Part 9: Letter and Umbrella
October 4th, 1986, 6:00 PM
Of course, the harshly beating raindrops on the window were much more convincing.
"...This rain's incredible. Still, when it's raining this hard, it feels like it's going to stop soon."
"You wish! They said the typhoon's moving slow, so in the worst case it'll be like this all day tomorrow. Even a little weather'd be enough to stop the boats."
"It looks like we won't be able to head out on Sunday after all. Just in case, I cleared any business I had with the outside world from my Monday schedule. I'm glad I did."
"I guess this means, ihihi, it looks like we'll be skipping school Monday~. Living on an island's starting to look pretty good! Come to think of it, Jessica, do you have to take a boat to school every day? What do you do when the boats are closed down? Do you stay home when it rains and show up late when the wind's blowing, like King Kamehameha?"
"If the boats don't come, I stay home. Still, it's not as good as it sounds. Usually, I'm ordered to study by myself, and it's not that fun with someone standing right behind you watching everything you do."
"During the rainy season, does the weather ever stay bad for a long time and make you miss a bunch of days in a row?"
"That also happens. Still, every single day, my homeroom teacher would call and sourly guide me on how I should teach myself and what I had to turn in."
"She can't just easily skip the way you are thinking of, Battler-kun. She has to follow the rules for people that travel to school by boat and get a good amount of studying done."
"It'd actually be easier to just go to school. In my own room, I get distracted and can't concentrate. After being made to do nothing but workbooks for several days straight, it's pretty hard to handle all that mental stress. When I get into college, I really just wanna go to some dorm and quickly say goodbye to this inconvenient island." "Huh... So, by the way, what do you do when the weather's good in the morning, but then gets so bad on your way home that the boats are closed? Do you spend the night at school?" "That actually happens a lot. Because of that, they've built some lodgings there for people who can't get back to the island. I stay over there. Sometimes, when gets bad, I can't get back home for a few days at a time." "If you look at it from the perspective of those people who have to go to school every day on a train packed to twice its capacity, going to school on a boat might seem pretty interesting and fun. Or at least they might irresponsibly think that. I guess different people have different kinds of difficulties."
"Thick-skinned tourists say that kind of thing all the time. I've had enough of island life. I really want to quickly graduate high school and say goodbye to this island." "Even for high school, there should be places where the students live in dormitories. Why did you go to all of the trouble of choosing the school on Niijima?"
"I've wanted to go to one of those from the beginning!! Still, Mom's always going on about how I need to learn manners and discipline as the successor to the head. In the end, I got stuck with a high school close to home. Man, I hate this island. I just want to go live in a city. I don't care if rain or even spears fall from the sky, as long as I can move to a city where I can wear casual clothes and sandals and can get to a convenience store in less than five minutes..."
"Hahahaha. Hold out just a little longer. It's only a short while until you graduate high school, right?" "I can't wait a little longer. Aaaaaah..."
Maria had so far not returned to the cousins' room. She had probably been brought back to the mansion by aunt Rosa. It had to be pretty boring for Maria, all by herself while the adults are having a confusing conversation.
...We thought we might head over to the mansion to see her, but after all, there was this lousy weather, and there wasn't much time until dinner, so we stayed where we were.
At that time, we heard the sound of a humble knock. Jessica answered.
"Ye-s!"
"...The preparations for dinner are complete. Please come to the mansion."
"Just when I was getting hungry. Let's go."George-aniki turned off the television and stood up.
"My stomach's been growling for a while! I've always been a huge fan of the main family's dinners! And didn't Gohda-san say it was calf steak or something? Oohh, I can't wai~t!!" "It's even more fabulous on the day of the family conference. Even I'm looking forward to it! Let's go, let's go."As we left the room, Kanon-kun bowed silently and respectfully.
After seeing the three of us out, Kanon-kun peered into the empty room.
"...Wasn't Maria-sama with you...?" "No she isn't. Wasn't she with aunt Rosa?"
Realizing this, Genji brought a blanket over to her. When he tried to spread it over her, her eyes snapped open as though she had been shocked with electricity.
"...Did I wake you? My sincere apologies."
