Let's continue with the story shall we…
Mission 21 : Confusion, Love Potion, Secrets
／人◕ .◕人＼
Fantasy fic: Montmorency, wears a dress similar to Nevan's black dress...giving the audience a sultry 'come hither' gesture…
／人◕ .◕人＼
Hmm... For Something Different, Let's try to see what the other characters are doing at the moment...
Montmorency, prideful of her long, curly golden hair and vivid blue eyes, was mixing a potion in her room at the dormitory. Leaning her tall body on a chair, she was engrossed in mixing a secret potion inside a pot with a wooden pestle.
Montmorency the "Fragrance", a mage of the "water" element, had a hobby of magical medicine... potion making. And just like her second name suggested, her specialty was perfume making. The perfumes she made were known for the uniquely lovely fragrance they emit, and she was extremely popular with the ladies and town girls.
Today, Montmorency was zealously creating a certain potion.
It was not just any potion. What a thing, how wrong that it was a forbidden potion. By the country's proclamation, it was an item forbidden to be created or used.
Montmorency sold the perfumes she made in the town and slowly saved up money. And then, today, this day, she used the money she saved up and obtained the recipe for the forbidden potion, as well as the high priced secret medicine needed for the mixing, at a dark magic store.
Hobbies win over moral.
Getting fed up over making normal potions, Montmorency felt like creating something forbidden despite knowing that an enormous fine would be imposed on her if she was discovered.
Along with the mashed up fragrant wood, dragon sulfur, and mandragora, at last, to pour in the essential secret medicine... the liquid that she had paid a large amount of money to obtain, she grabbed the small bottle beside her.
'Just a small quantity...' For just this little amount of liquid stored in the perfume bottle, Montmorency used up pretty much all of the money she had saved up.
700 in écu gold coins. An amount of money a commoner could use to live five to six years.
When she tilted the small bottle to the pot, being careful not to spill anything...
Someone knocked on the door, causing Montmorency to leap up.
"Wh-who is it... At a time like this..."
She placed the ingredients and utensils that were on the desk inside the drawer. After that, she headed towards the door while combing her hair upwards.
"Who is it?"
"It's me! Guiche! Your eternal servant! Open this door for me!"
"Who? is? an eternal servant?" Montmorency muttered. She knew about his unfaithful nature quite well.
When they walked together in the town, he would get distracted and look restlessly around at the beautiful women. When they drank wine at a bar, he would make advances at the waitresses whenever she left her seat for a bit.
Finally, he would forget about a date promise and go pick flowers for a girl somewhere else.
It was quite annoying to hear him say 'eternal'.
Montmorency spoke in an irritated voice.
"Why did you come here? I already broke up with you."
"I don't think like that at all. But if you think that way, then it is my fault... After all, see, I love beautiful things. In other words, I am a servant to beauty... Like you already know, art, that's right, art! I'm too weak against beautiful things..."
'You love art? For someone with bad tastes, you sure can say things.' She thought.
The color of the shirt he wore for dates was gingira violet, and she got a headache the time he came wearing a red and green scarf.
Then came that flaming pink long coat, Guiche modelled after his 'Master's'…
For someone that was good looking as Guiche, his tastes for stuff are rather ugly.
With the exception of girls, just to be clear.
"But I've made sure that I will no longer accept any art except you. After all, you seem to be the most art-like. Um, like your blond hair."
'Are you an idiot?'
"Go away. I am busy."
When Montmorency said that coldly, silence fell for a while.
After that, Guiche breaking down and crying could be heard in the corridor.
"I understand... Being told like that, I can only perish on this spot. If I'm hated by you, who I love, so badly, then there is no worth at all in life."
"Do what you want."
Men like Guiche couldn't die just because they get rejected.
It is more likely for Montmorency to kill him before that happens.
Montmorency kept up her indifferent attitude.
"Now then, I want to, at least... on the door of the room you live in, I will carve proof that I have lived... that I have loved you."
'The hell he's trying to do?'
"Wh-what are you doing? Stop that!"
The sound of something hard could be heard scratching on the door.
"The man who sacrificed himself for love, Guiche de Gramont. Destroyed by eternal love, he dies here... There."
'Damn it, he'll leave a mess out there when he does that.'
"Not 'there'! Geez!"
Montmorency opened the door. Guiche was standing there with a full smile on his face.
"Montmorency! I love you! I really love you! I love you! I love you!"
And then, he embraced her tightly. Montmorency was enthralled for a moment.
Anyways, Guiche continuously said "I love you".
It was because of his lack of vocabulary regarding wooing, but no matter how many times he said that, she didn't feel bad.
Then, Guiche handed the bundle he was holding to Montmorency.
"...What is this?"
"Open it up. It is a present for you."
Montmorency opened up the bundle. It was the sailor uniform from Dante's collection of clothes. For some reason our devil hunter had another set of clothes made from the esteemed M'selle Taylor Swift, this one inspired by the clothes Lady had worn during their first meeting and the Albion navy uniform, with a few add ons. (To those who forgot who M'selle Taylor was, please see Mission 6 : A Thing of the Past).
Dante later had asked M'selle Swift to remake the uniform to fit Montmorency's body, Guiche always memorized the sizes of the girls he got along with.
Though Dante is rather curious as to how the blonde boy managed to get that very intimate information from said girls,
Though he had to admit, the devil hunter himself also had sharp observation skills regarding stuff like that.
"What a strange outfit..." Montmorency raised her eyebrows.
"How about you wear it? It will definitely fit you. Your purity will be amplified manifold. Come on. Hurry. What, I'm facing in another direction."
Facing backwards, Guiche started to bite his nails restlessly. Seeing the inevitable, Montmorency took off her shirt and put on the outer garment.
"I'm done."
Turning around, Guiche's face brightened energetically.
"Aah, Montmorency~... You really are pure... My cute Montmorency~..."
While muttering that, Guiche tried to kiss her. Right away, Montmorency obstructed him.
"Monmon..."
Guiche's face distorted sadly.
"Don't misunderstand. I opened the door to my room, but I didn't open this door. I haven't decided to make up with you yet. Also, who are you calling Monmon?"
With just that, Guiche was happy. There was still some hope left.
"My Montmorency! You feel like considering it, I see!"
"If you understand, then leave! I was in the middle of something!"
Saying "Yes, yes, of course I'll leave. If you say so, I'll leave any time." Guiche left the room hopping.
Montmorency reflected herself in the mirror.
"What is this... There's no way I could wear something so embarrassingly short-lengthed!"
Unintentionally, her face reddened. Though looking carefully, this outfit was quite cute. Guiche had purposely prepared this outfit for her sake.
Though in reality, it was Dante who actually conceived the idea, and provided the clothes too.
He never said to be this forceful with the wooing though, which is entirely Guiche's.
'Umumumu...'She silently sighed,
Well, yeah, being told "I love you" like that, she was in a pretty good mood. They were going out originally, so she didn't hate him.
"What to do? Forgive him?"
But, she remembered the way Guiche cheated on her in the past.
Even if I go out with him again, won't everything just repeat all over again?
Then that busty hussy who claimed to be his fiancée in the past, the abrupt change she caused him...
Then came her apparent demise
Montmorency wondered … if Guiche still remembered that time he cried on her shoulders…
But in general, she was fed up with getting worried over his cheating.
What should I do? While she was thinking that, she remembered the potion she had been mixing. She opened the drawer. She saw the secret medicine inside the perfume bottle that she had hid a moment ago.
Montmorency tilted her head and started to ponder.
'Hmm… it is a good trade... I can also test for the effectiveness...'
How about I use this potion a bit after it is completed, Montmorency thought.
The next day, everyone's attention focused on Montmorency simultaneously when she entered the classroom. Why, she had appeared wearing the sailor uniform.
The male students reacted quickly to this.
Sailor outfit and girl... Feeling a fresh tidiness at this exquisite grouping that they'd never imagined before, they stared engrossed at Montmorency. In regards to the way the guys reacted, the female students quickly felt jealousy and envy, and they glared at her.
Montmorency managed to monopolize the glances of everyone in the class, so she was in a good mood. Putting her hand on her hip, she looked upwards and pridefully put on airs and headed to her seat.
Louise was also staring at Montmorency while gaping.
She looked rather good in it.
Louise poked Dante, who was beside her and grinning for some reason.
"Hey, aren't those similar to the clothes you had made for me some time ago? Why is Montmorency wearing it?"
