attendant. I heard he was so depressed that he shut himselfaway.”Monica felt all the blood drain from her body. So thatperson… Her hands were terribly cold. She brought themto her chest and clenched them into fists, and her voicetrembled as she asked her next question.“…What, um, was the name of that servant?”The wrinkles at the corners of the old man’s eyesdeepened. It was the face of someone recalling memoriesthat were gentle, yet sad.“Isaac Walker. Such a kind boy. He often helped me, andhe always had the prince’s best interests at heart.”After leaving the gardener’s shed, Bridget looked pained.“I never expected that his attendant had died so longago.”To Bridget, Isaac Walker would have been an invaluablesource of information, given all he knew about Felix. Tohear he’d already passed had her in a fluster.“…Um, what kind of person was Isaac?” asked Monica.Bridget frowned. “He was infuriatingly talented. Theprince treated him like a dear elder brother… He adoredhim much more than he adored me, though it pains me toadmit it.”She spoke through clenched teeth; it must have reallyfrustrated her.Deep wrinkles appeared on her brow as she quicklycontinued. “And to be honest, he would have been the bestperson to help us find the prince. He’d have done anythingfor Felix—he was loyal to a fault. He would never have satby and let an impostor take the prince’s place.” Bridgetremoved her false glasses and kneaded her brow. “Perhaps
they killed him for that very reason—to keep him quiet.Though I don’t know about the man who died with him—thedoctor named Arthur.”Monica looked down at her feet and didn’t reply. A singleprediction now occupied her mind.…But I still don’t have enough pieces to link everythingtogether.After that, Monica and Bridget continued their looparound the mansion. Neither of them spoke as theysearched for any rooms that seemed suspicious from theoutside. Unfortunately, they didn’t find any with thecurtains closed like Bridget had suggested.Once they’d returned to the gardens at the front of theproperty, Raul called out to them.“Hey! Heeey!” He waved his hand and ran over. “Thebutler’s about to give me a tour of the inside. Let’s go!”Neither Monica nor Bridget had any reason to refuse.“R-right, okay!” Monica nodded.“Take these, then.” Raul gave a bucket full of cut flowersto Monica and another to Bridget. Then, picking up aflower-laden bucket of his own, he said, “This way,” and ledthem to the front entrance.An elderly butler was waiting for them. Despite theirmassive age gap, Raul spoke to him casually.“We’re going to be picking out flower decorations for themansion, right? I figured it might be nice to have the girls’opinions, too.”If Raul had been any old gardener, his attitude wouldhave been considered very rude. But because he was aSage, it was tolerated.The butler nodded reverently. “I see, sir. Very well, then.Please come this way.” He opened the door and beckonedfor the three of them to go inside.Just like the outside, the interior of the mansion wasfilled with gorgeous, sophisticated decorations. A closerlook at the scarlet carpeting revealed intricate patterns of
different-colored threads, and the reliefs on the pillarsseemed to shift entirely when you got up close. But despitethe detail of each individual part, everything was linkedtogether to form a single, perfect harmony.And the job of picking out flowers that would suit such abeautiful and precisely calculated space had evidentlyfallen to Raul. Monica had wondered, quite rudely, if theman was really capable of the task, but he gave clear,confident instructions to the butler.“For the front entrance, I think double-blossom roseswould be good. We managed to crossbreed them recently.They have a strong scent, but the size of this space shouldthin it out quite nicely. Brilliant flowers, if you ask me.They’ll look very good here. And they’re rare, too, so guestswill be impressed.”“Yes, I see… Then what about this room, sir?”“This is the one that had the purple foxgloves, right? Oh,you changed the color of the curtains. In that case, I thinkit’s best to go with a flower that gives a softer impression.Maybe you can use apricot-colored flowers as the maindraw, with some white orlayas added in. That would go wellwith the curtains.”To Monica’s great surprise, Raul readily suggestedflower after flower. He seemed to be used to this. Monicadidn’t understand half the words he said, but at one point,she heard Bridget mutter, “He sure knows his flowers,” soshe figured his instructions must have been spot on.After finishing the first floor, the butler led the group upa flight of stairs. Once they reached the second story,Bridget’s gaze sharpened visibly. According to her, the realFelix would be locked away somewhere up here.In general, servants’ quarters were located in thebasement of a mansion, while the first story contained awealth of rooms for entertaining guests. The higher youclimbed, the more private the space. The Duke’s estate wasno different.