"No, it's all right. I hadn't planned on sleeping in the first place. What time is it now?"When he was asked for the time, Genji checked a pocket watch that he took out of his chest pocket.
"...It is slightly after 6:00."Rosa gave her head a little shake as she realized that, even though it had felt like she had slept for a long time, not much time had actually passed. Even though she didn't feel rested at all, the drowsiness that wrapped around her felt very deep.
"Thank you, I'll be fine without the blanket... I mustn't sleep at such a strange time. My sense of time has been completely thrown off... The rain, it really is pouring."Rosa finally realized that the peaceful sound that had put her to sleep was actually the rain that had started falling.
"The wind is also blowing hard. I wonder if it's finally the typhoon?" "...The television has said that is the case. Because the typhoon is slow, they said that it would be like this all day tomorrow."
"Really...? That wonderful rose garden, that must have been my last chance to see it."From the window, what she could see of the rose garden was completely blurred by the wind and the rain.
BGM: Hour of Darkness
Rosa knew her daughter's nature well. She had always known. Maria was stubbornly honest, and if she was ordered to find something that didn't exist, she would look forever and ever.
...Even if rain was pouring down...!!
"Mariaaaaaaa!!"Rosa pushed Genji away and ran down the hallway.
Maybe because of some figure of the terrain, the winds were not as strong as a typhoon, so an umbrella wouldn't be torn out of one's hands. Even so, it sure was a windy rain.
There was no time to admire the roses being soaked by the rain.
We hadn't worried much, thinking that aunt Rosa had taken her back to the mansion. However, when Kanon-kun had come from the mansion to call us and thought that Maria was here, we got a little worried.
"...I did not see her in the mansion, so I was sure that she was here. Since Rosa-sama was taking a nap..." "You didn't see her on your way over here?"
"...My apologies. I opened my umbrella and ran as fast as I could, so I did not pay much attention."If he had cut through the rose garden on the shortest line between the mansion and the guesthouse, then he would have missed the place where Maria had been looking for her rose by a little. And it was raining this hard, too. There was a good chance that Kanon-kun had failed to notice her.
"Enough arguing around here, it'd be faster to just check it out directly...Aniki, why don't we race over there?"
"Do you plan on beating me now that you've been growing for six years? Alright, let's see who wins...Let's go!!"George-aniki and I flew out into the rain. Jessica and Kanon-kun followed us.
"Where is Maria?! Isn't she with you?!"
"No, we didn't meet with Maria-chan after that." "Mariaaaaa!!!"...Six years ago, Maria had been three years old. She had been a cute and pure kid who would just accept whatever anyone said.
But six years had passed since then! She was nine now, and going through both good and bad experiences should have rubbed off on her. And still, you're just as innocent and pure as you were...?!
"...Uu-."Her face, which had turned bright red from her crying her eyes out, was dirtied with water and mud. It was a truly pitiful sight.
"You idiot... are you still looking?!"
"...Uu-... Can't find it... Maria's rose... Can't find it... Uu-..."Maria had probably been here since the rain had started pouring down. It looked like her shoulders were freezing. She looked tired to the bone, but fortunately, since she was holding an umbrella, she was not completely soaked.
...It was probably an umbrella from the handbag that Maria was always walking around with. Thank goodness. Seriously, thank goodness.
"...Uu-... It's not here. Maria's rose isn't here... Uu-..." "Mama will look for it with you later... Okay? So just let it go for today. Okay?" "...Uu-... Let it go for today..."It looked like Maria still wasn't able to accept it, but she no longer had enough energy left to resist.
Jessica and Kanon-kun caught up with us.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being such a bad mother..."
"...Aunt Rosa, why don't we head back to the mansion for the time being. Maria will catch a cold like this." "...You're right. Maria, let's go. If we don't get you cleaned up, Grandfather will get mad at you." "Uu-... I'm hungry." "It's already time to eat. Maria did a good job holding out. Once the weather gets better, we'll all go search together."
Maria apparently wasn't as weak as I had thought. When she remembered that dinner was calf steak, she started chanting "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, uu-uu-!", and returned to her usual healthy self.
...Aunt Rosa didn't chide Maria on her 'uu-uu-'.
