[V8C6] Open Up

It had been quite a while since the last time Monica saw Claudia, which was during her honeymoon with Neil in Sazandol last summer, almost a year ago.

Claudia now held the title of Mrs. Maywood after her marriage with Neil, but her radiant beauty showed no signs of dulling.

Today, she wore a relaxed spring dress and carried a large travel bag. Judging from the size of the bag, it seemed to be intended for an extended stay rather than a short outing of a few days.

As if it were routine, Isaac carried Claudia’s bag inside and prepared drinks.

“Here you go.”

Isaac served hot coffee to Monica and fruit water to Claudia.

With her head still pointed at the glass, Claudia moved only her eyes to glare at Isaac.

“…As always, you’re disgustingly perceptive.”

“Shall I prepare a different drink for you, Madam?”

Despite Claudia’s glare, Isaac responded with the flawless smile of a servant. Claudia simply took a sip of the fruit water without uttering another word.

Monica took a few sips of her hot coffee before starting the conversation.

“Um, it’s been a while, Claudia-sama. Are you traveling alone today?”

“…”

Claudia had always disliked being asked obvious questions that could be figured out with little thought.

Thus, Monica had half-braced herself for a thorny response like, “Do you have eyes?” However, Claudia put down her glass and muttered something unexpected.

“…Ancient artifacts.”

“Huh?”

Claudia remained completely motionless, as if she were merely a life-like doll. Meanwhile, her lapis lazuli eyes shifted slightly to observe the reactions of Monica and Isaac.

Ancient artifacts. One was deeply connected to the princess-escort mission Monica had been undertaking until just the other day.

These were magical devices created with ancient technology from a bygone era, and each possessed a human-like will. Cecilia’s struggles had been due to her rejection by an artifact.

However, only a handful of people knew the fact that Cecilia had been rejected by the Mirror of Bern. This was a secret that even Isaac, the Second Prince, knew nothing about. There was no way Claudia could know.

(Why would Claudia-sama bring up artifacts all of a sudden…?)

Monica silently broke into a cold sweat, but Isaac, who was preparing tea snacks, seemed to have an idea.

“Oh, could this be related to the Key of Knowledge? I believe Marquis Highown was responsible for managing that one.”

“…Key of Knowledge?”

Monica tilted her head at the unfamiliar name, and Isaac nodded while arranging the cake plates on the table. When female guests like Lana or Claudia visited Monica’s house, he often refrained from joining the table to focus on serving.

After confirming that Claudia did not deny his suspicions, Isaac continued.

“The Key of Knowledge, Sophocles. One of the ancient artifacts currently in the possession of Ridill. If I remember correctly, it takes the form of a ring and has the power to create sealing barriers. It also serves as the key to the Forbidden Section of the Ascard Library.”

While the name of the ancient artifact didn’t ring any bells, Monica was familiar with the Ascard Library.

This was Ridill’s oldest library, which had existed since the founding of the kingdom. The Forbidden Section included scrolls describing forbidden spells, as well as grimoires containing sealed monsters from the ancient era.

As a member of the Seven Sages, Monica was one of the few people allowed access to the Forbidden Section and indeed, she had entered it on a few occasions. However, the procedures for entering the Forbidden Section were cumbersome and involved multiple intermediaries, making it quite a challenge for the shy Monica.

Hence, her colleague Louis usually handled the procedures whenever she entered, leaving little for Monica to do. As Louis Miller put it, “If I left it to you, we’d probably be stuck here for an entire day.”

She had no rebuttal for that.

(I see, so the Forbidden Section of the Ascard Library is managed by Marquis Highown… Then that will eventually be Cyril-sama…)

“…I see you know nothing about the Key of Knowledge despite being one of the Seven Sages.”

At Claudia’s muttering, Monica let out a soft groan. She felt slightly guilty for avoiding the procedures related to the Forbidden Section.

Meanwhile, Isaac interjected in Monica’s defense.

“Ancient artifacts are state secrets. Not even the Seven Sages are given access to all the information. I would expect those from prestigious families of magic to know more, such as the Starseer Witch, Thorn Witch, or Abyss Shaman.”