What’s more, Bridget seemed to have a clear picture ofwhere each of the rooms was located. When the butlerstopped in front of a certain door, Monica noticed hergrimace slightly.“This is the room Prince Felix used as a child,” said thebutler, stepping inside.When Monica heard this, she had envisioned a normalchild’s room, but all of the furniture inside was clearlymade for adults.Raul scanned the room and asked, “Does His Highnessstill use this room? I forget.”“Yes, sir. He uses it whenever he stays here.”Even now, Felix occasionally came back; they’d probablyreplaced the furniture with something more suited to hissize. Monica got the feeling that almost nothing remainedfrom his childhood.Nevertheless, Bridget gazed at the furniture, lonelinessand yearning in her eyes. She seemed to be painting apicture in her mind of the Felix she’d known as a child.“The prince’s room always looks so classy,” said Raul.“What flowers were you using when he last came to stay?”“Illuses, sir.”“‘Illuses’?” Raul frowned, confused by the term.I guess even a botanical expert doesn’t know everyflower… thought Monica. But then Bridget murmuredsomething.“…Irises.”The butler seemed startled and corrected himself. “Myapologies. Yes, sir, they were irises. The man who workedhere before always called them illuses…”“Oh!” Raul exclaimed cheerfully. “Irises! Illuses—that’s,um, the Imperial word, right?”“Yes, sir. I’m terribly sorry.” The butler noddedawkwardly.Monica was suddenly reminded of a man who hadnothing to do with this situation—Bartholomeus Baal, a
craftsman who lived for love.“My name’s Bartholomeus. Basically the same name asBartholomew here in Ridill. Pretty cool, huh?”Bartholomeus and Bartholomew. Illuses and irises.Words meaning the same thing—one in the Imperialtongue, and the other in Ridillian. Suddenly, Monica made aconnection.Wait, maybe…As Monica fell into thought, Raul called to her. “Heeey,on to the next room!”She looked up to find the others already in the hallway.Flustered, Monica headed out the door.After that, they looked at two guest rooms, then skippeda door and headed for another room. The door they’dpassed over intrigued her.Monica lowered her voice to a whisper. “What about thatroom?”“I hear that’s where the duke keeps his collection ofmagical items,” replied Raul.Some magical items could easily be kept on one’sperson, while others were more difficult to store. Theduke’s collection likely involved the latter kind, explainingthe restrictions on who could enter.As Monica stared at the door, they heard a low voicefrom behind them.“I wouldn’t mind showing you inside, Lord Witch ofThorns.”The voice sent a shiver down Monica’s spine. It wasn’tloud, per se, but it was intimidating, penetrating deep intothe mind. And Monica knew who it belonged to.It was the owner of the mansion: Darius Nightray, alsoknown as Duke Clockford.I can’t turn around. I can’t let him see my face…!As Monica’s lips began to tremble, Bridget tugged hersleeve and brought her over to the wall, then gave a deepbow.
Oh, right. We’re servants of the Roseburg family rightnow.Monica mimicked Bridget and lowered her head. Theduke had met her as the Silent Witch after the New Year’sbanquet at the castle. If he saw her face, things would govery badly.I was wearing a veil over my mouth and a hood low overmy eyes, but still…Her hands started to sweat from the tension. The duke’spresence was overwhelming. He could commandeveryone’s attention simply by existing in the same space.And with a mere word or a trivial gesture, he could makealmost anyone do his bidding. Very few people had powerlike that, and the duke had it seeping from every pore.It reminded Monica of when Felix would occasionally useintimidation to bring someone under his command—a skillhe’d probably learned from the duke.Ignoring Bridget and the frozen Monica, Raulmaintained his normal cheeriness and grinned at the duke.“Good day, Your Excellency. We’re nearly finishedreplanting the gardens. We’re currently picking out flowersto decorate the mansion. Would you like us to take a look atyour collection room as well?”“I leave it to you.”Raul’s tone was more polite now, and the duke seemedto be treating him courteously, as a guest. It was anintimidating conversation—one between the Roseburgfamily’s current count of magic and Duke Clockford, one ofthe most important nobles in the country.The duke removed a key from an inside pocket and usedit to open the collection room’s door. Monica lifted her headever so slightly and shifted her gaze to see inside the room.It wasn’t very big. A few glass cases lined the walls, doneup with seals. Inside, various accessories that looked likemagic items were on display.Right now, Monica needed to play the perfect servant.