"Guiche needed a make-up gift for Monmon."
Louise remembered that Guiche and Montmorency had been going out with each other.
Then that weird incident involving Guiche, which nearly resulted to the loss of all the students from the academy.
"Why did you give it to Guiche?"
Dante just shrugs.
On to the next scene….
／人◕ .◕人＼
Now after the classes are over, Louise was walking around the school and searching for her familiar.
Ever since he said he was going to feed his pigeon, Dante had not shown himself.
Getting to the tower of fire, she peeked inside Mister Colbert's laboratory. Even if you call it a laboratory, it's just a worn-out shack. Whenever Colbert had free time, he usually hung out in there.
But, Dante was not there. Colbert, by himself, was doing something noisily to the Karnival that was left in front of his laboratory.
Louise asked Colbert.
"Mister Colbert, have you seen Dante?"
"I don't know... He hasn't come here for two or three days."
Louise looked at the Biplane and was astonished. The engine part of the nose had been removed from the body and placed on the ground, and it had been tragically disassembled.
"Oh, this! I just got interested in the structure. I didn't get permission from Dante, but I lightly disassembled it. It's complicated, but theoretically speaking, it is not much different from the 'Joyful Snake' I designed. Still, this is quite a fragile thing. If it flies once, it has to be precisely disassembled and have the parts looked over. Otherwise, not only will it fail to perform to its original efficiency, there is also a chance it will break..."
Colbert finally started talking about the engine's structure and maintenance.
"Ha, hah... Well then, pardon me."
Louise didn't really have interest in that conversation, so she bowed her head and started to run once again. Colbert shouted at her back.
"Miss! If you meet M'sieu Dante, tell him this! I have placed a surprising new weapon onto this 'Dragon's Raiment'!
The next place Louise visited was the tower of wind. In the magic academy, towers were arranged into a pentagram with the main tower in the center. The tower of wind was one of them. It was mostly only used for lessons. There was only one entrance.
Louise witnessed the suspicious shadow of a person disappearing through the door into the tower. Whitish clothing... a large collar.
Clearly, it was the sailor outfit worn by Montmorency just a while ago.
Who is it? If it was Montmorency, then it would be blond hair... The person who entered a moment ago had black hair. Louise secretly followed the person.
Opening the door to the tower of wind, she ran straight down the corridor that had semicircular rooms arranged to the left and right.
Slowly pushing the door open, she heard the sound of footsteps steadily climbing up the staircase.
After Louise held her breath on the first floor for a while, she pursued after the person. She heard the sound of a door opening and closing on the second floor.
To keep herself from making sounds from her footsteps, Louise cautiously came up to the door. There, Louise leaned her body closely to it. This should be the warehouse. Just what does the person wearing the white sailor outfit plan to do here?
Louise pushed back her pink-blond hair and placed her ear on the door. She heard a strange voice from inside. An intermittent one...
"Haah, Nn, Haahaa..."
That kind of voice. Louise's eyebrows bent into a "?". Because it was small, she could not figure out who it was.
But, it was a guy's.
At a place like this, calling out someone wearing those garments... A person who can make those voices...
Louise thought up a terrible delusion inside her mind.
"Haa! Cu-cu, cute..."
Cute? At that moment, something flipped inside Louise's head.
Baang! She opened the door and pounced into the room.
"What are you doing?"
"Hiiiiii!"
The person there turned around. The person was wearing the sailor outfit, and what's more, was wearing a skirt below. Sure enough, it was the fat Malicorne.
A thought similar to WTF? crossed her mind.
"Ma-Ma, Malicorne?"
"Louise!" Malicorne tried to run and escape, but he wasn't used to the skirt, so his feet got tangled in it and he fell over.
"Ah! Nna! Ah! Fua! AAH!"
Malicorne shouted while writhing on the floor. With the look of an ogre, Louise trampled on Malicorne's back. In the warehouse was an old mirror. The "Liar's Mirror". It was a mirror that reflected ugly things beautifully and beautiful things unattractively, but for various reasons, it almost got broken, so it was shut here. It seemed Malicorne was finding self-satisfaction in reflecting himself in the mirror. What a preposterous pleasure.
"Why are you wearing that?"
"No, it was just too lovely... Bu-but, I don't have anyone to wear it for me..."
"So you wore it yourself?"
"Th-that's right! Is that wrong? I-I have to wear it myself! Guiche has Montmorency and your commoner of a familiar has that maid from the kitchen! But, I don't have a girlfriennnnnd!"
"What did you say? What about Dante and the maid?"
Louise's eyes went up.
"Eh? Well, he had the maid wear these clothes and spin around... Aah, it was moving! Just thinking back to it, my heart feels burnt from those lovely senses! That's why I should at least reflect myself in this mirror wearing it as a memento of that memory... Aaah, I... I'm such a lovely fairy... AAAaaaaahh!"
Malicorne shouted. Louise trampled that face with her foot.
"Silence."
"Ah! Aah! Ah! Louise! Ah! Louise! Being stepped on by a beautiful girl like you... I feel like I'll lose my sense! Clear away my sins! Let me repent for it! Crush my sins of losing control over myself from acting like a lovely fairy in a place like this! There's something wrong with me! Ah! Ah! Nnnnaaaaaaaaa!"
Just like that, Louise trampled Malicorne's face and caused him to faint.
"Yeah, there is something wrong with you."
The Author sagely nods in agreement.
Louise muttered, her shoulders moving up and down from anger.
"I see... So that is what it was about... The maid is that good... So she's so good that you would give her a lovely outfit as a present... Plus, you had fun making her spin around and around? Don't joke with me."
Tightly squeezing her hands into fists, Louise growled.
"Dante Must Die!"
At the corner of the appointed place, Vestri Plaza, Siesta came up to the staircase of the tower of fire after night had completely fallen. After her job ended, it took time to clean her body with a bath and finish dressing up.
She headed towards the landing of the staircase, but Dante was not there. There were only two barrels there. The surroundings were dim. Siesta worriedly looked around her.
"Dante-san..."
Discouragingly muttering that, the cover of a barrel opened up with a sound.
Siesta instinctively backed off, but Dante popped up from inside it.
"Siesta."
"Wah! Dante-san! Why are you there?"
"Well, there were some circumstances... Wai-, eh?"
Dante looked at Siesta's appearance and his eyes widened. She was wearing that handmade sailor uniform.
"Y-you came wearing it?"
"Eh, yes... Because, I thought Dante-san would be happier if I wore this."
Crap. I should have said return it, instead of bring it. There's no way I can tell her to take it off right here. While Dante was panicking like that, Siesta spun around and stood a finger in front of her face.
The skirt lightly soared up.
"Un, um... Th-thanks for waiting."
Then Siesta smiled brightly.
' C, cute.' Dante involuntarily blushed.
For an experienced guy like Dante to do that, that says something about the maid.
At that time, the sound of a barrel shaking behind them happened.
Siesta went "Kyaa!" and clung to Dante.
"Nyaa, nyaa" came the cry of a cat.
Dante stroked his chest in relief.
But for some reason, he felt a slight killing intent floating in the air.
"Oh, just a cat..."
But, the problem wasn't the cat. Siesta was pressing her breasts on him. They were squashed by Dante's chest, and the handmade sailor uniform freely changed its shape.
Dante's face paled.
This sensation is.
"S-Siesta, um..."
"What is it?"
"You aren't wearing a bra?"
Siesta looked blankly at him.
"What is a bra?"
"Eh? Eeeeehhh? You know, to the breasts, like this, protect it..."
But, Siesta still looked blankly at him. It seems there are no bras in this world.
"I do wear drawers and a corset under my shirt when I am in my maid outfit though..."
Then she blushed.
"But, I am not wearing anything right now. Drawers would show if I wore it along with this short skirt..."
'What the...' Dante inwardly swore as he realized, and asked the pressing maid,
"What are drawers?"
"Eh? Um, undershorts."
'Oh right, those things that look like expanded spats. Wait? Weren't she wearing simple panties the last time?'
'Haah, her breasts felt like heaven.' Dante thought while looking up at the sky. He felt that he would get a nosebleed if he didn't do so.
'More importantly, there are no bras? I see. Now that I think about it, that nice time I had with Siesta, she didn't have one; then when I was taking Louise's underwear to laundry; I have memories of the maids washing panties, chemise, and corsets, but no memories of bras. I thought it was because she didn't have breasts, but it seems bras themselves don't exist.'
