Chapter 1: The Suspicious Gentleman

Ingram.

It was a kingdom in the heart of the continent that had recently welcomed a cultural and economic golden age. The people of Ingram had great pride in their country, but the kingdom’s status lay squarely outside of the interests of a witch. Diana had always been a witch, and witches were a secluded lot who cared only about their own little world and never displayed even a hint of any patriotism.

It was only natural that Diana, who had grown up in the world of magic, thought nothing special of Ingram. Diana, just like any other witch, was indifferent to the kingdom. She had wandered from town to town because her teacher never stayed in one place for too long, and she had never cared enough to pay much attention to any of the new towns they had moved to. After all, every town was more or less the same regardless of its size. Tuxbury was no exception to Diana’s indifference.

“Goodness…….”

Which brought her to the Tuxbury train station. Diana was sharply reflecting on herself for having made such hasty generalizations.

The train station shone white under the sun. The sunlight was reflected on the lustrous marble walls, and the large clock up high sparkled in a dignified gold. The Nine Saints that Ingram was so proud of had even been sculpted exquisitely on each pillar. Naturally, Diana had no way of knowing that the town was going bankrupt from building the unfittingly grand train station or that the mayor had been chased out of his office as a result.

‘Are all train stations this grand?’

Diana entertained trivial thoughts as she looked up at the conspicuous golden clock. This was her first time coming to a train station. Barbara Jiles had personally cast teleportation magic for her until now, so she had been able to make even a five days’ journey in the blink of an eye. Most decent witches never had any reason to go out of their way to take the train to begin with.

“Lovely Miss. Could you please buy a flower?”

asked a girl carrying a basket of flowers who had walked up to her just then.

“A flower?”

“Yes. They were picked fresh this morning. Aren’t they pretty?”

the girl said as she pushed yellow tulips at Diana. Diana quietly studied the flowers for a moment before pulling out her wallet like she had been enthralled.

“Please give me two.”

Chesterty, who always teased Diana and called her a miser, would have been astounded. But today was Diana’s long-awaited day of freedom. She only just managed to keep her squirming lips still as she paid for her purchase. She didn’t forget to accept her change, of course.

She wrapped her flowers loosely in newspaper before she walked away. She had arrived at the station early thanks to Chesterty, but that didn’t mean she had any time to waste. She still had to buy tickets, find the train to Wokingham and sit in the right seat, get her ticket checked, and…….

Diana was carefully counting the things she had to do when she suddenly felt something strange and surveyed her surroundings. Now that she had bothered to look, she found that the station was filled with fancily dressed ladies and gentlemen. All the men were wearing suits and silk hats, and the women were all wearing frilly dresses and heels that were at least a hand’s width tall. It was plainly obvious that they were flaunting their wealth.

Then, Diana took a look at her own clothes. She looked truly shabby, even in her own eyes. She was wearing an old overcoat and a grey dress that fell past her knees. The scratches on the tips of her flat shoes looked greasy.

“……How old are those clothes……?”

“……She dresses just like my nanny…….”

She could hear people ridiculing her from somewhere. There was a group of girls pointing at her from not too far away. It was obvious that they were jeering at her for dressing not only plainly, but shabbily.

Diana stared back at them as she tilted her head to the side. Diana had been born and raised in the world of magic, which was as stagnant as pooled water, and she did not understand the fashion trends of human society. She could not have cared any less about which patterns and accessories were fashionable in any given season. This was why Diana reacted with not embarrassment but contempt —did they only care about appearances?— as she found herself surrounded by a flock of peacocks while wearing unattractive garb.

Just who was looking down on whom?

Diana put down her heavy bag and gestured lightly with her hands.

The gentle spring breeze seeping through the windows suddenly changed into a ferocious gale at the mischievous witch’s touch. Those who had accidentally chosen the wrong target to jeer at screamed as they were hit by the sudden gale. The fact that they were humiliated as their skirts were upturned was a plus.

Diana turned her back to them with no lingering regrets. The commotion stirred up by the sniffling girls behind her gradually grew farther away.

 

An age where science was at the height of its rapid development.

Trains had once been used exclusively by wealthy nobles in the past, but they were widely used by the common populace now. The smooth lines of the railroad tracks had divided Ingram’s large landmass cardinally by the time people had really noticed, and large airships were being developed in their factories by the day in hopes for future commercial use. The fruits of science were being shared amongst everyone.

This was an age where man’s rationality was soaring higher by the day, and yet there still existed almighty beings who could create fire in their bare hands or summon the rain on demand. It was a supreme talent that no enlightened reasoning could explain and not even the most developed sciences could dare encroach upon.

