Vol 2 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6 The fairy from his memories
After Mythrill Reed Pod escaped from the castle, Ann came to Dale with a
request
”I would like an audience with His Grace”
”For what purpose? As he is now, the Duke would be displeased to be bothered
unnecessarily”
Dale's attitude towards Ann, the last re craftsman, was harsh His tone
of voice was clearly different from when she was one craftsman out of many
She sensed he was deterar sculpture that satisfied
Alban at all costs
”It's an essential matter I request an audience with him between just the two of
us, if possible”
Ann's earnestness seemed to have convinced him, as Dale prepared the
arrange
The sun had co further Outside
the , snowwinds
Ann was led into Alban's heated chamber
Alban was sitting in the sa, in the same pose He
had probably remained this way the entire time, and most likely spent his days
the same way
That lethargic, ear sculpture as
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he was?
No, what Alban was obsessed asn't a sugar sculpture It was the fairy in
the painting
Ann wanted to know the reason behind that obsession Then, she'd try to give
shape to the object of his desire
That was Ann's job as a craftsman
”Thank you very ”
She kneeled Alban didn't even glance her way
”What is the purpose of this ?”
”There is so I wish to inquire about It's for the sake of ar
sculpture Would that be alright?”
”If it's forit, you may ask”
”Then”
She quickly regained her breath, then asked, ”Could you please tell me the name
of the person in the painting?”
Perhaps it was a rather unexpected question, as Alban turned to look at her It
seeht
”Why is her name necessary?”
”It's for the sake of giving her shape I feel Idoesn't
fully depict her”
”With that, will you be able to make it?”
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”I don't know”
Alban suddenly grabbed the sword he had propped up beside him He smoothly
drew it out of its sheath and stood up with the naked blade in hand
Ann resisted her body's subconscious need to run away Her knees slightly
tre her fear
With the sword in hand, Alban stood before her
”That question just now is a question that invades my memories Are you
prepared for what you're asking? If you can'tinto and
disturbing a person's memories, I'll have you compensate with your life Are
you prepared for that?”
”I cannot be prepared to die I won't die I've made a promise to a friend, and
there's someone I wish to see Therefore, I won't die As I have this resolution,
I will definitely make it So please tell me―Her name”
They stared at each other Alban placed the blade of his draord on Ann's
shoulder She winced at the cold and heavy feeling of the iron
”Christina,” Alban said quietly
”Is that her name?”
”Yes”
”But fairies have an original name Are you aware of that?”
”Realis Seal Erill”
By hearing the name promptly leave Alban's mouth, Ann was convinced
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―As I thought, she's special
Fairy owners wouldn't care about soinal name The
only humans ould care are those who see the fairy as an equal, and those
who regard them as special
Ann understood that well She too, knew that sa
”Why don't you call her by her original name?”
”That's what she wished for She wanted a huive
her one”
Alban withdrew the sword he'd placed on Ann's shoulder and sat down in a
nearby chair Suddenly fatigued, he seeer
”Where did you meet? You and Lady Christina” Ann purposely called the fairy
by her hu learned of her wish
”By the sea On a beach below the castle's cliff”
”What was Lady Christina doing there?”
”She had just been born She was sitting absent at the wave
crests she was born from”
”If she remained there that way, she would have been found by fairy hunters,
wouldn't she?”
”That's why I took her back to the castle”
”Why is that?”
”I pitied that she et hurt”
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”Did you spend a long tiether?”
”Three years”
”And what of Lady Christina now?”
”A year and a half ago She disappeared That was her lifespan,” Alban
le point on the floor
―He loved her
She saw her own feelings overlap with Alban's figure Somewhere in her heart,
Ann was still calling the nale fairy Alban too, must have been
calling a fairy's name the same way
”She had always said that water fairies themselves didn't know their own
lifespan That while some may live for centuries, others will disappear in a few
years”
―That's why he had so many pictures painted?
All the paintings decorating the hall and the tower—it was as though he had
been trying to hold onto her, not knohen she’d be gone He must have
had many, many pictures painted because he was afraid of her disappearing
The fairy sht Perhaps
she'd been worrying over ould become of her lover once she disappeared
At last, Ann could see the outline of their feelings
Why hadn’t she tried to hear those feelings fro?
She felt she'd taken quite the roundabout And she became aware of her own
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inexperience If it were Hugh, no doubt he'd have asked Alban why he desired
a sugar sculpture in the first place
Ann thought only ofa beautiful sculpture that could satisfy herself
She hadn’t understood what the client truly wanted
What Alban wanted wasn't an extraordinary sculpture He wanted a portrait that
reproduced Christina's re his
memories
When ar sculpture, no matter how realistic, one needed to adjust
the colors, the shapes, and the balance of its forood
However, Ann shouldn't have done that
Without those adjustht be completely raw and unrefined
But that hat Alban wanted
The desire to make it overfloithin her She wanted to shape and show
Alban the portrait of the fairy in his heart, who the same
way she herself sought Shall
”Would you ar sculpture here?”