"Really? She had an umbrella? Maria sure is good at packing the right stuff." "...Uu-. Maria didn't bring an umbrella. Uu-." "What? Then how did you get that white umbrella you're holding?"
"Uu-! Borrowed it!"It seemed that some caring person had somehow brought her an umbrella. A normal girl would look for shelter once it started raining, but there was no way that stubborn Maria would lose heart and do something like that.
...So maybe that person gave up recommending that she find shelter, and at least had her take an umbrella.
Rosa took a deep breath and asked again while trying to avoid hurting Maria's feelings now that she was happy.
"Really? That's nice. So, who was it? The person who brought you that umbrella?" "Uu-. Beat, ri-ce-! Uu-uu-!"Maria, who quickly picked up that her mother didn't believe her, made an angry face once again. So, Rosa stopped pursuing the subject. It looked like it would be faster to ask the person who had lent Maria the umbrella during dinner rather than ask Maria herself...
"...Kinzo-san. Won't you at least come out for dinner? Haven't all of your sons gathered here to see your face?"
"Silence, Nanjo... So the bishop won't work. One move too short..."Apparently, Kinzo was completely focused on the final battle of his long-lasting chess match with Nanjo. Kinzo's brow was wrinkled as he continued to glare at the game board through his spectacles. Krauss's voice didn't reach his ears.
"...Kinzo-san. I am also hungry. Won't you come down and eat?"
"In that case, you can go by yourself. Let me consider this next move for a little longer. We are going to finish it tonight... Otherwise, it looks like we won't resolve it until the world ends."
...It was almost as though, as Kinzo had said, if the game wasn't finished tonight, there would never be another chance for them to continue their contest, or something like that... It looked like even if he called out obstinately, it wouldn't reach Kinzo's heart.
Nanjo gave up and headed to the door that Krauss was still banging on...
Nanjo crooked his neck with a completely defeated expression. Krauss raised his fist once more and banged on the door, shouting.
"...Father, can you hear me?! We are heading down now, but any time you feel like it, please join us. All of your children are waiting for you...!"The voice was very loud, and the door was being noisily pounded on. There was no way that it wouldn't reach Kinzo's ears.
...It was reaching him. However, he ignored it anyways. However, unlike the time he was being called down for lunch, he did not get into a rage. Kinzo was now simply calm at heart... it was almost as though he had gained a far-sightedness by turning himself over to fate.
Acting as though the painfully loud banging on the door completely failed to enter his hearing... and still in his philosophic state, Kinzo silently thought about his next chess move...
"Just as always, Father is not feeling well. He truly regrets missing this once-a-year opportunity to sit together with his gathered relatives."Eva and Rudolf sniggered. Judging by Kinzo's character, he didn't regret it at all... and none of his relatives regretted that he hadn't appeared either.
"Then why don't we start dinner. Gohda, begin."
"Certainly. Well then, let me begin."When Gohda was told to begin the family conference dinner, his highlight scene for the whole year, he nodded, grinning broadly.
"...Umbrella? What's going on?"
"Umm... A short while back, when Maria was in the rose garden and it started raining... it seems she borrowed a white umbrella from someone, and I wanted to thank them..."
"It wasn't one of us. After Rosa went out, we moved over to our room and were having a 'friendly' chat the whole time."
"Haha, that's right. After that, the siblings had a real friendly chat."The word friendly fell awkwardly from Hideyoshi's lips, so that even those that hadn't been there realized that it hadn't been a pleasant conversation.
"At the very least, it certainly couldn't have been me, Eva, Rudolf, or even Hideyoshi-san or Kyrie-san."
"We were together the whole time, even after Natsuhi nee-san and Rosa nee-san left. The whole time until the meal started."
"Nii-san went up to the study with Genji-san to call Father. At that time, the rest of us went straight to the dining hall. So it wasn't one of us. Couldn't it have been a servant kind enough to lend an umbrella?"
"So, Gohda-san?"
At that time, Shannon and Kumasawa appeared, pushing a serving cart loaded with hors d'oeuvres.
"Then what about Kumasawa-san or Shannon-chan?"
"...Yes? Have I made some mistake...?"Shannon shrunk, having come in part way and mistakenly thinking that she was being accused of making some error.
