Part 37: Guest of Honor

October 4th, 1986, 10:45 AM

BGM: Moonlit Night
They stand still, talking with each other about the roses' beauty and the state of their blooming. In the midst of all this, there was a single unhealthy rose, and Maria became overwhelmed with dejection at its state. But George used his quick wits, and, saying everything would be fine if they looked over this poor thing, marked it with a candy wrapper, and immediately restored Maria's good mood. And once Battler, with whom she had been getting along well since that morning, raised the subject that Maria loved so much, Halloween, she began playing around energetically again.
Maria probably treasured that marshmallow jack-o-lantern candy that her mother had bought for her more than anything. It seemed that several of them had been bought for her, and she demanded trick-or-treat from every person she met, giving them candy instead of the other way around.







Judging by Rosa's appearance, it seemed that, as a mother, she did not find her daughter's love for witches pleasant. It seemed that the cousins other than Battler were able to realize this, and they shrugged their shoulders, smiling bitterly.

As Battler asked that, George and Jessica raised a small voice. It seemed they were too late. It almost looked as though Maria had been waiting for that question.
After looking happy for an instant, her expression turned a little mean, as though to say 'Didn't you know that?' It was the expression of an enthusiast who has been enraged by the misspeak of an outsider with a wrong impression.






BGM: Melody (instrumental)
She glared at me with eyes that told me to let her explain without interrupting. Maria looked like she was having fun telling me, so I decided not to interrupt...

At the time, the people believed that the souls returning to the physical world would go into people's houses or possess people, and do bad things. So in order to avoid harm from them, the people created enchantments. One of those was to imitate creepy monsters and scare the souls instead, which was apparently a way to avoid being possessed.



Her knowledge was so extensive that the adults had suddenly started listening in too. Maria, who was normally treated like the youngest the whole time, puffed out her chest in pride. Rosa tried to say this was just a kid's story, and that she wanted to quickly break up the circle and set the luggage down in the guesthouse, but nobody else agreed, and she let out a heavy sigh.


Because humans could receive the favors of those spirits, they were able to earn a wonderful blessing, and a year's worth of good crops.













Rosa scolded Maria, trying to shut her up before her cheery discussion about black magic earned her the sniggers of the relatives.

Battler had been gone for six years, and had completely forgotten about the Legend of the Rokkenjima Witch. However, when he said that he didn't know Beatrice's name, Maria's mood, which had been so bright until just now, became sour in an instant. When he saw that, Battler immediately remembered that it was the name of the witch of this island, but the damage had been done. Until Maria's mood improved, she went on and on about many mysterious and fabulous episodes regarding the Golden Witch...

BGM: Sukashiyuri



Gohda lead the relatives and they began to head to the guesthouse. Since they wanted to set down their luggage and take a quick rest, they didn't realize that Rosa and Maria had stopped in that place.
After watching them leave towards the guesthouse, Rosa's features changed suddenly.
She let go with the hand that had been gripping Maria's arm the whole time. There was a bright red mark there, making it clear how much excessive force she had been gripping Maria's slender arm with.

BGM: Fortitude



As Rosa cursed, she twisted Maria's ear up, making it seem like it was going to snap off... As an expression of anguish spread across Maria's face, she stood on her tiptoes as though her life depended on it, trying to soften the pain on the ear that was being pulled...
Rosa suddenly stole the candy that Maria had been holding in her hand.

To Maria, it was supposed to proof of her memory of that brief span of time when her mother had bought something fun for her... But the fact of the matter was that she saw her mother trampling on it. It was as though a brand had been pushed against Maria's eyes, leaving a mark that couldn't be erased...


Maria closed her eyes tightly, patiently bearing her mother's violence... No, that wasn't quite it.

She kept bearing it, muttering that over and over...

Rosa's shoulders shook as she breathed, tired from hitting. Maria grasped her hands together, withstanding it, hoping her 'mother' would come back quickly...


After throwing those words at Maria, Rosa went off towards the guesthouse, leaving Maria behind. Maria, unable even to remember that it was alright to cry, kept staring down at the trampled, unrecognizable jack-o-lantern candy...