Also, while noble girls can wear laced underwear, it can't be the same way with commoner girls like Siesta, right? Eh? She isn't wearing anything right now?
'Wh-which means...'
"You're so mean, Dante-san... I do not possess any small laced underwear like the nobles do... Yet, you have me wear such a, such a short skirt..."
In other words, she isn't wearing it.
'INDEED!'
Inside his head, fanfare resounded like an army's cavalry charging trumpet solo.
'Are we going to do it in this place?' The maid thought,
Steeling one more her resolve, she does the most obvious.
To her point of view of course.
Siesta tightly leaned her body on Dante. She hugged his shoulders with such strength. Slowly, Siesta drew her lips closer to Dante's.
"Wait... Are, are we going to do it here?"
"Eh?"
"Well, yes, I am a village girl, so, um, I don't mind the location, but, um..."
"Siesta?"
"A more, um, cleaner place that people wouldn't go to would be better. Ah, but this is just a wish! So if Dante-san says this place is good, then I am fine too. Aah, I'm scared. After all, this is my second time. Mother, forgive me. I'm going to be snatched away once more here."
'It seemed she was really misunderstanding things. Dante only wanted her to have a talk regarding her current status as an Umbra Witch's descendant.
But Siesta thought she was going to be snatched away. Again.
The moment he thought that he needed to explain...
Behind them, the cover of the other barrel popped straight up.
"What the...?"
When Dante turned around, the fallen barrel cover directly hit his head.
"Gyaa!"
Then from inside the barrel, a silhouette stood up as the ground shook thunderously. Actually, the only thing that shook was the barrel, but it felt like the actual ground was trembling.
That was just how angry the person inside the barrel was.
"Louise..."
Dante muttered with a deadpan voice. Siesta was frightened by Louise, whose head was poking out of the barrel, and hid in Dante's shadow.
"Why are you inside a barrel...?"
"I was tailing you and saw you secretly hide inside a barrel, so I copied you and hid inside the barrel beside you. I was really careful to not make a sound. But, I hit the barrel in anger a bit. The 'nyaa, nyaa' part."
Aah, that cat's cry was Louise. All of it, completely, she had heard our conversation just now. Louise's face was pale with anger. Her eyes rose up; her whole body was trembling like an earthquake. With a completely trembling voice, Louise murmured.
"That's quite a wonderful pigeon you're raising, isn't it. Heeh. A lovely outfit as a present, huh. Fine. I am kind, so I'll forgive something like that. I don't really mind you ignoring your master and sending your pigeon presents."
"Louise, listen."
"But, that pigeon said this. 'You have me wear such a short skirt'. Without any underwear, 'you have me wear such a short skirt'. The best. That's the best joke this century."
"Louise! Listen! Please!"
"Relax. It won't hurt. With my "Void", I won't leave a speck of you left."
Setting up her "Founder's Prayer Book", Louise began to chant her spell.
Dante nearly facepalmed himself at the situation he's in.
Sensing danger to his life, Dante instinctively released his battle senses.
Siesta had become scared and hid herself in a shelter.
"What is with you? Are you planning to oppose your master? Isn't that interesting?"
Louise muttering that was scary, to normal people that is. With the current power level Dante could detect, she might as well be.
More than a battleship, more than a dragoon, more than an orc/demon, more than Cobalt or even Mundus... Louise was scarier than anything up to now.
Dante's body automatically switched to battle mode.
What's with this intensity...
Is this "Void"...
"Partner, give up."
Derflinger whispered in a bored manner.
Demonstrating the usual foolhardiness, Dante stood his ground.
Angry or not, Louise has become a ticking time bomb...literally.
And this is Ground Zero...
"Bring it on!" Dante grins,
The rune on Dante's right hand shone as his body glowed an eldritch red light... Louise swung her wand down half-way though her chanting.
Boom! And the area in front of Dante exploded.
Being swallowed by the flash, Dante was blown off the landing and struck the ground below, still on his feet.
"Whoa, that was intense." Dante exclaimed,
After striking the ground, Dante's face showing grim determination, and he stood up and ran away.
There is no need for collateral damage due to a misunderstanding.
'Wait, why is she angry in the first place?' Dante reflects.
Louise peeked out from the landing and shouted.
"Wait!"
'Like I'd wait. If I wait, I'd die. Absolutely die.' He joked inwardly, as he jogged off.
Louise chased after him.
Meanwhile,
Guiche was trying his very best in Montmorency's room to woo his lover.
About how Montmorency's appearance was like a rose, like a wild rose, like a white rose, how her eyes were like blue roses, anyways, he used roses and complimented her, and then he extolled her by using the spirit of water as comparison.
Montmorency, being no exception among the Tristain nobles, was proud and conceited, so she did not hate flattery. However, her back was turned to Guiche, and she, acting, looked out the window wearily. It was the "Compliment me more" sign.
Seeing this, Guiche searched his head even more and unleashed words to attract her affection.
"In front of you, wouldn't the spirit of water run away? See, this hair... It is like a golden grassland. It's a sea of glittering stars. Aah, any female besides you can no longer enter my eye."
Guiche kept going in and out of the room, and he had already spat out enough lines to make a drama. I guess this should be enough Montmorency thought.
Slowly, still facing backwards, she gently held out her left hand to Guiche. "Aah" Guiche let out a moan of wonder and kissed that hand.
"Aah, my Montmorency~..."
Guiche tried to bring his lips near hers, but it was stopped by her finger.
"Before that, let us drink some wine. Since you went through the trouble of bringing it here."
"Of, of course!"
On the top of the table, a vase with flowers in it, a bottle of wine, and two ceramic glasses were placed.
Guiche had come to Montmorency's room carrying those in his hand.
Guiche hurriedly poured the wine into the glass. Doing so, Montmorency suddenly pointed out the window.
"Oh? A naked princess is flying in the sky."
"Eh? Where? Where, where?"
Guiche's eyes widened and stared outside the window as if to eat into it. W-h-a-t i-s "any female besides you can no longer enter my eye", it seems that I have to use this. While thinking that, Montmorency secretly poured the contents of the small bottle she had hidden in her sleeves into Guiche's wine cup. The transparent fluid dissolved into the wine.
Montmorency smiled sweetly.
"Just a lie. Well, let us toast."
"Come on now, don't startle me like that..." The moment Guiche said that, the door opened with a bam and a whirlwind flew in.
Guiche was sent flying and tumbled onto the floor.
It was Dante.
"Pardon the intrusion."
"Why are you here?"
"Just passing through."
While saying that, Dante jumped out of Montmorency's bedroom window.
Silence….
"..."
"Wait, what are you doing? Entering someone's room as you please..."
When Montmorency crossed her arms and shouted at Dante as he disappeared out the window, another whirlwind flew into the room. Montmorency was sent flying and struck her nose severely on the floor.
"Louise!"
Guiche yelled. Why, it was Louise who had lost herself in anger.
"Wh-wh-wh, what are you two doing?"
"Shut up! Where's Dante!"
Being pressured by Louise's threatening attitude, Guiche and Montmorency exchanged glances and pointed at the lone bedroom window.
In a low voice, Louise ordered towards the window.
"Dante, come out."
A deadpan voice came through the window, similar to a phone's answering machine.
"Dante is currently now available, please state your message after the beep. Beep."
Louise picked up the wine glass from the table. Montmorency went "Ah!" in a quiet voice, but it was too late. Louise drank it all in one gulp.
"Buhah! I got thirsty from the running. Everything is your entire fault. Fine, I'll be the one to go to you."
Louise goes to the window,
Only to find the devil hunter lazily lying on top of the edge of the castle wall just below the window.
"Prepare yourself... Nna?"
The moment she looked at him and said that, Louise's emotions changed.
Louise had chased Dante around because she couldn't forgive him for giving other girls presents despite having her as his master. If you kiss a girl like Louise, even if it's just on the forehead, it is going to get troublesome.
In other words, it was a problem of pride.
But, the moment she saw Dante just now, her feelings toward Dante jumped straight up. Until then, well, she vaguely liked him. She wouldn't accept it herself, but she liked him. As a big brother of sorts. That was probably why she was so jealous...
Bro-con?
In this moment, she loved with no hamper at all. That emotion was so big, even Louise herself was bewildered. Without thinking, Louise covered her cheeks with her hands.
Oh my... I liked him this much?
I loved him this... this much?