“Um, Ike, you seem awfully well-informed…”

Monica let out a hesitant comment, and Isaac replied with a wry smile.

“Well, I am a prince.”

Indeed, Isaac’s education as royalty must have given him knowledge about state secrets like the ancient artifacts.

Two ancient artifacts were currently stored in the treasure vault of the Royal Palace: First, the Treasured Sunblade Atlas, the blade wielded by the founding king. Second, the Gluttonous Zoe, a box housing the power of the Dark Spirit King.

These were so famous that even Monica knew the names and legends associated with them.

But as a whole, ancient artifacts were too precious to be allowed into the public eye. The rare opportunity to see them in person would peak the curiosity of any mage, and Monica was no exception. She had long since wanted to examine one if given the chance.

That said, she had been reclusive until recently, giving her no chance to come into contact with artifacts.

“Um, so Claudia-sama… How is the Key of Knowledge related to your visit…?”

In response to Monica’s question, Claudia lowered her head as she let out a weighty sigh. The silky black hair covering half of her face only amplified her gloomy aura. Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke languidly.

“…I don’t know the details, but a certain someone did something to displease the Key of Knowledge.”

“Huh?”

“And so, I evacuated before that someone barged into the Maywood residence. Understand?”

Just as Monica was about to say she didn’t really get it, a knocking sound echoed from the front door.

Isaac paused his plate-setting and turned to Claudia.

“Could that be the ‘someone’ you were referring to?”

“…Considering his hopelessly bad timing, it’s quite possible.”

During the exchange between Isaac and Claudia, the knocking on the door continued.

Though Monica still didn’t quite understand, she decided to stand up and greet the visitor. However, Isaac stopped her with one hand.

“It’s a bit late, so let me handle it.”

But at that moment, the knocking on the door stopped.

Monica started to panic, thinking that the guest had left, until a louder banging came from the room’s window.

“Eek!”

Monica let out a frightened cry, as Isaac swiftly rushed to the window and opened the curtains.

With the darkness of night as their backdrop, two faces were pressed tightly against the windowpane. One was a woman with pale blond hair and cold eyes, and the other was a young man with whitish-silver hair and a gentle aura.

While still pressing their cheeks against the glass, the two alternated speaking.

“There’s Monica. We got the right house after all.”

“Monica. Open up.”

“If you don’t open up, we’ll break the window.”

“Pikeh, Cyril might get mad if you do that.”

“Okay, then I won’t do it.”

The confused Isaac glanced back at Monica and asked, “Do you know them?”

Monica nodded before hurrying over to the window to unlock it.

The two ‘people’ pressed against her window were Thule, the white dragon taking on the form of a human, and the ice spirit Ashelpikeh.

“Um, why are you two here… Cyril-sama!?”

Upon closer inspection, Thule was carrying Cyril on his back, and Pikeh was holding what seemed to be Cyril’s bag. The young man’s eyelids were tightly shut, seemingly unconscious, with his face pale and gaunt. He was clearly in a bad state.

“Cyril-sama!? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? S-Should we call a doctor…?”

“Cyril is really sleep-deprived. He tried to walk here but he collapsed as soon as he got off the carriage,” Thule explained.

Listening closely, Monica managed to hear the sound of Cyril’s soft and regular breathing.

As she breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that it wasn’t a serious illness, the smiling Thule reassured her.

“He may look like he’s on death’s door, but he’s not dead. Everything is okay.”

Monica couldn’t help but wonder what was ‘okay’ about that.

At that moment, Cyril let out a small groan and opened his eyes.

“…Where am I…?”

Cyril looked around the room while squinting his eyes, but upon seeing Claudia, he let out a scream tinged with despair.

“Claudia!? Why are you here!!”

“Oh! So this must be the Maywood mansion! I’ve been wanting to see you for so long, Claudia!”

Someone had spoken over Cyril’s voice, and judging by the strong tone, it belonged to a man. However, only Cyril, Thule, and Pikeh were visible outside the window, so who did this voice belong to?

As the puzzled Monica glanced outside for the source, Claudia spoke in the lowest tone she could manage.

“…Good evening to you too, foolish brother of mine. It seems you managed to bring that troublesome matter straight to me, even after I evacuated to Sazandol to avoid it.”