She probably wouldn’t be allowed into the room at all.But just then, Raul stepped inside and beckoned to herand Bridget. “Heeey! Come on in, you two!”Whaaat…? W-won’t he get mad…? Monica’s face froze upwith nerves.As expected, the duke leveled a cold stare at Raul. “I didnot give permission for you to bring servants inside.”“These two are working for my family as apprentices.This room will make a great case study on how to useflowers to decorate.”To the Roseburgs, apprentices and servants werebasically synonymous. The duke fixed his stare on Monicaand Bridget. His gaze was so overwhelming that it felt as ifhe had taken their hearts in his cold hands and wasdeciding whether to crush them.But Raul didn’t seem particularly bothered and went onas though nothing was wrong. “Not every mansion is sorewarding to decorate, Your Excellency.”“I believe it’s a little too much for mere trainees.”“The older ladies in my family always told me that it’sbest to use first-rate teaching materials.”“I see. Coming from one of the greatest mages of thekingdom, your words certainly carry weight.”Monica couldn’t tell if Raul was telling the truth or not.But when he laughed, the duke’s resolve weakened.Apparently, they were now allowed inside. Monica andBridget set foot into the collection room, careful not tomake eye contact with the duke.The glass cases all displayed high-end magical items.The price of just one of them was probably enough to buy amansion. But Monica wasn’t interested in any of that rightnow.I need to figure out the room’s dimensions…She took a quick look around, memorizing the numbersthat made up the space. If Felix was imprisoned somewherein this mansion, then it was always possible that he was
locked up in a hidden room.While checking the building’s exterior, she’d memorizedits measurements; ever since getting inside, she’d beenchecking to make sure everything matched.While Monica compared the numbers in her head, Rauland the duke continued to speak.“This is incredible. There are so many magical items,and they’re of such high quality. Is this one Emanuel’swork?”“Indeed. I frequently employ the Gem Mage for suchthings. I have him perform periodic inspections, as well.”Monica’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of the GemMage. Not long ago, they’d confronted him in KelielindenForest. It seemed he’d fled after the incident. Shewondered where he was and what he was doing.As she thought, Raul decided on some flowers for thespace. He made several suggestions. The duke’s responsewas plain and simple: “Use flowers that symbolize thetechnology and wealth of this kingdom.”Selective breeding took a lot of time and capital—a newand unique kind of flower was its own sort of fortune. Theduke wanted to flaunt his authority by decorating hismansion with Ridillian flowers that were the result of suchbreeding.Flaunting his authority was probably his only goal, too.Monica doubted he had any desire to satisfy a sense of selfimportance or anything like that. For first-rate nobles,showing off one’s influence was simply a way ofmaintaining the dignity of one’s family.Requesting things of the Seven Sages, such as askingRaul to provide flowers or having Emanuel care for hismagical items, was all a charade. The duke wanted to giveothers the impression that he and the Sages were on goodterms.House Roseburg is politically neutral… The duke mustwant to win them over to his side, too. Just like he tried to
with me, when he made that request after the New Year’sbanquet.Once they’d left the collection room and locked the doorbehind them, the duke addressed Raul again.“Unfortunately, the older ladies in your family have turneddown many a dinner invitation. Tell them that I’m hopingfor a more favorable answer next time.”The older ladies in Raul’s family apparently held the realpower in House Roseburg, hence why the duke invitedthem to such gatherings instead of Raul.I wonder how he’ll strike back…If he carelessly accepted, he might find himself in theduke’s camp. But if he simply rejected the offer, he’d causeoffense.“Hmmm. Well, they’re all quite elderly, so…” He foldedhis arms, looking troubled. Then he gave a start, as if he’dthought of something. “Oh! I think my elder sister wouldgladly come if you invited her!”The air in the room froze.“…In that case, I will take my leave,” said the duke. “I’vehad tea prepared—it’s in the parlor. You may relax there, ifyou wish.”With that, the duke left. He clearly wanted to end theconversation there.Monica wondered what Raul’s elder sister—the fourthWitch of Thorns—was like, if she could make even the dukerun away like that. Monica wasn’t very familiar with any ofthe former Sages, though, so she couldn’t do anything butwonder.I get the feeling…that the duke really doesn’t want to beinvolved with her…In any case, it seemed this was how House Roseburg waskeeping its distance from the duke. No doubt complicatedpolitical bargains and stratagems were at play. Monicalooked up at Raul reverently.“All I have to do is mention her,” said Raul, sounding
impressed, “and everyone scampers away. She’s like acharm against evil spirits!”The butler waiting beside them looked quite troubled bythe comment.