People had revered them and regarded them with fear and awe since long ago.

They, who were sometimes called gods and sometimes called demons —the witches.

 

* * *

 

Not only were trains ugly and loud, they were smelly too.

Diana covered her nose as she climbed aboard and shook her head in disgust. She had half-expected it ever since she had first seen the pillars of black smoke climbing up from the smoke stack, but the train’s stench was so pungent that it made her head hurt. Her sole solace was that the smell seemed to subside as she made her way deeper inside the cars.

Diana was making her way toward the first-class car. It was because of her sister, Hester, that Diana, who was normally so frugal that she was often called a miser, had bought an expensive first-class ticket.

Unlike her ordinary younger sister, Hester Sol had inherited their mother’s talent and was an extraordinary witch who had written her name in the White Hall at just the young age of twenty-five. But Hester was still an orphan with nothing to her name but a mountain of debt. Diana had been thinking of her sister, who was working her butt off to repay their mother’s debt, and had saved up all of the allowance she had been receiving. She had realized that she would practically become a parasite dependent on her sister once she became independent and had admirably begun saving money as a young child.

Her sister Hester, however, apparently didn’t share the sentiment. Hester had sent her money for a first-class ticket just a few days ago, saying that Diana should at least be comfortable while riding the train. Diana had no choice but to comply and reluctantly purchase a first-class ticket because Hester had also said that she would be confirming it later in her letter.

It was something that Diana, who had been frugal for all nineteen years of her life, found truly difficult to swallow. Just thinking about the fifty-four galleons she had just paid at the ticket office made her shudder. Fifty-four galleons! She could feed a stray cat for three whole months with that kind of money. Her sister must have surely spilled blood and sweat for this money, and yet she was wasting it all just to be comfortable for a day —fifty-four galleons!

“I’m sure you’ll regret this, Sister…….”

Diana mumbled as she ground her teeth together. She had never even wanted to ride in first-class to begin with. She would have even been content to sit in the smelly luggage cars as long as she could get to Wokingham. Diana knew that it was her sister who should have to feel guilty over the fifty-four galleons because it was Hester who had insisted on the first-class tickets, and that she was only doing as she was told —but, as always, not all things worked out the way she wanted.

Diana sighed. It would have been so nice if she was a witch who could travel anywhere in the world so long as she had a map and coordinates like her sister, but, lamentably, Diana was just an ordinary witch. That was why she had to ride this ugly, noisy, and stinky train to begin with, and it was also why her sister worried over her so.

‘I’m just a newly-hatched chick who’s been under the wing of her amazing teacher until now.’

There was a gloomy expression on Diana’s face as she opened the cabin door. About half of the seats were still empty, perhaps because she had arrived early.

Her seat was next to the window. She liked the fact that she could look outside the window, but the fact that there was another seat next to hers didn’t sit as well with her. Diana was extremely wary of strangers, as were most witches. Naturally, she disliked the fact that she would have to spend an entire day sitting next to a complete stranger.

But there was nothing she could do about it now that she had boarded the train. Diana did her best to erase her anxieties as she steadily began organizing her things. Her seat was large —as was expected of a first-class seat—, but the problem lay in her bag. She could stow her small bag away beneath her feet, but it would be difficult to keep carrying her large bag with her clothes.

Diana looked around, at her wit’s end, but was finally able to find an answer to her problem in an elderly gentleman. A crew member was assisting the elderly gentleman with white hair stow his luggage up above the seats. Diana watched from afar before searching for the car above her own seat. It was definitely meant for storing luggage, since it was completely empty.

A satisfied smile spread across her lips. But her troubles still continued. Her bag was too heavy, and she could not lift it up to the car for the life of her.

Diana found herself resenting her height for the first time in her life. Sullivan Jiles was lanky like a pole, Chesterty Jiles was tall and slender, and Cedric Jiles had surpassed Diana’s height in no time at all —Diana had been undaunted even as she grew up with the three Jiles siblings, but she would have never thought even in her wildest dreams that the pride she had so painstakingly cultivated would come crumbling down just because of some stupid luggage car.

Diana grit her teeth and stood on her tiptoes. But her arms kept folding under the bag’s weight. This would have been so easy if only I was ten —no, five— centimeters taller! Diana quietly resented her mother, whose face she could barely recall. She was a cruel mother who had passed along not only all her magical talent but also her height only to Diana’s older sister.

“You look like you’re having trouble, Little Miss.”

She heard a sudden quiet voice speaking to her from up close. Diana startled and jerked her shoulders before she could stop herself. Her bag began falling as her arms failed to support its weight, but an unfamiliar hand shot out from behind her and grabbed hold of it. It was the tough hand with bluish veins popping out from them belonging to an adult man.