Rosa went into her room, guided by Gohda. She then closed the door somewhat violently and threw her luggage on top of the bed.

BGM: Rose
In front of the bed, she got down on her knees, burying her face in the bed. For a while, Rosa made as if to shred the sheets with her fingernails, sobbing continually...

Kanon, who had been hiding behind a thicket, appeared after watching Rosa leave.

Maria laughed unpleasantly, but to Kanon, who had seen the whole thing, it looked like she was enduring as best she could...


Kanon got down on his knees and picked up the trampled candy.

He thought about dusting it off and returning it to her, but really couldn't do so with it in that condition. He was at a loss at what to do, and he met eyes with Maria.
...No, they didn't meet. Maria was looking at the candy that Kanon had picked up. Right now, Maria's heart was surely the same as the trampled candy which had been crushed into a pulp. Kanon realized this, but he didn't know what he should do...

Kanon remembered that a similar candy which he had received from Maria was in his pocket. Maria stuck out her hand. Kanon thought she was trying to take it, so he held out the candy, but Maria didn't try to grasp it.
...Then Kanon realized. She was saying 'Give it back'. No matter how tragic and trampled it was, the candy was Maria's. Her mother had bought it for her. No matter how tragic, it had to be this candy...
If it could be made clean by dusting it off... Kanon hung his head.

Kanon held out the miserable candy she wanted. Maria took it, and spoke.



But just now, Maria had told Battler about it proudly. She had spoken almost as though she was meeting with Beatrice regularly. The inside of the fist Kanon made with his left hand hurt sharply. In the past, a witch called Beatrice had appeared, and had tempted him and Shannon. He had always tried to make himself think it was a bad dream. However, Shannon insisted that it had definitely been a real witch.
And then, this summer. The shrine to the local Shinto god had been hit by lightning and had disappeared without a trace over the span of a single night. He had known that Shannon had broken the mirror. And he remembered that, upon the witch's departure, she had left with parting words staying that she would eventually be revived.

Kanon couldn't suppress a sense of some kind of misfortune welling up in his heart. For a while, Maria remained silent, as though she could see into Kanon's heart. Almost as though she was waiting for a memory of Beatrice to be revived. And then, she spoke, as though it was a fact.



The face of the witch, who Kanon had tried to pretend was a bad dream, began to slowly creep into the back of his mind...

BGM: Moonlit Night



Nanjo glanced at Natsuhi. As though he wasn't qualified to disregard Natsuhi when he spoke.
















Kyrie's words seemed to hold some slight warning towards all of the people gathered in that place. They all understood, and as they cleared their throats and straightened their neckties, the atmosphere in the room returned to normal for a moment.

BGM: Novelette

Shannon entered the parlor, pushing the serving cart. Everyone decided to slowly enjoy some black tea for the time being... A wonderful aroma began to spread throughout the parlor. As far as anyone could see, the strained atmosphere which had been there until right before Shannon had entered seemed like a lie. Of course, Shannon, who was setting out the tea, probably didn't even notice. Kyrie acted as though she was laughing at everyone's adult appearance.
Rudolf didn't like it when Kyrie took the initiative and spoke at the family conference. It was his worthless male pride. He probably didn't want to look like a weak man who took advice from his wife. She understood that, and did her best to refrain from saying anything unnecessary. So she separated herself from the circle of siblings, which only looked like it had no outsiders in it on the outside, and slowly enjoyed her tea near the window.



It seemed that Rosa hadn't been able to get along just on the surface. They had come here to fight bloodily and dirtily, each trying to steal the inheritance. Maybe by now she didn't want to play a part in a conspiracy... Or maybe she was still much too inexperienced for that.





Rosa was silent. Maybe she was unsure as to how Kyrie meant that...



Rosa bit her lower lip...




Shannon bowed politely and left the room.












There really were small splashes of rain on the glass of the parlor window. It seemed that the weather had gotten worse faster than they had expected.
...Just then, a silent thunderbolt struck inside Rosa's head, and she remembered that her beloved child was in the rose garden. A normal girl would think about going into the house if the weather got bad. ...But Maria was different. She would sometimes become stubborn, and wouldn't move if rain or even spears fell from the sky.

