Sugar Apple Fairytale - Volume 5 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4

RAIN AND A FAVOR

“So that’s what happened, and the evil spirit…by which I mean, that fairy—he won’t eat anything.”

Anne had left the workshop before lunch, taking on the duty of carrying Glen’s meal to his room. She did it because she had realized that ever since they arrived at Hollyleaf Castle, she had been so busy that she hadn’t even seen him.

As she arranged his lunch tray on the side table so that it would be easy for him to eat, Anne spoke to Glen, her words intermixed with sighs.

“Earlier, Hugh…I mean, the Silver Sugar Viscount dropped by,” she said.

“Did he?”

“Yes. He came for an inspection. Apparently, he heard from someone that we caught the evil spirit, and he thought it was hilarious. He kept asking to see him. I asked Hugh for advice about the boy’s refusal to eat, but he just made a joke about him being on a diet and left.”

Hugh had shown up again, just like the day before. It seemed he was going to Westol for two or three days and stopped by on his way. While at the castle, he spent more time asking about the evil spirit they’d captured than actually checking on their work, and then he went away again.

Noah had been annoyed by Hugh, who must have seemed to him like a rude man who’d appeared suddenly, stared at him like a curiosity, and then left.

“I’m not sure why he stayed in a place like this for fifteen whole years,” said Anne. “He should have ignored his master’s orders and run away.”

“Perhaps his master took his wing with him when he left the castle?”

Glen, who had been slowly eating his soup with a spoon, sounded sad as he suggested this possibility.

“Oh…right…”

Anne had always tried to treat Challe and Mithril as her equals, and she tended to think of Danna, Hal, and even Gladys in the same way. But in fact, Glen held Danna’s and Hal’s wings, and Bridget held Gladys’s. They were all slaves. She had nearly forgotten.

“So that boy, Noah,” said Anne. “He’s also…”

“Whether he likes it or not, I’m sure that fairy can’t leave until his wing comes back unharmed. What a cruel thing to do. If I were his owner and I knew it was likely I wouldn’t return, I would either take him with me, give his wing back, or transfer it to someone else. The fact that he was left here in bondage is just too pitiful.”

Fifteen years spent waiting for his wing. Noah had to have been anxious, passing all that time, not knowing whether it was safe. Not knowing when his life might be suddenly snuffed out.

“Noah said that according to his master’s orders, if he wants to stay here, he can’t eat anything other than the food his master gives him,” Anne explained. “He’s probably convinced that if he intends to keep waiting for his wing, he has to follow those orders and can’t consume anything that didn’t come from his master.”

Leaving his fairy behind alone in a state of insecurity and forbidding him to eat any food he hadn’t personally given him. If Herbert Chamber was the one who did all that, he was an extraordinarily cruel man.

“You may be right. He might eat if we can rid him of that impression. Fairies love sugar candy, so how about making him a piece of candy, Anne?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Anne smiled at Glen’s suggestion. “He might eat if I give him sugar candy. I’ll craft him a piece tonight, after our work is done.”

“Give it a try. By the way, speaking of fairies…,” Glen said casually, “how is the fairy Bridget brought with her?”

“No particular issues. Bridget is keeping a proper distance and going about her life, as promised.”

“I see.”

Glen kept moving his spoon around, pretending not to care, but Anne could see the relief in his face. Suddenly, Glen’s hand stopped. He lay his bony wrist down on top of the blanket, as if he was tired.

“I have no idea what Bridget is thinking these days. In the past, I could easily tell what was on her mind and had a good idea of what she liked. I knew all about her interests.”

“What sort of things did Bridget like?”

“Sugar candy—of course she liked that. We had a senior candy crafter who everyone called Grandpa Jim. He only handled the silver sugar refinement, though. Normally, he was quiet and brusque, but Bridget loved Grandpa Jim. She also loved cats. She begged me countless times to let her keep one, but I thought it would cause trouble to have an animal prowling around the workshop, getting hair mixed in with the silver sugar, so I wouldn’t allow it. She also really loved the story Four Gold Coins and One Flower. She often badgered me to tell it to her before bed.” Glen smiled bitterly. “But I couldn’t name a single thing that girl likes now.”

