3 bar menu

Alone Together on New Year’s Eve – Part 06

The pipe slipped from Victorique’s hand and fell toward the floor, but Kazuya quickly caught it, preventing it from shattering into pieces. Unfortunately, he had grabbed the bowl.

“Ouch!”

“Hmm…”

“Be more careful, Victorique. You’re gonna break it.”

He gently placed the pipe on the table and turned towards Victorique.

Then, suddenly, Victorique crumpled like a marionette whose strings had been cut, collapsing onto Kazuya.

“V-Victorique? Are you okay?!” Kazuya exclaimed.

There was no response. What on earth happened?

Did the soft smile she wore while listening to the bells ease the tension inside her? Or did Kazuya’s question cause a different kind of tension to resurface?

Kazuya swallowed, and in another moment, he embraced Victorique tight, with no hesitation.

Their usual attire—opulent gowns trimmed with ruffles and laces and stiff male uniforms—concealed their forms, but right now only soft muslin sleepwear and a thin blanket separated them. Fragile and delicate, they lived in the present moment, their skin, blood, breath, even the faint beating of their hearts, all clearly sensed by the other.

“Victorique…”

“Kujou… Kujou…”

“Are you shaking?” Kazuya asked, astonished.

“You too, Kujou.” Victorique’s response was soft and somber.

“I-I mean…” Kazuya blushed and fell silent.

Victorique chuckled. “Let me guess: you’re scared of me.”

“That’s not true.” Kazuya shook his head repeatedly, still holding Victorique tightly.

“You’re terrified because I’m a monster,” Victorique whined like a child. “Am I wrong?”

“You are! I’m not scared of you at all. You’re just a small, incredibly pretty girl who cares for someone like me. I’ve never once thought of you as a monster.”

“Uh…”

“I’m not scared of you. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Kazuya dropped his voice to barely above whisper. “You’re precious to me. Too precious. If I were to lose you, I wouldn’t know what to do. Like, why am I even alive at that point? With you gone, there wouldn’t be anything as beautiful. Nothing I could believe in so I could go on. I’d be hopelessly lost.” He held her even tighter, shaking.

Victorique remained limp, surrendering to Kazuya’s embrace. Even when he caressed her head, or when he fiddled with her long hair with his fingers, she remained still. Her golden eyelashes flickered like the wings of a tiny angel as she closed her eyes. Fear and sorrow permeated her small frame down to the marrow.

Noticing this, Kazuya hugged her even more tightly, trying to console her. But Victorique’s skin, her breathing, her heartbeat, did not soften.

Moments passed by. The boy and the girl held each other awkwardly for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally Kazuya moved. Lifting the terrified Victorique, he carried her gently into the bedroom. He laid her down on the charming canopied bed and covered her with the light blue comforter, then turned to leave.

“Kujou…” A faint voice sounded.

“Hmm…?” Kazuya stopped in his tracks.

“Stay a little longer, like the idiot you are.”

“But it’s already late.”

“No buts!”

“Aren’t you sleepy?” Kazuya returned to her side.

Hmm?

Kazuya noticed that the purple ring had disappeared from Victorique’s finger as she lay bundled in the covers. It was just gleaming on her finger a moment ago. He found it puzzling, but his greater concern was the unsettling stillness that cloaked Victorique, like she was an animal sensing its imminent demise. It was terrifying. So, without saying another word, he took a seat in a chair by the bedside, still wrapped in a blanket.

Like a servant, he stayed quiet and still. Somewhere in his gaze was a strange, hidden warmth.

While Victorique quivered, Kazuya remained seated, keeping his knees together, hands on his lap. He watched as Victorique eventually drifted into slumber.

Outside, the New Year’s night deepened, and snowflakes as large as beads started falling heavily. The darkness in the bedroom thickened, weighing down on them.

Eventually, Kazuya rose from his seat, his gaze still holding an inscrutable light, quiet yet fierce. He studied Victorique’s face, a face he was used to seeing, yet still found remarkably beautiful.

“Good night, my Victorique.”

Like a courteous gentleman, he bowed in her direction. Then, with measured steps, he quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

---

Under the soft, light blue covers, Victorique’s eyelashes quivered. She tried to open her eyes, slowly, but fear stopped her. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.

“…Kujou.” Her voice was weak and shaky. Her cheek buried in the pillows, she murmured, “My Wellspring of Wisdom is warning me that the next storm is coming soon.”