BGM: None

Everyone looked back at Rosa when she let out a small scream.






Rosa dashed from the entrance hall into the rose garden.

Just as Kyrie had said, the wind was mixed in with small droplets of rain. There was also a low rumble of thunder. It could start raining anytime. Rosa headed for the rose garden. She headed for the place where she had scolded Maria a short while ago.
...It was almost lunchtime. The children had been told that they should come to the mansion around lunchtime, so they were probably in the guesthouse, waiting to be called. Even if Maria didn't come, they would surely think that I had taken her to the mansion with me, and wouldn't worry much. After all she was with her mother, so there shouldn't have been anything to worry about.
Except I was here, and threw my daughter into the worsening weather outside, all alone...!


It really was as I'd thought. She was still standing stock still, exactly the same way she had been, in the place where I had scolded her. Held in her hand... was the candy that I had bought, given her, and then stepped on and crushed.
With that gripped in her hand, she stood there as the strong wind whipped her hair about, tormenting her...





Rosa buried her face in Maria's small chest, crying and begging forgiveness. And again, those tears dripped down after who knows how many times. If only the brilliant sun had been shining on the two of them, all of their cares would have evaporated, and they would have felt like they could begin anew.
However, what surrounded the two of them was the worsening weather. The strong winds mixed in with the sound of thunder were saddening. The sound of Maria sniffling made Rosa notice. If she stood exposed to the wind for too long, she would probably catch a cold.



Rosa thought that she had already received Maria's forgiveness, so she hadn't imagined Maria would refuse. But that expression on Maria's face didn't look like that of a child resisting her mother. So Rosa wasn't able to understand why Maria wanted to stand still, pointlessly, as the weather grew even worse.
Maria answered that question...


Rosa was a little lost for words and remained silent. After they had just gone to great lengths to make up with each other. She chose her words carefully, trying to get Maria to come with her to the mansion without denying the witch outright.




Maria pulled yet another sweet out of her handbag, moaning uu-uu-. Rosa was bewildered and didn't know what to do as Maria started being difficult again...

It was probably a sign. A sign that this island was closed off by the storm, detached from common sense and reality. Therefore, after this moment, all common sense would probably be useless.
The wind blew even stronger, and in the middle of the blizzard of scattered rose petals, ...a figure appeared, leaving Rosa unable to imagine that this was a scene from reality.
...No, it was probably, definitely... fantastical.
Because that shadow of a person was...


Part 38: Guest of Honor II

BGM: Golden Sneer
Normally, Rosa would scold her daughter if she dashed over to someone who she hadn't seen and didn't know. But Rosa forgot about that, unable to do anything but stand there, shocked.



She patted Maria's head as she said this, smiling roguishly...

Therefore, even though Rosa had never met her, even though she hadn't named herself, Rosa was able to know her name. However, that name held a special meaning on Rokkenjima and in the Ushiromiya family.
...There's no way something that stupid...!






Maria didn't go so far as to say that it was her mother who had stepped on it. However, when the witch saw the candy, for some reason, she looked at Rosa and grinned. A chill went down Rosa's spine, as though she felt that this gaze was staring right through her.


Maria held out the candy gleefully. Rosa could do nothing but watch over this, stunned. How would this person gloss over the fact that the candy was pitifully trampled and trick Maria...?
Maria looked as though she believed that it could be fixed as good as new. There was no way that could be done without real "magic"...!


Along with those strange words, spoken as though singing an improvised folk song, the witch threw the sweet into the air. Maria was closing her eyes and remembering, just as the witch had told her. What shape had that crushed candy really had?
Therefore, only Rosa saw that scene.

It scattered into several golden butterflies, and they began to gather at the witches hand, which was held up to the sky. And as she did, unbelievably, it returned to its beautiful original form, just like the time it had been bought...
Only Rosa and the witch had watched that scene. Unable to understand the event that was occurring right in front of her eyes, Rosa stood with her mouth open, forgetting to shut it...