Tears overflowed from Louise's eyes.
Her feelings of sadness were bigger than her feelings of anger. She liked him so much, so why didn't Dante look at her. It was so sad, Louise started to sob.
"Louise?"
Dante suspiciously looked at Louise, whose attitude had completely reversed, and stood up. Guiche was also watching Louise, who had suddenly started crying, with a surprised look.
Montmorency was holding her head and going "Oh no~~". The drug she had intended Guiche to drink had been drunk by Louise.
"Hey, Louise..." Dante quickly returns inside the room to check on her.
Louise looked up at Dante and clung to his chest.
"Idiot!"
"Eh?"
"Idiot, idiot! Why? Why?"
Louise started hitting Dante.
"Louise, you... Just what..."
Even though she was angry like fire up to now, her attitude was completely different. Dante was surprised at the turn of events.
"Why won't you look at me! That's so mean! Uwee~~~~n!"
Louise buried her face in Dante's chest and wept.
／人◕ .◕人＼
We leave the situation as it is for now as we explore...Tabitha's Secret
A few days before, that late morning of the day Louise had been chasing Dante around.
Confusing timeline isn't it?
Kirche and Tabitha sat in the horse drawn carriage. They had travelled from the southeast, from the magic academy. Kirche stretched her head out the window and gasped.
"Tabitha! Check it out! Cows! Cows! Look! There are a lot!"
The ranch was on both sides of the road and cows were grazing.
"They are grazing! Moo, Moomoo!"
However Tabitha didn't respond. She continued to read her book as usual. Feeling bored, Kirche stretched both her arms out.
"Hey, Tabitha. It is a long awaited return home from school, shouldn't you be more happy?"
Since Louise and Dante weren't here because they had been called to the royal palace, when she came to Tabitha's room to play, she was shocked to find her packing her luggage.
"Are you going on a trip?" Kirche asked her.
Tabitha answered that she had to go back home to see her mother.
Though Tabitha was reticent as always, Kirche felt something different in her voice.
So Kirche and Tabitha took the trip together.
Because Tabitha's family sent a coach, they had no need to use her wind dragon. Instead, it circled above them in the sky during the trip carrying Kirche's Salamander on its back.
"Since the school had given us a formal approval for our leave, it won't be counted as an absence and we don't have to worry about having to clean the tower as punishment."
Tabitha continued to look at her book without answering. I've been her friend for more than three years, and I still don't know what she is thinking.
Kirche decided to try and spark a different conversation.
"This is the first time I learned that your motherland isn't Tristain, but Gallia. You are an exchange student?"
They were soon passing the border, Kirche had already asked Principal Osman to sign and issue papers allowing for her safe passage.
Kirche had a vague sense that Tabitha's name was a pseudonym... But she had never asked her about the origin of her name.
Tabitha. It was actually a quite common name. Even the commoners would use better names. It was the kind of name that could be given to cats.
She had always thought that Tabitha was perhaps hiding that she belonged to a distinguished aristocrat family of Tristain, but it appeared she was wrong, she actually belonged to the nobility of the ancient Kingdom of Gallia that bordered with Germania.
The land of Halkeginia was prominent to the ocean and had a gentle arc, creating a giant peninsula. Only the original people of the land knew of the words to describe it.
Gallia was located in the southeast and Germania, Kirche's home country, was in the northeast. Tristain was between the two and its size was equivalent to the Netherlands plus Belgium mentioned in Dante's world.
The territories of these two countries was around ten times the size of Tristain. The people of Tristain called their own motherland the 'small country' in self-ridicule.
On the small peninsula in the south facing the sea, countries like Germania had to fight for local hegemony. The religious country of Romalia was involved in the fight over hegemony; the office of the pope advocated the beliefs of the Founder Brimir and the gods. Incidentally Cardinal Mazarini had come from Romalia.
Towards the east of Halkeginia, there was uncivilized ground where barbarians and demons lived. Further to the east was a vast desert where Elves who could reclaim the barren ground, were protecting the Holy Lands. If we continue east, there was the unknown continent of Rub' al Khali.
Constantly floating above the ocean and the mainland of Halkeginia was the floating continent of Albion. Stricktly speaking, Albion wasn't a part of the mainland of Halkeginia.
Kirche turned to ask Tabitha,
"Why did you study abroad?"
However, Tabitha didn't reply to Kirche's words. She continued to sit and read her book as she had before. Then Kirche suddenly noticed something. The page in her book never changed, it was the same from before. Tabitha had been staring at the same identical page the entire time.
Kirche decided not to ask her again. Whatever her reasons were for studying abroad or returning home, she would wait till Tabitha told her about it by herself. She understood that at that time, when Tabitha was packing her luggage surrounded by the different atmosphere.
Even though they were of different ages they had become friends, and not just because they went to the same school.
To become friends, there are things that the two sides shall not force the other to speak of.
Tabitha who might not open her mouth very often.
And Kirche being concerned as a senior.
Both of them had their own reason for passing through the border and having gone to Tristain.
As they travelled, Kirche recalled the various political situations of the various countries.
Although she had no interest in politics, it has been pounded into her head by both parents and the schools she'd been as well that she needed to be up to date with the current events.
However with the rumors of war floating around she couldn't help but speculate within her mind.
Gallia was still neutral and was staying silent over the invasion of Tristain by Albion. Even though a threat could be felt from the political change in Albion and their new government. A proposal of alliance was made by Tristain but it was rejected. It was very likely that they were going to maintain their neutrality as long as their own territory was safe.
A rumor she had heard however hinted that Gallia was giving rise to the domestic civil strife crisis. With all these internal and external political problems it wasn't easy to imagine the headaches political rulers were facing.
She continued to accompany Tabitha to the Kingdom of Gallia. Although they were travelling as tourists, Kirche had a bad premonition that the possibility of something going wrong was strong.
As she was thinking of this she absent-mindedly stuck her head out the window of the carriage.
A line of pedestrians appeared ahead of the horse drawn carriage. Kirche's attention was grasped by this line of a little less than ten pedestrians. All of them were wearing hooded capes covering their faces.
Kirche noticed that they were all carrying magic wands, they were nobles. Upon another look, the shape of their wands seemed to indicate that they were in fact soldiers. Because it was a time of war, this sort of thing was not unusual.
The horse rushed forward to advance.
Through a gap in the hooded cape, she could see the face of one of the nobles. It was the eyes of a clearly handsome young man. She leaned her head on her hand and sighed.
"A handsome guy, in the place where I am."
After that she noticed it suddenly. I think I know him by sight.
"Where have I seen... Who is he..."
She gazed on at him while he was still in sight, her heat rising then cooling. Her enthusiasm soon left when she could no longer see him, he soon became forgotten.
Kirche moved forward and looked at Tabitha. Her limpid blue eyes hidden behind her glasses stared down at the same page of her book.
Gently putting her hand on Tabitha's shoulder, she said in her usual optimistic voice:
"It doesn't matter. No matter what happens, I will be together with you."
So they continued to travel for two more days till they reached the frontier.
At the border checkpoint the guards read their papers and allowed them to enter through. Here was Gallia. The languages and the cultures of Gallia and Tristain resembled each other. They were also known as "the twin crowns".
When they arrived at the border crossing, the guards approached demanding proof for their trip. Holding huge spears the men opened the doors upon confirming Tabitha's and Kirche's travel permits.
He looked at it and said hesitatingly:
"The road up ahead can't be used anymore, you'll have to make a detour."
"Why, what's going on?"
"Because recently the lake overflowed and several roads are already completely flooded."
The Ragdorian Lake was a big lake that stretched along the border of Gallia and Tristain. It was the place with the most beautiful scenery in Halkeginia and had a big reputation.
After advancing for a while along the road, they finally reached an open place. The road was located at the edge of a small number of gentle hills, and the widening of highways separated from the Ragdorian Lake. On the other side of the shore of the lake was Tristain.
As the guards had said, the water level of the lake seemed certainly to have gone up. Without even being able to see the border of the lake, they could witness that the water had already submerged some of the nearby hills. The flowers and the grass inundated by the water could be seen.
Tabitha closed the book and looked through the window to the outside.
"Is your home near here?"
"Soon."
It was the first time Tabitha had opened her mouth ever since they had gotten in the carriage. However she became silent once again.
Turning onto a mountain road, the horse drawn carriage continued to advance forward to Tabitha's family home. They entered a forest and reached a place where many big oak trees were growing. Farmers were taking a rest in the shaded glade.