At Ann's question, Alban slowly raised his head
”What?”
”I'll bring the sugar sculpture here I'll carry out my work in your presence, and
while listening to you, I'll give her shape Lady Christina's hair color, skin color,
eye color Her expressions and gestures I'llto
you”
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”This is bad”
Upon entering his roo returned from Philax Castle,
Hugh tossed his coat over the table and plumped down on a chair Shall was
standing with his back leaning against the wall, and his face turned in the
direction of the
Outside, the sky was already pitch black, and snow danced violently in the
strong wind
”Rue, but to that extent And it bothers me
Lady Christina wasn't with him”
”His lover?”
At Shall's question, Hugh brushed up his forelock while exhaling a sigh and
looked up at the ceiling
”That's right Well, she's a fairy, though”
Caught by the word ‘fairy,’ Shall knit his eyebrows
”A blue-haired fairy?”
”Yeah, have you seen her in the castle?”
”I saw a painting That guy ordered crafts
that painting as a model”
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”Not her in person, but a painting as a model? Why?”
Hugh then turned to Shall, looking startled ”Shall, do you knohat an oceanborn
fairy's approximate lifespan is?”
”Ocean-born fairies are water fairies Their lifespan varies Some live for
centuries, while others only a few years”
Water fairies themselves didn't know their own lifespan From the moment they
were born, they lived in anxiety
Mythrill was a water fairy as well He, too, must have been aware of the fact
that his life was unstable The way he always acted arrogant was most likely an
effort to try and blow off that apprehension He hadn’t told Ann about his life,
and even if he did, he'd probably act tough by baselessly saying, 'I will definitely
outlive Shall Fen Shall!'
”What about sugar sculptures? If they kept eating the
their lifespan, right?”
”Sugar sculptures with the power to prolong a fairy's lifespan are rare Your
sugar sculptures ht do it, but that too, would probably only add between a
feeeks to a fewthem”
”I see Then, she disappeared That's why the Duke is”
Shall sneered at those words ”You're saying that man is in such a state because
his fairy lover disappeared? As if hule pet
fairy disappearing They'd be satisfied just by buying another one as a
replacement”
”She isn't a pet fairy No one could replace her” Hugh clenched his fists over
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the table ”The House of Alban never rebelled against the House of Millsland
Not only that, but during the Chaht for his majesty,
Edmond II Yet, how about that? As he is now, does he look like a man in a
noble position who carries Grand King Cedric's blood? Moreover, does that
look like the heroic fan?
All trade-related taxes are siphoned off by the royal family―of which they
receive a stipend―and they're obligated to make a courtesy visit once a month
That's the treatment they receive after the Chamber Civil War that should have
earned them praise for their service The Duke would have been twelve or
thirteen years old at the ti adolescence
been at the treatreat shock for a mere
child However, he and his father obeyed Holding back their anger, prioritizing
the stability of the country, they resigned theations
But no one could heal those distorted feelings and that anger No one but her”
As to rebound Hugh's sharp gaze, Shall smiled with just the corner of his mouth
”A coer? That fairy must have been happy”
”Yeah I think she was” Hugh glared at Shall so as to challenge his sarcastic
words ”Before becoar Viscount, I made the Duke many
sugar sculptures I hear he gave them all to her, and in fact, she told me herself
that she wanted to prolong her life by even a little For him”
―Prolong her life? for him?
The fairy in the painting that alore a sed with sorrow What was
that sorrow for?
”She was probably worried this would happen,” said Hugh, before falling silent
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The strong winds shook the s
Just then, Salim came into the room and declared hurriedly, ”Viscount, a report
cahway It appears Earl Downing has
entered Philax with a cavalry of over three hundred men They'll soon arrive at
Philax Castle”
Hugh stood up, clicking his tongue ”That old man I wish he'd act more like an
old lanced at Shall
”We're going to Philax Castle again That old man has little patience If the
Duke doesn't surrender obediently, he'll launch an attack There should be two
or three hundred of Alban House's guards in the castle If it
becoer too”
Was it alright to go and help Ann? Considering he had been rejected, he
wavered However, unable to sit still, Shall headed towards Philax Castle along
with Hugh
The sea raged with the strong winds, and the sound of the breaking waves
resounded loudly The snow falling on his cheek was like fine pebbles bursting
against his skin
Philax Castle's shadow flickered in the raging night stor at the cape
were three hundredup torches, and fanned by the wind, their
flaht
”Earl Downing!”