"No you haven't. When Maria-chan was alone in the rose garden, it started to rain. Someone gave her an umbrella. Aunt Rosa said that she wanted to thank that person." "...Uu-. Beatrice..."Maria, her mouth a thin line, said the witch's name in a small voice. Aunt Rosa explained the situation one more time. As she did, Kumasawa-san cackled.
"Preparing the rooms? What do you mean by that?"
"...Because of this rain, we thought that it would be difficult for all of the guests to return to the guesthouse, so the servants were ordered to prepare the guest rooms inside the mansion."
"...Re-ally? How thoughtful. That's right, it would be rude to chase us outside in the middle of this rain."
"Could ya' give it a rest..."
"Yes. We received the order from Madam, and I, Kumasawa-san, and Kanon-kun were preparing the rooms. Then it became time for dinner, and since he was ordered by Genji-sama to go to the guesthouse and call the kids, Kanon-kun left."
"Yes. In that case, did Kanon-san find Maria on the way to the guesthouse and hand her the umbrella?"
"...Uu-. W-ro-ng--!!"
"...Then, Natsuhi nee-san?" "I'm sorry. After everyone's 'friendly' chat, my headache was so bad that I have been resting in my room. Therefore, I did not go outside." "...Then who? George-kun and the kids? That can't be right." "No, it wasn't us. We were watching television in the guesthouse the whole time." "Actually, we thought that Maria had just gone back to the mansion with you..." "Then Kanon-kun came, and he asked whether Maria was with us. That was when we first realized that she wasn't in the mansion. In the first place, if it were me, before lending her an umbrella, I'd have grabbed her hand and pulled her under a roof."
BGM: Lure
"Of course, it wasn't me. Right after it began raining, I visited Kinzo-san's room, and was playing chess with him until just now."
"...Which means that it also wasn't Grandfather." "Wait a sec... Isn't this starting to get a bit weird? Who's left?" "Then, who? Genji-san? Huh? Um, wait a second, don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm searching for some culprit or anything. All I want to do is, as a mother, thank that person who gave Maria an umbrella in the middle of the rain...!"...Giving an umbrella to a girl loitering in the rain was something to be praised, not hidden. Despite that, no one raised their hand.
"...Calm down, Rosa. Why don't we just ask the person who was lent the umbrella?"That's what everyone had been thinking since the beginning. They were all scratching their heads at why she didn't just ask Maria, who had been given the umbrella. However, Rosa bit her lower lip. After all, she already knew how Maria would answer if asked.
"Of course! Just like Rudolf-kun said. Maria-chan, tell your uncle! Who lent you the umbrella?"
"Hahahaha. I see, Beatrice, the witch of the forest, felt pity and lent her an umbrella. What a nice story. Rosa, there you go." "...Nn... Nnnn."Rosa couldn't believe it. Even though she just wanted to say thanks for the umbrella, why did everything have to be so clouded in smoke...
"Uu-! Just like uncle Krauss said. Beatrice lent it to me! Uu-uu-!"
"Hahahahaha... Isn't that great? I'm really jealous of such purity. What do you think, everyone? Hahahaha..."Krauss was laughing with a face that was clearly mocking her, but Maria, apparently feeling that her claim was being believed, was overjoyed.
"Has Maria ever been the type to joke?"If we had heard that kind of story pop out of that old bastard's mouth, we'd have just taken it as another joke. However, it was hard to explain it that way when Maria said it. This was getting pretty unnerving...
"No way. She's always been frank and serious. Hasn't she always just swallowed up jokes that were supposed to be obvious lies? I've never even heard of her cracking a joke."Aunt Rosa probably knew that better than anyone. It appeared that because of this weird situation, she had no idea what was going on anymore.
"So, if Maria says that she borrowed an umbrella from Beatrice, that definitely was Beatrice?" "...We're talking about Maria here, so I can't think of it as some kind of metaphor or joke. It might be best to take what she says at face value."
"Then what's going on? Are you saying that Genji-san or someone put on that fancy dress from the portrait and gave Maria the umbrella?" "...I'm not sure about that... Actually, that's what I want to know."Jessica shrugged jokingly, but her expression wasn't completely joking.