Kirche noticed a farmer with a basket of apples and called for the carriage to stop. Then she yelled out to the farmer.
"Those look like some delicious apples, for how much do you sell them to me?"
The farmer took an apple from the basket and passed it to Kirche in exchange for several copper coins.
"There is enough money here to buy the entire basket!"
"Two will be enough."
Kirche took a bite into the apple as the farmer handed the second apple to her. Kirche quickly gave it to Tabitha. She went onto say:
"This apple is really good. What is this piece of land called?"
"The area around Ragdorian is a direct control territory."
"Huh? Direct control territory?"
Territory directly held and managed by the King.
"This land is under direct rule by his highness, and we are now his vassals." The farmer said smiling.
The land was truly fertile and seemed to be something out of a painting with its picturesque beauty. Why the King wanted the land was understandable.
Kirche turned to look at Tabitha.
"This territory is ruled by your family... are you..."
After about ten minutes they could finally see Tabitha's house up ahead. It was an old feudal lord mansion, splendidly built.
Kirche was looking at the carved crest that could be seen at the gate. She was breathless. The emblem was two magic wands intersecting and had the inscription "to advance"
This was the Gallian royal family crest.
However, when approaching, a crack could be seen on the crest. It was a sign of dishonor. Although it meant that this was the royal family, they were stripped of their rights.
The carriage stopped in front of the gates, and an old servant approached, bowed, and opened the door for Tabitha to come out.
"Miss, welcome back."
No other people came and it made Kirche feel as though it was deserted. She got down from the carriage while thinking this. Tabitha and Kirche arrived in the living room with guidance by the old servant.
The room was very neat, however it was strangely quiet, almost appearing spiritless. It looked like a temple preparing for a funeral.
Kirche sat herself down on the living room sofa and said:
"Can we first say hello to your father?"
However Tabitha shook her head.
"Wait here."
She then left the living room.
Kirche sat on the sofa and looked to her right as the old servant approached with wine and dessert and set them before her. But she didn't touch them and instead asked him directly:
"This is her home, and yet it seems besides you no one else lives here."
"I'm the butler of the Orléans family, Percerin. Are you Miss Charlotte's friend?"
Kirche nodded. Charlotte d'Orléans seems to be Tabitha's real name.
Orléans, Orléans, she kept thinking of the name, and then suddenly she thought of something. Orléans, isn't it the family name of the younger brother of the King of Gallia?
"Why is there a dishonor sign on the crest of this house?"
"It appears you are a foreigner, please forgive me, can I ask for your name?"
"I'm Germania's von Zerbst. By the way what on earth is this house? Why has Tabitha gone to study abroad using a fake name? Why when she was just a child?"
The butler listened to Kirche's questions and then sighed.
"The Miss calls herself Tabitha... I see... she has never brought a friend before. Since it's a person to whom she has opened herself, it shouldn't be a problem to tell you the story."
After that Percerin bowed deeply and then continued to talk.
"This residence is in fact a prison."
／人◕ .◕人＼
Tabitha knocked at the door of the deepest room in the residence. There was no answer. It was normal here.
Over the past five years, no one had ever opened the door when it was knocked on. At that time Tabitha was just ten years old.
Tabitha opened the door.
The inside of the room was of a different layout than the rest of the mansion. The only things in the room were a bed, the table, and a chair.
Nothing else.
The cool breeze flowed in through the open window. The curtains rippled as the wind pushed against them. The inside of the room wasn't disturbed by the intrusion.
Holding a doll tightly with her hands. There was a thin and tall woman. What remained of her beautiful face was now gone because of a disease. She was between thirty five and forty years old, but she looked twenty years old.
Or maybe even younger, depending on the observer's perspective.
She peeped at Tabitha with terrified eyes just like a child.
"Who is it?"
Tabitha bowed deeply while approaching the woman.
"I have returned, mother."
However the woman didn't acknowledge Tabitha as her daughter. Not only that, but she also turned coldly to Tabitha and said:
"Go away, you insolent girl! Are you a spy of the royal family? You want to snatch my beautiful daughter Charlotte from my hands? I will never give Charlotte to you!"
Tabitha didn't respond and kept her head bowed.
"How horrible to even pretend that this child would one day aim for the throne...
I have had enough of dirty court life! We just want a quiet life... just leave me now!"
The mother threw the glass of water on the table at Tabitha. Tabitha didn't avoid it. It struck her head and rolled on the floor.
The mother returned to rubbing the doll's face. Part of its face was exposed and revealed the cotton underneath, most likely worn out from all the previous times the mother had rubbed it with her hand.
Tabitha revealed a sad smile, an expression she would only show in this room in front of her mother.
"Your husband has been killed, that's why you are this way; anyhow, I will be leaving now, but I will come back sooner or later. Until that day, please pray for your daughter-doll's safety."
The wind blew into the room through the open windows, shaking the curtains. Even though it was early summer, the wind that blew from the lake was chilly.
／人◕ .◕人＼
Back to the receiving room...
"A victim of a succession fight?" When Kirche asked it, Percerin nodded.
"Yes, it happened five years ago with the death of the King. He left behind two crown princes. The one on the throne now is the eldest son, Joseph. Miss Charlotte's father, the Duke of Orleans, was the second son."
"So she really does belong to the royal family."
"The Duke of Orleans was talented and loved by all and appeared as a qualified ruler in the eyes of the people, even though he had to meet hardships being the second son. Because of this, many people supported the Duke and wanted him to take the throne. The palace was then divided into two factions, launching into an ugly struggle for power.
Finally, the Duke of Orleans was murdered. He was struck in the chest with a poisoned arrow. A person who was nobler than anyone else in this country was killed not by magic, but by a poisoned arrow. The regret and the indignation were unimaginable. However the tragedy was far from over."
Percerin took a deep breath and continued.
"Next those who made Joseph the King started targeting the Miss. They wanted to stamp out the source of any possible future trouble. These people summoned Madame and the Miss to a banquet in their honor. However they had poisoned the Miss' drink. Madame had realized this, and in order to protect the Miss, drank it herself. A magic which breaks one's mind had been cast on the water. Since then, Madame has been insane."
Kirche, shocked and at a loss for words, was listening to the butler's confession.
"Since then, the Miss sealed away her words and expressions. Miss Charlotte originally was lively and bright, a different person than she is now. However it is understandable. Anyone who would witness their mother going mad would become like that.
The others, knowing they had failed and in order to protect themselves, sent a royal order to Miss Charlotte. The task was extremely difficult, no one had been able to accomplish it alive.
However the Miss did complete the task and pledged her loyalty to the royal family, to protect them. But Miss Charlotte was still treated coldly by the royal family. Normally this achievement would have been enough to deserve a territory, but instead she was granted the title of Chevalier and was forced to study abroad.
The Madame stayed here at the house, in the current condition she is in."
Percerin bit his lip with regrets.
"Then...! Whenever the royal family had a difficult task to be done, they asked her to do their dirty work? Her father was killed, her mother was poisoned and driven insane, and she is led and directed by her personal enemies like a beast of burden! I never knew something could be as tragic as this, how people could be so cruel to this level."
Kirche now realized why Tabitha had remained silent. She had never known the reason why she was given the title of Chevalier was for a task she didn't apply for.
On their travels she had remained staring at the same page in her book.
Her runic name was 'Snowstorm'. Cold wind had been blowing inside her heart and it still hadn't ceased. This cold feeling she felt, Kirche thought, was unimaginable.
"Didn't you say that the Miss introduces herself as Tabitha?"
"Yes."
"Madame was a very busy person, however, the young Miss kept an open and bright disposition. The young Miss was in fact quite lonely. Madame had gone into the city and had selected a doll especially for the young Miss during her busy schedule. The Miss was very happy and treated it as though it were a sister. Now the doll is in the hands of Madame. Because of the current state of her mind, she believes the doll to be M'selle Charlotte."
Kirche was startled.
"Tabitha. That is the name the young Miss gave to the doll."
Suddenly the door opened and Tabitha walked in.
The butler bowed, hiding his painful expression and handed her a letter from the royal family.
"These are the instructions from the royal family."
Tabitha removed the seal after receiving the letter and began to read it casually. When she had finished reading it she nodded lightly.
"When do you intend to begin?"
Tabitha answered as if she was just scheduling a stroll.
"Tomorrow."
