WTBFCY Chapter 22

Fortunately, no black fairies attacked again after that. However, Regina stepped off the train at the station looking wilted as boiled spinach, having lost sleep from the anxiety and fear that black fairies might strike at any moment.

"Did we finally arrive? Is this the Epola Barony?"

She set her luggage on the ground and patted her stiff shoulders as she asked the question. Noah nodded lightly. The quiet afternoon train station held only one elderly stationmaster napping. Besides Noah and Regina, no one else seemed to be around.

"Yeah. We're moving immediately, so grab your luggage and follow me."

"Ugh, train travel really doesn't suit me."

Regina grumbled as she picked up the luggage she'd just set down and followed behind Noah. The moment they exited the station, she gasped at the vast plains spreading before her. The Evelyn Barony wasn't exactly developed either, but at least it wasn't this empty—not so open that you could see in all directions without a single building.

"Wow, there's nothing here. It's really just wide fields. I can't even see a forest!"

"Heh heh, you can't see it from here, but there's a very large forest near the Baron Epola's estate."

"Holy—! Oh, hello. Good afternoon."

Regina had been shielding her eyes with the back of her hand while looking the other direction when the unfamiliar voice startled her. She whipped around to look. An old man sat slouched in a chair with a worn pipe in his mouth, looking up at them. He'd been sitting in the shadow by the wall, which was why she hadn't spotted him immediately.

"Good afternoon, miss. You two heading into town? I can give you a ride for three coins."

When the old man tipped his shabby hat slightly in response to Regina's greeting and asked his question, Noah nodded and pulled coins from his pocket to hand over. The old man reached out to accept the money, then slowly stood and walked toward the back of the station at a leisurely pace.

"Wait here. I'll bring the horse."

Regina craned her neck to watch where the old man had gone with his heh heh laugh. When she saw the old horse and cart he led back, her expression turned complicated.

"...It's not a carriage?"

The wooden cart even had a pile of dry straw stacked in it. Regina pointed at the cart with her finger and looked at Noah, but he just shrugged and walked over to load their luggage before settling himself in. The old man said nothing, just sat hunched over in the driver's seat, waiting for Regina to climb aboard.

The horse, as old as its owner, made a snort as if bored with even this brief wait. Regina hesitated, then sighed quietly before awkwardly climbing into the surprisingly high cart.

"Yah. Now, let's go. Off we go."

The cart started moving slowly as Regina turned around while smoothing out her skirt that had gotten wrinkled during boarding. Judging by the plodding pace of the horse, she wondered if they'd reach town before the day ended.

"What brings two people to a place with nothing like this? This town has nothing to see, so travelers just pass right through."

At the old man's question, Regina naturally looked toward Noah. But he'd already stretched out on the pile of straw with his arm as a pillow, eyes closed. Regina looked down at the sleeping Noah in disbelief, then had no choice but to answer in his place.

"We came looking for someone. A young woman with red hair and a man with brown hair. Their names are Rose and John. We heard they were spotted in this region and came to find them. Do you remember anything?"

"Well. My memory's been getting fuzzy lately. And nine out of ten people have brown hair, so that won't help. But a young woman with red hair... Hmm, red hair is rare."

The old man blinked his seemingly closed eyes slowly as he thought, then suddenly slapped his knee as if something had occurred to him.

"Ah, yes! The maid at the baron's estate had red hair."

"A maid! Yes, she was a maid. Do you mean the Epola Baron's estate? Does she still work there? Where did you hear this?"

Regina's face lit up at the unexpected information as she leaned toward the driver's seat. But the old man tilted his head and said something strange.

"No, I heard she died. The red-haired maid who worked at the baron's estate died, but her body disappeared. There's a fellow who does odd jobs at the baron's estate for money, and he said it was enough to make a ghost weep. Said he wouldn't go near that place for a while."

"...She died? That can't be!"

"Tell me more about that story."

When Noah suddenly spoke though she'd thought he was asleep, Regina flinched in surprise. The old man made a thoughtful sound, then continued slowly.

"Hmm, about a month ago? I was having a leisurely drink at the tavern when the fellow next to me got completely drunk and suddenly started talking about it."

The story was simple. A maid at the baron's estate had died in an accident and she had red hair, but then her body disappeared. No one knew the maid's name, didn't know where she was from, didn't know how she died. And no one was curious about it either.

