrace in the afternoons to discuss the individual known as “Master Blue Rose” called themselves.

Very few people at Lutwidge Academy knew of the group’s existence. This was due in large part to the fact that its activities were secret, and not conducted publically. At present, most of the participants gathered here were from the upper forms, girls from the fifth and sixth years.

Their formal name was The Society of Young Ladies who Admire Master Blue Rose.

Who was this Master Blue Rose, and who was “the other” who had appeared in the report?

Well…

“Elliot? What’s the matter? You hunched up all of a sudden.”

A room in the boys’ dorm.

Leo spoke to Elliot, who was sprawled on the bed reading
Holy Knight
.

Leo was sitting on the floor, leaning against the edge of the bed. His hands held the biology text he’d just checked out. As they’d been reading, Elliot had suddenly flinched, quite violently, and hunched his shoulders.

Elliot sat up, leaving the book open, and shook his head, answering awkwardly. “…Dunno.”

Leo didn’t seem terribly interested.

“You do things like that sometimes, you know.”

“Nah, I just got this abrupt chill… Made me shiver.”

“Ah-ha-ha. Weirdo.”

“Shut up.”

“Make sure you don’t catch cold. I don’t want to have to take care of you.”

“Hey. Valets don’t say stuff like that.”

“Well, I’d wrap a leek around your neck, at least.”

When Leo mentioned this “time-honored folk remedy” which he’d read about in a book, Elliot grimaced. “……A leek?” “Mm-hmm,” Leo muttered briefly, and that ended their discussion of the chill.

Leo’s eyes returned to the book in his hand, and he immersed himself in reading again—

…Or he seemed to.

“Someone could be talking about you. You are pretty famous.”

He spoke without lifting his eyes from the book.

Elliot snorted. He glanced at the room’s window.

“…Stupid,” he muttered irritably.

“I saw Master Blue Rose act as arbitrator in a bullying incident.”

The report that followed the sneeze dealt with the recent incident in the maple grove.

However, the report drew several comments—“I saw that as well,” “So did I”—and the girl who had made it looked slightly disappointed.

Still:

“Risking himself to protect the weak is a fine example of Master Blue Rose behavior.”

At Josephine’s praise, the girl who’d made the report broke into a happy smile.

At the words “fine example,” the other girls nodded in agreement:
That’s true.
Then the cheerful, lively discussion started up again.

A short while later, as if she’d been waiting for the gathering’s enthusiasm to die down somewhat, Josephine spoke.

“Now then, my dears. I have another splendid piece of news for you today.”

Those words made her the focus of the girls’ attention. They were unable to hide their building expectations:
“Splendid news”? …Could it be…?
Josephine, her face composed, lifted her teacup to her lips and quietly drained its contents.

Returning the teacup to the table in a picture-perfect gesture, she slipped her index and middle fingers into the breast pocket of her white blazer.

Slowly, she drew them out. Pinched between her fingertips was a folded scrap of paper.

“We received a letter from Gardener ‘M’ today.”

At Josephine’s words, a dainty commotion filled the terrace. These letters were the most precious and important element of the Blue Rose Club’s activities.

The identity of the sender, Gardener “M,” was unknown. The letters always warned them not to pry.

However, the important thing wasn’t Gardener “M”’s identity. The letters that were sent regularly to the Blue Rose Club held detailed, pitch-perfect descriptions of a Master Blue Rose the girls could never know, including his life in the boys’ dorm, which they were forbidden to enter.

Finding herself the focus of all those expectant stares, Josephine opened the scrap of paper, taking her time and acting particularly self-important. It was a single sheet of stationery.

“I shall read it aloud. ‘This morning, in the cafeteria, some vegetables he didn’t like showed up at breakfast. When he tried to leave them, his valet admonished him. As he stuffed his face, annoyed, he looked like a lordly squirrel’—”

At every anecdote that was read to them, the Blue Rose Club members raised their voices in admiration and praise.

When she’d read the letter through, taking plenty of time, Josephine told them, “That is all.”

After they’d listened the whole way through, “Satisfaction!” was written on every girl’s face. The older girls’ skin even seemed a bit brighter and smoother.