"Understood, I will convey this to the envoys. I wish you safety on your completion of this task."
The butler bowed solemnly and left the room. Tabitha walked over to Kirche.
"Wait here."
Kirche shook her head.
"Sorry, I heard everything, I'm also coming."
"Dangerous."
"I can't let you go alone."
Tabitha didn't answer. However she lowered her head lightly.
That night the two slept together in the same room. As soon as Tabitha had hit the bed, she had fallen asleep. Kirche was sleepless and lay on the sofa with one hand under the pillow.
Tabitha had explained to Kirche what the task would require of her, and asked Kirche if she would indeed come.
"Although I promised... this certainly will be no ordinary task."
It was very likely that they could die attempting to complete this task. But as a noble, the risk of death had always been in the not so distant future. Compared to that, she was more worried about this child.
What incredible loneliness this child might have endured?
Tabitha was turning over in her bed. With her glasses now gone, her sleeping face was the one of an innocent young girl.
It didn't show that she was shouldering unhappiness that didn't suit her age, the distinguished services that had conferred her the title of Chevalier and the difficult assignment that she had to complete.
"Mother."
Tabitha muttered in her sleep. Kirche's shoulders reacted to the word.
"Mother, please don't drink it. Mother."
Tabitha called for her mother many times while sleeping. Her forehead constantly kept sweating with more intensity after each call.
Kirche gently stood up, laid on the bed next to Tabitha, embracing her closely. Tabitha buried her head in Kirche's chest. Her heartbeat passed on to Tabitha as they lay there, it might have felt like a mother's.
Tabitha soon became calm again, her night sweat leaving her.
As for Kirche, she thought that she somehow understood the reason why Tabitha treated her as a friend. Her heart hadn't been totally frozen, some warmth still remained within it. Only that the ice wind that flowed blocked it. She might have felt that the fire inside Kirche could melt it.
Kirche, while slowly falling asleep, said in a gentle manner:
"Hey Charlotte. The 'Ardent' warms and melts everything, so you can rest at ease."
／人◕ .◕人＼
Well, we leave this two for a while as we take a look at the strength of a Love Potion
When Dante woke up in the morning, Louise was sleeping by his side. The previous night, when Louise, whose eyes were swollen from tears, got tired, he brought her to the room and fell asleep at once. "Kuukuu," with an innocent face, she breathed out through sleep.
'What made her change this way yesterday? One moment she was ready to kill, the other - she was suddenly weeping "Why don't you look at me!" What? What?' Dante wondered.
She started waking up. Abruptly, Louise got up and, noticing Dante, bit her lip. Then in a wrung out voice, she murmured "Good morning."
"G-good morning," Dante returned the greeting.
Then Louise blushed. Louise always blushed with an angry look on her face, but now it was different. Looking up at Dante, she softly curved her lips and said something hesitatingly.
"W-what?"
"Forgive me."
Louise opened her mouth and said in a lamenting voice.
"Forgivemeforgivemeforgiveme. Forgive me?"
Louise was definitely weird. She gazed at him with helpless puppy eyes, yet she had never looked at Dante this way before. Louise always looked down on him or scowled, he wasn't used to being looked at some other away.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you?"
Worried, he gripped her shoulder. Dressed only in negligee, Louise bent her head and rested her cheek on top of his hand. He felt an unexpected pang. Moreover, a pang on his left side. A quick one. Soon he was fully overtaken by a destructive power. His eyes narrowed at the realization.
'Wait, with Louise looking like this… She wouldn't be in love with me, would she?'
"I saw."
"Eh?"
"..a dream, yesterday."
'Dream?'
"What dream?"
"A Dream about Dante."
"D-dream about what?"
"Dante was mean in the dream. Though I was talking very hard, he still spoke with other girls."
'Gab' Louise bit into Dante's hand.
However, it was not painful. Louise bit very gently. Then she glanced upwards at Dante's face.
'A Love Bite? Is she serious?'
"Even so, it was yesterday. Do not buy gifts for other girls, do not look at other girls - you have your master, right?"
Dante gulped down saliva, while watching Louise. It appeared that she was so in love with him...
'But what made Louise's attitude change so much. It's as if she is an entirely different person. The bipolar Louise who, cannot become so sweet just like that. At first she was mad, and now she gently chewed on his palm while scowling.'
She would not just bite like this. She would hit.
Louise would never sell herself for such flirt...
Though at first Dante thought that Louise may be in love, he drove the last ray of hope out of his mind.
"Listen to me."
"Y-yes."
"Tell me truthfully. W-whom do you love the most in the world?"
Louise buried her face in his chest and muttered in a tearful voice. Dante felt dizzy in his head and answered incoherently.
"M-master. Yes."
"Lies."
It wasn't a lie. He treasured her like a daughter, though he has no idea how to show it. However, Louise today...
"Really?"
"Yeah..."
Then Louise got up and, tototo, ran up to the other side of the bed.
After taking out something from the secret gap in the wall beside the bed, she ran up to Dante with it.
"N. N, nh"
And then she thrust it out to Dante.
"What's...?"
"Take it."
The thrust out complex object was made from knitting wool. In any case, it seemed to be unwearable. Dante received it and tilted his head, trying to figure out it's purpose. By any means, could it still be something "to wear"? No, never. He had no inkling of where it could fit on the body.
Louise kept on quietly watching Dante... with eyes that seemed to be moist from crying. Aah, can't help it when looked at with such eyes. They had an expecting look. Yet, he couldn't answer Louise's expectations as he didn't know what on earth it was for, however, he had to do something!
What the heck is that. Dante thought. Think! Yeaaah, looking at it, it seems similar to medusa stuffed toy. It also can be thought to be one of Burgess fauna's species that ruled the sea in the ancient earth. Though it looks like a mysterious animal, because Louise handed it over to me, it must have some use. Ah! Think!
Dante fused, slowly losing his cool.
"Great! This! A fantastic thing! Medusa's outlook! The best!"
Louise's face fell.
"It's different... It's not that... It's a sweater."
As for the alien world sweater, it was different from what one would expect. It easily surpassed Dante's imagination.
In panic, Dante tried to put it on. But how to wear it? Somehow he found an entrance and pushed his head in. However, his arm didn't go out and half of his face remained stuck inside. Being stuck in such an uncomfortable way, Dante stood still.
Then, Louise tightly embraced Dante and pushed him down onto the bed.
"L-Louise..."
Because his arm was imprisoned by the sweater, he could not move.
"Be still," Louise pleaded with Dante. What? I'm already still. But it is because I can't get out my arms out of the sweater.
"Can't do that."
He said quietly, being honest.
Louise held onto Dante firmly, like a girl embracing her favorite stuffed animal.
"Ugh, don't you have to go to class?"
"It's alright. I'll just skip it anyway."
Muhaa! The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it sounded. Normally serious Louise never skipped class so lightly.
"For a whole day. Because, when you are let out, you flirt with other girls. I hate that."
Seems like she wanted to bind Dante this way. Yet, for a very prideful Louise to say such things… Even if she would be feeling this way, she'd never utter it aloud.
"Say something."
Louise muttered sweetly. Dante, what is the matter with Louise? He wondered, while worrying, what made Louise start talking so weakly and softly.
In the afternoon, Louise finally fell asleep. The young girl snored faintly in a deep slumber.
Then Dante quietly slipped out of the room and headed to the dining room to get some food. He was going to take Louise's share too.
Siesta, who was preparing lunch in the kitchen already, sweetly smiled when he finished explaining the situation to her.
"You are popular."
"No, it's different. Louise isn't herself. She's acting funny. It can't be helped, and now I have to get some of this food…"
Worried, Dante said, while Siesta trampled on Dante's feet, without breaking her smile.
"That's great."
"S-Siesta?"
Seems like she was really mad. The composed smile only emphasized her cold anger.
"Heeeh. That a highly prideful noble Miss Vallière would suddenly become clingy over Dante-san. What would make her change her mind about Dante-san? I'm worried."
Still smiling, Siesta put more strength into crushing Dante's foot. Dante screamed.
"I-it's true! She really suddenly started acting strange"
"Really?"
"Yeah… It is as if she turned into a different person."
Hearing that, Siesta started to think with a serious expression.
"This reminds me, I heard that there are some magical potions that can change a person's mind this way…"
"Magical potions?"