Kumasawa and Shannon, pushing the serving cart, ran into Genji and Kanon on their way to the kitchen.
"...Oh, it's Genji-san. Did you lend Maria-san an umbrella?" "...Umbrella? What are you talking about?" "Right. I heard that when it started raining, Maria-sama was alone in the rose garden... And it seems that she borrowed an umbrella from someone there, but we don't know who it was." "It wasn't me. After all, I thought that Maria-sama was in the guesthouse. When Battler-sama first found her, she was already holding a white umbrella." "My apologies, but it was not me either..." "...Then, you don't think... the Master... possibly?"
"Maybe he went walking down the corridor for some reason, when, by coincidence, he saw Maria-sama in the rose garden without even an umbrella..." "...The Master does not particularly like Maria-sama." "I feel the same. I can't imagine that he would, for Maria-sama's sake, go to all of the trouble of going down the stairs to carry an umbrella to her."
"Oh, my... how troublesome. So that means that the one who lent Maria-sama an umbrella really was Beatrice-sama? Hoh-hoh-hoh-ho..."Kumasawa laughed, just like the relatives in the dining hall had laughed it off. She couldn't think of any other way to break through the smoke veiling the current situation.
Just then, the dry sound of hands clapping twice rung through the hallway. They all turned around at once to see that it was Gohda, who was coming out of the dining hall.
"Alright, everyone. When serving a dinner, proper timing in setting the table is essential. Please immediately see to setting out the soup. Genji-san, the women are in the middle of an important job, so please don't get in their way." "..."Kanon glared at Gohda for being rude to Genji, a person Kanon respected. Genji, realizing this, patted Kanon once on the shoulder as if to warn him. Kanon reluctantly turned away, and returned his expression to normal.
"...Obey Gohda's order. Let us now hurry to prepare the dinner table." "Come on, we have no time. Don't just dawdle around! Hurry...!"Gohda stole the serving cart from Shannon and steadily pushed it forwards towards the kitchen.
"...Then please allow us to return to the kitchen. After all, Gohda-san's temper is very short... hoh-hoh-ho." "P, please excuse me as well..."
"...Genji-sama. Did Beatrice-sama really... return?" "...I don't know." "...I will inform the Master."
"That is not necessary. If she has truly returned, she will eventually appear before the Master of her own accord. Furthermore, she is a fickle person. It would be pointless to report to the Master only to find that she does not appear..." "...I wonder if this means that the Master's ceremony has already begun." "...Probably. However, that has nothing to do with furniture like us. We must return the favor that we received from the Master... until our final moments." "...Yes. That is furniture's... duty."
The darkness of night that now surrounded Rokkenjima was ruled, not by the Ushiromiya family, but by another master. Did this Master take pity on Maria when she was alone and pummeled by the rain in the rose garden, and lend her an umbrella...?
Kanon looked at the rose garden's lights, dimly visible beyond the window. The dim lights were not enough to illuminate the surrounding area.
Part 10: Letter and Umbrella II
Dessert was some kind of chocolate cake accompanied by pear sherbet. Gohda-san enthusiastically explained the recipe as soon as this final dish was presented, but I quickly forgot the details. The guest of honor, Grandfather, was absent, the weather was horrible, and the person who had lent Maria the umbrella was still a mystery.
When dinner ended, no one felt even one bit refreshed. It was too late now, but we realized painfully that taste wasn't the only important part of a meal. The whole atmosphere was also critical. Gohda-san, the supposed conductor of this musical piece called dinner, did his best to enliven the place, dropping little jokes left and right, but apparently not one of them succeeded.
After taking orders for after-dinner coffee, tea, and orange juice, he left for the kitchen. As soon as he disappeared, uncle Krauss spoke.
"Ho. I want to know why you feel that way. Sometime later, allow me, as your older brother, to help cheer you up."Aunt Eva grimaced slightly. I had already heard that she was not on good terms with uncle Krauss , but now I could clearly feel it. When I looked around, I noticed that my father and aunt Rosa were also grimacing.
Anyhow, it looked like there was something besides the weather that was troubling all of them.