Josephine wound up the affair by saying that the day’s meeting had been another good, fruitful one, and then:

“I think it’s time we dispersed for today.”

She adjourned the meeting. …However, almost immediately, she seemed to remember something. Her eyes turned in a certain direction.

“Matilda. You stay here, please.”

At the other end of Josephine’s gaze, the girl called Matilda nodded wordlessly.

Unusually for a member of the group, Matilda had remained silent throughout the reports on Master Blue Rose and the ensuing discussion. As a rule, she spoke only a few words, and she had so little presence that she seemed a bit ghostlike, but she was a legitimate member of the Blue Rose Club.

The other girls exchanged cheerful good-byes and went their separate ways. As evening approached, only the two of them remained on the terrace. Under a sky that had begun to turn vermilion, Josephine smiled and walked over to Matilda, calling her name in confidential tones. “Matilda.”

“……Yes, Josephine-sama.”

“How is Project Coronation progressing?”

“Smoothly. The day of Master Blue Rose’s coronation is drawing near.”

“—I see.”

Smiling in satisfaction at Matilda’s words, Josephine patted her head.

“That’s marvelous.”

THE FIRST MORNING OF THE WEEK.

As she sat up in bed in her dim room, the girl yawned.

“Fua……”

The sky she glimpsed through the gap in the curtains was cloudy. It looked as if it might rain at any minute.

The girl’s name was Ada Vessalius. She was eighteen.

A daughter of the House of Vessalius, one of the four great dukedoms, she was currently in her sixth year at Lutwidge Academy, a student in the highest grade. At school, she belonged to the disciplinary committee.

This was one of the secondary Vessalius residences, and it was located quite close to the school. On the weekends, Ada returned to this mansion, then went to school from there.

She had the same blond hair as her brother and features that, although they’d grown to match her age, still held
something childlike. Even though she’d been born into a family that was in a position of supreme authority as one of the four great dukedoms, she was pleasant and kind to others and had a generous personality, and sometimes her friends said she was too open and trusting.

Today, Ada had awakened thirty minutes earlier than usual. For that reason, perhaps, she was still a bit sleepy.

Still: Today was an important day. She mustn’t sleep in.

“Good morning, Snowdrop and Kitty.”

She greeted her two pet cats, who were on top of the comforter, watching her. The cats responded with simultaneous mews.

When Ada stirred restlessly, they leapt lightly down from the bed to the floor.

Ada pushed the comforter back and climbed out of bed, too. She stretched luxuriously. Then, with impeccable timing, there was a knock at the door. Yesterday, she’d told a servant at what time she’d be waking up this morning, and that servant called to her through the door: “My lady, your breakfast is ready.”

“Coming,” said Ada. She put on a dressing gown over her nightclothes and started for the door.

After a light breakfast in the dining room, Ada changed into her uniform and left the mansion. The two cats followed her. At the front door, Ada turned to the cats, crouching down as they tried to come out.

Holding up an index finger, she lectured them, speaking slowly and clearly.

“No, Snowdrop. No, Kitty. I can’t take you to school with me.”

The cats mewed, as if asking “Why?”

“Discipline Reinforcement Week starts today. I’m on the
disciplinary committee. If I take you with me, I’ll be setting a bad example.

“
Understand?
” she asked them, making doubly sure.

It was Discipline Reinforcement Week, and this was the all-important first day. That was why she’d gotten up early.

It wasn’t clear whether or not the cats had understood what Ada told them. They just mewed.

“You two be good. Mind the house for me. All right, I’ll be back.”

On that note, Ada closed the front door and set off briskly.

She walked down the flagstone avenue in front of the mansion. When she’d gone a short ways, she turned, just once, peeking back at the mansion. The door was closed. Were the cats on the other side, mewing with loneliness? She resolved to play with them for a good long time when she came home again.

“Okay. I’ve got to hurry.”

Murmuring to herself, Ada returned her gaze to the end of the avenue.

It would be terrible if she were to be late during Discipline Reinforcement Week. As a member of the disciplinary committee, she had to model the rules of Lutwidge Academy for the other students. To that end, she thought, she had to discipline herself constantly.

Onii-chan, I’m doing my best!

Silently, she called to her big brother, Oz Vessalius, who’d been missing for a decade.