Maybe all parents’ faces looked alike. Anne had often seen Emma put on a bitter smile like Glen’s. It was a complicated expression, with hints of both shame and resignation.

Whenever Anne had quarreled with Emma, she had always blamed her mother and had never, ever apologized. In times like those, Emma had extended sympathy to Anne—the sympathy of a parent. But Glen didn’t have the finesse for that. Not all parents did. This had never dawned on Anne before, though it seemed obvious now.

“Listen to me complaining,” said Glen. “I’m sorry, Anne. Here I am going on and on, when I’m causing you all sorts of trouble.”

“Trouble?”

“I heard everything from Elliott. The thousand-cress rent for this castle—you paid it for us, didn’t you?”

Hollyleaf Castle had to be rented by the year. The rent for that time was one thousand cress, to be paid in full in advance. That was not an amount that the Paige Workshop could muster. It couldn’t even pay its crafters’ wages.

But in a stroke of good luck, the thousand cress that Anne had received from the former Duke of Philax was largely untouched and still in her possession. When she heard what the rent would be, she immediately recalled her own thousand cress and decided to put it to use.

At the moment, she was the head candy crafter for the Paige Workshop. To the head crafter, nothing was more important than successfully completing the sugar candy sculptures for the First Holy Festival by the deadline. If the thousand cress could help, she had to pay it.

Elliott had bowed his head and apologized. He promised to pay back every bit of it as soon as they had the reward for the First Holy Festival in hand. He even drew up a promissory note.

“It’s all right,” said Anne. “I only loaned it to you. Even if I kept it, I have no use for it right now anyway. Leaving that aside, it’s dark in here, isn’t it? Should I open the curtains…?”

As she spoke, Anne turned toward the window and saw that the curtains were already open. Outside, it was as dark as dusk. Even though it was still around noon, it looked like night had descended over the area.

“What’s this?” she said. “Snow maybe? But the sky looks strange for snow.”

Anne approached the window and looked up through the glass. Black clouds hung low, covering the sky.

“It’s a little warm for snow.” Glen opened his collar.

There was no flame in the hearth. During the late autumn season, the chill in the morning and evening was intense, so fires were necessary. But in the afternoon, as long as everyone wore warm clothes, they didn’t need to light one. It was chilly, but not so chilly that they couldn’t bear it.

But it certainly never felt hot. And yet Glen had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. Now that he’d mentioned it, Anne felt warm, too.

Far off in the sky, there was a rumble like a beast growling in displeasure. Then the next moment, drops of rain began falling one by one onto the windowpane. The intensity increased in a flash, and soon, they were in the middle of a violent downpour.

“Rain? In this season?” Anne widened her eyes.

Rain was scarce in the Kingdom of Highland. Any rain that fell between spring and autumn was usually quiet and reserved, like monks reciting scripture. And it never continued for longer than half a day.

In winter, on the other hand, it usually snowed so much that everyone got fed up with it. The cold of winter turned all the moisture in the atmosphere into snow and ice, so the air was even drier than it was during the summer. The snow that fell on this dry land was smooth and powdery.

The large quantities of snow would melt, and thanks to that snowmelt, the underground aquifers were kept saturated, and the wells and lakes remained full.

The Kingdom of Highland survived through the dry season from spring until autumn on the water from the snowmelt.

It was rare for rain to fall during the current season, so close to winter. On top of that, the temperature was high. The air was warm, almost as if it were early summer.

As they worked that afternoon, all the candy crafters were surprised by the unseasonable heat and humidity. Moreover, the rain fell in a downpour like they had never experienced.