“Goodness, be careful,”

the man said as he lifted up her bag for her. Diana’s nerves stood at end as she felt the unfamiliar presence behind her. Then, she quietly expressed her thanks and slipped inside her cabin.

She was grateful that he had helped her with her luggage, but that was all. Diana had witnessed many of her brethren fall into ruin because they had dated the wrong person. They had been robbed of their precious research materials, legally robbed of their fortune, or even robbed of the results of their life’s research. Sometimes, the thief was a precious family member, at other times a trusted friend, and at other times still, a cherished lover. This was why the world of magic had no choice but to be exclusive, and why Diana, who had grown up in the world of magic, had no choice but to be wary of people.

Diana ignored the man’s open staring as she firmly kept her gaze out the window. It was extremely uncomfortable, but Diana was unused to human society and knew no other means of dealing with her situation than to ignore him.

But then she felt someone sitting down in the seat next to hers shortly thereafter. She swallowed back a sigh and looked up only to find the man who had helped her with her luggage just earlier.

“W-what do you want?”

Diana asked, flustered. She was so surprised that her voice had cracked embarrassingly. The man, on the other hand, looked back at her as if she had said something odd.

“I’m just sitting in my seat —is there a problem?”

Then, the man even began humming. Diana leaned away from him in disgust.

“Are you sure you have the right seat? Check your ticket again.”

“Yeah. I’m in the right seat.”

“Really? Truly?”

“Yeah.”

“Show me your ticket. I’ll check it for you.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m in…….”

The man stiffened up like he had been struck by lightning when their eyes met unexpectedly. He continued,

“……Hester?”

And Diana could not help but frown before she realized it when she heard the name that had come out of his mouth next.

 

Diana’s sister Hester was the pride and joy of her life.

She almost sounded like a mother being proud of her outstanding daughter, but it was true. Hester had lost her mother at the tender age of ten and had only been left with a baby sister and a mountain of debt, but she had still managed to make a name for herself as a witch with her superb talent alone.

It was a dramatic story that would have left Diana astonished had she read about it in even the driest of newspapers, but the amazing witch heralded in this story was none other than her one and only sister. How could Diana not be proud of her? It was only natural that Diana revered her sister.

And so, she couldn’t help that she responded extraordinarily thornily when the unfamiliar man suddenly said her sister’s name.

“Do you know my sister?”

Diana looked to the man with unkind eyes.

“What?”

“I asked you if you knew my sister. Just who are you?”

“Your sister?”

It was only then that the frozen man returned to his senses. He continued,

“……Then again, there’s no reason why Hester would be here.”

The man cleared his throat before he muttered,

“You called Hester your sister, so you must be Diana.”

“W-what?”

Her voice cracked yet again. Diana pressed down at her palpitating heart and just barely managed to continue,

“How do you know my name? Who are you? Why do you know me?”

It wasn’t unusual for a stranger to know about Hester. Hester had not conducted a single interview with the newspapers because she disliked the attention, but she was still a famous public figure and it wasn’t all that astonishing that people had learned to recognize her from mutual acquaintances.

But that was not the case for Diana. Most people didn’t know that the great witch Griselda Sol even had a second daughter. As far as the world was concerned, Hester Sol was Griselda Sol’s only daughter.

“Are you acquainted with my teacher, perhaps?”

Accordingly, the only reason why this man would know of her was through her teacher, Barbara Jiles. Barbara led a secluded life like most witches, but she still reluctantly ventured out into the rest of the world as the head of <Cunning Jiles> and as a witch who represented Ingram. Naturally, Diana, who was like a third wheel to the Jiles family, had never assisted her teacher out in public, but her teacher was simple and naïve at times —uncharacteristically for a Jiles— and it was entirely possible that Barbara might have spoken about her disciple, who was not related to her by blood.

But the man simply laughed silently. He had regained most of his composure, and he crooked his chin in his hand as he replied,

“Your teacher’s Barbara Jiles, right, Miss? I’m sorry, but I’ve never met that witch before.”

“My word, but then how did you know that Barbara Jiles is my teacher?”

“As for how I know anything about you……. I actually heard about you from Hester.”

“What?”

Diana’s eyes opened wide as she studied the man up and down. It was plainly obvious that she was checking to see if he was lying. The man sheepishly touched his lower lip.

“Why don’t you believe me? Do I really look that untrustworthy to you?”

“Would you believe yourself were you in my shoes? Some playboy is claiming to know my sister.”

“A playboy? You’ll never find a man more trustworthy than me.”