"Indeed. Yet because I am not a mage I might have not understood it well... But, Miss Vallière would not drink such a thing…"
Dante remembered the previous night. Louise's attitude changed dramatically after entering Montmorency's room… while he was hiding under the bed futon.
At that moment Louise's attitude changed suddenly… Did Louise do something then?
Ah.
That reminds me, she said "Fuah! I'm thirsty from running around!" and in one breath drank up the red wine on the table!
That? Could it be that? Dante started to feel suspicious about the red wine in Montmorency's room.
Dante waited for Montmorency to come out of the dining room and gripped her arm. Guiche, who was walking next to her, roared.
"Hey! What are you doing to my Montmorency!"
However, Montmorency's face suddenly turned pale instead of complaining. What? Even though he gripped a noble's arm like that! Guess Montmorency, who was even more arrogant than Louise, did not want to make much noise. In a word, she felt indebted to Dante over something and that was surely related to Louise's sudden change.
"Hey Monmon."
Dante glared at Montmorency.
"W-what…?"
She awkwardly turned her eyes away. She was not angry at being called Monmon. It was becoming more and more suspicious.
"What did you make Louise drink?"
"Eh?" Guiche made a suspicious face.
"Montmorency gave Louise something?"
"Hey Guiche. You saw Louise's change, right? One moment she was angry, the next placing her palms gently. Even someone as dimwitted as you should grow suspicious."
Guiche thought while crossing his arms. It took some time, because he was slow as usual. Then Guiche, who with great effort recalled the previous night's events, nodded.
"It is really as you say. It should not be possible for Louise to become so soft suddenly. Right?"
"Right! Monmon! Louise became strange after drinking the wine in your room!"
"That's the wine I brought! There's nothing suspicious about it!"
After saying so, Guiche noticed Montmorency's unusual behavior. She was biting her lips strongly and tiny drops of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
"Montmorency! That wine, really…"
"That child drank it without permission!"
Montmorency cried out, unable to take it anymore.
"That's not the point! It's your fault!" She said while pointing at Guiche, poking his nose with her finger. Now with the anger reversed, Guiche and Dante dumbfoundedly watched Montmorency.
"Because you are always fooling around!"
"You! What have you put in the wine?"
Dante understood. Montmorency wanted Guiche to drink up something that was put in the wine. Yet Louise, who rushed into the room, drank it up instead.
For a moment, both, Guiche and Dante, stood hesitatingly embarrassed and resigned. Then Montmorency in a calm, bared voice said.
"…Love potion."
"Love potion!"
Guiche and Dante cried out. Montmorency placed both hands over their mouths in panic.
"Idiots! Not so loud! …It is banned."
Dante gripped Montmorency's arm, removed her hand from his mouth and shouted.
"Then don't start such a mess to begin with! Help Louise somehow!"
Montmorency, Dante and Guiche racked their brains in Montmorency's room. Montmorency explained to them both in an arrogant manner that she made a love potion to prevent Guiche from having an affair. She put it in Guiche's glass to have him drink it, but then Dante and Louise had flounced into the room. It wasn't hard for Dante to imagine what happened after that. Unaware, Louise drank it all up. Dante screamed.
"What have you done?"
"…However, otherwise she would not have fallen in love with me, right?"
Guiche, who kept silent till then, clasped a blushing Montmorency's hand.
"Montmorency, you cared so much for me…"
"Hah! You think that I did it for you? I would not waste my time on that. It was just merely unpleasant for you to have affairs behind my back!"
The blush on Montmerency's cheeks was quickly replaced by an arrogant scowl. As expected, the pride of Tristainian noble women was really high. Very self-conceited and arrogant.
"Do not worry about me having an affair! I am your servant forever!"
Guiche embraced Montmorency closely. Then, holding her cheek, tried to kiss her. Startled Montmorency shut her eyes.
"Knock it off."
Dante pulled them both apart.
"What are you doing, idiot?"
"Doesn't matter! Help Louise first!"
"She'll recover sooner or later!"
"When is this 'sooner or later'!"
Montmorency looked doubtful.
"Each person's physiology is different, it may take a month or maybe a year…"
"You planned to let me drink such a thing?"
Guiche turned pale.
"That will take too long. At once! One way or another! Do it!"
With a jerk Dante brought his face close to Montmorency's.
"I understand! But it will take some time to prepare the antidote!"
"Hurry up then and do it! Now! Make it now!"
"However, to make an antidote a certain expensive drug is necessary, but I used it all up while making the love potion and it is very expensive. I can't do it for the time being."
"Yes, money will be hard to come by, I don't exaggerate."
"No money? You are nobles!"
When Dante shouted, Guiche and Montmorency looked at each other.
"Although we are nobles, we are students as well."
"It is older members of the family that possess the territory and money."
"Then ask your parents to send the money."
Dante said to them both. Then Guiche raised his forefinger and started talking.
"Listen. This world has two kinds of nobles. One kind are nobles that do not have the good fortune of money, another kind – nobles that have the money. For instance, de Montmorency. Montmorency's family, fails in the land reclamation and the management of the territory is horrible."
Montmorency cut in.
"Or like the de Gramont house, Guiche's family, that for the sake of honour got involved in a war and wasted all of their money…"
"Anyway, there are moneyless nobles. Actually, and I am not exaggerating, half the nobles in the world have enough money only to maintain their residence and the territory around it at best. However, it is not for a commoner like you to understand the hardships of keeping the honour and pride of the nobility."
These guys… Dante reluctantly started to search for something in his coat and jeans pockets. Then he pulled out the golden coins that he received from Henrietta before. Half of the amount he left in Louise's room and the other half he carried with himself.
"Will this suffice?"
He spilled them out on the table.
"Uwaa! Why do you have so much money? You!"
Seeing that amount of gold lying all over the table took Montmorency's breath away.
"Awesome, and some are even 500 écu coins."
"Don't ask where it comes from. Just buy that expensive medicine with this by the end of tomorrow."
Montmorency nodded reluctantly.
When he returned to his room with light pockets, the room itself looked weird.
Somehow the whole room was filled with cigarette-like smokes, yet the aroma was sweet. Louise was sitting in the center of the room with joss-sticks fuming around her.
"Hey, what? What's up with all this?"
When Dante said so, Louise, who was watching him, answered in a teary voice.
"Where have you been...?"
Only then Dante noticed how tempting Louise looked. She wasn't wearing her skirt.
"You left me all alone…"
She said in teary voice while sulkily looking up at Dante. It seemed like, while feeling lonely, she started burning all these incenses.
"So-sorry…"
Why doesn't she put on a skirt? He tried to turn his eyes away from her body when he noticed another unexpected fact. Well… Lo-Louise, Louise Françoise – that rascal, the skirt wasn't the only thing that she missed… Her panties are gone as well.
Her lower waist line was peeking up from the gap of her shirt. There were no signs of any underwear beneath.
Dante began to tremble.
"Y-you, p-put on some p-p-p-p-panties!"
Trembling, he shouted while looking to the other side.
"I w-won't!"
"Why not?"
"I am not sexy enough. I know this because night after night Dante sleeps by my side in bed, but doesn't do anything to me. I cannot take this anymore."
Louise said in a weeping voice.
"T-that's, you, me, are you saying you want me to p-push you down and then d-d-d-d-do those things to you?"
"I-is it bad…?"
"That's right."
"But, I'll shut my eyes and for an hour, I will pretend not to know."
But by saying that she would pretend not to know… Louise made a huge commitment.
Louise pulled the hem of her shirt down to cover her private parts and stood up. Louise moved her bare, slender legs. Dante's heart pounded inside his chest, sounding like a constant ringing of a bell.
Louise jumped onto Dante's chest. The sweet smell of her hair was even stronger than the aroma of the incense in the room. She never used perfumes, it was her natural body's smell.
'Curse you enhanced senses.'
With her face buried in Dante's jacket, Louise trembled and twitched.
"I am lonely… Idiot…"
Both of Dante's hands positioned themselves on Louise's body.
They seemed to embrace her firmly on an instinct.
Dante bit his lip. He put some pressure in his bite seeking to regain part of his calmness through pain.
'Louise of today… is not the Louise whom I know. It is a love potion that's making me lose myself. My Louise is the one I protect and like…as family.'
Because of familial love, this cannot be allowed to continue.
Dante with trembling hands gripped Louise's shoulders. Then he looked straight into her eyes and squeezed out as gentle a voice as possible.
"Louise…"
"Dante…"
"W-well… You are acting this strange today because of a medicine."