EPILOGUEFrom the Silent Witch to the ClayManOnce all the work was finished and they’d left the mansion,Raul brought Monica and Bridget back to their inn in oneof his family’s carriages. Normally, servants used the horsedrawn carts loaded with tools, but the two girls got specialtreatment.In the carriage, Raul smiled. “Did you find out anythinguseful?”“…Yes,” said Monica clearly.Raul nodded in satisfaction, then casually patted her onthe shoulder. “If you ever need help, just ask me! We’refriends, after all!”“Um, th-thank you.”Still trembling a bit from the loudness of Raul’s voice,Monica looked at Bridget. She was staring down at her feetin silence.Eventually, the carriage reached their inn, and Bridgetgave a polite bow. “Please excuse me,” she said,disembarking first.Monica got up, meaning to follow her, only for Raul tostop her and whisper, “Hey, Monica, about her…”“Wh-what?”“Why does she have cotton in her mouth?”Monica stared at him blankly. Nobody else had givenBridget’s disguise so much as a second thought. She neverexpected Raul to notice such a thing.It was probably best to hide the fact that Bridget was thedaughter of a marquess. As Monica wondered what excuseto make, Raul’s expression suddenly grew serious.“Could it be that…she’s so hungry she stuffed her mouth
with cotton?”“……”“In that case, here you go,” said Raul, taking a carrot outof his bag and putting it in her hand. “Have her eat this!”“…Umm…”After thinking hard about what to say, Monica decided tokeep things simple. “Thank, um, thank phew,” she saidawkwardly, before climbing out of the carriage, carrot inhand.What am I supposed to do with this carrot…?Slightly troubled, Monica went up the inn’s stairs andopened the door to her and Bridget’s room.Bridget sat on her bed, having spat out the cotton in hermouth. She was wiping her face with a cloth. Monicacouldn’t see her expression behind it.She placed the carrot on a sideboard, then awkwardlyspoke.“…Um, Lady…Bridget?”No reply. The other girl didn’t even look up.There was no space in the duke’s mansion where thereal Felix could have been locked up. They’d visited nearlyevery room with Raul. There could be no doubt about it.Furthermore, Monica had compared the mansion’s exteriorand interior values, and she was certain there were nohidden rooms or anything of the sort.The prince Bridget yearned for was not in that mansion.And now, after looking around the place, Monica hadgrown sure of something else. It was a cold, cruel truth, butshe had to say it.“The real Prince Felix… He already—”“Don’t,” Bridget interrupted, her shoulders shaking. Thelight streaming in from the window illuminated her brilliantgolden locks, and they shone beautifully each time her body
trembled. “…I think…I think I knew…all along.”Bridget was smart. The moment she realized the currentFelix was an impostor, she must have considered the worst—that the real Felix Arc Ridill was already dead, and thatwas why they’d needed a body double for him.“But I still… I needed to come here in person. To see thetruth for myself.”Bridget hung her head for a few more moments, buteventually she wiped her face roughly and looked up withvigor. Even without her makeup, she still had thecountenance of a dignified lady. She was her usual self onceagain.“Thank you for your assistance, Monica Norton,” shesaid firmly. “You have some strange connections, and whileI would love to ask you about them, for now, I won’t.”“Um, that’s…very kind of you…”“I know it will be difficult to dig any deeper. But for now,I’ll plan my next move—even if the prince is no longer withme. I must know the whole truth.”She really is strong, thought Monica. Even after beingforced to confront such a horrible reality, she wasdetermined to carry on. She still wanted to find out whatreally happened.But…I can’t tell her everything.“Lady Bridget,” she said in a hard voice, “you’re, um,familiar with foreign languages, right?”“Yes. Why?”Monica didn’t know much about the Imperial tongue.She needed to ask someone skilled in linguistics, likeBridget.“If you were to say the name Arthur in the Imperiallanguage…what would it be?”Bridget frowned dubiously and answered simply, “Artur.”Monica had heard that name at the school festival. Theone to say it had been an Imperial mage who snuck into theevent and made contact with Felix.