"...Both aunt Eva and my father... they aren't looking too happy."
"Really? I don't think so."I asked aunt Natsuhi, who was sitting on my right, but it looked like she was also in a bad mood. She snapped back as though she was absolutely not interested.
"Well, our adult conversation got a little complicated. It's not something that kids like you need to worry about, Battler-kun. Hahahahaha, Right? Natsuhi-san? Kyrie-san?"Uncle Hideyoshi laughed as he spoke, but without his usual brightness, so I could vaguely imagine just how complicated their adult conversation had actually become. On top of that, even aunt Natsuhi and Kyrie-san, the people he had directed his comment to, ignored him as though they hadn't heard anything. I didn't know what kind of conversation they had been having while the kids were away, but it reminded me of how Father had said he had stomach cramps when we had arrived at the mansion. The family conference might have been a playful reunion to us kids, but it was definitely different for the adults...
When uncle Hideyoshi was ignored by the other adults and an awkward silence fell over the room, Kyrie-san spoke up.
"Hey! Wait a sec... Kyrie-san, if you start talking about something like that in the middle of a meal, it won't digest well and we'll all get constipated, ri~ght?"
"Wahahaha! That's right, that's right! We were talking about Battler-kun and Jessica-chan's careers! Ya can't take the future too seriously! Wahahaha..."Hideyoshi heartily agreed as if they really had been talking about that, but that was probably wrong. Kyrie-san had been obviously trying to avoid talking about something. However, if Kyrie-san had determined that this was the best course of action for now, then she was probably right. Taking this into account, I'll cast aside my suspicions as to the cause behind aunt Eva and Dad's bad moods...
At long last, the serving cart returned, filled with coffee and tea. Kumasawa-san and Shannon-chan served it to everyone. Gohda-san then explained that, with this, tonight's dinner was over. If I had been able to eat in a more cheerful mood, it might have been the best dinner in my life. It was a shame that this best dinner couldn't have been had under the best conditions.
"Uu-! George onii-chan, is dinner over now? Over?" "Yes. With this, dinner is finished."
"That's not ladylike. Stay in your seat, and calmly drink up."
"...Uu-."Maria looked like she was really excited about the occasionally crashing thunder. Maybe she wanted to quickly finish eating and run over to the window. She had been fidgeting for a while, waiting for the meal to end. Some people are afraid of thunder, while others find it interesting, and Maria was apparently one of the latter. Therefore, when she heard from George-aniki that dinner was over, a huge smile broke across her face.
She then stood from her seat, took out her hand bag - which she had set under her seat, never having left it even while she was eating - and began fishing around inside of it. No one seemed particularly concerned with this behavior...
"...What's this? This, where did you get it?"George was the first to notice it. As he spoke, Battler also noticed.
On the front of the envelope, the Ushiromiya family crest - the One-winged Eagle - was done in gold leaf. Furthermore, the fact that it was sealed with dark-red wax made it clear that this was not something that Maria could have brought as a prank.
"...Maria-chan, what is that?"It seemed that Natsuhi had also noticed the strangeness of the envelope that Maria was holding. Because her voice sounded too serious to be admonishing a small child, the other relatives around her finally noticed.
"What happened, Natsuhi nee-san?"
"...What is, that?"
"Maria... where did you pick that up...?"
"That envelope has... Kinzo-san's..."
...In other words, it could only mean one thing. This envelope contained a message from Kinzo.
"Ho...What is an envelope like that doing here...?"
"...It... it looks like something interesting has jumped out at us."
"...Ju, just show it to me...!"
"Uu-!! No way, Maria will read it! Maria was told to read it to everyone!!"Uncle Hideyoshi tried to snatch the envelope out from Maria's hands, but she protected it as though hugging it, and didn't let go.
"Hideyoshi-san, you can't use all of your strength against a child. Maria-chan, where did you get this envelope?"
"Messenger...? Ihihihi, the witch of the island sure likes to mess around."Battler tried to joke about it, but no one went along with him.