Diana never eased her doubts despite the man’s protest. After all, he looked like a playboy who liked to have his fun even in the eyes of someone who was as ignorant to the ways of the world like Diana.

He had a sturdy physique and decent looks. His skin was a nice complexion, though he was a little tan, and Diana could find no fault in his carefully tended dark brown hair. Besides, he was sitting in an expensive first-class seat even though he could only be in his late twenties at most, and his attire looked trendy even in Diana’s eyes —and she hadn’t the slightest care about fashion. He was clearly a playboy who had been blessed in his parentage and had done nothing but eat and play all throughout his life.

“Gosh, so even these kinds of misunderstandings happen if you’re too good-looking,”

the man lamented. He continued,

“Listen up, Miss. I’m a successful businessman in Ingram, all things despite.”

“What kind of business do you deal with? Women? Adult entertainment? Or perhaps gambling?”

“……There’s nothing you won’t say, is there?”

The man looked embarrassed. Diana glared as she continued to scold him.

“Anyway, you’ve been calling me Little Miss and treating me like a child all this time, but I’ll have you know that I’m a fully grown woman. I’m already nineteen this year.”

“You don’t look nineteen.”

“Shall I show you my ID?”

Diana retorted sharply. The man laughed as he waved his hands.

“Alright. We’ll say that you’re nineteen.”

“We’re not just saying that I’m nineteen, I am, in fact, nineteen!”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Ugh, gosh!”

Diana slammed down on her armrests as she raged. The man paid no heed to her extreme reaction as he abruptly raised his fedora ever so slightly.

“I’m Oliver Fenley.”

“Was anyone asking?”

Diana was appalled. A peculiar smile alighted the man’s —Oliver’s— face.

“I’m sure you’re curious. About my relationship to Hester, that is.”

Diana fell silent. It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t curious about what her heavenly sister’s relationship to this playboy was. But her keen senses as a witch were telling her that this man was dangerous. She knew she should not get involved with such a suspicious man when Chesterty’s prophecy was already weighing on her heart.

Ultimately, Diana decided to ignore him.

“I’m not.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So please stop talking to me.”

Diana turned away from him with a stiff expression on her face. And yet she heard his persistent voice even still.

“You’ll regret not asking.”

“I said I’m not……. I told you to stop talking to me!”

Diana quipped back before she could stop herself and subsequently grew angry.

“I’m Hester’s boyfriend. I’ve always wanted to meet you, Miss.”

Oliver extended his hand to her for a handshake. He continued,

“It’s nice to meet you, Diana.”

Diana could not comprehend the current situation for the life of her. Which was why she simply stared blankly at Oliver’s hand before she finally managed to spit out,

“……You’re lying.”

“I guess I’d be confused too if some suspicious man appeared out of nowhere and called himself my sister’s boyfriend. So I fully understand if you don’t believe me right away,”

Oliver said tenderly, as if he was addressing a young child. He continued,

“But it’s true that I’ve always wanted to meet you. Hester’s told me a lot about you, you see. She said that you’re mature and exceptionally bright despite being so young. I admit I never realized that two sisters could be so completely different.”

Oliver smiled a bit bitterly. Diana was sitting blankly in dumbfounded shock as she sullenly muttered,

“……My sister never told me about you.”

“Oh, that’s because I asked her not to. You were studying all alone without any relatives nearby, so I thought you might be upset if you suddenly learned that your sister was dating someone. Seeing you now makes me realize that I made the right call.”

The light in Diana’s eyes gradually grew dimmer as she stared vacantly into empty space.

“My sister really never told me anything…….”

“Miss?”

It was only then that Oliver noticed that she was acting strange. Diana was grabbing hold of her armrests so tightly that her hands had gone white when she suddenly whipped her head around. Her eyes were quite piercing as she glowered at him.

“You’re lying! My sister never told me anything about that!”

“Well… Like I was saying—”

“Wow, you’re one real crook, aren’t you? Don’t you dare ever talk to me again! Or just talk to yourself, if it pleases you, since I won’t respond even if you do!”

Then, Diana boldly turned back around after she had peppered him with her rapid-fire words. A noisy bellow resounded just as Oliver was about to respond in his bewilderment. It was the sound of the train expelling steam.

Chooo—

The train slowly began to move. The wheels clattered on the rails as the train picked up speed. Diana was sitting with her back completely to Oliver. Oliver had no choice but to sigh and uncomfortably lean back against his seat because the sturdy figure of Diana’s back suggested that he had absolutely no way of getting her to talk to him at all.

 

* * *

 

Silverware was clanging noisily across the dining car. The neatly dressed passengers cast awkward glances at a certain table by the window. One gentleman cleared his throat, unable to overlook the situation, but, regrettably, the girl behaving irrationally as she dined did not appear to have noticed how uncomfortable she was making everyone else.