As he was cutting out the shapes of snow crystals from silver sugar, Valentine suddenly raised his head.

“What’s going on with this rain?” he asked.

Elliott, who had been cutting out crystals with him, shrugged. “Who knows? Things like this aren’t for humans to understand.”

“It’s incredible. It’s raining so hard, the outer walls look like waterfalls. And the garden has turned into a river!”

Nadir, who had been peering out the window, came back to his workstation and made this excited report. As he did so, he sat and picked up a needle. Then pulling over one of the snowflakes that Valentine had cut, he bent down so close that it looked like his face was touching it. He then started inscribing detailed patterns onto its surface.

This room was for making the snowflakes. There were four workstations, a candy crafter stationed at each.

The adjacent room was for kneading. There, Orlando and King kneaded the silver sugar, then brought the finished batches of dough to the snowflake room.

The finished snowflakes were laid out on shelves in the corner of the room. They were many different sizes and were basically all white, with some having a slight tint to them. The candy crafters had made nearly three hundred so far. They would probably finish another hundred and fifty that evening.

“If we keep up this speed, we should be able to start assembling them in two or three days,” Anne informed the others after she finished counting the snowflakes.

Elliott frowned a little. “We’ll be cutting it close at this pace,” he said.

“But our work will get faster bit by bit as we go,” countered Anne. “We’ve finished more snowflakes today than we did yesterday, after all. I figure it’ll take four days from the beginning of the project until we can put together the first statue. At this pace, we should be able to start the second one after three days.”

“Oh, really?” When he heard that, Elliott grinned. “That’s great. I’m glad the head crafter is keeping track.”

Anne felt a chill when she saw his smile. Elliott was leaving command of the work up to Anne, but at the same time, he was likely keeping a watchful eye on her. He was checking to see whether she had thought the project through thoroughly and was making sure everything was on track. His comment a moment earlier had probably been a test.

The day after next or maybe the day after that, they would begin putting together all the snowflakes. Then finally, they would have one tower of snow complete.

Elliott had not been exaggerating when he’d called it a tremendous workload.

But we’ve got to do it. If we can proceed with the work at this rate, we’ll definitely get it done in time.

Anne returned to her workbench. As she picked up an engraving tool and began to carve patterns into a sugar crystal, she glanced out the window.

She expected they would finish in time for the First Holy Festival. It was an enormous amount of work, but she should have felt confident in their abilities. Yet Anne had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and even she wasn’t sure why.

She reasoned she was probably just feeling out of sorts due to the unusual, heavy rain and the darkness.

The curious rain and heat continued into the evening.

The candy crafters finished their work before midnight and returned to their rooms. Anne, however, remained behind in the workshop alone.

Listening to the sound of the rain battering the windows, she kneaded some silver sugar.

She intended to make a piece of sugar candy for Noah.

She didn’t know whether he would eat the candy, but she had to make some. Anne could only make sugar candy. It was the one thing she could do herself.

She had work again the following day, starting early in the morning, so she had to get to sleep soon. Considering the time, she couldn’t make anything elaborate.

I wonder what would be good? I wish I’d had more time to talk with Noah.

He was sure to eat it if it was something that he liked.

“Though, I suppose he wasn’t in much of a mood to talk. Especially since he called us thieves.”

In the end, she played it safe and crafted a single sweet flower blossom, light purple like the color of his hair.

Carrying the candy in her right hand and a candlestick in her left, she made her way out of the workshop.

The rain striking the windows was as noisy as ever. She shone the light of the candle up overhead and looked at the window glass. It was like someone were sprinkling water over the windows with a giant watering can. Puddles had formed here and there in the entry hall, signaling leaks in the roof.

There had been a terrible harvest of sugar apples that year, too. The gears of nature must have been warped somewhere.

With that thought, Anne climbed the stairs up to the second-story hall. Once there, she saw someone sitting quietly on the floor near the eastern wall. She held her candle up high and approached.