"...I, I wonder what's written inside of it. Maria-chan...?" "Uu-. Read it! Uu-!"Maria casually opened the envelope. It was sealed only with wax, so she just had to remove the sealing wax to open it. That sealing wax fell onto the desk. Hideyoshi hastily picked it up and stared fixedly at it. He then set it in the center of the table, where Natsuhi, Kyrie, and Nanjo glared at it.
In the sealing wax, the Ushiromiya family crest - which was also Kinzo's personal crest - the One-winged Eagle was imprinted.
"But, in this mansion, couldn't there be several identical seals? For example, if there was some kind of stamp for wax seals, couldn't someone other that Kinzo-san have sealed it?" "No, Kinzo-san would always use a ring on his finger, his "Proof of the Head of the Ushiromiya family", when he sealed the wax. This shape and complex design is definitely Kinzo-san's seal..."
"That is not necessarily so. Anyone in the family must have received a letter from Father at least once. We can't eliminate the possibility that someone, using that wax as a model, created a fake seal to pass themselves off as Father."
"I agree with Aniki. No matter how the seal resembles Father's, we can't prove that it is the real thing. Therefore, it doesn't prove that this envelope came from Father." "I feel the same way. I cannot approve of arbitrarily deciding that this is Father's letter only by the seal in the wax. Doctor Nanjo, couldn't you use more discretion with your vague words...?!"
"...I apologize... I said too much..."One after another, all of the siblings, from Krauss on downwards, rejected Nanjo's statement, saying that the envelope that Maria was holding had not necessarily been sent by Kinzo. They were afraid. Kinzo's intentions were written in there, and they feared from the bottoms of their hearts that it might be some decidedly unfavorable announcement regarding the inheritance.
"...Maria... The person who gave you that envelope was the same person who lent you that umbrella, right...?" "Uu-!" "I don't know what 'uu-' means! Is it true?!" "Uu-...Yes. Uu-."
"So, in other words, the witch, Beatrice, gave Maria-chan that envelope along with the umbrella...?" "Uu-!"Maria nodded forcefully.
"...I, I agree with my husband. It's a dubious letter handed over by some suspicious person. It's not even worth reading." "There's nothing wrong with just reading it, right?"Battler said it to Jessica in a small voice, trying to act tough, but Natsuhi heard him clearly and glared at him with threatening eyes.
"A, and then, err... Beatrice told you to read it after the meal was over, right Maria?"
"Uu-!"
"...It's alright, everyone. This isn't Grandfather's envelope, it's Beatrice's. Who cares who wrote it, why can't we just hear what's inside before we decide?" "Th... that's right. Even if Father didn't necessarily write it, I'm still concerned about its contents. Maria-chan, I'm sorry I tried to take it from you by force earlier! I apologize, so will you read it aloud in front of everyone?" "...Maria. Read it."
"Uu-."As all of the relatives stared fiercely at Maria, she spread the letter open with a rustle...
"That's right. Maria, a messenger? That's seriously not one of his hobbies... Rosa, could this be Maria-chan trying to surprise us with some kind of hidden talent...?"
"...Well, Maria's not really a kid who is capable of something so clever."
Video: The Letter
BGM: Fishy Aroma
"I welcome you to Rokkenjima, members of the Ushiromiya family. I am serving Kinzo-sama as the Alchemy counsellor for this house, and my name is Beatrice." "...How silly...!"
"Shut up!" "I have been serving him as stipulated by a long-lasting contract; but this very day, that contract has been pronounced terminated by Kinzo-sama. In consequence, from this day on, please acknowledge my resignation as Alchemy counsellor for this house." "...How foolish, what nonsense...!"
"I, I can't stand to listen to it...!"
"R, ridiculous!!" "...I, it's been ridiculous from the very beginning..." "That must be the main point, right? Doesn't it sound just like one of those contracts with the devil? Like, when the contract is ended, it comes back to collect interest. Is she trying to grab some retirement money for her old age or something? What a cheeky witch."
"Battler-kun, you shouldn't make fun of it now..."Battler made a face as if to ask, "If I can't make fun of this, what can I make fun of?" At the same time, some of the adults' faces were pale, while others looked completely shocked.