“Ewan, were you able to confirm it?”If Monica remembered right, the man named Ewan hadanswered the girl with the thick eyebrows like this:“I wasn’t able to make direct contact, but I got a goodlook up close, and I saw the traces. It’s the work of thetraitor Artur. The prediction we were given was correctafter all.”Monica shut her eyes and curled her hands into fists.…Now everything makes sense.Now she knew why Ewan had infiltrated SerendiaAcademy. He’d had the exact same suspicions as Monica, sohe’d used his body-manipulation magecraft to—quiteliterally—get confirmation.Monica slowly opened her eyes. Her voice was still hardas she said, “Lady Bridget, can we stop somewhere beforegoing back to the academy?”“As a reward for helping me, I’ll take you wherever youwish. Where would you like to go?”After thinking for a moment, Monica spoke again.“The capital.”The gardener slowly sat himself up in bed, then gently bentand stretched his creaky knees. His body was old anddecrepit. They’d need to look for a successor soon.Duke Clockford’s estate, where he was employed,boasted a great variety of rare flowers as a display of theduke’s authority. They’d need a gardener suitably versed inthe field to take care of them. Not just anyone could do thisjob.“If only he were here with us…,” the gardenermurmured, putting on his jacket and heading out into thegarden.
Even from the gardener’s perspective, the Roseburgshad done a good job of replanting. He was a bit envious,since he took pride in the fact that he’d protected thesegardens by himself until now. But the truth was that hisbody could no longer withstand the harsh demands of fieldwork.Around ten years ago, a boy had often helped him out.He would weed, carry heavy tools, and even nimbly climbup trees to prune them. Once, the man had shared some ofthe plums from one of the trees as thanks; he rememberedhow the boy had hidden them in his jacket instead of eatingthem right away, smiling and saying he would save them fora late-night snack.Later, while drinking with the other servants, he’d letslip that he hoped the kid would take over for him one day.But the head chef had insisted that the boy, with his skills,ought to succeed him instead. They’d even argued over it.That chef had already retired. Less than half of theservants from those days were still around.“…What’s this?”The pruned branches had been stacked neatly in onecorner of the gardens. That Roseburg must have done thepruning, too, while he was replanting. One of the man’sjobs was to take such branches and burn them with theother trash.I’ll have to ask the butler if we have anything else thatneeds burning…Suddenly, a memory overtook him.That day, he’d been given some paper trash to burnalong with the branches. There, among the trash, he’dfound an awfully nice book on astronomy. He thought it wasa waste to destroy it; the book was sure to fetch a highprice if sold to a used bookstore.
Well, the master says to burn it, and I suppose Iunderstand how he feels, somewhat…He sighed and brushed off his pants as he prepared thefire. But then, someone ran up to him and begged him towait. It was the blond-haired boy who always helped himwith his work.The boy gazed at the book lumped in with the prunedbranches and paper trash; he looked chagrined. “Thatbook…”“The master says to burn it.”A wind blew through, ruffling the boy’s bangs. He usedhis hair to hide a deep scar that ran vertically over his righteye—the claw mark of a large beast. He could still see, butthat scar would probably last forever.The boy didn’t talk much about his life before coming tothe mansion, though he’d once let slip that he was from theeastern provinces.Lot of dragonraids in the east… That scar probably camefrom a dragon.The boy held down his bangs with his right hand and bithis lip. He looked deeply conflicted. He was probablywondering if taking the book would get the gardener introuble.The man turned his back to the boy and walked offtoward the mansion. “All right. I’ll go check if there’sanything else that needs burning.”“……”“And if someone were to pick something out of the trash,well, I would never know about it.”“…Thank you.”The man turned around just slightly and saw the boystuff the astronomy book in his jacket. The boy alwaysstashed such treasures in his clothes, hiding them away.That was how he smuggled things to the prince.
