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The Hares and the Hound – Part 07

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Translator: Kell

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The three made it onto the deck.

Dawn was breaking, the light of the morning sun shining on the wet deck. The heavy rain falling through the night had subsided, but it hadn’t completely stopped. Towering waves surged eerily on the dark sea.

The radio room was there waiting for them, like a lodge built on the side of a mountain. The deck was slippery. Kazuya panicked every time Victorique stumbled.

Just as they were about to enter the radio room, Julie, who was following behind, let out a scream.

Kazuya quickly spun and saw a thick arm pulling Julie’s long, raven hair from behind.

It was Ned Baxter.

“Nooo!” Julie shrieked.

Ned Baxter’s eyes were bloodshot, his mouth wide open. He looked like an evil beast that children saw in their nightmares. An agonized cry echoed as Ned twisted Julie’s neck. The axe she was holding fell to the deck.

Ned tossed Julie’s limp body aside and strode toward Kazuya. Victorique was paralyzed by fear.

“V-Victorique… Over here!”

Kazuya dragged Victorique and started running, stumbling several times on the slippery deck.

He opened the door to the radio room. After letting Victorique in, he proceeded to close the door. Victorique reached with her small hand and pulled Kazuya.

“You stay here and call for help!” Kazuya said.

“What about you?”

“I have to deal with that guy somehow. Or he’s going to kill you.”

“Kujou…”

“I…” Kazuya shivered at the sight of the approaching Hound. “I’m the one who brought you here. It’s my responsibility to get you home safely.”

“You’re wrong!”

Her voice was shaky, and she looked in pain. There was something she wanted to say, but she couldn’t find the right words. For a while, her mouth just gaped open and shut.

“I wanted to come here,” she finally said. “I found the invitation.”

“No. This is my fault.”

“Think logically, and you’ll know who’s respon—”

“It doesn’t matter!” Kazuya stamped his foot.

Victorique also stamped her feet several times.

“I have to keep you safe, or my pride as the third son of an impe—”

Suddenly, Kazuya thought the words “third son of an imperial soldier” sounded like a curse to his ears. He wouldn’t be able to convey his true feelings to her like this. Like their previous conversation, they wouldn’t be on the same page.

“No. It’s not that.” Kazuya tried his best to be honest. “I just want to help you.”

Victorique’s face contorted. She looked sad. She tried to say something.

Kazuya moved to close the door.

Victorique no longer had the calm, cynical, and collected look characteristic of the aristocracy. The invisible, thin barrier that had always separated Victorique from the world was gone, revealing the face of an uneasy young girl.

Kazuya put pressure on the door. Victorique’s green eyes, anxious like a lost puppy’s, were the last thing he saw.

“K-Kujou…” Her voice was so quiet, no one could hear it. “Please, Kujou. Stay with me. Let’s go home together. I don’t want to be alone. Kujou…!”

Kazuya closed his eyes and slammed the door shut.

The next moment, the Hound attacked.

Clenching his hand tight, Kazuya readied himself. He recalled the hand-to-hand fighting techniques that his older brothers taught him back in his island country. His brothers were very passionate, and Kazuya was confident in his ability to remember. It’s what made him brilliant.

Kazuya pulled back his fist and thrust it as hard as he could toward Ned’s nose.

Taking Kazuya’s punch to the face, Ned staggered a little. With the palm of his hand, he stroked his face from top to bottom, and when his hand moved away, there was a bizarre smile plastered on his face. Kazuya found it terrifying. He punched harder, as if to knock down something scary. There was a dull thud. Blood trickled from Ned’s nose. As he stroked his face from top to bottom again, blood stuck on his palm.

The moment Ned saw it, his eyebrow twitched. He was angry.

Abruptly, Ned jumped and landed on top of Kazuya, knocking him back. Kazuya’s back slammed hard against the deck. Ned mounted him and punched him in the face over and over. He was losing consciousness.

It’s just like that time, Kazuya thought. When I was crawling on the tatami mat, shaking.

What awaited Kazuya back then was his older brothers, who were much stronger. But right now, it was different. He was in a foreign country, far away from his home, and he was alone with the girl he became friends with. If he lost, it would mean losing their lives. Only a cruel ending awaited at the hands of defeat.

Gritting his teeth, Kazuya persevered. The instant Ned’s movements slowed a little, he swung his fist upward. Ned’s face was bombarded by Kazuya’s punches.

Oddly enough, Kazuya didn’t feel out of breath. As he wondered why, a thought occurred to him. Recently, he had been climbing up and down the maze of stairs in St. Marguerite’s library every day. Victorique had mocked him for it, saying it was good exercise, but it actually ended up boosting his stamina.

Kazuya’s punches knocked Ned’s head back several times. But he kept coming back. Stained with blood, the man’s face looked like an eerie red mass of something. Kazuya hit him over and over.

Ned began choking Kazuya. Slowly, his consciousness was fading.

I’m not going to lose… Never!

But the strength of a fully-grown man was too much for Kazuya. He was slowly losing strength.

Victorique…!

Kazuya opened his eyes. His vision was hazy.

He grit his teeth and hit Ned in the temple with all he had. Ned’s hold on his neck weakened. Breathing hard, Kazuya snapped his eyes open.

With each breath, his vision gradually returned. Kazuya stood up. He took a few steps back and leaned against the railing. Ned, his face covered in blood, also rose to his feet and tottered toward him.