"...A special clause...?" "Wh, what is it...?!" "Special clause. When the contract is terminated, Beatrice is within her rights to recover the gold and interest accumulated. However, should someone discover the aforementioned gold, Beatrice shall renounce all rights to its recovery for all time. From now on, the collecting of interest shall take place; however, if but a single person fulfills the special clause, I will give back even the interest that I already took. Furthermore, as the first step of the collecting, I have taken possession of the symbol of the inheritance, the Ring of the Head of the Ushiromiya Family. I ask you to please confirm this by the wax seal."
"...Does it really say that...?! That Father would relinquish his ring is unthinkable...!"Krauss was staring at the sealing wax as though he was trying to burn a hole through it. Eva and Rudolf were doing the same over his shoulder!
"I, I'm sure I had the odd feeling that something was missing from Kinzo's finger when we were playing chess..." "Doctor Nanjo! Don't say something so careless just because of a vague memory!" "We can't prove its authenticity here. We can only determine whether Father has really handed over his ring and whether this letter tells the truth by asking him directly." "Th, that's right. It's just as Kyrie-san says..."
"...Do you really think... that Kinzo-san will tell you...? After all, that person's thoughts are sometimes impossible to predict using common sense..." "No matter what happens, it's still nonsense! In the first place, the illusion of gold itself is a fake. If you want to talk about nonexistent gold, leave me out of it!" "But, this is the witch speaking, right? About how the inheritance and all of the assets would be handed over to the one who finds the gold, right? So, could this mean that Beatrice-sama is Father's legal advisor, or maybe in charge of his funds...?" "W, we can't possibly trust some strange person who entrusts such a suspicious paper to a child!"
"Aniki... let's be frank. Is it possible that someone you don't know is actually handling Father's assets?!" "N, no, that's impossible! As the agent to the head, I am in control over all of Father's assets! There shouldn't be anyone who can freely do that without me knowing it!" "So, in other words, there are some assets that you are not in control of, Krauss nii-san?" "How foolish, there's no way something like that exists!" "...It does exist. Some of Father's property that Nii-san doesn't control." "There is no way that something like that exists!!" "No, it does. That'd be Father's, no, Beatrice's hidden gold!!" "Let me make it simple. In short, Father has some trusted confidante that Aniki doesn't even know about. Furthermore, this person has always been in charge of watching and managing the gold. It's possible that this person is a dilettante of a very rich family who provided his financing in the first place under the guise of a devil's contract." "...Could it be that this confidante called Beatrice is trying to test which of the sons and daughters is most fitting to be financed by her gold?"What Kyrie said was something that all of the siblings wanted to be made clear. Upon reflection, they realized that Kinzo's strange epitaph had always hung in the hall beneath the portrait of the witch, and while it had long been whispered that the one who solved the puzzle would receive everything, no one had ever clearly stated it. It was just something that everyone had hoped might be true. That had, right here, right now, been clearly expressed by Beatrice's letter! It clearly specified that everything of the Ushiromiya family would be given to the one who found the gold.
The door to Kinzo's study was being violently, violently beaten against over and over again like a percussion instrument. The screams coming from the other side were Krauss's, Rudolf's, and sometimes Eva's voices. It was the siblings, who were trying to intrude upon Kinzo's study to question him about the truth behind that mysterious letter.
Kinzo was eating. An elegant tablecloth was set over the desk, and the fabulous dinner that had colored the table down in the dining hall was once again laid out.
Kinzo continued his meal in silence. Shannon, taking away an empty plate, looked uncomfortably between the door being beaten on and Kinzo's face.
"...Everyone is calling for you, but...but what should I do...?"
"...Leave it. God and I value silence during dinner."
"Should I silence them?"
"There's no need. It does not even reach my ears."Kinzo coolly tasted his food. Genji quietly lowered his head and took a single step back. As he did, Kanon, who stood in reserve like a shadow behind and to the side of Genji, opened his mouth.
"...Since Maria-sama received a letter from Beatrice-sama, I wonder whether they want to test its authenticity." "...Hahahaha... Those fools, did they start already? ...Come, Beatrice. There's nothing lacking in the coins that have been wagered. Shall we enjoy this night to the fullest? ...I don't feel like losing. Your smile is mine for all eternity. If I could see it one more time, I wouldn't regret losing my wealth, my honor, or even my life."