Eventually, the master found out about the book…From what the gardener had heard, the book wasburned, and the boy received a severe beating.At the time, the gardener hadn’t even realized what hadhappened. The boy could endure just about anything; henever let anyone see his pain.“If he were alive…he’d be twenty years old, eh? I knowhe would have liked to see Prince Felix come into his ownas a man.”But while Felix was now a fine adult, the boy was nolonger beside him.The thought made the old man sad. He lit a cigar andoffered a prayer to the boy who had died, right here, tenyears ago.One day, as spring light poured in through the window,Ewan noticed a letter in the classified section of the largestnewspaper in Ridill, headquartered in the capital.Clayman of the Blue Scales. Let us verify the horribletruth together. I await your response. From the Woman ofFew Words.Espionage was Ewan’s main line of work, so he made it adaily task to look over all sorts of newspapers both foreignand domestic. He’d noticed the ad right away.“Yes,” he said. “I’m certain this is a message from theSilent Witch.”He handed the newspaper to his employer. Ewan oftenchanged his face, but he always maintained the same onein front of his employer—an even face with slightly narroweyes. It was a face Ewan had once been forced to give up,
and the one that caused him the least strain when usingbody-manipulation magecraft.“Give it here,” his employer said as he ran his eyes, darkand glimmering, over the paper.The man was in his late twenties and had black hair thatfell in gentle waves. His facial features were pronounced,making him look heroic and beautiful, like a statue of somemythical figure. But unlike a statue, he was filled withvitality and vigor.His sharp eyes slowly scanned the letter, then his lipscurled into a smile. He looked like a beast with its fangsbared.“The Silent Witch… Yes, she was one of Ridill’s SevenSages, wasn’t she? Ah, the Seven Sages. Has a nice ring toit, eh? The Four Heavenly Kings, the Three Musketeers…Why, it makes your heart dance like something from astorybook, doesn’t it?”For a moment, the man seemed lost in fantasy. Then, allof a sudden, he pounded his hand with a fist.“Oh! We should make one, too! Let’s see. If they’re theSeven Sages, then we’ll want an even bigger number. TheConvocation of Ten? The Twelve Sword Saints? Ah, theThirteen Knights is an excellent choice as well. Hmm.Which should I choose?”“…Oh, but you jest, sir,” Ewan said with a wry smile.The man chuckled, clearly amused. “Fool. How manytimes have you seen me turn a jest into anaccomplishment?”“Then perhaps it’s best not to increase the numberwithout reason, sir. Too large and it might begin to soundcheap.”“Ah, yes, you have a point. Let’s keep it to six or less,then. In any case, what is your opinion on the SilentWitch?”The man would often say something ridiculous, making itimpossible to tell if he was serious or joking, then abruptly
launch back into the topic at hand. It was simply the wayhe was.Ewan was used to his quirks, so he answeredunfalteringly. “As a professional assassin, I would give anarm and a leg for her unchanted magecraft.”If she wanted to, the Silent Witch could behead herenemies without uttering a word. There was no techniquemore well-suited to assassination.“And her level of precision is incredible, sir… It canwreak far more havoc against people than againstdragons.”“Could it be used as a weapon of war?”“She is a monster. In fact, sir, I can scarcely believe she’sthe same species as we are.”The man threw his head back and guffawed. “Says theman with no face. I think most would call you the realmonster, eh, Ewan?”“Please think of the Silent Witch as even moremonstrous than me, sir.”“…Oh?” Ewan’s employer recrossed his long legs andrapped his fingertips against his chair’s armrest. “Very,very interesting. By the way, Ewan… This Silent Witch, isshe a good-looking woman?”There’s his bad habit again, said Ewan, unintentionallyfalling silent for a moment.Recrossing his legs yet again, the man went on. “Youknow how I love beauties with big chests and rear ends—and eyes that glimmer with ambitions and treachery. Youknow, a temptress or a femme fatale—ideally someone likethe first Witch of Thorns, Rebecca Roseburg.”“…Unfortunately, the Silent Witch is quite the opposite.”“Damn. What a shame! …But I suppose I am quiteinterested in this unchanted magecraft, or what have you.”Ewan grimaced, sensing something ominous in the otherman’s words. “Sir? You’re not thinking of…”“Oh, I am. I will go to the Kingdom of Ridill myself.”
Ewan chuckled, a little desperately, then began togrimace. “…You’re joking, right? Sir, you’re kidding, aren’tyou?”His employer began to laugh uproariously, as if to drownout Ewan’s chuckling. “Wah-ha-ha! You know I love to doeverything I can to make my jokes a reality!”