There was a very bold contrast between Rosa's shocked appearance and Maria's innocently joyful one. Was that what the witch was laughing at?
A smile floated to Beatrice's face, different from the one that she had shown Maria.


Rosa was very aware of the meaning of those words. Rosa had known her face. ...She had known it from the portrait of the witch.
But, no wait... was this mystery woman really...?!


The witch pulled a western envelope from her pocket and gave it to Maria. However, when Maria made to open it, the witch stopped her.






She probably hadn't imagined that the witch would speak to her, too. Rosa was bewildered at this second western envelope, which was thrust before her. She remembered seeing that western envelope. There could be no mistake. It was Kinzo's special envelope, used when he wrote with his own hand, and bearing the Ushiromiya family crest. Furthermore, it was sealed with red sealing wax, and furthermore, it had the mark which was thought to be made by the ring of the head.
In other words, without even asking what was written inside... this woman, who Maria called Beatrice, was trusted enough that she was in charge of a personal letter of the current Ushiromiya head...!



Today was the family conference, and the biggest object of discussion was the inheritance problem. So, she had joined together with Eva and Rudolf, and they had planned to force a certain condition on Krauss to try and extort several hundred million yen in cash out of him. It was as if the witch could see through all of that... And what is she trying to announce to us when all of the siblings are gathered? With a personal envelope that no one but the Ushiromiya head can use...!

The witch turned her back to her, laughing... And then began to head towards the mansion with an air of composure. As Maria energetically answered her and watched her go, she began to dash towards the guesthouse, leaving Rosa where she was. As though she wanted to inform the other cousins of her good fortune at meeting the witch as soon as she could.
At last, Rosa was left alone in the rose garden as the winds grew stronger, unable to do anything except pray that what had happened was just a daydream...







The witch probably laughed because she knew that Kinzo's head physician had announced that his remaining life was slim. However, if anyone actually looked at Kinzo, his will power, which made it extremely difficult to imagine that his remaining life really was slim, might make it seem natural to call him healthy. Maybe the witch laughed at that.


Genji followed her, as though he served her. At that time, Kyrie came out of the parlor. She probably went out to fix her makeup, or something.

BGM: Fishy Aroma
There was a guest for Kinzo, whose remaining life was not long, on the day of the family conference when the fate of the inheritance was to be decided... and furthermore, this person was well enough acquainted that Genji was following behind her. Kyrie immediately realized that this person who she had never met before was deeply important.
Kyrie and the witch's eyes met. Realizing that it would be rude to pretend not to notice, she greeted the witch.



From this exchange, Kyrie realized that she was a guest of fairly high rank, even amidst the Ushiromiya family. And, the fact this was a guest of that level, coupled with the face of the portrait in the entrance hall that she bore, made Kyrie's eyes open wide in an instant...





Kyrie had planned on giving her a sociable and humble greeting. Her expression grew slightly cloudy at that openly oppressive response.
...Anyhow, it didn't seem like this was a person she could grow to like. But if Kyrie's imagination was correct, this "witch" probably held a huge key to what her own husband was most interested in, and something that couldn't help but influence tonight's family conference... So without shooting back a retort, Kyrie did nothing except silently watch her go up the stairs to the second floor, with Genji following behind.
So when someone tapped her shoulder from behind, she was so surprised, she almost choked. It was, Natsuhi...

BGM: None


Natsuhi spoke in a perfectly ordinary way. She spoke from the position that the idea of a witch was just foolish, and that after all, it was nothing more than Kinzo's ramblings.
However. something didn't make sense to Kyrie now, for some reason. Just now, she herself had seen the Golden Witch come in from the entrance hall and climb up the stairs. So Natsuhi's method of speech seemed almost like it was inducing her to not accept that the witch existed, or that it was forcing her to think that it might not exist...



Genji, who was completely used to it, did not grimace... And the Golden Witch didn't grimace either.





The witch grasped the doorknob to the study.

It was the sound of the doorknob literally burning the witch's hand.




The witch looked at her hand, which, although it was horribly burned, was beginning to heal bit by bit.


