Crossed Minds (7)

Rain was falling.

In the living room, Ashley watched the droplets run down the window and quietly lifted her teacup. Warm steam from the black tea brushed her nose, but it did nothing to ease her frown.

She could not make sense of what was happening. Every lesson her experience had taught her was sounding an alarm.

Ashley is clever and perceptive.

That was how her father, Count Leonberg, had always described her. His praise that she was young but brilliant had never been merely a doting father's exaggeration.

From childhood, Ashley had taken an interest in politics and shown a gift for business. Whenever her father conducted dealings for their house, she would insist on accompanying him. Standing at his shoulder, she watched each negotiation closely, learning what advantage could be gained from every exchange.

In time, she had become confident enough to offer Leonberg advice of her own.

At first, Leonberg had laughed at his daughter's suggestions as though they were an amusing game. Gradually, however, he discovered that her counsel could be remarkably useful.

“The Spanan family cannot possibly repay what it promises. They know that themselves. The famine in their lands has forced them to impose unreasonable terms on their people simply to survive the present crisis.”

“They've come to us only after other great houses refused them. Please show them mercy, Father. Supply food without charging interest, and you'll earn their gratitude.”

“Afterward, I'll visit the Spanan estate myself and negotiate the distribution rights to their textiles. They won't find it easy to reject our offer while accepting our help. I'll pay for it, and if we arrange for the Pelgaroin family to supply roughly half the fabric production, the Spanan family will have little room to refuse.”

Leonberg took her advice. That year, Ashley secured the Spanan family's textile distribution rights. She then bargained with a leading merchant and concluded a profitable contract with a comfortable margin.

Though raised in the luxury of a noble daughter, she had never been content to live as other young ladies did. She continued to conduct business, meet people, and build alliances. Her network of informants now stretched across the Empire.

That was why the elf's recent behavior struck her as so strange.

Something has changed…

It was the ninth day since the elf had awakened from the night of isolation. Roylen's estimate of an ordinary week had already been exceeded by two days, yet the elf was still behaving like a small child.

When Ashley asked Roylen about the delay, the healer broke into a sweat and gave her only evasive answers. Roylen insisted that a week was merely the usual recovery time, so the elf might need longer.

Ashley was unconvinced.

If it can take less time, perhaps it can take more. But…

Elves possessed so much magical power that even their unconscious minds could produce magical effects. The elf also commanded the divine power once attributed to dragons, creatures said to have vanished from the earth. Was it reasonable to believe that someone like her still could not overcome mana exhaustion after nine days?

There was more. Four days earlier, her behavior had shifted in a distinctly suspicious way.

When Ashley first relieved Theorad for a nursing shift, the elf had greeted her with a radiant smile and called out, “Sister Ashley!” She had followed Ashley about with an affection that was rather overwhelming.

Ashley had eventually adjusted to it. Whatever their history, the elf was behaving as a child who needed care.

But four days ago…

When Ashley came to take over from Theorad that day, the elf barely acknowledged her. She stared pointedly out the window. Her answers were indifferent, and she accepted peeled fruit without interest. She even seemed unwilling to meet Ashley's eyes.

What troubled Ashley most was the expression she had glimpsed on the elf's face: guilt.

Ashley had done nothing wrong to her. What reason did the elf have to look guilty?

“Hmm…”

The more Ashley considered it, the more she suspected that the elf had recovered her senses and was concealing the fact for some purpose.

Still, suspicion alone was no reason to reach a verdict.

Today, I'll find out what she's planning.

Ashley narrowed her eyes and took a measured sip of tea. The drink had cooled just enough to be pleasant. She savored its fragrance, set down the cup, and picked up a scroll beside her.

It was a sheet of parchment bound with a narrow cord, a document she had asked a servant to procure a few days earlier.

I had this made just in case…

Now that she might actually have to use it, she could not decide whether to be pleased or dismayed.

With a sigh, Ashley rose and headed for the elf's sickroom. Her nursing shift was about to begin, and Theorad would be expecting her.

She was walking down the upstairs corridor when the sickroom door opened. Theorad stepped out, and Ashley greeted him with a bright smile.

“Sir Theorad.”

He smiled back. He remained grateful that she had chosen to stay at the villa and help care for the elf when she could have left the work to someone else and returned home.

“Ashley. Right on time.”

“Of course. I couldn't keep you waiting, Sir Theorad.”

Her affectionate reply broadened his smile. The gloomy weather no longer seemed quite so oppressive.

“Thank you. As for the elf's condition today…”

Theorad gave Ashley an account of their time together. The elf was getting better at origami, had grown quieter and less childish, and seemed to smile much less than before. He was worried about that last change.

He had noticed something, then. He simply had not considered the possibility that the elf was deceiving him.

“I understand,” Ashley said.

She accepted the shift with a smile. With nothing more to add, Theorad said goodbye and continued down the hall.

Once he had gone, Ashley drew a deep breath and entered the sickroom.

As usual, the elf sat on the bed gazing out the window. She had been doing this for four days. Even today, with the rain blowing in, she had not bothered to close it.

“…I'm here.”

The elf made no response.

Ashley disliked being deliberately ignored. She crossed to the window and shut it. The restless curtains fell still, and the elf's windblown hair settled against her shoulders.

“Let's talk.”

Ashley fastened the latch and turned. The elf was silent, her eyes fixed unnaturally straight ahead. Yet her pupils trembled just a little. She had clearly heard every word and was pretending otherwise.

More certain than ever that the elf had recovered, Ashley crouched to meet her gaze.

“I want to know. Why are you doing this?”

“What are you talking about…?”

“You know perfectly well what I mean. Your mind has returned. Do you expect me to believe that a mage of your caliber still hasn't recovered from mana exhaustion after nine days? You may be able to fool Theorad, but you won't fool me.”

Silence filled the room. Only the wind and rain striking the glass interrupted it. Unable to answer, the elf looked away.

“I don't know what you're talking about…”

Just as Ashley had expected. The elf would not reveal the truth merely because she was asked.

Her mind raced. The reason for this pretense could hardly be simple.

Surely it isn't only because she wants Theorad's affection…

The elf might have indulged in deception for a day or two, but four days was another matter. Surely a being like her would not value tenderness obtained by tricking someone so highly.

Perhaps there was some reason she had to keep Theorad in the dark. Ashley could not yet determine what it was.

Whatever the motive, she could not let the situation continue. Believing the elf still ill, Theorad was postponing his return home. For his sake, Ashley had to prove that the elf was herself again.

Having reached a decision, she rose with a sigh.

“We don't have time to sit around like this. The clans of the Great Forest have learned you're here and declared war. They're preparing to attack humanity.”

It was a lie, of course, meant to provoke the elf into revealing herself.

But the elf was no fool. She merely ignored Ashley's announcement, unwilling to believe such an extraordinary claim without evidence.

Ashley had anticipated that response. She untied the cord around the parchment she had brought.

“I thought you might doubt me. So I brought the Great Forest's declaration of war.”

She unfolded the document before the elf. It announced in solemn language that the clans of the Great Forest were taking up arms against humankind.

The elf visibly started. The wording and formal style resembled documents from her homeland.

“Impossible! I, the Grand Master, never authorized any—”

She broke off and snapped her mouth shut.

On closer inspection, the format was only similar, and much of the phrasing was awkward. The broad declarations looked convincing, but the details betrayed a forgery.

She had realized the trick a moment too late.

Ashley folded the parchment again and looked down at her coldly.

“Enough pretending.”

Silence stretched between them. The elf drew her legs together and struggled to speak.

“Yes…”

A bitter smile crossed her face. She could no longer keep up the act.