The girl in question was, of course, Diana. Diana had run out from her cabin as soon as the train had begun moving, and the only other place on the train she could run to had been the dining car. It was good that she had found her way to the dining car, since she was hungry, but she was in such a sharp temper not only because of what had happened just earlier but also because her dining expenses had been more expensive than she had imagined. This was why she was eating so noisily without any self-awareness at all despite having grown up in a prominent magical household where she had learned proper upper-class etiquette.

“Damned bastard.”

Diana furiously stabbed her fork into a potato.

“What kind of nonsense was that supposed to be? What? My sister’s boyfriend? That’s the kind of nonsense that could raise Grieg Fromm from the dead.”

Her anger, which had barely just subsided, surged again. She stabbed at the potato obsessively, as if it was Oliver Fenley. Her once-neatly arranged meal was quickly devastated at the enraged witch’s hands.

“My sister and I are super close. I’d be the first one she’d tell if she ever really got a boyfriend. There’s no way I wouldn’t have heard such important news —so he’s definitely lying. That vile, ill-bred bastard. That wicked crook. He should roll over a pair of scissors as he sleeps.”

Her anger seemed to abate as she vented. Her expression wasn’t quite as heavy as she put down her fork. The errand boy, who had been watching her anxiously, quickly took away her ruined dish and came back with a cup of coffee for dessert.

‘This is all because of Chesterty’s ominous prophecy,’

Diana grumbled to herself as she drank her hot coffee.

She didn’t know what exactly Chesterty Jiles had dreamt. Diana knew from experience that nothing good ever happened when she listened to one of Chesterty’s prophecies, and she had gone out of her way to ensure that she did not hear anything about this one. Diana had heard that ‘something will happen on the train’ while she was caught off guard, but she did not know what exactly that ‘something’ entailed.

Diana earnestly hoped that meeting some random crook would be the only misfortune she was faced with today. It took an entire day to get to Wokingham from Tuxbury by train. It was only one day, so how serious could it truly be? —or so Diana thought.

She had certainly paid handsomely for it with trembling hands, but coffee she was served for dessert did not fall short of the coffee she had enjoyed in the Jiles manor. A smile crept up on Diana’s face at long last. She earnestly wished that this peace would last safely until tomorrow, but it did not take very long until her heart, which had been stabilized by the coffee, was thrust into a storm once more.

“Miss?”

Diana’s eyes met with Oliver Fenley’s as he walked into the dining car at just the perfect time. Diana’s visage immediately shadowed over. Oliver sat down opposite of her without even asking for her consent.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

Diana asked pressingly, readily breaking the promise she had made to never speak to him again. But all Oliver did was to order coffee and dessert with extreme composure.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I ordered myself some coffee.”

“What I mean is —why are you sitting in front of me of all places?”

“Hmm. Because I wanted to speak with you?”

Diana immediately stood up from her seat with no lingering regrets. But Oliver grabbed hold of her arm with terrifying speed just as she did.

“Let go.”

Diana glared at him. Oliver raised his hands in apology.

“I’m sorry for grabbing you so suddenly. But it’s not like you can avoid me forever. We’re still seated next to each other, you know.”

“It doesn’t matter whether our seats are next to each other or not —I have no desire to speak to a crook.”

“And that’s the problem. I really have no idea why you think I’m a crook, Miss.”

Oliver did his best to refute her. But Diana was still as cold as the winter winds.

“Why I think you’re a crook? It’s because you keep spreading around stories that make no sense.”

“Make no sense? Is it that hard for you to believe that I’m dating Hester?”

“I dare you to say that nonsense again,”

Diana growled. An awkward look crossed Oliver’s face as he stroked his chin.

“And what will you do if it’s not nonsense?”

“It’s obviously nonsense.”

“I have no idea why you’re so sure of yourself. Do you have a special reason for your certainty?”

Diana crossed her arms as she sat back down. Now that she thought about it, his persistence was like that of a stray cat that had starved for three days. She spoke up resolutely, hoping to finish things once and for all.

“First, my sister never told me anything about you, not even once.”

“Like I said earlier, that’s because I asked Hester not to. You were all alone wandering in foreign lands while studying, and I thought it’d make you uneasy if you suddenly heard news that your sister was dating.”

“Are you trying to say that I’m being jealous right now?”

“Not exactly, no…….”

Sensibly, Oliver did now say outright that he did, in fact, think that Diana was being jealous.

“Besides, my sister has no reason to get along with a playboy like you.”

“Well, I’m a businessman, not a playboy.”