Her breath was as cold as ice. Her long, golden eyelashes twitched.

“Will we see each other again? You’re a foreigner, and I’m a terrifying monster,” Victorique whimpered under the covers. “No. I don’t want that, Kujou.” Her petite body curled up. “Again… You’re making me cry again. You’re making me helpless.”

Snow fell heavily outside the window. The sound of the front door closing reached her.

Crunch, crunch.

The boy’s footsteps on the snow gradually faded into the distance. Trembling, Victorique strained her ears to catch the sound. Her frail form groaned, letting out a cry from her very soul.

A haunting silence slowly enveloped the bedroom. Victorique eventually stilled, like a princess who had been asleep for a hundred years.

---

Leaving the candy house with a straight posture, Kazuya marched through the flowerbed maze. Snow crunched underfoot. He stopped several times to glance back at the house. Soon, it vanished from sight, swallowed by the complex structure of the flowerbed. It felt like being lost in a vast forest in a distant land. Terrifying.

Abruptly Kazuya furrowed his brows. He recalled Victorique’s state tonight. How she was uncharacteristically fragile and upfront.

“Victorique…”

The cold winter wind swallowed his whisper. An owl hooted somewhere.

Kazuya stood rooted to the spot, feeling a strange blend of sadness and exhilaration. Like he had said what needed to be said, yet left something important unspoken.

“We’ll see each other tomorrow, right?” he muttered, half to himself. He shook his head and resumed walking.

“Huh?” He stopped again, wearing a pensive look. “In the end, I only presented fourteen mysteries. Today has been stressful. Dealing with the murder case in the village and the operatives from the Academy of Science. I can’t believe the year ended before I could find the fifteenth mystery. Tomorrow, for sure.” He continued on.

He stepped out of the flowerbed maze and into the deserted midnight French garden.

An owl hooted once more. There was no other sound. Kazuya’s footsteps on the soft snow were hardly audible in this world of near complete silence.

He returned to the boys’ dormitory and entered his room. As he washed his face and prepared to change, an odd commotion came from outside the window. He opened the window and saw a simple carriage parked outside. An East Asian man alighted, followed by men dressed like police officers. They headed to the boys’ dormitory.

Wondering what was happening, Kazuya opened his door, intending to go and help. As soon as he stepped out into the corridor, he caught sight of the men coming up the stairs.

“Seriously? At this hour?” the dorm mother exclaimed from behind them. ‘Wait! I’ll call his homeroom teacher!”

“This is urgent!” said a man.

“Huh?”

“He’s a brilliant man who will shape the country’s future. And he’s also the Captain’s precious son. We must take him into custody immediately.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?”

“I don’t need to explain it to you.”

“Stop! He has a life here at the academy and important friends…”

“Life? Friends? Trivial matters before the bigger picture!” The Asian man strode towards Kazuya.

He recognized the man. He was one of the government officials he met at the embassy when he arrived at the Kingdom of Sauville more than a year ago. A friend of his father from his student days, apparently. He had encouraged him fiercely in a manner almost identical to his father, urging him to study hard for the betterment of his country.

Needless to say, Kazuya had followed his advice, achieving excellent grades.

“Um, what’s going on? It’s already late. What happened?”

As soon as he saw the bruises on Kazuya’s face, the man’s eyes widened. But he quickly regained his composure.

“Kujou. We are sending you home ASAP!”

“What?” Kazuya froze.

“Pack your things immediately. You need to be on the ship leaving by morning. We must send you back safely to our country!”

“Wh-Why?” Kazuya was at a loss for words.

He thought of the little golden friend he had just bid farewell to—Victorique. Mysterious and fascinating than any other phenomenon he had witnessed in this nation. Someone precious.

A mere seconds later, he hung his head, looking tense. “What exactly is happening? A government official is one thing, but a mere student like me sent home? I haven’t caused any trouble. In other words, the reason lies with the government. I demand an explanation!”

The man shook his head. “Sorry, but there’s no time for that. And I am not obliged to offer one.”

Kazuya mulled the matter over. “Now that I think about it, things have been strange these past few days.”

“Kujou!”

“Oh…”

Kazuya shook his head. It was weird how all these nobles and wealthy folks from Saubreme suddenly showed up in this remote mountain village, filling up the inns. And right around the same time, the students from this academy all rushed back to their families. Then came the government officials and agents. There was even a murder. And now I’m being deported all of a sudden… No…