MPNV 19

~Chapter 19~

Ares was in his pajamas, probably having tried to go to bed.

“W-what’s wrong?”
Aveline shouted, startled by his sudden entrance.

“The window! The window!”

“What about the window?”

“My bedroom window just opened by itself!”

Ares looked pale as he spoke.

“I was about to sleep when the window started rattling and suddenly, bang! It flew open!”

“When? Just now?”

“Yeah!”

If it was just now, it was right when Aveline had been trying to use magic by concentrating.

No way… Did I do that?
She hadn’t opened her own window, but Ares’s. Still, she had tried to “open a window,” hadn’t she?

If it was really me, that means I did it, right?
Aveline decided to check for sure.

“Ahem, Ares. I’ll go check your room, so wait in mine, okay?”

“…Do you have to?”

“Sit here and stay still!”

She ignored Ares’s pleading and went to his room.

“Hm…”

Just like he said, the window was wide open.

In the dark, the wind made the window creak like a scene out of a horror story.

“No wonder he was scared,” she muttered.
Ares had always been afraid of ghost stories since he was little.

So, the window really did open.
Aveline stood by it and tried to concentrate again.

In novels, the main characters always seemed to discover their magic power right away.
But in reality, she felt nothing.

Well, it’s worth a shot.

Maybe it was more than coincidence last time.

This time, I’ll try to close the window.

She shut her eyes tight and focused, but felt nothing again.

“Hi-ya!”

No matter how much she tried, there was only silence.

She spread out her palm for one last try.

“Eeyap!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

The window didn’t move at all, and instead she heard Ares screaming from her own room.

Ares stayed up all night, so he looked exhausted as he pushed his fork around at breakfast.
His plate, as usual, was filled with salmon and broccoli.

“Hey, eat your carrots too.”
Aveline put the carrots she picked out of her own salad onto Ares’s plate.

“….”

Normally, Ares would have made a big fuss, but today he was silent.

“I think I’ve got a ghost haunting me.”

He muttered this as he absentmindedly ate the carrots.

“A ghost?”

“You saw it too last night, right? The window keeps opening to scare me when I’m alone.”

“Hm.”

“It’s probably a female ghost, right?”

“Why?”

“Well, it sticks to me so much. I mean, look at me, I’m handsome.”

The guilt Aveline had felt for scaring him disappeared in an instant.

She buried her head and pretended to focus on eating.

“What should I do? Even ghosts like me.”

That ghost is your sister.

Aveline cursed him silently.

She’d tried to close Ares’s window but ended up opening her own instead.
Ares, left alone, had gone pale with fear all over again.

She’d felt a twinge of guilt when she saw him with tears in his eyes, but watching him now, her conscience turned to stone.

He’s hopeless.

There’s no cure for a terminal case of “pretty boy syndrome.”

Still, at least I gained something.

It was clumsy, but she’d actually used magic.

And, whether it was luck or magic, after using it, the mark on her wrist had completely disappeared.

There’s no doubt the Duke of Ribes’s magic affects more than just dreams.

That must be why he kept chasing after her.

At least Theron didn’t show up in her dream last night.

Actually, it’s because I barely slept.

Ares had been so scared of being alone, she’d let him take the sofa.
He’d whined and groaned all night, keeping her awake too.

“Ahem.”

Just then, Count Herolds entered the dining room.

“Oh, Father.”

“Don’t mind me. Keep eating.”

Aveline, who’d started to stand up, was stopped by her father’s words.

Ares still looked out of it from the shock last night.

Count Herolds, meanwhile, waited for his meal and read the newspaper.

“What!?”

“What is it?”

Aveline had been waiting for a chance to speak, so she quickly asked.

“Hm. Seems there was an incident at a famous dessert shop in town yesterday.”

“…Dessert shop?”

“Yes. Some mysterious young lady was there… Wait, Ares, you were there yesterday, right?”

Count Herolds frowned as he read carefully.

“It says here, according to witnesses, Duke Ribes, Young Lord Herolds, and Young Lord Casey all seemed deeply involved with the young lady. The three of them even had a strange rivalry over her. …What is this nonsense?”

Anyone could see the article was about Aveline.

Because her face had been hidden by a wide-brimmed hat, she’d been called “the mysterious young lady.”

Ares’s eyes widened as he met Aveline’s gaze—they both realized it was about her.

“Another witness says Duke Ribes called the young lady a ‘jewel’…”

Snap.

Count Herolds slammed the newspaper down.

“A ‘jewel’? Duke Ribes called her that? There’s only one answer then!”

He’s figured it out.

Of course, with all the clues in the article, it wouldn’t be hard.

The twins lowered their eyes, waiting for the scolding to come.
Their father hated public attention for scandalous things.

“Aveline.”

“Yes?”

Aveline replied immediately, tense.

“This is a problem.”

“I’m sor—”

“I’m talking about Duke Ribes.”

“Huh?”

“He calls you a jewel, then turns around and says it to another woman! Did you see that?”

Count Herolds looked truly upset.

“I thought it was strange when he barged into our house first thing in the morning saying nonsense, but now I see—he calls every woman ‘jewel’ like some philanderer!”

Aveline felt conflicted, watching her father get all worked up over Theron “betraying” her—without even knowing it was really her.

Strangely, it made her happy to see him get angry for her sake.

“Father, are you… worried about me?”

Bang!
Count Herolds slammed the table in frustration.

“How weak do we look, for him to do this to our family? Did he think he could get away with it? Ridiculous!”

His anger wasn’t quite in the direction Aveline expected.

“Still, it’s a relief you weren’t involved in all this! Ares is in the papers enough already—I can’t handle fixing rumors about you too.”

Aveline bit her lip.

I can never get caught.

Ares seemed to think the same, his face grim.

“Ares, since you were there yesterday, you must know who the mysterious young lady is. Whose daughter is she?”

“Uh, um.”

Ares just rolled his eyes, not knowing how to answer.

“Come on, tell me!”

As Count Herolds pressed him, the dining room went quiet.

“Aveline! Ares! Did you see today’s paper?”
Logan rushed into the room, holding the newspaper.

He was in such a hurry, he hadn’t even sent a servant to announce his visit.

“Oh, Count Herolds, I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s been a while, Young Lord Casey. How is your father?”

“My father is well.”

“But what brings you here, all in a rush?”

Just as Count Herolds said, Logan was sweating, his collar askew.

“How odd. I’ve never seen you in such a state.”

Count Herolds tilted his head, then spoke as if remembering something.

“By the way, you must know, too.”

“Huh?”

“The mysterious young lady in the article—the one the three of you supposedly fought over. Who is she?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard, Logan’s mouth hung open.

Aveline met his eyes and quickly shook her head, begging him not to say anything.

The room fell silent again.

Please, let me faint.

Aveline wished she could just pass out and escape this.

But, just like before, her strong, well-trained body wouldn’t let her.

Should I try using magic?

What did she have to lose?
She suddenly had a wild hope—if she tried hard enough, maybe it would work this time.

Anything would do, if it meant escaping this moment.

Faint. Faint. I’m going to faint!

“Eeyap!”

Under the table, she secretly aimed her palm and gathered all her willpower.

Nope, perfectly fine.

Still, nothing changed.

Looks like the magic didn’t work at all this time.

Everyone else seemed fine too.

Thud.

“Count Herolds!”