“Noah?”

The person sat facing the wall with his arms around his knees—he was a fairy with light-purple hair. He looked like he was asleep. He was resting his cheek atop his knees, and his eyes were closed.

“What are you doing in a place like this?” Anne asked. “And why are you facing the wall of all things?”

Bewildered, she looked up and saw a portrait hanging there. It seemed to portray one of the former lords of the castle, but the portion that contained the face had been cut out.

The man in the portrait’s black hair and build resembled the man in the scenes that Anne had witnessed over the past two days. It was the same portrait that she had noted on the day they arrived—the only one without dust on it.

It seemed to be the newest in a line of portraits depicting the castle’s previous owners. It was likely that it showed the last lord of the castle, Herbert Chamber.

This is the person who gave Noah those cruel orders.

After glaring a little at the portrait, Anne set her candle and the sugar candy down on the floor and gently shook Noah by the shoulder.

“Noah, Noah, get up. Let’s go back to bed.”

Noah drowsily opened his eyes and lifted his head. It took him a moment to focus, but when he saw Anne’s face, he scowled.

“Well, if it isn’t the thief.”

“First of all, I have a name, and it’s Anne… Well, whatever. For now, let’s go back to bed.”

“I don’t take orders from thieves! This castle is under my protection.”

Anne sighed at the fairy’s stubborn attitude. Noah ignored her and gazed at the portrait in front of him. He stared at it fixedly, without moving. Anne looked up at it, too.

She wondered why Noah was gazing at such a thing. It was in a pitiful state. The longer she stared at it, the more it pained her. All the more so because the portrait depicted the master who had given Noah his coldhearted orders.

“That man is Master Herbert, isn’t he?” Anne said, but Noah didn’t answer. Undaunted, she asked a further question. “Hey, Noah? About your wing—did Master Herbert take it with him when he went?”

At that, Noah glared sternly at Anne. “Master Herbert is not such a cruel man! He gave me my wing back!”

“Huh…? He gave it back?”

“That’s right. He gave it back to me.”

At this unexpected revelation, she stared at him blankly for a moment.

“So why have you been here for fifteen years? If you got your wing back from him, there’s no need for you to be here.”

“I’ve told you why many times! I am Master Herbert’s page, so I’m protecting the castle and waiting for his return.”

“But were you ordered to do that? By Master Herbert?”

“Well, I…!”

Noah was at a loss for words. He hung his head.

“Did Master Herbert tell you to protect the castle, to never leave, and not to eat anything other than what he gave you? Truly? Is that truly what he said to you?”

Anne couldn’t imagine that a master who had given a fairy their wing back would go on to deliver such brutal orders. If he had been the sort of person to do that, he would never have returned the wing.

“Master Herbert…did say that.” When Noah spoke again, his voice sounded frail. “He said he wasn’t taking me with him to war, that he was leaving me at the castle. And he asked me to protect it carefully after he left. He said it was my duty. But he also said if I ate the three pieces of sugar candy that he left behind, I should leave the castle. And that if I ate anything other than the food that he gave me, I wasn’t allowed to stay… That’s what he told me.”

“Not allowed to stay?”

After Noah’s admission, Anne looked up once more at the damaged portrait with no face.

This man… Did he want Noah to run away?

When he departed the castle, Herbert Chamber must have known he would likely never return.

If he had taken Noah into battle, the fairy would also have died. So he left him behind in the castle. But he knew the intensely loyal fairy might insist on going along. Because of that, he had given the fairy a job. A duty to “protect the castle.”

What’s more, he tried to get Noah to leave before the castle was eventually seized by the Millsland royal family. Herbert had ordered him not to eat anything in the castle except what he gave him, so that once he had eaten the three pieces of sugar candy, he would have to leave, even if he didn’t want to. If Noah wanted to eat, he would have to abandon the castle. In short, he was sure to go eventually.