＊　＊　＊

With the arrival of additional guests, the room suddenly became lively.

Monica, Isaac, Claudia, and Cyril sat around the table, while Thule and Pikeh, still in human forms, were lounging around on the sofa.

Thule and Pikeh still wore the traditional clothing of the Hyla Tribe, just as they did when Monica first met them. Thule’s clothing was rather light, but Pikeh had thick winter clothes, complete with a fur mantle, in stark contrast to the current season of spring.

However, what stood out the most was the voice coming from Cyril’s hand. It repeatedly called for Claudia in an emotional tone from under the black leather glove on Cyril’s right hand.

Isaac glanced at Cyril’s hand and asked, “I suppose the Key of Knowledge Sophocles is under that glove?”

“Impressive as always, Your Highness. I take it you are already aware of the situation.”

Seeing how Cyril always paid his respects to ‘Your Highness’, regardless of the situation, Isaac could not help but put on a wry smile.

“You overestimate me. Only a few minutes ago, your sister informed me that you were in a difficult situation related to the Key of Knowledge.”

Isaac subtly urged Cyril to explain the situation, causing Cyril to put on a pained expression.

Meanwhile, the Key of Knowledge Sophocles kept calling Claudia’s name.

“Claudia, I want to see that beautiful face of yours! Claudia!”

“Enough of this! How dare you interrupt His Highness, you disrespectful buffoon!”

Cyril shouted at his own right hand, then took out a thick fabric from his bag and wrapped it around the glove.

After confirming that the voice became somewhat muffled, he offered Isaac a deep bow of apology.

“I apologize for the unsightly display. Where do I even start explaining…”

“Well, could you start by introducing those two over there?”

Isaac gestured towards the two lounging on the sofa. Thule was stretched out across the sofa, with Pikeh rolling around on top of him.

At the sight of the two behaving with no restraint in their human forms, Cyril shouted in exasperation.

“Thule! Pikeh! Show some manners!”

Pikeh paused on top of Thule as Thule tilted his head to the side.

“This isn’t allowed? Is that because we’re in human form, Pikeh?”

“Then it’s fine if we transform.”

The next moment, the two were enveloped in a cloud of light particles. The cloud shrunk into a small shape, before eventually vanishing as if blown away by a gust, revealing a white weasel and a golden weasel.

Isaac and Claudia seemed to have suspected that the two were not human. While they appeared somewhat surprised, it was not enough to show up on their faces.

…Yet.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Cyril’s contracted dragon, Thule the White Dragon of Mount Kalug.”

“Cyril’s contracted spirit, Ice Spirit Ashelpikeh.”

At the cute introductions of the weasels, Isaac and Claudia halted all movement.

The two claimed to be a white dragon and a greater spirit old enough to leave their names in legends. Most would expect this to be some sort of prank.

However, the man in front of them was none other than Cyril Ashley, known for being excessively serious and terrible with jokes.

“Uh, well, y-you see…”

Cyril stumbled over his words and glanced briefly at Monica, who shook her head with an awkward expression.

If this unspoken exchange were to be translated into words, it would probably sound something like this:

——”Have you told them about Thule and Pikeh?”

——”Not yet, Cyril-sama.”

The timid Monica had always struggled with communication, but from her time working with Cyril in the student council, the two had developed a trick of exchanging glances to communicate.

The occasions when they used this trick generally followed a pattern: when they had to make an awkward report to ‘His Highness.’

“Y-Your Highness, Claudia, there are some very special circumstances for this…”

“Um, y-yes… a lot has happened…!”

It should be noted that Cyril and Monica were not particularly good at lying or keeping secrets. Meanwhile, both Isaac and Claudia put on a smile, neither of which contained much warmth.

“Well, well, isn’t that lovely… Onii-sama, I don’t suppose you plan to become a beast tamer?”

“I wonder how much my master knows about this situation.”

When performed by a handsome man and a beautiful woman, cold smiles can contain a surprising amount of pressure.

The overwhelmed Cyril and Monica began recounting the events that transpired at the end of winter. But to tell the truth, perhaps ‘confession’ would be a more fitting description than ‘recounting’.

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