“I wasn’t referring to your occupation. I was referring to your character. I don’t care whether you’re a businessman or a member of the clergy —your character is practically that of a playboy’s. That’s what my senses as a witch tell me.”

In high spirits, Diana continued,

“So, let’s hear it. How many women have you dated until now?”

“You misunderstand me. Hester is my one and only.”

“Oh my, really?”

Diana beamed. Her pretty smile was belied by the whirlpool swirling inside the coffee cup she was holding. It was like a small storm was brewing inside it.

Oliver eventually got cold feet.

“Hester is the only woman I’ve truly loved.”

“I don’t need the extra commentary. You’ve gambled too, right?”

“Only back when I was a hot-blooded youth.”

“When did you start drinking?”

“On my eighteenth birthday, I think……. Wait, wait a minute! This much is true! I was born and raised in a devout household!”

Oliver startled when he saw her hand move back to her coffee cup. Diana was glaring at him gently. There wasn’t even a hint of goodwill in her eyes.

“My sister is an upright person. But she’s ignorant to the ways of the world because she spent all her time working hard studying magic when she was younger. Why would she date such a secular person like you?”

“Well, even I agree that Hester’s too good for me…….”

Oliver looked like he was at a complete loss. Diana continued glaring at him as she vigorously carved out her next words one by one.

“Even if, just if, my sister did decide to date a playboy like you…….”

She ground her teeth audibly. She continued,

“Then I will give my everything to stop her. I swear this on the bright light of Callisto.”

That much was obvious even without seeing the chaotic energy around her. Oliver forced himself to smile and slyly avoided her gaze. He had learned early on that it was unwise to provoke an angry witch.

The errand boy brought over his coffee and dessert soon enough. Oliver was given the chance to naturally change the topic.

“Here you go, Miss. Try some of this.”

Diana, who had accepted the dessert in the heat of the moment, scrutinized it suspiciously.

“What kind of pudding is this?”

“Technically, it’s panna cotta. It’s generally enjoyed by the people of Messina in the south.”

“But why are you giving this to me?”

“You like sweets, don’t you? I know Hester likes them.”

Diana looked sour.

“How did you know that?”

“How could I not know what kinds of food my girlfriend likes?”

Oliver rested his chin against his hands and, as if he was having great fun, said,

“You can ask me any question about Hester that you’d like, Miss, and I’ll answer them. I’ll stop talking to you if I get even one of them wrong. But in return, you have to stop avoiding me if I get them all right. How does that sound?”

 

Diana was sulking as she looked outside the window. There was nary a cloud in the sky and the fields were green as they passed by, but her heart was upset beyond words.

“Would you like some juice, Miss?”

It was all because of that man.

She shot a glance at the grinning Oliver before lethargically shaking her head no. Oliver did not ask again, even out of courtesy. Diana found the way he was humming quietly to himself as he read the newspaper rather spiteful and unpleasant.

But what else could she do? She had lost their bet, which she had been so sure that she would win, horribly. Diana had no choice but to stick with him since she had nothing better to do. She was appalled as she thought about how awkward her entire trip to Wokingham was about to be.

‘I was stupid.’

Diana let out a long sigh.

This was why witches shouldn’t talk big. There was a mysterious power at work in a witch’s words, and it was rumored that anyone who broke a promise with a witch would be cursed. It was a very strict rule that also applied to witches who did not keep promises that they themselves had made.

“Are you feeling sick, Miss? You’ve been looking a bit unwell.”

“I’m feeling so good it’s actually driving me crazy, so don’t worry about it,”

Diana snapped coldheartedly as she slowly recalled what had happened in the dining car just earlier.

She had been very confident when Oliver had first proposed his bet to ask him questions about Hester. She was adamant in her belief that Oliver Fenley was a crook, and she believed that her sister loved her as much as she loved her sister without a single doubt.

But the outcome of their bet had run contrary to her predictions.

 

“What is the name of my sister’s cat?”

“You’re referring to the fluffy white cat, right? Her name is Mirabel.”

“What’s my sister’s favorite flower?”

“The yellow hyacinth. She likes it whenever I give her some as a gift.”

“My sister’s birth star!”

“Isn’t that too easy? It’s Dulcinea.”

“And what’s Dulcinea?”

“It’s another name for the King of the Stars. It’s the biggest and brightest star in the sky, but it’s only visible one or two days a year.”

“What’s my sister’s favorite genre of books?”

“Novels. Her favorite book used to be Livius Augusto’s [Sacred Flame], but recently she’s taken a shine to Bianca Goldworthy’s [Madam Talbott] series.”

“W-who’s her teacher?!”