"Listening to what that fellow said at the tavern, I thought it was strange. Red hair is rare, after all. In a small territory like this, a maid with distinctive hair color died but no one knows her name or where she's from—that can't be right, can it? Well, that fellow is usually such a blowhard that everyone who heard the story just let it pass without thinking much of it."

"She died a month ago, so that maid can't be the person I'm looking for. The timing doesn't match."

"Heh heh, that's fortunate then."

"Haha..."

When Regina patted her chest in relief, the old man laughed as if it was good news. But Regina couldn't smile back purely, so she gave an awkward smile.

At that moment, Noah, who had been silently listening to the old man, sat up from his lying position. Then he pulled more coins from his pocket and handed them to the old man.

"Take us to the Epola Baron's estate instead of town."

The old man looked down at the money Noah offered while turning around, then laughed his heh heh laugh and reached out his wrinkled hand to take the coins. He slowly turned the horse's direction to the left. When Regina looked back at Noah with a puzzled expression, he was pulling out that pocket watch from inside his jacket and opening it.

When he held the watch toward the faint moon visible in the daytime sky, a very pale blue light appeared. Then the stopped hour hand suddenly ticked forward once before stopping again.

"...Found it."

Noah smiled, his lips curving, after seeing that.

"......"

Regina's fingertips trembled at that smile. It was the smile he'd worn when he'd tried to kill her. Regina sat quietly, holding her breath, then slowly turned her head to look at the wide plains.

The cart was still rolling along at a crawling pace. But this territory no longer seemed as peaceful as it had moments ago.

There was a black faerie here too.

Whether due to the slow horse or the distance, the sun was setting by the time they arrived in front of the estate. In the darkening night, the black forest surrounding the estate swayed in the wind, making eerie sounds. For such a remote location, it was a luxurious estate.

"Wow, it's an incredibly large estate."

"It's the largest estate in this territory. Heh heh, well then, see you again."

"Yes, see you again. Thank you!"

Regina had to tilt her head back to take in the size of the estate. The old man watched Regina the way one might look at a cute granddaughter, then tipped his hat in farewell before urging his horse back the way they'd come. Regina waved lightly toward the departing old man's back, then turned to Noah and asked.

"It's already gotten dark. Can we even visit? Shouldn't we at least send word ahead that we're coming to visit?"

No matter how humble a household in a corner of the provinces, there were minimum courtesies to observe when visiting a noble house. Besides, Regina couldn't use the Evelyn Baron's name anymore. It might work on commoners in the capital, but using a dead person's name with nobility carried serious risks.

Noah glanced down at Regina's worried face but gave no answer. He just knocked on the estate's gate. When he grabbed and knocked with the lion's head-shaped handle attached to the massive iron gate, a gatekeeper came running from far away at that loud clanging sound.

"Who is it?"

"I have an appointment with Baron Epola. Tell him the Royal Security Force from the capital is here."

"...The Royal Security Force from the capital? Oh, my apologies, sir. Please wait just a moment."

The gatekeeper had been looking at Noah and Regina with suspicious eyes for showing up suddenly at this late hour. At the mention of the Royal Security Force, his eyes went wide and he rushed inside in a panic.

"...Control your expression a bit."

"What? Oh, yes."

Regina had been staring at Noah with eyes as wide as the gatekeeper's. She snapped to attention at his rebuke.

"Did you use the power of illusion again?"

"Not right now. You should either play along properly or stay quiet."

So he'd just lied, then. His attitude was so confident that Regina felt flustered instead. Before she knew it, the gatekeeper had come running back and urgently opened the gate.

"Oh, truly sorry. Sir, I kept you waiting. Please come inside."

They passed the gatekeeper, whose face had gone pale as he kept bowing repeatedly, and entered to find several people gathered in front of the estate. Among them stood a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothing. At a glance, he appeared to be the estate's owner, Baron Epola.

"Welcome. There must have been a mistake in communication from my subordinates. I am Miguel Epola."

Baron Epola had rushed out at the mention of the Royal Security Force, but upon actually seeing Noah and Regina, he raised one eyebrow. The combination of a younger man than expected and a girl who didn't even look twenty years old seemed quite suspicious.