PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 1 (15 page)

With a laugh that was slightly strained, Ada shook her head; she was determined not to worry her uncle. She stole a glance at Oscar, remembering what her brother had told her in front of the boutique. She wanted to ask him about it, but she’d promised to pretend not to have seen or heard anything. She banished her curiosity from her mind.

Ada had been remembering the previous day. Worried about her brother, she’d gone down into the cellar. In an underground room, she’d met a woman who, like Ada herself, was interested in the occult. Happy and exhilarated, she’d tried to talk to her about this and that, but—it had been a first meeting, after all; maybe she’d moved too quickly—she’d startled the woman terribly.

When the woman had collapsed, Ada had been worried and had gone outside to call for help, but she’d gotten lost in the city streets.

When, with much difficulty, she’d found her way back to the boutique, the door had been shut and locked.

She’d called into the shop, but had received no reply. Today, when she’d gone by the shop again, someone had posted a sign on the door that said
CLOSED INDEFINITELY
.

She’d felt she had to apologize to the woman for startling her.

If, by some chance, the woman had forgiven her…

…What a pity. It had been such a good opportunity.

“Did something happen? C’mon, tell your uncle.” Oscar sat down on the sofa opposite Ada, speaking magnanimously. “It doesn’t matter if it’s little or silly. I’ll hear you out.”

His words made her happy. Ada giggled, self-consciously, then began. “All right. Umm, I was thinking that it’s very hard to make friends who share my interests.”

At her words, Oscar grunted briefly. “Hmm.”

For a little while, he closed his eyes as if he was thinking. Finally, he looked at Ada with a grin, and said something that, just maybe, he should never have said under any circumstances:

“It might be better if you took someone you’re already friends with and cunningly lured her in.”

…As in, into Ada’s hobby.

Oscar’s suggestion had never occurred to Ada before. For a short while, she was silent.

Then, in a small voice, she murmured, “I see… I’ll take a beginner’s book next time, and…”

Whether Ada went on to put her plan into action or not remains a mystery.

~
Fin
~

It happened one night.

It was the wee hours of the morning, and the moon was approaching its zenith in the night sky.

In a spacious bedroom at the main residence of the House of Rainsworth, one of the four great dukedoms, Sheryl was sitting up in bed.

Sheryl Rainsworth. Although she was elderly and normally used a wheelchair to get around, the years had stolen none of her elegance and grace.

In aristocratic society, where male dominance was still quite common, the House of Rainsworth was unusual in that the Rainsworth women held strong influence. As the head of the family, Sheryl was well-respected, not only by the Rainsworths, but by the aristocracy as a whole.

“—Hee-hee!”

With a charming smile on her lips, Sheryl glanced at the window. The curtains were drawn, but a thin shaft of moonlight slipped in between them.

Sheryl raised one hand and cupped it to her ear, as if she was listening closely to catch a faint sound.

Then she murmured, pleasantly:

“The cat seems to be making noise again tonight. That sweet little kitten…”

The young lady was troubled.

In the afternoon of the following day, as she stood before the vanity in her room at the Rainsworth mansion:

“Could I possibly be ___________?” Sharon muttered, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. Both her voice and her face were glum, dreary and dejected. “…”

Sharon glared at her face as though she was trying to stare it down. Realizing that her forehead was creased, she forced a cheerful smile. The Sharon in the mirror broke into a flawlessly ladylike smile that would have been quite at home at any society function.

It didn’t last long, though.

“Haaah…”

Sharon sighed listlessly, hanging her head.

This is depressing… After I’d determined to do my best, too…

“Haaaaaaaaaaah.” She gave a long sigh.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. From the hallway, a voice called, “Sharon-sama, may I come in?” When Sharon banished her gloomy atmosphere and said, “Yes, go ahead,” the door opened quietly and one of the maids who worked at the mansion entered.

With the door at her back, the maid bowed to Sharon, then came forward.

Closer inspection revealed that she was holding a small package.

“You’ve received a parcel, miss. Here it is.”

“…?”

The maid held the package out respectfully, with both hands. Sharon took it, puzzled.