“Amelia Vega, the Twilight Witch. Anyone who reads the news would know that.”

“Then, how many languages does my sister know?”

“She’s fluent in the central dialect and the Abado tongue, and she can communicate more or less in the northern dialect.”

“Who’s the witch she respects most?!”

“Saint Valentina Bolsa.”

“……What’s the dish she most skilled at cooking?”

“Miss. Hester can’t cook.”

 

Not only had Oliver Fenley answered all of her questions, he had even skillfully avoided the trap she had laid at the end. But that wasn’t what was making Diana burn up inside. It was because he had known something about her sister that she didn’t when he had absolutely nothing to do with Hester.

‘What the heck is the [Madam Talbott] series?’

The Hester whom Diana knew was a sophisticated which who only read texts on magic. There was no reason why her sister would enjoy a novel series with a title that reeked of secularism. There was no reason, but Diana had no way of ascertaining the truth, and she was afraid of the possibility that Oliver might know something that she hadn’t.

Because that would mean that her sister might actually be dating a playboy like him.

Diana was depressed. She knew that simply knowing a lot about someone didn’t necessarily represent the depth of her love. She had barely even been able to see her sister all this time, so it was only natural that there was more that she didn’t know about Hester than what she did. There were more words that could not be written in letter than words that could. Even Diana had not written a single word about her teacher’s apathy, Chesterty’s temper, or even Cedric’s inhospitality in her letters to Hester.

So it wasn’t all that strange even if this suspicious man happened to know a bit more about her sister than she did. It was possible that he might actually be Hester’s boyfriend. But Diana clung to her last ray of hope. He was a bluffing crook, and he had no relation to her sister. Her hope stemmed from her childish wish that her sister loved her and only her, just like how she herself loved her sister an awful lot.

A crew member wearing an indigo uniform approached them just then. Oliver smiled with his eyes when the crew member asked them for their IDs and tickets.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Diana saw even his plain exchange of greetings with the crew member in a critical light. How could he let his eyes wander to another woman when he had been talking about his sincere love just earlier? Diana was determined not to acknowledge him as her sister’s boyfriend no matter what.

“Oh, you’re from Banzè?”

“Yeah. You couldn’t tell, right?”

Oliver smiled in satisfaction. He then said something about how he had worked hard to get rid of his northern accent, but Diana hadn’t really been listening. She had been thinking about something else entirely as the crew member confirmed her ID and ticket.

A suspicious man. Banzè.

Something was tugging at her mind.

“Hey. You said you were from a devout household, right?”

Diana cut Oliver off mid-speech. Oliver obediently replied,

“My grandfather was a bishop and my father a theologian. I attended seminary myself when I was younger.”

A suspicious man from Banzè. And from a devout household.

It was only then that the scattered puzzle pieces started coming together. A twisted smile graced Diana’s lips.

“Why don’t I guess where your hometown is? You’re from Shoiblè, Banzè. Right?”

“……I don’t recall telling you where I’m from. How did you know?”

Oliver said hesitantly as he turned back to her. Diana laughed out loud.

“Why? Are you scared?”

“Miss.”

“You should be at least a little scared. I’m a bonafide witch, after all, and not a silver-tongued crook like you.”

The emotion was gradually wiped from her face. Her eyes had grown colder at some point as she looked back at Oliver. She continued,

“There’s something that my sister told me before. She told me to never ever even associate myself with men from Shoiblè, Banzè, who are from devout households but aren’t priests or theologians themselves.”

“…….”

“What kind of sophistry will you try on me now, Mr. Oliver Fenley?”

Silence fell between them for a moment. Then, Oliver suddenly laughed in defeat as Diana smiled in great cheer. He placed a hand on his forehead and chuckled quietly for some time before he finally said,

“……Goodness, how could two sisters be so different?”

Oliver turned his head to look at Diana. His unchanged brown eyes seemed somewhat dry. He continued,

“I never thought Hester would actually say something like that. Though I guess things did end rather poorly.”

“End?”

“Yes. It ended. But it’s true that I was in a relationship with Hester. We were pretty serious too.”

Though we broke up two years ago, Oliver whispered quietly.

Diana stared back at him in blank shock.

“But it’s still true that I used to be her boyfriend. How else would I have been able to answer your questions otherwise?”

“I suppose, but…….”

Diana was unable to keep down her confusion. She continued,

“You broke up? Two years ago?”

“Yeah.”

“So you aren’t dating anymore?”

“That’s right.”

“But you did date her at one point.”

“Yes.”