"Medicine…?"
Louise looked up at Dante with moistened eyes.
"That's right. The present you is not the real you. But don't worry, I will find the cure somehow. Okay?"
"It is not because of medicine!"
Louise looked straight at Dante.
"These feelings are not because of medicine. Because whenever I look at Dante my heart starts beating wildly. Not only that…I cannot breathe and feel helpless. I know, this feeling is…"
"I-it's different. I would like it if they were your real feelings, but it isn't, it is different. This is because of the drug. The antidote will be ready by tomorrow night, so wait till then. Anyway, go to sleep now, okay?"
Louise shook her head.
"I don't understand. It doesn't matter. Anyway, you must hug me tightly or else I won't go to sleep."
"If I do, you'll go to bed?"
Louise nodded. Dante carried her to the bed. Then laid down, snuggling next to her. As usual, Louise clung firmly to him.
"Don't go anywhere. Look only at me, no other girls, only me."
She repeated, as if some kind of spell.
Dante nodded.
"I won't go anywhere. I'll stay here for a long time."
"Really?"
"Aah. Yes, so rest, ok?"
"Un… If Dante says to sleep, I will sleep. Because I don't want him to dislike me."
However, Louise didn't go to sleep. Instead, she shuffled a little and brought her blushing face to the scruff of Dante's neck. Before Dante could even think of what she was doing, she started to kiss his neck. It felt as if a torrent of small needles ran down his spine.
"Haaaaaaaaaaah..."
Dante began to get really worried here, as he quickly began to formulate a plan of escape.
Meanwhile Louise started to suck strongly on Dante's skin.
"Wait a minute here! Louise!"
'If you don't stop I'll ... '
However, Louise didn't stop. With flushing cheeks she watched the place that she just kissed.
It reddened as if bitten by an insect.
Noticing this, Louise proceeded leaving marks on Dante's skin with an absorbed interest.
"Louise, stop! I already! I! Wait!"
His mind could not take it anymore with the confusion. When Louise separated her lips, she muttered in a sulky way.
"No. I won't stop. Dante is mine and mine alone. Therefore, I will leave marks to show that he is mine and keep the other girls away."
After that, Dante's torture continued for a while. Louise started to leave hickey marks not only on the scurf of his neck but even on his chest too. By the end, there were more than ten of them.
Dante just remained calm afterwards letting the mini-mage do what she wanted, sighed with relief as Louise still has no idea what to do next.
When Louise's lips finally left his chest. Then Louise, turned her head to the side, presenting Dante her own neck.
"Now you mark me."
"Wait….What!…"
Dante looked at Louise's slender, snowy white neck.
"If you don't do this - I won't go to sleep."
There was no other way.
Dante closed his eyes and brought his lips to Louise's neck. He touched it. A deep sigh escaped Louise's lips. Never hearing such a cute sigh from her,
Dante cussed at his luck.
Gently, he sucked on Louise's celadon skin. Combined with an incubus magic skill, and a simple knockout nerve point press, just to put the lovesick girl to sleep….
"Nh…!"
Louise must have been nervous too, as giving out such a cry seemed to confirm, and something else happens…
'What the… Did she just have an orgasm, now?' he deadpanned in his thoughts…
Tiredness soon took over her and Louise started to breath in a faint sleeper's way after a while.
Completely beyond annoyance, he looked at his own red mark on Louise's nape of the neck. It looked like a red strawberry in the middle of white snow.
Dante sighed, he had to restrain himself many times, or else, he would have attacked Louise who was peacefully sleeping next to him.
'Calm down! Louise is acting this way only because of the potion! Plus, I'm no loli…'
He had to find the antidote quickly, to return Louise back to her usual saucy self, instead of this cute one!
Which he found extremely unnatural.
Then Dante noticed something that Louise was grasping tightly in her sleep.
It was the pendant that Dante bought her in town. She was grasping it tightly as if it were some sort of treasure. Seeing that lovely view he lost all his strength.
It was cruel. Louise was horrible. It's a crime to look so disturbingly cute.
Watching Louise's sleeping face, he started to think… why return back to his former world, if you can stay here?
When Louise became a court lady of Henrietta, it became difficult to travel to the east… Though he was disappointed, at the same time he felt glad. Because of that he could stay by Louise's side.
Aah, Earth, Siesta and Louise. Those three turned round and round in Dante's head, making him frustrated.
Which choice should I make? He could not make a choice today, but he would have to.
Maybe, in the near future.
／人◕ .◕人＼
In the evening the next day, Dante was in Montmorency's room. He had a quarrel with Louise before leaving her in her room and coming here…
"You can't make an antidote?"
With his face lifted, Dante stared at Montmorency. Beside her sat Guiche holding his chin and scowling. Montmorency and Guiche had gone into the city that day to face the black-market traders in the hopes of finding the antidote, however...
"It can't be helped! It was sold out!"
"Then when can you buy it?"
"It… seems like they do not have the goods needed."
"What is it?"
"The specific medicine comes from Ragdorian Lake, at the boarder with Gallia. It is made from the tears of a water spirit… however it seems they were not able to contact the water spirits recently."
"Whaat?"
"In other words, we cannot get this special medicine."
"Then what about Louise?"
"Well, I mean, really, what is so bad about all this? She has fallen in love with you. You like Louise, do you not?"
Dante brought a heavy fist down on Guiche .
"Not that way you are imagining, you obstinate fool."
"But…" Montmorency pouted her lips and Guiche shook his head reluctantly.
Even Dante thought quietly for a while, until he finally grasped his hand into a fist, determined.
"Where is that water spirit?"
"I told you already, it's at the Ragdorian lake."
"So you only need to get in touch with her, right?"
"Eeeeeh! Now listen here! The water spirit rarely shows her face before humans! And even if she did, she is very strong! If angered, the results can be disastrous!"
"I don't care, let's go!"
"Well I do care! I am absolutely not going!"
Dante crossed his arms.
"Well then, there's only one thing I can do. I will have to tell Her Royal Highness the Princess about the love potion, or is it Her Royal Highness the Queen now? Anyway, I will have to ask for her help about the problem."
Dante pauses for a moment, and then continued.
"Come to think, wasn't that potion banned? It's not supposed to be allowed to be made, right? Now then, I wonder what would Her Highness do if she learned about it?"
Montmorency's face quickly turned pale.
"And besides that, I knew of other ways to make people see my way." Dante grins as bright lights surrounded them.
The group then found themselves in a surrounded with an array of torture devices they had only heard of, some were beyond their imagination.
From the classic whip to the wooden horse, it looked more like an S & M stuff that could only be speculated to be fictional.
Dante now begin glowing with eldritch energy as he strode with heavy steps to a certain rack…
Not only Montmorency's face turns white as sheet with fear, Guiche now joins the girl into a cowering fit.
"Choose your poison," Dante sweetly offers as he suddenly gained hold of a long barbed whip, all the while smiling peacefully.
*CRACK!*
The whiplash sounded as Dante deftly flicks the said thing over the couple's heads…
"EEEEEKKKK!" Both squeaked….
Guiche took the few seconds of peace to say…
"W-What do you think, Monmon?"
"F- Fine, already! I understand! I will go, if you go!"
she half-screamed,
"Hmm, we can't let Louise stay this way, either. Or else others may notice her strange behaviour and suspect the love potion."
Guiche shook his head.
"Fear not, my lover. I will stay by your side on this journey," said Guiche while leaning in and trying to slowly put his hand over Montmorency's shoulders, but she quickly evaded him.
"That's not really inspiring. You are too weak."
She had never seen him fight competently before.
Guiche just grins and shrugs.
After that, the trio made arrangements for the journey.
They would leave the following day, early in the morning. Because they did not know how Louise might act if left alone, they decided to bring her along as well.
"Haah, this is my first time skipping school." Montmorency sighed.
"You brought it on yourself in the first place…" Dante deadpans, preparing to summon the Sleipnir.
"And what about me, as I have not been going to school for half of a year now? After Dante came, it was adventures everyday! Ahahaha!" Guiche burst into a hearty laughter.
More like tortures and torments for the blond kid everyday.
Dante facepalms himself once more…
"Great, just great…" he declared, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Author's rant
Seems like I'll be busier by this month…sorry if the updates might be a lot slower for a time…
And since this fic seemed a rather uninteresting read to the readers…I'm currently contemplating again…
Please review…
See you guys soon… I hope… XD