The Opposite Of Indifference

Second past continues

“How was it…?” (A)

Ann took a step closer to him, unaware of the dangerous eagerness revealed in her eyes.

“I wasn’t dying. My stomach just felt a little uncomfortable.” (F)

Frederick tilted his head and grumbled. Still, Ann was not disappointed.

“Would dying be as interesting as killing?”

“Why would that be interesting?” Frederick stared into Ann’s blue eyes.

“It’s neatly organized. Even the messy stuff.”

Ann reflected on the ugly stable servant Thomas and the urge to get rid of him. Even though she only imagined it, she felt the euphoria. At the same time, she felt a rush of disappointment toward the failed attempt.

“Do you want to die?” (F)

Frederick asked back, trying to understand Ann’s language. As if Ambria had done so in the morning.

“Not really.” (A)

“So you want to kill someone?” (F)

“If it has to be removed.” (A)

The question made Ann even more preoccupied with herself.

“If I don’t get rid of it, it will continue to bother me and remind me of it, which will make me feel uncomfortable.” (A)

“…Do you want to kill me too?” (F)

Frederick asked, staring at Ann’s red lips.

“No.” Ann quickly denied it. “Even though I don’t care that much about you.”

It was a heartless but obvious truth.

“If someone is too annoying, and makes me think of him all day long….then I want to kill him.” (A)

Frederick seemed to understand Ann in his own way.

“Then I’m going to stick to you annoyingly until you decide you want to get rid of me.” (F)

And that too in a distorted way.

“Ummm, thanks?” (A)

Ann was not far from agreeing, as this was a part of the process she had never considered before.

“I’ll do my best.” Frederick smiled brightly.

It didn’t change her opinion that he still looked like a passing idiot. But, oddly enough, there was a part of him that looked matured.

“You want my attention?” (A)

Now Ann asked to understand him. Come to think of it, he didn’t say her way of thinking was wrong.

Her mother and others all said she was flawed.

They called her an expressionless lady without a smiling face. They said a lady should like pretty laces and cute things, not blades like swords and axes. They said she was not normal. They said she intimidated people without trying.

They said there might be something wrong with her brain and it needed to be revalued.

However, this foolish boy listened to her without judging. He was even happy to be her target.

“Of course.” Frederick smiled brightly. “Your eyes just now. I really like it. It’s unique.”

At that moment, a shade of gray distinguished from Ann’s blue eyes darkened from his eyes. It was as if they were mirrors, reflecting the shadows that dwelled in her chest.

“Would you like to see me summon animals with whistling?” Eventually Frederick asked something else. “If you’re lucky, you might see some rabbits.”

Then he whistled without hearing Ann’s reply.

He was not lying. Indeed, squirrels, badgers, and sparrows began to gather. Yellow birds sat and sang on Frederick’s shoulders, and a speckled cat wandered up behind a rock and took a seat, nuzzling into his lap.

“Do you know that song too?”

Ann, fascinated by the strange sight, suddenly recognized the familiar tune and asked.

“I thought it was a song sung only by Wind Whistle Rock’s citizens.”

A song sung by the villagers as they harvest in the scorching sun, a song sung by maid Mary when Ann took a nap, a song sung as they lit the fire for the Advent Festival Tree and enjoyed the festivities.

“Let it cool and eat.”

She was not familiar with it, as she was usually not conscious of it, but that was the title of the song.

“My father taught me. He learned it from your mother.”

Frederick said.

“You know my mother?” (A)

“My father told me. She’s the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.” (F)

“I guess she wasn’t beautiful enough for His Majesty to break the tradition to marry her.” (A)

Ann said, remembering the cold words of affection her mother had told her in the carriage.

“No.” Frederick gently shook his head. “I heard she was too beautiful for him to hope she would only look at him and walk down the aisle with him.”

Suddenly it turned into a completely different story.

“… If it had been me, I would have grabbed her and tied her to me and not let go.” (F)

But the words he added were neither soft nor hard.

“But your mother is a noble woman, she would have understood why my father had no choice but to let her go.” (F)

He stroked the cat sleeping in his lap.

“I’m still not sure, but one thing is certain. That you are not like other women, but like the creatures, who can’t be easily brought by my whistling.”

Then he stared into Ann’s blue eyes again.

“Right? Ann Belvard.”

“My name… Do you know me?”

“I heard you’re famous at Wind Whistle Rock. An expressionless lady who always spends her time alone.”

Frederick said.

“But looking at you now, there are many shades of your expressionless face.”

“Like the shades of gray in your blue eyes?”

Ann suddenly asked. Frederick had never heard such an assessment before. 

“You’re the first to notice that, Ann Belvard.”

For an instant, an unfamiliar emotion flickered in Frederick’s eyes. It was chilly. At the same time, it was warm. It was hard for Ann to understand, who was particularly slow to understand others.

“Ann Belvard!”

At the same time, someone called her name.