She hadn’t been expecting anything from anybody. From the weight and feel of the package, she guessed that it was a book, and she checked the sender’s name. It was a bookstore Sharon frequented.

At that, she remembered.

“You’re right. It’s the book I’d ordered.”

When Sharon nodded slightly, the maid bowed again, turned briskly and walked to the door.

Sharon let her eyes fall to the package. Then:

“…Haaah.”

Though her order had arrived, Sharon didn’t seem happy. In fact, she seemed disappointed. At her sigh, the maid turned back.

Sharon gave a troubled smile.

“A little while ago, I wasn’t able to find a book I was looking for, so I asked them to send me a copy if one came into their hands. Later on, though, I found the book at another bookstore, and I already have it. I forgot to cancel my order.”

“…If you have no use for it, miss, shall I dispose of it for you?” the maid asked, solicitously.

Sharon told her there was no need to go that far. The maid bowed again and left the room.

Sharon had ordered one of her favorite things: a romance novel.

The book was a work that one of her favorite authors had
published in the past under a different name. It was now quite hard to find, and was said to be an elusive gem. She really should have been delighted, but the fact that this was a duplicate copy made that difficult.

Since it was here, however, Sharon thought she should at least put it on her bookshelf with the rest, and she unwrapped the parcel.

When the cover of the book emerged from its wrappings:

“Oh?”

Sharon sounded puzzled. “…This isn’t what I ordered,” she murmured.

The parcel held a book she’d never heard of by an author she didn’t know.

Someone else’s package must have been delivered to her by mistake, she thought.

In that case, she should return it to the bookstore.

Just as Sharon rewrapped the book, there was another knock at the door, and a voice called in:

“Sharon-sama?”

The voice belonged to a different maid from the one who’d just left. At Sharon’s “Come in,” the door opened, and she entered.

The maid bowed to Sharon.

“Sheryl-sama would like to speak with you. She requests that you come to her study.”

“Grandmother? Yes, I see.”

Sharon told the maid she’d go right away.

After the maid had departed, Sharon glanced at the wrapped book in her hand. Then she placed it in front of the vanity and rose to her feet. She’d considered giving the book to the maid to take care of, but she wanted to enclose a message for the bookstore, asking them to cancel her previous order.

I’ll deal with this book later, then.

Having made up her mind, she checked her hair and clothes in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place. Everything was perfect.

Even so, Sharon’s reflection in the mirror seemed somehow dispirited…

I may be ___________.

She couldn’t get the thought out of her head, and it dragged her mood lower and lower.

…Still.

I mustn’t let Grandmother see me like this.

She shook her head, summoning a bright smile.
There
. Sharon nodded approvingly to herself, then left the room. At that, the room was empty.

A few minutes later.

“Sharon, it’s me!”

Baaaaaam!

Flinging the door open with a complete lack of manners and absolutely no reserve, a girl entered the room.

No sooner had she done so than she struck an arrogant pose. The haughty voice and attitude marked her as Alice, beyond a doubt.

“You said you had some good sweets, so I came all the way over here in person, just for you— Hmm?”

The sight of the empty room perplexed Alice.

She strode to the center of the room and folded her arms, looking irritated.

“What, she summoned me and she isn’t even here?” she snarled, glancing around the room.

Abruptly, her eyes found the parcel that lay on the vanity.
A box of sweets?!
Alice thought. She crossed to the vanity
with a bounce and picked up the parcel.
If we’re going to eat this anyway
, she thought,
she won’t mind if I open it
. So she opened it.

But what emerged from the wrappings wasn’t a box of sweets.

It was a book.

On registering the difference, Alice gave a dissatisfied little growl.

Alice knew that Sharon loved books—particularly “romans novels,” or whatever they were called. She’d once been the target of an enthusiastic lecture on how wonderful they were. She’d been told that they were the bible of “maidenly feelings” and “melting hearts,” and just packed with sweet-and-sour sentiments. Sharon’s intensity had been impressive, Alice thought.

She’d been told to call Sharon “Sharon Onee-sama,” but she hadn’t understood it at all.

Only, when she
had
called her that because there was no help for it, Sharon had wriggled with joy.