Tents stretched fro road that lead to the cape They
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flapped in the strong wind, bending considerably, but without flying away
Earl Downing looked surprised to see Hugh's figure rushi+ng towards those tents
”Mercury?”
”Has Philax Castle surrendered?” Hugh asked while catching his breath
Earl Downing's lips curved into a sarcastic sate is barricaded shut
I requested their surrender, but athat ait a while
The time limit of this 'while' is unclear Mercury, it seems your persuasion
attempt has failed”
”You knew?” Hugh s embarrassed
”It's because I know full well that you have a relationshi+p with the Alban House
that you were ht I'd at least let you go
persuade him”
Earl Downing then gave Hugh a severe look ”However, I will tolerate nothing
further Don't you get in the way The last flashpoint of the kingdom must
perish”
”I won't get in the way But Ann Halford is in the castle”
”Halford?”
”She's the girl that coar sculpture
fair”
”Ahh Her”
For a 's eyes widened, but he immediately shook his
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head lightly ”How unfortunate We can only pray she hides well during the
fight”
Even Earl Downing wouldn't want to allow an innocent girl to die on his watch
But he had a mission In order to fulfill that mission, he determined that
forsaking the life of a single girl was unavoidable He was an old retainer that
had experienced the civil war and worked for the sake of securing the country's
stability He wouldn't even weigh the life of a single girl against his mission
”But―”
Still trying to confront Earl Downing, Hugh bent over the table the Earl was
sitting at
With a sigh, Shall turned his back to Hugh and left the tent However much
Hugh insisted, he kneas futile That old retainer wouldn't yield no matter
as said to him
The wind raged on Beyond a curtain of snow, one could see the castle's vague
shadow
Gazing at it, Shall clenched both his fists ”That girl”
He had to go to the castle and get her out immediately
But Shall ht be the only one she'd refuse to be helped by He shouldn't be
the one to go He should bow his head to Salim and beseech him to penetrate
the castle before the battle starts and get her out
Just as he thought that, Sali from the direction of a herd of Earl
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Downing's soldiers In his hands hung a small handled can
Having located Shall outside the tent, Saliht towards him
”It see,” Salim said suddenly,
without so , and held out the can to Shall It was a can for
carrying food rations such as bean stew that soldiers hung at their waist
Unable to grasp theof it, Shall knit his eyebrows, to which Salim then
urged hiht be an acquaintance of
yours Open it”
Shall didn't get it, but he took the can and reed
Fitted completely inside it was a small fairy Shall couldn't believe his eyes
”Mythrill Reed Pod?”
”Shall Fen Shall?”
The tworeunion
”It seems that fellow ate all the soup that was in there The soldier that found
hi to sell him to someone
As I was passing by, he approachedif I wanted to buy him,” Salim
explained indifferently
”What are you doing? You left the castle and ate the soldiers' food?”
Hearing Shall's amazed words, Mythrill shabbily crawled out of the can to
protest
”No, that's not it! That is it, but that's not it! I was properly fulfilling my role!
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol 2 - Ginzatoushi+ to Ao no Koushaku
But I got hungry, so I thought I'd get soh
I don't knohy, there were lots of soldiers, so I thought no one would notice
if I ate a little”
”You left the castle alone to snatch the soldiers' soup? What about that girl?”
”That's right! Ann!” Mythrill flapped his lone wing and nimbly jumped onto
Shall's shoulder
”Ann stayed in the castle The Duke plans on keeping her there until she makes
a sugar sculpture he likes, so she told me to wait outside”
”So you left on your own as told?”
”Well, it's because I felt I had to go find you” Tears gradually welled in
Mythrill's eyes ”Because Ann is calling you Because she wants you to come
back”
Those audacious words upset him
”Are you an idiot? What are you saying? She told me to leave, she couldn't be
calling me”
”You're the idiot!
”Being called an idiot by you pisses me off”
”Then I'll say it over and over!! Idiot!! Idiot!! idiot!!”
Mythrill violently pulled at a lock of Shall's hair
”You think Ann would seriously tell you to leave!? That Ann!? That bastard
Jonas snatched
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you from Ann, he offered her to Duke Philax and ran away!”
”What?”
Shall's mind went blank with disbelief
―She was threatened by Jonas?
”I' you, Ann only drove you out because Jonas threatened her into it!”
―It was after she started crying, so
He was uncharacteristically dumbfounded
Though it had stirred his feelings so much, in truth, she had only been threatened
into it
”Then, now What is she doing?”
”I told you, didn't I!? She's ar sculpture She said herself that she