It was her mother. She probably realized by now that her daughter had disappeared in the forest and was devastated.

Frederick stopped touching the cat and stood up.

“Here you are!”

As expected, Ambria appeared quickly.

“If I take my eyes off you for a second, an accident happens!”

With a gasp, Ambria exclaimed.

“The royal palace is vast and complicated! It’s easy for a child like you to get lost! Why don’t you calmly follow me…”

“It happened because I met someone.”

Ann decided not to acknowledge that the boy was a Prince, but now she had no choice but to use him as a witness. Ann turned to him, but…

“There is no one here!”

However, her mother was right, there really was no one there.

The Black Forest was still dense and overgrown with trees, but not a single hair remained of Frederick or any of the animals he had gathered.

“Are you possessed by a ghost?” Ambria peered through the black fir trees and took Ann’s hand.

“…I think I’m more possessed by a fool than a ghost.” (Ann)

Frederick seemed to stick to his proposal to part without any rudeness.

When Ann left the forest with her mother, the king was also gone. Instead, they were greeted by a woman who looked as solemn as the matron of the Holy Church.

Ambria called her Mrs. Galbraith.

“You’re right on time for afternoon tea, Duchess of Wind Whistle Rock.”

She greeted her politely, then led the way. She glided and drifted through the maze of the royal palace and stood before the large, white, gilded doors.

“Lady Ann, please go inside.”

Mrs. Galbraith said.

“We have prepared a separate tea service for the young ladies.”

“Separately?”

“His Majesty the King is considerate of young ladies who have not yet debuted in the social world, so that they can spend their time comfortably.”

Mrs. Galbraith was a young woman, and she had a hard look on her face, as if she were about to kick Ann into the battlefield of society.

“Princess Jadalin will drop by later.”

She added in disapproval.

“I can’t believe that the heir, Prince Christopher, is unmarried, but the second son, Prince Frederick, is married…This is a complete twist in the order of protocol and prestige.”

“Is this really an intolerable ordeal for Mrs. Galbraith’s character?”

Ambria replied half jokingly.

“What can we do? The Emperor Valentina of the Empire pressured Prince Frederick to marry off his daughter.”

“Well, Princess Jadalin seems to be a good match for Prince Frederick.”

Ambria crossed at ease.

“I greeted her at the wedding. She was a dignified and well-behaved new bride, even though I am sure her heart was in great pain and troubled.”

“The Princess also asked about the Duchess of Wind Whistle Rock.”

Mrs. Galbraith said.

“I heard the Duchess speaks the language of the Empire? The Princess was happy to see someone at the royal palace who knew the language of her homeland. However, the duchess is busy governing her estate in place of her husband, so it’s regrettable that she can’t see the Duchess often.”

“Yes.”

The ‘Princess’ that Frederick sang about seemed to be the very same Princess Jadalin they were talking about, but Ann was not really interested. She lost interest in things that passed before her eyes.

In any case, Mrs. Galbraith soon cut through Ambria’s impressions once and for all.

“The Duchess must attend Her Majesty the Queen’s tea party. Please hurry.”

 Ambria seemed reluctant to leave her daughter and took her aside.

“You should treat them as you treat the maids at home. You get along well with the servants.”

She whispered in Ann’s ear.

“But you mustn’t treat them as you really treat the maids. They are not peasants or freemen. They are of the same ladylike class as you. You have to be polite.”

Ann nodded silently.

Eventually Mrs. Galbraith  dragged Ambria away.

Ann quickly straightened the hem of her gown and adjusted her hat. Then a man in a royal uniform opened the door. He even cheerfully accompanied her with an introduction.

“Lady Ann of House Belvard, daughter of the Duke of Wind Whistle Rock, enters.”

The scene inside the open door seemed unforgettable forever.

Luxurious white tables, chairs with fluffy backs layered with purple silk, and tea that was less bitter with a hint of bergamot mixed in. Trays filled with milk and sugar to drink with the tea, chocolate and biscuits, and sugared plums. Hymns played by a music box carved with angels—.

And all at once the ladies turned their heads and stared at Ann. 

Charlotte Brennan of the Dukedom of Hamston. Compared to her peers, she was especially small as a squirrel, her body wrapped in pink fabric.

Adriana Beasley of the Earldom of Arlin. Despite her young age, she was already noticeably taller than others by a head.

Ophelia Thiel of the Marquis of Cadwall. The angle at which she turned her face made her strong, angular chin stand out even more, but it made her look high-class in impression.

Jane Grant of Baron Mariboro. She had a voluptuous figure that made her seem precocious, and she was wiping the chocolate from her mouth with her white, plump hands.

Elizabeth Dalby of the Earldom of Fenley. She had brown skin with a healthy glow and eyes as big as frogs’, and she had a Bible in her lap like a blanket.

Yes, that’s right. This was the very moment Ann Belvard met the five liars for the first time.