Anne had been certain that the man with the black hair and beard in her visions over the past two days was Herbert, the man whom Noah called his master. But he was not Herbert. Anne was now convinced. The man in the portrait and the man in her visions were two different people. They had the same hair and similar builds, but they were not the same.

“Did you eat the sugar candies?” asked Anne.

Noah shook his head anxiously. “N-no, I didn’t eat them! There’s still one left! So it should be all right for me to stay in the castle! I’m abiding by Master Herbert’s orders. Like I said, there’s still one sugar candy left!”

“But didn’t Master Herbert tell you not to eat anything other than the food that he gave you? You ate up all the stockpiled provisions, right? Wasn’t that ignoring his orders?”

“All the food in the castle’s stockpile belonged to Master Herbert. He left it behind for me, which is the same as giving it to me. I’m obeying his orders!”

Noah must have kept on waiting for Herbert’s return, desperately searching for a way to remain loyal to his master’s orders.

Now he had run out of both excuses and available food. But he didn’t want to leave the castle, and so he could no longer eat.

“I see,” said Anne. “You really have remained loyal.”

Even though she knew that Noah was making excuses, she agreed with him. When she did, Noah gazed down at his knees, looking relieved. His eyes, like purple quartz, were a little bleary. As if trying to convince himself, he said once again, “That’s right. I’m abiding by Master Herbert’s orders.”

“Do you like Master Herbert?”

Noah nodded deeply. That was all it took to make Anne understand. To convince her that his master had been a very good master indeed.

“Come on, Noah, eat something. Master Herbert will be happier when he comes back if you’ve been waiting in good health.”

She held the piece of sugar candy that she had made in both palms, then extended it to Noah. The fairy opened his eyes wide.

“This…”

“It’s sweet and tasty!”

Noah’s right hand let go of his knee and slowly reached out toward Anne. But then he suddenly withdrew and turned away, as if he had changed his mind.

“No! If I defy Master Herbert’s orders, I’ll have to leave the castle.”

“But, Noah, what Master Herbert really wanted was…”

“I’m obeying his orders!” Noah said, cutting Anne off. “I’m obeying them. Because I am Master Herbert’s page…I’m going to be useful.”

Then as if he was worn out, Noah put his face down on his knees again.

“So…I won’t eat…”

Noah’s body lurched forward violently. In a panic, Anne propped up the falling boy.

“Noah?!”

There was almost no weight to his body, which had started to tip over when he lost consciousness. It was like he was hollow on the inside. His lightness frightened Anne. It seemed like he might really vanish.

What is he?

Challe was sitting on the windowsill, staring at the rain as it streamed down the other side of the glass.

Gladys had known about a place that should have belonged only to Challe and Liz. And Challe had heard that the place had collapsed decades earlier and was now buried under earth and stone. But somehow, not only had Gladys known about it, but he had also known that it was a special place for Challe.

When he considered that, one possibility came to mind.

But that can’t be.

If that was the case, there was one way to be sure. Even if Challe learned what Gladys was, however, he wouldn’t necessarily know what he had in mind.

Gladys had put his hand on Anne’s cheek.

It made Challe sick to recall it. No matter what the other fairy was thinking, laying his hands on Anne was unforgivable. That was true if it was done in malice, of course, but even if he had done it out of affection, Challe couldn’t bear it.

As he was thinking that, he heard the pitter-patter of someone running in the hall. The light footsteps could only belong to Anne. They passed Challe’s room, then went to Anne’s and turned back again.

Next, he heard heavy breathing.

He knew it was about time for Anne to finish her work and go back to her room, but her behavior was strange. He stood, opened the door, and looked out into the corridor.

There was a candlestick sitting in front of the door to Anne’s room. Its unsteady light flickered as it lit up the corridor.

Just then, Anne was about to pass in front of the door to Challe’s room. She was carrying Noah on her back, wobbling unsteadily as she walked.