They used to be lovers, but were not anymore. Diana only just managed to get the facts straight and organize the situation. He wasn’t a crook, but he also wasn’t in any relationship with her sister at this time. —According to him— Diana was a little sad that her sister had never said a word about being in a serious relationship with anyone, even if only temporarily, but she was still glad that her sister had broken up with him quickly nevertheless.

But Diana’s heart would not settle down for some reason. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on that wasn’t her discomfort at the fact that her sister had dated a playboy like him was nagging at her heart.

“……Excuse me. Can I ask you just one thing?”

Diana asked gingerly. She continued,

“Why did you break up with my sister?”

You don’t need to answer if you don’t want to, Diana added quickly, but Oliver folded his newspaper in half and shook his head.

“You’re planning to ask Hester if I don’t tell you, aren’t you?”

“……That has nothing to do with you. You’ve already broken up with her,”

Diana grumbled back. Oliver smiled wryly as he whispered,

“Miss. Pretend you never learned about this if you truly love your sister. It’s probably a pretty awful memory for Hester.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve committed a grave sin against her, you see.”

Diana looked up at him with a strange look on her face. But Oliver looked so sad that she ultimately could not find it in herself to ask him anything.

 

* * *

 

The passenger car was very quiet. Most of the other passengers, who had been chatting with each other or frequenting the dining car earlier, were fast asleep. Diana periodically heard someone turning over a page in a book from beside her amidst the noise being made by the train itself.

‘Does he not sleep?’

Diana swallowed back a sigh as she gazed at the azure skies outside the window. She had been burning up inside for over an hour now as Oliver was engrossed in his book.

She should have stopped paying attention to him from the very beginning, regardless of his mischief or his lies, if things were going to end up like this. Diana missed how she had been quipping back and forth with him in the dining car just a few hours ago. Being suspicious of him had been much better than the awkward mood between them now. Especially since an unidentified awkwardness was burning up inside her now that she had learned about Oliver Fenley’s true identity.

He wasn’t a wicked crook like she had hoped he was, but he wasn’t currently her sister’s boyfriend either. He was Hester’s ex-boyfriend, who had broken up with her on bad terms, and she was Hester’s younger sister. No relationship could be more awkward than this.

“Um……,”

Diana said gingerly. She greatly disliked this awkward atmosphere. Besides, it wasn’t as if she had any reason to ever meet him again. If they were going to have to spend the rest of the way of Wokingham so uncomfortably like this, then she would much rather move to an empty seat and make the both of them at least a little more comfortable.

Just then, the train began shaking.

Creeeak—

The train suddenly and sharply pitched forward. Oliver quickly grabbed hold of Diana when she lost her balance and began tilting. Those who had been sleeping unwittingly tumbled out from their seats, as did the luggage that had been stored in the luggage compartments. There was a scream mixed into the resulting discord. It was truly hell.

It was only a few minutes later that the train, which had seemed like it would derail at any moment, finally stabilized. Diana, who had only remained in her seat because she had borrowed Oliver’s arm for support, gathered her breath and slowly looked up. The cabin had become an utter wreck in the span of just a few minutes.

She could hear moaning and crying everywhere. There were endless cries calling for a doctor or a crew member. Diana covered her mouth with her hands as she huddled into herself. She had a bad feeling about this. She was looking around at her surroundings, made uneasy by the chill running down her spine, when her eyes were suddenly glued to the view outside the window.

The scenery wasn’t moving.

The train…

“……It stopped.”

The cabin door was suddenly wrenched open. The three people who had suddenly appeared inside the passenger car were wearing black masks over their faces. Two of them were even carrying long pieces of iron, which they promptly pointed their way. Diana instantly realized what the metal was as her world suddenly grew dark.

They were guns.

The moans and cries stopped. A deadly silence fell upon them. Finally, one of the assailants spoke up and said,

“We’re with the Ingram Armed Revolutionary Army.”

His voice was chilling, like grating steel. He surveyed the passengers as if he was etching each and every one of their faces into his mind and continued,

“This train is in our hands now. We will face House Arclight, the royal family, to realize the will of the Revolutionary Army, and you will burn as the first torches to shed light upon the royal family’s corruption.”

The assailant standing behind him shot off his gun above their heads. Weeping broke out from here and there as the dreadful gunshot resounded.

Diana was petrified and only just managed to move her hand and grab hold of Oliver’s sleeves. It took a while before she finally found the strength to drag her hoarse voice out from throat.

“What’s going on? Those people, did they just shoot a gun? Did they?”

“I saw it too, Miss.”

“What is this? What on earth is this? Who are those people?”

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“I don’t know. But in any event, it looks like we’ve been hijacked.”

“Hijacked?”

Unhurriedly, Oliver replied,

“The train’s been hijacked.”