“Wah-hah! So this is all mine?!”Mary had brought Bartholomeus to a town called Garethand was showing him around a workshop. Apparently, ithad once belonged to an elderly metalsmith, but he’d diedsuddenly from illness, and his family wanted to get rid ofthe place. So Mary had bought it, complete with all thefurniture and tools.While small, it boasted two furnaces, and the well-usedtools had been properly maintained. Bartholomeus couldfire up a furnace and get to work right away.Thinking back, he had always been employed at largerworkshops. And when he’d worked as a jack-of-all-trades,he hadn’t had a workshop at all—his tool belt and waistpouches had been everything.I never dreamed I’d have a workshop of my own one day!he thought, basking in the joyous feeling.Mary smiled gently. “You may use this place as you wish.But in exchange…”“Yep, I got it. I’ll always move your orders to the top ofmy list, Lady Witch! Whatever you need—furniture, shoes,your staff—I’ll fix it up in a jiffy. Just say the word!”Suddenly, Bartholomeus grimaced. “Oh, uh… I’m not sureabout repairing Starweaving Mira, though…”“Hee-hee. I understand.” Mary took out a small bag andplaced it on the workbench. He glimpsed large silver coinsinside. “Use this as your working capital for now, dear.”“Oh, wow… Th-thank you…”Bartholomeus bowed again and again, stealing glancesat her all the while.She was a beautiful woman. She had the strangeinnocence of a dreaming girl combined with the willowygrace of a mature woman… But there was still more to herthan that. She had been a Sage longer than any of the
others and was apparently something like their manager.She was the foremost prophet in Ridill and gave counsel tothe king. Yes, she was much more than just a beautifulwoman.“Don’t get me wrong. I’m very grateful for everythingyou’ve done for me, it’s just… Why go through all theeffort?”Despite his probing question, her expression remainedcalm and gentle. And yet, he thought he saw her pale blueeyes grow just a bit distant as she looked back at him. Itwas as if she was thinking of someone far away whom sheheld very dear.“There’s a person I would like to keep alive.”It’s gotta be a man, thought Bartholomeus, though it wasjust a hunch.
AfterwordThank you very much for purchasing Volume 7 of Secrets ofthe Silent Witch.This volume featured the Seven Sages resolving theGalanis incident and Monica getting closer to the mysteriesat the root of the story.The Seven Sages in action was one of the things Iparticularly wanted to add when making improvements tothe print version. I hope I can keep showing off how coolthey are.Nanna Fujimi, thank you once again for your wonderfulillustrations. The cover is just so cool. So incredibly cool…Thank you for depicting the Seven Sages like heroes insome holy war.The difference in vibes between the cover illustrationand color inserts in this volume is especially fun, and I findmyself looking at them again and again.The passing lumberjack is so murderous, while thepassing gardener is much too giddy for the situation. Andthe passing poet looks like he’s about to keel over.Meanwhile, the passing old guy is so cool!Tobi Tana, thank you for your manga adaptation. It’salways so much fun to read.The way you draw all the characters is so charming, butLana is particularly cute. Every time she appears, I’mmoved. I always think, “Her face is just so Lana…!” And it’s
heartwarming to see how her expressiveness draws Monicainto expressing herself more, too!While her part of the story hasn’t yet been compiled intoa single volume, Casey and her expressions are so perfectlyCasey that every time I looked over the draft, I said, “Wow,the way she smiles is so Casey…so incredibly Casey…”Monica’s school life has gotten very lively, with a princeso sparkling he could blind you, a vice president whoseannoyance seems to radiate off the page, and an incrediblyenergetic Glenn.The manga adaptation is currently on sale up throughVolume 3 in Japan via B’s LOG Comics.And apart from the main story, you can also grab the firstvolume of Silent Witch –another–: Rise of the Barrier Mage,a spinoff featuring the ax-wielding Louis as the maincharacter. The second volume is scheduled to wrap thingsup when it goes on sale in Japan in spring 2024.In the spinoff, you can see First Prince Lionel, who stillhasn’t appeared in any insert illustrations in the main story.My character design request was a difficult one—a noblegolden gorilla with kind eyes—but Nanna Fujimi met mydemands perfectly. When I saw the character design forhim, I was filled with emotion. I thought, “He has suchgentle eyes… And yet it’s wonderful how he’s also sorefined…”The spinoff story features Louis as an annoying brat, hiswife when she was still young, and the golden gorilla of afirst prince all having a rowdy time, so I hope you’ll supportthat series as well.Last but not least, I want to sincerely thank my readersfor their unending support.I’d like to keep giving my all to this series, so I hopeyou’ll continue to stick with me for the next volume.
Matsuri Isora
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