“Ah…Challe…”

The moment she gasped out his name, she stumbled.

“What are you doing, idiot?!” Challe caught Anne in his arms as she tipped over.

“S…sorry. Thank you, Challe.”

“Come on, keep it together.”

Challe planted Anne’s feet back firmly on the ground and propped her up. He took Noah’s body, which was about to slip off Anne’s back, and lifted him, cradling the boy in his arms. He was light. Challe frowned at how light he was.

He hasn’t got much longer.

Challe carried Noah into Anne’s room and laid him on the bed.

Anne followed him, gasping for breath. As she pulled the quilt and blanket up over Noah, she said, “Thank you, Challe. Noah sneaked out of bed and went into the portrait hall. But he lost consciousness. He’s light, so I thought I could carry him, but…” Her words trailed off there, and she hung her head. “He won’t even eat sugar candy… This boy—he told me he got his wing back.”

In the candlelight, shadows flickered over Anne’s face as she bit her lip.

“He got it back?” asked Challe.

“Yeah. It sounds like his master, Herbert, returned it to him. Noah stayed in this castle to wait for him, but his master said that if he ate anything other than what he’d given him, he would have to leave. Noah says he can’t break his promise, so he won’t eat. I think Herbert probably told him that because he wanted Noah to go. But Noah insists he’s going to keep waiting.”

Challe could not sense in Noah the energy needed to maintain a fairy’s form. When that energy dried up, a fairy’s body would disperse and vanish. And Noah himself had to realize what state he was in.

But he must have wanted to keep his promise and wait, despite all that.

Challe looked down at Noah’s face again.

Maybe it’s only natural.

Noah had said he got his wing back from his master. There could be no doubt that his bond with the man was something special.

If Noah wanted to wait, even for someone who was never coming back, Challe was inclined to let him do so until he was satisfied. Challe knew that if he was in a similar situation with Anne, he would surely wait. For ten years or a hundred.

“You’re a Silver Sugar Master, right?” Challe asked Anne, who looked like she might start crying at any moment.

Anne raised her head.

“So craft him something that will satisfy him and make him want to eat. If you’re really a Silver Sugar Master, that is.”

Anne looked startled. “A Silver Sugar Master, you say?”

“Are you not?”

“No…I am, but…” Then she smiled. “Mm… I see.”

When Challe saw Anne’s smiling face, a strong impulse overtook him. This girl before him, this helpless, good-natured, scrawny girl—he would never hand her over to anyone. She was a companion whom he would wait a hundred or even two hundred years for.

Challe put both hands on Anne’s shoulders and pulled her toward him. She opened her eyes wide in surprise.

“Challe?”

“Did Gladys say anything to you?” he asked.

“Huh? What’s this about all of a sudden?”

“It doesn’t matter—answer me.”

“Um. Not really. He said I smelled like silver sugar, and some other stuff.”

“You’re careless. Don’t let your guard down around anyone.”

“Is Gladys dangerous?” Anne sounded a little frightened.

Certainly, Gladys was mysterious, but Challe wasn’t ready to declare that he was dangerous. He just knew they ought to be careful.

“I don’t know. So don’t let your guard down.”

“Okay.”

Anne nodded, which was a relief. Her childlike obedience was sweet. She needed him, he thought.

“Good girl,” he whispered, then kissed her right cheek.

Anne’s shoulders, which he was holding with both hands, twitched, and she stiffened.

He casually slid his lips down her cheek to where Gladys had touched her. Anne turned bright red, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t forgive the fact that Gladys had touched her there. So he reasoned that it was appropriate for him to kiss the spot, to erase any traces of the other fairy’s touch.

“You didn’t sleep well yesterday, either. If you don’t sleep, then before long, it will start affecting your work. Use my room tonight. I’ll watch over Noah. You can rest assured. So go.”

Anne was standing in a daze. Challe pushed her back and sent her off to his room.