A shadow appeared behind the man. Kazuya strained his eyes.

It was Julie. She had regained consciousness and was slowly coming toward him, axe in her hand. When their eyes met, she pressed her forefinger to her lips. Kazuya nodded.

Ned raised his fist again and swung it down at Kazuya’s head.

Kazuya quickly crouched down and slipped between Ned’s legs to get behind him. Ned had lost his target, and with his weight shifted to the front, he pitched forward. Julie brandished the axe and slammed it into Ned’s back with all her strength. The axe dug into his back at an angle. Ned howled like a wounded beast.

Julie pulled her trembling hands away from the axe.

Before Ned could turn around, Kazuya grabbed both of the man’s legs and lifted him up.

Ned’s body flipped over. With the axe on his back, he fell head first over the railing and into the sea.

Kazuya rushed to the railing and looked down.

Splash!

A huge wave swallowed Ned’s body. White foam bubbled. A couple of waves rolled past, and Ned Baxter’s body vanished into the bottom of the sea.

Julie also approached the railing. “Thanks, kid,” she said, breathing raggedly.

“No, thank you.”

“You did well.” She gave a thin smile.

White waves rolled across the surface. The sea at daybreak was quiet. They were silent for a while, watching the dark sea that had swallowed Ned whole.

In the radio room, Victorique was sending out an SOS to the coast guard. Her small frame sitting in front of the large square machine looked like a doll that someone placed there as a joke, but her pale face and the quick movement of her hands indicated she was anything but a doll.

The door opened. Victorique’s shoulders jerked.

When Kazuya walked in, she appeared as if she would cry from relief. The next moment, however, she returned to her usual calm and slightly cynical expression typical of the nobility.

“You’re fine by the looks of it,” she said.

When Julie entered next, Victorique frowned a little.

“I take it you called for help?” Julie asked, oblivious to the girl’s expression.

“Of course. They’ll be here soon. By the way…” Wearing a grim look, Victorique shrugged. “It seems we are not far from the port where we departed. They wondered how we could be in trouble so close to land. It took a lot of effort to explain over the radio.”

Victorique stood up and walked over to Kazuya. He was removing the brass knuckles from his hand.

She looked like a tiny, intricate doll. But to prove that she was not a doll, there was an inexplicable expression on her face—a mix of relief, fear, and something else.

Wordlessly, Victorique squeezed Kazuya’s hand tight.

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Several minutes after they were rescued by the coast guard, the cruise ship Queen Berry sank to the bottom of the sea with a loud roar.

It was a spectacular sight. The sinking ship created waves, then vanished, leaving behind a calm sea, almost as if nothing had been there from the beginning.

Unlike the Queen Berry, the rescue boat was a plain and sturdy vessel. The deck was well-used, and the paint on the railings was peeling and mottled in places.

Weaving through the rescue personnel, two young men wearing hunting caps came shuffling toward them. For whatever reason, they were holding hands. Inspector Grevil de Blois’ men. Their faces were pale.

“Oh, thank heavens!” one said after confirming Victorique’s safety. “You’re alive! It’s a miracle!”

“Oh, no. The ship sank!” the other added.

They were making a big fuss.

Victorique was leaning against the deck railing, staring at the surface of the sea. Her long golden hair, like glistening threads, swayed in the sea breeze. The white lace of her magnificent dress was stained, and there was dirt and frays here and there. She looked heartbroken.

Kazuya stood beside her. “What are you looking at?”

Victorique looked up and gave a faint smile. She leaned into Kazuya’s ear and whispered, like she was going to tell him a big secret.

“I like beautiful things,” she said. With her small finger, she pointed to the surface of the sea, with its fiery red waves and reflection of the morning sun.

The rain had stopped. The boat was bathed in bright morning light. The sun, dyeing the sea red, was beaming on them.

Kazuya realized that this was the first time his little golden friend had told him what she liked. He felt like she had told him something special. Kazuya smiled.

Side by side they stood, staring at the scenery for a while.

“Let’s come again someday,” Kazuya finally said.

“…Again?”

“Yeah. We’ll come see the sea again.”

Victorique gave a wan smile. “Again, huh?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing, Kujou. Nothing…”

The morning sun was slowly rising, its harsh red light now a soft glow.

The boat was approaching land.

Softly, the waves rolled across the sea.

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Julie Guile got off the boat. Keeping her head down to avoid attention, she walked away from the ship, her steps gradually hastening, until she was practically running.

I see now, she thought.

A ship docked at the harbor, and people began disembarking. There were shouts of sailors and workers unloading cargo. People boarded the ship for a long journey, and families gathered to see them off. Luggage was being carried out and brought in. The harbor was filled with the hustle and bustle of the morning.

Julie blended in with the hubbub. Naturally, the police told her to stay, but she paid them no heed. She scurried away through the crowded port.

Once she was off the boat, the woman named Julie Guile would be gone. She only needed to get into the city and she would no longer be found.

She failed to notice the men following her. A pair of people skipping along, holding hands. They were both wearing hunting caps.

“That’s what you did back then,” she murmured. “I get it now.”

Tears glistened in her eyes as memories came flooding back. No. Memories was too pure a word to describe it.

It was a nightmare. A night filled with horror and torment.

You had us fooled, Huey.

A Hound released into a pack of Hares. Ned Baxter, also known as Huey.

That’s how you pretended to be dead!

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