…Alice really didn’t understand it.

“Grrr, I don’t get it. Something edible would be a lot better than something like this.”

Alice flipped through the book with a bored expression, muttering complaints.

Suddenly, the hand that was turning the pages stopped.

She’d spotted an illustration.

“??? …What’s this…?”

Alice cocked her head, confused, and thought hard.

“Oh, Alice-san.”

Sharon’s conversation with Sheryl, her grandmother, hadn’t taken very long at all, and when she returned to her room, there was Alice.

Alice was standing at the far end of the room, facing the window. When Sharon called to her, she jumped and whirled around, looking terribly startled.

“Sha-Sha-Sharon?! You…!”

“Good afternoon,” Sharon said smoothly, nodding to her. She glanced at the room’s clock.

“You’re early, aren’t you. There’s still an hour left before we’d planned to meet.”

She’d sent a messenger to Pandora with a note saying she’d found a confection she thought Alice would like, and asking her to tea. In the message, she’d invited Oz and Gilbert as well, but she didn’t see them.

“Alice-san? Where are the others?”

“Huh? O-o-o-oh,
them
! Since we got here early, they said they were going to look at the rose garden or something—”

Alice seemed nervous.

“…Alice-san?” Sharon murmured, curiously.

Alice’s behavior struck her as odd. It wasn’t a problem if Oz and Gilbert were out looking at the Rainsworth rose garden, and of course it wasn’t a problem that Alice had come to her room early, by herself. However, there was something strange about
this particular
Alice.

The moment Alice had seen Sharon, she’d begun to inch backward, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. However, she soon came up against the window glass and was unable to go any farther.

A cloud of question marks floated above Sharon’s head.

Whatever’s the matter? She seems quite tense…

No, “tense” wasn’t the word…

Wary? Is she frightened of something? …Of what? Of me?

But why?

Even as Alice watched Sharon, she kept glancing away. When Sharon followed her gaze, her eyes found a book lying on the sofa that stood against the wall.

It was the book Sharon had rewrapped and left on the vanity.

Aha
, Sharon thought, hiding a smile.

While she was alone, Alice had stealthily unwrapped the parcel and looked at its contents, and before she could wrap it up again, the room’s mistress had returned. That was why Alice was flustered. She was afraid Sharon might be angry with her.

…The question of whether Alice really had such a commendable personality did cross Sharon’s mind. However, she couldn’t think of any other reason for this reaction.

“Haah… Alice-san?”

Simply being addressed was enough to make Alice flinch.

Then she looked at Sharon with timid eyes that seemed to beg for forgiveness. She’d teared up just a little.

—My, how adorable!
Sharon thought, privately.

Of course, although her arrogant speech and behavior normally canceled it out, Alice was a pretty girl.

Huddled up, she was as cute as a small animal; a squirrel or a rabbit, perhaps.

I won’t shout at her, but I really should caution her.

Not being bound by rules and manners was one of Alice’s charms, but even so…

Sharon crossed to the sofa, picked up the book, and set it aside. Then she sat down.

She patted the cushion next to her, beckoning Alice over.

This is for Alice’s sake. Oz-sama lets her have her own way a bit too much.

Yes, it certainly wasn’t because Alice was so cute when she was frightened that it had put mischievous thoughts into her head.

Not in the least.

“Come, Alice-san. Come here.”

Sharon smiled, encouraging her. However, Alice shook her head.

“N-no, but I —”

“…Alice-san?” Sharon’s smile grew brighter.

“……”

Timidly, fearfully, Alice approached the sofa. She was still sneaking glances at the book. Stealthily, as if to keep as much distance between them as possible, she sat on the very end of the sofa. Sharon promptly moved over, narrowing the gap.

“Wah!” Alice gave a little scream.

Sharon frowned a bit sadly at this oversensitive reaction.

“Don’t be so frightened. You’ll hurt my feelings.”

“I-I didn’t mean to! I-I don’t, but, well, you know…”

As Alice desperately defended herself, Sharon giggled.

“I’m only joking.
—Now, then…”

When she lowered her tone slightly, Alice shrank even further.