Normally, she would have whined and told Challe to get some sleep, too, or suggested taking shifts. But this time, she left quietly, her gait unsteady.

Was that unwise?

He smirked. Unwise or not, he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Anne lay in the bed in a daze, her hand on her right cheek, where Challe’s lips had touched her.

Emma had often kissed Anne’s cheek like that to say, Good girl or Good night. Challe had said the same sort of thing when he kissed her, so the gesture must have held the same meaning.

But her heart was still beating so quickly that her fingers trembled. She knew Challe was treating her like someone might treat a child, but even so, she was flustered.

At least Challe didn’t hate her. He was concerned about her.

I’m so glad.

The rain continued pounding furiously outside.

When Anne closed her eyes, she was overcome by sudden drowsiness. Then yet again, she heard someone breathing very close beside her. For the third time, she saw the vision.

“Master!”

Noah was screaming. Anne gasped. And then—

“Please wait, Big Brother.”

—she heard a calm male voice.

A slender, black-haired man stood in the way, as if to protect the frightened Noah. This second man was of a similar build to the one with the black hair and beard holding his whip overhead, and he had the same hair arranged in the same way.

“If you reprimand him so harshly, he won’t be able to do anything.”

Something clicked in Anne’s mind. She had heard this man’s voice before.

The black-bearded man on the horse snorted. “We have no need for such a fragile page. I’ll have him sold off.”

“Well then, please transfer him to me.”

“If you want such a useless thing, Herbert, he’s yours.”

Herbert? So this is Noah’s master.

Noah looked up at him timidly, and Herbert put on an awkward smile.

“Don’t be so afraid,” he said.

Herbert took Noah’s hand and started walking. Noah still looked frightened. His eyes were unbearably anxious.

That scene dimmed and disappeared, and a new one took its place.

This was somewhere familiar to Anne—the lesser hall of Hollyleaf Castle, the one that Anne and the candy crafters had been using as a dining room.

The plaster walls were a vivid blue color, and the portraits of the successive masters of the castle were full of dignity. Herbert’s portrait was among them. It was the same portrait that Noah had been staring at. In the vision, it had not yet been damaged.

A warm fire burned in the hearth. There were couches with elegant cabriole legs set up in front of the fire, and Herbert was sitting on one of them. Across the low table from him, seated on the facing couch, was Noah.

Both of them wore serious expressions. A fyffe board lay between them atop the table.

On the vibrant white and black checkerboard stood milky-white and aqua-blue game pieces, sixteen of each. All of them were made of stone and highly polished. Each piece was carved like a little individual statuette, made to look like it were alive.

The kings’ crowns were decorated with a floral pattern and had beads made of red gemstone shining at their centers. The folds of fabric around the kings’ collars and the staves in their hands had been rendered in three dimensions.

The queen pieces were distinctly conical in shape, thanks to their broad-hemmed dresses.

The horses each raised their forelegs up high and had green gems for eyes. And there were small blue jewels at the tips of the lances held aloft by the knights.

The most beautiful of all were the fairy pieces. They each had two transparent wings and fluttering red hair. The tips of their wings and hair were inlaid with various small gemstones.

The rules of fyffe stipulated that a player could not use pieces taken from their opponent. However, the fairy pieces alone could be used as one’s own once claimed from the other player. As the game progressed and the number of pieces on the board dwindled, players often made sure to keep a fairy piece beside their king to the very end.

“This is a tough one.”

Herbert’s brow furrowed, and Noah smiled. The fairy was perfectly calm. He looked completely different to the boy whom Anne had just seen, who had been like a small, frightened animal.

There was a sweets dish sitting on the low table, filled with pieces of sugar candy. The bite-sized candies were in the shape of the crest of the Chamber family. They were the sort of simple candies that aristocrats often ate, made by pressing silver sugar in wooden molds.

Herbert picked up a piece of candy and tossed it into his mouth, then went back to thinking. And then—